The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

It was a beautiful Sunday a couple of weeks ago . . . and I didn't want to stay inside an iron clothes, so I drove the mile to the Aberdeen Esplanade.  I wasn't the only person with this idea.

I parked at the far northern end and vowed I would walk all the way to the harbour entry . . . two and a half miles away . . . and back.  There was a steady North Sea breeze, a calm sea, and large rolling waves, some quite large. As it was a Sunday, the horizon was full of offshore oil platform tenders, the trucks of the sea.

I enjoyed capturing the waves crashing on the embankments of the Esplanade. . . it was high tide.

I walked slowly along, camera at the ready.

Some of the waves crashed with a loud THUD.

Although it was sunny, the air temperature was only about 3c (39f), and breezy.  People are passionate about their sports and hobbies like this guy and his sea kayak.

This fellow was quite good at it.  His rides were not long, but he caught a lot of waves.  Fun.

2 1/2 miles up the arc of the Aberdeen Esplanade to the tall harbour control tower was my goal . . . I had never walked the full length before.  There were many people out for a stroll: couples, old people, women walking their dogs, and whole families strolling along the North Sea shore.  After I got up to speed, I left the camera in my backpack  . . .

. . . and only stopped once to take this photo of the lighthouses out at Rattray Head.

The southern end of the Esplanade is at the entry to the medieval fishing village of Footdee, known locally as "Fittie".

Footdee sits directly on the sea, protected by a small-ish sea wall.  I wonder what it is like here at high tide (like today) but with a big storm!

Such a pleasant place.  Old stone terrace houses, short doors, benches, and interesting trinkets in all the windows.

The poured glass window testifies to the age of this old door.

I am forever being surprised by Aberdeen: wonderful new places to visit right here in my new home town. Footdee.  The first mention of Fittie was in 1398.  The current village of Fittie "is a particularly interesting example of a planned housing development purpose-built to re-house Aberdeen's local fishing community. Laid out in 1809 by John Smith, then Superintendent Of The Town's Public Works." [citation]

So sweet.  These little places remind me a great deal of old Danish fishing villages . . . although the Danes would have plastered them and painted them with ox blood.

The sharp angle of the winter sun on this rough stone house created an interesting effect.

I walked back by the same house later as the sun was lower in the sky and the light yellowed from time to time.

In and among the more permanent stone structures of Footdee were these fabulously textured fisherman's sheds.

This weathered green shed caught my eye enough to want to do a study of its incredible surfaces . . . .

A late winter's sun's sheen on an old green fisherman's shed.

Yummie textures, light, shadow, detail, and color.

A nautical decorative feature added by who-knows-who, from who-knows-where, affixed who-knows-when.

I made it all the way to the old harbour tower . . . that had an inscription:

The inscription commemorates the 850 years since the founding, in 1136, of Aberdeen's Harbour Board!  That'd be 878 years this year . . . WOW!

At the Aberdeen Harbour I encountered this screaming fellow waving the Jolly Rogers. I kept my distance; I didn't know if he was protesting the oil company docks nearby, or he was a football (soccer) fan, so I walked back through Footdee toward the Esplanade and the 2 1/2 miles back to my car.

They don't make fishermen's sheds like they used to.  Too bad, as this one was beautiful in its own dilapidated and decaying way.

Corrugation!  I've got corrugation!  One of my favorite photographic subjects is corrugation and sundry things attached to it.  This shed was divine, but the window was worth a closer study.

Astonishing beauty.  I love this dilapidation . . . a picture of history itself . . . the work of time and weather upon a manmade object transits to a work of The Elements.

I left Footdee, a real, living, working, fishermen's village, for the crowds of the Esplanade.  I will be back here again . . . maybe to see if it is possible to rent one of those little sheds . . . I imagined a week-end retreat . . .

I joined the late afternoon throng that had come to look at the North Sea, and then quickly walked the 2 1/2 miles back along the Esplanade to my car.  A great day, yes, a great day.

