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Germany – exploring Speicher and Bitburg.

Posted by bedhead on June 30, 2015 with No Commentsas , , , , , , , , ,

This morning we drove into the little town of Speicher, after reading there were a couple of museums available, but that didn’t end up too good. We parked close to one of the museums, which was just off of HofStrassa, and when we got to the museum door, it was locked. It seems the information that we’d seen was a bit stale, as it was around 10 a.m., but their door sign said they didn’t open until 1400 (2 p.m.) .

So on our walk back towards the car, we happened across a statue and plot that seemed most likely to be a memorial of soldiers lost in different wars/conflicts. The statue was in some ill repair, and at some point in time, someone had broken off the representation of the front of the statue’s rifle.

Military statue in Speicher.

Military statue in Speicher.

 

Pretty rose in the area surrounding the statue.

Pretty rose in the area surrounding the statue.

 

Around the statue, on three walls, were stone tablets that listed names and what I believe is the date of death for each person. There were some beautiful roses in the area of the memorial, as well as other plants and flowers, as well as a small pond. It seemed like a nice tribute.

We drove to look for the other museum, and had even less success, as we couldn’t even find the location. After some driving around and looping back into the same locations, we think the museum might have faded away. We found an old building that looks like it could be deserted, and had many broken windows, that seemed it might match the address as it was provided. We did happen across a cool set of animal figures in bronze, which called to our cameras.

Bronze hedgehog family in front of a company that creates bronze figures.

Bronze hedgehog family in front of a company that creates bronze figures.

 

On one of our many loops, we happened into a section of town that we had not visited before, and just by chance they had some tools! I’d searched the web a number of times, prior to arriving in Germany, as well as after arrival, and I’d found no listing for tools.

This evening, we drove out to Bitburg, and found a parking place down in the industrial section of town. There are lots of restaurants nearby, as well as what might be considered an outdoor mall, with lots of shops and stores. While checking out this area, we saw a pretty church, and when we ended up on the opposite side, it was obvious some portion of the lower structure was Roman.

 

Partial view of a church near the square in Bitburg.

Partial view of a church near the square in Bitburg.

 

Church bells taken facing away from the church. When the bells go off, they really go off!

Church bells taken facing away from the church. When the bells go off, they really go off!

 

Roman wall (which is what Romer Mauer means) around the base of the church.

Roman wall (which is what Romer Mauer means) around the base of the church.

 

Pretty purple flowers inside the Roman wall.

Pretty purple flowers inside the Roman wall.

 

Church steeple taken from the bottom of the Roman wall.

Church steeple taken from the bottom of the Roman wall.

 

The other end of the Roman wall, with building integrated.

The other end of the Roman wall, with building integrated.

 

Path from the Peters square that leads to the top of the hill, and the church (taken from the top).

Path from the Peters square that leads to the top of the hill, and the church (taken from the top).

 

During our walk back towards the car, and while looking to find some good food, we saw the two man-hole covers shown below. We were going back the same way we’d come, so our eyes were scanning the shops and buildings on the say there, rather than the ground. Most of the man-hole covers in the area are cool, but not special like these, so I thought they earned their spot (and even the main lead-in photo).

 

Cool man-hole cover in gold (colored).

Cool man-hole cover in gold (colored).

 

Cool man-hole cover in silver (colored).

Cool man-hole cover in silver (colored).

 

There were a number of cool sites in Bitburg, and you’d really need to spend much more time than we had available, to do it justice. Before leaving, we found a cool restaurant (Ragazzi) that had a fair amount of outdoor seating, as well as some great German Schnitzel. We ate two orders of the version with a wine/cream sauce, which was wonderful, along with the french fries. We had a great waitress for our meal, and we were doing our best to sprechen deutsch, only to find out she was quite adept at speaking english. I was actually glad we didn’t know this, at the beginning, as this pushed us to try our hardest to communicate in their native language. While we were eating, we could see the fountain below, with all of the kids and enjoying cooling off in the water.

 

Part of the square, with many holes that spew water, in a rhythmic fashion. People bring the young kids to play.

Part of the square, with many holes that spew water, in a rhythmic fashion. People bring the young kids to play.

 

After all of our walking today, and the elevated temperature getting to at least 86F, we are about ready to call it a day. Tomorrow is another day and if everything goes as planned, we will explore other parts of Trier, as we only saw a small area the other day.

 

As always, thank you for stopping by to check out my article. Let me know if you have any comments, questions or suggestions.

 

Lee Laird

Germany – some time in Trier

Posted by bedhead on June 28, 2015 with No Commentsas , , , , , , , ,

Yesterday, we rode a train into Trier and hung out at a yearly festival that was occurring. We were very lucky to have such wonderful weather, as it was mostly sunny and the temperature was comfortable.

Before making it to the festival area, we saw some cool sites, including some old statues and of course old buildings. On our walk to the festival area, there were parking spots along the street, that were inset between the trees. So, for example, a couple of large trees, then a car or two, then more trees, and repeat. Very interesting for sure, and completely different than many parts of the States.

Statue along the street leading to the festival.

Statue along the street leading to the festival.

The last site we saw before entering into the festival, was the “Porta Nigra”, which is touted as the largest Roman City gate, north of the Alps. They have it dated to 200 A.D.

Front of the Roman gate.

Front of the Roman gate.

 

Closeup of one section of the Roman gate, from the front side.

Closeup of one section of the Roman gate, from the front side.

 

Rear of the Roman gate, unfortunately with a festival band stage obscuring the lower section.

Rear of the Roman gate, unfortunately with a festival band stage obscuring the lower section.

 

Since we got to Trier before 11a.m., the festival activities, like the bands on the stages, were mostly just messing around with sound-check and running through final dialing-in. Even with the early time-frame, there were still a decent amount of people walking around the festival area, but luckily it didn’t require pressing through the bodies at this point.

