Gummi Bears and Castles - 11 June 2016

Drachenburg in Königswinter

We had been to Bonn earlier on a preparation day and enjoyed the visit, but we stopped in Königswinter on the way home and knew that we wanted to go there again and make a day of it. Elder and Sister Newman and Janet and I drove to Bonn first and met our friends the Mumms (they work with Young Single Adults in the Friedrichsdorf area), the Jarrards, and the Snapps. Our agreed upon meeting place was the Haribo factory outlet store. Our grandkids would have loved being there - thousands of square feet of candy. Jeff doesn't even like this kind of candy, but we walked out of the store with a packing box full to give to missionaries and to ship home (grandkids will enjoy it).

One corner of the Haribo store dedicated to kids.

Would you believe that in this entire supermarket of chewy candy, there was not a single piece of red rope licorice? The German black licorice is fantastic (Jeff says - Janet gagged)

After our store visit, we packed up the cars and drove 15 minutes or so to a small town called Königswinter across the Rhine from Bonn. This little village doesn't have much to recommend it other than a nice promenade along the river, a great ice cream shop, and a couple of shops that Janet and the other sisters enjoyed exploring. But the highlight of Königswinter is a steep mountain that rises just across the regional rail tracks from the village. There is a funicular railroad that chugs up a very steep grade from the bottom and makes two stops. The middle station is at a palace called Drachenburg (Dragon Keep). This was built in the late 19th century by a self-made man who was a successful stock broker and made millions trading his own money and promoting the Panama and Suez canals. He also created a newsletter that he sold - kind of an early Kiplinger's. He was German and was fascinated with German history and mythology, but he lived in Paris. He bought his way in to the German nobility, but he never returned from Paris and never lived in this palace he had built for himself.

5 sweet ladies

Beware the dragon

All aboard

Elder Jarrard and Elder Kirk struck up a conversation with a young woman from Arizona who was traveling with several Asian friends. She is in Germany working on a post doctoral program. Being from Arizona, she knew about Latter-day Saints. We were impressed with her joy and outgoing nature. She was excited to be seeing things and exuberant about her experience. We should all have that kind of zest for life. At the middle station of the train, we piled off to visit Drachenburg.

Hard to get a picture when there was steady traffic on the walkway

The castle is a popular wedding spot

Bridesmaids spreading out a banner. Elder Kirk and Elder Jarrards supervising from the bench.

They tried out multiple styles of architecture on this thing

Everyone needs golden stags to guard the south wing

The exterior is a mess - no single unifying principle

And there is plenty of useless ornamentation

Lots of nice landscaping, and it was a sunny day for a change

The north wing - let's add a square tower

All managed by an endowment

Janet leaned over a railing and found this charming ornamentation around the corner

A lot of German buildings have faces on them. It's unclear whom this represents.

And now for a look inside

Jeff had a nice chat with one of the docents

The entryway and staircase give you an idea of the rest of the house

The house is covered in painted scenes from German legends and mythology

Art critics have called the paintings "cartoonish." 

Heinrich the 4th, 1050-1106

All of the ceilings are elaborate, too

Looking at this painting, you can clearly see the comic book quality

Walls, furniture, and ceilings are all richly carved wood

They were ready for our lunch

We had the feeling that the books were for show rather than to read

A very nice library and reading room

Greek mythology - the family painted over these at some point, and they were only recently uncovered and fully restored.

Many of the rooms have these elaborate wooden ceilings

The glass portrays a story from German legend

Just a window for light - nice German eagle crest in the center, though

Janet liked this bedroom for the mistress

Close up of the wallpaper - Jeff is afraid

Bear skin for bare feet

Washroom for the boudoir

Nice view while sitting for tea

The fish is the spigot for the washbasin below

Every room had places to sit

Imaginative double chair on a landing of the grand staircase

Let's have a party -- or a fireside or something. Lots of room for guests.

Views of the Rhine River valley below the castle are spectacular.

Bonn is in the distance across the river

It was a sunny day, but everything is green because it rains so much

A closer look north at Bonn on a bend in the river

Looking south - the river is at flood stage. If you look closely, you will notice that trees on the far bank are standing in the water.

We stood staring for a long time.

When we finished our visit to Drachenburg, we got an ice cream cone and caught the train to the top of the mountain. Drachenfels (Dragon Rock) is a 12th century fortress that commanded the peak. There is little remaining - much of it fell victim to medieval residents who took the stone to use for other buildings. Below the ruins is a nice restaurant and a large plaza with a spectacular overlook of the Rhine Valley south of Königswinter.

Views from the top were even better than from Drachenburg.

Continuous barge movements on the Rhein

The island upstream is an estate of some kind. The lower end of the island was flooded.

The town just upstream from Königswinter. Note the wooded mountains in the background.

The opposite bank is all sprawl from Bonn. The near side is a tree lined promenade in Königswinter.

Looking straight away from the river. Amazing that in a country of 80 million that is half the size of Texas, there is still lots of green space.

Even with sprawl from Bonn, there is farmland under cultivation.

Jeff's favorite view!

We aren't very good at selfies, but here you are. The camera adds at least 15 pounds to Jeff.

Our dear friends the Jarrards

Some of the gang. The numbers are for our food orders. We love these people and really enjoy spending time with them on our preparation days.

