Hover Captions and mapping our winter visit in Germany, with a dash—out & back—to France [Return to Travelogue]

Going to Bretten to visit the Fuchs Family

 Our delightfully memorable visit with Gertrud and Eugen Fuchs [Return to Travelogue]

1:1 - Beautiful hand-painted chest by our bedroom and the bath. Gertrud placed a luscious selection of oranges, apples, & bananas in our room, a big bowl set next to plates, silverware, & napkins: service for the two of us.

 1:2 - A lovely view from our balcony. We had thought we'd sleep late for a slow weekend, enjoy a little strolling around town & church on Sunday. Little did we know!

 1:3 - Eugen lights the Feuerzungenbowle (Tongues of Fire Bowl) sugar cone, an impressive flaming punch finale to our last evening we'd never experienced before.

 1:4 - Gertrud & Eugen pampered us with superb meals 4-5 times a day; I used my artistic license in whimsically decorating these slices of good German bread.

1^st Weekend Excursions:

Friday, trains from Frankfurt am Main International Airport Long Distance Train Station A – via Karlsruhe F – to Bretten C;

Saturday, trains from Bretten C – to Schiltach E – & back to Bretten C;

Sunday, drive from Bretten C – to church in Wössingen – lunch in Helmsheim – & back to Bretten, trains to Wissembourg, France G – & back to Bretten C.

Visiting Schiltach, a lovely village in the Black Forest [Return to the Black Forest]

 1:1 - Elfriede meets our train. Schiltach lies in the heart of woods so dark and dense the Romans called them "Silva Nigra" and ninth-century monks  "Svarzwald", the Black Forest (Schwarzwald).

 1:2 - Freshly fortified with a delectable second breakfast at the hillside home of Elfriede & her husband, Siegbert, we relished the wonderful walking tour around town Elfriede gave us.

 1:3 - This prettiest of towns dating to the 13th century lies at the mouth of the river Kinzig in the Rottweil district of Baden-Württemberg in the eastern Black Forest.

 1:4 - A small town with an idyllic climate in the Kinzig valley of fine half-timber facades, tanners, and rafts men; Schiltach rafters floated logs from here up to Holland. 

 2:1 - Jägerhäusle door. Schiltach presents a true treasure in terms of half-timbered buildings with no equivalent in the Black Forest. The vast national park, draped in a bean shape across the south west corner of Germany, is crisscrossed with gorgeous villages and towns.

 2:2 - Jägerhäusle, the "hunter's hut", 1590 door lintel reproduction, faithfully carved with Roman ciphers, graces this town first officially chronicled in 1275.

 2:3 -  Market place. A beautiful 1594 town hall, impressive central landmark Rathaus Schiltach, its painted facade depicting the village history.

 2:4 - Elfriede and Eugen by the 1590 Jägerhäusle; we had so much fun traversing the well-kept medieval narrow cobblestone streets & alleys, loved Elfriede's insights on the tanners who lived outside the walled town.

 3:1 - Decorative half-timbered construction and quoins (prominent stones at wall corners or door and window openings) of the Jägerhäusle, built into the city wall of this perfectly preserved town in the Kinzig Valley surrounded by sunny forested slopes & shady valleys.

 3:2 - Fountain and half-timbered houses on the triangular market square typify what is so appealing about this part of Germany, an area of the country that gets the most sunshine.

 3:3 - Lion statue crowns the 15^th century fountain surrounded by old half-timbered houses around the exquisite market square, nestled among the granite and sandstone mountains of south-west Germany.

 3:4 - Looking from the tanners lane past the museum tower up to the town church of Schiltach, the Evangelische Schiltacher Stadtkirche, built of red sandstone in the new Byzantine style.

 4:1 - Graceful downtown Schiltach, resplendent with culture and craft trade, with flags for Fasching.

 4:2 - From the heart of the city, the marketplace, looking up past the Renaissance town hall to the covered wooden bridge on the hilltop.

 4:3 - Gertrud, Eugen, and Elfriede walking outside the town wall in the Gerberviertel, the tanner's quarters, past the town's second mill, the Äußere Mühle, and it is the oldest half-timbered house in Schiltach, built in 1557.

