REM MUSEUM (Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen)
Today it was rainy and cold so we went to one of the museums.  This museum has 4 museums in the group.  We went to one of them.  We saw the porcelain exhibit, antiquities and the history of Mannheim, and some religious history in this museum.  I like the porcelain the best today because it was so over the top detailed.  All the hours and work put into objects that mostly just sit on display for people to look at.   It would mean a lot more to see this museum if we could read the German signs better.  Still working on that and will be for awhile.

One of the buildings of the REM Museum group.

LUISEN PARK
Today, November 1st,  is All Saints Day Holiday so no work!  We went to the Mannheim Luisen Park.  This was a wonderful park in downtown that we will want to visit many times.  We didn't see the entire thing and spent most of the day there.  The weather was a bit cold and the plants are going into winter.  There will be a lot of times in the year that the plants will be interesting to see.  Also there is a lake with boats, Chinese garden, many playgrounds for kids, open areas for picnics, a zoo, an aquarium, outdoor concert area, restaurants (we had a scrumptious lunch), artwork areas, greenhouses, kids water park, and more.

A beautiful willow tree and the gondola boats

This guy clearly wants me to feed him.  There are many signs that tell us not to feed any of the animals.

One of the many beautiful ducks.  This one is a Calico.  I like the water reflections in this photo.

These are those pretty wood ducks, so colorful.

Whoops!

You can't see me, I'm a camouflaged gator

This Iguana is dreaming about Steve, like I do.

This was my favorite bird.  This owl posed so nicely and is so BEAUTIFUL.

I am a SNOW owl, can you tell?

I am so beautiful.

These are Giant Peach colored Pelicans.  That big one was about 4 feet tall.   They were very tame.

The wing span of these guys must have been about 7 feet long.  I loved these Pelicans so I took a lot of pictures.

They have black feathers on the edges that only show when they open their wings.

This looks like a pelican pretzel.

The pelicans where real clowns, providing a lot of entertainment.

I don't know what this plant was but it was all over the park and such a pretty color.

I love this brilliant color

In several places we saw these wood carving like trees or mushrooms

Another plant I don't know of but had really interesting blossoms

One of the many great playgrounds.  This one was like a castle with a mote too (no water).

This skink had a blue tongue but he wouldn't stick it out again.

The tower has a spinning restaurant in it like the one in Seattle.  We'll try it sometime.

Schloss Mannheim (Castle)

Yesterday we visited the Mannheim Castle.  You are not allowed to take a camera or even a purse inside so I'll include some links so you can see the rooms from the website.  You select below the panorama Quick Time or another viewer if you want to see the room.

http://www.schlosspanoramas.de/sa_schlossmannheim/index_eng.html

The Palace was built in 1720 as one of the largest Baroque palaces on the Upper Rhine.  Construction was conducted for a total of nearly 40 years.  In WW II it was almost completely destroyed.  With the reconstruction beginning in 1947 only a few state-rooms where restored.  Since 2007 more rooms and objects have been restored.  Most of the building is used by the university for students now.

The tour rooms are only a few in the center.  The sides are the University.

the marble hall.  I didn't take this photo there, I bought this as a post card.

Rhein Park and area
Yesterday we took the tram down to a large park on the Rhein.  On the way through town we stopped at the Mannheim water tower.  The water has been turned off for the winter but it is still pretty.  There are a ton of bunny rabbits that live in the park.  Reissinsel Waldpark and Strandbad (beach) on the Rhein has a ton of forested trails for walking or biking.  On the beach we saw our first BBQ's being used by families.  The beach is large plum sized rocks.  The barges pass by every few minutes.  There are several bird sanctuaries along the river.  On the walk back toward the tram stop we passed by a cute playground that I thought was neat because it looked like an old fashioned play yard all made from a person and not manufactured where kids could play and actually get dirty.  Tree houses, forts, tunnels, and a hand water pump.  We had a very nice outing.

There a ton of bunnies in the water tower park

The downtown Mannheim Water tower and park

These are what the bike/walking paths look like all over the park.

The Stranbad (beach) on the Rhein

These big barges pass by every few minutes

Canadian geese a long way from home look the same every where but speak German here.

Part of this park had small islands just off shore that must be sanctuaries for birds

We passed by several sporting fields active with soccer players

A neat playground with a tunnel for kids to crawl in and out the other side.

This playground has an active water pump for the kids to use.

There is a rock that is in the shape of a bear

One of several neat forts or tree houses

One of several neat forts or tree houses

A different kind of swing

Heidelberg Castle

This is looking toward the castle and the town 

The turrets must have been destroyed by bombs, the walls are so thick.

The gardens are large where families come to play

See the fall colors coming out.  The walls around the gardens are being refurbished.

Looking from the gardens towards the castle and the city.  Mannheim would be out in the distance.

Looking down on the city.

Castle and grounds

Looking at the beautiful homes across the river

One of the church towers

One of the turrets and the sculptures on the outside

sculpture on the castle

Looking down into the mote.  I don't know how to turn the picture in this blog, it looks OK in my viewer.

I like to see the golden color of these trees.

entrance to the castle

One of the sculptures in one of the plaza's "Platz"

entrance to the bridge

Crazy busy street scene

One of those people dressed up like a statue, this one is a tree

A person dressed as a tree, usually students  getting some change in a basket

another very pretty tree, created by nature

On Saturday we drove the rental car to Heidelberg.  What a pretty day and city!  We enjoyed the day so much.  Parts of the castle is slowly being refurbished.  Some parts I think they will leave the way it is.  The fall colors are coming out now and the rest is very green.  The city of Heidelberg is a touristy place with a lot of shops, street vendors, and historic places.  We didn't go inside the castle this time.  We plan to visit Heidelberg often and will see the inside on a day when it may not be so crowded.   The next day we drove up past Heidelberg and into the hills on a loop through some beautiful country and towns with additional castles.