The airport in Frankfurt, Germany, is definitely one of the busiest airports in the world. We had flown through Frankfurt before heading there last fall, but really hadn’t given it a lot of thought. So, when we flew into Frankfurt for our extended stay, we took a few pictures from the plane upon approach. It really doesn’t do it justice as there are plenty of little hamlets that surround the city proper and the airport is far enough away from the actual city that you don’t really get good views of downtown. What you do get a sense for is the fact that the area around Frankfurt is covered in forests and rolling hills. Obviously not the dramatic scenery that we have here in Colorado, but it was definitely what we expected to see in Germany. We are flying up to Montana this weekend, but in our hearts we wish were flying back to Frankfurt. For this week’s Cee’s Which Way Challenge we decided to provide some photos of our approach into Frankfurt and what would become our home for half of a year.
The Clouds Began to BreakUndulating HillsTiny HamletsFactories along the RiverView of the AirportDowntown Frankfurt
Some of you may have noticed that we have been a little quiet this week. We moved into our new place in Colorado Springs this past weekend, so we have been busy unpacking boxes and making it feel like home. It has been quite time consuming, especially with work, but we are almost at a point where we feel a sense of normalcy. For this week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, Harvest – Earth, we chose photos that represent harvesting earth’s bounties, but are also counting our own blessings as to being home surrounded by our own furniture once again. The first photo is of a church with a wine vineyard in the small town of Hochheim, Germany.
Church and Vineyard
We saw a lot of humble farmers during our trip to Bolivia. Despite not having any modern equipment, they are still able to produce an abundance of crops.
Located just outside of Koblenz, Germany, is the Stolzenfels Castle. We had taken the train from Frankfurt to Koblenz, so we had to take a taxi to get to the grounds of the castle, but it was one of the sights that we wanted to see while we were in Koblenz. The area around the castle is a park with plenty of walking trails and it is a very steep hike to make your way up to the castle itself. Needless to say, there are a lot of castles in Germany, especially along the Rhine River, but we found this one to be different than most of the others that we had seen. First of all, the walls of the castle, which was later turned into a palace, are white instead of the typical gray stones. The other thing that stands out are the spires of the cathedral that is part of the castle complex.
Gothic CathedralFirst Glimpse of the CastleEntrance to the PalaceCastle Tower
It is clear from the dramatic views of the river valley as to why they would have chosen this location for the castle. The castle was originally built to protect the toll station on the river collecting money from ships transporting goods through the region. Over time it was extended several times and occupied by both the French and the Swiss. It was destroyed during the Nine Years’ War and then eventually rebuilt as a palace in the 1800’s by Crownprince Frederick William IV. The gothic chapel was completed in 1845 and was visited by Queen Victoria.
View from the CastleView from BelowSmall GardenGuarding the Rhine Valley
The castle is open to the public and can be toured, but unfortunately for us, there were no English tours available as it was off-season and a Sunday, so tour times were limited. Even without getting to see the inside of the castle, it was well worth the strenuous hike to see the castle and the views of the Rhine Valley. The Upper Middle Rhine Valley, where Schloss Stolzenfels resides, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002.
Approaching the CastleCastle EntranceClimbing the StairsStunning Views
Just strolling the grounds of the park is well worth the visit and seemed to be a favorite pastime of locals. One could imagine the impression of guests as the passed through the impressive guardhouse on their way up summit and the grand palace entranceway. Unfortunately we didn’t have our own horse-drawn carriage and locating a taxi to return to Koblenz turned out to be almost impossible. Fortunately, the taxi driver who had dropped us off had given us his business card and we were able to call him and have him come and get us. It took about an hour for him to arrive, but that didn’t diminish how impressed we were with Schloss Stolzenfels.
GuardhouseBridge Leading to the GuardhouseWalking through the ParkHiking Back Down
