Mike's Ramblings

We first went to visit the castle at Braunfels (German sites: www.braunfels.de/, www.burgenwelt.de/braunfels/braunfels.htm) which has a great fairy tale castle silhouette:

“Schloss Braunfels” from Distance	Beautiful Timber, Stone, Stucco, and Shake Construction in Braunfels City	City Center in Braunfels	“Schloss Braunfels” Entrance

“Das Dom” in Wetzlar	Wetzlar City Center (cobblestone streets)	Rare Citroen DC2V, aka “Duck” spotted in Wetzlar (Note tennis shoe bumpers!)

I love the combination of all the different textures found in the older houses. Many of them have the wooden beams with either stone, brick, or stucco in between the beams, and then they often have brick or stone on the lower portions and tiled roofs, offering a large variety of textures from bottom to top. It's very natural looking and very pleasing to the eye.

I also enjoy the way the cities are built around a central area, which becomes the focus of the city. Farmers bring their goods there and people come to buy what they need and to catch up with their friends and neighbors at the outdoor cafés. It seems like a very relaxed, comfortable, and friendly atmosphere.

I learned that my Mom and Uta moved to Wetzlar from Austria when my Mom was 2 ½ and my aunt was 5. My aunt has lived in this general area all her life, though she moved with her family several times.

This afternoon we're going to visit my Omi, my grandmother. Then I'm going to go with my cousin Cliffy's girlfriend Barbie to feed her horses. And later, she was talking about some kind of Mini-pushing contest... I'm not too sure what that's all about, but it sounds like fun... Should be a busy day!