Herbst

Herbst is the German word for autumn, and I have to say that it is beautiful.

Normally I love the fall, and this year is especially amazing.  Because our town of Zolling is a few kilometers from where we work (too far to bike, unfortunately), we drive to work every day.  This has given us the chance to enjoy the amazing countryside here.  The fall color is beautiful.  Each morning we get to see the sun rise over fields and over the church towers in Freising.  Last week's sunrise was especially beautiful, but hard to capture in pictures.  We drive through bucolic villages (if you can call them that--they're pretty small), past pretty churches and fields, and enjoy the the fields and forests along the route.

The other day there is a wind blowing all the city smog and haze (there isn't much--Munich is pretty green) away.  This is called the Foehn (hairdryer), and the result is that we have amazing views of the Alps on our drive.

Here are some pictures to get you an idea of what it's like here.

This is the edge of town in Freising on the way to school.

 Then we drive through fields with views like this on a country highway.

We come through the little village of Grosseisenbach.  It's got this great little church.

Fall color

Bavaria (Bayern in German) is the largest German state.  It is largely Catholic, and these little roadside shrines are on major roads, in towns (there is one at the corner by our house and another at each of the other three corners on that road), and on small rural lanes.  This one is at a major crossroads.

The back way home also offers amazing views.

This is a "town" of a dozen homes or so.  Note the narrow road through town.

These are the church spires of Freising.  We get this sunrise regularly.