We were fortunate to have spent some time in Germany right before the holidays and toured a beautiful castle in Heidelberg with our son and daughter-in-law.
Unfortunately, our tour guide was soft spoken (not a good trait for a tour guide) and she spoke such broken English with a French accent in a German speaking country, that most of what she said was lost on me.
So I wandered. I took pictures; like of very large German noblemen. I found lots of distractions….
Beautiful hinges and woodwork:
Isn’t this one beautiful and doesn’t it exude Germany/Bavaria?
I looked up to beautiful stonework over doorways and passages:
I was distracted by this woman’s haircut. Isn’t that cute?
Was it inappropriate for me to take pictures of her hair rather than the castle’s architecture? She was appropriately enthralled with the tour so I took another shot – this time of the back:
Cute, right?
And hey, what about this casket?
Who was the girl with the dog at her feet? If our tour guide explained, I didn’t understand.
Isn’t that sweet? I wonder if the trusty dog is buried with her…I’ll never know because, well, you’ve got it..I couldn’t understand.
Another distraction? These modern business men and women standing beneath important visitors from long ago carved in the walls of the castle.
Some of the Heidelberg Castle is in ruins now so to see a model of it in its glory days made me pause. Do you ever find yourself fantasizing about going back in time in the very spot you find yourself and wishing you could experience the place 100s of years in the past?
And my son, who lives in Germany, kept calling the place a Palace.
Which was it, I wondered. A castle? A palace? And what’s the difference?
I looked it up.
Castles were built mainly for protection.
Palaces for comfort.
Heidelberg Castle/Palace….lets call it a Pastle….had both – walls and towers for protection and large spacious halls with beautiful interiors for luxury.
Castles were to show supremacy.
Palaces were to prove royalty.
Random observations? Maybe.
But if you can’t understand what’s being said and you’re in such a beautiful place so far from home – why not?
Have you found yourself in a similar situation? Do you find it discomforting or enticing, even mysterious, to be in a place where you don’t speak the language?
And then there was this car on the ride back from the Pastle in Heidelberg….do you think this is a German version of our old love bugs in the states? I wonder if Germans find them funny? But I digress and am distracted again….
My husband’s parents and siblings were all born in Germany…Tom was born in Canada after his parents escaped East Germany! I will have to show him these pictures, he will love them. We hope to visit Germany in the near future! Thanks, as always, for sharing your travels with us!
Old Married Lady recently posted..Resolutions?
I have family heritage in Germany too – it was really fun to visit. So glad you enjoyed the peek.
How wonderful to get distracted by bright shiny things in another country! During my European adventures, I often found myself in countries where I didn’t speak the language and had to make do … and make up things! My favorite encounter of this was in Denmark. I was in the main square in Copenhagen when a band of Hare Krishnas came in. Remembering previous encounters with them in other countries, I followed them. Turns out I was right: they led me to a free meal. All I had to do was sit through their worship service (which was in Danish). They even gave me a tambourine to play! I spinned quite the story in my head of what they were saying. i’m sure it wasn’t close, but it was quite entertaining!
Tammy recently posted..Snowy Adventures
You are a testimonial, Tammy, to the fact that we can never predict ahead of time what quirky turns we’ll bring home with us from our travels.
What a beautiful post. I laughed at the pictures of the woman (loved her hairdo, too) and thought how I’d have taken the exact same photo.
The VW was actually first “loved” by none other than Adolph Hitler (I even hate typing his name) which he first saw at a 1933 car show. So it’s no coincidence that you spotted that car in Heidelberg.
My dad came from Germany and left in 1937 (not by choice) and I want to go back to his small hometown to revisit the places he so richly talks about from his all too brief childhood there. He’s gone back a few times and I’d like to go for him now that he’s disabled. Your photos have inspired me
Best!
