Wernigerode Castle, Germany

Wernigerode is a town located in the Harz mountains in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its lovely old town has winding cobbled streets and lots of fun touristy stores celebrating the local Hexen (witches) and serving Currywurst (delicious).  

 On a hill above the town is a castle (Schloss), one of the many we saw on our trip through east Germany. The present-day building was rebuilt many times in different styles, and was finished in the late 19th century.

as we climbed up the hill to the Schloss, I noticed the maple leaves look different than the ones at home in Canada.

At the top in the castle grounds, a walkway with lawns, fountains, and flowers overlooks a sheer drop and the town below.

the magificent flower beds

a tower framed by a walkway of metal arches supporting roses.  I want one of those!

This corner was constantly monopolized by other tourists, but Wayne was determined to wait them out and get his turn to check out the view.

The many tiers leading up to the castle held gems like this:  a private garden filled with flowers and fountains and secret hiding places.

 

Inside the castle's chapel were tall stained glass windows. 

Quedlinburg, Germany

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Quedlinburg, in the state of Sachsen-Anhalt, was a capital of the East Franconian German Empire from 919 to 1024, and has been a prosperous trading town since the Middle Ages. The number and high quality of the timber-framed buildings make Quedlinburg an exceptional example of a medieval European town.

A quirky wooden container filled with perennials and annuals

In the old town, the Collegiate Church dedicated to St. Servatius was one of the most highly esteemed churches of the Empire during the Middle Ages.  The impressive church, which was built between  1070  and 1129, is perched high on a rocky hill and is surrounded by gardens and distant views of the surrounding town and countryside.

The splendour of Quedlinburg from the 10th to the 12th century can be seen in the buildings on the castle hill. The ground plan and very likely some original pieces inside the house have survived from the surrounding residential town of that time.

This beautiful structure was completely abandoned.  It must be so expensive to maintain buildings that are 500 to 1,000 years old.

 

Many of the buildings, especially the timber-framed residential structures, have undergone little or no modification over the course of the centuries.

As we walked the narrow winding streets, we were amazed that people still live there today.  More than 1,000 years of recorded history makes their home a living museum piece that is still providing shelter today.

The church is build atop solid rock

 

This ancient trumpet vine has a small rocky niche to grow in, yet produces huge orange flowers.

Sansoucci Park, Potsdam, Germany

This summer, my husband and I visited England, Prague, and Germany.  Wayne, as a non-gardener, was very patient as I dragged him from one stunning garden site to the next.  I was so impressed by the size of the public spaces in Europe.  For all the huge population, they make it a priority to offer the public huge squares, beautifully designed and maintained gardens, and vast forests.

One of those spaces was Sansoucci Park, in Potsdam, eastern Germany.  Friedrich the Great's amazing 18th-century palace, reminiscent of the grandeur of Versailles, is surrounded by a magnificent 600-acre park.  The gardens were so big, the pictures I took just can't capture the full effect. 

The annual borders, which snaked around and through the lawns, were a mix of colours and heights.  Seems like a confusing combination, but as a whole they painted a whimsical, joyful picture. The lesson:  don't worry so much about coordinating and matching colours.  Flowers are happy to party together. 

Notice the razor sharp lines of the white gravel borders

Another mixed border, this time with sunflowers.

The centre of the sunflowers were cut out to keep the plants small.

Gomphrena adds hot pink to the mix

A tall fountain splashes in a huge reflecting pond at the bottom of tiers of grapevines.  At the top is Friederich's palace.

Intense blue annual delphinium is much smaller than its perennial cousin

a fat bumble bee on a sunflower