today we visited the rieselfeld neighborhood, via one of the many street cars. actually small trains, or light rail. it was raining on our way out, but only a few blocks to the line we needed. along the way we passed not one, but two citroen c2's.i always loved these french cars, and don't see many in the states. at the stop, there are signs that tell you when to expect the next train. they run very frequently, we had a 3 min wait. as you can see, the trains are pretty sleek, very quiet and usually coveredin some colrful advertising graphics. you buy your fare on the train, but nobody checks to see if you have a ticket..go figure. it was a short ride to our destination thru post war neighborhoods, past a few nice churches, as usual.
what's special about rieselfeld is that it is a completly new bedroom community built with the latest green technologies. the buildings all have solar panels, many of the roof tops have plants and grass for insulation. very modern, not exactly my cup of tea, but when you are there for a while, it kind of all fits nicely. once the new trees grow up, i'm sure it will have a warmer feel. right now it's kind of stark. check out the church. it's much nicer inside than the exterior would have you think. there are two chapel areas for catholic and protestant worship. i love the baptismal fountain.
just outside next door, is a cultural center, school and school library. the library has the curved green roof. fun to walk up.
new construction is still going on, as you can see. typical of most new construction i've seen, the buildings are all reinforced poured concrete slabs and walls. exteriors are usually painted metal panels and or stucco on styrofoam insulation (eifs).
after a cappucino in a spotless new cafe, we headed back into the center of town. went to the augistiener platz and the surrounding blocks. i love all the bächele, and waterways that meander all around town.
as you can see on one of the menu boards, tuesday is liver day here. so we went to the butcher to buy some liver, and a sausage or two for later. i made a salad and mashed potatos, while gisi made the liver, with onions and sweet red pepper, and a sauce of brandy and chili powder. it was really good, although i made too much potato...latkes tomorrow!
after dinner we walked over to eschholz park where there is an awesome clas oldenburg sculpture. gonna go back tomorrow for more pix and enjoy the gardens in the park.
no plans yet for tomorrow...
btw, all the stores have these little dishes at the register counters, when you pay for something, you put your money on the tray, and they put your change back there. no hands ever touch...interesting.
and does anyone know why so many of the churches have twin spires? (jennifer g, any idea?)
also, i read that freiburg was almost totally destroyed in ww2. by the german army, obviously mistakenly. you'd never know it by some of the old structures, apparenly meticulously rebuilt. i saw a stone building at the university today, pockmarked with artillery damage.
i can pronounce a whole bunch of german words now, except the ones hat have 22 letters! of course i still don't know what they mean....until tomorrow, as ringo said on larry king today, peace and love.
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