Cathy
Cathy, An Empowered Spirit recently posted..Philanthropy Friday (Empower Yourself): Today’s Charity Is Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
What a poignant and beautiful visit that would make, Cathy. I hope you get to do it because those times and trips are ones we never regret taking the time to do. I’m so glad you stopped in today.
I love the photo of the girl and her dog — I imagine that, yes, she probably was buried with him. Especially if they were close in life. Terribly sweet thought, spending eternity with one’s darling doggie!
You’re right, that lady’s hairstyle is very cute. Looks easy to manage, too!
Debbie recently posted..Strike up the Bands
We girls think alike, Debbie – cute hair is worth capturing! Even if on the other side of the planet – some things are universal.
Having married into a European family (whose native language was something I did not speak at the time), I took great pleasure in learning enough of both the “core” language and their dialect(s) to not miss out… and, to reinforce a bit of the same in my children.
Fortunately, we had two other languages we did share, so communication was generally not too much of a problem.
That said, I’ve spent my life studying languages because I find delight in doing so, and I strongly dislike being in a country where I cannot communicate at least minimally.
(Thus, a smattering is helpful…)
Love your observations on castles and palaces by the way!
BigLittleWolf recently posted..Conflict of Interest
BLW, A few trips ago, to Switzerland at the time with my son, I swore I would not return until I’d learned at least a “smattering” so that I could communicate better. Or at least minimally. How arrogant, I thought, to assume English. I’ve been back to Germany, Italy, Austria and Chile – and yet still, only English. A very polite Italian man said to my husband and I recently as he accommodated our lack of Italian understanding, “people who speak three or more languages are multilingual. People who speak two languages are bilingual. People who speak one language are American.” Tongue in cheek. But true.
How wonderful that you got to visit with your son in Germany! You captured such beautiful photos of your trip. Old architecture really reveals so much about what was important to a culture at a period in their history. Sometimes, newer architecture really can pale in comparison. That hair cut is really cute, and I’m not sure I would have noticed with all there was to see
My father’s family is German, and when my grandfather came to the U.S., he changed our last name to one that didn’t sound German. My brother lived in Dusseldorf, where he taught in an American school for a while.
As languages and accents go, I don’t have to look far to find people right here in the United States who speak foreign languages around me all of the time that I cannot understand. Even some American dialects can be difficult to understand (as I found out when I lived in a very rural part of a southern state). It is a shame that you couldn’t understand your tour guide.
I have American friends who have a little villa in France, and they give wonderful tours around Europe – Music and Markets Tours – http://www.musicetc.us. That is a link to their site if you’d like to check them out for future travel. Of course, I have never been (no passport).
Robin recently posted..Taking a Little Break
Thank you Robin. And some of the problem may have been mine. I have tinnitus (a ringing in the ears) that started up a few years ago so high pitch or soft sounds escape me. Hate it. But make the best of it…..like not getting frustrated and just wandering in situations like that.
WE visited Heidelberg castle whilst cruising the Rhine. Such beautiful country. I loved that one of the towers had fallen and revealed the massive construction involved in making a rounded tower (Ca. post 1200 AD) So much fascinating history. Luckily for you, you were also able to view some lovely hair. As a side, the hardware was also nice.
Ahhh yes, Karen, I thought that tower was impressive too. Lovely hair and hardware were nice distractions.
I lived in Germany for a year as a “Jeune Fille au-pair” to better my German and the photographs you took remind me of that time. I have never been to the Heidelberg Castle. I would have loved to travel back in time and see it during its peak. Such an impressive structure. I often wonder when visiting old churches or castles, if the walls are talking to us and its their energy and the one of whoever lived there at the time, that we feel.
Love the hair cut…
Anyes – Far Away in the Sunshine recently posted..January Post For Peace
I think on those things too Anyes. Are there spirits and energy that remain and whisper to us of a bygone time. On another plane of existence, sometime hence, perhaps we CAN time travel. How fantastic would that be?
