Friday, September 30, 2016

Germany trip 2016, part 3: Burg Hanstein

The trip today was to a castle ruin called Burg Hanstein and the nearby forest.


Burg Hanstein from the distance. The nice Fachwerk houses and a church complete the Medieval atmosphere of the village.


In the courtyard of the castle. Two cellars are accessible, as is the tallest tower which offers a very nice view in all directions. The great hall has been restored and can apparently be booked for events.


The botany angle here is this little busily sporulating fern, Asplenium ruta-muraria (Aspleniaceae). Again, nothing rare or special, indeed probably the most common wall-inhabiting fern in Germany, but isn't it cute?


We then walked through the forest following this track that was used by GDR troops to patrol the former border between East and West.


The village of Lindewerra, here seen from the Teufelskanzel lookout that was the turning point of our walk, was on the GDR side, and the river was the border.


A picturesque pine tree on the escarpment near the Teufelskanzel. Mostly, however, the forest consisted of beech (Fagus sylvatica) and oak trees that were raining their leaves and acorns down on us, as it was very windy.

No comments:

Post a Comment