Welcome to Sophie's Nature Art!

A warm hello to all readers, 

Today I'm taking you once again to eastern Saxony. To be more precise, to Zittau. If you don't (yet) know this beautiful little town on the Czech-Polish border, you should definitely change that! The Zittau Mountains are perfect for beautiful hikes and climbing. You can experience that big city feeling in Prague, which is only an hour away from Zittau. In summer, you can refresh yourself in Lake Olbersdorf. You can also cycle along the Neisse river through three countries in one day.  

If you now fancy a vacation there, I can give you an insider tip for an overnight stay: the Villa Vetterlein. It is a beautiful villa where I was allowed to live for two years. You can read more about this time in this post experience. 

The mistress of Villa Vetterlein is Carolin. We had the pleasure of living together for two eventful years. I can still remember the many cozy hours when we sat together with candlelight and good food and talked about all kinds of topics. Of course, we also talked about THE topic that particularly fascinates young people: choosing a life partner. We talked about our ideas and wishes. I don't want to go into too much detail, but there was one thing our future husbands had to have: one had to be able to sing tenor and the other bass. Why was that? Caro and I had a lovely tradition every Friday evening. For us, our day of rest, the Sabbath, begins at sunset on Friday. We always celebrated this together. Caro sat at the piano and I played the flute. Together we always played some of our favorite church songs. At the end we sang the song “Oh stay Lord” Acapella. Caro sang alto and I soprano. But we lacked the tenor and bass to really round off the song. So we decided that our future men had to master these voices. 

But in life, things often turn out differently than planned... 

In April 2017, I left Zittau to move to Bavaria. Things also changed in Caro's life. A young Ukrainian moved into her shared villa flat. It took a while and then the first sparks flew between the two of them. The wedding bells were supposed to ring in spring 2020. But the coronavirus pandemic threw a spanner in the works. It would go beyond the scope of this article to tell you everything they had to go through during this time. But if you ever visit the villa, you can certainly ask the hostess about the story. It is a story filled with challenges. But the greater the problem, the greater the miracle that the two were able to experience.  

Here is an attempt at a sketch of the bride and groom:

In October 2021, the time had finally come. Despite the pandemic, the church wedding could take place. For me, it was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever experienced. 

I had been thinking for a long time about what kind of picture I could paint for the wedding. But as the wedding was postponed, I had a lot of time to think about it. At some point I had a good idea and painted the picture. When I was almost finished (only a tiny detail was missing), Caro approached me and asked if I could do a fingerprint picture for her. Of course, I immediately agreed. But now my thought processes had to start all over again. But it didn't take long for a few thoughts to pop into my head. Caro's husband, Marian, is a real all-rounder. He can do just about anything! He particularly likes tinkering with cars. Caro had once sent a picture of Marian tinkering with a big green car. This picture inspired me to create the green pickup. The two of them are always busy and always on the road. Because they are always on the move, the car takes off.

I also know that Caro likes hearts. So the exhaust cloud became a heart in which the guests could leave their fingerprints. 

At the wedding, the guests diligently took the opportunity to put their fingerprints on the picture. It was interesting to see that some of the guests got creative and made little works of art out of their fingerprints.  

I am particularly grateful for the story of this picture. I can see in it how difficulties and challenges can bring people closer together, but also how faith in a faithful God can carry us through difficult times. Thanks to this trust, Marian and Caro were able to overcome all challenges. They have grown closer to each other and to their wonderful friend and Savior. 

I wish them both God's rich blessing for their life together and that they can bring hope and joy to many people through their service. 

Now it only remains for me to invite you, dear reader, to visit Zittau again. Caro and Marian are always happy to welcome guests. I can say one thing from my own experience: the time at Villa Vetterlein is unforgettable!  

P.S.: As far as I know, Marian doesn't sing tenor or bass, but in the end it wasn't the deciding factor for a marriage... 😉