Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

In short, I come down firmly on all sides of the issue.

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Joe Lieberman disappointingly reemerged to remind us that he’s still alive.

You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road / On The Road – otmar – Two less well preserved castles (1/2)

On The Road – otmar – Two less well preserved castles (1/2)

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On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.

From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.

Submit Your Photos

It’s Friday, so a post from otmar should come as no surprise!  Today we have the first of two castles from ottar – the other one will be next Friday.  Then, for the two weeks after that we will have entries from First Timers.  I hope!  Come on, First Timers, I know you’re out there, with some great photos.  I hope you’ll share them with us.  ~WaterGirl

otmar

My last submission was Burg Hochosterwitz, which is a very large and very well preserved building. I’d guess there are a few dozens of those in Austria. But time has not been so kind to all of the castles that were built by all sorts of knights, bishops and nobility during the middle age.

As the corona lock-down was easing here in Austria, we met up (of course purely by accident) with friends and went hiking in remote parks east of Vienna.

On The Road - otmar - Two less well preserved castles (1/2) 3
Ruine Röthelstein

The first trip brought us to the national park of the flood-plains of Danube / March close to the border to Slovakia.

This is the view from the ruins of Castle Röthelstein. Translated from a local webpage:

Röthelstein secured the Danube on the Austrian side for centuries, just as Thebes did  for the Hungarians and Slovaks. Röthelstein Castle was first documented in 1180. The first known Röthelsteiners were Ulrich, Heinrich and Irnfried, who between 1170 and 1209 were ministers of the Vohburgs, once one of the most powerful noble families in this area, and served as lords of the castle.

 

On The Road - otmar - Two less well preserved castles (1/2) 2
Röthelstein

There really isn’t much left of the castle.

On The Road - otmar - Two less well preserved castles (1/2) 1
Hainburg as seen from the Braunsberg

Archeological diggings showed that the Braunsberg was the site of a celtic settlement in pre-roman times. (~200 BC)

The hill gives a nice 360° view: on the eastern side you can see Bratislava (including the well-known castle), on the other side there is this view down to the city of Hainburg.

Hainburg is the last significant settlement on the Austrian side of the border. The city still features a well-preserved medieval city wall. The ruins on the other hill are call Heimenburg.

On The Road - otmar - Two less well preserved castles (1/2)
Walking up through the wood

This is an impression of the path up Braunsberg.

Reader Interactions

15Comments

  1. 1.

    JPL

    Water Girl thank you for continuing the on the road series.

    As much as I would like to visit Austria, it’s unlikely so the pictures are appreciated.   Thanks Otmar.

  2. 2.

    Barbara

    Lovely pictures. I had such a hard time capturing that view of the Danube from high on the surrounding hillside.

  3. 3.

    marklar

    Thanks for these! For authentic life experiences (not to mention interesting photos), off the beaten path is often the best path to follow.

  5. 5.

    J R in WV

    We too would love to visit Europe again. Our two visits, first to NE Spain Basque country and SW France to visit caves with prehistoric paintings, winding up with a short visit to Paris, and then to Tuscanny to visit vineyards and old walled cities on ridgetops, were too structured.

    Otmar, thanks so much for sharing the photos you take as you work and travel in Europe. They help me so much in these troubled times, to relax and think about other things. You are a blessing to all of us!

  7. 7.

    sherparick

    I look forward to doing some walking again in Europe.  I lived for a long time in a region called Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland Palatinate in English).  Just filled with ruins of castles & a few rebuilt ones. Castle Nanstein is beautiful. I love walking in Europe.

  10. 10.

    Origuy

    Great pictures, otmar, thanks.

    I had a few thoughts for first-timers who might be reluctant to make a submission. Pick a few pictures that tell a story. Write down all of the text before you start to post. It’s easier to organize your thoughts that way. The pictures don’t have to be spectacular, we just want to see what you saw. Maybe add a link to a page with more details, like otmar did. You don’t have to say everything that way. I really enjoyed preparing the submissions I made, it brought back memories.

    WaterGirl, I have a suggestion for improvements to the submission page. Could the date and location fields after the first photo default to the previous one? It’s a pain to change those every time.

  12. 12.

    WaterGirl

    @Origuy:

    I had a few thoughts for first-timers who might be reluctant to make a submission. Pick a few pictures that tell a story. Write down all of the text before you start to post. It’s easier to organize your thoughts that way. The pictures don’t have to be spectacular, we just want to see what you saw.

    I would second this!  Good ideas.

  13. 13.

    WaterGirl

    @Origuy:

    WaterGirl, I have a suggestion for improvements to the submission page. Could the date and location fields after the first photo default to the previous one? It’s a pain to change those every time.

    I can add this to the list of requested changes in case we have a set of things we want to change in the fall.  Suggestions always welcome, thanks!

  15. 15.

    Currants

    I love this feature (thank you Alain and Watergirl), especially now, even though I seldom comment.  Travel is out of the question right now, and this helps.

    Thank you again….

Comments are closed.