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Normandie & Bretagne

Eine kleine Mischung aus den vielen Bildern unserer Reise durch die wunderschöne Normandie und Bretagne.

Giverny – Garten von Claude Monet

Claude Monet mietete das Haus im Jahr 1883 und legte einen farbenfrohen Ziergarten mit vielen verschiedenen Blumen an. Später erwarb er das Haus und ein weiteres Grundstück, das sich hinter der jenseits dieses Gartens verlaufenden Straße befindet. Dort entstand in den folgenden Jahren der sogenannte jardin d’eau oder Wassergarten mit dem von einer Brücke nach japanischem Vorbild überspannten Seerosenteich, der Monet sehr häufig als Motiv diente.

Dresden – Meißen – Elbsandsteingebirge

Dresden

Dresden wird als Elbflorenz bezeichnet, dazu tragen vor allem die einzigartigen Kunstsammlungen; die barocke und mediterrane Architektur,  als auch die Lage im Elbtal bei. Nach der politischen Wende im Jahr 1989 wurden viele historische Gebäude restauriert und stehen jetzt als Gesamtensembles unter Denkmalschutz. Im Jahr 2005 wurde die Frauenkirche nach einem zehnjährigen Wiederaufbau, der weitgehend durch Spendengelder finanziert wurde, geweiht. Der Zwinger ist ein Gebäudekomplex mit Gartenanlagen und wurde unter der Leitung des Architekten Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann und des Bildhauers Balthasar Permoser errichtet. Dieses Gesamtkunstwerk aus Architektur, Plastik und Malerei gehört zu den bedeutenden Bauwerken des Barocks und ist neben der Frauenkirche das bekannteste Baudenkmal Dresdens.

Meißen

International berühmt ist die Stadt Meißen für die Herstellung des Meißner Porzellans, das als erstes europäisches Porzellan seit 1708 hergestellt wird. Die Stadt liegt etwa 25km nördlich von Dresden direkt an der Elbe.

Elbsandsteingebirge

Das Elbsandsteingebirge ist ein vorwiegend aus Sandstein aufgebautes Mittelgebirge am Oberlauf der Elbe. Es ist etwa 700 km² groß und erreicht Höhen bis 723 Meter über dem Meeresspiegel. Das Charakteristische dieses stark zerklüfteten Felsengebirges ist sein außerordentlicher Formenreichtum auf engstem Raum. Einmalig unter den mitteleuropäischen Mittelgebirgen ist der ökologisch bedeutsame ständige Wechsel von Ebenen, Schluchten, Tafelbergen und Felsrevieren mit erhalten gebliebenen geschlossenen Waldbereichen.

Sarreguemines

Sarreguemines is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It was transferred to Germany in 1871, with the Treaty of Frankfurt following the Franco-Prussian War. From 1871 to 1918 it formed part of the German imperial province of Alsace-Lorraine and manufactured plush velvet, leather, porcelain, and earthenware, and was a chief depot for papier-mâché boxes, mostly used for snuffboxes. It was returned to France after World War I [source: Wikipedia].
Sarreguemines is famous for their old faience or faïence, where fine tin-glazed pottery on a delicate pale buff earthenware body was produced for decades. The old pottery is open for the public and the museum shows the different steps and the history of the pottery. The former factory buildings are a part of a roomy garden, which is affiliated to the Jardín pour la Paíx/Garden for Peace/Gärten ohne Grenzen.
The ceramic museum, near the town hall, houses a beautiful winter garden with colourful ceramic wall tiles.

Rosenhöhe, Darmstadt

Schloss Wolfsgarten, Langen (Hesse)

Schloss Wolfsgarten was a former hunting lodge of the ruling family of Hesse-Darmstadt and was established between 1722 and 1724 by Landgrave Ernst Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt. From 1879, Wolfsgarten became a favorite country retreat for Grand Dukes Ludwig IV and his son Ernst Ludwig.

In the 20th century, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig extensively modernised Schloss Wolfsgarten and rearranged the park. In 1918, after the abolition of the monarchy, Wolfsgarten became the principal residence of the former grand ducal family. Today, the Wolfsgarten is the property of the Hessian House Foundation and is open to the public only on two weekends in May during the annual Rhododendrenblüte.

New Garden, Potsdam

The New Garden (“Neuer Garten”) is located southwest of Berlin and in northern Potsdam. Frederick William II of Prussia (1744-1797) arranged to have a new garden bordering on the lakes Heiliger See and Jungfernsee. The New Garden is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin,” a status awarded in 1990.

The Gothic Library (“Gotische Bibliothek”) is arranged after the garden entrance directly to Mangerstraße und Behlertstraße. It was built between 1792 and 1794 from Frederick William II. The library sheltered german literature in the basement and french literature in the first floor. The inventory was moved to the city palace and was burned during the 2. World War.

The Marble Palace (“Marmorpalais”) was reserved for the private use of the king, who had an artistic temperament. After only a few years of use the palace was considered to be too small, and in 1797 construction started on two side wings. In November 1797 the king died and just the shell of the extensions had been completed. His son and successor, Friedrich Wilhelm III, being uninterested in the project and only finished off the exterior. Kaiser Wilhelm I. and his spouse moved into the Marmorpalais while they awaited the completion of their new residence at Babelsberg Palace (1833-1835-1849). His brother, Frederick William IV of Prussia, completed the unfinished interior structure and fittings for the two side extensions between 1843 and 1848. Therefore, frescos with scenes from the Niebelung saga (“Niebelungen Saga”) were added to the outside and decorated the colonnade walls. The last royal inhabitants of the Marble Palace were William, German Crown Prince, eldest son of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and his spouse Cecilie, who lived there between 1904 and 1917, when they moved to nearby Cecilienhof Palace. The Palace was seriously damaged when the north wing was hit by an incendiary bomb and the main building by a grenade at the end of World War II. Further damage occurred when the Red Army maintained an officers’ mess in the palace after 1946. Since April 14, 2006 all 40 rooms have been renovated and opened to the public. The repair of the exterior surface was completed in fall 2009 after several years of restoration work.

The Egyptian entrance to the orangery (1791/93) is topped by a sphinx sculpture and two black statues of Egyptian gods decorate wall recesses in the semicircular entrance area.

Waterfall, Isle of Skye

Ben Lomond

Ben Lomond (974 metres) is mountain in the Scottish Highlands and is situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond. It is the most southerly and  one of the most popular of all Munros.

Loch Lomond, Scotland

Loch Lomond is the largest loch/lake in Great Britain and contains many islands. It is lying on the Highland Boundary Fault, the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands and is now part of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

The loch is featured in a well-known song which was first published around 1841:

Oh, ye’ll tak’ the high road, and I’ll tak’ the low road,
And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.

The original author is unkown, but the song has been recorded by many performers over the years.

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