What a beautiful town Weisbaden is. Situated on the banks of the Rhine it is a German picture postcard city with stately homes, great views and a very upmarket shopping district.
And I was lucky enough to have a guided tour for the day with Joel driving me there and showing me the sights.
For me the highlight was the railway line up the incredibly steep hill overlooking the town and the fantastic views from the top. The track is probably no longer than 300 metres long, with the train pulled up the hill by the displacement of water.
It was built in 1888 and is incredibly ingenious. There are two carriages – one at either end of the line joined by a cable. A huge tank underneath the carriage at the top of the hill is filled with water, while the tank of the one at the bottom of the hill is emptied.
The extra weight from the water in the carriage at the top going down the hill pulls the other carriage up the hill. Ingenious, but very simple when you see it work.
At the top we enjoyed lunch overlooking the magnificent views over Weisbaden.
After looking around the town and taking a few pictures, it was off to the huge US Army base at Weisbaden for a look around.
It is where Linda works in Army Intelligence, so Joel has access to most areas and was able to give me a guided tour which was fascinating.
There is a complete suburb full of townhouses for the soldiers and their families, with many more currently being built to house soldiers from other camps elsewhere in Germany that are going to be closed down over the next couple of years.
I even went into the Army supply store where the soldiers buy all their clothes and bought two pairs of genuine US Army issue socks for the grand total of $US9.95. I was assured they are the best socks available anywhere, so it will be interesting to start wearing them.
A major feature of Weisbaden is its magnificent stately homes which clearly show the wealth in the town both in the past and today.
It is without doubt the prettiest German town I have seen yet.
captions: Pic 1 &2 The water lift railway. Pic 3: Overlooking Weisbaden Pic 4: The Roman wrestling ring at the top of the railway line Pic 5 & 6: two of the hundreds of stately homes in Weisbaden Pic 7: The largest cuckoo clock in the world Pic 8: A magnificent building on the edge of the Rhine
Hey Dad
ReplyDeleteOnce again, I have caught up on a weeks worth of blogs! Can't believe you happened to be in Germany when we played them in the world cup! And can't beleive you didnt show the Aussie Pride!!! Im sure it would be a different story if it was tennis davis cup!!!! Hehehe!
The people you met sounds great. They are the things that you should do out of your 'schedule' to see things from a different view. The army bases sound pretty interesting! They sounds very accommodating!
Things are well here, work is good. We are missing your happy face around the gold coast.
Love you xoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxo
aahh Gary, you have just given me another town that I have to put on my list of places to visit.
ReplyDeleteI just bought two beautiful books in Borders yesterday - Chateaux of The Loire Valley and The Most Beautiful Villages of the Loire. Looks like I will have to find another one for the Rhine!!
xxxx