Dear Diary

By Désirée  Kuhn

 

Yesterday I went to Schielberg, a little village in
the middle of the black forest near Karlsruhe.
During the one hour trip from Ettlingen to Schielberg
by train and bus, I saw natural untouched regions
and the famous little river “Alb". When I got off the bus,
my friend was already waiting for me. She showed me
the ancient well renovated in 2005 which was used to
water cattle in the early years.

 

 

Our next stop was the primary school built in the style of the German empire architecture.
Their courtyard is next to the enormous forest and they have their own garden where they
grow vegetables and fruits. It is so great that all the students are close to nature.

 

 

 

 

 

From its courtyard, I saw a huge hall which is used by many associations like dance clubs or the orchestras of Schielberg. In addition, it is the setting for the carnival every February: There are two evenings of performances where dancers and comedians entertain you with parody of politics and ineffective activities of organisations. Moreover, there is a long parade where the disguised participants throw candy or frighten little children.

 

 

 

After visiting a farm with many cows and horses we went for walk. Arriving at our next destination, the “hedgehog lake”, we started to have a picnic and enjoyed the view. The place has its name because the little island in the lake looks like a hedgehog. Later, we went to the festival in Frauenalb. It was so much fun, everyone was so welcoming! Everybody from the surrounding villages, young and older people, were talking, laughing and eating next to the ruin of a medieval cloister. I had a typical meal, too: a schnitzel and French fries. Then it was quite late an I took the train back to Ettlingen.

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Diary,

By Leonie Becker

 

yesterday I visited Schluttenbach, a really small and rural village near Ettlingen. Schluttenbach is located on a mountain so I had to take the bus for a short ride; while being on the bus I could get a first impression of the landscape. The first thing I saw after getting off the bus was the big town hall. I walked a few steps further and suddenly I saw a huge tree. I walked along the small path to get a more detailed view of it and met an older man. He told me that the tree was a linden and that it was more than a thousand years old. There is a story about it, saying that in former days a shoemaker had his atelier in it. Immediately next to it is the old fountain “Lindenbrunnen“, which was renovated in 1982, with the symbolic pigeon on it. The pigeon, in German called „"Taube", is the symbolic animal of Schluttenbach and so, especially in the time of Carnival, the habitants are called „Lochtauben“.

 

 

The next stop on my tour through Schluttenbach was the small but beauteous church, also called the heart of the village. It was built in 1956 and renovated last year. I sat for a while on the small bench in front of it and watched the birds sitting in the linden and the children playing right under it in its shadow.

 

On my way through the seemingly endless forest, I came by an observation point and the view was incredible. There is a stone plate with the distances to the other villages like Ettlingenweier or Ettlingen and many others in it.

 

I went on and walked through the big forest that ist border to Schluttenbach in the south of the village. I met a younger couple who were walking their dog. I talked to them for a couple of minutes and asked where I could eat something really typical of Germany. They laughed really hard when my tummy suddenly rumbled and told me the restaurant „Schnitzelranch“ was an insider tip for good "Schnitzel“, a traditional dish in Baden. After trying the Schnitzel I was so grateful for the tip from the young couple.

 

The last station of my Schluttenbach tour was the "Waldhexenkeller“. There is a traditional carnival group in Schluttenbach, called the „Waldhexen“. They have a meeting every month, where all the witches meet and talk about ideas and suggestions and just have fun together. Their costume is a green robe with different parts of animals on it, for instance a foxtail. They paint their faces a dark green colour and don a typical witch-nose with a verruca on it. They told me about Carnival traditions and we drank a glass of their „Hexensud“, which is the traditional initiation ceremony when someone wants to participate. It is something like tea consisting of a mixture of different herbs, traditionally served in a bullhorn. It tasted really bitter and it was a big effort for me to drink it. I really forgot the time and so it was quite late when I left the Hexenkeller. I did not have to wait long until the next bus came and I went back to Ettlingen.

 

 

 

Dear Diary,

by Simon Großmann

today I visited a village called Malsch, which is just about 15min from Ettlingen.
As the weather had been really nice, I decided to drive up the hill to relax in
the local swimming pool. The view from the top diving platform was amazing!
I was almost able to see the Rhine, which represents the border between
Germany and France. After about an hour of swimming and enjoying the cold
water, I ate a small snack at the kiosk. The swimming pool had been renovated
a few years ago and I can recommend a day trip to relax there with friends to
anyone! I took the picture on the right on my way back home.

 

On my way back to the city centre, the St. Cyria church, which is very huge and impressive, induced me to make a stop. The area really has its own unique atmosphere! The St. Cyria church is the main catholic church in Malsch and is made of sandstone. The tower containing the bells was also renovated, whereas it was financed by donations. Next to the church there is the town hall and an elemtary school. I continued my way towards the community centre and decided to walk down the main street. I discovered many boutiques and bought an ice cream to bridge the gap between my daytime and evening activities.

 

 

As I was walking through the so called “Bühn”, I thought about taking another small break at the lake (picture on the right) to feed the present ducks. One white duck was really surprising for me, as I had never seen an albino duck before!

In the evening, I visited the poetry slam in the community hall organized by the culture club of Malsch. This poetry slam took place for the seventh time already in Malsch! It takes place once a year and nine participants are separated into three groups. Every participant performs a text which has to be written by themselves and the person with the loudest applause reaches the final round. The texts can be funny, sad, profound or a mixture of everything.

It was a really great evening and a succesful ending of my day trip to Malsch.