where i live - germany

mission: MUSE - "where i live"

by guest muse kim

Where do I live?  For many years I had a ready reply.  "I live on a ranch on the Colorado prairie surrounded by buffalo grass, cattle, and blue sky."  It was an answer I had not foreseen changing a year ago. What a difference a year makes. We now live in a tiny village, perched on a peak in southern Germany, surrounded by lush pastures, dense forests, and more cattle. You could say we traded one sleepy cow town for another.

My husband is a retired military officer and for twenty years we roamed the world following his assignments.  All the while I had one goal, to settle down on a farm like the one my grandparents had.  In 2003 that dream came true when we bought 72 acres in the middle of absolutely nowhere in rural Colorado.  It was a mixed blessing. We learned so much and had such wonderful times there.  Still, as the years passed we knew that was not the only adventure we wanted to have for the rest of our lives.  My husband was offered a position in Germany last fall, which we accepted on a lark.  Within a few months we were winging our way across the ocean, with our seven youngest children in tow!

The house we found here was all we dared to hope for.  It is the last house in a little bitty farming village and backs up directly to the pastures and forest beyond. The village is reached by a series of narrow, winding roads which amble their way through dark stretches of woods straight from the Grimm brothers.  Miles of bike and foot paths connect us to neighboring towns.

There is an undeniable dignity and grace about this place. Things move slowly here and there is a noticeable hush over all.  We walk daily, we nod at one another, and exchange warm "Guten Tag!" greetings when we meet our neighbors.  Ancient peeling, stucco abodes stand tall and strong under their tile roofs alongside the occasional contemporary newcomers. Somehow both work. Lace trimmed windows sport bright boxes of geraniums all summer and doorways are swept clean, straight out through the cobblestone drives.

We are just a few hours' drive to Paris, Amsterdam, and Zurich.  Yet no matter where we roam it is so very good to come home and look out over miles of treetops. We expect to be here for the next several years after which I could not venture a guess what fate has in store for us. It really doesn't matter because in the end home is where we all are together. Each new place is full of adventure and contributes another chapter in the story life is writing for us. This one has been a page-turner and I am so grateful for the opportunity.

Thank you for visiting "where i live." 

Kim Fry

please visit us at: http://www.starryskyranch.typepad.com/ and http://www.starryskyphotography.com/

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