From one end of Speyer's Maximilianstrasse to the other (Photo-essay)

A couple of blog entries back, a few readers wrote in the comments thread of being happy to see Hong Kong-centric entries again after my marked German focus of the past few weeks. But the fact of the matter is that close to one month after my German holiday, I still have quite a few thoughts about, and photos from, that trip that I want to share... including the following photos taken on a day trip to the quiet town of approximately 50,000 inhabitants and a UNESCO World Heritage-listed cathedral that is Speyer:-

After arriving by train into Speyer,
my German friend took me directly to climb
the tower of the town's Altportel (Old Gate),
parts of which date back to the 13th century

...from whose top grand views could be had --
including this one of the Maximilianstrasse
and, at the end of that street, Speyer Cathedral

As previously noted, I found Speyer
to be an unexpectedly quiet and uncrowded town

However, this is not to say I disliked the place --
and, in particular, I really liked the Altportel
and how it inspired me to take artistic photos

A view through an old window of the Altportel
that got me thinking of historical times
and maybe also fairytale places

Puppet Ponyo posing on Speyer's Maximilianstrasse
(after heading out of the cathedral fresh from
an organ music concert that evening)

An unobscured-by-Ponyo view of Speyer Cathedral

Close-up shot of the front of the impressively
monumental Romanesque cathedral that is
the largest Romanesque edifice in Germany