Something old, something blue

This is probably a good time to introduce my partner for the journey to all.

Sturdy and trust-worthy, Deuter Aircontact 50+10 SL, purchased 10 years ago.

Apparently, Deuter the bag maker, located in southern town of Augsburg in Germany, started their business back in 1898 making tough, postal carrier bags. Other than sack-making, the town is known for the invention of an engine named after the French inventor/engineer; Rudolf Diesel(1858-1913?), and as the birthplace of Leopold Mozart(1719-1787), the father of the infamous composer.

We have no plan of visiting Germany in our journey at this time, but speaking of French man and a postal service, I am hoping to visit and see Palais idéal du facteur Cheval (Postman Cheval’s Ideal Palace), in a small town of southern France, Hauterives. A postal worker, Ferdinand Cheval (1836-1924), collected rocks on his postal routes everyday, to build an entire castle. This, only took him 33 years.

Sahe and I learned about Cheval in a total coincidence. We visited the museum of a French artist, Niki de Saint Phalle (1930 – 2002), in Nasu, Toichigi prefecture 2 years ago. One of the panels explaing her background mentioned about the palace, and how Niki was deeply moved/influenced by this man’s imagination and discipline. This also moved us. 

"From dreams to reality is a long way."

Ferdinand Cheval