Zons

While we were in Germany, a girl who lives near Düsseldorf and follows Sam's art on Instagram sent me a nice message, saying that if we liked Medieval villages, we ought to visit Zons. It was a place I had researched a little before we came, but it was so hard to figure out stuff on German websites. I couldn't tell what was going to be too hard to get to, or what would even be worth attempting to see…only to find out it was inaccessible or closed for the season or something! But based on this girl's recommendation, Zons seemed worth doing. It was tricky to get to: regional train and then bus and then walking, and all of this in tiny, out-of-the-way, non-tourist areas that would probably not have any signs in English! It was our last day in Germany and I felt so responsible for making it a good one, since I'm usually the one planning what we'll do and I was afraid we would spend the whole day getting lost! But at least Sam would be with us. So we made the attempt.

And, miraculously, nothing went wrong! I even managed to read the bus schedules correctly and get us on the right bus, and as we rode along the winding roads into the countryside, with all the school children heading home from school, and the mothers carrying their shopping, I could almost imagine living here, in one of the old brick houses tucked away behind tiny gardens and rows of trees.

We didn't know exactly where to even go, but we got off the bus and walked toward a church tower, which seemed like a promising landmark.

We passed a square full of pigs. I wish I knew the story behind them. Even if there had been an explanatory sign, we wouldn't have been able to read it!

And then we were to the medieval town itself. It's a small town, enclosed by walls and a moat, which you can see to the right of this picture. People still live there. Can you imagine?

We just wandered the streets. There weren't many people around. A few German-speaking tourists sightseeing like we were, and people coming and going in delivery vans, and a small movie crew packing away lights and cords. We stopped and got ice cream at a little café, and then wandered some more. Zons was all the things we love: old, small, picturesque, with lovely views of the countryside.

The cobblestone churchyard

We loved the old windmill. In the summertime or on weekends, you can climb up into it.

The turret you can see to the right is part of the town wall—maybe a guard tower?

Outside the wall, on the far side of the town

The walls just looked SO OLD. I loved the moss and plants growing between the stones.

Ky was wearing Sam's coat, having lost his jacket (we think he left it on the bus) a few days before. 

 

Lovely colorful houses along the street. Again, this reminded me of Orvieto (and of St. Goarhausen which we'd seen just a few days earlier).

Such a narrow, narrow alleyway between two walls!

The grassy moat again. I hope it once held alligators!

I was so grateful that we were pointed to this place by a friend we hadn't even met! It was so beautiful, and we loved it. It was a perfect way to spend our last day in Germany!