Gilbert - A Trip to Germany: Castel Broich and More

Castle Broich was build in 883/884 to defend against Vikings. There were extra buildings build later as well of course.

I think this one is newer than the 9th century.

We spotted yet another stone from Mona in an old door.

The museum in the castle was closed, but we could explore the courtyard.

I climbed on top of a look out tower to get an even better view.

Panorama Picture taken on top of the look out tower.

Diana found another stone and this one had a piggy on it!

There was an excavation of the oldest part of the castle, but we couldn't get close to it.

We went for a walk and saw City Hall.

It had a scary fish fountain.

The river Ruhr.

There was a park next to City Hall and we found another stone, this one was a really big one.

There were ducks in the park. This one came over to see if we had any bread for her.

Next: another castle

 

Gilbert - A Trip to Germany: Relaxing and Weird Stones

On Tuesday it was a very rainy day. Once it seemed dry we went grocery shopping. I managed to take this picture in Diana's garden.

It soon started raining again, so not a lot of photo opportunities. I did spot these straw chickens though.

It didn't look like it was getting any better, so we stayed inside once we returned from the shopping trip.

I tried the first few chapters of some of Diana's books to see if I could find something that Sullivan or Voodoo Bride might like. It was another fun and relaxing evening.

On Wednesday we drove to Mülheim an der Ruhr to visit castle Broich.

We spotted a stone with a bird on it!

We investigated of course. 

The stone was part of a project called 'Pottsteine'. People paint on stones and leave them somewhere to bring some joy to other people's day. Sounds like the Lost Art from Beanie. How fun!

Soon we found another one. A crocodile. This one was also by the same artist, called Mona.

More about our visit to castle Broich tomorrow.
 

Gilbert - A Trip to Germany: A Castle, a Cannon, and a Squirrel

Castle Fürstenau was first built in the 14th century, but most buildings date from the 16th century. Parts of the castle are used as Town Hall.

This one had a restaurant in it, but it was closed due to 'you know what'.

It has a tower as well.

I think this used to be the prison. There was a headless body hanging from a window dressed in prison stripes.

We had to take a closer look at the cannon of course.

Man the cannon!

It might not be a really big castle, but I think it's a cool one.

I spotted some signs.

This one had a woman and child on it to indicate it's a walk path. In the Netherlands it used to be a man and a child before they changed it to unrecognizable stick figures. It's fun to see the difference in signs between different countries.

No fishing with Minnie Mouse ears and dogs need to be leashed.

The weather was lovely so we sat in the sun to eat and relax.

There was a heart with all kinds of locks on it.

They all had names of couples on it and dates. I think it was for couples who just got married in Town Hall.

Back at Diana's place we read and relaxed some more. And we spotted a squirrel!

In the evening Diana lit the fireplace. It was an awesome day.

More on our trip tomorrow
 

Gilbert - A Trip to Germany: Flowers and a Castle

 We went on a trip!

My owner was invited by her friend Diana to come visit, and as we were feeling a bit down, we immediately took her up on the offer and packed our suite case.

We arrived on Sunday afternoon. We got a yummy dinner and after a relaxing evening we went to bed. We'd be going on an outing the next day.

On Monday we first visited a memorial site for prisoners of war who died during the war. This used to be their burial site, but most were reburied somewhere else from what I could decipher on this sign. I need to brush up on my German.

It's been 75 years since the end of the war, so there were flowers at the monument in the center as remembrance.

Next we went to a garden center! I spotted these piggies and a hedgehog.

There were goats lounging among the flowers.

And a baby cow!

There were also tons and tons of hippos.

I spotted a really cool plant: a Potatom.

It's a plant that has both tomatoes and potatoes. I wanted to get one as I wanted to know if the tomatoes and potatoes would taste normal or different than normal ones, but my owner said it wouldn't do well on our balcony, so I was overruled.

After the garden center we drove to Fürstenau to visit castle Fürstenau. It was surrounded by water, and I spotted a cannon on the earthen wall. Looks like a well defended castle.

There was a statue of a guy tooting his own horn.

He had a wicked looking halberd so maybe he had a right to boast. 

More pictures of castle Fürstenau coming tomorrow.