So after 3 days in Freiburg at the Intersolar while staying in Simonswald to the north of the city, Don and I left for points north on our way to visit some of the largest solar electric installations in the world. Our time in Simonswald had us passing a sculptor's studio daily which we finally stopped at on our way out of town. His works included very modern pieces and a lot of more traditional ones that were used as headstones. Work was done in wood and stone. These two spoke to me and were so simply elegant ... but out of my price range. 
This house was typical of many we saw all throughout the Black Forest area of SW Germany.
As we traveled north we were happily surprised at just how many barns and houses we saw that had solar panels on the roof. Very impressive.
We stayed overnight outside of Stuttgart which many of you might know as the home of PORSCHE.. So for my birthday we visited the museum, which is quite small but they are in the midst of building a new much larger one scheduled to open in 2008. Guess who might be returning to Germany in the next few years.
The factory complex surrounds the museum so as we walked from the parking area to the museum itself, we watched as cars came off the assembly line and were taken out for a test run...in the streets of Stuttgart!!.. Amazing. Don was literally beside himself with a mixture of joy and envy...like the little boy who finds himself in the candy store with empty pockets. He kept telling me he would get me one for my birthday, but I declined. We did have the marvelous Peugeot!!!.... A few hours north and east of Stuttgart (I will figure out how to get a map on here) we eased into Rothenburg am Tauber. A classic medieval walled city that was not too badly bombed after WWII. It was raining as we arrived so we quickly found ourselves walking around the city under its covered walls. About 3 foot wide with look outs here and again, and an occasional opening for arrows here and there.
We got lovely views of the city as we stayed dry and above it all. Both of us were totally charmed by the atmosphere and lack of tourists in the areas we were exploring in, so we decided to stay and check it out further. We found a lovely Gasthaus near the Roettur on the eastern part of town for a very good rate.
Exploration continued before naps and dinner when we were informed that there was a Night Watchman's Tour. Oh my what a delightful way to end my birthday. There must have been about 50-60 folks of all ages in this nite tour and since we had missed the English language one they were all Germans. The Nightwatchman was a showman in the best sense of the word. Able to get everyone's attention (a good teacher) and hold us spellbound with his stories of the way life was in the 1200's when anyone who came to the walled city after nightfall had to pay the gate keeper to come in. Travel was not high on anyone's list in those days... and one had to have a purpose to come to the gate... a purpose or some $$$. We were quite happy that we had chosen to stay and found a place we could spend a few more days in on another trip in the future.
Here is a shot of the White Gate, built in 1172, with the clock tower and Hotel sign.
Don got fascinated by the signage that was originally done in the days when most folks could not read, so signs were made with images that indicated what the retailer was selling. Now with so many foreigners visiting places where they might not speak the local language, again these signs are quite helpful. This could be another book that Don may put together given time, since he has quite a few shots of these from all over Europe.
and one last shot of Rothenburg am Tauber. Don and I made it to the incredible city museum which has an amazing collection of medieval armor ( 2 rooms full) No photos allowed and no one seems to know to go to this museum so we had it pretty much to ourselves. So many shafts, swords, full body armor with gloves, foot coverage and hoods... just incredible. And they had just gotten in the past 4-5 years a container full of gold coins from the 11-12th century that someone discovered when they were putting in a new wall and were digging out their basement. Nice find!!..
Remember click on any photo for a closer look.
