Taking the train from Saarbrücken to Clara's village is an easy trip. I simply hop on a train, read a book for an hour and then get off at her station. When I look out of the window for the last twenty minutes of the train ride, there are fields and fields of grape vines. After Clara or one of her parents has picked me up, and during the twenty minute drive from the train station to Clara's home, I am still surrounded by gentle hills and vineyards.
Vineyards are the places where grape vines are planted. They could be called grape farms. In vineyards, they grow grapes that people then harvest, usually to make wine but also to make grape juice, to dry as raisins or to sell as fresh grapes in the supermarket. The majority of Germany's wine-producing regions are in the west of the country where Clara and her family live. Vineyards are a very visible part of their landscape, and many people are involved in the work of helping the vineyards grow well. In Clara's region, they even have a wine festival in autumn to celebrate the grape harvest!
The vineyards are composed of grape vines organized in rows by type. At a first glance, they seem to be one massive plant because all of their colors blend. The vines grow leaves in the Spring, and in late August until early October they produce grapes
