Pforzheim - Kira and Castles

Kira, Jana, Daniel, and Erin at Hohenzollern Castle

When we arrived at Kira's city of Pforzheim Saturday (6/21), we were greeted by Kira, her mom Andrea, her sister Jana, her friend Lea, her grandmother Rose, and her grandfather Hans. It was a wonderful welcoming committee!

Kira's grandparents' garden--just a few of her grandfather's roses!

[David] We got to spend time with her family, including her uncle Marc, aunt Antje, and cousins Carolin and Jonas, at her grandparents' garden.  We had a great cookout in the most wonderful setting:  Kira's grandfather has hundreds of varieties of roses and other flowers, along with berries and fruit trees.  Heidi loves flowers, so she had fun taking pictures of flowers--putting her well on the way to 10,000 pictures so far on the trip....

We went later to the Wallberg in Pforzheim--a large hill built from the rubble of the town when it was almost completely destroyed by Allied bombers near the end of WWII.  A memorial at the top shows pictures of the city before the war, after the bombing, and after rebuilding.  We learned from the memorial, and from Kira's grandfather, that the local people blame the Nazi fanatics, who insisted that Germany fight to the last man in that terrible war; their fanaticism kept the war from ending earlier and prompted the Allies to destroy an industrial town to hasten the end of the war.  Thus, Pforzheim has very little left of its historical architecture and instead has the look of a town built after the war (which it was, basically).  Pforzheim is well known worldwide for its industrial school for goldsmithing and jewelry making, something they were known for even long before the war.

As a change of pace, we went to the big fair that was in town at the time--known as the "Pforzemer Mess."  We tried some Magenbrot (yummy gingerbread) and the kids rode some of the rides.  I joined them on a big free-fall ride, while Heidi wisely decided not to do anything that might aggravate her back.  Like fairs at home, rides had individual costs, but at least they lasted a long time.  We got to go up to the top and free-fall twice on that ride.  Daniel and Lea loved one of the spinning rides, while Kira and Erin were a little shaken up....

View of the Pforzheim fair from the Wallberg

Daniel & Erin on one of the rides

David and the kids on the free fall!

 We went back to Kira's mom's apartment for dinner--meat with a delicious sauce and homemade spaetzle!  Then it was time to leave with Kira's dad Frank to find where we were all sleeping--and, more importantly, I'm sure, to watch the Germany-Ghana soccer game (which, unfortunately, ended in a 2-2 tie...). 

Frank had rented a van so we could all go the next day with Kira, Jana, and Patricia, his girlfriend.  They were great hosts and took us to see two castles in their state of Baden-Württemberg--Burg Hohenzollern (near Tübingen) and Schloss Lichtenstein (near Honau--not the country Liechtenstein).  Hohenzollern Castle is grand castle, actually the third castle built in that spot in the mid 1800's.  An 11th-century castle was destroyed in the early 15th century, and a new castle built just afterward remained until the 18th century but fell into disrepair.  The present version was built for the Prussian kings and it remains privately owned by two branches of the Hohenzollern family who once ruled there.  Lichtenstein Castle is much smaller, a sort of secure country getaway for the owners.  Although there had been a castle on this site since around 1200, it was twice destroyed in the 14th century and was not rebuilt in its current configuration until the mid 1800's, when the land was passed from King Frederick I of Württemberg to Duke Wilhelm of Urach, whose family still owns the castle.  Both castles, like many other large estates owned by private families, is open to the public so that the structures and their many historical artifacts can be maintained.  One interesting tidbit is that the castle holds an iconic painting from the mid 1400's (as I recall) which was quite unique in that, since the time it was painted, it had never been moved, damaged, or restored.  It's exactly where it's always been.  Our guide said that worldwide you could count paintings like this on two hands....
But enough history (thanks Google!)...we've learned a lot, but it's easy to get overwhelmed....

Hohenzollern Castle from a distance

Hohenzollern Castle

Lichtenstein Castle

We sadly said goodbye on Monday morning, as everyone was rushing to school or work, and took the train to Nürnberg (or Nuremberg, if you like).  But that's a later post!  We enjoyed so much meeting Kira's family and friends, and we hope to see them again.  It's great to see so many historical sights on this trip, but I continue to focus on the people we are meeting and those we are seeing again after many years (or only 3 weeks, like Kira!).  Coming back to Europe after 22 years, I guess, has given me this new perspective.  I am grateful for the opportunity.  More soon!