New Slains Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland is perched on cliffs above the crashing waves of the wild North Sea.

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Just outside of the little Scottish village of Cruden Bay, on a muddy track, sits the amazing New Slains Castle . . . the true home of Dracula.

On a very cold, clear, and windy morning I walked out to a seaside promontory where the [intentional] ruins of Slains Castle was situated.  It was the first sunny day in weeks, so I grabbed my camera for the opportunity for a castle shoot.

New Slains Castle is privately owned and is not developed for visitors.  Heavy rains over the past week made the walking torturous.  In fact, the entry was blocked by a fence, a cliff, and this wooden barricade.  But . . . . .

I found an inviting entry point to the castle property and went in.  I walked along a path that took me by some of what I thought might be out buildings.  I wanted to see the North Sea before I entered the ruins.

As I walked up on the North Sea cliffs, I could see the rough waters.

New Slains Castle sits high on the edge of cliffs that look down on a craggy coast pounded by the wild North Sea winter surf.

The waves were ferocious!  The wind at the edge of the cliffs was powerful: I could barely brace myself enough to take a photo.  What DRAMA!  What inspiration!

I was riveted by the constant pounding of the huge surf on the rocks.

Is there nothing more infatuating than watching big surf crashing on the seaside, with the wind blowing the tops off of the waves?  I do not think so.  I must have taken 100 photos here . . . and thinking each time that I had captured a momentous occasion of extreme importance . . . the Sea and Land in rough embrace.

The castle placement atop cliffs above the wild sea . . . a marvel.

I walked along the windy narrow strip of long grass between the castle on my right, and . . .

. . . the jagged rocks at the base of the cliffs on my left.

Forced to stand so close to the castle, I studied the construction detail.

The weathered plaster-over-stone construction method was coated in sea salt deposits.

I entered the ruins of 'Dracula's Castle.'  I say Dracula's Castle because  . . ." On [Bram] Stoker’s return to Cruden Bay in the summer of 1895, ‘the’ book [Dracula] was written. It is said that when the winds blow into Cruden Bay, the sea is churned into such violence that it fills the onlooker with fear. It was on such a day that Stoker sat near Slains Castle in the wind and rain like some sea bird perched on a rock and slowly, his creation, Count Dracula began to emerge in his mind’s eye... “... I saw the whole man slowly emerge from the window and began to crawl down the castle wall over that dreadful abyss, face down, with his clock spreading around him like great wings...” [ Citation ]

"That Dreadful Abyss" that Bram Stoker saw from the window of New Slains Castle.

Dracula's view!

"In her book The Essential Dracula, Clare Haword-Maden opined the castle of Count Dracula was inspired by Slains Castle, at which Bram Stoker was a guest of the 19th Earl of Erroll. According to Miller, he first visited Cruden Bay in 1893, three years after work on Dracula had begun. Haining and Tremaine maintain that during this visit, Stoker was especially impressed by Slains Castle's interior and the surrounding landscape." (Citation)

"In 1925 the roof was removed to avoid taxes,   and the building has deteriorated since. It is now a roofless shell, with most of the outer and inner walls standing to full height. In 2004 it was reported that the Slains Partnership was preparing plans for restoration of the building and conversion into 35 holiday apartments.   In August 2007 the scheme was granted outline planning permission by Aberdeenshire Council, but the plans were put on hold in 2009 due to the economic downturn." ^[Citation]

The tower of New Slains Castle was begun in 1597, and was built, remodeled, and rebuilt for many centuries afterward.  It was occupied up until 1906.

The castle has a very complex floor plan.

Wherever I went in the castle, I invariably came back around to a window opening that looked out onto the wild North Sea.

With the windows, doors, and interior wall panelling taken away, the spaces left were . . . quite spooky.

Long halls went off in all directions.

Halls everywhere.  You can see the joist supports coming out of the wall at right, indicating where the second floor would have been.

