An Engineer's Dream -- Speyer Technik Museum

A Fokker Tri-wing diving on visitors at the entrance

One of our last weekends with the Jarrards and the Newmans. We drove to Speyer. There is a large cathedral there, but there is also the Technik Museum which is a German version of the Smithsonian for technical things. It's basically a huge display of planes, trains, and automobiles.

I know my sons and son-in-laws would have enjoyed the beautiful old cars, and Cole and Harrison would love the fire engines -- lots of them. Elder Snapp is an engineer, a pilot, and a car lover. He was in heaven.

Waiting with the crowd for an IMAX showing of a National Geographic film about Jerusalem. We are going with the Jarrards in 2018.

Janet went shopping and missed the classic cars, planes, and the double decker carousel.

First car (3 wheels) ever manufactured by the Bayerische Motorwerke (BMW). Sporty. And it was built in 1955. They made motorcycles and airplane engines before getting into cars.

Jeff is not a car guy, but he was drooling a little over these.

How's that for a Caddy? Stands out among the German and European cars.

My brother Brad would look good in this 1969 Jaguar Roadster.

Not a typical color for a Mercedes.

Acres of classic cars

Lots of engine for a small cab for this 1929 Packard Coupe. Straight 8 engine generating 125 HP.

Mercedes-Benz 630

A Borguard -- never heard of this make

1944 Indian Chief. We're putting Sister Kirk in the side car.

This one can be driven at a special event they have at the museum.

Anyone for three wheels?

Love this one. Looks like it was designed by Pixar.

Submarines, too. That's a wing from a Messerschmidt hanging above the sub. It was submerged in a lake in Sweden for 50 years after it made an emergency landing on ice and then fell through as the lake thawed.

Being packed into one of these is no fun. Some of them were designed to be suicide boats. 

Lots of planes inside and out

F-15 -- I feel the need for speed.

Huge Russian Antonov 22 - and there is one that is a lot bigger.

Russian space shuttle that made one orbital flight in the 1980's before Russia went broke and abandoned the project.

Beautiful old Tri-motor

Elder Markle standing on the wing of a Boeing 747 that is suspended above the yard as if in flight.

Nice view from the 747's wing looking toward the Altstadt (old city) and the cathedral.

Cockpit of such a large airliner was pretty cramped

Cool to see the interior structure where seats, carpet and finish have been stripped away.

Standing under the belly of the beast.

Makes a person feel really small

The boy is holding a pretzel. Elder Jarrard claims the pretzel was invented in Speyer.

My friend Greg Jarrard

This was a great restaurant, and we sat right across from these wonderful people.

Speyer Dom

Front of the cathedral

Impressive bronze doors

Interesting architecture in the vaulted ceiling

The nave. The cathedral is surprisingly unadorned.

The frescoes lining the nave are lovely, but hard to photograph or see because of their height and the weak light.

The nave from the front near the high altar

Vast, dizzying empty spaces

A sculptors depiction of the Garden of Gesthemane. We were taken by the depiction of the Savior's suffering and by his sleeping disciples. 

The sculpture is in a large park next to the cathedral