My accommodation in Bodenwerder is the only one so far that I haven't been completely happy with. Location is brilliant - 50 metres from where the ships dock, and of course Bodenwerder is so small that everything else is very close, too. However, the staff weren't very friendly or forthcoming (I had to ask about breakfast later that night), and while the room was fine, the shower ran too hot, then freezing, too hot, freezing once more before settling into too hot. So I sat on the floor where the water temperature was nice. Brekky was okay - few guests, so choices were limited, but still pretty good, and certainly far more food than I could eat.
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| There's a funny little lobby between the room and the bathroom |
The best-laid plans... I emailed Weser-Flotte last year, and they confirmed that yes - ships do go from Bodenwerder to Holzminden on Thursdays. This year they decided that that would only happen if they have enough prior bookings. So there goes my second day of cruising, and this one would have been in nice weather. Sigh. My alternative - 45 minutes on a bus. As opposed to 5 hours cruising. Sigh.
My accommodation in Holzminden is fantastic. Pension Atempause is only a block from the Altstadt, yet it's in a leafy, green neighbourhood. Frau Pramann has been wonderful - she alerted me a week ago that it was unlikely that a ship would be operating, and she is quite bemused that someone from Australia would even think of travelling on the river. She does speak English, but she talks to me mostly in German. I have understood quite a lot, too, but I still feel so dumb.
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| Pension Atempause (catch your breath). My room has the windows in the roof |
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| My room (on the second floor) |
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| The view from my window |
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| Guests' lounge. There are three rooms with shared bathroom |
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| Guests' balcony, which is on the first floor |
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| Balcony again (and yes - it's sunny today! And warm!!) |
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| Looking down into the backyard |
I went for a wander into Holzminden. The only reason I came here was because of the river travel - there's nothing here that I especially wanted to see, which made for quite a lazy day.
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| This looks like it could have been a gate into the city |
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| Marktplatz. Lovely big square filled with cafes |
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| Looking down one side of the Marktplatz |
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| Lutherkirche |
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| It's lovely inside - bright, airy and welcoming. Here's the organ (which was being played) |
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| The pulpit and the nave |
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| And the nave close up. Lovely |
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| Holzminden sits on the Weser as well |
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| I think this might have been part of the old city walls as well - moat on the inside |
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| And walking along the path from the previous photo, I turned around and took this shot |
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| Holzminden also has Fachwerkhauser |
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| Including some colourful ones |
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| This one was really beautiful... |
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| ...with incredible detail above the door |
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| And this one was pretty amazing, too |
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| This cafe was amazingly decorated inside - teapots, teacups, lots of stuff |
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| A lovely park just outside the Altstadt and 2 minutes from my Pension |
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| This tree (I think it's a Dogwood) is in the previous photo and in the next (on the LHS) |
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| The reflections are nice |
This house is quite interesting. It's in the next street, and it lies directly on the road - no footpath or nature strip. On the left there's a footpath, and between that and the broken line is the bike lane.
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| Everything is so compact here |
In the evening, I went for a walk to get something for tea, and I took along a brochure that was in my room. Holzminden has a long history in the perfume industry, and I did part of the duftende Stadtrundgang - the aroma tour of the city. There are 18 of these gadgets - one lifts the "lid" and smells whatever. My favourites were aniseed and lilac, but peppermint, vanilla and thyme were really good as well.
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| This one is hyacinth. You put your nose to the uncovered hole and sniff |
And it's very pleasant out on the balcony tonight. One can actually believe that it's summer here (but only today, mind you!)
