Sunflowers & Haystacks

July 21, 2013 by Chris 2 Comments

We may not have spent much time at all in France, but driving through Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania…I feel like I am in the middle of some Van Gogh and Monet Paintings.

Particularly when golden hour arrives, that wonderful late afternoon sunlight that just glows, the long shadows that draw across the landscape, and the sun kissed endless miles of hay, corn, and sunflower fields just shimmer.

The sky has that almost idyllic quiet about it. White puffy cumulus clouds dotting the sunny blue skies we’ve had every day.  This is one of my very favorite times of day.

It is easy to see where Van Gogh and Monet got their inspiration and to envision them sitting in these fields taking it all in and painting away the day.

It has been mostly flatland, but as we enter Hungary and Romania, the hay bales of  Western Europe give way to haystacks, which mimic the gentle rolling hills.

We’ve camped almost every night so far, and falling asleep under the brilliant star filled sky watching the moon grow from a crescent to nearly full has been wonderful. I can not even imagine what the stars in Kazakhstan and Mongilia will be like.