Re: [Leica] Visit to Wetzlar

["Dan S" <dstate1@hotmail.com>]

Did you get to the old lookout tower on the hill behind the old Leitz 
factory?  It gives you a great view of the city and of course the most 
famous angle of the factory itself.

Also, I found the beer in both Wetzlar and Braunfels to be 
excellent...Particularly the dark.

Best wishes
Dan States
>
>I want to thank the people who gave me  advice on visiting Wetzlar last
>month.  We had a lovely time and enjoyed the town very much.
>
>We started with the visit to Leica Solms.  Karl-Hans Welcker was a
>gracious host and showed us everything possible.  Unfortunately, we had
>scheduled our visit for friday afternoon and almost all the workers had
>gone home to begin to weekend early and hardly anything was running!
>Strike one!  However I found a mistake in the Leica Tree they have in
>the foyer.  The model of the very first M-6 they had on display had the
>protective pads to prevent wear from the camera straps.  (In fact, all
>the M-6s on display had the pads.) I know the first version did not have
>
>these and pulled my 1986 M-6 out of my Domke 803 bag  to prove it.
>Karl-Hans agreed with me and made a note to change the display.  I
>offered to make a trade there and then to make their display correct but
>
>they demurred.  (I am not sure they appreciated my pointing out a
>mistake and they did not seem to appreciate the humor of my trade offer!
>
>)
>
>If you ever want to visit, you can find the directions to Solms on the
>Leica website.  It is best to have an appointment as they can handle
>only small groups.  We were six people in our group.
>
>Then we went back into town and checked into our hotel, the
>Wetzlarer-Hof.
>On our first stroll to the Dom Platz, I looked for the Leica shop of
>Lars Netopil
>which I found has moved from Steinstrasse to Baugasse, just off the Dom
>Platz, almost behind the Rathaus and "Tourist Information."  We found he
>
>had just closed.  He closed at 5 PM on friday and does not open on
>Saturday.  I certainly looked like a shop we Leica-holics would enjoy
>visiting.  Strike two!
>
>And the little Italian restaurant just down the street from the
>Wetzlarer-Hof has become Arizona, an American Steakhouse featuring
>chili,
>steaks, etc.  Strike three!
>
>But we did not really strike out.  Lunch on the Dom Platz at Haupwach
>was great and dinners at the Wetzlarer-Hof and nearby Burgerhof  were
>quite delightful, if a bit hearty.  I think the Burgerhof has a slight
>edge.  The Wetzlarer-Hof is quite modern and is obviously a
>businessman's
>hotel while the Burgerhof a block away looks like an old German Hotel
>and has much more atmosphere.
>
>It is certainly a photogenic town and was great fun wondering the
>streets with my 2 M-6s .  I encountered a young girl who exclaimed,
>"Mein Gott, Zwei Kameras!"  If was fun trying to make a good photo of
>the old Leica factory reflected in the glass facade of the new Rathaus.
>
>The market on Saturday morning was interesting.  It was spargel time  --
>
>the white asparagus.  Most restaurants in Germany had a special "Spargel
>
>Karte" menu of dishes featuring white asparagus.  By law they must stop
>picking it after June 24.  If you have never had the white asparagus in
>Germany, Belgium or France in late May early June, do try it if you get
>the chance.  It is marvelous, tender and a mild flavor that works well
>with ham and boiled potatoes especially.  It was also strawberry time.
>So we enjoyed many fresh strawberries for breakfast or for dessert.
>Shopping is quite good in the pedestrian zone but everything closes at 2
>
>PM on Saturday.   But by then it was time for the afternoon eis and a
>bit of rest anyway.
>
>I enjoyed watching the canoes on the Lahn.  They have to portage around
>the dam at Wetzlar and there is a long track with rollers to make it
>easy to get the canoes around the dam.  The more adventurous got into
>their canoes while they were still on the track and let gravity give
>them a bit of a roller-coaster ride to below the dam!
>
>Of course, I photographed the Eisenmarkt in both morning and afternoon
>light.
>
>I want to thank fellow LUGers for their advice and ideas.  They helped
>make
>the visit more enjoyable for me and my wife.  If anyone has any
>questions,
>please fire away!  We were in Wetzlar for June 16-18.
>
>Ken Lassiter
>
>
>
>
>

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