Part of what is left of Drachenfels. You have to hike up to the ruins.

An alternative means of transportation to the top of the mountain. Of course, you can also walk.

We loved how this little girl found a lap to sit in while she ate some ice cream.

Close up of the bit of medieval tower left

A piece of wall. People ignore the signs that say climbing on the ruins is forbidden.

Another visitor to the top of the mountain.

At the end of the afternoon, we rode the train down (we skipped the reptile zoo that was part of the ticket - we can see alligators in Houston) and then walked into the old city of Königswinter. The sisters found some shops that were open til 6:00. Most shops and stores in Germany close at 2:00 pm on Saturdays and are closed all day on Sunday. We rather like that. But the ladies did enjoy browsing a few shops that were open later. The men found a really nice ice cream shop in a shaded alleyway and had "dinner" comprised of two of the food groups -- dairy and fruit.

People love green things and flowers. Balconies, steps, and windows are all lined with flowers.

Burg Eltz and another visit to Cochem - 28 May 2016

First view of Burg Eltz from the trail

Last Saturday, we had an invitation to join 3 other couples from the area office to visit one of the most beautiful castles in Germany. Castle Eltz has been owned by the same family for centuries. Because of its location, it was essentially untouched by the world wars that destroyed so much in Germany. A portion of the castle is still a private residence for the family. A picture of the current owners was on a table in one of the public rooms we visited on the tour - mom, dad, three boys and a girl. In every respect this family looked ordinary -- except for the fact they own this castle.

There is a shuttle bus for those not up to a walk, but we walked a long trail through the woods along the edge of a ravine through which a small river runs. The river was swollen from storms the night before. As we drove out of the nearby village of Wierscheim, we noticed that the narrow road was buried in leaves. We speculated on the cause, but when Jeff was walking to the trailhead, he noticed ice in a pile under a tree. He scooped up a handful of marble-sized hailstones. There had been some strong thunderstorms the night before, and hail fell along the Mosel valley damaging sprouting grapevines. Our tour guide confirmed the hailstorm and said that the damage to the grape vineyards was significant. As you can imagine, there isn't much economically in this region of Germany other than vineyards, tourism, and river transport.

We could not take pictures inside the castle. It was in perfect condition, including 15th century tile flooring in one of the rooms. Because it was built on a rock, the castle is an interesting shape - one room had 6 corners. One nice thing, if you were a medieval person -- they had 20 private toilets. Of course, those toilets just emptied down the outside wall and likely fouled the river that loops around the rock.

We really enjoyed the day with Mitch and Yvonne Bausman, the Swensons and Galbraiths. The Bausmans live on the same floor we do, and we really enjoy them. Janet walks some mornings with Sister Bausman. They are serving in the area office doing technology support. They help stakes and units all across Europe with satellite broadcasts, internet, and other technology issues. The Swensons are fairly new (less than 2 months) and are working to support and promote programs for young single adults in the Europe West Area. The Galbraiths served an earlier mission working in the mission office like we are but in Tokyo. This mission for the Galbraiths is in public affairs. Elder Galbraith served here in Germany as a young man.

A young couple from Oklahoma City was traveling and visited the castle with us. We gave them a pass along card and chatted with them. They have quite an itinerary. They are both engineers working for oil and gas companies. He works at Chesapeake. Jeff commiserated with them on the hard times in the oil patch. There was also a couple of ladies with a little girl who are friends and serving in the air force. Mitch is former military, so the Bausmans enjoyed talking to them. We share our mission wherever we go with anyone who is interested.

Getting ready to walk

The woods were damp but beautiful

Misty vistas

Jeff was thinking that a jacket might have been a good idea - or at least a long sleeved shirt

This place was just amazingly picturesque

Guarding the gate

A bit of wall below the rock

The "island" in the river is normally a picnic spot, but the flood water cut it off

Lots of stair and ramps in the castle

Windows in an interior courtyard

The yellow building straight ahead is the oldest part of the castle and dates to the 1100s

What's in there?

The interior courtyard is a deep canyon of brick and stone.

Janet is collecting pictures of doors

The doors and the hardware are extremely old.

There was a fascinating treasury with artifacts from the family's extensive collection.

A miniature traveling altar. The wealthy took their religion with them when they traveled.

Elder Galbraith and Elder Bausman found a sunny spot for hot chocolate where they could solve the world's problems. 

Two more views

If you come visit us, we will definitely take you here. 

On the Mosel River at Cochem.

We were at Cochem in October and really enjoyed it. We drove there for a nice lunch in a sidewalk cafe and some shopping in the old city. Well, Janet shopped and Jeff wandered off to explore the narrow streets and take a picture or two.

This little tower is home to the town's flood gauge. Uh, the Mosel has flooded out a lot of the town repeatedly.

It was a beautiful day

The swans and their "ugly ducklings" were enjoying the sunshine, too.

The river valley is steep and really picturesque

Cochem town square with the pink city hall an the tower of the church with its unusual roof.

We love eating outdoors and usually find people at nearby tables to talk to. Our tags always draw curious stares and questions.

Part of the old castle lower fortifications on the river's edge

An old city gate tower built in the 1300s with a remaining portion of wall and the castle in the background from the peaceful confines of the cemetery.

Janet likes doors, so Jeff gets to post one of his pictures of manhole covers.