All good things must end

Day 51

Our last day – the weather was looking a bit ominous but we took the train to Darmstadt – partly on Lauren’s recommendation.  Across the Rhine just where the Main River (as in Frankfurt on the Main) meets the mighty Rhine, past farming land (strawberries in polytunnels among other crops)

A damp walk from the hauptbahnhof into the city centre and a bit of a look round before heading to the Art Nouveau artists colony of Matildenhohe.  The rain got heavier on the way… and stayed that way. 

Photo from early 1946 - compare the tower with the pic below 

It’s a beautiful area, lots of gorgeous houses that reminded us of the day in Dresden when we went to Loschwitz near Dresden.

The artists’ colony was founded in 1899 by Ernest Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse (and Grandson of Queen Victoria).  It was intended that this colony would be a combination of art and trade and would provide economic stimulus for the State. The artists’ goal was to be the development of modern and forward-looking forms of construction and living.

Joseph Maria Olbrich planned the Wedding Tower and the neighbouring Exhibition Building, which were opened in 1908 as a venue for the members of the artists’ colony to display their artistic work.  We took the lift to the top of the Wedding Tower for some fab views over Darmstadt but sadly the Exhibition Building was closed for a major renno.

Gorgeous mosaic inside the Wedding Tower

Wedding Ceremony room inside the Wedding Tower

Exhibition Building closed for a major renno

But at least they put up a pic of what the entrance looks like

Tony wants this as a retirement house

By now it was raining quite heavily so we did a bit of a lap of some of the local streets to admire the architecture before catching a bus back into the centre of town for lunch and some shopping.  There is only one train an hour from Darmstadt to Mainz so we caught the 5.40pm train and arrived back in Mainz where the rain had turned to snow.  Magical end to almost 8 weeks in Europe.

Stay tuned in the coming days for a last couple of entries – there are doors to be shown (especially for our friend Leonard) and flowers and a bunch of other pics that somehow didn’t fit into any of the individual days entries.