Germany

Crooked

~ travelsandtomes ~ 8 Comments

or Lean In: Old World Style

It’s a season of political campaigns in the States, so the word “crooked” seems to pop up at every turn.  It’s tiring, to say the least, so let’s turn this beast around.  Today’s post is brought to you by the word “crooked,” as seen through the eyes of European town squares.

Spitzhausen (from the 1400's): A gloriously crooked house in Bernkastel-Kues leans in toward the street.
Spitzhausen (from the 1400’s): A gloriously crooked house in Bernkastel-Kues leans in toward the street.

 

Bernkastel-Kues, on the Mosel River. Crooked floors in a half-timber house.
Bernkastel-Kues, on the Mosel River. Crooked floors in a half-timber house.
Old Town Square, Prague
Old Town Square, Prague

 

Colmar, France. Crooked streets where everything leans in--and it only adds to the beauty.
Colmar, France. Crooked streets where everything leans in–and it only adds to the beauty.

 

Misaligned photo of that crooked Leaning Tower of Pisa. And somehow my husband's head has been obscured by my daughter's raincoat. Nothing lined up right here!
Misaligned photo of that crooked Leaning Tower of Pisa. And somehow my husband’s head has been obscured by my daughter’s raincoat. Nothing lined up right here!

 

Where Have All the Cuckoos Gone?

~ travelsandtomes ~ 2 Comments

cuckoo bird crtv commons

This is not a figurative or rhetorical question!  (Believe me, all of the figurative cuckoos are still with us, and any departure amongst their ranks is usually immediately corrected by a new arrival.  But, I digress. . .)

Our neighborhood cuckoo birds, who arrived around April and delighted us with their enthusiastic calls, seem to have fled.  Not a cuckoo within earshot for weeks now.  What gives?

I googled cuckoos, and it sounds as if they generally stick around this area until September, so this in an unusually early departure.

Anyone out there have any cuckoo bird experience and can shed light on this?