We finally got together with my sister and her husband for a Christmas visit over lunch. We drove down to Walkerton, which is about half-way in between our places and met in a restaurant on the main street. Then we hit a quilt/craft/wool shop in nearby Neustadt which we had never been to before..
While my wife made a very successful visit to the wool shop, I tried a few shots of the beautiful stone building across the street, the Neustadt Springs Brewery.
This is a fairly new craft brewery, started by a couple of British ex-pats, which opened in 1997. They brew several interesting varieties, and have a tasting room where you can try them out.
But the building dates from 1859 when the Crystal Springs Brewery opened here. It was rebuilt in 1869 after a fire, and continued providing local beer for 57 years, until 1916.
The northern end of the building, which I found quite interesting, served originally a hotel. The whole building has served a variety of purposes through the years after the original brewery.
I found the south end of the building quite interesting, the stonework showing evidence of changes over the years. Teams of horses were used originally of course, and at one point you can see it was a garage. The sign on the wooden door above says Heuther's Beer.
Just beyond the brewery was the old mill, no longer in use, but part of the bottom floor used as an Antique Market. I know that progress marches on, but it always saddens me to see industrial operations that must have been bustling with activity (and jobs) closed down and idle.
And just up the hill was a nice stone church, though the front entrance tower is simply decorative cement block.
On the way home we passed through Durham, and stopped for five minutes at McGowan's Falls. There was lots of water flowing, and I tried several different shots, though the late afternoon flat light of a dull grey day didn't help!.
****
When kids were younger we got together with my sister and her family every year, but kids grow up, and then they get partners, and with partners come another family of in-laws that wants them for Christmas. Eventually maybe the kids might have kids of their own. And suddenly what was 11 people in two families is 22 people in 8 families. Finding a day for Christmas together becomes impossible. (And at my sister's house for Christmas there were 6 dogs, all large)! So it was great to get together for this visit, and my wife was pleased with her haul from the wool shop too!
Lightroom question - I use Lightroom to edit my photos. Yesterday I entered a new folder for 2016, and imported the day's photos. I did the same today. But the '2016' folder is not showing up in the 'Navigator' column of Lightroom, so I can't find them to edit them! Any suggestions? Did I enter something wrong, or forget some little box I need to check?
Beautiful old architecture. My grandparents had a farm between Hanover and Neustadt before I was born. I haven't been out that way in years.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful stone buildings and very nice photos of them.
ReplyDeleteLove that interesting stonework. I know nothing about Lightroom but hope you'll find your pictures without delay. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love these old stone buildings. They are of a simple design, and yet they speak volumes about the time in which they were built and about the materials that were available to the builders. They speak of functionality, stability, and endurance. You did a wonderful job of photographing them.
ReplyDeleteI know absolutely nothing about Lighthouse, but I've been hearing about it, but I like the photos that I see that have been processed (?) by it.
I love old historical buildings, this one reminds me of the old stone house up north in NZ in the Bay of Islands :-)
ReplyDeleteAmy, so good to find another from NZ enjoying this blog.I agree, stonework so like the Stone Store at Kerikeri. Stew, I cannot be any help with Lightroom, and did Mrs F.G. find any quilting fabrics to add to the wool? Lovely winter photos, you get those settings just right.
ReplyDeleteThis post had a tone of contentment in it that I enjoyed. I haven't been able to visit my sister (only sibling) in Ottawa for a few years. The older I get, the more I appreciate how unique sibling relationships are. No one else really knows the details of your childhood in quite the same way. Loved the stone buildings. They remind me of many of the older buildings in a town called Merrickville. We took a day trip there in 2012 when we visited my sister. Last thought was about your mention of the transition from horses to cars. My grandfather was a blacksmith and had a shop in the tiny Quebec village where we were born and raised. His two sons (my father and uncle) eventually converted that shop to a garage as cars became more plentiful. All to say I enjoyed your post and found that it triggered lots of memories and associations.
ReplyDeleteI am always intrigued by the buildings in small towns... especially the ones made from stone. I have now add Neustadt to my list of places to visit. I tried the trial version of Lightroom and never could get the hang of it. ACDSee Pro 9 is my choice for my photos. Have you tried a Google search?
ReplyDeleteLovely photos . I use Lightroom to for my photos and to catalog them all , mine does all of this automatically when I load them in to the program , I also export the photos I have done to my computers libraries for easier access for my blogs in a back up system . I will try and search for you and see if I can help why and what can be done . Have a good day !
ReplyDeleteOh yes. I never pass by one of these old building with a craft brewery. Always good. Always interesting....:)
ReplyDeleteLightroom automatically catalogs photos and folders so unless you created the folder on a flash drive or external drive it should be there . Hope you can find them and this helps . Good luck , have a good day !
ReplyDeletewhat a beautiful building, it was nice you had something to do while she got lost in the yarn. i could spend hours in a yarn shop and come out poor...or with a smoking hot credit card!!!!
ReplyDeleteloved seeing these stone buildings.
ReplyDeletehave you figured out your problem with your photos? I also use LR.
Did you import the photos to LR? Or simply to your new folder?
Hello, the stone building is beautiful. The last shot of the snow and water gives me chills. Have a happy new week!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful old stone building.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to go to the wool store with your wife. : )