Gustrow, Germany, 20 June 2006
This church was the first of many depressing places that we visited during our tour of Gustrow, Germany.
It should be noted that Gustrow is part of what was formerly East Germany, and the dilapidation and sense
of malaise was pervasive. When we entered this church (mostly to get out of the rain) we were greeted with
a beligerant admonition that NO PHOTOGRAPHY IS ALLOWED. I wondered aloud why anybody would
want to take a photograph.
Next, we wandered through the town, and I took some pictures of the quaint architecture.
Our tour guide explained that since the fall of the Berlin Wall, a lot of property owners
have been waiting for government assistance to help with the restoration.
It occurred to me that one could wait a lifetime for somebody to help,
but that's the sort of lesson that one probably has to learn in a capitalist society - and even then, most people don't.
Next we wandered to another church. I don't remember whether this church had the same prohibition on photgraphy.
I do remember that I didn't see anything that I would have wanted to photograph.
Eventually we ended up at the museum that had formerly been a castle belonging to The Dukes Of Gustrow,
whoever that was. Near as I could tell, there were no Daisy Dukes, but that was okay as I had brought my own.
I found the chimney to be amusingly ornate,
but on closer inspection, beneath the plaster facade, the castle revealed a less ornate heritage.
Behind the castle, were the grounds - which were surrounded by hedge with a tunnel in the middle of it.
Inside the tunnel it was really quite pleasant.
