Just returned yesterday from a great 10 day sightseeing trip to Germany's Bavaria region and northern Austria.

Places visited:

München
Jagd (hunting/fishing) Museum where they had on display many hunting weapons over the centuries including crossbows, later period boar spears, and many fishing items back to Roman times.

Nürnberg
Kaiserberg Castle/Museum
One smaller room dedicated to equestrian items. Saddles from the 15th/16thC, bits of each century, many spurs, etc. Great displays of original firearms and cannons (Chef, they had one we could have just "borrowed"!)
Plus a tour of the castle interior, 300m well, etc. Edit: I forgot to add that they have a 5 foot windlass intact there! With a surviving short bolt (arrow) for it which you could drive into concrete. Plus they had a really really cool long hook arm attached to a rope ladder. Used to assault/surmount a castle wall. I can only imagine the "kick" out of that thing which is probably why it's still there intact as no one probably wanted to shoot it! Oh, and there were many pavises there with it.
Part of the visit I got a chuckle out of as they were hosting a cheesy medieval faire below in the now drained (and rather substantial) moat around the castle. It was a basic faire type with poor clothing. But the activities were par focussed on the little kids. They had about 6 horses grazing in one section of the moat. I think this group (event people) came from the Czech Republic or at least some of them did.

Also got to visit the Nürnberg Cathedral that was restored. Among unusual things, it has a wall of panels showing the heraldry of the leading or key nobles of the region over the 14th-17th centuries.

Plus a quick look at some of Dürer's work as his house was on the next corner from our hotel in the Altstadt.

I did not get a chance to see the GNM (German National Musuem) to see their section on tools and medieval furniture. Something for next time!

Bamberg
Visited for a few hours to look at the architecture, the original city buildings, and the cathedral.

Then SW over and stayed at the Castle Colmberg (partially converted to a hotel). This is hard to describe the feeling of being in a 1000 year old castle (much of the work redone over the centuries but primarily completed by the early 14th). On a high hill overlooking the entire farming countryside. You are in the castle walls which are still complete and closeable. You can dine inside or out (a fancy restaurant) literally next to the round tower surrounded partially by a high walls with covered walkways. Part of this is still under reconstruction with 2 Garderobes still intact. The best (besides being in the countryside) is that they are raising deer as a preserve at the base of the walls which extend down. These are incorporated into pear orchards. So at sunset, you can sit on benches at the wall's edge (or on the wall) and just take in the scenery. Inside many of the rooms are still mostly intact or modified through the centures. A chapel with very creaky floorboards. A knight's hall (which was partially redone to add a spiral staircase). But the amazing thing is the antiques. There are occassionally huge vestment chests shoved into corners. They have weapons here and there. Castle building tools. Plus a few armour pieces. One of which I think is probably late 15th or mid 16th breastplate but a mutions level piece. WITH IT'S PADDED LINER INTACT! Basically a leather randed piece underneath with a heavy linen. There was something underneath though like flattened tow. I took a peak when no one was looking but it was hard to tell. Maybe my pictures will come out. http://www.colmberg.burg-hotel.de/
I wish I had my longbow along!!!

The next day we were on a tight schedule so I had to bypass the outdoor museum at Bad Windheim (have last working water driven vertical saw. But we went over to Rothenberg (medieval tourist trap if I ever saw one). However they had great/mostly intact walls with the allures (walkways) intact and you could go up them and explore using slits, etc. Plus the front main gates (mini towers) were all redone (multifloor) and you could literally go up and look over the cannons and an existing wagon left from centuries ago. One thing was very clear, only swordsman or crossbows could defend the wall as there was no room (height) for many longbows and especially no pole weapons.

That ended the study part of the tour. That same day we headed south to Reute in northern Austria for the night where we experienced an awesome all night downpouring thunderstorm. The next day was fog but we continued up the Lech River through winding towns into the Austrian Alps to Lech itself. Unreal. Imagine a white/grey whitewater river running controlled through town. Period hotels everywhere. Surrounded by many many many 1500 to 2000m "hills" around you. And higher. Yes, we saw glacier snow atop a number of them. And you are at the base of all of them no matter which way you turn. We hiked the river to the next town one day. Then climbed most of one of the "hills" the next and all the way back down only to run across the street and take a Gondola up a super tall one on the other side of the valley. Where a few base jumpers / parasailers kept jumping off at 2350m up. Plus we ate at a couple of 4* restaurants with wild trout from the river. And did I get sunburned! Probably the most interesting is that it's open farming. You ski (winter) and hike the mountainsides which have fence wire and grates. Why? There are free roaming cows and horses. Almost all of them Haflingers as far as I could tell. Usually they totally ignored you unless you poked them. Then they wanted to "taste" you to see what was edible! If for any other reason, it was very obvious in the mountain region as to the needs of a medieval horse in size and dexterity. A regular large Frisian, Percheron, or other modern draft horse would just have not done well. Proving in this terrain that horse type determines everything.

Anyhow, we left Lech on Friday, drove up further and around into the next valley/river region using only back roads, and up to Oberamergau and on to see the Wieskirche. A baroque church of unbelieveable detail in the middle of nowhere farm country. The ceiling frescos and decoration of marble and gold are just amazing.

Then back to München Friday night for a big meal with friends, lots of different local schnapps, yet more wheat beer, and some sleep. And we returned yesterday. (Sat.)

All in all, a great trip with many photos. If I had a choice, I would have added 2 days to slow things down a little. But maybe that for next time although I want to return to SW Germany and Switzerland the next trip.

Gruß Gott!
P

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At the Kaiserberg Castle did you happen to get any photos of the equestrian items, or was there "Absolutely no flash photography"?

Jenn who hopes that Peter's pictures come out.

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Friedrich, since you missed the GNM, I'll be happy to share a photo CD of my pictures with you - I think there are or 7 films on it.

If your Kaiserberg photos came out, please send/post some. I've not been there since the 80s, and would love to know what I'm missing.

If not, then I'll go myself (work takes me to Nueremberg from January to the end of March), and try to get some pictures to share.

Take care

Jenn: I took a number of pictures but there was no flash allowed nor tripods. Plus the room was dark. However, I used a new 800 speed film so we pray!!! I will have them developed this week. They followed me around as they were very nervous of me going click, click, click. I tried a few backup digitals and I have to get those from my father whose camera I used.

David: This was my first time to the Kaiserberg, however, I can take an educated guess. The museum was very recently redone with many exhibits of items. Supposedly many of the items at the GNM were moved to the Kaiserberg. A beautiful equestrian room that the tourbook almost completely ignores. Excellent sword/cannon/firearm displays. Most of the pole weapons are late period and mostly ceremonial. 6 or 7 wonderful arbalest pavises (shields). If you haven't seen a 5 foot windlass arbalest, it's worth the trip. Overall, I think the place was well laid out. The well, btw, has been enclosed in a building now to protect it. But you can still look down into it if you take the tour.

It will be a bit as real film needs to get processed and digital's organized.

What I wanted to see was the medieval furniture supposedly still at the GNM.

NOTE: All pictures were taken for private use and that any pictures displayed or posted need to respect the rules/regs of the historical site.

Regards

Ivo

P.S.: If anyone visiting Germany should come near Frankfurt/Nürnberg/Augsburg, or should need further recommendations, just drop me line.

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