Easter and Spring in All Their Glory

Easter is late this year which means spring is further along than usual.  We have had an early spring here, so we have been enjoying the flowers and blooming bushes and trees for several weeks already.  Now it is the Easter weekend with signs of the Easter bunny, chickens and Easter eggs.  Churches, of course, will be celebrating after the long days of Lent, with familiar music and families gathering together before heading home for special dinners.

Many towns in our area decorate with flower arrangements, coloured eggs, wooden chickens and other signs of spring.  Munchweier, the next village to us, decorated their traffic circle at the edge of town in early April.

Every year at this time the town of Wittenweier decorates the centre of their town with hundreds of coloured eggs and various other decorations.  Here are some of them:

Spring flowers can be seen beside houses, churches and busy streets in all the towns.  The one below shows a beautiful display of daffodils and tulips in Meissenheim in early April, showcasing some of the half-timbered houses in the background.

 We were in the Alsace in France this week and a display in the supermarket in Plobsheim took my eye.

Most Gasthäuser also have various displays, the one below showing branches with coloured eggs hanging from the ceiling at the Gasthaus Linde in Wallburg, where I go for chicken most weeks.

Last evening we had our first Spargel Essen at the Engel in Dörlinbach.  The white asparagus is not always ready for Easter, but this year the Spargel was early and Easter, late.  The picture below shows torn up crepes, two types of ham, hollandaise sauce and the white asparagus.

At home, we have our own coloured Easter eggs to decorate the living room.

Our magnolia, shown below, in full bloom earlier in April

In Germany, this is a four-day weekend and everything is closed up tight on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, a lovely quiet time for all to enjoy.

May you all enjoy your own Easter eggs and hunts and special days this weekend.

Happy Easter to you all!