It was very interesting walking down these halls.  Openings would appear and new views would present themselves.  With the wind whistling through these passages, it was a very exciting experience.

One of the best things about the day was studying castle construction methods.

This must have been a Great Hall or Dining Room.

I had fun trying to figure out the intended use of each room.

Construction materials and methods varied throughout the castle.  I couldn't tell the difference between the 16th, 17th, or 18th century renovations and remodeling.

Previous doors and passages are bricked up here and there throughout.

I wondered if some walls were broken in order to get large fixtures out of the building, like fireplaces.

A rare historical photo of the interior of New Slains Castle while occupied (circa 1900).

This photo illustrates how wood panelling was attached to the stone and brick walls: wooden dowels were inserted in the stonework as it was being mortared so that panels could be affixed later.  They are still there, so presumably, they could be re-used.

It was such a beautiful day.

At this time of year, February, in the Northeast of Scotland the sun is always at a perfect angle for photography.

Of course, all of my wanderings were leading me to the feature that defines a castle, the tower.

The five-story tower in all its glory!

The tower spiral stairs.

The colors, textures, shapes, surfaces, and shadows in this scene create a complex and magnificent portrait.  The doorway to the castle tower steps.

The 'wall history' underneath the castle tower stairs.  At some point a plaster grout was trowelled in and something, perhaps tiles, were laid in, and since vanished.  Seeing the medieval craftsmen's scratches and marks humanizes these spaces.

The tower interior view from a different corner.

As it was getting late, and the sun was falling fast, I left the tower to go outside . . . .

I left New Slains Castle through this door.

I stepped out into the gale force winds to see the tall grass, laid over, where it met the weathered stone of the castle . . . too beautiful.  A still life portrait to remember.

A turreted element of the castle architecture.

The south exposure of New Slains Castle in all its glory.  The 14th century tower at right.

A similar view of New Slains Castle when it was still a living residence (circa 1900).

As I walked around the exterior of the castle, I realized these weren't the ruins of out buildings, but the exterior wall of yet another expansive renovation in the past.

I wanted to walk a way up the coast to get a long shot of the castle and it's precarious position on the cliffs . . . . when I turned around I saw this view . . .  WOW!  The tall grasses laid over in the ferocious wind.

It was a struggle walking in this slippery, grabby grass in such a strong wind.

I took my last photo of the rugged Scottish coast before walking back to the car and heading home.  It had been a magical day in a magical, if somewhat creepy, place.

As I drove back through the village of Cruden Bay I realized I hadn't eaten all day, so I stopped in at a small hotel and had a traditional Angus steak pie and tatties.  It was, of course, delicious.

I set the GPS to take me home . . . but I began to defy its instructions, making it compute an alternative route  in the hope that I might find something interesting on a new road.  I did.

The Belhelvie North Parish Church (circa 1870).  I was happy, the sky was beautiful, and I had spent the day outside on a wonderful winter day.

About 20 minutes south from my home in Aberdeen lies the charming seaside village of Stonehaven.  Stonehaven has a lot going for it, not the least is that it is the gateway to perhaps one of Scotland's most famous castles.

A couple of kilometers outside of Stonehaven is the amazing Dunnattar Castle, a truly significant place in the history of Scotland.  The approach to the castle requires a walk of about a half kilometer.  Read all about its history HERE.

The magnificence of the castle's location . . .

. . . dawns on you in degrees . . .

. . . until you realize . . .

. . . Dunnottar Castle sits high on a promontory of stone high above the crashing surf of the North Sea.  The first mention of a castle on this location was 681.

The Aberdeenshire coast is a series of steep cliffs and jutting headlands.

I have never seen architecture positioned on the landscape in such a dramatic way as this!

We walked down the well-worn path to the castle entrance, completely taken in by the view.

The Aberdeenshire headlands.

We gawked at the great castle overhead.

The castle walls were made for battle and sieges, as this cannon port attests.

The final 50 meters still had the medieval paving.

