The Weitmarer Holz and Bochum's Boars

If it weren't for the bicycles, on loan from Ralf-Juergen and Marliese, it would not be so pleasant getting around, especially from our location on the south side of Bochum near the university.  And while the weather holds out, it's good to take an afternoon and get out of the tiny apartment and away from the computers which forever beckon with work.  Such was the case yesterday, so we ventured out to parts unknown -- namely to Weitmarer Holz which is about 10 km to the west.


Weitmarer Holz is a wooded park, about 80 hectares in size which contains a Wildgehege, that is, a fenced in area with 'wildlife'.  We found the wildlife right away because a male deer (or elk?) was making an enormous racket with a kind of snorting/crying sound.  We presumed that this had something to do with the fact that the nearby does were being fed by someone at the fence.

The buck, with a full head of antlers, is actually in this picture but you have to look carefully.

We decided to cycle and walk around the compound and were surprised and delighted to see a small 'herd' of 'wild boar'.




The dog (below) was annoying since it kept barking at the boar, scaring them away.  Judith had never seen a boar before, not even in a zoo.  Richard claims to have gone hunting for boar in France years ago, but didn't actually see one at the end of the hunting day.  They (meaning the boar) are supposed to have tusks which we didn't see up close but there was one in the distance with tusks.   They are amazingly large.




Some little ones responded by coming close when someone offered food -- mainly nuts from the trees.



So we are 'doing' Bochum!  It must have been utterly devastated during the war and most of the city today is relatively new.  Occasionally, some older buildings peak out from the others, though,  and show their charming details, as this one did on the bike ride back.


There are often surprises 'just around the corner' somewhere.  We were diverted a short way by this tower which is an historic site.  Not completely understanding the accompanying plaques, the best we could make out is that the tower was originally related to coal mining and later became a museum for medical artifacts, now run by the university.  We'll include photos of the plaques (there are 4 of them, all describing this building, it would appear) in case anyone wants to read them and decipher the German.







Today was a quiet day doing some work and going for a walk.  We switched back to standard time, one week earlier than North America.

Tomorrow Judith gives the physics colloquium at the university (Hallowe'en day at home). Then on Tuesday, surprisingly, it's a holiday because it is All Saints Day.  Apparently, it isn't a holiday everywhere in Germany -- just the Catholic areas which I suppose we must be in.

We sign off this week, hearing the sound of fireworks (or gunshots, hard to tell) outside -- for reasons that are completely opaque to us.  Bye for now and enjoy Hallowe'en.  Hard to believe that November  will soon be here.