 4:4 - I love this this lovely little dandelion picture with its poem to honor God (Gott zu ehren, blühen und vergehen, allen guten Samen in die Welt verwehen), hanging in Elfriede and Siegbert's home.

 5:1 - After our tour of the town, we all enjoyed a delicious lunch Elfriede had prepared, followed by dessert, and in the afternoon, coffee and cake Elfriede served with her tasty homemade pastries.

 5:2 - My mouth-watering portion of Elfriede's homemade southern German dessert, a scrumptious form of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest cherry torte).

 5:3 - Siegbert, Elfriede, Eugen, and Gertrud. We enjoyed a most wonderful coffee time and relaxing visit in their lovely home! We loved visiting Schiltach.

 5:4 - Ruth & Eugen on the 3:47 train back to Bretten; we all arrived at 6:38 and ate a marvelous supper at 7:45 p.m.

Sunday Destinations: drive to church in Wössingen A, to lunch in Helmsheim B and back to Bretten C, & then take train rides to Wissembourg D and back.

Our Brief Half Hour in Wissenbourg ( German: Weißenburg) [Return to Wissembourg, France]

 1:1 - After church in Wössingen & lunch at Kleines Paradies in Helmsheim, we drove back to Bretten to catch the 12:40 p.m. train. We arrived 2:48 for a half hour in Wissembourg, where I liked the style of this roof.

 1:2 - Eugen, Gertrud, and Ruth by the cobblestone streets of downtown Wissembourg. The name Wissembourg, a Franconized version of the German Weißenburg (Weissenburg), means "white castle".

 1:3 - Medieval (1448) salthouse (Maison du Sel), its distinctive enormous roof overlooking one of the canals threading through downtown.

 1:4 - Impressively beautiful stained glass windows of the abbey church of Saints-Pierre-et-Paul (Peter and Paul).

 2:1 - Eugen crosses historic downtown. The first battle of the Franco-Prussian War, the Battle of Wissembourg, was fought here August 4, 1870.

 2:2 - At the Abbey, the monk Otfried composed a gospel harmony in 869, the first substantial work of verse in German.

 2:3 - This former Augustinian convent (1279) is a town highlight, along with the Pastry Shop Rebere, one of the oldest – and top 100 – in French pastry.

 2:4 - In 1803 the red sandstone church of St. Peter & Paul became the parish church, the largest in Alsace, exceeded in size only by the cathedral of Strasbourg.

 3:1 - From the abbey, Joe heads towards picturesque Patrician houses and the town hall. Off to the left stands the home of the Bartholdi Family whose famous sculptor descendant gave the French their Lion de Belfort & Americans their Statue of Liberty.

 3:2 - Gertrud, Eugen, & Ruth leaving Wissembourg. The town was fortified in the 13th century; parts of the walls and gateways of the town, along with splendid 15th & 16th-century timber-frame houses still stand.

 3:3 - Weißenburg is situated on the little River Lauter (one of Rhine's west inflowing rivers) near the German border in the eastern Alsace region (approximately 37 mi. north of Strasbourg and 22 mi. west of Karlsruhe).

 3:4 - Gertrud on the train ride back (3:37 - 7:38 p.m.) from Wissembourg, France. The town commands the defile – a narrow pass or gorge – between the Vosges mountains and the Alsacian Rhine plain.

Arrival/Departure Heidelberg area:

Monday, Eugen drives us to the train station  – trains from Bretten A – via Karlsruhe to Heidelberg B – Christa drives us to Rohrbach (C);

Monday, Christa drives to Heidelberg  D – trains to Frankfurt Regional Train Station E – board plane to Charlotte – re-board to Philadelphia – connect to Charlotte.

Full Week of Heidelberg Excursions:

Tuesday, Inge drives us to Kirchheim E – & back to Rohrbach N;

Wednesday, Inge drives us to Langenzell C – Dilsberg D – Kirchheim E – & back to Rohrbach N;

Thursday,  Christa drives to Kirchheim E – Tante Hildegard drives us to Heidelberg G – & Rohrbach N – we ride the streetcar to Heidelberg G – & back to Rohrbach N;

Friday, Hans-Werner drives us to Mannheim H – Kirchheim E – & back to Rohrbach N.

