Darmstadt

For Veteran's Day we decided to go to Darmstadt.  Only about 1/2 hour from where we live, Darmstadt was the capital of Hesse, which was an independent country until the formation of the German Empire in 1871. 

Side note, I recently read this article, and it mentions President Uchtdorf and his family lived in Darmstadt when the Berlin wall came down :)

Now that I've been to Darmstadt, I feel like I need to go back.  I feel that way everywhere I go.  No matter how much I see of the place, there's never enough time to see it all.  I'm keeping all of the maps we get from each city, so I can plan my return trips ;)

Here are some of the things we've seen so far.

Wilhelminenplatz, with the Church of St. Ludwig in the background

 Inside the church.

 Luisenplatz

 Schloss - Castle or Residential Palace with museum.  This was towards the end of our day, so we didn't go inside because the kids were too tired by then.  Hopefully next time.

 St. Elizabeth Church.  Wasn't open, so we didn't get to see inside.

 Prince George Palace - there's a museum in here with a porcelain collection.  They were closed too, but I don't think we would have gone in anyway.

  Prince George Gardens, behind the palace.

 I can't wait to see this place when all the flowers are in bloom.  Below is my favorite picture.

 Herrngarten - this Garden, or park, (below), was huge.  We took a long walk in it, and my kids almost died ;)

 We noticed a LOT more bikes in this town than we've seen anywhere else.

 We also noticed more bakeries here than we've seen anywhere else.  Of course, we had to stop at one and try out some pastries.

 We did actually go to one museum, the Hessian State Museum.

The museum is a conglomeration of natural history and art exhibits first collected by the grand dukes of Hesse in the 17th century. A hodgepodge, really, of art deco furniture, jewelry and porcelain, cork models of ancient Rome, a zoological section, medieval crafts, Egyptian artifacts, etc.  We only saw 2 of the 4 floors of displays, and we saw a LOT.

I didn't take any pictures inside, but got these two off of their web page.

Inside the front foyer, where they sometimes give concerts.

 My favorite display of medieval knights' armor and weapons 

The day was not even ruined when Joseph got pooped on the head by a bird.  He thought his dad had thrown something at him.  Luckily, it was an easy clean-up ;)

 

On another day we went to Burg Frankenstein (or Frankenstein castle), which is up on a hill the overlooks Darmstadt.  It is alleged that this castle may have been an inspiration for Mary Shelley when she wrote Frankenstein ('cause, ya know, it has the same name and all).

 

 

 

 

They had a big to-do at the Frankenstein castle for Halloween (I'm assuming they do every year), but we didn't go.  I was told that they don't have very strict regulations at haunted houses here in Germany, meaning, people can grab you and even drag you off.  I mean, of course they won't hurt you, but still - I don't think I'm up for that.

 

And as long as we're talking about Halloween, I might as well post our Halloween pictures here too.

Our neighborhood got a LOT of trick-or-treaters, both Americans and Germans, but our house didn't get a single one.  I think they stuck to the houses that were facing the streets, and ours happens to face away from the street.  Oh well, no biggie. But, in anticipation of getting trick-or-treaters at our house, I stayed home and sent the kids out to trick-or-treat with their friends.  I can't remember where Joe was, but he had to be somewhere else.  Well, Joseph and Alex got LOST!  They were crying and some nice German women stopped to helped them, and flagged down the MP's, who brought them home (they didn't know their address, but Alex knew his way home from the elementary school, and that did the trick).  Never a dull moment.  Wait.....yes there are.