Field Crosses and Shrines

I spent a chunk of my early childhood in Germany, on three separate occasions. The final time I resided in Deutschland it was still West Germany, but the Cold War was taking it's final breath. I lived in a town situated in Northern Bavaria called Vilseck, a small town named after the river it was adjacent to.  There is a small castle there that I could see from our balcony, for a 12 year old kid into medieval and fantasy stuff it was awesome. Bavaria has a rich Catholic history, and was a Catholic hold out after Protestantism started to take hold in Germany. Dotted throughout the countryside of Bavaria you will find crosses, crucifixes, shrines and small chapels. At the time it was something I took for granted, and even didn't pay much attention to. In retrospect, and after living in my current place which has virtually no Catholic identity, I'm saddened that I didn't appreciate it more. I think it's heartening to see that in a country with an ever metastasizing secularization that these things are still around, and hopefully enough people will see to never let all the crosses, chapels and shrines become just memories full of lament.