High Seats In The Forest
There are high seats in the forest from where you can observe the wild life.
Unfortunately, in my two hours in the seat, we only managed to see one rather skittish roe deer, despite it being a clear, moonlit night.
Others were more lucky and saw several wild boar and a raccoon dog.
In The Steps Of Kaiser Bill
The area of forest in which we were walking had at one time been the private hunting forest of Kaiser Wilhelm II.
The stone commemorates the shooting of his two thousandth stag. I find that rather excessive!
At Poland’s Border With Russia
After the Second World War, all the borders in the area we were staying changed dramatically.
Koningsberg, which had been German before the war and was largely destroyed during the war was the capital of East Prussia, and all the land around it became Russian, as did the previously independent Baltic States. What remained of the city, whichhad once been one of the largest and most cultured in Germany became Kaliningrad.
We were actually staying in the old East Prussia to the east of the town of Goldap, not far from the border with the Russian enclave that is surrounded by EU territory.
These pictures were taken at the border.
It doesn’t appear to be a very heavily-defended frontier.
Although none of us did anything that would threaten the Russians.
Turpentine Grows In Trees
Do you know where turpentine comes from?
Despite both my father and father-in-law being good decorators and users of turpentine, I didn’t!
Until I saw this and took these pictures.
The Russians used to grow forests especially for its product. I think it is true to say, we had found ways of making an alternative synthetic product.
The Anonymous Widower 