It would have bothered me only when I needed to communicate. Otherwise, I think it might be kind of a gift to be about to wander about such lovely places lost in your own little world.
The hardware on that door is a work of art. If that little detail received so much attention, I can only imagine the bigger picture.
May recently posted..My Word for 2013
You’re so right in that observation, May….that little things reveal bigger picture things…about a place, a person, a relationship, etc.
I visited Heidelberg Castle when I was 10 years old – that was several decades ago – so I don’t remember much about it or whether I could understand the guide. I mainly associate it with my Onkel und Tante who lived there, because we had a nice lunch with them after the tour.
I think that when we’re traveling we have all our senses wide open, so we notice funny things that might not be in the “travel photo” category. But if we’re receiving on all channels, why not take advantage of that awareness and see what comes of it?
Katrina Blanchalle recently posted..Coming Up Roses
Katrina, I love, love, love the way you put that, “when we’re traveling we have all our senses wide open.” That’s perfect. And so true. One of the many things I love about travel. Everything is novel and new. The foods, the scenery, sometimes the language, the nuances, the modes of travel, the currency, the fashions, the history, the architecture, etc. It’s such a sensual feast. I’m from Colorado and when I travel and mention that, I find people in other parts of the world, even in the States, know of and are intrigued by my home. We forget that side of it too.
Barbara,
I sent your blog entry about the Heidelberg castle to my 85 year old dad and got in return a beautiful lesson on the history of Heidelberg and the castle in my own family! A double thanks to you now for this entry. Here is what he said (Moerfelden is the small town where he and my uncle were born):
Beautiful pictures! As I probably told you: Heidelberg is about 25 minutes by car from Morfelden (now Morfelden—Walldorf), around 1934-35 my elementary-school class made a field trip visit to Heidelberg and Heidelberg Castle and, in January 1927, my parents spent their honeymoon in Heidelberg (in those days it was the Niagara Falls of Germany). Heidelberg University dates back to the Middle Ages and it is the locale of “The Student Prince”.
Cathy, An Empowered Spirit recently posted..Philanthropy Friday (Empower Yourself): Today’s Charity Is Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
Fantastic Cathy! It IS so beautiful and sits in such a picturesque little valley – I can easily understand it being a honeymoon destination. Thank you so much for the follow up.
That’s so interesting – the difference between a palace and a castle. I would have never guessed. Whichever this one is – it sure is beautiful. Such gorgeous detail. What an amazing place!!
Marcie recently posted..This Practice
Yes it was Marcie – and I think through the years, this Heidelberg Castle/Palace has served both purposes.
What a delightful post. I love your photos…and your distractions. Other than the faux palace of Snow White, I’ve never had the privilege of visiting a castle or palace or pastle. Thank you for sharing your visit. (And yes, that really is a cute haircut on that woman!)
Lisa @ Grandma’s Briefs recently posted..Sweet and spicy recipes, plus the GRAND Social
Had to come back to tell you this: I wrote the comment above yesterday. Then last night as I was falling asleep (about midnight), I hadn’t even been thinking about this post or such but all of a sudden I had a flash of “WAIT! It’s Cinderella’s castle, not Snow White’s!” Not sure why my subconscious chose that moment to point out my error, but thought I’d share.
Lisa @ Grandma’s Briefs recently posted..5 words for 2013: What well wishes for the new year mean to one grandma
Too funny – and makes me not feel so crazy because random things like that wake me up too. I think it’s when we’re quiet and our brain downloads and now that you mention it – I don’t think I’m familiar with a Snow White Castle either.
Well a Disney princess castle is fun too, Lisa! Glad you enjoyed the photos and distractions!
I’ve not been, but I’d love to go. I know that feel of being in a country and not speak the language. It is odd but somehow I grew during that time.
Brenda recently posted..Top Ten Reasons Not To Write
We DO grow anytime we step outside our comfort zone. And it’s always a reminder to me that there’s a whole big world out there, along with a desire to be part of it.