Bildern (Photos)

OK, by popular demand, here are some early photos from the trip to Germany. I couldn’t get a good position for setting the camera up for fireworks photos, so those were taken while holding the camera “by hand” and hence they are not too good, but… it’s what I got from that night. The rest are from the trip to Rheinfels/St. Goar. I will get others this weekend, after work wraps up… Dueren isn’t really a photo-worthy area.

People lit and held up sparklers as the lighted boats sailed up the Rhein for the Koeln Lichter (Cologne Lights) on July 11, 2009.

Fireworks lit the night sky and thumped the eardrums of several thousands party goers in Cologne a the Koel Lichter festival on July 11, 2009. The radio simulcasts claimed over 500,000 fireworks were set off. Impressive, bright, loud and festive!

The first view you get after stepping inside Burg Rheinfels. It’s not just a castle, but a ruins of an entire fortified medieval city, which has its origins in the 13th century, if I understood the pamphlet correctly. The tower in the background there faces towards the Rhein River, which is off to the right.

The view across the Rhein to Sankt Goarhausen, the twin village. In the hills just off center to the right you can see the other Schloss of the area. Unlike Rheinfels, this one is privately owned and is intact. At the time it was built, it made this spot in the Rhein VERY key and strategic, as the ruling locals now had control ACROSS the Rhein, which has always been a major source of commerce. Very lucrative location.

Some interior shots.

Curious little spots are around every corner. Here a set of ancient stairs leads down into a mysterious dark cave… with a steel door at the end of it. Doh!

Very old gravemarkers (1700s).

Proof I was there.

A closeup of some ivy on a tower, and part of the stocks.

Some texture shots of heavy chains in front of another set of stocks. I like these kinds of shots. (These were the only ones not taken with my 18-70mm kit lens. I used the macro lens instead… love that lens!)

Walls outside the castle, and a little village just down in the valley.

Walking up to the Uhrturm (clock tower) and a terrific unobstructed view across the Rhein from in the tower. You can almost see the Lorelei from up there (it’s just over the hills and around the bend from the view upstream – to the right).

These are just the better photos. I have a few others from Burg Rheinfels as well as some video footage from the outing. There will probably also be a video linked online sometime after I get home and can assemble it, so look for that here in the coming weeks!!