A formerly moated Castle and the Dutch Mountains

Sonja: We had spent a long weekend in in the Rhineland, for Roland to visit a concert in Cologne, and for both of us to spend some time with our friends and family.

Not far from were my mom lives lies castle Lüntenbeck. The castle can be dated back to the early 13th century, and is a former residence of the knights of Berg.

In past times the castle had been moated but the area got drained later, and only a small pond behind the building remained. The manor is in private hands today, and has been carefully restored by the owners.

Main building

Parts on the premises are rented out. Naturally the picturesque venue attracts artists and wellness providers. Also, a restaurant can be found in the main building, offering an eclectic choice of (mostly) vegetarian dishes.

Mill

During Christmas time a handcraft Christmas Market is held in the yard. The market is known for its authenticity and atmosphere, especially since the artisans will be traditionally dressed up in costumes from the middle ages.

The temperatures were mild and we saw definite signs of spring.

Saturday we ventured out towards Aachen to visit friends in the area. We were a bit early and decided to take a detour to the city of Vaals in Holland. The Vaalser Mountain (323m or 1,059 ft) belongs to the foothills of the Ardennes, and marks not only the highest (!) point in the Netherlands, but also the border triangle of Germany, Netherlands and Belgium.

We climbed the watch tower to admire the panorama.

A view towards Germany.

 Now overlooking Belgium.

And a panoramic shot of the famous Dutch "mountain range".

So, we have learned today, that the Netherlands are not completely flat.

Sunday noon we left after a brunch celebration of a family member's birthday and drove 400km south again. It was warm and sunny… and would have been a good day for a ride, too...

72F

Double Feature

Yours truly with the coolest guys you could ever hope to meet: Pete Trewawas, Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, Roine Stolte

Roland: No idea why these things always come in pairs, but after months of not having any interesting concerts in the calendar there now were two great ones in a row within two days. Last Thursday Transatlantic were playing in Karlsruhe, and just 24 hours later Camel were on stage in Cologne. Obviously this meant a whole lot of traveling, plus we combined it with a weekend with our family.

The Band rocks!!!

Mike Portnoy in a rare moment of stillness

Transatlantic are considered as the Progressive Rock Supergroup, and are consisting of members and Ex-members of Marillion, Dream Theater, Spock's Beard and Flower Kings. Their songs are quite lengthy, usually touching the twenty minutes mark, and their concerts tend to be far over two and a half hours long. I had the chance for a short meet and greet with the band before the set and was rewarded with a photo with the guys. As expected, the concert was fantastic, loud, and very exhausting. Worth every second!

Camel on Stage

The night after I was blessed to see Camel's Andy Latimer one more time, something I actually never expected to happen again since Latimer was diagnosed with Myelofibrosis some ten years ago, but he bravely managed to win this battle.  So, now he put the band back together and celebrated the 1975 Instrumental album "Snow Goose" in remembrance of Camels former member, the late Peter Bardens.

This was another beautiful concert, with far less notes than the night before, but nevertheless touching and charming. After the heavy accustic meal the night before this was like a Digestif for the ears. Here's to another Camel tour in the foreseeable future!

Andy Latimer

Calling it a Day

I managed to sneak out at work as early as 4PM today, which left me with approximately two hours of daylight to get some quality time on the bike. I stopped only twice for photos, riding time just seemed more important.

 My favourite backroad

 I really enjoy my new and improved view from the handlebar.

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Feierabendausritt mit Rover

Heute habe ich mal früh Schluss gemacht und mir einen ersten Feierabendausritt mit meiner Sportster gegönnt. Es ging wieder auf meine Hausstrecke (ca. 70km). An Fotos habe ich dieses Mal kaum gedacht, das Fahren war wohl wichtiger…