Nomad Senior

Despite the passage of ten years, the pleasure in being nomadic is not diminished. Adapting to age, it is now a slower pace, longer stints, seeking nature over city experience, walking rather than running. Taking the time to watch the rhododendrons bud and bloom.

 

Our present is Baden-Baden in Germany. Schwartzwald immerses us in 2024. A rambling old house build with split timber logs in 1810, the sprawling yard bursting with flowers in the spring, fruit trees, towering pines as a backdrop. It’s a community of three homes, on the edge of town. We walk into the forest morning, evening and night!

 

A stream runs through the valley by the house, feeding the verdant grass our friends – a herd of Highland Cattle – feed on. They sport name tags in their ears and the farmer claims they respond to being called – the prolific stud is Kevin. He fathered eight calves last year.

 

The hill across the street is steep. The German State maintains a network of trails all over the country with great care. We were amazed at the effort put in after major Spring rainfall that washed the dirt down into the street. Two miles of trail restored in a week.

 

At the top of this hill is the Wasserbehalter – the water tank that feeds sweet Black Forest mineral water to the homes in three villages. Every time we make it up to the Wasserbehalter, where the dogs turn to Irene for a treat, I think we’ve extended our health span by a week! The air is pure, the forest lush. Birds vary by the week! Woodpeckers late spring. German eagles in the summer. An owl.

 

The house was built by Matias Meier and Lena Dresler in 1810. Later tenants added modern amenities but maintained it’s quiet essence. The ‘wintergarten’ is where the dogs and humans meditate on the lush greenery, watching the clouds float by, the weather change by the hour and the apple trees drop fruit.

 

This sojourn has rewired our neurons, changed our way of thinking about our lives, transitioned our minds into our newfound ‘Senior’ status. We have morphed here from city dwellers to creatures of the forest, preparing ourselves for a new lifestyle where trails through hills and valleys take precedence over city streets.