I had an amazing time in Germany, researching medieval Konstanz and Freiburg, exploring city museums, hiking the Black Forest, and visiting Hildegard of Bingen’s abbey. ‘The Book of Gothel’, my novel-in-progress, is annotated to bits. Below is a gallery of some of what I saw while I was there!
Inside the Hotel Barbarossa in Konstanz 
The Bodensee at Twilight in Konstanz 
View of the St. Mary and St. Mark Cathedral from the shore of Reichenau Island 
Inside the St. Mary and St. Mark Cathedral in Reichenau 
Ruins of the former fortress of the Twiel dukes atop the dormant Hegau volcano, Hohentwiel 
Storm rolling in over the Christophsal Valley in the Black Forest 
Close up of the Groẞvatertanne (Grandfather Fir Tree) trunk, the tallest fir tree in the Black Forest (est. 250-300 years old), surrounded by seedlings 
Fir trees in the Black Forest (right before a freak May hailstorm!) 
View of the Drusus Bridge in Bingen 
Hildegarten exhibit with plants from Physica at the Museum am Straum 
Super cool drawing of historic Bingen at the Museum am Straum 
Actual cellar of the historic 12th c. Rupertsberg Abbey, which was destroyed in the Thirty Years War 
Eibingen Parish Church and St. Hildegard Shrine 
View of the Abbey of St. Hildegard from the street 
Abbey of St. Hildegard Church
I have to thank the wonderful Sustainable Arts Foundation for the grant that enabled this trip! If you’re a parent artist or writer who needs time to create or money to research a project, they are an incredible organization! I can’t say enough good things about them.
MARY MCMYNE 