A bit about Prien

A little bit of the history of Prien which is one of the attractions of Bavaria. Bavaria is quite a special region in southern Germany, (the northerners would probably hmmmph at the word "special"!) - very picturesque with its hills and snow capped mountains, parts of it resembling Switzerland or Austria. The houses with their sloping roofs and little balconies filled with flower boxes, the costumes worn by the people during festivals, all add to the local colour. In fact I keep hearing from the Germans that Bavarians dont consider themselves part of Germany, they see themselves as an independent land, almost.

Prien itself, situated on the lake, is quite old and was founded around the twelvth century by the nobles of the region. The town settlement was named after the river Prien (or Brigenna as it was then known). In the first few centuries Prien developed into a centre for arts and crafts. Till the nineteenth century however it remained a relatively small town with just about 300 residents and it was the introduction of the railway in the mid nineteenth century wihich led to its subsequent expansion into a tourist town. Apart from the picturesque setting which attracts outsiders, Prien is also known for its branch of the Goethe Institute which has attracted as many as 35,000 students in the last three decades or so.

From where I`m sitting in the drawing room I can see the sloping tiled roofs of the neighbouring houses, a square plot of land across the road, bordered by a yellow green hedge, and filled with wild almost knee high green grass, next to which stands quite a large house with green shuttered windows against a cream and white facade with a row of colourful potted plants on the ledge outside the balcony.

It has been raining the last two days though now the drizzle seems to have let up a bit and the sun is peeping out from between slightly grumpy looking clouds. Felix, having shot me dead several times in the last half hour (following lunch), hysterically amused to see me topple over sideways on the chair with my tongue hanging out in typical dead man fashion, has been dragged off by his mother, possibly for an afternoon nap.

About three or four days a week, Ute, a woman who works for Thomas`s mother across the road also comes in and helps out with housework and with Feli. Household help in Germany is of course not too common as people, regardless of what work they do, are very well paid and most ordinary individuals can`t afford it. But Ariela is quite occupied at the moment with her script wriiting (which pays very well) and can`t afford not to hire someone I suppose.