Friday, 21 December 2012

Hohenzollern Castle...

After exploring Tubingen during the day, Candace and I were taken out to Hohenzollern Castle, a short drive away. This is a Gothic-style castle that was rebuilt during the 19th Century. The original castle dates back to the 11th Century. It was awesome to explore this impressive structure, and also browse at the annual Christmas Market held in the Castle's Courtyard. But boy, it was so cold! The temperature hovered at around -5 degrees Celcius (around 23 degrees Fahrenheit) most of the day, and the castle structure and fortifications were covered in a thick blanket of snow. What an amazing experience!

 Hohenzollern Castle on its hill.
 Little Gatehouse before getting to the Castle itself.
 Thick, thick snow!
 The sculpture above the Main Gate.
 The snow created an amazing atmosphere.
Note the rather cold statues above.
 It was so cold that there were icicles!
 Snow-covered trees.
 Beautiful wintry landscape.
 Snow on this gate.
 Amazing sunset over the snow.
 There are statues of Germany's old leaders around the Castle. They were wearing thick cloaks of snow!
 Weathered walls above.
 The Gate to the Courtyard.
 Inside the Courtyard.
 With another cannon.
 Candace and I.
 The Christmas Market.
Hohenzollern Castle at night.

Thursday, 20 December 2012

Exploring Tubingen...

Annika and Idrissa took us to see the university town of Tubingen on Friday, 30th November. There was some absolutely magnificent architecture in this quaint town - including the historic castle. The real treat for me, however, was earlier in the day when it snowed and I was able to be outside catching snow flakes on my tongue! It was so much fun! Here are some photos from playing in the snow and our walk through the pretty town of Tubingen.

 Snow-covered logs.
 With Candace in the snow.
 Catching snow flakes!
With Candace at the picture-perfect Tubingen.
The famous German poet Friedrich Holderlin lived in the tower of this yellow building
 This is the Evangelisches Stift, a Protestant Seminary since 1547. It was originally built as an Augustinian monastery around 1262! 
 Lots of bicycles here!
 The entrance to the Hohentubingen Castle. It sits on a hill above the town.
The design around the gate is amazingly intricate!
 The main castle building.
The rain gutters of the castle were designed to look like dragons!
 You cross over a moat to get into the castle building.
 Inside the courtyard. Most of this property is now used by the university. It was in a kitchen here in 1869 that Friedrich Miescher made an important biological breakthrough. He isolated "Nuklein", the substance that contains DNA, the carrier of genetic information.
With a cannon in the courtyard.
The view from outside the castle.
Looking over the old town.
Looking towards where we walked up.
The Lutheran church steeple.
The Lutheran church building.
 Fruit and vegetable market near the large Lutheran church.
 Note the small fellow taking strain holding up the building!
 Pretty creeper covering half of this building.
Traditional bratwurst sausages at a German bar!

Monday, 17 December 2012

Travels to Germany...

After leaving the ship, Candace and I flew from Conakry to Brussels and then onward to Frankfurt, Germany. Here we caught a high-speed train to Stuttgart where we were picked up by Annika, a Mercy Ships friend, and her sister Priska. Annika's church wedding was on the 1st of December and we were in Germany to attend this special occasion. We drove 45 minutes on the autobahn to Annika's hometown of Dusslingen, and stayed with neighbours in a cozy home. Driving to Dusslingen, I was very excited to see real snow for the first time in about 15 years!

 Driving on the autobahn - note the car on the right with snow on its roof!
 Snow-covered fields approaching Dusslingen.
 Snow outside Annika's parents home.
 Snow in the back garden.
View from our room.
Our cozy little room for three nights.