The Drachenfels on the Rhine

 Well, in 30 degree heat, we've slowly explored just a few parts of Königswinter.

The great Rhine separating it from the city of Bonn provides an idyllic setting for boats, barges and ferries.

But it wasn't the Rhine that drew us in. It was the Drachenfels mountain railway, a cogwheel set-up begun well over a century ago. The green carriages really are quite beautiful.

Once at the top we did what has to be done. Sat on the summit cafe terrace and drank Kaffee and ate pommes!

From there we discovered

Drachenfels, the mystical ruined tower beloved of Wagner, Byron, Turner

Schloß Drachenberg

Distant Bonn city, its tall Telephone Building and the UN Centre

St.Petersburg where Adenauer entertained Presidents and the Queen

And another of the many highlights was a Goodyear zeppelin passing over the mountain cafe terraces.

I waited for the Skyship 1 shot, where it's stuck on the tower! 

All in all a fabulous day in an historic setting. 

With one last glimpse of the Drachenfels and the castle from the town

We're Back in our hotel now cooling off!

Climb Every Mountain?

I love this illustration I saw online of Olympus Mons. The reds and browns really convey an alien mountain, the highest in our system. With that flat top, there's a bit of Devil's Tower in there too a la Close Encounters. 

I wonder if any human will ever actually climb it?

Settle This!

 Taking a retirees country break, the Missus and me are enjoying time in the gorgeous Yorkshire Dales town of Settle to recharge our batteries.

On the way here I was lucky to bag three annuals at Thorpe Arch car boot: the neat Baby Boomer dolls, Topper Book 1970 for my Grandson and Toby Twirl Adventures - more on that later.

Settle is famous for it's massive Ribblehead railway viaduct, an engineering moorland marvel.

It's also a great place for hill rambles, which is what we did today and here are a few Autumnal snaps of the Victoria Cave circular walk.

The sheer length of the countless dry stone walls was staggering and they must in sum be, like the Pyramids or similar, one of the greatest building projects ever!

We had to look twice but the black shape is actually a cave!

Seeing the scree slopes below the crags reminded me of past daft antics: scree running as a young teenager, in the Lakes, running down the rock slides and feeling them shift as you ran. Crazy! Do you have scree?

This cast iron plate recalled the monolith in 2001! I very nearly started bashing it with a sheep bone! Have you got any strange features locally?

This hilltop reminded me of a frog's head!

After all that fresh air, drizzle, sheep and rocks, it's a well-earned fish supper tonight with a cup of Yorkshire tea.

Tomorrow, Settle's charity shops! 

FROST ON MARS!

Just watching the news that morning frost has been seen on the mountains of Mars!

Polar ice was known about but equatorial frost wasn't. 

How incredibly cool is that!

One hundred and fifty thousand tons of ice every sunrise at the top of the highest peaks in the solar system!

mars express/ news bank

If you had all of Gerry Anderson's vehicles, including Project SWORD and chuck in SpaceX/ Golden Astronaut too, which ones would you use to a. get to Mars and b. mine that ice at the top of giant mountains?

Is there a better toy space fleet you could send? Explorer12? Starcom! Multimac?

Current spacecraft will take 8 months to get there. How fast could you be?

Thoughts, plans, drawings and photos welcomed!

THE STRINES INN AND ENVIRONS, THE PEAKS

One of my fave spots in the English Peak District.
Seems like a lifetime ago being there before the Lockdown. 
Can't wait to get back there!

You ever been?

Where's your favourite place?

EXTREME ROCK CLIMBERS TOY 2002

I had a look at this set in a Charity shop this week. Extreme Rock Climbers by Drumond Park from 2002.

I'd never seen a rock climbing toy before and it recalled my rock climbing exploits with my Action Man in the 1960's and again with my daughter's Barbies in the 80's. Action Man had his own Mountain Rescue Set but I had to improvise with Barbie and use string and paperclips. Mountains were always the same though, beds and chairs.

This modern set hasn't got 12 inch figures in it but much smaller articulated figures, which do look rather swish I must say.

This is the box. I regret not buying it now!

There's a large plastic mountain face and two climbers.

The climbers can dangle from hooks. I can just see the Trollemburg Terror waiting for this chappie at the top!

You get lots of gubbins in bags and a set of rules, so it must be a competitive game rather than simply being a toy.

All these pics are off online auctions and it's being sold for a darn sight more than the Charity shop was asking!

Have you had any climbing toys?

.... and out of interest, do you consider 2002 to be vintage, old, modern or what?

*

Postscript

Hugh from the Small Scale World site has let us know of a much older climbing toy, Everest by Merit from .... 1961! How cool is that AND vintage!

This one was pictured on Etsy

INTO THE GLYDYR

When a younger me, the Missus and Moonbase Daughter lived in North Wales in the mid-80's we loved the dramatic scenery more than anything. It was awe-inspiring every day.

Studying at Bangor University I also did some group field work in the mountains and Glydyr Fawr was one of my favourite peaks; jagged, fortress-like.

The doodle I did this year was in tribute to the Glydyrs.

Here it is in real life, like Godzilla passing by!

icicle garden

One of my fave images taken on my phone this winter so far is this ice stalagmite in the Moonbase garden.

Its formed as drops of water from our hose have frozen in a vertical column on the lawn. A lovely feature and one which you would otherwise find in a cave or on an ice planet.

If the big freeze had continued then the icicle would have reached the hose itself and formed an ice column like these beautiful structures seen online from the Tatra mountains, Slovakia [image: Reddit]

Have you any icicles?