Germany and its Forests

As a matter of climate and geology in ancient times Germany used to be covered almost entirely by old-growth forest. In fact nowadays round about 31% of the federal territory consists of woodlands, but the nowadays German Forest are not old-growth forests but working forest cultivated primarily to produce wood.

Fall in a Franconian forest where I used to hunt

When agriculture appeared in Germany people stubbed pieces of woodland to get ground for their fields and housing. The remaining forest near the settlements was used as a source of firewood, timber, berries, mushrooms and things as well as for pasture land. People also picked up foliage in order to use it as litter for their stables.

Destruction of the old-growth forests
This was quite bad for the ecosytem not least because not only cows and sheep were grazed in the forest but hogs as well which rummaged the leaf layer for acorns and beechnuts and even digged the ground for roots, grubs and worms. So the sensitive humus layer of the forest ground was disturbed which averted the regeneration of the wood by the growth of young trees.

Growing trees in conventional forestry

Hence the population in these days was very small the depletion did not really have a big effect at first, because large areas of woodland remained untouched. But as the population growed, more and more woodland was destroyed.

So around the year 1700 so much forest was destroyed that wood had become fairly a rare good. This was quite a big problem, not only because of the shortage of timber but above all because wood in these days used to be almost the only energy carrier available.

Growing new forests
To ensure wood supply people began to plant new trees. As cultivating woods was a completely new business these early foresters didn't have any antetype than gardeners and farmers. Due to this they did it the way gardeners and farmers had been growing their plants for ages: They planted rows of trees of the same sort at the same time like gardeners plant their cabbage or salad on their garden beds. The most popular tree was the spruce becaus it grows quick and provides a wood with long fibres which is not really first choice but after all quite suitable for both construction timber and firewood.

Oak logs in the yard of a sawmill

Beside the spruces, beeches were planted too, which are the sort of trees dominating natural-grown forests in Germany. The new forests consisted of departements which each or them contaned trees of the same sort and age. As they were planted at the same time all trees of a department where big enough to get felled at the same time. So the whole department was cut down and replanted at the same time too and so on.

A spruce monoculture was thinned out in order to allow young trees to grow beneath the old ones

Hunting since the middle ages had been the right of the gentry. The noblemen had been employing gamekeepers to look after their lagre hunting grounds. So a profession of educated hunters, a real trade with apprenticeship and things had been developing. These hunters were entrusted with keeping the woods too. With the years they figgured out more and more things about growing wood and turnd into skilled foresters. So in Germany the forest rangers traditionally have to look after both wood and game. Forestry even grew up to a real science which one can study and graduate in.

New ways in forestry
Already around the threshold of the 20th Century some foresters found out that growing wood the way they had been doing it was suboptimal: The monocultures, especially of spruce, caused a lot of problems with diseases and varmints. Growing wood this way meant a lot of work and wasn't ecological at all.

Conventional forest turning into near-natural forest

They learned that working along with nature was much more easy than working against it. They started experimenting with forests which are as similar as possible to old-growth forests. These near-natural forests contain trees of different ages and sorts as well as a shrub layer and a herb layer, natural soil layers and all the things that belong to a natural forest. They aren't cut down in whole neither, the lumbermen only cull single mature trees which is quite like old trees dying and falling down. So the forest is a persisting ecosystem and quite stable as well as it saves a lot of work and financial effort.

In Switzerland State Forest Authorithy adpated the new method very soon as early as in the 1920s or 1930. In Germany foresters in the Forests owned by the Federal States kept using the old method although some big private forest owners were quite successful with near-natural forestry. But finally, when working costs grew to much, Forest Authorithies of the federal states made up their minds to introduce near-natural forestry too. Obvioulsy the turning point was the hurricane „Wiebke“ in 1991 which destroyed huge areas of spruce monocultures and impressively showed the disadvantages of conventional forestry.

Increasing woods
Actually the quota of woodland in Germany is increasing. With the changings in agriculture some poor acreages aren't suitable for agriculture anymore and are reforested willingly. Adiitionally acreages which aren't cultivated anymore develop old-growth forest again due to climate and geological conditions. Especially heather areas are reforesting themselves because shepherding which formed them almost entirely vanished.

A winter day in the woods of the Swabian Alb

There are also areas of former spruce monocultures which were destroyed by the hurricane Wiebke and not reforested due to lack of money. On these areas nature has taken over and is growing the natural vegetation system according to the habitats – which is forest. Actually you can find there mainly typical pioneer trees which will be replaced by mostly beeches and other shade loving forest trees by and by within a century or two. So if man doesn't start to intervent again, old-growth forest will be there again in probably less than 200 years.

