A day trip to Germany

Pictures from a brief trip to Germany, celebrating my father's birthday. The plane cruises a few hundred miles southeast of Greenland.



The moon shines onto the wing.



Between two layers of clouds, a few minutes before touch-down.



Meadows on the backside of Wasserkuppe, with 950 m (3117 ft) the highest mountain of the Rhön.



Wüstensachsen, a village in the Rhön. People lived here before America appeared on maps.



Löwenzahn. To local gardeners a weed, it's what gives the landscape all the tiny yellow spots.



Not nearly as curious as Google's Goats, the Rhönschaf enjoys a tasty pasture.



Sheep look alike, so two pictures cover the species.



One of my favorites in the Rhön is Schwarzes Moor, a wet, chilly area that features a wooden path.



The path lets you effortlessly wander around in this landscape without getting stuck in mud.



It's intensely green.



And Frankfurt fades away into the foggy distance.



And a mountain range appears on the horizon - lining up its snow-covered peaks behind a long, wide, and deep valley. Undoubtedly the High Sierra, and I'm back in California.



Sorry, no pics of the actual highlights: family, relatives and friends at the awesome party. Me driving the rental car back to the airport at 5am in the morning. How fast can a 1.4l engine actually go? Hmmm...