A short trip to Braunfels, Germany

Over the past few days H. took me on a surprise trip to Braunfels, Germany. He had visited his daughter in Toulouse for a few days and he flew back last Monday afternoon. I picked him up from the airport after which we immediately drove off to a to me unknown destiny. It had been a cold Spring and even in June summer didn't seem to start. We were hoping it would be warmer further south, but unfortunately, that was not the case.

Braunfels' half-timbered houses really made up for the weather though, when I got out of the car I was overwhelmed with the charm of this little town. I was so excited I didn't know where to look. This was a very pleasant surprise!

We only had a few days, but we relaxed a lot, walked around the little town and visited its castle.

pretty pattern in the chapel

Duke and Duchess von Solms

The three pictures above were taken in the chapel of the castle.

collection of swords on display

We could take a guided tour or we could visit the castle on our own, which we did. Although it looked like a small castle, there were lots of rooms and objects to see.

peach coloured roses near the mill

reddish roses losing their petals

We were pampered by the owners of our hotel, we took it slow and went to have real German cake at the local Café.

local Café

detail of half-timbered house 

On our way home we visited the ruines of Rheinfels castle. This was supposed to be the most powerful castle and fortress on the Rhine for half a millennium. It was destructed about 200 years ago and the imposing ruins still leave a good impression of its power and substantial size.