As a kid I found my tiny hometown in the Saale Valley mostly boring. I had no eye for the surrounding nature, neither the appreciation for the silence the countryside is offering. I somewhere heard something like “First you have to see the world in order to appreciate your home“. For me this is totally true. With being away from home now for over 20 years, including living in different cities in and outside of Germany. I saw quite a lot of places. Some nice, others not so much.
May it is due to the pandemic, that I now walk in the world with open eyes. Appreciating the small things, no matter where I am. At the end of the day there are endless places in the world that are beautiful, we have to be open-minded and see them for their beauty. The place where I grew up, is part of the Saaleradweg. A long distance biking trail along the river Saale, which was found 25 years ago. It has 9 stages and is overall 400 km long. Even that I did not cycle the trail yet by myself, I can understand why many people do.
The trail leads from the source in Zell im Fichtelgebirge to the estuary in Bernburg. The stages variate from 30 to 60 km, including side seeing places like church, museum, castle and temple chapel. As a teen I cycle to some places on the trail, yet the trail was not founded back then. Nether the less it is nice to see that tourism also picked up in this part of Germany. It is important not to overshare the already hyped places in the world and give the more local places a chance as well.
With that being said. Just enjoy a virtual moment and sit with me on the bench pictured above and have a look at the water. With a light breeze in the hair and bird sweat in the background. Life can be so good in times.
