The Road to Hellenbach

Whenever I’m traveling, I invariably see things that strike me as unusual, odd, and picture-worthy. Sometimes it is a sign, a poster, a display, a mannequin, or a someone’s creative effort. Hope you enjoy the collection from travels in Germany and the Czech Republic this summer …. captions where provided appear above the related images.

Fernweh Park in Hof, Germany has an incredible collection of signs that come from all over the world. As I understand it, the owner of the Fernweh-Diner across the street from the park started this many years ago and people who visited his place started sending in signs that they thought would make good additions to the park. There are now thousands of them arranged in winding aisles ranging from the humorous (either directly or in translation) to the “Kilroy was Here” variety. The Fernweh-Diner is a German version of an American vintage diner, complete with waitresses in poodle dresses. The diner also houses a collection of handcasts of mostly German celebrities.

This poster in a window for a music festival caught my eye … are there really bands with names like that? “Burning Butthairs” had to be my favorite name — check out their Youtube clip. Must have been a cheerful crowd ….

Imaginative poster for a small town event …

Don’t feed the horses ….

A cultural universal … although a more graphic message …

Winefest directions ….

This girl seems to be getting the finger ….

a big chair …

outside an artist’s studio along the trail ….

we’re # 1 …

medieval mugging ….

Interactive …. send a text message to this sculpture and the figures will pee your message in the Czech Republic-shaped pond that they are standing in — read more about this unusual public art in my article about Prague