5 April 2015 - Easter Sunday in Bermatingen

As soon as I heard the boys stirring I tiptoed down the outside stairs in my pyjamas and gumboots to do Easter Bunny duty.  As there are no stray dogs in Bermatingen and it was pretty cool, I figured the Easter surprises would be safe outside and they were!  Little splats of Milka purple could be seen easily be the eagle eyes of the hunters and age was no barrier to the fun!

Before the boys actually came in to remind us that it was Easter Sunday, I had a lovely Skype call with my sister, Ali.  It is always good to talk to someone with similar bed hair early in the morning.  We had a good chat but it was ended abruptly by the call of chocolate and I wanted to catch the scramble on my camera.

Even 16 year olds are excited about Easter egg hunts!

7 year olds certainly are!

The bunny hopped high!

Happy with their finds!

Proper coffee and Annika's hot cross buns made a lovely breakfast and we all enjoyed the slow morning.  We also had a Skype call with Karl's parents who are excitedly counting down the days before Janette (Karl's sister) and Ralph get married next Saturday.  Unfortunately, we just can't go but hopefully can enjoy snippets of the day via electronic means.

Fuelled with more chocolate than is absolutely necessary (a little bit IS necessary on Easter Sunday - isn't it?!), the kids played with the football for a bit before we rounded them up for a walk.

What does the chalk over the door ways mean?  Something to do with the Passover?

Beautifully maintained roadside chapel

The German is simple to understand:Father we thank you for this beautiful world!

A lovely Easter blessing for us!

 We often come across these roadside or pathside chapels.  The don't have dates on them so we reckon they are quite old probably for the pilgrims to visit.  They are all locked so would not provide shelter these days but may have in past times.  How many folk have walked these paths over the centuries?  The mind boggles!

Wanderweg sign

Looking down on Bermatingen

Birds' box - there are many of these.

The forest speckled with light.

Sunshine with the odd snowflake accompanied us on our walk.  There was a lovely mysterious looking track next to the forest which I was keen to follow and we did.  The view at the top over Markdorf was worth the climb and we could see all the way to the Bodensee and beyond to the snow capped alps of Switzerland.  We just so love being out in the fresh cold air and encounter few others.  We did see a black squirrel but it was too fast and flighty to catch it on camera.

Note the Alps!

Hildegardshohe!

Ruby red branch about to burst into leaf.

Wildflowers

We walked along the "Wanderweg" (wander way) to Hildegardshohe, another high spot where we could cross a main road and join another wanderweg.  The farms, the fields, the orchards and the vineyards are neat and ordered and so peaceful.  The wild flowers are so pretty and we can see wild strawberry plants and the odd blueberry plants growing on the roadsides.  Come summertime, there will be wild strawberries everywhere!

Play area near Markdorf

Easter bunny "Hoppy" for a walk on a lead!

So, that was our Easter Sunday, 2015, plenty of time for reflection and plenty of time for an invigorating walk !  I enjoyed the many Facebook postings of Easter themes and ponderings of thanks and thankfulness.  Indeed, we should rejoice and give thanks to God for Jesus with grateful hearts.