Housing in Germany

In southern countries people spent a lot of time outside and homes and ambiance don't play such an important role in the everyday life. Although Germany isn't a really cold country, there is a cold season and even in summer there are periods now and than in which most people wouldnt like to spent their evenings and weekends outside the hoause like people in Italy or Spain do. So homes do play an important role for Germans.

New apartement buildings

As a heritage of our forfathers, the Old Teutons, many of us Germans are quite a bit individualistic and like to have a hideaway of their own. So many people here appreciate having privately owned homes or would appreciate. Many people here are saving for their homes or – later – paying mortgages for many years to fulfill the dream of their lifes: their own houses.

Tenements
But not all people can afford to build or buy homes of their own. So also a lot of people live in appartements here. If they can't afford a homes of their own they at least want to live in a nice appartement. So the middle class Germans live in the newer appartmenthouses leaving the older tenements to the non German people and the poor.

Terraced houses from the 1950s

Thus quarters with appartement houses usually go through a certain carreer: There are quarters which were builded in the fifties and used to provide up to date living conditions than. So middle class people rented the flats to spent their lifes their. But fortune and demands got ahead and the next generation of appartements, in the sixties, became quite a bit more modern, had more and bigger rooms, they got central heating and things like this. So the kids who moved out from their parents to start their own lifes rented these newer apaprtments if they ever could afford. And some of the older people did so too because they maybe got better payed jobs in the meantime and anyway the general standard of living was rising during the years form 1950 to 1990.

Refurbished tenements from the 1950s

So the free apartments in the older quarters were rented to poorer people and foreigners. The quarters got more dirty, more noisy and maybe more dangerous too: So most of the rest of the people who first lived their by and by moved away. By now, the tenement quarters which were build in the fifties and used to be middle class quarters than, are stuffed with Turkish, Russians, alcoholics, drug addicted and things like that. Now and than you can find one of the old inhabitants still living their, being glad if at least there is'nt a muezzin yet sqwaking down from his minarett a couple of times a day.

Typical Tenement from the 1950s

Some of these older quarters are areas with both tenements and privately owned homes mixed. The owners of these homes are the most unlucky people: They can't move away like the old tenants from the appartement blocks and now have to spent their sunset years between Turkish and Russian shops, mosques, drug addicted and street gangs.

Middle class quarter from the 1960s

An expensive thing: A privately owned home
Buying a home of your own is quite an expensive thing here although at the moment used houses are comparetively cheap because actually few people can afford to buy or built one. Back in the fifties and sixties, building a house used to be affordable for much more people than now, at least if both husband and wife worked. Usually a working class family who had built a home of their own used to live with the wages of the wife and to pay the mortgage with the payday of the husband.

Housing Area with privately owned homes, newer apartement houses in the background

But building a house became more and more expensive with the years. This has do to with building regulations getting stricter, demands and standards rising, real estate getting rarer and surely from the German mentality to build massive and perfect houses, too. So in the eighties it already was quite difficult to buy or build a house. Typically people get themselves into debt for 30 years when they wanted to get a home of their own.

Quarter with older privately owned homes

But anyway there are still people who can afford to build homes of their own. At the moment it would be a good idea to buy an old house because these are actually quite cheap. And there are lots of nice older houses here because obviously already in the 20s and 30s their used to be some people who could afford one.

Quarter from the late 1920s or 1930s with upper middle class houses

During the III. Reich there were programs to help families to get houses and lots of small, simple but nevertheless very nice and snuggly sort of houses in a very typical style were built. These programs were continued after WW II because there was a huge need for housing space after the bombings and diplacements of people from East Germany. I myself live in such a house which was build in 1956 and I´m very happy with this, hoping I wouldn't have to leave until I will do with my feet to the fore.

My little forge and its history

One of my hobbies is blacksmithing. Blacksmithing as a hobby is not so common in Germany although the craft hasn't died out as business at all. We have a lot of horses here in Germany because alot of people ride. So we still need some farriers. Hence some people here still like wrought iron and can afford really hand made pieces there are some artist blacksmiths too. And last not least there some blacksmiths in the medieval reenactement scene too.

Blacksmithing is just great!
I just like the feeling to bang onto hot iron and talk it into getting the shape I have in my mind. It's a really geat thing to hold a nice piece of ironwork in your hand, imagining that it used to be just an ordinary piece of flat or round iron a couple of hours ago.

My old shop with my daughter trying out wether forging might be fun

I started blacksmithing in 2007 when I built my first coal forge out of clay and used a piece of railroad rail as an avil. Last summer I bought myself a used 160 pounds anvil and seriously started blacksmithing. In the meantime I had built a little addition to the garden shed behind the house and now started making myself the most important tools for my forge and some other simple pieces of ironwork too.

