Out and about Baden and Pfalz

Justiceiro

I guess this isn't really a "journey", as I just moved here, but I have been taking advantage of the last few weekends to check out the area in and around Mannheim.

Speyer

Speyer is one of the oldest towns in Germany, first metioned in 150 AD as a roman encampment named after a previous celtic settlement. The city rose to prominence in 346 when it was named a dicoesan town. The Cathedral is one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture, started in 1061 and completed in 1111. It is the largest extant romanesque church in the world. Speyer was also the site of a number of Diets of the Holy Roman Empire. At one time it was an important center of Medieval Judaism, the yiddish family name "Shapiro" is derived from Speyer.


Speyer Powder Tower


Town Square


Kaisderdom zu Speyer (Speyer Cathedral)




Today Speyer has about 50,000 inhabitants and is nowhere near as important as it was historically. In 1689 it was sacked and burned by the French (as was Heidelberg) and never fully recovered. Fortunately, unlike Mannheim, Ludwigshafen or Frankfurt, it was never seriously bombed in World War II, so the city maintains a great deal of 17th century architecture.


"Fachwerk" house on Speyer's main avenue




Heidelberg

One of the most famous of German University towns (the university was founded in 1386), this was a favorite of Mark Twain, who spent several months here. Also sacked 1689 by the French, it's imposing castle remains in ruins.


View of Heidelberg from the castle


Cathedral Square


Heidelberg Castle, viewed from the exploded powder magazine tower


Castle Courtyard


Apothecary Museum




World's largest wine barrel

Worms

Worm's was the center of German Jewry for 1000 years, as well as the location of the famous Edict of Worms, issued by an Imperial Diet held ther in 1536 outlawing Luther and attempting to suppress the nascent protestant movement.

I've already gone over the Jewish Cemetery in Worms in this thread, but this time we visited the rest of the city.




City Gate


Police boat on the Rhine


"Jewish Alley"


Synagogue Square and Judengasse


Candelabra, Wormser Synagogue




Worms Cathedral




Cathedral Interior


Stained Glass


Votive Candles

Schwetzingen

Schwetzingen has an 18th century Elector's palace (an Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, a sort of Prince) with a huge pleasure garden attached.


Schloss Schwetzingen Garden Entrance


Islamic Pavilion







MannheimMannheim is where I currently live, or will after I move into the apartment on July 15th. It was once the seat of the local Elector, and is one of the most important towns in the area. Unfortunately, it is situated across the river from the world's largest chemical plant (run by BASF) and got plastered during the war. Much of Mannheim was reconstructed, but it lacks the historical feel of other cities in Germany.


Mannheim's Water Tower (wasserturm), the center and the symbol of the city


Wasserturm park

I'll post more in here when I have some more weekend adventures.

Awais Yaqub

Great !
Loved the photos and great read

schmoo

Awesome and I am so jealous! You got to see some real culture and gorgeous old houses of worship. How are you liking it over there? How is S liking it?

We'll have to hit you up the next time we're in the Vaterland.

jziegler

Great photos! I hope that you're enjoying Germany.

You got some great shots in Heidelberg. An overrated town (from what I saw) but some good sights anyway. I really like the view from the castle. I guess I should have gone up.

Looking forward to seeing more as you explore Germany.

geospatial_junkie

These make me really want to go to Europe!:cry

Xoote

Nice shots. Makes me want to go and visit

Justiceiro

schmoo wrote:

Awesome and I am so jealous! You got to see some real culture and gorgeous old houses of worship. How are you liking it over there? How is S liking it?

We'll have to hit you up the next time we're in the Vaterland.

S is busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest, as always. We have been arranging my green card, setting up the health insurance, looking for an apartment- and now I am currently back in New York (our apartment which we are trying to sell had some water issues).

I like it fine. I have had some mad crazy experiences for only being there two weeks. Seriously wierd. All in all we are pretty lucky. S knows a ton of people over there and one of them has really taken us under her wing and introduced us to a number of people. They have great bike paths, excellent food, and cool sports associations. (I play beach volleyball every tuesday now). I'm taking 6 hours of German a day. My head is full.

Also, people are constantly naked over here, and if that isn't a reason to visit, well then I don't know what is.

P.S. Our new apartment is awesome. All Dgrinners get a 10% discount on rent when they visit!

zweiblumen

R-

Great shots as always, but really dude, we need to make your left leg a little bit longer

Can't wait to go visit you guys in der Vaterland.

