Thingstatte and St. Michael's

On Sunday, TJ and I went for a hike since the weather was so nice. The destination was Heidelberg again, but only because I was obsessed with finding Thingstatte. And we finally found it! We decided to drive up and start hiking from there so there was a better chance that we wouldn't get lost trying to find it.
Thingstatte is at the top of the Heilegenberg (Hill of the Saints) that overlooks Heidelberg, Neuenheim, and Handshuhsheim in the Odenwald. It was built in 1935 by the Nazi Party as a gathering place for rallies. In fact, there is kind of an odd feeling when you are there as you can picture Hitler standing on top of the platform below the two flag poles with torch lights surrounded by the Third Reich and Nazi supporters. Hilters most famous rally there had 8000 people sitting and 5000 standing. 13,000 crazy people climbed that mountain to hear him speak...crazy.
Here is a view when you come in from up hill...

A closer look...

And then a look from the bottom, coming in from under where he would have spoken.

The seating is all stone that was layed by forced labor. You can see the scale as TJ is sitting about half way up and looks like a pebble.

The ampitheatre is huge! And today it is used for other gatherings...like the labor day celebration. On May 1, the German Labor Day, people hike up with beer and picnics and have an outdoor party there all day.

Just beyond the ampitheatre are the ruins of St. Michaels. It originated as a church in 870, but was later developed into a monastery in 1070. It has been almost forgotten as it was abandoned in 1503 after one of the steeples fell and killed the last remaining monks in their beds. Now all that is left are its ruins.

People picnic and gather there on nice days...and the children love to climb in and out of the old rooms and play hide and seek as we witnessed.

Here is TJ on one of the vestibules...

I was on the taller one and got a pciture of the Heidelberg view. It is really pretty.

If you come and visit I will be happy to take you there either by car or by foot. TJ and I hiked down to Heidelberg for ice cream and then hiked back up to our car afterwards...it was a workout!

Last night my Uncle Ted was in town for a visit and it was so fun to see him. We enjoyed good wine and food at one of our favorite restaurants and fun conversation too. I can't wait to do it again when he comes back in June! Tomorrow is a public holiday so we have decided to paddle boat if it is nice...although the weather does not look promising! Bis dann!

Auf Wiedersehen