When my son moved his company from Munich in Bavaria to Thuringia he rented property in a tiny little village, called Siegritz. During our first visits we stayed with him there and enjoyed the country living.
Siegritz offered lots of nature, one restaurant which became very fast my favorite place to dine out and a few stores.
Elizabeth loved to walk at this time on her own to explore the surroundings of Siegritz.
As you can see, the village is very clean and most houses had already been renovated. But parking is a little problem because of the narrow roads.
My son moved later to his own place in Suhl because of the location and the access to many "autobahns". But he still visits Sigrietz occasionally.
We do the same even when Siegritz is not famous for tourism or well known tourist attractions. What attracts me is a delicious Thuringian lunch on Sundays. Try their goose with dumplings and you may understand me!
We were allowed to sit with the locals at the "Stammtisch" which is normally reserved only for them.

Elizabeth was always amazed how much wild live we saw in Germany. Dear, rabbits, hawks, hedgehogs, foxes, wild ducks etc. Luckily no boars with piglets when we were hiking. They can kill you!
Here she discovered swans who enjoyed not to be disturbed.
Please be always aware that Ontario with a population of around 12 million is about three times as large as all of Germany with a population of approximately 83 million.
In Canada we should learn something from Europe. We can improve certain things without cutting back our standard of living. Watch for all the wind turbines and solar panels. All this technology created many new jobs and protects in addition the environment.
Naturally, certain building codes must be in place. But investments which are possible in highly populated areas shall be possible in a country which has so much space as Canada has.

My son and I had a few times lunch at this place and visitors of his business stayed there over night.
They liked it.
Hunters met there on a regular basis and many dishes with venison, boar etc. were on the daily menu.
My son loved these dishes - I prefer other things which were also offered. I also never tried moose or caribou in Newfoundland-Labrador.
Unfortunately the owner became seriously ill and I do not know whether any changes happened to this beautiful place.
We should check it out if we can come back to Thuringia. It is certainly a quite and unique place in a beautiful country setting.
Elizabeth took many pictures there. It was only a short walk from Siegritz and she discovered so many things which I overlooked.
The trout farm is only a few steps away. The owner speaks perfect English. Just drop by.