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Trip by Leo Coffeng and George
Hardy
Through Northeastern
Germany
The first nine pictures are of Neubrandenburg. To be more accurate, of the city wall and city gates. Why no pictures of the old buildings? Because there aren't any. OK, not exactly true. There is one short street which has a few old buildings on one side. To see the buildings which should be inside these walls, visit Quedlinburg, also in the former DDR. The wall is very fine and complete; the gates very impressive.
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There I am, before getting properly "outfitted", in my London Fog coat.
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The pictures above and below show the residences built into the city wall.
Why residences built into the wall? Because the families living
there would hear anyone sneaking up on the city. They allowed their
animals to swim in the moat and run in the area in front of their homes.
Their dogs would bark. In short, a free "early warning system",
no watch guards to pay. Yes, you see me again in the picture.
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I bought a coat in Stendal. Together with the Prinz Heinrich Mütze,
I was now properly dressed for the area.
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The last pictures are of Tangermünde. One of the beauties of the German language is that names are often very descriptive. Tangermünde lies at the mouth (Münde)of the Tanger river. The river it empties into is the Elbe. The DDR had a major canal system which, along with the rivers, connected much of the country.
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There I am again, wearing my new clothes.
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If Germany is looking for a name for the route we took on our tour, it should be "Backsteinstraße" (Brick Road). Whether city gates, churches, city walls or 19th C. residences, red brick is the building material of choice, and it is beautiful.
I have not yet seen all of Germany, but I am getting there. Eastern
Saxony, including Dresden, will probably be next. But, of course,
Rudolstadt will always be my "home base" in Germany.
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