It was time again for our annual run around the Lake Eder which is a water reservoir. The plan was as always to run around the lake with 2 food stops. We were 6 people this time and slighty varied our track to include some new trails we haven't run before.

The weather was perfect, a lot of sun, and hot enough to include two swim sessions during halftime and at the end.

I was feeling well until the end, my new running shoes did a perfect job. And thanks to Urs who kept some cold bootles of beer in the car to celebrate the finish. :)

All-in all we accumulated 54 km this year with an approx. running time of 6:20 h plus 2 longer food stops in Herzhausen and Rehbach.

Looking eagerly forward to next year's edition!

Sunny April

Nothing to complain on April weather from my side this year. It was the sunniest month ever if you ask our solar panels, at least since they were installed in 2013.

The perfect autumn weekend

That was a wonderful weekend. Three free days due to the public holiday (German reunion) and perfect autumn weather. Time to redeem some gift certificates that I received from my wife and son.

First station: Quad driving, OK, that was the weekend before :)

Quad riding on the men playground

A flight lesson around Kassel from the new airport in Kassel Calden

An Alpaka hiking trip - one of our favorite animals

I will not forget these adventures. Love you, Astrid and Matti!

Winter wonderland

Finally the winter has come back, so I went downhill skiing in Kassel (Hohes Gras) last Friday and cross-country skiing in Willingen on Saturday.

Now this week we also got enough snow at home, around 25 cm this week, so I did a small ski tour around Zennern today.

Our garden covered in snow

On the downside it is much harder to push the stroller through and around the village, but with the help of our 2 little sled dogs we can manage. :)

Matti immediately falls asleep when the stroller moves, like me in the train, car, plane...

Matti in peaceful sleep, covered in 6+ layers while being pushed around Zennern.

 But once coming back, he is in urgent need for food and attention. We are wery lucky that he has a good rhythm of feeding and sleeping, especially for letting us sleep long intervals during night.

First snow this season

We've got the first snow this season. The horses love it. Ray is a bit cautious, but Amurat does not take care and loves to gallop over the fields. Hope we'll get more snow when I am on vacation in Jan.

Summer toys

Mountain biking, carriage riding, cayaking the Eder lake and river, that's what a summer at home can offer. Truly wonderful!

Winter holiday

As the winter had a tight grip on Germany til last week we decided to stay in Hesse at Astrids family for our winter holiday.

It was the week of karneval whis more a tractor show here. ;-)

We went skiing in Willingen and had fun with our horses, the dogs and the new 4-wheel drive Volvo.









On our way home to Mannheim Astrid started this year's dressage tournament season with a good placement.



Next week I will be in Bangkok for 3 days.

Riding in the snow

It has been a white christmas and it is still snowing from time to time. I was riding out with Andor today. It was a bit exciting for him in the snow plus he also learned crossing highway bridges and passing kids with firecrackers. He was a bit excited but learned his lesson.


The picture is from a day before when I went out with Andor, Astrid and the dogs

Yearly birthday

September is birthday time. As the weather continued to be rainy, I invited for a bbq session in the garden on short notice and some friends could really make it.

As a preparation we temporarily changed a part of our living room into a dining room. As we liked it we kept it. So we have now a new dining room and a sofa in the kitchen. :)



Below one of my birthday presents, a new phono player from my Camelot colleagues.



Lea also likes it. As she rests and relaxes in the living room every morning, she is happy about the new phono as well.



We are still very happy with our garden and especially the previous tenants which managed to plant colourfull flowers for every season...





...and present us with some really delicious apples. Yam yam!!!

Our garden becomes a jungle...

Here some impressions of the jungle in our backyard.











By the way, tomorrow our one week holiday starts. We'll go to Berchtesgarden in the Alps for some hiking and stop over in Ingolstadt for a big party with old university collegues. Enjoy the summer!

Garden party

As we didn't organize a party after moving into the new flat at the end of last year, we did so last Saturday and invited some friends to a garden party. 4 free days and sunny weather made it a nice event.

Thanks for all who came and for the new garden bench.

A big hug...

...for all of you that made the way to Mannheim last Saturday to celebrate my 30th birthday with with me. I was really glad to see you. Thanks for the wonderful presents. I'm looking forward to read the fine books, eat from real dishes, go houserunning and rafting...



Sunday I sealed the apartment after a minimal clean-up and went out on a Odenwald tour with Astrid, before taking the Monday early morning flight to San Francisco.

I'll take care of the rest once I am back next Monday.

So again, thanks for coming and see you soon, Jolle!