Schildesche to Sudfeld
Summer night on a wheat field near Schildesche.
We moved to Bielefeld in the middle of winter. Moving house in winter is hard work and you still have to clear the snow from your driveway and from the street in front of your address. But now we live here in Schildesche. It's a very nice part of Bielefeld and just five minutes away from everything, especially the beautiful Italian ice cream shop, almost downstairs, which only closes at 22:00hrs every spring and summer. Oooh..!
I have a few pictures of winter which I can put up later.
We were gone in spring and were down on the Atlantic Coast of France for two weeks. Upon returning to Germany, we found the rest of Spring 2010 had turned so cold and rainy. I didn't walk much in the surrounds of Schildesche and Bielefeld because of that. Now it's mid summer and people are walking a lot more.
The first walk I want to take you on is quite a short one. It's about 45 minutes long. Let's start at the Schildesche tram station. This is the terminus to Line 1 which runs from here and down to the South of Bielefeld where it terminates at a place called Senne. So we are looking North, the tram will stop at our right and then it will circle us to stop at our left where it will wait again for passengers heading to the Bielefeld centre and further South.
We cross the tram tracks and also the road called An der Reegt. Here we walk along a little park which runs parallel to the Apfelstrasse. We walk on the right side of that street until the traffic lights. We are about to cross a main arterial road called the L779 which at this point is called Westerfeldstrasse. At this intersection, Apfelstrasse will change its name to Erdsiek but when we have crossed to its left side, we shall walk diagonally away from this road to cross a little pedestrian bridge called the Kleinbahnbrücke over a small river called Johannisbach. The name of the bridge seems to suggest that there was a small train line between Schildesche and Bielefeld which ran along this bridge in bygone days.
Once we are on the bridge, we are on the walk and you can already start to enjoy the wild life. There's usually a couple of rabbits in the field down below at the left side of the bridge and on the alleyway of trees ahead, one may sometimes see Pheasant roosters and hens crossing the path and disappearing into the woods.
We can do any kind of loop we like depending on our energy and the amount of daylight we have left. But here we are, we are just walking away from the more urban part of Bielefeld into the rural part with the many farms and the many reserves of woods, forests and small marshes. The further north we go, the more we will encounter bigger marshlands but that can't be done in a day.
What impresses me the most about summer are the long evenings which are lit by daylight. Near the summer solstice this light remains until about 22:45.
When we go walking, we may start at 20:00 but if we can, we should try to still be walking between 22:00 and 23:00hrs. This is the time when we can really experience the long lingering light that turns very soft and demure as it fades to dusk and to darkness. It is such a beautiful time of the evening when nature seems to get vulnerable and you yourself may sense this gentle existence between life and sleep. In German they call the twilight, 'dämmerung' which actually has a nicer feel and means a little more than just twilight. In French they have a funny phrase for twilight. They say 'entre chien et loup' - between the dog and the wolf.
Nature is now switching over from wakefulness to the comfort of sleep, while other creatures wake up to roam the night. Our ears become able to listen to the slightest of sounds made by crickets and mice amongst the corn. You will still see objects but everything becomes abstract suggestions of life, form and function. Your imagination becomes awakened and if you manage not to touch anything but just walk and be aware of the moment, then you will be in this special space of existence. It's like a beautiful magic.
I'll let you walk in silence...
If you want to see some more pictures that I have taken on this walk I have put some on a Facebook album . When I've had more time with this site, you may find the pictures here along with some street maps and walking path maps so you may also enjoy this place like I do.
I have a few pictures of winter which I can put up later.
We were gone in spring and were down on the Atlantic Coast of France for two weeks. Upon returning to Germany, we found the rest of Spring 2010 had turned so cold and rainy. I didn't walk much in the surrounds of Schildesche and Bielefeld because of that. Now it's mid summer and people are walking a lot more.
The first walk I want to take you on is quite a short one. It's about 45 minutes long. Let's start at the Schildesche tram station. This is the terminus to Line 1 which runs from here and down to the South of Bielefeld where it terminates at a place called Senne. So we are looking North, the tram will stop at our right and then it will circle us to stop at our left where it will wait again for passengers heading to the Bielefeld centre and further South.
We cross the tram tracks and also the road called An der Reegt. Here we walk along a little park which runs parallel to the Apfelstrasse. We walk on the right side of that street until the traffic lights. We are about to cross a main arterial road called the L779 which at this point is called Westerfeldstrasse. At this intersection, Apfelstrasse will change its name to Erdsiek but when we have crossed to its left side, we shall walk diagonally away from this road to cross a little pedestrian bridge called the Kleinbahnbrücke over a small river called Johannisbach. The name of the bridge seems to suggest that there was a small train line between Schildesche and Bielefeld which ran along this bridge in bygone days.
Once we are on the bridge, we are on the walk and you can already start to enjoy the wild life. There's usually a couple of rabbits in the field down below at the left side of the bridge and on the alleyway of trees ahead, one may sometimes see Pheasant roosters and hens crossing the path and disappearing into the woods.
We can do any kind of loop we like depending on our energy and the amount of daylight we have left. But here we are, we are just walking away from the more urban part of Bielefeld into the rural part with the many farms and the many reserves of woods, forests and small marshes. The further north we go, the more we will encounter bigger marshlands but that can't be done in a day.
What impresses me the most about summer are the long evenings which are lit by daylight. Near the summer solstice this light remains until about 22:45.
When we go walking, we may start at 20:00 but if we can, we should try to still be walking between 22:00 and 23:00hrs. This is the time when we can really experience the long lingering light that turns very soft and demure as it fades to dusk and to darkness. It is such a beautiful time of the evening when nature seems to get vulnerable and you yourself may sense this gentle existence between life and sleep. In German they call the twilight, 'dämmerung' which actually has a nicer feel and means a little more than just twilight. In French they have a funny phrase for twilight. They say 'entre chien et loup' - between the dog and the wolf.
Nature is now switching over from wakefulness to the comfort of sleep, while other creatures wake up to roam the night. Our ears become able to listen to the slightest of sounds made by crickets and mice amongst the corn. You will still see objects but everything becomes abstract suggestions of life, form and function. Your imagination becomes awakened and if you manage not to touch anything but just walk and be aware of the moment, then you will be in this special space of existence. It's like a beautiful magic.
I'll let you walk in silence...
If you want to see some more pictures that I have taken on this walk I have put some on a Facebook album . When I've had more time with this site, you may find the pictures here along with some street maps and walking path maps so you may also enjoy this place like I do.
A soft sparkle of wild grass. One of the last souls to lose its colour to the night.