After many, many steps, we finally arrived at the flattened top and the interior of Dunnottar Castle.

Although Dunnottar was shelled from sea many times, the structures were quite well preserved.

Dunnottar Castle is actually privately owned!  This house is actually occupied periodically by the current owners.

Location, Location, Location!!!

The ruins of the Dunnottar Castle Chapel.

Dunnottar Castle Chapel interior.  The original chapel was founded in the 5th century.

A view from the chapel.

We were always being surprised by the sudden views of the North Sea.

Although overtaking a castle situate this far up steep cliffs would have been nearly impossible, it was vulnerable to bombardment from ships at sea.

There was more space up on top than I thought.  A whole village existed up here in the past.

We snooped around inside the buildings.

We found the medieval kitchen and its giant hearth.

Every once in a while we would see a bright passage leading up and out of the old stone structures.

The views, from the inside out, framed in stone, were beautiful.

Like a framed picture of Time itself.

Stairs to nowhere.

This row of rooms with fireplaces was reserved for knights and visiting royalty.

It must have been a very busy place to be in the year 1100.

The castle grounds were divided by a wall.  On one side were the living quarters of the royal inhabitants and the knights, and on the other were the work shops, horse stables, and military battlements.

Stores, stables, and the remains of the tower.

The ruins of the old blacksmith shop.  Everything had to be made on-site; from horse shoes to silverware to pots and pans.

The stables to the left and the castle tower to the right, where the soldiers would have been billeted.

Castle tower interior. 

The view from a castle tower port across the roof of the gate house.

A wonderful view back to the countryside of Aberdeenshire.

Now that my dilapidated door and window fetish was fully satisfied, we left the castle to walk back down the steep path to another view spot.

Even if there was no castle near nearby, it would have been a beautiful place to spend a perfect day.

The new viewpoint was windswept and wild.

The view of Dunnottar Castle that adorns a thousand Scotland calendars.

Castle, cliff, and sea.

Before I ever set foot in Scotland I learned about The Bay in Stonehaven.  Yes, it was awarded the Best Fish & Chips in Great Britain in 2013.  The best in a country that prides itself on fish and chips.  So, of course, we had to go and see what all the fuss was about.

What all the fuss was all about.

We ordered two box sets, with a side of Diet Coke to neutralize any fat we might accidently ingest.  "The UKs No. 1 Fish & Chip Shop".

It was amazingly good fish and chips.  Next time you are in Stonehaven you should stop in and have a box full!

Our holiday vacation actually began at the 17th century farm and workshops of our Swiss friend . . . in the countryside just outside of Geneva. We stayed with them before going off to Germany, and again coming back.

Their farm is surrounded by beautiful tree lines, country lanes, and wetlands.  I took an early morning walk one morning with my new Fuji X-A1.

It was a frosty morning when I headed out along the country lanes near Geneva.

The fallow fields were festooned in frost.

I walked about a kilometer to discover a frozen wetland pond.

Everything was covered in a delicate sheath of frost.

There was a fine old weathered shed in the morning light . . . along the way.

The yellow morning light shown on the barren tree line across the frozen field.

I walked back along the same country lane.  We were packing this morning for a drive to famous Swiss alpine village, Gstaad.

The drive along Lake Geneva was  . . . . well . . . . truly awesome.

One of the most beautiful sights of my life.

GSTAAD

We left the shores of Lake Geneva and headed up into the Alps, passing through small, old villages along the way.

As we drove higher and deeper into the Alps the scenery became more dramatic.

After several hours of driving we arrived in the Gstaad Valley.

What a beautiful place!

After so many years living in the perfectly flat swamp of Bangkok, the mountains were a revelation.

Our friends have an apartment in a wonderful chalet.  They planned some wonderful experiences for us that we were very grateful for.  One was a ride to the top of a mountain in a cable gondola.

I have to admit that this is not one of my favorite things to do . . . but with five of us squeezed into the little cabin, I hardly focussed on the imagined possibility of mechanical failure . . . .

