Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Rosinen Bombed Tour

The sweltering tropical weather over Wiesbaden broke just before I arrived back for the weekend, but by Sunday the thunderstorms had abated, the sun shone but with fresher air temperatures and we donned the protective clobber for our second tour of the Taunus. (The first tour has remain unblogged in deference  to the hapless bee that had flown up Mrs Nikos' jacket cuff and stung her on the arm somewhere near Dietz...)



On the way to Epstein - a typical Taunus vista.

Statues at Schlosshotel Rettershof.

Frankfurt cathedral surrounded by modern buildings - we arrived here due to roadworks  near Bad Homberg.


Clearly a large organ.

Riding next to the River Main.

The day is improving as on our quest for the Berlin Airlift memorial I spot on the map a village called Zeppelinheim.  Naturally the museum is closed.

The Berlin Airlift memorial - easy to see from the A5 autobahn but hard to find as it is appropriately sandwiched between the South main runway of Frankfurt airport, the A5 and a high speed rail link.  Access is by a footpath and bridge from Zeppelinheim.

The C54 "Rosinen Bomber".

The C47 "Dakota" with a glimpse of the autobahn sign in the near background.

A pair of Mrs Nikos' noteworthy rosinen bombs (recipe on application) redolent of a design by the late and great Barnes Wallis.



9 comments:

  1. Looks wonderful with great pictures. Love the framing of the Frankfurt Cathedral with the modern buildings; light on the cathedral and shadow on the others.

    What are rosinen bombs? Because they look delicious!

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  2. I should like to see the Zeppelin Museum. Zeppelin have developed very special welding techniques for aluminium, particularly for the aero industry.

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  3. Dear Nikos:

    I love Germany and have been there 11 times. Despite the difference in language, I think Germany offers Americans on European tour (for the first time) one of the best experiences (and value) for the dollar.

    And I love German Catholic churches and cathedrals too. They speak to something in my soul. German eclesiastic architecture serves as a conduit between my mind and heaven.

    Germans are among the courtliest people, and they build one hell of a motorcycle too. Does Mrs. Nikos wear gear tha secures at the wrist, preventing bees from stinging her on the Dietz?

    Fondest regards,
    Jack • Reep • Toad
    Twisted Roads

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  4. Dear BG, apricot dumplings!
    Alice, Argon arc?
    Jack, I agree - I liked the country and people so much that I married one. Mrs Nikos declined to wear her gloves that day as one of them was "smelly" and she forgot to fully secure the velcro cuff closure on the very expensive riding jacket that I had just given her. I do try my best....

    Best wishes and thanks for flying with Nikos World, N

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  5. I have been so many times to that neck of the woods....and knew neither the Berlin Airlift memorial nor the Zeppelin Museum! But I did drink a lot of B-52s in a cocktail bar on a barge moored at Walluf, if that makes up for it.

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  6. I've been to (errr, I should perhaps say "through") Germany about 3 times and like it mainly on account of its hitch-hiking largesse. If you bikers guys are intersted, I once got picked up by a German motorcycle builder and former speedway rider who claimed that he'd invented that sliding thing that they do.

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  7. Thankyou HWL, and I have to add that you would (probably)need a pair of lungs of biblical proportions to get it going
    And Gadgo, that sounds rather interesting - did he give you a demonstration?

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  8. Niko, it was rather interesting and he was a lovely guy - he had a Polish surname but I can't remember it. When we stopped at a motorway service station for a bratwurst he pulled out several albums of photos of bikes and engines that he'd built. In one of the pictures I think his wife could also be spotted in the background. No opportunity to demonstrate the speedway sliding move, unfortunately.

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