Saturday, We go grocery shopping with Christa in Heidelberg G – Hans-Werner drives us to Speyer J – & back to Rohrbach N;

Sunday, Dieter drives us to Wiesloch L – to the Kurpfalzhof M – & back to Rohrbach N.

Going to Heidelberg to visit the Becker Family

Our wonderful host family for the week: Christa, Dieter, Philipp, & Lena  [Return to Rohrbach]

 1:1 - Dieter built this energy-saving oven; Daddy's shell picture holds this place of honor in the living room.

 1:2 - Close-up of Daddy's shell picture looking so pretty atop the awesome oven Dieter designed and built.

 1:3 - Dieter's hard-working business van.

 1:4 - Lena arrives with us and sees the haircut Dieter gave Philipp Sunday evening.

Christa, Dieter, Philipp, & Lena [Return to Wiesloch]

 2:1 - City church tower, Evangelische Stadtkirchturm, almost completely 11^th century, re-built after the earlier church (1061 or 1071) was war-ravaged.

 2:2 - We ate a great lunch at the Bistro Trattoria Italia – & I admired my view of magnificent horse head statues.

 2:3 - Life-size bronze horse portraits, "Maja" 1975 & "Gajo" 1987, Carrara marble on cement stela, at the historical 1742 Hesselgasse Postal stop; erected 2007; donated by the family of Dr. Helmut Bergdolt, Wiesloch.

 2:4 - Lena and Philipp at the Elefantenvogel Kroko (1992) glass fiber synthetic bird, atop a concrete column, in the Hesselgasse; erected 2007; financed/initiated by Willi Schmidt (SchuhWolf) & the "Bürgerstiftung Kunst für Wiesloch e.V."

 3:1 - Philipp, Lena, Tante Hildegard, Christa, and Dieter as we have some fun on the way to eat lunch.

 3:2 - Christa & Dieter (front) with Joe at the Städtisches Museum, which highlights the region's geology, & mining dating from the 1^st century A.D., also Bronze age, provincial-Roman, & medieval presentations, as well as events of the Thirty Years' War in Wiesloch.

 3:3 - Joe strikes a pose at the medieval weapons exhibit.

 3:4 - Christa & Dieter (front) with Joe at the City Museum. Wiesloch lies in northern Baden-Württemberg just south of Heidelberg, spread across the southern foothills of the Odenwald, Rhine Valley and Kraichgau.

 4:1 - Ceramic dish holds an assortment with an ancient stash of peas (Pisum Sativum L.). Neolithic life in the Wiesloch area dates to 5500 B.C.

 4:2 - Ceramic dish with barley. In the vicinity of the Wiesloch-Walldorf train station a Roman village, dating from the 2nd and 3rd century A.D., prospered at the intersection of two Roman main roads.

 4:3 - Spindle. Celts 500 to 400 B.C. invaded the fertile strip of land between the Rhine plains & steep Odenwald hills that block eastern winds, an ancient trading route from Darmstadt via Heidelberg to Wiesloch that the Romans called „strata montana“, the „Bergstrasse“.

 4:4 - Mineral slab. The world's oldest known hummingbird fossil, Eurotrochilus inexpectatus, from the Early Oligocene (30 million years ago, with a subtropical humid climate), was found in a clay pit at Frauenweiler (southwest of Wiesloch).

 5:1 - Ruth & Christa at a home built into the city wall. Wiesloch, industrial center of the Heidelberg area south, also houses the world’s biggest printing press manufacturing site, operated by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen.

 5:2 - Dieter and Christa at the 14^th century remains of the city wall and defense tower, the Sauermillichhaffe. No one knows now how it got the name sour milk pot.

 5:3 - Oldest residence (1^st mention, 1340; sole survivor of the January 28, 1689 city destruction), the Freihof stair gable & out-houses (Plumpsklo, "ker-plumps closet") reflect its heritage as a stand-alone fortification within the southeast quarter, inside the medieval city walls.

 5:4 - The Wiesloch city pharmacy nearby became the first petrol station in the world when Bertha Benz stopped there on her maiden voyage, August 5, 1888, to refill the tank of the first automobile that her husband, Karl Benz, invented.

We loved visiting Dieter's parents, Marga & Kurt. I treasure the delicate, lovely Easter eggs Marga gave me that she blew out & painted.

