I woke early and escaped breakfast quickly in order to hunt down a few last tree measurements, which by this time had become smething I could execute quickly and alone. The park was cool and the sunlight beautiful as I briskly walked to a large oak tha had died and had been replanted within its decaying remains, Neupflanzungen is the term for this procedure. The stellar oak had been burned from the inside and old holes provided interesting viewports outwards. Immediately adjacent were a cluster of four of the largest beeches to be found anywhere, and on the return to the New Palace, I measured a maple easily 200-300 years of age. I think to me these old trees began to communicate moments of marked purposefulness. Sometimes subtle moves in crafting landscape escape me and it looks beautiful to my ignorant eyes. Trees might almost slip past my gaze, but for their variability - it was such a ready observation to understand that Puckler likely put this specimen here and that one there. Why? What was he trying to say or to communicate with this tree here. The huge maple was adjacent to a magnificent plane tree. Why not another maple?
Branitz was thoroughly captivating - the layers of craftsmanship there imbued read like a mystery novel as they were revealed to us. Claudius and his colleague provided an excellent tour of the landscape and of Puckler's imagination for it all, which was special to receive. The oasis in the desert, Branitz, was testament to incredible efforts to mend poor soils, truly construct the flow of the land - everything surrounding Branitz was flat as a pancake - so that an undulating path was not just left and right but up and down also. The pyramids were on another level. Ha! I think it was in Branitz that we were introduced to Puckler's desire to hold the course of the carved out waterways in as natural a manner as possible, so that planks held the banks, below water-level, preventing them from rot and allowing the visual to speak of the efforts of the water to direct its path, and not the hand of the designer.
Looking back, Branitz was the most personally inspiring landscape we visited.
