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- Feb 28, 2007
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Sorry this one has less to do with wilderness, camping and survival. However the castle does leave one in a sense of awe. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to come up against some of the stoned warriors situated as statues on the wall.
On my way back from Dubai I stayed a week in Germany and met up with my wife who I hadn't seen for the past month. I gave a lecture at the University of Landau, had another quick meeting in Brussels and then the rest of the days were just for enjoyment. We went to Heidleberg as tourists and for me the highlight was the Heidleberg castle tour.
We rented a car in Germany to drive from Landau to Brussels. Somebody mentioned on my Oman pic set how in the Middle East, they missed the greenery, forests and fresh water. I couldn't agree with this more. Germany provided a nice respite from the desert landscape. I was pleasantly surprised at how green the landscape was with hills and forests. Oh, we clocked at 180 km/h in one stretch on the famous Autobahn. That was about as fast as anyone in the rather cruddy little car was willing to push it, and that only for a minute or so.
A shot of bikes parked at the rail station. The trains are a mainstay of public transport there. Many people commute to work via the trains and have two bikes, one to get from home to the station and another parked at the station situated near work to get back to work. The trains are fast, efficient (always on time) and cheap. The IC-rails are more expensive but clock at 220 km/h, they are smooth as glass and much more efficient than air travel when moving distances of 200 km or so.
At the castle in Heidleberg, one of the retaining walls surrounding the bottom of the slope:
A cool tree - it grew bent while the camera was level
Imagine storming this wall in the 1600's!
This turret collapsed during an explosion during one of the many wars where the castle was laid to ruins. Mark Twain, the American author, described the Heidelberg Castle in his 1880 travel book A Tramp Abroad (From Wikipedia):
A ruin must be rightly situated, to be effective. This one could not have been better placed. It stands upon a commanding elevation, it is buried in green woods, there is no level ground about it, but, on the contrary, there are wooded terraces upon terraces, and one looks down through shining leaves into profound chasms and abysses where twilight reigns and the sun cannot intrude. Nature knows how to garnish a ruin to get the best effect. One of these old towers is split down the middle, and one half has tumbled aside. It tumbled in such a way as to establish itself in a picturesque attitude. Then all it lacked was a fitting drapery, and Nature has furnished that; she has robed the rugged mass in flowers and verdure, and made it a charm to the eye. The standing half exposes its arched and cavernous rooms to you, like open, toothless mouths; there, too, the vines and flowers have done their work of grace. The rear portion of the tower has not been neglected, either, but is clothed with a clinging garment of polished ivy which hides the wounds and stains of time. Even the top is not left bare, but is crowned with a flourishing group of trees & shrubs. Misfortune has done for this old tower what it has done for the human character sometimes−improved it. --Mark Twain[5]
On my way back from Dubai I stayed a week in Germany and met up with my wife who I hadn't seen for the past month. I gave a lecture at the University of Landau, had another quick meeting in Brussels and then the rest of the days were just for enjoyment. We went to Heidleberg as tourists and for me the highlight was the Heidleberg castle tour.
We rented a car in Germany to drive from Landau to Brussels. Somebody mentioned on my Oman pic set how in the Middle East, they missed the greenery, forests and fresh water. I couldn't agree with this more. Germany provided a nice respite from the desert landscape. I was pleasantly surprised at how green the landscape was with hills and forests. Oh, we clocked at 180 km/h in one stretch on the famous Autobahn. That was about as fast as anyone in the rather cruddy little car was willing to push it, and that only for a minute or so.
A shot of bikes parked at the rail station. The trains are a mainstay of public transport there. Many people commute to work via the trains and have two bikes, one to get from home to the station and another parked at the station situated near work to get back to work. The trains are fast, efficient (always on time) and cheap. The IC-rails are more expensive but clock at 220 km/h, they are smooth as glass and much more efficient than air travel when moving distances of 200 km or so.
At the castle in Heidleberg, one of the retaining walls surrounding the bottom of the slope:
A cool tree - it grew bent while the camera was level
Imagine storming this wall in the 1600's!
This turret collapsed during an explosion during one of the many wars where the castle was laid to ruins. Mark Twain, the American author, described the Heidelberg Castle in his 1880 travel book A Tramp Abroad (From Wikipedia):
A ruin must be rightly situated, to be effective. This one could not have been better placed. It stands upon a commanding elevation, it is buried in green woods, there is no level ground about it, but, on the contrary, there are wooded terraces upon terraces, and one looks down through shining leaves into profound chasms and abysses where twilight reigns and the sun cannot intrude. Nature knows how to garnish a ruin to get the best effect. One of these old towers is split down the middle, and one half has tumbled aside. It tumbled in such a way as to establish itself in a picturesque attitude. Then all it lacked was a fitting drapery, and Nature has furnished that; she has robed the rugged mass in flowers and verdure, and made it a charm to the eye. The standing half exposes its arched and cavernous rooms to you, like open, toothless mouths; there, too, the vines and flowers have done their work of grace. The rear portion of the tower has not been neglected, either, but is clothed with a clinging garment of polished ivy which hides the wounds and stains of time. Even the top is not left bare, but is crowned with a flourishing group of trees & shrubs. Misfortune has done for this old tower what it has done for the human character sometimes−improved it. --Mark Twain[5]
