As before, I mainly stayed at her place, from where we would make day trips to nearby towns, but also went further afield a couple of times. And like on my 2010 visit, I ate a lot, drank quite a bit too, attended a concert, and visited lots of churches and cathedrals, a palace, a few museums and a couple of UNESCO World Heritage sites.
However, the weather was a great deal colder on this visit -- thanks to my visiting in winter rather than summer. While I wouldn't consider December the optimal time of the year to go to Germany (or, for that matter, Luxembourg too), there are some compensations: including there being Christmas markets in pretty much every town and city that I visited this time around! Also, while winter days have too few hours of sunlight for my liking, it's also true that winter nights can yield beautiful sights (and photos!)... ;b
Puppet Ponyo says: "Yes, my German friend was keen
once more to ensure that we start off the day with
Guess what we had for dinner at the first Christmas market
ever that I went to (over in Mannheim)! ;b
In addition to food and drink (think gluhwein!), there are
lots of stalls selling interesting items, many of them handmade
Among the stalls that I found fascinating were those
selling all manner of often surprisingly beautiful brushes!
Also pleasing to my eye was this night-time view of
Mannheim's landmark Wasserturm (Water Tower)
As this view of the grand Mannheim Baroque Palace shows,
I did spend some daylight hours in that city ;)
An after dark shot of the same palace
Talk about novel: a concert (featuring Christmas carols and
other songs sung a cappella) which took place in a working garage! :b
8 comments:
Hi YTSL,
Great to see you right back in form with this first entry of your trip to Germany. I look forward to reading more like this...In your top photo, Puppet Ponyo looks quite proud: a model pose of a world traveler who would be welcomed into anyone's home, and would be loved by children and adult's alike. That's why I consider her my friend.
Bill
Hi Bill --
No fear, there will be lots more entries like this -- or, at least, of my German trip! BTW, did you know that the first ever trip abroad that Puppet Ponyo accompanied me on was the one to Germany in 2010? ;)
http://webs-of-significance.blogspot.hk/2010/08/heidelberg-on-neckar-photo-essay.html
Thank you for sharing. Always happy to read your travel posts and look at the photos.
Hi "eliza bennet" --
Thanks for being interested in my travel posts and photos. :)
Hi YTSL,
I've read your 2010 entry about your trip to Germany, but I didn't realize that it was Puppet Ponyo's first trip abroad. I hope she takes many more trips in the future, further increasing her worldliness.
Bill
Hi again Bill --
So far, so good with regards to Puppet Ponyo as a travel companion - so I see no reason to not take her along on future trips abroad.
BTW, she got recognised (as the character from "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea") by a French woman in a Freiburg brauhaus on this trip. That made her day! ;)
Hi ytsl,
The breakfast at your friend's looks amazing again. Puppet Ponyo looks so happy sitting on the table with all the yummy foods.
Hi sarah sbk --
The food was indeed very yummy. Special shout out to the brie like cheese with truffles, and the stilton like cheese with ash (yes, ash) in it -- along with the prosciutto like ham... and you know Ponyo loves ham, right? ;)
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