Inge [Return to Langenzell Töpferei (Pottery Factory) and to Dilsberg]

 1:1 - We stopped for a nice pottery shop visit at Langenzell, where lumps of clay turn into glazed works of art.

 1:2 - I liked these eye-catching wooden candles "sprucing up" the washbin planter, at the pottery entrance.

 1:3 - Castle view from Dilsberg, a jewel of the Neckar sitting atop a hill the Romans settled between 100 & 400, the old part of town with its cobblestone roads enclosed by the town wall, a phenomenal panoramic vantage point that was enclosed by rain clouds during our visit.

 1:4 - Apart from the Heidelberg Castle, the second most impressive sight on the Neckar River is the small town of Dilsberg, situated on this steep point overlooking the Neckar River valley, a spectacular panorama of the Neckar Valley in all its splendor ... when visible.

Inge [Return to Kirchheim]

 2:1 - David comes out to greet Joe and Ruth. [Return to Inge & Andreas and their children, David & Fabian]

 2:2 - David and Fabian's drawings now grace our home.

 2:3 - David's musical debut, in the elementary school that his mother also attended, as did earlier generations of his family, like Aunt Hildegard.

 2:4 - We were proud to be invited guests at David's first performing arts program & hear him play xylophone.

 3:1 - We loved the grand quiches Inge fixed us.

 3:2 - Joe, happy for lunch—we ate so well, at every meal.

 3:3 - Inge treated us to wonderful meals and excursions.

 3:4 - Andreas reads a long story to David and Fabian after our delicious Raclette dinner.

Tante Hildegard takes us downtown to Heidelberg [Return to Tante Hildegard in downtown Heidelberg]

 1:1 - Tante Hildegard invited us to her home for breakfast (a feast!) & day in the historic downtown. Heidelberg lies on the river Neckar where it leaves its narrow, steep Odenwald valley for the broad Rhine valley; records date to the Roman Army in the year 40 A.D.

 1:2 - Tante Hildegard likes her shell picture my father made.

 1:3 - Ruth and Joe with Tante Hildegard's new shell picture.

 1:4 - Tante Hildegard and Ruth—we all enjoyed a sweet coffee & teatime at the Cafe Schafheutle—lunch, too!

Coat of Arms (above); new logo (below).

 2:1 - Tante Hildegard and Joe in the 1-mile Hauptstraße (Main Street), longest pedestrian zone in Europe.

 2:2 - Joe's superb cheese Spätzele lunch at the Cafe Schafheutle, "the sweet heart of Heidelberg," after we came in to eat a second time, with the appetite of a lion (traditional symbol of the "Kurpfalz", Palatinate).

 2:3 - My exquisite Cafe Schafheutle lunch, spinach quiche.

2:4 - Joe at the market place ending the pedestrian zone, where we visited the Church of the Holy Ghost.

 3:1 - Pre-dating a first mention of Heidelberg (Heidelberch, 1196), the Celts (5th century B.C. fortress of refuge & place of worship, Heiligenberg, "Mountain of Saints"), Alamanni & Teutonic tribes, and Romans lived here.

 3:2 - The same evening, Christa & Dieter treated us to a Zimmertheater evening near Bismarckplatz, gateway to Heidelberg's Fußgängerzone, pedestrian zone.

 3:3 - Looking up the main pedestrian thoroughfare towards the Holy Ghost Church (Heiliggeistkirche), its gallery once a safe haven for the famous Palatine Library of most significant European books, Bibliotheca Palatina.

 3:4 - At the pedestrian zone end, just past Hotel zum Ritter (knight with plumed helmet silhouette, top right), a path leads up to the Heidelberg castle, one of the world’s most famous, dating from the 14^th century.

 4:1 - Facade detail at the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, Germany's oldest, founded by elector Ruprecht I in 1386. One in five Heidelberg residents is a university student.

 4:2 - Close-up of a colorfully adorned bartizan (a small, overhanging turret on a wall or tower) on Main Street (seen in the above photo).

 4:3 - Stunning vaulted ceiling of the great gothic style Church of the Holy Ghost (Heiliggeistkirche), first mentioned in the year 1239, soars high the tomb of Prince-Elector Rupert III, founder of the church.

