I just love Bettina’s rail pass. It was a good day out and apart from the castle sightseeing we spent time looking around some of the shops on the high street. The weather held up magnificently and we even managed to dine al fresco in the town square for lunch. On one of the other days we managed to get to a couple of other castles that I have never seen before including Schloss Auschaffenberg and Schloss Frankenstein. It is the original castle which was the centre of the legend and people still come every year from as far away as America to celebrate Halloween there. As we walked through the main entrance into the castle grounds which contain nothing more than the remnants of the buildings and some of the walls and parapets, Auston yelled at Inez, “Look out behind you!” Inez turned around and there on a balcony, above the walkway we had just walked through was a giant 7-foot werewolf dressed in a black cape. Inez let out a yelp like a dog being hit with a water pistol. It really did look quite realistic. I presume they were starting to set up for Halloween, which was only 6 weeks away.
The old castles are all fascinating in their own way. The Schloss Auschaffenberg had some really neat towers to climb and one of the arch walkways between the parapets and the main tower actually had a full-blown tree growing out of the cobblestones of the bridge. I guess the root system must have spanned both directions on the bridge. Probably what was holding it all together. Later on that afternoon we managed to have a bit of a wander around Darmstadt and see some of the local sights.
At the Mathildenhöhe Gardens we were lucky enough to catch an exhibition by the Slavic sculptor Igor Mittoraj. Really cool castings and statues. Inez managed to crawl inside one of the brass heads lying on the grass and poke her head out through the eye socket. I would have had no problem getting inside it either - it was massive. A lot of people were playing boules on the gravel area in the gardens and Auston took the time to get some photos of them playing. It is a very popular sport all over Europe.
We visited Bettina’s sister’s house for lunch and to give Inez the opportunity to meet some German kids her own age. We spent the afternoon in part helping the family with their annual apple harvest. Most of the crop from the 40 or so trees ends up being crushed for wine and for breakfast juice. I had also purchased a control line kite for Inez but best intentions were thwarted when the wind failed to blow.
Really good to catch up with them and to let them see a little of my life here.
