Detmold, Germany

Thursday October 6, 2011

After a great breakfast this AM, Peter and I were off to explore the area around Detmold.  The weather was very cloudy with rain predicted, which we had mid-day.  Our first destination was to see The Externsteine, which is a huge formation of sandstone rocks.  There are three major stones that stand next to each other to form a rather unique sight.  They have been visited and used by people going back hundreds of years, and used for various reasons, such as a medieval grave, chapel, etc.  We walked around the area and then departed for Das Hermannsdenkmal or The Hermann Monument.  

There is a lot of history behind this monument, but I will not take the time to write about it here. When we arrived at this location, the weather got really windy and rainy, so we took a quick look at the monument and sat in a nearby cafe for a light lunch.  Once the rain began to subside, we headed for the car, but all of a sudden the skies opened up and Peter and I got totally soaked walking back to the car.  At this point we drove back to Bjorn's home to change our wet clothes and dry off.  Once Bjorn arrived home, it had stopped raining so we took a walk into town to get a guided tour of the Detmold Castle.  This castle was the residence of the Princes of Lippe, for several hundred years.  The castle is filled with all original tapestries, chandeliers, paintings, historical hunting weapons and much more.  The tour was in German, but I was given a packet in English that described in depth all we were seeing.......a very historical and  interesting castle.  Unfortunately, photos were not allowed.  Once we completed the tour, we walked back home and had another nice dinner, wine and conversation.  It was a very enjoyable evening with the family, but sadly enough I was off tomorrow to another stage of my journey............trains to Amsterdam, Belgium and then to the final destination of Paris.