Michelstadt

One little town I have wanted to visit for a while is Michelstadt.  I had read in a book that it was "a town of extraordinary beauty set in the enchanted forest of the Nordic god Odin."  David had already been to it for a business meeting, so it was the perfect town to visit with Anaëlle while everyone else was a work and school.

Michelstadt is located in Odenwald, a forest area that straddles several German states, including Hessen, Baden and Bavaria. It is unclear whether the name means Odin Forest (Odin being a Nordic god) or Forest of Odes. There was a Roman settlement here, but Michelstadt was first mentioned in writing in 741 AD.

I was looking forward to seeing the Rathaus (townhall), one of the most photographed sights in Germany.  We enjoyed the peaceful 1½ hour drive, parked the car, made our way to the Marktplatz, turned a corner and came upon....

....the Rathaus. Nein! Nein! Nein! I even threw in a Scheiße under my breath for good measure. One of the most photographed sights in Germany covered not just in scaffolding, but in bloody advertisements.  I knew through the power of the internet, we could see pictures of the Rathaus in all its glory, but what a disappointment.

The Rathaus was built in 1484 and the only alteration over the past 500 years has been the addition of a clock, moved from a different part of town.  The open ground floor accommodated the local court, while the townspeople and watchmen congregated outside.

The Rathaus is located in the Marktplatz which also features this 16th century fountain topped with a statue of of the town's patron saint, St. Michael. You see St. Michael all over the town, but Michelstadt was not named for him, as I had assumed. Rather, the original form michlinstadt is derived from the Old High German word michel, which means large.

A local doctor makes his specialty perfectly clear.

The grasshopper of this restaurant's sign caught my eye.

A private ivory museum, though I didn't know what it was at the time and thought the elephant decorations were interesting.

Passing through the town walls, we could get a good look at Michelstadt Castle, originally a Frankish manor which was bestowed on Einhard, the biographer of Charlemagne, in 815. Soon after, the manor was converted into a castle, then destroyed in 1304 and rebuilt. When the town wall was constructed around 1400, the castle was integrated into its defense complex.

Crossing back over the old-dry moat to the Diebsturm (Thieves' Tower).

Anaëlle in front of the Diebsturm, a corner tower of Michelstadt Castle, which served as a prison. Since the tower had no ground-level entrance, prisoners entered the dungeon through a trapdoor in the upper story.

I haven't been able to find out any information on this statue in front of the tower.

These 16th century administrative buildings added to the castle help make up the complex called the Kellerie.

This tiny house would make a wonderful scrapbooking cottage.

Upper story of a toy store

Michelstadt's Town Church is located just behind the Rathaus and its steeple was also covered in scaffolding. Dedicated to the Archangel Michael and Saint Killian, it was constructed from 1461to 1537.

Church door detail

The Mother-In-Law Fountain is one of the town's oldest fountains and was moved here from the Marktplatz in 1575. Its name is derived from the emblem stone under the orb which shows the coat of arms of the home city of the man who donated the fountain, George I, Count of Erbach, as well the home cities of his wife, her mother (George's mother-in law), and his own mother (his wife's mother-in-law).

This would have been much more enjoyable (and attractive) if the fountain had been turned on. In the middle of winter, with Anaëlle and I being what seemed to be the only tourists, the whole town was missing that nice festive atmosphere that comes with nice weather, happy people, and bubbling fountains. Oh, well.....

Upper floor of a bookstore. Click on the photo to get a closeup of the delightful drawings.

On the side of the bookstore.

Leaving the medieval center, Anaëlle just shook her head at this display of big bulky backpacks. Apparently in France, they have floppy American-style backpacks.

More Supermarket Finds

Another shopping trip in Germany, another bunch of interesting finds.

Our first item is for your dishwasher. Most Germans use those little dishwasher tablets as the cleansing solution and then you need to add two other chemicals: rinse aid and salt, and lights on the panel will blink reminding you to do so. Many of the detergent tablets claim they contain rinse aid and salt, but we were told that we should add extra rinse aid and salt anyway. Our dishwasher has special compartments for both and I usually need to refill them every three months or so. And we need the salt, of course, because the water here is so hard. I no longer notice the dirty beach smell when putting away the clean dishes, as I had mentioned when we first moved here.

