Another Solms Visit

[MSwiek@aol.com]

Just wanted to relate my own experience in visiting Solms and Wetzlar this
past December.  The Solms/Wetzlar area is an easy 1.5 hour drive from central
Frankfurt, most of it thorugh lovely farm/countryside.  The day I went in
early December had a mixture of sunshine and brief rain squalls which made
for some dramatic and beautiful lighting.  As I approached the Wetzlar-Ost
exit from the A-45 autobahn there was a very dramatic rainbow whose beginning
was in a field just outside of Wetzlar.  It arched over Wetzlar, and seemed
to terminate in the general vicinity of Solms !!  No joke.  Talk about a
symbolic and auspicious start to a fine day.

The new Leica facotry at Solms is quite pleasant, and a model of modern
optical production.  What is most interesting is the ammount of hand work
that is done to fine tune mounting and centering of lenses.  Another
eye-opener is the qualoity of the Leica lens mount - still an all-metal mount
that is micro-machined.

I was somewhat disappointed that camera production is limited to waht seemd
to be "final assembly and test" at Solms, with most of the acutal metal
cutting being done in Portugal.  This is in contrast to the Hasselblad works
which I visited earlier last year, where every gear, spindle and part is cut
and polished in the small factory.

My hosts in Solms were absolutely delightful, and most accomodating.  The
facility is modern and comfortable, with a nice museum display of  every
Leica model and some more offbeat prototypes and special cameras.  

The great surprise of the trip was Wetzlar itself.  My initial intention had
been to stop in Wetzlar for lunch after the Solms factory tour, and spend an
hour or so taking some shots of the old Leitz factory and environs just for
the sake of historical nostalgia.  Wetzlar is a charming, old, well-preserved
town with lovely shops and interesting walks.  I spent the entire afternoon
wandering through the winding streets which offer some great picture-making
opportunities.  The nicest part was that I seemed to have the entire town to
myself since it was mid-week in early December, and somewhat unsettled
weather.

If anyone is planning to visit the area, remember it is an easy ride from
Frankfurt.  Hotels in Wetzlar/Solms appear somewhat limited, but there is a
lovely castle hotel just a few miles down the road in Weilburg.