Travelog for: Chalon

The Turmberg (German: "Tower Hill") is a hill (elevation: 256 m) located in Durlach, a suburb of Karlsruhe in Germany. It is home to a castle ruin.

The Turmberg can be reached by the Turmbergbahn, a funicular railway. The original railway used water to weight the rail cars, but now it is run on electric.
wikipedia



This is written on the sign:
This tower is the remain of the ancient castle, which was built by Count von Hohenberg during the 1100s, extended during the 1200s and destroyed by Konrad von Lichtenberg, bishop of Strasbourg in 1279 A.D.
This tower was built between 1230 A.D. and 1250 A.D.


If the weather is nice you have a view to the Black Forest




to Karlsruhe and theRhine Valley, the Palatinate Mountains and Alsace






to the Kraichgau (Bruchsal is located at the edge of Rhine Valley to Kraichgau)




Durlach

I really waited for this day. I wished to see more of Bruchsal and finally we went out to go to the sightseeing places.

Bruchsal has about 42 000 inhabitants, if you also count those in the five suburbs, which are Heidelsheim, Helmsheim, Untergrombach, Obergrombach and Büchenau. It was first mentioned in 796 A.D., but there had been an older settlement. 80 % of Bruchsal had been destroyed during World War II. on 1rst of March 1945. So you hardly find really old places.

Here you see the tower of the old part of Bruchsal's hospital. In the building you find different doctors. The hospital is in a newer part.




Just turning on your heels you can see the interesting building of Bruchsal's prison. The prison, constructed ca. 1848, is nicknamed the Cafe with Eight Corners or "Cafe Achteck". Today it is a high security institution and predominantly houses individuals convicted of violent crimes and convicted terrorists, such as members of the Red Army Faction.




Schloss Bruchsal is one of the most beautiful Baroque palaces in Germany and the only episcopal Baroque residence on the Upper Rhine. The foundation stone was laid in 1722 by Cardinal Damian Hugo von Schönborn, Prince Bishop of Speyer, who made the palace the centre of his absolutist dominion.
After being almost completely destroyed in the final days of World War II, the main tract was painstakingly reconstructed according to the original design and work was completed in 1975, including the magnificent dome, Marble Hall and Prince's Hall. The staircase designed by Balthasar Neumann is considered to be an architectural tour-de-force and has been described as the "finest staircase in the world".

Back part of the palace, first photo with the tower of the church St. Damian and Hugo, which sadly isn't baroque anymore.








There are many statues in the palace garden. For of them show the four seasons. This one is summer.




There are also the four elements fire, water, air and earth. This one is water.




Then we went to the rose garden.








This is the gate called Damianstor. It is the entrance to the palace area.




I also want to show you the main entrance of the baroque palace.




Here is the county court of Bruchsal.




In front of the county court you find the Amalienbrunnen, a fountain with snails.






The Belvedere on the edge of the "Stadtgarten" was built by Leonhard Stahl in 1756 as a hunting lodge for Prince Bishop Franz Christoph von Hutten. The location was chosen so that the lodge would command an unspoiled view of the palace, town and Rhine rift valley beyond.

Especially worthy of note are the two towers, each of which has a viewing platform topped with a Chinese-style baldachin – an example of the fashion for chinoiserie prevalent at that time. Today, the Belvedere is used as a venue for concerts and theatre productions.




At top of the Andreasstaffel, high stairs, you have a great view over Bruchsal. The houses below belong to the oldest part of Bruchsal. You also can see the tower of the ancient castle and of two churches (from left).




The flat roofs belong to the older peoples house. In the far you can see the church St. Peter, a really nice baroque church.




All the houses with flat roofs and the white house on the left below this grey building with little tower belong to the older peoples house. The grey building is a private catholic grammar school.

I'm on a trip with my host's pupils and her. We are on a farm in Schotten called Oberwaider Hof with many horses and I learnt a lot about them and about other animals as there are pigs, rabbits, ducks and geese and a mother cow herd.

Today we drove to Ulm and took some photos on the way. It was a bit difficult to take sharp photos, because it was too dark. The photos by night are from Stuttgart. We've seen the big wheel, but it is also a blurry photo. And you can see the small bridge, that leads you to the Wilhelma.


Here we are close to Geisslingen.
















We've seen the Cathedral of Ulm in the far.




On our way home it was getting darker and darker, so there are only a few photos, which are a bit better. Nevertheless it is what we've seen, when we drove and drove and drove.






Here's the blurry photo with the big wheel in Stuttgart. Stuttgart is the main city of Baden-Württemberg.






And here is the small bridge.