Nice neighbours...

But my neighbours didnt like my new hobby at all. I had started my first experiments with charcoal but now was using stone coal which produced a lot of fumes especially when I was firing up the forge.

My shop in the garage

As one of my neighbours kept complaining about it, I build myself a propane gas forge which worked odourless. But now it was the sound of the burner that upset my neigbours. One saturday afternoon last august I had a nice happening behind the house with some neighbours and even the police.

My selfmade propane gas forge

Even the cops couldn't stop me at first because it was not really too loud and some noise from hobby activities must be put of with during daytime. They just took a couple of pictures and calmed the people promising they would pass the case to the Public Order Office.

Some selfmade anvil tools

… and nice authorities

Public Order Office obviously couldnt do anything against my activities because our constitution grants the right on free personal developement and this includes a certain amount of noise from hobby activities too. But the sods at the townhall found another way to get me by my balls: Although you can build small buildings without any license here, there is a prescript that limits the overall length of the buildings standing on or near the border of the estate. And we already had too many sheds and things there. So I had to be glad that they only banned my using the shed as a forge but not made me tear down some of the buildings standing on the border.

Still blacksmithing!

Hence I kept my mouth shut and moved to the garage with my forge. That really wasn't too bad because the rest of my shop already was there and I have a lot more room around my anvil now. So I have my whole shop under one roof and I am quite happy with this.

Wrought iron curtain rod

Although I first was a bit sceptical about using a gas forge because it isn't traditional, in the meantime I got convinced of the advantages of a propane forge: It doesn't tend to burn the iron like a coal forge does and it's much easier to heat up long bars in the middle as well a gas forge is much more simple to operate than a coal forge. The main problem is only that it is a bit expensive to operate: One sack of coal costs about the same as one filling of the propane tank but the coal lasts much longer.

A holder for a hanging basket

I also sometimes use my blacksmithing skills too when I have to hold courses in metal works and there is the possibility to do so. Some people in the courses really like it but some others dont. Some are obviously a bit afraid of the fire and the red hot iron. But also some women like forging: One time there was a lady in one of my courses who owned an old site caravan heated by a stove for wood an coal. She was very glad and proud when I showed her how to forge a nice firehook by herself.

An iron snake

Last fall I had to deputise for the instructor of a training workshop for workless. I had access to a lathe there and there were some excellent shielded arc welders among the lads there. So I had the opportunity to build myself a really great propane gas forge which I use now.

Some small pieces of ironwork

Blacksmithing is really a great thing and a wonderful hobby. It's very satisfying to shape the iron according to th picture you have in your mind. You get a lot of nice things like viking knifes, candleholders, curtain roads, sculptures and more for yourself or as nice gifts for your friends and relatives.

Computer Games and Firearms

Yesterday the home secretaries of our 16 federal lands came out with a demand to our federal government. They want them to stamp out the so called "Killerspiele" (lit. killer games, pronounced "killershpeeleh") what is a demotic term in Germany for computer or video games where you have to fight.

Background is a school shooting in March which happened in Winnenden, a small town near Stuttgart. (I mentioned it in my article about World of Warcraft in Germany). Not willing to change the things that really lead to school shootings (and to many other things like suicides of minors too which no one talks about) politicians are trying to find simple answsers and apparently logical measurements to mollify people.

Along with the ululation about "Killerspiele" there was a big whining about private gun ownership too. Another serious tightening of our in any event ridiculous gun law could be avoided curtly. 

Nobody with an IQ at least a bit higher than that of a fencepost would serioulsy believe that some checkered pixels on a computer screen could cause someone to go out and kill people nor that a firearm casually lying about would do so. The real shame is, that a lot of people believe this bullshit because they are too lazy, too stupified by TV or both of these to really reflect on things happening.

There are not only the school shootings which happen once in a while and than make the headlines for days. They are only the peak of the iceberg which consists of a lot more things which most of them - sad enough - already have become trivial like the already mentioned suicide rate among minors, school mobbing, juvenile deliquency and more. 

Everybody who has at least a bit of common sense should see that elbow society and pressure of performance is poisoning interpersonal relations as well as family life and self-development of young people. Real and important values like family bond, charity, respect and gratefulness are terribly neglected in our society.

We need to change these things rather thant ponder about the next thing we can stamp out to make the world a safer place. 

World of Warcraft in Germany

As in the USA and in many other countries the MMORPG World of Warcraft is very popular. A lot of people play it here and, in fact, not only children at all. As a matter of fact, the oldest guy I know from playing WoW is about 60 and there are more around 40 or 50 as I am.

