Day No. 197 - Paths to Happiness - Kallstadt - The Bismarck Tower

Good morning, this is a good morning. - This is the most important day of your life. Because now is now. Yesterday is past. We don't know what tomorrow is. This day is now. You can use it however you wish. -

Carpe diem

We all know this statement. - Carpe diem, it is as old as our calendar. It comes from the Roman poet Horace and calls on us to enjoy the limited time we have today and not to put it off until the next day. Admittedly, this originally referred to the end of a poem. But surely it is now that it becomes even clearer to us what carpe diem really means. - So anyone who thought from the first lines that the Häusgen had finally gone through may be right. But this is nothing new. - Our morning meditation begins with the above lines and a routine is slowly developing. We thank Jeroen for giving us these words. 

How are you feeling this morning? - I would be very happy if one or two of you would share your feelings with us. - We know far too few of you. - Is it a good morning? Are you happy? 

Today is the International Day of Happiness, also known as World Happiness Day. - But do we feel this too? - On June 28, 2012, the UN General Assembly decided that World Happiness Day should be celebrated on March 20 every year. - State-prescribed happiness🍀, so to speak. - Today, on March 20, 2020, the motto for the International Day of Happiness is "Happiness For All, Forever". - For all, forever? 

I could imagine that some people are finding it very difficult to focus on fun, joie de vivre and positive things at the moment. Especially because everyone is affected in some way. You don't even have to have Covid-19 yourself. We are certainly still doing relatively well. We will certainly lose money, whether on the vehicles that we have to or want to sell, on the sale of our household effects and so on. It affects all classes. Although the situation on the German stock markets eased temporarily at the end of the week, many people who invested in shares have seen their savings evaporate at an unprecedented rate over the last few days. Those who are currently working short-time or losing their jobs have been hit even harder. - But what is all this compared to the misery of families who are currently losing someone. 

The impacts will certainly come closer for everyone. For example, my uncle's family in Italy will be affected. Castano Primo, where he lives, is north-west of the metropolitan city of Milan, in the Lombardy region. - My uncle is a proud old man, which is something to be grateful for. - It is hard for his family, because they know that they can neither say goodbye, nor are they allowed to, nor will they receive a funeral in a family setting. For strict Catholics in particular, the subject of cremation is a sensitive one. - But what is our focus?

We wake up to the sound of the gurgling stream. Everything seems so peaceful here, on the edge of the nature reserve. The sun is shining and as we open the doors, fresh forest air flows into our van. - The radio network here doesn't just have holes, it doesn't exist at all. This has done us a world of good. After all the negative news of the last few days, we were able to take a deep breath.

Our carousel of thoughts comes to rest, making it easier for us to focus on the positive moments again. We are here, we are healthy, at least that's how we feel. We have the chance to hole up in our bunker for the next few weeks. - For those who don't know, we live in an old bunker in the middle of Cologne. - What more could we want? - We even have some toilet paper on board and we won't go hungry any time soon. - We are grateful and that makes us happy.

Today we also decide to drive on towards Cologne. It's time not to go home, but to return to our old home, our bunker. The only reason we are taking our time is to allow our two lodgers to move out in peace. Originally, they wanted to be out already, but the move & co. have dragged on.

We drive through Bad Bergzabern. We happen to see the Westwall Museum at the side of the road. This is the last surviving artillery bunker of the Siegfried Line in the Southern Palatinate. Looking at this building, I'm glad that our bunker is bright and white. In other times, we would certainly have stopped. But there is also a sign here saying it is closed until May 10 due to Covid-19. - Is this not too optimistic? I hope the operators are right.

Campsites are now also being closed in Germany. Here in Baden-Württemberg the situation is not yet clear, but in NRW the closure has already been ordered. Surely this also makes sense. We expect that a general ban on going out will be imposed in the next step. After all, the measures announced still don't seem to be persuading people to limit their social contacts.

Driving through several villages, we see flower stores still open, people standing at snack stands or close together at the side of the road. You can like our chancellor or not. But I can certainly understand that for a girl from the former GDR, ordering a curfew is the last resort in a democracy. Either way, we'll be in our bunker by the weekend at the latest.

Oh yes, apparently we now need to mobilize our resistance. We started our morning exercise routine again this morning. Squats, press-ups, sit-ups and planks for me and yoga for Torgit.

In Ibiza, we hear that the measures are becoming increasingly drastic. Anyone driving with more than one person in the vehicle must expect heavy fines. What can we expect in the next few days? We hope only good things. Enjoy the sun, because the weather is supposed to get worse again. But it's March, which is quite normal for this time of year. And who knows, maybe nature can breathe a sigh of relief now. We need nature, nature doesn't need us.

In between, we pass a historic town gate in Billigheim-Ingenheim - 49°08'17.8″N 8°05'42.7″E - We are on the Southern Wine Route here. As the name suggests, the region here is characterized by winegrowing. But we also really like the many half-timbered houses. 

We reach our final destination in the afternoon. We park Hector at the Forsthaus Lindemannsruhe forest parking lot - 49°28'44.7″N 8°07'14.3″E - near Freinsheim. We have now crossed the state border and landed in Rhineland-Palatinate. - We want to get some fresh air and walk to the nearby Bismarck Tower - 49°28'45.0″N 8°07'46.3″E - Did you know that there are still 173 Bismarck towers and columns in Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Austria, Cameroon, Tanzania and Chile? - I was not aware of this. Incidentally, there were many more before that. There were once 240, which is what I call hero worship. We now know at least one of them. A nice place for a hike. We particularly liked the benches around it. We enjoy the afternoon sun here.

PS: Speaking of Carpe Diem, as we will certainly be spending more time on the couch over the next few weeks, my movie tip would be "Dead Poets Society", also known as the "Dead Poets' Club". I love this movie, Robin Williams in his signature role. "Carpe diem - Seize the day - "Because at some point we are just worm food"

You can find the video here here.