Visit to Hamburg and "Fond Farewell to Hannover"

On Saturday, October 27, we made a quick day trip to Hamburg. There was a great deal for week-end train passes. You could purchase a ticket good for up to 5 people, for 35 Euros (about $55) and travel anywhere over a 24 hour period. Hamburg was about 2 1/2 hours from Hannover. On the train, a young woman came up to us, asked us if we had a group pass and if she could travel along with us on our pass. She was headed to a protest rally in Hamburg. The protest was against the use of animal furs for clothing, etc. A cute train station along the way to Hamburg.


Tracy and Eric in Hamburg.
Many swans everywhere in Germany.


I liked the arches on this building in Hamburg. There was a cafe behind the arches and it was located along the canal where the swans were.
Another bombed out church in Hamburg.
Inside the courtyard of the Hamburg city building (Rathaus)

This very interesting building was built on somewhat of an angle. If you zoom in on the photo, you can see that the windows on the lower levels are not aligned evenly with each other.



Eric and Bev by the port in Hamburg.

Tracy by the port.




Tracy being drug away by a pirate!






Nana statues just across the river from our apartment in Hannover. This art, by a female French artist, Nikki de Saint Phalle, is quite popular around Germany and France.
A "Nana" standing on her head. A very buxom and colorful "Nana". The small round green thing on top is her head, in case you were wondering.

The back side of a "Nana" who is standing on one leg, with her arms in the air.
The Marktkirche just a block away from us. It kept us on track all day, every day with chimes that range every 15 minutes, beginning at 7:00 am and ending at 10:00 pm. We went to several choir, organ, harp, piano, oboe, etc. concerts in this old church. It had been bombed during the war and was slowly being renovated. It was beginning to look quite beautiful inside.
Another view of the Marktkirche.


Our LDS church in the middle of a city block in Hannover. We rode the train to church. It was about a 20 minute ride.
Part of the shopping area by us where we shopped almost every day.
The main train station in the distance, at the end of the shopping area. We lived only 10 minutes walking distance from the Hauptbanhoff (train station).
Our favorite ice cream stand. Their ice cream was about the smoothest, creamiest we have EVER had.
The Galeria Kaufhof was the department store where we did the most shopping. It was just two blocks from us. There was a grocery store in the basement. They also sold nice clothing, housewares, stationary and office supplies, electronics, tons of chocolate. They had everything like a Walmart but more Macy's quality.

The trail by the Masch See where we went running in the mornings. Our final stroll along our favorite path!

This face of a screaming witch in the trunk of a tree along the trail was completely formed by nature! Spooky, huh?!
Our view of the Rathaus from the running path. The Rathaus was between our house and the path along the lake. We would get in a pretty good run each morning!


Eric and Tracy sadly saying goodbye to the jogging path and the beautifu Weeping Willow tree.





Snuggling against one of our forest trees.
Tracy snuggling with the tree.
Farewell to our wonderful 3 months in Hannover, Germany. We will take many happy memories with us. And who knows, someday maybe we will return again.

Exciting additional photos from Southern Germany tour in September

This is a very small portion of the beautiful and grand Dom Kirche in Koln (Cologne) Germany. We visited Koln our first week in Germany (the end of August).
Sunday, September 9, 2007. A view from the back of the little train engine that pulled us up a semi-steep hillside to visit the Wernigerode Castle at the beginning of our "Self-designed Southern Germany castle tour.
A ground level view of Wernigerode Castle.
Eric, Whitney and Bev preparing to enter the castle grounds. A view of the gorgeous valley below Wernigerode Castle!
Monday, September 10. Rheinstein Castle along the edge of the Rhine River. The castle had been purchased by an opera singer who currently resides there. The singer was in the process of slowly renovating the castle and grounds.
Rheinstein Castle and gardens behind the castle.

Tracy and Whitney at Rheinstein.
A partial front view of the inner court of Heidelberg Castle.
A storage tank for the years supply of wine to quench the thirst of the 6,000 inhabitants of the Heidelberg Castle and community inside the fortress walls.
A view overlooking the city of Heidelberg and the Rhine River from a courtyard balcony.
Terraces along the back of Heidelberg Castle. Bev and Eric at Heidelberg.

A beautiful home right next to Heidelberg Castle. I thought it looked like the house used in the filming of "The Sound of Music".
Ludwigsburg Palace, originally built to house the Mistress?! of a Duke. For some strange reason, the wife and the mistress BOTH had to have huge houses?! This palace is also known as the Versailles of Southern Germany.
Ancestral portrait gallery inside Ludwigsburg Palace
Gardens behind the palace.
Tracy on the inner grounds of Ludwigsburg Palace.

Neuschwanstein Castle overlooking the town of Fussen.
Whitney and Tracy on the grounds of Neuschwanstein Castle.

A view from inside Neuschwanstein Castle.

Neuschwanstein from a distance.
The Alps by Fussen.
An interesting old church in Fussen.
We stayed in Steigmuhle Pension in Weisensee, about 10 miles from Fussen. It was very cosy, clean and had an amazing huge and delicious breakfast buffet.

A balcony view of the lake by Steigmuhle Pension. This is the morning just before the sun came up.

Lake right after the sun came up.

We briefly drove across the border into Austria.
Lichtenstein Castle

Could this Castle be positioned any more precariously?!!