 4:4 - Elegant Renaissance 1592 Hotel zum Ritter St. George, built in the German Mannerist style, “Persta invita Venus” inscribed in gold letters on the gable's facade.

 5:1 - City Hall balcony, overlooking the market square.

 5:2 - Kurpfälzisches Museum courtyard; we loved visiting the extensive exhibits: 600,000 years of Heidelberg’s human history (Homo heidelbergensis, "Heidelberg Man", earliest evidence of human life in Europe) from the Paleolithic Age through the court of Kurpfalz (Electoral Palatinate).

 5:3 - Close-up of the wonderfully crafted wrought-iron sign at the Kurpfälzisches Museum der Stadt Heidelberg (Palatinate Museum of the City of Heidelberg).

 5:4 - Pulpit of the Holy Ghost Church, which for years had been shared equally, even simultaneously: Protestants worshipping in the nave (body of the church) and Roman Catholics in the choir (chancel area, with altar).

With Hans-Werner, Jutta, Hannah, & Simon in Luisenpark Mannheim [Return to Hans-Werner, Jutta, Hannah, & Simon in Luisenpark, Mannheim]

 1:1 - White stork, part of Germany's largest bird sanctuary breeding colony, in tree top at the large Mannheim municipal Luisenpark, adjacent to the Neckar River.

 1:2 - Primrose planting at the expanded, enhanced entrance to the Pflanzenschauhaus (the conservatory celebrated 50 years in 2008).

 1:3 - Camellia blossom at the zoo entrance, a bright spot of color in stark contrast to dreary, rainy weather outside.

 1:4 - Hans-Werner & Jutta, Simon & Hannah in the cacti house. That afternoon they treated us to coffee in the conservatory cafe, and the next afternoon to an expansive, exciting Viking exhibit in Speyer.

 2:1 - Three otters face another otter, behind the waterfall, at the entrance (we also enjoyed seeing their babies).

 2:2 - We were fascinated by the terrarium animal collection in the Luisenpark, one of Europe's most beautiful parks right in a city center: a botanical garden, zoo, leisure and recreational park.

 2:3 - Tropical plants and animals can be seen in the botanical house, with 50 reptile species and 350 kinds of fish in salt and sweet water aquariums.

 2:4 - Frog perched on a blooming bromeliad in a terrarium, in Mannheim’s largest open space for recreation, known as City Park.

 3:1 - Daddy's shell picture stands in Hans-Werner and Jutta's kitchen.  [Return to Hans-Werner & Jutta, and their children Hannah & Simon]

 3:2 - Corner of Hans-Werner and Jutta's kitchen, showing off their new shell picture that Daddy made.

 3:3 - Joe photographed Jutta, Hanna, Manfred, Simon, Ruth, Rita's hand, & Hans-Werner, after a wonderful day in foggy drizzle at the Luisenpark.

 3:4 - Joe photographs Ruth, Rita, Hans-Werner, Simon, Jutta, Hanna, & Manfred enjoying our special Fondue.

At the Kurpfalzhof with the Becker family [Return to the Kurpfalzhof]

 1:1 - David, Fabian, and Lena.

 1:2 - Andreas and his son, Fabian.

 1:3 - Erich, Renate, Fabian, & Philipp, ready for juice, tea, coffee & cake.

 1:4 - Daddy's shell picture, at the Kurpfalzhof.

US701FRAPHL A330
Re-accommodated in Frankfurt from US705 to the US Airways A330 Philadelphia Flight  [Return to PHL Flight]

 1:1 - View of our plane for four hours, FRACLT US705.

 1:2 - Joe, on the Philadelphia plane that took a delay to bring us all back to the States.

 1:3 - Smooth sailing. Also making it easier on us was that we had so much room in our luggage! We packed for our return flight in well under an hour.

 1:4 - View of the North American coastline from the window of our Airbus, an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company based in Toulouse, France.

Haiku

A Japanese-style poem, 5 syllables, 7 syllables, and then 5 syllables.

Here's another Haiku:

"Starts with a hammer,

and ends with a cracked windshield"

—all's well that ends well.

[Return to Ruth's other Haiku on our Germany visit]

[Return to Germany - January 29 - February 9, 2009]