Justiceiro

zweiblumen wrote:

R-

Great shots as always, but really dude, we need to make your left leg a little bit longer

Can't wait to go visit you guys in der Vaterland.

There is always a room for you at the Haus. It has 3 meter cielings, it is 50% larger than my shoebox in JC, and it's on the corner of Joseph Hayden and Richard Wagner streets. Fer real. If you play volleyball with us on tuesday, you can shower with naked chicks. Check the blog later for more on that.

Also, I'm all arbeitlos for the next 6 months, so I am available for tour guiding. I am going to get a T-Shirt made that reads "Arbeitslos Auslander"

Justiceiro

jziegler wrote:

Great photos! I hope that you're enjoying Germany.

You got some great shots in Heidelberg. An overrated town (from what I saw) but some good sights anyway. I really like the view from the castle. I guess I should have gone up.

Looking forward to seeing more as you explore Germany.

I don't really get the fuss about Heidelberg either. The castle is really the coolet part, the rest of the city is rather underhelming (although the castle is great.)

Nikolai

OMG!
I'm jealous! :-)
I can see another book coming:-)

PS
Too much HDR in some, methinks

Justiceiro

Lorsch and Heppenheim

From May to October the Rhine region is full of wine festivals. there is a free guide published by the government that lists all of them- Everywhere, from the smallest village to the largest city, has one. The wine is good, and incredibly cheap (one can get a fantastic white for about 2 Euros), naturally, we have been planning our explorations of the region around which place is currently havine a wine festival. And so it was that we came to discover the towns of Lorsch and Heppenheim.

Both of these are neither in the Palatinate nor Baden-Wurtemburg, but rather, in Hesse- Home of those filthy Hessian mercenaries that are the sourde of so many New Jersey ghost stories.

Lorsch and Heppenheim are about 25 minutes from Mannheim, and were untouched by WWII. They still retain an enormous amount of Fachwerk architecture.

Lorsch


The drugstore in Lorsch

Lorsch, with 12,000 inhabitants, is famous for two things; a Carolingian abbey and for being the birthplace of Siegfried, hero of the Nibelungenlied. He's not buried there, of course, being entirely mythical.

Not much remains of the Lorsch Abbey, as it was founded in 764 and has seen a lot of hard times since then. At the time it was the center of catholicism in this part of the world- today only a gate, and part of the cathedral's narthex. The gate is one of the best preserved examples of Carolingian architecture in Germany.


The Carolingian Gate


The Narthex

Other than that, there ain't much in Lorsch. Except, strangely, a vietnamese restaurant.

Heppenheim

One of the great things that happens to you in Germany. Just five minutes from Lorsch and 35 minutes from Mannheim, none of our friends had ever heard of it. We picked it randomy out of the wine festival book. The Allies apparently didn't notice it either, as it escaped bombing in WWII. Earlier, it had not been so lucky.

The Thirty years War(1618-1648) didn't go well for Heppenheim; it was taken by the Spanish (for the catholics) in 1621, Then the Swedes (for the prtoestants) in 1630; in 1635 there was plague, and then, as usual for the region, it was sacked by the French in 1645. Due to the fact that France claimed the region it was fought over by the French incessantly, until a fire in 1693, caused by the French troops, burned the city almost to the ground. Still, what remains in the center is impressive. The center still has hosues from the 1450s.

When we entered the old city walls, this is what we found.



Very small, very intimate, very relaxed, and full of good cheap wine.




Heppenheim City Hall (Rathaus)






Along with the wine, of course, was the Wurst.



Fantastic food was available.



After all that eating and drinking, we met some friends at the Germania Sportveriein, established in 1895, for a game of Indiaka. Sport clubs cost about 30 euros a year to join, and the have a soccer field, a few beach volleybal courts, and indoor volleyball court, showers (one only, they are unisex) and, best of all, a pub.

Indiaka is like a cross between volleyball and badminton.





All in all, a very pleasent weekend.

jziegler

Very cool second set. Love the old German architecture in those towns. Looks like a great wine festival. Looks like an interesting game too.

nightspidy

Just so you know...
I am horribly jealous!!! You are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place. Your pictures are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing

Justiceiro

nightspidy wrote:

I am horribly jealous!!! You are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place. Your pictures are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing

Don't get me wrong, I love the United States, but it's really great to have everything so concentrated here. Photogenic spots are always close by.