Spring Has Arrived!

 Spring is now in full force here in Detmold. It is so fun to see the changes not just in the landscape, but in the activities happening in and around the village. I thought I would just share a few photos of some of my favorite photos as I have walked around. 

First of all, so many people in this area ride bikes, but especially the parents with little children, it is so fun to see how the make it wherever they need to go with their babies. 

Bikers have the right of way along the walkways that have designated red brick lanes for bikers. Walkers beware! Drivers have to be extra watchful when turning corners.

Ed and I walked by this bike parked in front of an advertisement. It was cute how the little boy looks like he was touching the bike so I grabbed a photo. 

This transport was parked outside the archive and I thought it was quite fancy. 

The other fun part about spring is seeing older couples out walking more now. They are always holding hands and are just so cute. I do not have a photo, but I have a memory. 

The other memory is people with their dogs. All dogs are on a leash, but they can be everywhere...restaurants, buses, businesses, etc. 

I have focused mostly on the flowering trees and plants. Here are some of my favorites. 

The photos below were taken as I walked to work in the early morning so the light was not great for the brilliant colors of the flowers, but the dawn colors that greeted me when I rounded the corner were amazing.

Yesterday, Ed and I took a walk up our little hill to the center of Hiddesen where we live (about 3 miles from where we work in Detmold) get a gelato cone. I always have my camera phone at the ready. Many folks were out in the particularly warm weather working in their yards for the first time so far this season. They do love their yards!

I will be anxious to see what this bush looks like when the many buds bloom. 

We had a wonderful walk, met a couple of fun people in line for gelato and found a fun woman who loves visiting New York City and speak excellent English. 

We then enjoyed our gelato together and walked home. 

This tree behind our apartment has already lost many of the flower petals in a perfect circle around the trunk. (There is another tree in front of it that has not yet leafed out. 

Many of the houses we passed during our walk had colored eggs hanging from trees/bushes in their yards for Easter. As we returned home, all of a sudden, at exactly 5:45pm the local church bells began to ring. It is a beautiful sound and I loved hearing it but I was puzzled at the time. Usually the bells ring out at noon and 6:00pm. But the bells rang for 15 minutes and it wasn't difficult for me to leap to the beginning of Holy Week. 

Magical!

Happy Easter!