I was truly privileged as a child. We lived in a modest house but the back garden bordered the high wall surrounding the castle grounds. In my father’s day this park was off bounds for the townspeople (except on Easter Sunday or Monday, for a couple of hours). Nowadays the park is public and the castle is the town hall. To me, it was always the playground just behind the house.
For The Daily Post where Cheri asked to share a favourite place. More favourite places can be found here.
A courtyard in the old part of town where an old streetlamp has found shelter from the urban renewal going on outside.
For Black & White Sunday, a trace of the past. More traces can be found here.
Weinheim, in southwestern German, is known as the “two castle town” although “two fortress town” would be more accurate. The lower one, called Windeck, is a ruin, more than a thousand years old. The Wachenburg is a relatively new building, only about 100 years old, constructed as a venue for student fraternities of technical universities. I like this shot because it shows the two castles from a different perspective than the usual photos of them.
Technically, the town should even be called “three castle town” – as there is also a proper castle, the small palace of the local count. My parents’ house is close, actually their garden borders the wall surrounding the castle grounds. This photo is quite unusual and does the whole structure a bit of a disservice but I like it because it is how I used to look up to the tower as a child, through the branches of the large cedar (said to be the oldest in Germany). My dad used to work in this building (it houses the town council nowadays) and one can just see the window of his office in the bottom right corner.
Another wonderful feature and tourist attraction is the botanical garden “Hermannshof” which features many trees planted 200 years ago. It is a pleasure to visit any time of year. This photograph was taken in early summer.
This is for The Daily Post, sharing photos of the place I live – again, after being away for many years. Other people showing off their world can be found here.
The Exotenwald in Weinheim (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exotenwald_Weinheim) is the local forest, just a few steps from the centre of town. It was established in the middle of the 19th century and it has many exotic trees – not planted as single individuals but in large groups over hectares of woodland. Since it is so close to town with unrestricted access it used to be my playground when I was little. I still like to go for walks there – the following photos were all taken on a single afternoon this summer.
This last photo is of the mausoleum in the corner of the park, just where the woodlands start. It’s the grave of the family von Berckheim, Freiherr Christian F.B. von Berckheim started the arboretum.
This is for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: needs to have the letters O and U in the word.
Oh, I see, you meant a mansion like this.
One Word Picture Challenge. More photos with mansions (houses) can be found here.
These ladybugs were a nursery school group taking part in a spring parade.
for the One Word Photo Challenge: Ladybug
More ladybugs can be found here.
I loved this sculpture in front of the public library in Ladenburg since I first saw it. It’s a reference to reading itself – whatever kind of books you like.
And while we are in Ladenburg (a small town in the southwest of Germany) have a look at this medieval tower, I could happily see it standing in Ankh-Morpork, maybe the tower of the Unseen University before the vice-chancellors got eccentric and went for the Babylonian style of architecture (I am referring to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, of course).
This tower stands about 10 kilometres to the northeast in Weinheim. It’s part of the local castle and since I was little I noticed its turrets and bay windows and dormer windows – and imagined myself a Disney princess when I was there.
And can’t you see the reference to Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea?
pictures imperfect blog 