
War memorials often show soldiers or warriors or national emblems. This one in Guttach in the Black Forest shows the survivors.
Debbie’s oddity of today is Bell Rock. Since this rock formation has a kind of angular look to it I remembered that I have an odd bell in my collection, a square one, in fact. It’s a fire warning bell that is housed in an old wooden tower that is otherwise used to hang fire hoses to dry: Der Schlauchtrockenturm in Ritschweier.
The mural on this building in Mannheim is called “Nations in Peace – Colourful Cultures”. It has been designed with students from two schools under the guidance of the artist Bahaiden.
This painted pebble has the same message – albeit on a much smaller scale.
Both are necessary.
I had been wondering about this strange looking sculpture. A fox? Possibly. But the ears are not quite right.
Last time we passed this place in Michelstadt a small group of tourists were there with a guide and since we seemed interested we were invited to listen. The figure is indeed a fox, Reineke Fuchs to be precise, the title character of a medieval story which has been told again and again. Apparently every now and again the ears are broken off – the guide blamed local schoolkids – and everytime they are repaired they are little bit bigger than their predecessors, hence the unusual look.
Definitely more than six words this week but I just had to after Debbie’s photo and Queen Victoria’s missing finger.

There is a small explanation needed how I got from “Waxy” to an Ireland rugby jersey. Only a small one, really.
Frankfurt am Main has quite a few Irish pubs and we tried out a few but Waxy’s is the one we go to when we want to watch a rugby match. It hasn’t got as many screens as O’Reilly’s at the station, but it’s not as cramped as Mac Gowan’s on the Zeil, Frankfurt’s shopping street. And in the Anglo-Irish Pub in Sachsenhausen you sometimes have to argue with the English football fans if an interesting football game is on. Besides – Waxy’s has the easiest for parking for out-of-towners like us.
With Ireland doing well in this year’s Six Nations, Waxy’s was the first association that came to mind when I heard today’s prompt


Last week I drove a mere 4 km from home and found out that there is a castle in the second village down the road. I never knew. It’s called Schloss Wiser and is still owned by the family who had it built in 1710. It’s not open to the public cause the family lives there on occasion but when I approached the gates opened. I didn’t go inside the court yard though but I took a picture of the ungated view.
So if the owner and resident is an Earl – what do you call the building then? A palace? A castle? A stately home? Does it matter? Not really, except to a translator who wants to get it right.
Jez oddity today is a door in an odd place. I think I can top the oddness – imagine stepping out of this door and falling in a little scream — 😂 oh, what a beautiful typo! I had to leave it. The stream is called Gerberbach and was an artificial branch of the Grundelbach servicing the tanners living in this quarter. They lived right on the water and often had small bridges outside their doors, often now dismantled.
With or without bridge, it’s odd, isn’t it?
The museum of Michelstadt is in house built almost 500 years ago. The wooden beams are old


and beautiful.