Kings adventures: Weinstrasse in the Pfalz

The Weinstrasse or Wine route in the Palatinate region (the Pfalz) had been recommended to us as a nice drive with nice wine villages. Of course the ideal way to enjoy it is by bike but we stuck to our 4 wheels. We started in Landau, a busy university town arriving there in time for morning coffee.

Landau is known for its art deco architecture. These were the views we had while having coffee.

This is Katharinenkapelle or Catherine's Chapel which has had many uses since it was built in 1344 for the "Community of the Beginning" (Women who were devoted to benevolent nursing). During the Reformation it was secular and used varyingly as a prison, a guardhouse, a gunpowder store and a wine cellar. In the late 19th century it was used by the Old Catholics and since 1959 the Evangelical Lutherans. During its restoration some frescos were discovered that dated from the original building.

This is the Altes Kaufhaus or Former Town Market Hall. It has been revovated as a Cultural Centre.

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Running away with the grapes!

Anne Frank's great-grandfather, Frank Loebsches, lived in Landau in a guesthouse called "Zur Blum". We spent ages looking for it not realising that the balconies that we were looking for were actually wooden galleries that encompassed a courtyard inside the outer doors of the guesthouse. It is still a Gasthaus today but also houses a permanent exhibition of the history of Jews in Landau. It closed at 12 so we were 5 minutes too late! We saw the house though.

The outer door.

Landau has 2 parks, Goethepark and Schillerpark, which are described as impressive. We were within walking distance of Schillerpark and wanted to see what had earned Landau the name "garden City". We weren't terribly impressed but we had a nice walk. At its entrance is an Irish pub.

At this stage it was time to continue on our way along the Weinstrasse and our next stop was Neustadt which we hope to visit again. It has some nice old houses.