Our old glasses from the U.S. were already a bit cloudy when we moved here, but new glasses I bought when we first got here are still crystal clear.  It's tablets and rinse aid for sure when we move home.

Germans don't eat as much corn as Americans, but you can usually find canned loose corn kernels at the store and at certain times of year, you may even come across some pre-husked corn on the cob. But I couldn't resist buying this cob in a jar.

Lidl, our local discount grocery store, sometimes features canned corn on the cob during "America Week." The first time I saw that, I picked up the can with the picture of corn on the cob on the label and shook it. Was it really canned corn on the cob? The heavy clunk clunk I heard and felt confirmed it.

Two of the non-discount supermarkets where I shop have several shelves of American items. For instance: yucky generic macaroni and cheese, many varieties of BBQ sauce, relish, Campbell's tomato soup (the only Campbell's flavor they carry, but we don't complain -- it's our favorite), Reese's peanut butter cups, marshmallows and 4 or 5 baking mixes (Bisquick, muffins, brownies -- no cake mixes). You will pay a pretty penny for all these items. We have discovered over the last few years, though, that either there is no German equivalent for these items or else that the German equivalent just won't do. These brownies are worth every one of those pretty pennies. To bake a 13x9 standard baking dish size set of brownies (2 boxes), I pay $13.50. You can find German brownie mix, but they turn out dry, flavorless and chalky.

But look closely at the package.

The first time I made brownies, I was putting the batter into the oven before I realized the instructions were in French. I speak French and just went with it, not realizing that I wasn't reading German. There are smaller print instructions in Greek, Italian, Portuguese and German. No English.

Ahhh, coffee ice cream. One of my greatest weaknesses. My ice cream flavor of choice. This week was the first time I have found coffee ice cream in a store. I had it one time at an ice cream parlor, but never found it at the supermarket. When my friend Kathy mentioned offhand last week that she found cappuccino ice cream at the Lidl, I choked on my coffee. Lord knows how long they'll have this flavor there, so I stocked up.

And Kathy also told me about these. Germans love yogurt.  You should see the huge selection of yogurt at Real, the SuperWalmart-type store.  And what sounds more appetizing that popcorn- and corn-flavored yogurt?  No one has been brave enough to sample them yet. I'll report back on the results.

Burg Frankenstein

Say the word Frankenstein and the one image that usually comes to mind is....

...this version of Frankenstein's monster, Boris Karloff from the 1931 film. 

But in the Frankfurt area, it also brings to mind Burg Frankenstein, the ruins of a 13th century castle located near Darmstadt.  On the way home from our very first trip to Heidelberg in September, 2007, we passed a sign for Burg Frankenstein.  "Do you think that is the Frankenstein?" I asked.

The answer to that question is "Maybe, maybe not." But we couldn't drive past that sign again without making a detour to see the castle for ourselves.

Fifteen minutes south of Frankfurt, a winding road takes you up a mountain to the ruins of a castle called Frankenstein. An original fortress was first built in the 10th century and the current castle was constructed beginning in the 13th century with additions in the next two hundred years. Abandoned as a residence in the late 1600's, it served for a while as a prison and then was completely forgotten and has been a ruin ever since with some walls, an intact though damaged distinctive tower and a small chapel, said to be haunted.

Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein in 1816 in Switzerland and most of the story takes place in Switzerland, the Alps, and on a ship. The author, however, was reported to have visited the Darmstadt area during a boat trip along the Rhine River in 1814.

Her visit may have been prompted by a tale related by her stepmother, an English translator for the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, according to Walter Scheele, German author of two books on Burg Frankenstein. In a letter Jacob Grimm wrote to Shelley’s stepmother in 1813, he described that years before, alchemist Johann Konrad Dippel, who was born at and lived in Burg Frankenstein, had performed strange medical experiments with cadavers he removed from nearby cemeteries.

According to Scheele, many believe it was this legend that inspired Mary Shelley to pen the renowned horror story.

Conventional wisdom holds that any connection between Mary Shelley and Burg Frankenstein is tenuous at best.  Shelley never mentioned visiting Darmstadt in her journals and she rarely spoke with her stepmother.