We joined the skiers and visitors at the top for a wonderful meal with cheese in every dish!

A winter wonderland . . . and playground.

It was a perfect day on the mountain.  A perfect day for a walk DOWN the mountain . . . there was no other way!

And so, three of us walked down the five mile road, and two rented sleds for the descent.  I walked . . . and it was the most beautiful walk of my life.

Clear light and beautiful scenery, what more could I ask for?

I have so missed the mountains.

New views around every corner.  Fortunately we passed through Oregon last summer and visited a mountaineering store in Portland:  we had the right clothes for this kind of cold weather . .  and I had excellent weatherproof, insulated hiking boots with good tread for walking in the snow.

The 'trail' we walked down doubled as a sled run and emergency vehicle access to the top of the ski lifts. The walking was easy, the views fantastic . . . but . . .

You had to keep your ears pealed to hear the wild sledges speeding down the mountain.  Imagine, a five mile sled run!

This old chalet, from 1902, was about a third of the way down.  Nice weathered wood.

There were good views of the village of Gstaad all along the mountain trail.

Small chalets dotted the hillsides and hidden mountain valleys.

About half way down the mountain my friends decided to take a short-cut across one of the switchabacks in the road.  It didn't look too steep, or difficult . . . but I discovered that it was too steep and difficult as soon as I started down.  I was not used to walking in deep snow on a steep slope . . . with a camera in my hands . . . and a bad knee!  I made it down 'OK' . . . but fell in the snow numerous times.

After a couple of hours of walking, we drew near the valley floor.

We passed this new chalet on the way.

Some of the sled riders rode in a horse drawn sleigh the rest of the way back to the ski lift.  It was a great day.  We went back to the apartment completely exhausted . . but looking forward to the next day's adventure.

We stopped off at the village of Gstaad and ogled the Gstaad Palace Hotel.  Little did we know that we would be joining a New Years' party a stone's throw from there.

Old Gstaad village had some fine old architecture . . . and a few cranes hoisting up some new, large chalets.

The next day our generous hosts drove us all on a winding road to the top of another ski lift . .  for another fabulous, cheese filled lunch.

There were many beautiful winter scene nearby.

There were many fine chalets dotted about the area.

Like a scene from a post card.

Another fabulous Swiss chalet.

The next day we spent some time in Gstaad.  There were many pretty scenes to photograph there.

Gstaad also had what was described as "the most expensive grocery store in the world," the Pernet Comestibles.  It also had just about every luxury brand as well.  Gstaad, it seems, is the playground of the extremely rich and famous.

Gstaad horses.

Gstaad prancing horse . .  and horsepower: a 2013 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.I want one.

Château de Gruyères

On our drive back to Geneva from Gstaad we passed by the Château de Gruyères, built around 1270, so we stopped in for a look.  The view of the countryside from the castle mount was fantastic.

There was a charming village within the castle walls.

The medieval atmosphere was very pronounced within the walls.

Château de Gruyères is in a very good state of restoration, as this fabulous door handle attests.

I was able to feed my obsession with weathered doors here as well.

The castle itself was very impressive.

There were many fine pieces of art on and around the castle. A medieval mandala?

The placement of the sculpture was very nice.  The whole village was full of art and art galleries.  The city fathers have made it a wonderful place to visit.

The castle itself sat on the highest point of the hill.

The Château de Gruyères is a fine fairy tale castle situated in a beautiful location in the foothills of the high Swiss Alps. 

A truly beautiful castle.

While walking back through the village, we were surprised to find a Tibet Museum!

The Tibetan prayer flags blew in the alpine breezes.

We were happy to discover the door was open.  We went in, made a donation, and saw the exhibition . . . .

The Buddha exhibit was actually in a converted/reclaimed christian chapel.  I was glad to see that.

