Christmas Winter Walk in Westerheim, Germany (Fotos + Video)

I don´t know when we last had a white Christmas here in the south of Germany. - As a kid I think it was a normal thing but the past few years have been quite warm and we didn´t have much snow all winter.. at least not compared to back then.

So when I heard this year we would even have a snowstorm on the 24th I started to become excited. Of course, we had a small risk also because we had to drive quite some time from one family to the other... celebrating Christmas with everyone 🤓, you know the normal family holiday season stress. - But at least it would be all snowy.

The drive yesterday was still ok, but apparently, in the night we had some more snow coming because when our dog @elchapito woke me up this morning there was much more than the day before. Elena was still asleep as it was very early (usually he wakes up around 8-9 o clock). The sun was just about to go up, but of course, the dog already had to pee.. so I got dressed and went outside with him.

Not far from my mother-in-law's house, there are some meadows and a big forest. A very nice walk in this part of Germany. It takes a little bit more than 1 hour and is about 5km long - So I decided to walk there with him.

The streets were pretty icy and slippery - just as predicted. So I told @elchapito to stay calm and not run haha. I didn´t want to fall down. Good thing I had enough treats with me. 😅 The sun was just about to rise and we already had some light.

Once we reached the meadows the view was amazing! At any time of the year it's very nice here as almost every day in the early morning you have fog coming up here. Also with that kind of light, it looked even more special. Chapo and I were so happy to be out in the fresh air and have this view! He jumped around a lot, ran back and forward, and then sat down waiting for me and smiling.

I was very glad when we finally reached the dirt road as it was much easier to walk on with the gravel and more snow on it. Of course, I still had to be careful as here there were a lot of frozen puddles. I love it when they are frozen like that - they show so many different patterns from the process. - pure art made by nature.

The branches of the trees were all white and frozen as well with little crystals on them. And as Chapo was running so much and sweating a bit his furr started to freeze as well haha. At some point, he looked like he had aged 15 years in just 20 minutes 😂

Once we reached the forest I had to put him on the leash. In Germany, you have to put your dog on a leash in the forest if he is not trained to only walk on the trail. If he is not doing that the risk is too high that a hunter will accidentally shoot him or he just sees an animal and starts to hunt himself... often wild animals are killed like that or dogs get lost because they hunt them down and then get lost.

I didn´t think that they would be hunting on a holiday, but still, the early morning is the time when many wild animals are on their way. - It was very silent and a bit spooky as the fog was also entering the forest. But on the other hand super special feeling and still - a winter wonderland 😁

After a while, the sun started to rise a little more and the light came shining through the trees. At the same time, the birds (those who didn´t escape the German Winter 😅) started to sing and I guess the forest started to wake up slowly but certainly.

When we were almost half way we suddenly heard a loud crack. And then only moments later two deers came out of nowhere crossing the trail and running just 5 meters away from us. - Chapo was so surprised that he didn´t even react and just looked at me with a questioning look.. two minutes later there was the third coming and then 10 minutes after two more.

Of course with the next ones he was not so chilled anymore. His hunting instinct was activated now and if he hadn't been on the leash he would have been gone by then. I had to take the leash shorter now and his nose was almost constantly on the floor searching for clues on where they might have gone and where he could find others...

Of course, the lightning now was magical with the sun coming through the trees and being reflected by the snow.. but I could hardly enjoy it as Chapo was not focused on walking anymore 😅

For the final part of the forest, he was calm again. There we had a lot of snow as the trees were not that high anymore. - I almost got lost as for some parts I even couldn't see the trail anymore 😅

And then we finally made it out of the forest again. I could unleash Chapo and he jumped around super happy and free again. The sun was raised by now and the sky was blue. With all the snow around us is was sparkling everywhere. What a nice feeling to walk through the snow with that view. The fog was gone now.

Of course, the branches of the trees were still frozen and were sparkling even more now with the sun shining on them. What a beautiful view and perfect way to start this morning.

I am very happy we are having a white Christmas this year and I am sure we will go out again for a long walk with Chapo this afternoon when the weather is like that!

Of course we took a video for you as well, so you can feel the vibes just like we did <3

Happy Holidays everyone!
Cheers,
Liz