In 1976, American soldiers founded an annual Halloween festival at the castle which became one of the biggest Halloween festivals in Europe. We toyed with idea of visiting the castle last year on Halloween, but reports were that the festivities were too scary for kids under 16.

Whether or not Shelley was inspired by this castle or its name, we can say in all truthfulness and certainty, "We visited Frankenstein Castle."

Heidelberg

The plan today was to drive one hour to Heidelberg, to see the famous castle on the hill. What we didn't expect was the falling snow settling on the two inches on the ground that greeted us when we opened our shades. Panic set in. By the time we were all ready and dropped Rebecca off at our neighbor's house to spend the day, it was no longer snowing and the snow on the ground was almost entirely gone.

In the parking garage in Heidelberg, we saw these parking spots reserved for women, something you see in most large parking garages. Frauenparkplätze tend to be better lit, are located near pedestrian entrances and may offer better surveillance than regular parking spots.  But you also can't help but notice that some of these women's parking spots are noticeably wider than regular spots. Say no more, say no more.

From the Kornmarkt (Corn Market) you get a beautiful view of the Heidelberg Castle behind the 1718 Madonna statue.

The Heiliggeist Kirche (Church of the Holy Ghost) dominates Marktplatz, the main square of Heidelberg. Build during the early 15 century on the foundations of a much older church, it was both Protestant and Catholic from 1705 until 1936; the two faiths being separated by a wall between the nave and choir. The church is now exclusively Protestant. The tourist stalls along the outside walls have been there since medieval days and we visited each one, looking for the perfect souvenirs. On non-gloomy, non-wintry days, this square is hopping with tourists and the cafés are teeming with customers.

The Haus zum Ritter, now a hotel, was built in 1592 by a wealthy merchant and was the only mansion in Heidelberg to survive the French invastion of 1693. The architectural beauty and elegance of this Renaissance building makes it the finest historical and most artistic town house in Heidelberg.

Lovely detail on a local house

Famous monkey statue along the Neckar River. The modern sculpture of the "Brückenaffe" ("bridge monkey") relates to an ancient relief on the bridge showing a monkey with a mirror, according to legend intended to teach all new arrivals entering the city some humility.

David demonstrating how it's done

These two mice sitting next to the monkey are the artist's signature. A little research revealed this belief: Touch the mirror for wealth; the mice for many children; and the monkey's fingers for a return trip to Heidelberg.

On the beloved Alte Brücke (Old Bridge) in front of the famous Brückentor (Bridge Gate) which was once part of the town walls.

Even though there is a funicular (incline railway) up to the castle, we didn't want to be wimps and made the arduous climb up to the castle. It was easier than last time, when I had to push Rebecca in a stroller up the steep, bumpy cobblestone path.

In the courtyard of the castle. The earliest castle structure was built before AD 1214 and later expanded into 2 castles circa 1294; however, in 1537, a lightning-bolt destroyed the upper castle. The present structures had been expanded by 1650, before damage by later wars and fires. In 1764, another lightning-bolt destroyed some rebuilt sections. 

Detail from one of the castle's several façades.

Climbing up to the top of the Grosses Fass (Great Vat), the world's largest wine cask. Made in 1751, it has a capacity of approximately 220,000 litres (58,100 U.S. gallons).

The Grosses Fass is guarded by the statue of court jester Perkeo, a dwarf who had a monumental capacity for the juice.

This powder turret was split by an explosion in the late 17th century by French troops who had invaded Heidelberg.

Walking along the moat of the castle

We also visited the German Pharmaceutical Museum with its collection of over 20,000 objects representing the rich history of medical sciences and spanning two thousand years of pharmacy history.

As we looked at these apothecary's rooms, I could only think one thing....

....."This would make an awesome scrapbooking room!"

An Evening of Kegeling

We ended our day going Kegeling with friends of Micaela and James. We had our own private lane in the lower section of a restaurant, from where we ordered dinner.

Kegel involves only nine pins. The plastic or wooden ball is smaller and lighter than in ten-pin bowling, and the ball may have two or no finger holes. Being smaller, the ball will actually roll, rather than slide, down most of the lane distance, which is shorter than those for ten-pin bowling.

Anaëlle, who has been bowling "American-style" before, was the standout of the evening.