It was an exquisite collection, although I immediately wondered how this particular 'museum' came by these Buddhas, satus, and monks.  I hope they were not purloined . . . sold as stolen treasure.  This place was not a Buddhist temple (wat) after all.

Yes, thank you Buddha for reminding me to vanquish Mara.

The lighting and arrangement of the exhibit was excellent.

I hope the museum procured these wonderful artifacts legitimately.  I will assume they did.

This was my favorite Buddha in the collection.  Very powerful.  We sat in the calm darkness of the 'temple' for some time enjoying the tranquility.

We went to Le Chalet for a tasty lunch that included lots of cheese . . . and amazing fresh raspberries and clotted cream.

The restaurant had these cow bells hanging from the ceiling.

Our last stop, before driving on to Geneva, was at an art museum that featured these metal sculptures of aliens . . . erotic and otherwise . . . by the Swiss artist H. R. Giger (famous for his work on the movie Alien).  After the Buddhas, these seemed extra strange.  We humans like images.

This was the last image from our wonderful winter holiday. What a wonderfully humorous image it is . . .

The medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, in central Germany, was founded around 950.  Today it is one of only a few intact walled medieval cities left in Europe. (This image was borrowed from Turistmus Rothenburg.) It is also known as "the best place in the world to spend Christmas." So, we went there for Christmas.

Our train pulled into Rothenburg on the afternoon of Christmas Eve.  The Hotel Eisenhut was a fabulous Old World experience right in the center of this charming town.  We checked in at the beautiful lobby, then offloaded our baggage in our spacious room and went out to look around before it got dark . . . and the shops closed.

Our hotel was next door to the "World Famous Christmas Museum" (Kathe Wohlfahrt) which had a wonderful old bus parked outside.

It was getting to be late afternoon, making photography in the dark shadowed narrow streets very difficult.

Rothenburg is carefully and loving restored and maintained to the original medieval condition.

It was a beautiful (and mild) afternoon to walk around this historic and architectural gem.

Cobbled streets and pastel colors.

Lots and lots of cobbled streets!

Rothenburg has the fine St. James Church from 1311.

The St. James Church holds an altar carved by the great German sculptor, Tilman Riemenschneider.

All over Germany people eat sneeballen ("snow balls") during the Christmas season.  They look delicious, but are, in fact, somewhat dry . . . unless you get the amaretto and almond coated ones.

It was beautiful no matter which way you turned.

We walked around in amazement, but before too long we realized that almost all of the shops were closed!  No Shopping! Oh No, it was Christmas Eve and everybody was home with their families.

All we could do was window shop.

There were many things we wanted to purchase from the beautiful shop window displays.  Drat!

Here and there we would head up a street to find the old arched gateway of the city wall.

It felt like we had gone back in time . . . except for the occasional car.

The City Hall and City Museum were under restoration . . .

The old building exteriors were amazing, and so were the interiors!  We loved looking into each shop window and marveling at what we were seeing.  Bread!

So many beautiful shops . . . and shop window displays.

We were desperate to buy a set of these small ceramic Rothenburg town buildings to add to our collection from Prague, but the shops closed early on the 24th of December and did not open until after we left.  Oh No!

We need doyleys and lace around our new Scottish home, but, alas, it was closed too.

However, shops selling food were generally open on the 24th and 26th.

Beautiful German breads!

The sausage shop was closed.  We could have filled our suitcases with these.

Fortunately the butcher was open and had these cute pepperonis with cigar bands in a wood box.  We bought a couple of boxes . . . they are great!

A Rothenburg doll shop. I always find great collections of dolls creepy . . . its the animist in me.

We never tired of strolling arm in arm around this gem of a town.

While walking around the narrow medieval street that Rothenburg, it's easy to forget that it is a walled hill town.

Every once in a while our wanderings would spill us out at a view point over quaint river valley village scenes.

There was always something interesting to catch your eye, like this two-tailed merman.

It was cold, grey, and cloudy, but it was still like being in a post card.

