Enchanting, colorful, and historic, medieval towns are my current obsession. I cannot resist their charm. Lucky we are surrounded! Markus and I have been to several since I arrived in Germany and it is about time I talk about one, no?
This is from Gelnhausen, a quaint town near Frankfurt founded by Emperor Barbarossa in 1170. The entrance is a steep walk as it sits on the side of a hill – very traditional. Its main attraction is the Marienkirche that you can see towering on the background in our picture above. It could be Wednesday Adam’s Castle if she was a Disney princess. I totally love it.
The old town is filled with fachwerk structures, castles, churches, old imperial walls and watch towers, and everything else you need to pretend you are a medieval peasant during the Middle Ages. Walking around the cobbled stone paths, I cannot help but imagine what life was like during those times. It must have been equally simpler and more challenging!
My favorite part is always the town square, of course. It is just the cutest thing! The best part about Gelnhausen is there are two: a lower and upper one lined with fackwerkhäuser, shops, restaurants, plants, flowers, and all things cozy.
It was a lovely fall day when we visited, and after wandering around town, we found a sunny seat on the balcony of Gelnhausen Altstadt Cafe.
I had flammkuchen for the first time. It is a light and crispy white flatbread similar to pizza, but not really. It is very German and I see it all the time in festivals, theaters, and essentially everywhere there is a crowd.
Conventional toppings are spring onion and bacon and ours is vegetarian with corn and bell peppers. I enjoyed it a lot and have already found a flammkuchen recipe that I would like to try in our kitchen. Wish me luck!
It was great to have a wander at Gelnhausen. These little trips inspire wonder in me and ease the claustrophobia I sometimes get in my head. I wish you can explore what is around you, too, and have lots of fun while you are at it.
Markus + Micah 
Isn’t it curious how outward exploration (especially in beautiful places) can help ease or make more tolerable the troubles of our inner worlds? 🙂
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Agree. I suppose it is the space that we create, a step back from this wall where we continuosly bang our heads against. Just stepping outside can have this effect, a slight opening with the sky above our heads, airy and infinite, as opposed to the encroaching ceiling.
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I LOVED visiting medieval villages in Germany when I was touring Europe in 2000. So much history. Streets much too narrow for modern vehicles (a good thing). Roads and paths paved in brick. Castle turrets. I especially loved the walled towns. I’ll never forget walking along the walled fortress in one such town, where guards were once deployed, and seeing two holes on a bench in the stonework, open to the ground far below. “Crappers,” we were told. Well, makes sense!
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Very well said. Love the same things about these old towns. They are so charming. I can’t get enough of them. Even if they look the same on the surface, each town has its own character and unique flair. Looking forward to seeing more.
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Beautiful pictures! I love quaint little towns like this. I hope to visit Germany some day.
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Yes, these old towns are everywhere and even those that have been destroyed in the war were rebuilt in the old-fashion, like the old town in Frankfurt. I really respect that about the Germans. They seem to care about their history, imperfect as it is.
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Gelnhausen looks like such a lovely town to visit. The town square really does look so cute with all the colours and it looked pretty peaceful when you are there too. Also the flammkuchen you had really does look like pizza. It looks delicious. Hope you make an equally delicious flammkuchen at home 🙂
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Hello, Mabel, lovely seeing you again. Yes, Gelnhausen is so quaint and the epitome of cozy. It is hard to describe flammkuchen really, because all I can do is compare and contrast it with pizza. But it is tasty! Will try it in our kitchen and definitely give an update. Thank you and we hope you are well!
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Terrific post and pics. Hope you guys are well!
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Many thanks. Great to see you again! We are doing okay, temperatures are dropping here. Hoping all is well with you, too!
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Your photos took a bit to load, but they were worth it. Beautiful and vibrant! It looks like you are enjoying life. Wonderful!
