Sunday, May 13 ... Horst Castle

Hanne and Dietmar too us to Horst Castle for a renaissance festival.  Horst is a Germanic word meaning "eagle's nest".

The castle was built between 1555 and 1573 as a seat for the nobleman Rütger von der Horst.  Despite  best efforts, the building gradually fell into dis-repair.   To mark the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the charter conferring Horst township status the castle has undergone restoration.
Standing in front of Horst Castle ... Hanne, Mom, Diermar, Andi, and Jeff.

The rear of the building gives you a peek at the original structure.

We were there to see the renaissance festival.  I had to compliment Hanne.   You see, I have been trying to get Jeff to attend a festival like this for about 20 years ... and Hanne got him here in a mere three days.  Hanne is influential, to say the least!

First up, was the horsemanship display.  The riders, dressed in full regalia, dazzled us with their riding and jousting skills.

At the conclusion of the horsemanship, we walked through the market place.  There was lots to see.  We encountered this guy carrying his hawk. 

Many of the people in attendance were in costume.  Mom gravitated to the guy in the kilt ....

And the full suit of armor.

The owl was truly fascinating.  They way he turned his head and his piercing eyes.



This is the band that was accompanying the dance troupe. 

And what's the best way to end the day ... we had some honey beer.  Prost !

Feuerwehr Gelsenkirchen

The boys took a field trip to the Gelsenkirchen fire department.  

The fire service has some of the most state of the art equipment they have ever seen.  Here's Tobi and Jeff in the passenger compartment of an engine.

Their trucks work on a container system.  So, depending on the type of call, the firemen will load the appropriate container ... a water rescue container has different equipment than the one they would take when responding to a structure fire or a hazardous material call.  

This crane loads the various containers in just a couple of minutes .. and it's operated by one person!

Here's an ambulance.

Pa made fast friends with the Battalion Chief Klaus Jacob.  One could say they had a few things in common.

Saturday, May 12 ... Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Holland, is 120 miles away from Gelsenkirchen.   All ten of us, hopped into three cars and made the two hour drive. 

In 1928, Amsterdam hosted the summer Olympics, and would like to host again in 2028, marking 100 years since they previously hosted.   Our first stop was the arena.

As parking in the city is pretty tricky, we parked the cars at the garage and took the train into the city.

Coffee shops in the Netherlands where the sale of cannabis for personal consumption by the public is tolerated by the local authorities.  Walking the streets was aromatic, to say the least.

The Church of St Nicholas, the pre-eminent Catholic church in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is called the Venice of the North for its more than one hundred kilometers of canals and 1,500 bridges.  The three main canals are Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht.  Dating back to the 17th century, the canals form concentric belts around the city.

To see the city, we opted for a canal ride.  Here we are waiting to board our boat.

Canal cruises in Amsterdam are now the most popular tourist attraction in the country, with over 3 million passengers a year. For good reason, the city was built to be seen from that perspective.

The Nemo Museum.

The shipping port.  During the Dutch Golden Age, this port was one of Europe's main ports of entry.

An alternative to a canal boat sight seeing tour, is the rolling tour.  These pedal operated vehicles are powered by the patrons ... the pedaling was accompanied by a lot of beer and some pretty boisterous singing.  It looked like fun, just not ... my kind of fun.

We found these bronze lizards in park.

We also stopped by the Anne Frank House and Museum.

The Anne Frank Memorial (standing with Pa are Amalie Schmidt, Mom, and Tobi Winkelmann).

The Royal Palace.  Today, this building has been re-purposed as city hall.

Thursday, May 10 ... Gelsenkirchen

We rolled into Gelsenkirchen, Germany, to meet up with dear friends of Ma and Pa, the Winkelmann's. 

We decided to return the rental car, but first we needed to fill up.  We stopped at the Shell station that was two doors down from the rental car place .. Imagine our surprise to find Mathias Froelich wearing this t-shirt.

God was looking out for the weary travelers ...

We were able to connect with Pa's firefighter friend, Tobi.  Here's Pa with a few members of the Gelsenkirchen Fire Department.   That's Tobi Winkelmann in the white jacket on the left

A mint? on your pillow ...

Since we are in Germany ... the hospitality includes complimentary Gummi bears on your pillow ... no boring mints here.

Wednesday, May 9 ... Luxembourg

As we continued our travels north, we hopped over to Luxembourg ... just because we could.  We were hoping to do something, anything, in Luxembourg.  No luck.  We couldn't even find a gasthaus that was open for business ...

So ... apparently, I went all the way to Luxembourg, and all I got was this picture.

Wednesday, May 9 ... Trier

We departarted Tyrol/Bavaria and started to head north.  We spent a lot of time driving, but we did make a stop in Trier. 

Located near the Germany-Luxembourg border, Trier is the oldest city in Germany; the first settlement dates back to about 2,000 BC. 

There are Roman ruins evident all around the city, most notably, the baths, the bridge and the Porta Nigra.

The Roman Bridge, or Römerbrücke, traverses the Mosel River (the Mosel is the sister river of the Rhine).  The Römerbrücke is the oldest standing bridge in Germany and dates back to the second century.

Another significant structure is the Porta Nigra.

The Porta Nigra was, at one time, one of four Roman gates into the city.  The sandstone construction dates back to 186 AD.  Pollution (and, let's face it, age...) has been responsible for blackening of the stone.

At this point, the heavens opened up and it started to pour ... so much for sightseeing in Trier.  It's back in the car for us!