We walked around Rothenburg all day, but eventually had to get back to the rococo hotel to get ready for Christmas Eve dinner.  Our hotel was filled with these wonderful old religious artifacts.

Christmas Eve dinner was a special event at the Hotel Eisenhut Hotel: a three hour, nine course meal that culminated with this delicious fruit sorbet.

After dinner we went for a stroll in the brightly lit streets.  This is our hotel on the right; the Hotel Eisenhut.

The World Famous Christmas Museum.

I woke up early and walked around the corner to fetch breakfast.  Fortunately I brought my new Fuji X-E1 camera.  What an amazing sight.

Take-away coffee, cheesecake and strudel back at the hotel room.  Delicious.

The following morning (Dec. 26) broke cold, wet, and gloomy.  We decided to walk the length of the covered ramparts of the old city wall.  There was much to see on the way, as usual.

Now THIS is what I call 'an addition' to your house!

We first walked to the edge of town past these amazing vine covered homes.  They would be just as wonderful in summer.

As is my habit, I was infatuated by old doors showing their age.  What is in there?

Yes, at some point, the neo-classical style even penetrated this old German village.

Grand, heroic, and romantic . . . and pigeonproofed.

One of the newer buildings in Rothenburg from 1681.  Only 335 years old.

An old door again; this time one of the city gates leading outside the town to a small garden and chapel.  The textures visable in this flat light were wonderful.

The small austere chapel was a little gem in the winter gloom.

The rain started to get heavier at this point, so we headed back under the gate we came from and discovered this wonderful view of medieval Rothenburg.

I couldn't resist taking more photos of this gate and wall.  I am sure you could produce a fascinating book of photographs of just this gate alone.

"If these gates could talk" . . . . .

The other tourists began to immerge from their hotels to begin their silent meander through the streets of Rothenburf ob der Tauber.

So much to see in Rothenburg.

Rothenburg was especially beautiful in the rain.

Wet cobblestones evoke a kind of melancholia . . .

We followed the wall around to find the steps up to the ramparts.  Nope, these would not take us where we wanted to go.

Our route led us to an amazing door.  I could not tell if this was contemporary or some kind of an old world attempt at 'modern' iron and rivet door-making. It looked like a lot of doors I have seen in India.

A retrofit?  There was so much to look at and contemplate in Rothenburg.

A cat in an old Rothenburg window on a cold and dank winter day.

More old weathered doors than I knew what to do with . . . but fortunately I had a lot of storage media!

We eventually found the way to the top of the city walls.

Up we went for a walk around the top of the city wall.

There was some beautiful cantilever stonework on the city wall stairs.

Walking the covered ramparts of the old city walls turned out to be the best thing to do on a rainy day.

The views from the ramparts were spectacular.  It was fun to walk along these old passageways above the town.

This foreign tourist seemed very happy to be where he was.

There were some good opportunities to photograph patterns from the top of the city walls.  We walked about 3/4 of the way around the city walls before coming down.  It was getting late.  Time to head back to the hotel.

We walked back through one of the city gates to find Rothenburg lit up like a scene on a Christmas card. 

We walked home in the gathering darkness as a few shops lit up the street. We went in this bakery and had coffee.

Hmmm . . . what do we want this time? . . . .

We changed and walked a block to this Gasthof for another wonderful meal.

There was a manger in the churchyard.  It was Christmas, after all.

We walked around a while in the dim, moody alleys.

We walked around the same streets we walked during the day, but in a very different mood.

I wanted very badly to check these doors . . . and see what was behind them.

At last we stumbled upon the main town square next to our hotel.

Some of the Christmas Market stalls opened on the night of the 26th . . . we stopped for another Gluhwein before turning in.  We were off to Stuttgart and the airport for a flight back to Geneva the next morning.

The next morning, bright and early, we were on the train.  What an enchanted couple of days we spent in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

The charming and spare German countryside from the moving train.

We departed Germany ant the small, but very nice Stuttgart Airport.