Germany: Quedlinburg: Timber Framed Construction

For visitors from the west coast of Canada, where it's almost impossible to find any buildings from pre-1860, Quedlinburg is completely unique. Quedlinburg, with it's many (apparently more than 1400) timber-framed houses, from several centuries, is one giant "Kodak Moment". I had to control myself. The postcard is just one of dozens of pictures I took.

Kaffeehaus Zum Roland,
Quedlinburg (2012-04-22)

Boardwalk in Sønderborg

This day started with a rising sun illuminating waterfront shops in Husum, Germany. By late afternoon, a low sun brightly lit up the waterfront sea walk and dock in Sønderborg, Denmark.

Strolling along the waterfront in 
Sønderborg (2012-04-19) 

Germany: Maria Laach: Artistry at the Abbey

The advantage of visiting friends or relatives when traveling is local knowledge. In the case of our visit with Beate and Paul, in the Ahr Valley, it was local knowledge - Beate's in this case - that took us to the abbey at Maria Laach. While teeming with visitors, this was a place we knew nothing about prior to our visit. Without Beate's local knowledge we would have missed the wonderful crafts displayed here. An example is the statue in this postcard.

Statue at the 
Maria Laach Abbey (2012-05-05) 

The Netherlands: Amsterdam: Bikes!

This postcard captures the quintessential Amsterdam. Bicycles! Oh yeah. More bicycles. This is a multi-level parking garage for thousands - yes, thousands - of commuter bikes.

Amsterdam's parking garage
for thousands of bikes (2012-04-10) 

Bremen; My Editorial Comment

I'll keep this post short and simple. Dogs can't read! But, in Bremen, apparently neither can dog owners. Generally, Europe, compared to where we live, is bad for unwanted dog shit on sidewalks. However, Bremen is most assuredly the worst place on the continent! Unless anyone can tell me otherwise.

Bremen. Apparently not a place for doggy-doo.
Yeah! Right! (2012-04-17) 

Leeuwarden; Capital of Friesland

At the start of the day we rented a car in Amsterdam. By late afternoon - rush hour to be precise - the car had taken us to Leeuwarden. This was not part of some carefully considered plan. No, it was getting late, we didn't have accommodation for the night (which Hanne was less than pleased about), and our unplanned route happened to take us past a MacDonald's restaurant. That's significant because, say what you will about this company, they generally do feature Wi-Fi in their restaurants. With a quick coffee and a Wi-Fi connection we were able to use hotels.com on our tablet to find a room for the night. This postcard view was directly opposite our gorgeous palace hotel.

Stadthuis in Leeuwarden (2012-04-11) 

Picturesque Greetsiel, Germany

Our first real stop in Germany, after crossing the Dutch border, was Greetsiel. Of course, we'd stopped briefly in Freepsum and Pewsum, but the absolute pouring rain put a damper on any enthusiasm we might have mustered to see more of those little villages. I was looking forward to visiting Greetsiel, and the gods played along; the torrential rain turned to drizzle and then stopped completely. In this postcard the streets and restaurants are empty as the rain had just stopped minutes before.

Rain has just stopped in picturesque
Greetsiel, Germany (2012-04-12)

Rain has just stopped in picturesque 
Greetsiel, Germany (2012-04-12)

Germany: Dagebüll: Wind-swept Dikes

On Day 11 of our European vacation, we awoke in Husum. After an amazing breakfast at the Thomas Hotel, we pointed the car in the direction of Denmark. On our way we stopped off to stretch our legs on the wind-swept dikes of Dagebüll.

Wind-swept Dikes of Dagebüll (2012-04-19)

Germany: Leibzig: Mende Fountain in the Augustusplatz

When we arrived in Eilenburg to visit Rosie and Ewald, we also had the good fortune to meet Roland, who volunteered to take us sightseeing in Leipzig. Without such an accomplished tour guide, we'd have never seen as many of the wonderful sights of this city as we did. Here, the neo-Baroque Mende Fountain, built in the Augustusplatz in 1886.

The neo-Baroque Mende Fountain,
built in the Augustusplatz in 1886 (2012-04-24)

Germany: Eilenburg: Steinerner Ritter

Normally, as tourists, we'd have never visited Eilenburg. However, as we were visiting Ewald and Rosie and they wanted to show us their home town, we got a chance to look about this small community. As is too often the case, tourists miss plenty by simply focussing on the so-called popular sights. Here, in Eilenburg, Steinerner Ritter caught my eye.

Steinerner Ritter near the
Rathaus in Eilenburg (2012-04-23)

Germany: Idstein: View from the Hexenturm

Twenty days after arriving in Europe for our 2012 vacation, we found ourselves being shown around Idstein by Erich. Of course, no visit to this cute town would be complete without a climb up into the Hexenturm. While up there, I decided that this view just had to be photographed. To my mind, the town looked as though it were a toy set, or the kind of villages seen in model railroad configurations.

View of the town of Idstein
from the Hexenturm (2012-04-28)

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Germany: Cologne: Well-Worn Door Handle at Saint Gereon's Basilica

Our 32nd day of our European vacation took us to Cologne with Wolfgang and Brigitte. Without Wolfgang's local knowledge we would never have really seen the city as we did. Shortly after parking the car our tour of Cologne took us past Saint Gereon's Basilica and this well-worn door push. Or is it a door knocker? Or handle? This Basilica is one of twelve great churches in Cologne built in the Romanesque style.

Door Handle at Saint Gereon's
Basilica in Cologne (2012-05-10)