This is a typical free-standing house in the Hessian part of the Odenwald. The ground floor on the outside is a plainly painted. The walls of the first floor and up are covered with wooden shingles, sometimes in natural brown wood colour, but often painted in pastel colours. In the middle of the roof is a large gable, decorated with wooden cut outs. The windows have a contrasting border.
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A little park, close to the botanical garden, has tennis courts in the middle and a memorial at the entrance. The memorial is for the victims of violence, war and persecution.
On 15 October 1940 the live-in patients of the local special care nursing home for people with physical or mental handicaps were moved to Grafeneck, an extermination facility. They were killed there.
On 22 October 1940 the Jewish people living in Weinheim were transported to the Camp de Gurs from where they were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Where they were killed.
The synagogue used to be near the memorial. It had been destroyed almost two years earlier on 10 November 1938 during the November pogroms.
Every year from mid-October onwards a few random suitcases are placed in the middle of the star of David which is embedded in the ground of the memorial. People had but a couple of hours to pack their belongings in a suitcase, one suitcase per person, before being taken from their homes.
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“But now, for the first time, I see you are a man like me. I thought of your hand-grenades, of your bayonet, of your rifle; now I see your wife and your face and our fellowship. Forgive me, comrade. We always see it too late. Why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear of death, and the same dying and the same agony–Forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy.”
Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front
“Aber du warst mir vorher nur ein Gedanke, eine Kombination, die in meinem Gehirn lebte und einen Entschluß hervorrief – diese Kombination habe ich erstochen. Ich habe gedacht an deine Handgranaten, an dein Bajonett und deine Waffen – jetzt sehe ich deine Frau und dein Gesicht und das Gemeinsame. Vergib mir, Kamerad! Wir sehen es immer zu spät. Warum sagt man uns nicht immer wieder, daß ihr ebenso arme Hunde seid wie wir, daß eure Mütter sich ebenso ängstigen wie unsere und daß wir die gleiche Furch vor dem Tode haben und das gleiche Sterben und den gleichen Schmerz -. Vergib mir, Kamerad, wie konntest du mein Feind sein.”
Erich Maria Remarque, Im Westen nichts Neues
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If you think Hubert’s t-shirt is ever so slightly objectionable, just be glad I didn’t show you Ethel’s shorts.
In summer it is a bit more difficult see the castle ruin Windeck because there are trees in the way. So I took advantage of the unimpeded view.
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There are bikes to rent at larger train stations. Uniform and boring and unloved. Deutsche Bahn wants passengers to use these bicycles instead of cluttering up trains with their own. But I have a wonderful bike, fitted to my needs and my size, I don’t want to ride a generic bike that has no e-assistance and is too large for me. And even if Deutsche Bahn makes it difficult with limited space in the wagons, with uneven levels between trains and platforms, with broken or non-existent elevators (and believe me it is hard work to haul a 23kg bike up a long flight of stairs), I want to ride MY bicycle. Oh my, this turned into a minor rant, I think (and don’t even get me started on people who rely on wheelchairs!).
This on the other hand is a bike that is loved. It’s stored on the balcony on the 9th floor of a dorm in Prague. The student obviously wants his bike close-by and safe even if it is a major schlep considering the small, old, creaky elevators in the building.
And this is the new bike autobahn between Frankfurt and Darmstadt (only completed in stages yet). Every 5 or so kilometres there is a bike station which provides shelter from the rain, air for flat tires and tools to do minor repairs. And the path itself is a wide lane exclusive for bicycles to entice more commuters to leave their cars at home. Wynora Rider, my trusted steed, approves wholeheartedly – and wishes there would be more such bike ways soon.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Bicycles or Motorcycles
I was back walking past the little vinyard. Harvest has been a while ago but some grapes were overlooked.
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