My mainchar the dwarven hunter "Drahtbart"

A school shooting and a lot of dumb talk
Although WoW has a lot of fans here, people who don't play know not very much or even nothing about the game, however, at the moment it is talked about it a lot especially in the media. That comes from computer games actually being in the discussion because some ego shooters had been involved in the school shooting of Winnenden near Stuttgart in March.

A 17 yo boy took one of his father's guns, an automatic, and quite a bit of ammo, went to his former school and shot about 15 persons and himself. Police found out by examinating his computer that he had been playing Counterstrike or something like that the night before. So besides a lot of whining about private gun ownership there is a lot of gossip about computer games by know.

A very common word since has been „Killerspiel“ (pronuounced like „killer shpeel“ which means „killer game“. Even people who might never been nearer than 10 feet to a computer, let go knowing anything about fantasy, dwarves, orcs and stuff in the meantime are very sure that also World of Warcraft is a „Killerspiel“. That might come from WoW being the only computer game they ever heard of.

The funniest thing is, even serious media too spread a lot of bullshit about World of Warcraft and other games. Recently a young boy, still a minor, spread a home-made video clip via youtube in which he pointed out lots of seriously false informations in a couple of TV programs which dealt with the subject computer games.  

My Lvl 19 battleground twink "Ummumessan" with König Magni Bronzebart which is the German name of King Magni Bronzebeard

But it is always the same: If something goes terrible wrong people like to easily find a scapegoat to blame for. It's much more comfortable to find an easy-to-understand-explanation than digging out the real background. And politicians like them to do so because they are afraid of people asking for the real reasons: I dare to more than doubt that a healthy young buy goes out to kill 15 people and himself just because he played computer games and a gun and ammo were at his hand.  

   
The European WoW-Servers
But back to the subject: We here in Germany play World of Warcraft on the European server farm. There are servers for a couple of european languages like English, Spanish, French and German. People from countries which's languages are not support can at least play on English servers as long as they understand a bit English. WoW is localized to the supported languages, so there arent only German servers but a German version of the program too with German manual, quest instructions and even the names of places and persons translated into German.

Another Twink of mine: Lvl 66 Dwarven rogue "Rautgundis" 

The language isn't a problem at all. The program itself is language independent and set up for a certain language by installing the corresponding language package which you can download from the WoW-Website of Blizzard Europe. There is also only one sort of accounts and gamecards for the whole of Europe. So you can play WoW in a different language too: If I would like to play it in English I just woul have to install the English language package and log into an English Server although I bought my program and gamecard in Germany.

Guilds and Raids
Like all over the world, people in Germany play World of Warcraft together. You are invited into groups frequently and there are lots of guilds too as well as regular groups who quest and go to instances together. Some use TeamSpeak but a lot of people seams to be a bit mic-shy. You often hear subterfuges if you aks one to come onto TS: „It dont works on my puter“, „My headset is broken“ and so on. I myself dont like questing together without TS beause it's much exhausting to explain things via keyboard chat.

We also have a couple of famous guilds here in Germany like Nihilum, Death & Taxes and so on. World of Warcraft is also becoming an important ESport here, a national championship is set up already. Last not least there is a bunch of magazines dealing with World of Warcraft too, so that you always can learn the newest facts about the game as you can do as well from the lots of German WoW-Websites too.

Hunting in Germany

Like many people in the whole world I like to go out hunting. But hunting in German is much different from hunting in e.g. the U.SA. or many other countries.

Final ceremony with horn blowers of a hunting event in the state forest 

Getting a hunting license

First it´s not easy at all to get a hunting license in Germany. You only get one if you have an absolutely clean criminal record. That mainly comes from German authorties beeing very timid of firearms in citizen's hand. Furthermore you have to attend a long course and pass a difficult test. With the testemony of the passed test you finally can apply for your first hunting license.

A young boar tracked down by the hound

But with a German hunting license you still can't get out and hunt. You first need what we call a „hunting occasion“ that means a place where you can hunt. In Germany hunting isn't free to all licence owners like in countries where they have a license system.

Hunting grounds

In Germany the right to hunt belongs to the ownership of real estate. Estates of a certain size form a hunting ground where the landlord can hunt if he has a license. Otherwise he can have a person with a license hire the right to hunt. Estates which are to small too be hunting grounds of their own are put together to common hunting grounds which the owners of the parts collectively let to one or more hunters and share the proceeds.

