Sometimes you see things in a new light. Like this wall, rather washed out in the sunshine.

I was heading back into Sulzburg after walking in the vineyards at the edge of town. There are a number of possible routes, and I have taken this one before. Fifty times. Maybe a hundred. But I never noticed the wall, at least not in this way.

For some reason, this week it clicked. The wall isn’t just marking the edge of someone’s property. Wire or wood would be sufficient for that. It has a bigger purpose, or at least it used to.

As I walked past I suddenly realized that the wall is one of the last remnants of the medieval walls that surrounded Sulzburg. I think there were two, an inner and outer, and this would be part of the outer wall. I have no idea when it was built – but I have seen a 17th century map that shows it clearly, so you would think it is at least 400 years old.

The realization got me thinking: what else have I missed that is right before my eyes? What everyday sights do I take for granted? In this village there is lots of history that I walk by without thinking much about it.

And what about people? who are the people in our lives that we are so familiar with that we have missed their inner beauty and their talents. Are there people we should be looking at with new eyes?

As the world has to a large extent slowed down the past few weeks, maybe we should be taking the time to open our eyes a little wider.