Sundays in My City

We drove down to Wuppertal, where we lived for 2 years before buying our home in the country. Wuppertal is home to my man's family, and would still be our home if I had not dragged him out into the sticks to live. It is a 35 minute drive for him, he still works in Wuppertal, and I feel it is OK for me to post an entry as if it were still "My City", because it was for so long, so recently.

Wuppertal is famous for something that no other city in the Sundays in My City photo theme will have.

The Ride to Work

Wuppertal has a Schwebebahn.





A Schwebebahn is the hanging train that runs suspended over the river Wupper, throughout the whole city, providing the most practical form of transportation alongside the trains and buses.








I rode the Schwebebahn for 7 months every morning to get to school and I am so glad I did, it was an enjoyment every day. It swings up there from its tracks like some sort of ride! It snakes along the river for several miles.


In one hundred years, there has been only one accident. Pretty safe!


I was lucky enough to get a tour of the "barn" facility where they maintain each of the 28 separate units, and I feel pretty safe about riding them. Happily, I was also able to get married in one!








There is a special Schwebebahn, a replica of the oldest models, that is all brass and velvet inside. My entire family was treated to a tour of Wuppertal from above the river, and there was wonderful German chocolate and champagne! I say, if you are gonna get married in Wuppertal, it should be on the Schwebebahn's Kaiser Wagen!

(We also had our church wedding, but in Germany, there are always two ceremonies, church and state.) (So sorry I do not have any of the actual wedding pics on this laptop to share, from our special Kaiser Wagen ceremony.)

A little history on this unique form of transportation is fun. Many decades ago as a publicity stunt, a local circus put one of its elephants on the Schwebebahn. (What were they thinking?) I think they were trying to prove how safe it is to travel on one. Anyway, they did not convince the elephant! He jumped out and fell into the river below, sustaining only minor injuries. At that exact spot where Tuffi jumped, is a painting on the wall of an elephant springing through the air triumphantly. A very odd story, known to every citizen of this town.

More history, for those who like unique trains: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuppertal_Schwebebahn

Here is a video I made of a Schwebebahn going over.


The Architecture


Wuppertal is filled with classic old row houses with gorgeous facades.







I cannot get enough of them!











I have filled up so many photo files with just building facades.












As I approached my favorite today, another Schwebebahn went by.








I would stop everyday and stare up at this building. Was I the only person who was enraptured by this scene? The hunter and the dragon is a symbol of the Protestant Reformation, I was told. This is my very favorite building, the hunter and his three dogs, trying to strike down the new religion, the dragon.

Some of the doors are exquisite on these old buildings.











Respects to the Dead

Cemeteries are different in Germany. My man cannot get over the fact that our graveyards are mostly lawns. In Germany, each grave gets a garden of its own, maintained by either the family, or the firm they hired to beautify it. I don't get it. Why are the graves so culturally important? Anytime you walk through a cemetery here, you see candles burning on graves, and shrubs and flowers (not cut flowers, flowers planted into the grave itself). Also, every grocery store and gas station sells grave candles. Weird huh?





















A child's grave. Hopefully those garden gnomes are the nice kind.












Then there are the famous graves of the city founders. Here is a pic of my man reading his ipod for a description, because there is a geocache hidden in this founder's grave. Some people think this is disrespectful, but I say, people need to see this gorgeous cemetery!









Some of my favorites in the founding fathers section.....


































What disturbs me is the grave graveyard. Honest to God, they recycle graves here. I guess there is just not enough room for people to be buried here, so if you passed away more than 10 years ago, your grave is at risk for being recycled. Your headstone is placed in a grave graveyard in the back of the facility. How sad! My man joked that when I die, he's gonna just plant grass there like they do in America, and he will bring my lawn mower every few weeks to mow it short. That will be my unique American grave. The only one with grass. *snicker*

I think that is a terrible way to end a Sunday in My City, so here is something else we saw today.


Here is the first Chevy Silverado I've ever seen in Germany! It was a 1500, but I stood peering in the windows, remembering the feel of sitting there (I had a 3500 crew cab long bed, a monster, when I lived in the States). How can a simple truck sighting make my day? Well, it does! My new city is a long way from my home city.