Bathing Optional

Germany : late spring, 2003

Continents

Continents

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Frankfurt, our first taste of Europe as we flew into this financial capital from Egypt. As with many European cities, it shows off a mix of historic and modern buildings, sometimes right next to one another.
Little of old Frankfurt remains, but what does is centered around this square.
Ashe on one of Frankfurts streets and very happy to finally be in Europe.
Just a short train ride from Frankfurt is Heidelberg with its fantastic old town and one of Germanys most impressive castle ruins.
Heidelbergs castle over its old town buildings.
Flowery building in downtown Heidelberg.
Wurst (dont call it a hotdog!) stand, a common sight throughout Germany.
Gated bridge in central Heidelberg.
Old knight watches over the main gated entrance into Heidelbergs castle on the hill.
View from Heidelbergs castle grounds down over the old town.
Old town Heidelberg.
Maciej and Ashe, enjoying the greenery (finally!) of a park in Heidelberg.
Upon our arrival in fantastic Quedlinburg, Ashe kisses the ground, proclaiming, thank God were finally in Europe! Everything is so clean and worry free here!
Quedlinburg turned out to be one of our favorite small towns in Germany. It was the perfect stereotypical German town complete with cobbled lanes, peak roofttops, and Tudor-style beams.
Tiny bridge over tiny canal in Quedlinburg.
Quedlinburgs main square.
Typical side lane in Quedlinburg.
Fantastic row of buildings.
One last view across Quedlinburg.
Statue of Johann Sebastian Bach stands in a small square by one of Leipzigs main churches.
Heavily bombed by Allied Forces, Dresden today is an important stop in former East Germany.
Clock tower in Dresdens old town.
Once an important renaissance-type city, Dresdens old buildings still show some of its historic glory.
One of Dresdens more famous sights is this giant porcelein mural stretching the length of this long wall.
Just a small part of the caravan pictured on the mural.
Another of Dresdens more impressive buildings with crowds of tourists below.
Close up of old renaissance type facade in Dresden.
Not far from Dresden is the small town of Meissen with another of Germanys noteworthy chateaus.
Cobbled street approach to Meissens hilltop palace with giant, black church towers rising above.
View from inside the palace grounds back down over the town of Meissen.
We finally arrived in Berlin and when there it was hard to miss the TV Tower.
Probably Berlins most famous sight is Brandenburg Gate which once marked the boundary between East and West Berlin.
Berlins largest church known simply as the Dom.
Berlin is known as a city of culture. Here, a xylophonist entertains in museum square.
Maciej and Ashe seated by the Dom.
The old East Government HQ.
Fabulous Berlin facade.
One of Berlins palaces.
Not far from Berlin is the former royal capital of Potsdam.
Maciej and Ashe trying (unsuccessfully) to mirror a statue.
Lunch in the park.
Hamburg, Germanys premier port (both historically and currently) is a fantastic city of brick and iron.
Civic buildings, Hamburg.
Ashe enjoying her first bite of pizza in a long, long, long time.
Hamburgs Red Light district is one street closed off at either end.
Business on the docks.
Classic Hamburg scene -- lots of red brick and strong iron bridges.
Entering a fairy tale. Lubeck, just north of Hamburg, is a great little medieval town.
On the recommendation of friends from Holland we stopped in the tiny town of Bernkastel in German wine country along the Mossel River.
Full of character, Bernkastel is a great little town.
Typical shop, Bernkastel.
Old cross in Bernkastel square.
Sign.
View over Bernkastel from vineyards above.
View of Bernkastel and the Mossel River from tiny castle in the vineyards above.
Trier is known for its Roman relic, this giant gate at the old towns edge.
Tower in old town Trier.
Statue and rooftop.
Berchtesgaden is the access town to Germanys southernmost region -- the heart of the Bavarian Alps, a land of lakes and mountains.
