Bernhards Random Ramblings BACKUP

A little oddity on the way back home from Bavaria. Rasthaus Seligweiler near Ulm is built on the border between Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg. A fun photo op before buying coffee.

We're visiting friends in Bavaria. I went for a walk around the village this morning and enjoyed the fresh fallen snow. Alas, it's not going to last long. Warmer weather and rain is in the forecast.

Together for the first time.

The actual location of the Limes and the forts is barely visible today. In our area it consisted primarily of an earthen wall with palisades and a moat that didn't survive the course of time. To help with that markers were erected more recently where roads cross the line where the Limes used to be. Aside from the forts , the other defining feature are the watch towers ("Wachturm" or "Wachposten"), that are located right behind the palisades wall. This foundation of such tower is right next to the road from Welzheim to Murrhardt at Spatzenhof. It was discovered in 1814, and fully excavated and preserved in 1977.  In Murrhardt we hiked to the partially reconstructed tower at Heidenbuehl. The view from further up Linderst is very nice, and I'm sure the Romans appreciated it as well. However, in their time the forest was full of wild game, and hostile Germans, so you had to be careful. The last tower foundation we visited was near Lindersthuette, off to the side...

Today's program included a visit to Ostkastell Welzheim (eastern fort), an archaeological find from Roman times. As it turns out I lived a good chunk of my life not far from the famous Limes, the second-longest man-made structure on Earth, ... and never visited. Today we fixed that. The Ostkastell is a smaller site than the Westkastell. However, whatever is left of the Westkastell is now buried under the town of Welzheim. Even the finds at Ostkastell is not really that exciting at first. Here's the bath house: However, various panels with pictures and explanations, as well as partially reconstructed structures like the main gate below bring history to life. On the outside of the fort wall, there's a reconstructed section of the moat as well. Drinking water for the fort was initially provided by way of four wells. Later on they fell into disuse and junk and garbage was thrown into the well shaft. Very cool for us living 1700 years later, since garbage is very useful to learn...

The sky was on fire at sunset. When it was dark the kitchen window was lit with original artwork from Thuringia.

A nice evening with church, presents, food, and -- above all -- family.

Yesterday, we did the tour the family and the kids decorated the respective christmas trees. Presents are wrapped. Food is prepared. We are ready for the big evening.

Hauptzettel for regular freight loads Hauptzettel are found in a frame on the outside of freight cars behind a wire mesh ( see this post for examples ). So far I've used examples for these forms found on the Internet. I didn't know what exact time frame they were from, but  adjusted for my needs  to guide making car cards and way bills that resemble the prototype forms. Now that I have the appendix for DV 605 from 1970 , the next time I revise way bills I can try to replicate the look of these forms as much as feasible to fit the time frame of my layout. Of course, I just finished making car cards and way bills for most cars on my layout. I'm not going to throw away that work, but rather try out the system for a while and then make adjustments as needed. Hauptzettel for preferred freight loads Hauptzettel for express freight. There are lots of variations of this form... Preferred freight where the whole car goes to the same destination freight terminal Preferred freight as ...

Fourth Christmas market visit within a week. This time in Ludwigsburg. We've been here before, so I didn't take any photos of the market. ... And only noticed that when I got home. So I leave you with Gluehwein (hot mulled wine) instead.

Well, the snow was gone quickly. As I walked to the bakery this morning to get fresh rolls, Monday's snow fall was replaced by a light drizzle.

"Another day, another Christmas market", you might say. And you might be right. Nevertheless, here we are after a 3 hours drive to Colmar across the border in Alsace. I have never been here before, but was thoroughly impressed. Most of the houses in old town Colmar are lovingly restored. A large part of old town is a pedestrian zone. In addition, several streets are blocked off during the Christmas season, creating a large walkable area in the middle of the city. On the  squares and streets throughout old town various stands were offering food, drink, and present-worthy wares. By accident we wandered into the covered market. What a treat! Culinary overload. In case you are wondering, ... yes, it was cold, only a couple degrees above freezing temperatures. We had a lot of fun, though. Right next to the covered market starts an area known as Petite Venise, "Little Venice". Named quite appropriately, it reminded me of the canals in Amsterdam, too, but with its own uniq...