Berlin's Festival of Lights 2013

Brandenburg Gate during the Festival of Lights

During the Festival of Lights in October, Berlin transforms itself into a city of lights. The Brandenburg Gate, the TV Tower, the Berliner Dom Cathedral, and many other buildings and squares are dazzling with the colorful light projections every night for two weeks. Numerous artists from home and abroad present building façades as canvases for light installations and projections to create an extraordinary cityscape during the Festival of Lights. 

The Berliner Dom Cathedral during the Festival of Lights.

We took Mom and Dad to Berlin and we all were delighted to enjoy the 2013 Festival of Lights. During the first night of our stay in Berlin we were happy to enjoy the festival of lights by bus, as it was pouring rain. On our second night in Berlin we took the opportunity to spend more time enjoying the lights of the Brandenburg Gate and the Berliner Dom Cathedral. 

Potsdamer Platz

Brandenburg Gate

Berlin's Television Tower

Radisson Blu Hotel

Potsdamer Platz

The Berliner Dom Cathedral during the Festival of Lights.

Castles, Castles, and More Castles....

While Mom and Dad were here we saw many castles and toured two of them. The first castle we toured was Burg Eltz. This medieval castle is over 850 years old and is nestled in the hills above the Moselle River. Burg Eltz is still owned by a branch of the same family who lived in the castle in the 12^th century (33 generations ago).  This large complex is actually made up of three castles owned by three different families. We were able to tour two of the three castles. Burg Eltz is situated on a 70-meter rock spur and near an important Roman trade route. The oldest part of the castle was built in 1472. Between 1490 and 1540 the second home was constructed. The third house was finished in 1530. Uniquely, every room in the newest part of the castle could be heated. 

At The Entrance to Burg Eltz

Burg Eltz

Center Courtyard of Burg Eltz. The Three Castles Can Be Seen Here.

Mom And Dad Exploring Burg Eltz

Exploring The Castle Grounds

The second castle we visited was Marksburg. Thanks to its formidable defenses this castle is the best-preserved castle on the Rhine. The castle has been lived in for over 700 years and represents an ever changing and developing building complex that has been growing into its present shape for centuries. Construction of the keep began in the 12^th century. The fortress was used for protection rather than as a residence for royal families. Marksburg was built to protect the town of Braubach. On our tour we saw a cannon from 1500, a gothic garden containing 160 plants from the middle Ages, and the bedroom (which was the only heated room in the castle).  The castle’s chapel is still painted in Gothic style with the castle’s namesake, St. Mark, and his lion.

Marksburg Castle

Inside One of the Rooms of Marksburg

Marksburg Castle

Paint on The Ceiling of The Chapel

Following our visit to Marksburg we decided to drive along the Rhine River and enjoy the castles around every turn. The upper half of the Middle Rhine has more than 40 castles and fortresses from the Middle Ages along its banks. Since it was cold and raining we mostly drove and admired the many castles. We stopped at Rüdesheim to get better views of the two castles, the nearly 2,000-year-old vineyards, and to explore a fun park we found along the way.

One of The Many Castles Along The Rhine

Castle Ruins of Ehrenfels With Vineyards in Background

Mäuseturm Toll Tower

Grapes On A Vine in a 2,000 Year-Old Vineyard

Having Fun Exploring The Park

Keeping Dry in The Rain

Wiesbaden & Cannstatter Volksfest

Exploring Wiesbaden

When Mom and Dad arrived on October 3^rd we spent the day exploring Wiesbaden (the city where we live). The four of us took a walk through the park toward downtown Wiesbaden. We enjoyed wandering the streets and explaining all of the local sites. It was great being able to share some of the beautiful sites we see everyday. In one of my first blogs after we arrived in Germany I shared pictures from a walking tour around Wiesbaden.

Beautiful Market Church

Fountain in front of Kurhaus

Enjoying a Beautiful Day in Wiesbaden

 Since Oktoberfest was over for 2013 we decided to check out the second largest beer festival in Germany. On October 9^th we explored the Stuttgart Beer Festival. This festival takes place every year for about 14 to 16 days at the Cannstatter Wasen. The festival started around 1818 when King Wilhelm I sponsored the festival after years of famine. Live bands play in the beer tents; there are carnival rides, all kinds of food, and a huge Ferris wheel.  

Exploring the Stuttgart Beer Festival

 

One of the Huge Beer Tents

The Ferris Wheel

The Lights of the Carnival

The Medieval City Of Rothenburg

At the beginning of October Ryan’s parents spent two weeks exploring Germany with us. We enjoyed beautiful castles, Berlin, and a couple of festivals. My next 3 or 4 blogs will highlight our adventures. One of our first day trips was to the medieval city of Rothenburg. 

Houses in Rothenburg

 Around 970, the Eastern Franconian nobleman Reinger founded the Parish of Detwang in a location, which is just below the eventual site of the town of Rothenburg. The Parish Church of St. Peter and Paul was the parent church of the later town church of St. Jacob. During the 12^th century city growth lead to the building of the first fortified ring, with a market square, town church, the headquarters of two orders of knights, and two monasteries. In 1544, Rothenburg broke its old church ties by embracing the Lutheran Protestant Reformation. The two convents were dissolved. The town lost much of its political significance but, thanks to its rich agricultural hinterland, remained an important economic factor in the region.