Ashe putting her feet in the water at our campsite along Berchtesgadens lake.
Mountain goats in Berchtesgaden meadows.
Lake sunrise.
Munich is Germanys most visited city for good reason. The capital of Bavaria is a wonderful, colorful city.
View over Munichs main town square.
Colorful rooftops.
Munichs Frauenkirche is a wonderful double towered church.
Frauenkirches towers above one of Munichs historic hotels.
Munichs Rathaus is one of Germanys best City Halls.
Another view of Munichs main town square.
Fantastic facade.
Another great building.
Ashe hanging on a lightpole.
Insided Munichs Residenz, the old royal palace, this statue depicts the beheading of Medusa.
Lavish rooms inside the Residenz.
Lords chair in the Residenz.
Residenz hall.
Icon in the Residenz museum.
Fine yellow church.
Munichs Englischer Garden where its the norm to go nude.
Near the tiny town of Fussen is the castle of Neuschwanstein, the most fairy tale-like of all of Germanys castles. This scene is the highlight of Bavaria.
Approaching Neuschwanstein along the winding mountain road.
Neuschwansteins main gate.
View of the Fussen countryside from Neuschwanstein castle window.
To escape the big city feel of Munich we made our way over to quiet, and very beautiful, Regensburg.
Ashe relaxing in the shade of a tree in Regensburg.
Plenty of religious images adorn not only churches but building corners in all parts of Europe.
Cant escape the grafitti even in this wonderful, small town.
Lots of color in Regensburg.
More colorful buildings.
Ashe enjoying one of our standard European dinners, mashed potatoes, along Regensburgs riverside.
Quiet and empty, the streets on Bamberg.
Bamberg, once the capital of a non-secular kingdom, still shows signs of historic relevance.
Great building straddling the canal.
Fantastic and well-preserved murals.
The grand main cathedral in Bamberg.
The most impressive McDonalds weve seen anywhere -- right at Nurembergs main train station.
Nuremberg is a great medieval town.
Fantastic facade.
Figures on fantastic clock in one of Nurembergs squares.
Canal-side building, Nuremberg.
This guy needed little excuse to drink beer and make speeches to anyone who would listen.
Nuremberg has its fair share of canals.
Fine wooden bridge spanning one of Nurembergs canals.
Is it a building or a bridge, or both?
Another canal-side scene in Nuremberg.
Bridge leading up to the hilltop citadel over Nuremberg.
Entry gate to the hilltop castle grounds.
Enjoying the medieval castle court.
View over Nurembergs castle from its youth hostel (built right into another tower!).
View over Nuremberg and its many towers.
Ashe showing off her new backpack!
One of our final stops along Germanys fairy tale route was the town of Rothenburg ob Tauber, an incredibly well-preserved medieval town built on a hill. Once through the gate and inside the city walls its like stepping back in time.
Rothenburgs main square.
Christmas truck parked in Rothenburgs streets.
Part of the city wall surrounding the town.
Its possible to climbe up to the top of the city walls and walk around along this covered wooden walkway.
Views over town from the wall walkway.
Rothenburg is a maze of streets and lanes like this one.
Rothenburg skyline.
More Rothenburg rooftops.
View across Rothenburg rooftops.
Perfect triangle rooftops.
Rothenburg towers.
View down over Rothenburg.
Fantastic buildings as far as the eye can see.
As we werent staying in hotels or hostels, these kinds of in the forest shampoos were normal for us.
Rothenburg also has a little Torture Museum housing all kinds of medieval devices of torture. Try to guess what all these are.
Maciej locked up in the this medieval device.
Our last stop in Germany was a small town north of Frankfurt where we joined our friends Cissy and Thilo from Japan for their wedding reception!
Happilly married!
Out for a day around Frankfurt.
While with Thilo and Cissy we visited Thilos nearby university town which is home to this unique apartment block.
Also in that town is this great little Orthodox church.
And a final farewell to our friends and to Germany!

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