i have a few pictures of our easter weekend left that i haven't posted in the prior entries, and before i write a bit about the little village of walluf i wanted to include these just for completing reasons. we revisited rüdesheim for a second time on that weekend to visit the torture museum, take a cable car ride & visit the niederwald memorial as well. it was a really uncomfortable day, really cold, windy & rainy, but like always we made the best of it.
the niederwald memorial was erected to commemorate the unification of germany ( it built the foundation of the german empire ), not the one in 1989, though, but in 1870/71. it's a pretty impressing memorial, very monumental. the statue depicts the personification of germany, germania. it's actually supposed to be a patriotic site, but it's not treated as such at all. it developed into a major sight for tourists because you have a beautiful view onto the rhine, rüdesheim & bingen on the other side of the river. on good days you can see far into the region of rheinhessen in rhineland-palatinate, even the first branches of the hunsrück mountains. it's a breathtaking view. patriotic events rarely seem to happen up here anymore, which i personally approve of. it's good to be reminded of the german history and past events, but i feel like we shouldn't glorify some of the happenings too much. there was a lot of blood and sweat involved to make the german unification happen, and only for that alone a memorial like this should be warranted, not to praise the alleged glorious past, but to remember the pain the people had to endure during that war.
the view down onto rüdesheim & bingen, with the rhine river dividing two german states: hessia & rhineland-palatinate.
view over to bingen and its back country. down in the right corner you can see klopp castle.
some refer to this region of the rhine as the island rhine, as you can find several little islands dotting the middle of the river. they are important for conservating reasons, many birds and wildlife are dependant of those little refuges.
inside the cable car dangling above the vineyard hills. this is definitely a recommended thing to do while visiting rüdesheim!
now onto walluf, the little town that forms the historical entrance to the rheingau region ( only in recent years people started telling you that wiesbaden's district of frauenstein is the official entrance ). i sometimes make my way there to spend some time near the rhine, the path along the river is really nice and you can often sit down on the beach and dangle your feet into the water. i also love the little village's architecture and even though i know it pretty well by now i still revisit for city walks time and time again.
i passed by these irises and couldn't get enough of their alien appearance 😍
i especially like the little beards they grow.
it had just rained a few minutes before the sun came out again and it made the flowers look so fresh and pure.
also passed by the heilandskirche - church of the redeemer. it was built 1902 in only 6 months, but to this day it's still a really remarkable building.
i really like how the gothic elements are looking in combination with the roughly milled brick facade.
this is the community center behind the church. and here it is again, the thing i really love in architecture, the clash of old versus new, historic versus modern. i cannot really tell you a reason why i am so drawn to this combination, but it's something that excites me every time i stumble upon such a site.
it was build in 2016 by the architects reuter + werr.
detail shot of the church windows.
random yard insight. love that door! isn't this place really idyllic?
late mid century architecture with johannisbrunnen ( fountain of st. john ).
i know, this isn't actually a very masterful piece of architecture. what drew my eyes in was the colouring! i just loved the combination of those pastels and the sky complimenting the ensemble!
when you take a closer look, though, the structure opens up a new take on the architecture. it isn't that ugly as it first appears, upon closer inspection the industrial charm even begins to make an impression on you.
on the other side of the street this anatomical treasure was greeting you very friendly.
and green sheep peaked through balcony railings. i really like the ironwork here, never seen such a design before.
walking on a bridge over train tracks. why are train tracks so endearing sometimes?
also, a rheingau town is never a rheingau town if it does not contain some mansions. this region was always a rich one because of the wine growing here.
and my final walk lead me through the graveyard.
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