Shops Along Rothenburg Street

 The economic status was drastically altered by the Thirty Years’ War. As a Protestant town, Rothenburg not only suffered from a permanent conflict of loyalties with the Catholic Lord of the town, but was also condemned to economic ruin by passing armies. The city was captured by the military and the population was devastated by plague. Rothenburg only started to recover when, in 1873, it was connected to the German railway network. Prior to this, the city had been “rediscovered” by artists, writers and academics and was presented to a broader national and international public as the essence of “old German” urban architecture. Tourism began to play a key role in the town’s economic life. Industrialization also made its mark and the population increased and the town prospered. Another dark day came during the last weeks of World War II, when around 45% of the old walled town was destroyed by an American air raid. The successful rebuilding of the town in the post-war period is the most significant achievement in Rothenburg’s recent history. 

City Wall of Rothenburg

Outside St. Jacob's Church

 While wandering around Rothenburg we visited several churches and took some time to go in several of the shops. The largest church we visited was St. Jacob’s church, which contains a 500-year-old altarpiece named “Holy Blood”. The church was built between 1311 and 1484.

Plönlein or “Little Square”

 

One of the most famous images from Rothenburg is the Plönlein or “Little Square”. Here stands a narrow half-timbered building with a small fountain in front. The Kobolzeller tower and the higher Siebers Tower frame the view. Both of the gate towers were built as part of the first expansion of the town in 1204. At sunset we climbed to the top of Roeder towerr to get some amazing views of the walled city.  

View of City Wall From Roeder Tower

A View Of The City From Above

The Rooftops of Rothenburg

 After warming up and having a little something to eat we joined the night watchman tour. This tour took us through the now dark streets of Rothenburg. As we walked alongside the night watchman he told us stories of the towns history and the purpose of the night watchman. The job of the night watchman was to wonder the streets of Rothenburg making sure the people were safe and warning the townspeople of invasion or fire. 

Posing With The Night Watchman

Walking Tour of Rüdesheim Vineyards

Rüdesheim

On September 25 my friend Marlena and I joined the spouses club on a journey through beautiful Rüdesheim. The town of Rüdesheim was first settled by the Celts and received its town rights in 1818. Its livelihood came primarily from winegrowing, shipping, and timber rafting. Our first stop was the Niederwalddenkmal monument. The monument was finished in 1883 and was constructed to commemorate the foundation of the German Empire following the Franco-Prussian War. The 125 feet tall monument represents the union of all Germans. After learning about Niederwalddenkmal we took a beautiful hike through a vineyard toward Ehrenfels Castle.

Niederwalddenkmal Monument

Niederwalddenkmal Monument

 Ehrenfels is a ruined castle able the Rhine Gorge. The castle is located on a steep eastern back of the river amid extended vineyards. The grape variety Ehrenfelser is named after the castle. The castle was re-built in 1212 as a customs post controlling the shipping on the Rhine. The castle was heavily damaged in the course of the Thirty Years War and finally devastated by French troops in 1689.

Ehrenfels Castle

Ehrenfels Castle

During our hike we were also able to catch several views of the “Mouse Tower” or Mäuseturm. This is a stone tower on a small island in the Rhine. The Romans were the first to build a structure on this site. It later became part of Franconia, and it fell and had to be rebuilt many timies. Hatto II, the Archbishop of Mainz, restored the tower in 968.

A View of Mouse Tower

 The story of how it came to be called the “Mouse Tower" comes from a folk tale. This popular legend goes as follows: Hatto II was a cruel ruler who oppressed and exploited the peasants in his domain. He used the tower as a platform for crossbowmen and demanded tribute from passing ships, shooting their crews if they did not comply. During a famine in 974 the poor people were without food, and Hatto, having all the grain stored up in his barns, used his monopoly to sell it at such a high price that most could not afford any.

Mouse Tower

The peasants were getting angry and organizing to rebel, so Hatto devised a cruel trick. He promised to feed the hungry people and told them to go to an empty barn and wait for him to come with food. 
The peasants were overjoyed and praised Hatto heartily, and all of them traveled to the barn to await his coming. When he arrived with his servants, he ordered the barn's doors shut and locked, then set the barn on fire and burned the peasants to death, derisively commenting on their death cries with the words "Hear the mice squeak!" When Hatto retired to his castle an army of mice attacked him. He fled the swarm and took a boat across the river to his tower, hoping that the mice could not swim. The mice followed him and rushed into the river by the thousands. Many of them drowned, but even more crawled onto the island. There, they ate through the tower's doors and crawled up to the top floor, where they found Hatto and ate him alive.

Gondola Lift

 In 1298 the Mouse Tower became an official customs collection tower. It was destroyed by a French army in 1689, and then rebuilt in 1855 as a Prussian signal tower. After hearing the story of the “Mouse Tower” we continued on to the gondola lift, which took us back up toward the monument. We then concluded our morning with lunch at a local restaurant and spectacular views of the Rhine.  

Gondola Lift Over Vineyard

Our View From Our Table At Lunch

Our View From Our Table At Lunch