Germany: Architecture and such...

I don't know that this post will motivate any comments (especially since the last one only rendered one), but this was part of our trip, so I'm going to show you.

Europe definitely has a different way of doing things when it comes to building. Mostly, they build things to last for an expansive amount of time. If you go there, you'll see lots of buildings that have been there for centuries. However, it seemed like they weren't satisfied with what they already had. We constantly saw big cranes like this all over the place.

In Tuttlingen there is a huge company that makes medical supplies. Their building takes up about 2 or 3 blocks all to itself!In many of the towns we were in and passed by, we would see a lot of this...

Buildings, crammed together on a hill slope. I expect this is because the Germans love their countryside and so they fit as many homes as possible close together in one town. This way they can still look at the other hills around them. I don't envy their parking, or lack of backyards.

This still makes me laugh. A lot of the homes and buildings are very traditional German houses and then you see this..

I'm sorry, but a stainless steel staircase???? It was so incredibly out of place. Especially the color. However, more and more the younger generation is taking over what is accepted and cool. The modern look is breaking through the typical European genre of housing.

While in Triberg, we saw quite a few murals on the sides of buildings. This particular picture is of the Triberg Waterfall for which the town is so well known for.

This is in Switzerland, in a town called Stein am Rhein. Which translates (roughly) to mean Town by the Rhein (river). This particular area was kind of a maze. Don't you love the clock tower?

Some of the things we saw in the town.....
Okay, now this is just a weird German thing. They like to hang their Santas outside the windows and decorate them differently. Some were kind of morbid, as you can imagine. I love that this one has the American flags. Yay!
At one of the restaurants we ate at they had these little treasures on the wall and by the tables.
The castle Schloss Sigmaringen was amazing to look at. All the different and wonderful pieces.
This one just makes me laugh. I wonder if the royals would freak out if they saw this on their castle.Inside the church right next to the castle.
Okay, this doens't have anything to do with architecture or buildings, but it's just funny. This guy's job was apparently to keep the sidewalks clean.Yes. He is sweeping the sidewalk. And he's such a cute little man.
Alright, one last post of pictures and I can't wait for this one....