My host's son started to study in Ulm and so he needs a room, where he can sleep. Because it was so difficult to find a place, my host decided to drive to Ulm and stay there for two nights to help him. She had the car, so it was easier to drive from house to house.



We had a nice, but most of the time foggy view to the Ulm Minster - cathedral.





Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. Ulm was founded around 850, is rich in history and traditions as a former Free Imperial City (German: freie Reichsstadt). Today, it is an economic centre due to its varied industries, and it is the seat of a university (University of Ulm, founded in 1967).

In the afternoon we had time for a sightseeing tour. This is a Lutheran church called Pauluskirche. At first we thought, that it is a gate. The church was built between 1908 and 1910, so it is younger than we thought it is.






Inside the church it is rather dark, so it was really difficult to take nice photos - they are just terribly dark.

Then we visited the catholic church Saint George. I really liked the colours and paintings.




We walked through Herrenkellergasse. At the corner to Rabengasse we found these nice old houses and had a nice view to the steeple of the Minster.






Internationally, Ulm is primarily known for having the church with the tallest steeple in the world (161.53 m (529.95 ft) high and 768 steps)., the Gothic minster (Ulm Minster, German: Ulmer Münster) built 1377-1891.




The Rathaus (Town Hall) was built in 1370, featuring some brilliantly-coloured murals dating from the mid-16th century. On the gable is an astronomical clock dating from 1520. Restored after serious damage in 1944.








The old Fischerviertel (fishermen's quarter) on the River Blau, with half-timbered houses, cobblestone streets, and picturesque footbridges is fascinating. An interesting sight here is the Schiefes Haus(crooked house), a 16th-century house today used as a hotel.







According to legend, construction of the spire of the Ulm Munster was halted while only halfway completed when a wagon carrying a large wooden beam - loaded sideways - arrived at the narrow city gate. After contemplating how best to proceed, the mayor of Ulm gave the order to tear down part of the city wall, but before the order was carried our, a sparrow-like bird was observed maneuvering a long twig into its nest - lengthwise! Following the lead of the sparrow, the beam was turned, the wagon passed through the narrow gate, work was resumed, the cathedral was completed, and the legend of the Ulmer Spätze was born.




At last we walked down to the river Danube and enjoyed the sunset.

This is the last view out of our room, short before we drove home again. This morning we have a nice view to the Ulm Minster.

It's just one month since my last update, but we had a really terrible weather and my host was very busy. Today we watched the snow falling to the ground. If it will stay there for a while?

In the evening we heard some loud noise outside. We saw it was a firework in a park and tried to take photos of it with us. It was quite difficult, so the photo is rather blurry. You can see the curtain in the door of my host's room.

Our host was way too busy during the last weeks. And we sat there and waited for things to happen. Today finally she decided, that Christmas without Christmas cookies isn't Christmas. So she sorted our the recipes of the cookies, she wanted to bake. At first we baked the Zigeunerschnitten, a sort of gingerbread. It is my host's favourite.

It is Sunday, the fourth of advent. So nobody did think, that the doorbell would ring and the postman would come and bring a package. But suddenly we heard a bell ringing and when we went to the door we found a big package in the hands of the postman. Of course we were very excited, especially because it was the day before Holy Eve. So we all sat around the package and waited until Kari and Robby had opened it.




What a big surprise for us! There were so many new toyvoyagers guests in the package: Michel, nosyblue, Bobi, Hippy and Queenie and Robbi. So the house got crowded








We told them to walk out of the package, so we could introduce each other and exchange adventures. We had a nice chat.

Our hosts received a present: An Anastatica. Anastatica is found in arid areas in the Middle East and Sahara Desert, including parts of North Africa and regions of Iran, Egypt, Palestine, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, and Pakistan .

After the rainy season, the plant dries up, dropping leaves and curling branches into a tight ball, and "hibernates". Within the ball, the fruits remain attached and closed, protecting the seeds and preventing them from being dispersed prematurely. The seeds are very hardy and can remain dormant for years. Wetted again in a later rainy season, the ball uncurls and the plant wakes up from its dormant state, which causes the capsular fruits open (dehisce) to disperse the seeds.




Then we finished some other cookies called Staenglein. They are very yummy.




On Holy Eve we had the family's traditional dinner: chicken fricassee in pasty with lamb's lettuce.




Later we sat around the plate with cookies and sang Christmas carols under the Christmas tree.
sorry, it was so dark, so the photos aren't that good and somehow the flashlight didn't work.

We have our Silvester Dinner now. It's fondue with minced meat and different sauces and some other little food like cornichons and more. It way yummy.

Finally it is time to welcome the New Year 2013. We watched the fireworks and our host's children made a special firework with sparklers for us. Then we went to bed, really tired.