Thursday, May 30, 2013

The Four Castles Tour (Part 2)

(C) Monschau. Unchained History!
Embedded in a valley in the North Eifel, a row mountain range close to Belgium, lies the town of Monschau with its castle resting on top of a hill.
The market place.
 Half-timbered houses are very common in this part of Germany.
 The river Rur flows through the city core.
 Also slate covered houses are quite common.
 A different view.
We spend an hour walking around in the valley, eating Belgian waffles (well, Roland did...) and enjoying the scenery.
Then we hiked uphills to visit the castle that is a youth hostel today. It wasn't easy to climb up the steep cobble stone lanes.
 But we made it!
 And got rewarded with a marvelous view on the town.

Traditional bread: Some dark rye bread spotted for Martha. The smell of the local bakery was very tempting but we resisted!
Another trivia: The Eifel is also known as a motorcycle paradise, with a promise of lots of twisties through the national park.

... to be continued ...
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9 comments:

  1. RichardMMay 30, 2013 at 7:23 PM

    Half timbered houses are post and beam construction? I haven't heard the term before. Beautiful photos and the buildings all look so uniform. It looks like you are having a great time traveling around (jealous…)

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  2. SonjaMMay 30, 2013 at 11:19 PM

    Yep, that's how Wiki explained it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timber_framing
    I had to look it up. In German we say Fachwerk.

    Traveling around is one of the advantages of being homeless ;-)

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    1. NikosMay 31, 2013 at 2:01 AM

      Have you thought of buying a mobile home or is that too "Austrian"?

      Delete
    2. SonjaMMay 31, 2013 at 12:27 PM

      Actually that would be too Dutch ;-) We hope to be able to settle down within the next two months, hence a mobile home might not be necessary...

      Delete
  3. TrobairitzMay 31, 2013 at 6:31 AM

    Was the walk up the steep cobbled street for Roland to work off the waffles? It certainly looks worth the hike, the views are beautiful. But you know me and old architecture - I can't get enough!!

    I hadn't seen slate on the houses before so that was really neat, but my favorite pic was the one taken through the ironwork. Very cool.

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    1. SonjaMMay 31, 2013 at 12:29 PM

      Exactly that ;-) I am so glad that you enjoy it, we are totally in awe as well, and a bit embarrassed that we ignored the historic bliss in the past.

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  4. bob skootMay 31, 2013 at 10:26 AM

    Sonja:

    I like your homeless lifestyle but it makes some of us jealous, being stuck at work and looking at your photos

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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    Replies
    1. SonjaMMay 31, 2013 at 12:30 PM

      Oh, please don't be! We will be grinding our teeth when you are ready to hit the road. Then it's likely us in the treadmill being jealous about your trip...

      Delete
  5. Martha TenneyMay 31, 2013 at 3:19 PM

    Ummmmm. I could dive face first into that dark rye. I can smell it now...

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