We stopped and grabbed a couple of “sausage links on brotchen”, at a stand that had a really nice guy that could transition into English. Also got an order of fries with Aioli sauce, which adds a nice touch to the flavor. From our stop at a statue, we made our way through an alley-type way, and saw a cool church that was tucked away.

Church tucked away from main shopping path.

Church tucked away from main shopping path.

 

Church taken from laying on the ground (my daughter, not me).

Church taken from laying on the ground (my daughter, not me).

 

Funny, but on the way back through the “mall” the second time, I saw a pretty fountain that eluded my eye the first time around.

Interesting fountain in the main section of the shopping area.

Interesting fountain in the main section of the shopping area.

There were lots of interesting architecture and gold coloration used on some of the ornamentation that really made it stand out.

Shops along festival site with gold accents on architecture.

Shops along festival site with gold accents on architecture.

 

Closeup of gold accents.

Closeup of gold accents.

 

Interesting roof area embellishments.

Interesting roof area embellishments.

 

Most interesting McDonald's I've ever seen.

Most interesting McDonald’s I’ve ever seen.

 

Interesting curved structure a few blocks off of the festival area.

Interesting curved structure a few blocks off of the festival area.

 

On our exit from the festival area, we happened to look to the West and saw a castle up on the hill, that is actually in Luxembourg. I had no idea at that time, that we were actually that close to the border.

Standing at the Roman gate, you can just see a castle at the top of the hill, that is Luxembourg.

Standing at the Roman gate, you can just see a castle at the top of the hill, that is Luxembourg.

All in all, we had a really good time and I got some great exercise during the process. It was cool to see the little villages in between Trier and our destination, which most had a “Bahnhof” (train station), and interestingly enough, most seemed to have the same stone-work and idea, even if they weren’t all the same size or exact layout.

If you are ever in the Western part of Germany, and are looking for some good sight-seeing, check out Trier. There are many sights we had to put off for another time, as my battery was running on empty.

Thanks as always for checking out the articles, and please do let me know if you have any questions or comments.

 

Lee Laird

Germany sites update 1

Posted by bedhead on June 27, 2015 with No Commentsas , , , , ,

So I’ve been in Germany for a few days now, and I still fluctuate between some jet lag and being in sync with the local time. This morning I feel like I could go either way this afternoon, but only time will tell.

To add-on to my earlier post, the kitchen at the house I’m at has another cool post/beam, that has so much history and info stored up inside. I’d love to have this in my house.

Cool integral structure in the kitchen of a home.

Cool integral structure in the kitchen of a home.

In one of the little tucked-away areas, there was this really cool Bahnhof (train station), that has so much character.

One of many old train stations in the region.

One of many old train stations in the region.

The last two days we went cruising around the area and I saw some amazing sights. It can be easy to forget just how much wonderful terrain there is, and how some of the towns blend right into some of the small crevices. One such village was Malberg, which was really cool to drive through, with all of the different elevation changes. On entry, there is a massive drop, from which you can observe a cool hotel that is down at the bottom of the valley.

Amazing view down into recessed area showing topical change.

Amazing view down into recessed area showing topical change.

As you make your way up towards the little village, the church steeple is front and center.

Going up in elevation, towards the steeple of an old church.

Going up in elevation, towards the steeple of an old church.

But, the cherry-on-top was the overlook on the other side of town, from which you get a totally different perspective on the church and how large the steeple really is. An old “castle” is also easily viewed from the elevated view. We walked around the elevated section a bit, and heard what sounded like it should have been the largest hive of bees ever, but we could never quite spot the actual source of the sound. And to be honest, I wasn’t too upset that we didn’t find it. If we could see it; they could see us (not that they couldn’t already, I suppose).

From the other side of town, the same steeple seems to stand much taller than surroundings.

From the other side of town, the same steeple seems to stand much taller than surroundings.

Old castle from elevated vantage.

Old castle from elevated vantage.

The following afternoon we ventured to another village named Kyllburg, which has more topical changes and sights. We ate at Pizzarie Belle Italia, which was awesome! When we left the Belle Italia, there was this cool old restored Citreon just outside.

Wonderful restraunt that had some of the best pizza ever! Amazing view over the river, too.

Wonderful restraunt that had some of the best pizza ever! Amazing view over the river, too.

Amazing old Citreon that looks like it was restored. There were at least half a dozen others, that passed before my camera was out.

Amazing old Citreon that looks like it was restored. There were at least half a dozen others, that passed before my camera was out.

There is very little actual parking at the restaurant, but we found some on the other side of the river, and up a quaint old street. While on our walk back to the vehicle, we saw this cool old train tunnel, which was so cool.

Parking for the pizza place required a nice walk past the center building and up a quaint old street.

Parking for the pizza place required a nice walk past the center building and up a quaint old street.

Along the walk for parking to eating, this train tunnel revealed itself.

Along the walk for parking to eating, this train tunnel revealed itself.

 

I plan to do some more exploring today and over the next week plus. I’ll update the blog as regularly as I can. Thank you as always for checking out the article. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

 

Lee Laird

 

Checking out Germany

Posted by bedhead on June 25, 2015 with No Commentsas , , , , , ,

I don’t have enough time to write about this subject tonight, but I’ll see if I can make some time in the next couple of days. I thought I’d toss out one photo I took today, of a post/beam that is inside my Daughter and her husband’s “house”, which has a ton of character and […]

Wall storage – continuation

Posted by bedhead on June 25, 2015 with No Commentsas , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ok, so in the last storage article, I left you with four of my bench planes securely stored on the plywood that I will mount above my work bench. I started looking at the tools I use regularly, to see what I wanted to go on the board, and where. On the lowest portion of […]