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Many thanks for your patience, Michele. These little German towns are so charming and they have so much character. The fall intensifies their magic further. We have been to a few since I arrived and I thought it is about time I write about one!
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Patience is often required with the Internet and technology, right? I appreciate you sharing. 🙏🏼
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Omg M & M
This is such a delightful post! Turn on my bucket list but it is now. What stunning pictures and so charming! I love the pizza and drink in front of that stunning building. LOL
I’m being mean because this means that you are feeling better which makes me so happy to hear! Sending love and hugs I’m glad to see you writing💕🌺🙏
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Thank you for your positive energy, Cindy. You never fail to bring a smile on my face. It is lovely. And yes, I am so much better, and halfway around the world! It took a while to catch up with the present but that is easing up, too.
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awww that’s so sweet and I’m soooo glad. You are on a role and you both look soooo adorbs and healthy! 💖💖👏👏👏👏🙏
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What a lovely post! The pictures are beautiful! My favorite is the second one – the view through the rocks of the church with three steeples in the front. The flammkuchen looks delicious! You mentioned fackwerkhauser – what is this? Thanks for your post, and enjoy your day!
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Me, too! That is the Marienkirche from a watch tower. Love the Goth-Romanesque look of that church. And fachwerk is a traditional way of building German houses. It is this colorful blocks of wood along the walls of the houses, very iconic and very German. When I first arrived here, all I could think about is how can I get one built in The Ph.
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Looks beautiful. One of the things I love about Europe is the history. Living in Canada, we’re a pretty young country so a 100-year old building is considered old. I love the cobblestone streets. They remind me of the street I grew up on in England.
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Yes, most things here seems land before time. Really fascinating for me. It makes me think of how small I am and how so much has been there before me and ahead of me. Walking this street is a humbling and respect-teaching experience.
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Thank you for sharing this adorable part of the world I never knew about! 🌍 it’s seriously calming and peaceful to just look at the pics and hear about it! 🥰
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True. It is very quiet and clean, but you can see the people out and about and doing things. When we visited last weekend, there was actually a town fair and it was all vibrant without any stress.
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Such a lovely town and that recipe seems very easy to do and looks tasty!
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Yes! Looking forward to DIY flammkuchen and will definitely update you with how it went.
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What a lovely post, and I loved your superb photos! We enjoyed a few German towns 40 years ago. They are fantastic.
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Thank you. Everything is fascinating and new to me. What do you remember about those German towns?
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Not much. I don’t know that I wrote about the towns we went through. Old letters and photos have become my memory.
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Very smart, and a good extension of your precious memories. Also love how organized you are, keeping all of these mementos.
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John, loving history, was the one who kept the original letters. Generally, I wrote a summary of the week on Sunday evening, and John had his secretary copy it and mail it to our mothers. I’m thankful I dated them.
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So thoughtful!
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Lovely pictures. Enjoy your trip!
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Many thanks. It was fun. Our plan is to stay for the weekend in these places next time. Thank you for visiting and welcome to our blog!
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Lovely photo of the ivy growing on the building! Beautiful fall colours.
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Yes, they always take my breath away, though sometimes it appears to me as a red virus consuming a structure, too!
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What a lovely town! I would love to visit there! One thing I love is how clean and tidy the town is! Wonderful! It’s good to know that you are exploring. 😊 I look forward to more lovely adventures! Hi to Marcus! 🙋♂️
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It is lovely, and this cleanliness is common to all the towns I have seen here so far, even to our own. It is awesome, isn’t it? My bestie also commented on that the first times I sent him photos and videos from here. Markys says hi back. Is it glorious fall in your place already?
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Officially, yes, but so far the leaves are only just turning colour. According to the old Celtic calendar winter begins soon, at the beginning of November, and the air already is feeling colder. On this evenings weather forecast temperatures will drop very close to minus, but that’s not here but over the water in Scotland.
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Is that early for winter or? Here, it is colder, too. Terribly foggy yesterday!
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