Hunting for boar in the cornfields in summer

So you normally become a gamekeeper if you rent a hunting ground from the owners of the real estate or have an estate of your own which is big enough to form a hunting ground of its own. But beeing a gamekeeper in Germany not only means to have the right to hunt in your hunting ground but also that you are responsible for your game too. You have to manage the wildlife stock which means that your are responsible that there is neither to much nor to few game.

In most cases you are responsible for damage done to agriculture and forest by certain game like boar and (roe)deer too. If you can't prevent the damage by shooting enough you have to pay for the damage. There are also shooting plans set up for three years which you have to fullfill.

Hunting occasions 

To be allowed to hire a hunting ground you need to have had a license for at least three years. As long as you dont had, ou need a gamekeeper who allows you to hunt on his hunting ground. Hence running a hunting ground means a lot of work, it's in most cases not to difficult to find such a hunting occasion.

Tracking down wounded game with the hound

In rural areas like the one where I live it is common that hunters who help a gamekeeper with his hunting ground are allowed to hunt for free. These hunters are not allowed to keep the game they shoot because it becomes property of the gamekeeper. If they want it for their own they have to buy it it from him. 

I got one!

In hunting grounds with more interesting game like red deer you usually have to pay for your hunting occassion as well as in the surroundings of big cities and congested urban areas where there are more hunters than hunting grounds.

Hunting in the state forest

Since the right to hunt belongs to the owner of the real estate the state has the right to hunt in the state forests. Therefore hunting is part of the duty of the German forest rangers. Normally a forest ranger is responsible for the silvicultural things in his district as well as for the gamekeeping. He is allowed to and frequentl does invite hunters to help him with the hunting. There are bigger and smaller hunting events to with the forest rangers invite private hunters and colleagues as well. These huntings are held especially in fall and winter and always end up in a nearby inn as hhunting in Germany often does.

Three pieces of female roedeer: A buddy of meine got them within a bit more than half an hour at the edge of a rape field 

Nowadays it has become common that the forest authority also has private hunters hire hunting grounds because they rather get money for having the hunting done than to pay the forest rangers for doing it although the time the forest rangers spent on hunting doesnt count as working time. U can also have pay-for-hunting-occassion in the state which are like the hunting occassions in private hunting grounds. This is cheeper than hiring a hunting ground but you has to deliver th game you shoot or buy it per weight.
   

Medieval Markets and Steam Railroads

At the Medieval Market

A lot of people in Germany are into medieval reenactement and events in this field are quite popular. This morning I have been to such an event, a medieval market at Burg Katzenstein which is a castle on the Haertsfeld not too far from Heidenheim and Aalen.

"Showroom" of an armourer

There are lots of things on such a medieval market especially old craftmanship: blacksmiths, makers of armoury, bakers, mead makers and things. There is also a lot of music and U can get old fashioned food and drinks as well as medieval clothing and utitilities.

The armourers workplace

These markets are normaly on weekends and this one lasts until today becaus we actually have a long weekend. Whitsun Monday always is a workfree day here as well as Easter Monday. So the Medieval Market at Burg Katzenstein wasn't the only event this weekend.

A crew of lansquenets passing by with pipes and drums

An old narrow gauge railroad line used to be near the place of the market and a number of people are reactivating at least a part of it. They already have restored about two miles of the line and operate it as a museal railroad. Trains were on duty there today and lots of people came to take a ride on the historical railroad.  

The train is coming!

Where I was born and where I live

A view of Aalen, the place where I actually live

I was born in Heidenheim a town of about 50,000 inhabitants in the East of Baden-Wuerttemberg and about 55 Miles (on the road) from Stuttgart. In 1994 I moved to Aalen where my wife is from and where we have been living since with our two kids. Aalen is also a middle town with about 60,000 inhabitants.

A storm-probed pine tree in the higlands of the Swabian Alb

Aalen is not far from my birthplace. In fact, my new place is just 10 Miles as the crow flies from where I used to live before. From my windows I have a nice view to the edge of the Swabian Alb, the higlands between the Danube and the Swabian Forest which is north of Aalen.

A small village on the Haertsfeld which is the part of the Swabian Alb east of Aalen

Although we have a lot of industries here in our area it is merely a rural area with little villages, farmland and lots of woods. Quality of life is quite high here because although there is a lot of jobs here the area is not overcrowded like the surroundings of Stuttgart or other congested urban areas in Germany.

This is my new Blog

Hi everyone!

This is my new blog about everyday life in Germany. From now on You will find here some bits of information about a lot of things having to do with my country: everyday life, sights, history, current events and things like that.

This might be of interest for You if U want to travel to Germany, have to stay here as a represantative of a foreign company or even just to learn a bit about this country.

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