A journey into the past (Auf Kirres)

Yes, I've spent my formative years in this area.  No wonder I'm so strange ;-)

But seriously, between the ages of 1 and 5 I've lived less than 10 kilometers from here!  And on today's agenda is a bike trip through valleys not travelled in 40 years to places that I haven't seen in almost as long.

Out of the Ahr valley into the hills

These colours and shapes are sooo familiar !

Good thing I have an e-bike; the highway bridge down below

I miss the shortcut route to the old home and end up too close to the town of Remagen. But that is OK too since along this route I run into the Apollinariskirche. I remember seeing it from the Rhine valley frequently, but I'm not sure I actually have been inside before !

The church has a garden. After walking into it and taking a picture of this, I am informed that the garden is still closed and that I should leave.  The church sits on a hill, but the garden is right at the edge of the hill with a fabulous view of the Rhine valley.

When I tell the enforcer that I used to live here and came all the way from Canada, he actually lets me take a few more pictures ;-)

Since I am already under observation, I don't take too many more pictures before exchanging the garden for the interior of the church.

Those are actually all stars painted on the ceiling, surrounding the sun!

I leave Apollinariskirche and head downhill for a bit but then it is time to turn into a familiar road leading uphill. 

Apollinariskirche overlooking the Rhine valley

And then I'm back to when I was 5.  It still has the same name but I don't remember my grandparents ever having a sign.

No really! Grandma used to breed horses and Grandpa's parents named this place, but they never had a sign like this !

The whole place seems to be a private residence for a lawyer now, 

This whole pasture used to be full of apple trees !

Even the cow pastures of the neighbour farmer are gone.  I used to come here with an aluminum milk can with a wooden handle to get fresh milk.  Time to hit the road back to Neuenahr.

No, this is not the highway bridge. This is the bridge of a highway exit. Cheap design for an exit, eh?

every bloody straw bale seems to have a heron on it !

When I notice a field with round bales, almost each of which with its own heron, I'm only moderately surprised.  After observing the mole-eating monster of San Francisco, I can sympathize with the poor field mice that call this field home.

A few more field roads and turns and I see Ahrweiler in the Valley.