Bavarian Dreamland
Pia told me that if I haven't been to the Bavarian countryside, I haven't been to real Germany.
Last year I met Pia, a Bavarian girl on a business trip from Germany to Moscow. Early in December 2019, she invited me to her birthday party before the new year. At that time, I was thinking for only ten seconds, then booked a one-way ticket without hesitation, and started a month-long wandering in South Germany with friends.
On a Christmas Day, we took a 40-minute train from Munich Railway Station to the suburban town-Landshut, and drove more than an hour to reach our destination-Stollnried.
Stollnried has a population of less than 100 people and retains the traditional characteristics of Bavaria. The village extends outwards from the Gothic steeple church as the center, and the surrounding plains stretch of green grass. Until now, these sights are still vivid.
I still remember the breath of the wind. Whenever I was sitting in the car, my arm stretched out the window to feel the breeze. When I drove along the road, I would see scattered brown warm-colored houses on the plain. Settlements looked very warm. The path in front of the house was long and the back was gloomy. A plenty of forests and green fields undulated in the breeze. At night, our galaxy was like countless diamonds flowing on the sea. It was common to see vaulted sky was dotted with twinkling stars, which illuminated country roads without street lights.
Every morning, Pia and his family took us on a 30-kilometer hike through endless idyllic hills and forests. The cream-colored sunlight passed through the tall and dense branches. Germans stopped their footsteps, pointing to which animal footprints to show me, explaining the natural ecology and endless cycle here. How small humankind is in this vast land. Wild deer ran across the plain covered with morning light, rabbits shuttling between the forests, birds flying crossed the horizon, and bison's footprints froze in the early morning water puddles. Walking here, as if losing hearing, indulging in this magnificent but peaceful world, like sunshine settling firmly in my heart.
Hard to imagine how Germans living in the Bavarian countryside and surround by deepest embraces of nature, provide the best education in Germany at the same time.
Text by
Yi-Wen Yang