Next Stop: Germany

The Map Guy's dad got to visit Germany last January. He visited Mainz and Wiesbaden (not too far from Frankfurt). Then got to travel by car down to Nurnburg (Nurenburg) by autobahn - enjoying the Bavarian scenery along the way.

Here are a few of his pictures with his commentary...



This is the Catholic church in Wiesbaden. The stone parts are older than World War II. They have photos inside showing that all the other parts were destroyed during the war (I wish I could have seen the stained glass windows!). The bombers avoided hitting the building - but there was not much that could be done to save the glass etc.


Part of an ancient Roman wall in Wiesbaden. In the foreground is one of a number of items in the "open air" museum from Roman times. The wall was built during the reign of Valentinian - 370 A.D.

Most towns are isolated from each other - left over from the days when they would war against each other I guess. They have distinct boundaries unlike the suburbs of the USA. Some even have walls still! Like the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber that I visited. All towns seem to have a central area with a fountain - also left over from the days when water was not generally available from indoor plumbing!

There are a lot of German cities in the area with the word "bad" in them. They sound funny to us - Bad Kreuznach, Baden-Baden and Bad Windsheim. "Bad" means "bath" indicating that there are lots of hot springs in the area enjoyed by people back at least as far as Roman times. Baden-Baden is at the western edge of the famed Black Forest