Summer trip to Europe

[tevake]

We have arrived and are recovering from the long trip at My wife's family's place in central Germany. Looking forward. To hosting fellow Pelican Uli and family From Stuttgart for the coming weekend here at Brennhausen.
Here are a couple snaps of the place.



A quick walk around the lake while the sun is out, There are flooding rains north of us and its been wet and cold here too.
My younger son Adrian and I.


This House has been in Margaret's Family for over three hundred years, and is over eight hundred years old.



There is a very friendly kitty Rosie to make us feel very welcome.


We will be traveling in this town and country diesel van during this trip, It drives nicely, will be checking the MPG on the diesel.

As you all can see a very nice home base while staying here in Germany. Brennhausen has been made into a very comfortable home with most of the mod cons.
Over the fifty years that my Inlaws have been taking care of the place.
And we think keeping an old car going is a challenge. Ha



More on the trip later.

Cheers Tevake

[imcarthur]

Very nice. Keep the pics coming. And yes, the weather in Europe this spring really sucks. The Seine in Paris was flooding many of the lower walkways when we were there 2 1/2 weeks ago.

Ian

[aigel]

Great Castle! That's a nightmare to maintain and keep warm. Very impressive to pull that off, if nothing else, it takes $$$ or Euros for that matter. I sure would love to have that in the family for visits, but not own myself. You'd be surprised how inexpensive old castles are. Often they are in the boonies, which makes them undesirable for people that need to work in the cities. They also cannot be updated or modified, even on the inside, without approval and following strict rules preserving original structure.

Yes, the weather has been the worst in 60 years in terms of lack of sun and rain rain rain. But check the map, Germany is at the latitude of Newfoundland and high pressure systems rarely find their way in there. I hope it clears up for you some, so you can enjoy the green landscapes!

G

[Jim Richards]

That place looks amazing, Tevake.

[aigel]

I would go look in the wine cellar!

G

[widgeon13]

Beautiful, love to see some pictures from inside.

[A930Rocket]

Beautiful place. Keep the pics coming.

[Bill Douglas]

I vote Richard has more fun than anyone.

[BE911SC]

Did Germany with the family last summer. Can't wait to get back there.

[tevake]

Quite cool and foggy with clearing skys overhead this morning, was up real early due to time zone changes.
But it started getting light around 4.30


Out for a brisk walk at sunrise, brisk was the conditions not the pace.







The well and some farm buildings. The care taker is into restoring Oldtimer Tractors in this barn, I'll try to get some pics of them. I was bumed when he sold the Porsche tractor a few years back. But some of the ones he has done since are really cool and much more useable. He does work them around the place.

A couple interior shots as requested. The window seats give an idea of the wall thickness .






I'll be able to get more interior shots once folks are up and about.
You guys may have to stop me posting as I have come to love this place, for its history and picturesque beauty.

Aigel, you are so right about the costs of keeping such a place. Brennhausen still has the surrounding acreage of farm land and forests that contribute to the costs of maintaining it. It was almost a shell when it came to Conrad and Pat ( my Inlaws) in the early 60s and has been a life's work to bring it back to the condition we now enjoy.
I hear that it really freaked the German family members when visiting here in the early days to find the family stripping and restoring walls, floors, etc. themselves. You have people do that sort of thing, they would say. Oh those crazy Americans , I'm sure they would be thinking. It has been a labor of love and reflects that.

Cheers Richard[img]http://

[livi]

Spectacular! I love that kind of large old buildings with that beautiful surroundings. Thanks for posting!

[aigel]

Brennhausen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Very nice - so you married into an aristocrat family and are US American? No wonder they think you are nuts.

Enjoy your time and hope that sun comes through soon!

G

[tevake]

I swear this place has weather more changeable than Hawaii, as the earlier pic showed it was nice this morning early. Well I just got back from a drive to a near by village for a bakery run. And the fog has settled in thick every where, can hardly see across the lake now and it's not that far.

Nice people here. The caretaker's wife Annita saw me coming back from the bakery run and knew that the bakery was closed today, so she popped over with a whole tray of assorted goodies from her birthday party yesterday for us.

Thanks for your vote Bill, we are having a great time, and are heading down through Italy with a stop in Rome, all the way to Sicily A big part of our focus in Italy is on visiting the ancient sites of the Greek, Roman, and Norman settlements there, especially on Sicily. Margaret minored in studies of the early cultures of this area so should be vey interesting . Then after an overnight ferry trip back to the mainland, a week at a farmstay place at a vineyard in Tuscany. With time there to visit the surround area, Vinci, Hill towns etc.
Will be coming back through Switzerland with a stop at a favorite place in the Lauderbrunin valley, Wengen! Wooh hoo! Good fun!

I just realized that the German F1 Grand Prix race is happening in the time we are planning to spend back here at Brennhausen. So I may have to chat up my BiL in Munchen to see if he wants to go.. He has a classic XKE Jag that would be fun to do the trip with. Yep Bill, you are right too much fun. But I think I'm up to it.

Cheers Richard

[tevake]

Wigdeon13, got some more interior pics for ya.


That is a part of the old kitchen with an open fire and irons for hanging pots over the fire. A collection of old implements hang on the stone beams overhead.


The hall from the main entry back to the modern kitchen.


The formal dinning room.


The hall outside our bedroom (called the beadimeyer sp? room after the furniture style) to a small library .


Sitting room on the third floor, note the post and support beam added to hold up the floor above.



This crapper was added at some time with a wooden drop pipe on the outside wall to the ground below.

Stairwell, the stairs below these to the ground floor is much more narrow and steep, almost scary.

A chest with the family crest, a beaver, for the Bibra family, made by a Suiter to a Bibra daughter in the 1800s


Some paintings that might be of interest.




Judging from the horns and art all over the place there were some hunters in the family.

I'll. give you all a break for now.
Cheers Richard

[tevake]

Small correction to your statement , Aigel. I married into an American family with Aristicratic heritage. And I did'nt fully realize the implications till meeting some of the extended family here at their Castles.
I decided that this is a distinction I wanted to point out as I spent the last while vacuuming and washing windows in the room for our guests coming this weekend.
I did wonder about Margaret's assertion that she had grown up middle class in a nice part of South Pasadena. Not exactly middle class to my eyes, but I guess its all relative, isn't it. :-)

Cheers Richard

[widgeon13]

Thanks very much. Great pictures. Beautiful place.

When I was in the Army back in 1970 we lived in Germany in the home of a German couple. It amazes me how they meld the old and the modern technology of construction. Things don't get torn down and replaced they just upgrade. Just amazing.

Thanks again. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.

We're headed back to Germany to visit friend this fall, great trip.

[imcarthur]

Tevake

Since you are heading south, you might get some hints about Sicily from my trip report:

Sicily

Ian

[Rikao4]

once I saw the pic's..
I knew your Lady had a 'Ritter or 2' in her family tree..
those places are just awesome..
not a Schloss..
a Burg for sure..
enjoy..
agree on Wengen & Lauterbach..
have lot's ski time in that area..

Rika

[Weekend Rides]

If you are going south a suggestion, two years ago i deviated off course outside of Munich and took the roads south over alps into Austria, i went to Fedia Dam its where they filmed the opening scene in the Italian Job. BTW Furka Pass where Goldfinger was filmed is a fun way to loose a day too. Enjoy and keep the pics coming.

[Seahawk]

That place is so idyllic...you just want to go there.