Three trips very close to home

In the past week, we took a couple of road trips. One to Nordhorn Germany, another to nature park Lemelerberg and we visited Castle Eerde.
Besides the pictures I took, I will give you a little insight about our destinations.

Nordhorn 
Nordhorn is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the district seat of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony's southwestern most corner near the border with the Netherlands and the boundary with North Rhine-Westphalia. One story holds that the town's name – which means "North Horn" – came about when the town was under attack, in which case a horn – the so-called Nothorn or emergency horn – was blown by the watchmen to warn the Vechteinsel (Vechte Island) inhabitants and also to call for help.
Since the town lay north of Bentheim (now Bad Bentheim) and its castle, it is said that this yielded the name Nordhorn. 
Nordhorn has a very nice city center with lots of shops and restaurant. Since we were there anyway, we enjoyed a very nice lunch.

      

Lemelerberg
Lemelerberg is a diverse nature reserve with vast heathlands, alternating with sand flats, woodlands and springs. The hill is unique because of the large volume of juniper berries and the sand lizards, amongst others. A herd of sheep prevents grassification of the heath and ensures the area does not become overgrown with trees.
Lemelerberg is a push moraine that was created about 150,000 years ago when glaciers pushed sand and sediment into a ridge in front of them. They left behind a hill of 78 metres in height in otherwise flat surroundings. The soil of Lemelerberg was too dry and too unfertile for farmers to work, so it has always remained in its natural state. A vast heathland was created by farmers grazing their sheep there. Sand flats were formed as a result of overgrazing. Pine trees were then planted to control the drifting sand.
Lemelerberg is such a unique area of natural beauty that it has been designated a Natura 2000 area by the European Commission. 
The diversity of the area makes it an attractive habitat for the sand lizard, amongst others.

Eerde Castle
Eerde castle located in the Netherlands, in the province in the municipality of Ommen Avereysel village Eerde. It was built in the XIII century, but was destroyed in the fire.
The current building dates from the XVII century.
The first owner of the castle became Baron Johann Werner Polland. He turned the new Eerde in stately mansion and expanded the estate.
This two-story building, built in the classic Dutch style. It is surrounded by a park in the baroque style and the channel filled with water. Through the channel laid stone arch bridge.
The facade is decorated with a sharp spire and the coat of arms of the family Polland, many years lived in this house. The house is a long trail with trees of one species and age on both sides.
In 1924 the castle became the headquarters of the International Order of the Star of the East, whose leader was Kryshnamurtsі. Currently, the house is open to the public.

I hope you enjoyed this article and until next time. May love, health and peace be with you all!