Siegfreid and Drachenfells

Yesterday we visited Drachenfels, one of the Siebenburger (7-mountains) near Bonn.  This mountain received it's name because, in the German Nibelungenleid Epic,  it is where Siegfreid slays the dragon.  This is the story according to fan fiction and Manuel's short story telling (game: try to guess if Manuel thinks this is a very important story or if children should be named Siegfreid).

There's this dragon living on a mountain. Siegfreid is riding his horse around and somehow he hears about this dragon who has been eating virgins or something, so he decides to go kill it:

Siegfreid is a prince or something.

Siegfried decides to bathe in blood in order to become invincible.  A leaf falls on his back, making him have one vulnerable spot.

And then once Siegfried is invincible he goes on to defeat the Saxons and fight wars and make friends.  He then gets himself in some very unusual romantic/wedding drama.  Years later his wive accidentally tells a guy where his weakness is, and then, you know:

Afterwards, his wife figures it all out and then gets revenge.  And then Siegfried is reincarnated:

Manuel said that the Nibelungenleid isn't really popular anymore within his generation and his friends.  Many people aren't forced to learn it anymore, although his parents generation holds the tale more dear.

To the actual pictures though!

We walked directly up the mountain from the train station. We passed sheep and goats:

This mountain used to be a huge tourist attraction.  At one point a very rich person built a castle below the summit (before 1900) and it can be seen in this picture:

That's Bonn in the background and Cologne in the haze.  The castle/mansion is a small tourist attraction and used for weddings and events nowadays.

Our hiking group needed a stop before the top.  This is where Sam was telling a story about his raising of malicious sheep as a child:

This is the southern view towards Koblenz:

Eventually, after I take enough pictures, people lose interest and start to undermine my photojournalism efforts. This is the group at the top:

This is what "act natural" gets:

Total disinterest:

"Hey guys, I think Jourdan is trying to take pictures of buildings again":

thanks sam

and anton

 The top of the mountain used to be much bigger, but it was downsized and modernized because tourism has declined in the last 100 years.

A couple groups of people rode bikes to the top:

The original castle was built almost 900 years ago by a Cologne church official in the hopes of protecting Cologne from attacks.  This mountain also happened to be the closest to barges that took stone from the Siebenburger to Cologne.  As a result of war, quarry activity, and 100 of years, the castle began to collapse and only ruins remain:

An impromptu choir formed and sang a song:

My camera  accidentally did this:

 But the point is, they had cool handicapped accessibility maps on the top of the mountain.

We took a different way down:

I believe that the Hearst Castle in California was somehow based on the Drachenfels Schloss experience.  The two places are very similar: castle/mansion on a hill, farmland below in the valley, and beautiful views.

Back in Koelle (Kolsch dialect for Koeln):

Manuel and I went to the store in Cologne and then cooked awesome wraps/tacos.  As we were leaving the store, we were ambushed by one of the "Hen"/bachelorette parties.  We were guilted into buying alcohol shots that were in syringes- it went against every instinct I've developed in the past 22 years. Manuel explained that for bachelorette parties, the bride has to earn the money for the drinks of the night. That is why there are always (previously mentioned) wedding parties near the Dom selling random trinkets on weekends.

Dr. Manuel: