The Moselle

On a warm long weekend, we took a trip to the Moselle valley. It is nice. We camped and stopped in the places pictured below.

Hamburg

We did a long weekend trip to Hamburg in the spring, since the Thursday was a holiday in Germany. We saw the harbor area, then walked over to the Reeperbahn area, the red light district, where the Beatles also played when they were starting out. We had dinner at a vegetarian restaurant (Leaf) in Altona, a gentrified area west of the Reeperbahn area. The next day we saw the Speicherstadt and the Miniatur-Wunderland. The amount of deatil there was very impressive. Then we had lunch at Ti Breizh, which serves gallettes and the same French cider (Val de Rance) that we had at another crepe place in Berlin. After that we walked around more, by the old town hall, and stopped for tea at an art nouveau cafe (Cafe Paris). Then we went by the Chilehaus. We had dinner at an Asian restaurant (it's a thing in Germany to combine countries). That night we went to a Laura Marling concert with Gill Landry as opener. It's not the first time we've combined a concert with a visit to a city (Paul McCartney in Vienna and the Decemberists in Zurich, e.g.). The next day we went over to Blankenese, a rich area with nice houses on a hill overlooking the river. There were a few old-style houses with thatched roofs. Then we took the ferry back to the city center and went to the Museum for Kunst & Gewerbe, which had Islamic art and tatoo exhibits and an art nouveau room. Then we went to dinner in the Schanzenviertel (another hip area of Hamburg). I got a veggie burger at a vegetarian burger (and other things) place. Then we went to a seafood restaurant, where I got salad. Our last morning, Sunday, we went to the fish market, which sells fish and lot of other things. It is funny to see all the people who have partied all night stumbling around at 7am. In the old fish auction hall they keep the party going with a live band and beer drinking. There was also a plant seller who had kind of a performance for selling the plants. Some of the other sellers were also kind of entertaining. After that we stopped at a Portuguese bakery before going up the bell tower in St. Michael's church. We then went by a memorial to Brahms (Brahms cube) and the place where he was born (there's just a stone with a plaque there now). The weather was nice, so we went to a cafe right on the Binnenalster lake. It then rained for about 15 minutes, but then it was ok again. Before we left we had lunch at a gourmet burger place named after a Grimm brothers fairy tale (Hans im Glueck), which they played in the bathrooms.

Limburg

We went to Limburg for a birthday brunch for one of Ben's colleagues. Afterwards we walked around the old town some, but it was very cold. Limburg has a lot of half-timbered houses. It is not where Limburger cheese comes from.

Happy Halloween!

Marburg

We went to Marburg on German Unity Day (a national holiday). It has a pretty neat castle and old town, and the weather was good.

Berlin! (finally)

Roman Germany

The Romans did make it into Germany a little. Like Hadrian's Wall in England, they built a limes marking the edge of their territory in Germany. The Romans built a fort in Aalen, and some ruins remain. We also went by a villa rustica, this one a Roman winery, in the Palatinate region. They grow grapes there today, too.

rare silver mask at the Roman museum in Aalen

ruins in Aalen

part of the villa rustica

reconstructed tower that was part of the limes

Schloss Nymphenburg

We went to a Neutral Milk Hotel concert in the evening in Munich, so we used that day to go to Nymphenburg Palace near Munich. We ate lunch in a park nearby that has a beer garden right next to a deer enclosure. The palace is very similar to a number of other palaces we've seen in Europe. The buildings in the gardens were pretty neat.

from the front

part of the interior

in the Hall of Mirrors in of one of the garden houses (Amalienburg). That's all silver there, even though it looks goldish in the picture.

grotto-like chapel

Japan Day in Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf has a relatively large Japanese population, and they have an annual Japan Day festival. We though it would be a lot of traditional arts and food and such, but it was much more Japanese pop culture-oriented. There were a lot of people in anime and other costumes. I think there was a competition. Almost everyone there was in their 20s or younger. A lot of people were wearing "free hugs" signs, and at one point, there was a very long line of such people, and you move down the line hugging everyone in it. There were also food stands, but just serving food, not with grocery items other than some packaged snacks. The whole thing was outside along the Rhine river. They also had various martial arts demonstrations and musical groups throughout the day and a fireworks show at night. The next day we went to a Japanese ramen place for lunch.

Black Forest

In April we took an extended weekend trip to the Black Forest. Our first stop was Baden Baden. It has hot springs and apparently a lot of rich people go there. It was nice enough, but didn't have too much for tourists to see. We didn't go to the hot spring spa, because it was kind of expensive. They did have a bunch of flower pots everywhere with quotes on them, which was neat. Then we went to Gengenbach. It was used in the Tim Burton Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie as the hometown of Augustus Gloop. It is picturesque, with a lot of half-timbered houses. Next we went to Triberg, which is one of the places where Black Forest Cake was supposedly invented. We got some cake at a cafe that claims to use the original recipe. The town is very touristy, with many souvenir shops and a little train to take people up the hill. There is a waterfall there, but you had to pay to see it, so we didn't. Not pictured below, we stopped briefly at one of the two places that claims to have the largest cuckoo clock in the world. It's on the side of a souvenir store. Towards the end of our first day, we went by one of the origins of the Danube, that is, one of the small rivers that combines with another river to become the Danube. It comes up out of the ground as a small creek. Then we went to our hotel. It was pretty neat. It's an old building now operated by Best Western, between Freiburg and Titisee. There were some cows in a field nearby, which we tried, once successfully, to feed. They seemed wary of people. For dinner we went to Titisee, to an Italian restaurant.

The next day we drove to Freiburg. It has the most sunny days of any city in Germany. It did get sunny in the afternoon. They have mosaic signs on the sidewalk everywhere that historically represented what kind of shop they were in front of. Some of them are still traditional-looking and some are newer. After eating lunch we drove to St. Blasien, which has an impressive cathedral and overpriced cafes. In the late afternoon we went to a large indoor pool complex with lots of pools and waterslides. An hour was included in a pass we got from our hotel. They had one pool with a high salt content, like the Dead See, so you could float really easily, which was fun. They also had seats that shot out bubbles, like a jacuzzi, but they were seats in a larger pool and an outdoor heated pool area with a bar, as well as a hamam-style steam room. But the waterslides were the best part and much fun was had.

On our way back home the next day we stopped by the confluence of the Danube and in Villingen, a small town where we ate in a restaurant that had booths in giant wine vats.

Ulmer Munster

My brothers visited for a week, so we finally went up the Ulmer Munster tower. It's all open, so it's pretty terrifying.

view of the back

up among the gargoyles

the uppermost part of the tower, from the inside

Another Castle

We went to Sigmaringen.

Fall Trips

We had the opportunity to use Ben's parents' car for a few weeks in the fall, so we took some weekend trips.

First was Bodensee (Lake Constance). We started in Lindau. It was kind of rainy and windy, but the view from the shore out to the lighthouse and lion statue was still nice. We also walked around the nice old town area. Next we drove along the coast to Wasserburg, which is more of a summer vacation town. We walked around the shore there and past a lot of charming B&Bs. Then it was on to Friedrichshafen, which is one of the larger cities on the lake, but one of the newer, more industrial ones, and is known for zeppelins. They have a nice promenade along the lake, but it was rainy and foggy when we were there, so there wasn't much of a view. All of the many cafes along the way were full anyway. We then drove on to our hotel in Meersburg. We had originally planned to stay in Friedrichshafen, but could only find a hotel in Meersburg, which turns out to be a good thing, since Meersburg is much more picturesque (also touristy). Our hotel, the Gasthof zum Baeren, is centuries old and right in the old town. The city has a medieval castle, so we went there first. Most of the rooms have medieval decor, but some have furniture and such from later centuries. After the castle, we walked down to the waterfront area. It was the time of year for "new wine" (known by many different regional names), so we went into a wine shop/bar and had a glass. The next day we moved on to Konstanz, the largest city on the lake. They, too have a nice waterfront promenade and a weird rotating statue on a pier. Next we saw 3 old churches on Reichenau. Our last stop on the lake was Ueberlingen. The weather was much nicer that day, so we stopped at one of the many crowded cafes with outdoor tables on the promenade for the popular coffee/cake combo and some more new wine (you have to drink it while you can, since it's not around long). On the drive back, we stopped in Ravensburg, of puzzle fame, and walked around the old town.

The following (extended) weekend we headed north to Franconia and Thuringen. First stop was Bamberg. Bamberg is a very nice city, and consequently popular with tourists. We were also there during Oktoberfest, so we think that was a popular day trip from Munich. First we saw the cathedral and surrounding old buildings, and got some lunch with more new wine, even though the city has famous smoky beer. Then we headed up the hill to Michaelsberg Abbey, which has over 600 medicinal plants painted on the ceiling. There was a new wine festival happening on the premises. Then we walked along "Little Venice" and saw the old town hall on the river. Next we drove to Bayreuth, which is where the annual Wagner opera festival takes place in the summer. We saw the old opera house, which we were lucky to see, since it closed for multi-year renovations 2 days after we were there. It is filled with elaborate wooden decorations. We had some of the local specialty, Klöße (dumplings, often potato dumplings), for dinner. The next day we saw the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which was built under Wagner's supervision and is used exclusively for his opera festival. We also saw the graves of Wagner and his dog Russ. We then drove to Coburg and saw the old town, then headed up to the large, attractive Veste (fortress/castle). Finally we drove into Thuringen to its capital of Erfurt. You wouldn't know Thuringen was part of East Germany, except for some remaining Ampelmännchen and occasional Soviet street names. We walked through part of the old town and the Oktoberfest carnival happening in the cathedral plaza, and saw the Bernd das Brot statue next to the Rathaus (town hall). The next day we went to Goethe-central, aka Weimar. Weimar was also home to a whole host of other famous Germans (see list), the Bauhaus art movement, and the Weimar Republic. Unfortunately the Goethe museum and the Anna Amalia library were closed (Mondays), but we saw many other historic locations and monuments. Weimar also has several streets with art nouveau houses, which are very nice. The next day we saw more of Erfurt, including the cathedral, paintings in the Rathaus, and Krämerbrücke (like the Ponte Vecchio in Florence or Rialto in Venice). Then we drove to Eisenach. Aside from being the birthplace of J.S. Bach, the main attraction there is Wartburg castle, so we walked up there first. Parts of the original medieval castle remain, and the rest was continuously updated. Inside, where we couldn't take pictures, are several impressive romantic-era mosaics, the music hall that was the site of a medieval minstrels' contest and the inspiration for Wagner's opera Tannhäuser, and the room where Martin Luther hid out for a while. After the castle we saw the old town, including Bach's birthhouse and one of the houses where Luther lived. Our hotel was a villa on a hill next to the city, which had many other cool villas. If it wasn't already known for Wartburg, I would consider Eisenach the City of Villas. The next day we drove home, stopping in the half-timbered town of Schmalkalden and then Meiningen.

Our last weekend, before we returned the car, we went to Burg Hohenzollern. It was originally medieval, but was mostly destroyed twice, and the current castle is mostly from the romantic era, in the gothic/medieval style. It's pretty neat.

9:40 pm

Happy Halloween!

My pumpkin this year. It's the black mage from Final Fantasy I. I figure, if you don't know what it is, it maybe looks like a witch or something. This was my first attempt at tri-tone. It was harder than I thought it would be.

Oktoberfest

On a Wednesday afternoon last week, we went to Oktoberfest with Ben's colleagues. They went to a normal biergarten for lunch, and I met them in Munich on their way to Oktoberfest proper. Apparently there is more to it than drinking beer. I also didn't know that people dress up in lederhosen and dirndls when they go. About half the people there were dressed up. They have it in an area that we believe doesn't have anything there the rest of the year. We didn't go into any of the beer halls, just walked around. Below are some pictures.

Vacation in the Alps

We recently had a week of vacation, during which we rented a car, packed the tent, and traveled through the western Alps. We started out driving through Switzerland before crossing into Italy over the Splügen Pass. We then reached our first goal, the Lago di Como, nestled between mountains. We stopped at some small picturesque towns on the western shore of the lake, but the highlight was probably the Villa di Balbianello, probably known best for being the filming location of several scenes from Star Wars: Episode II and Casino Royale. After visiting the city of Como, we made our way towards the next lake over, Lago Maggiore. Here we stopped in Stresa, which has some very nice turn-of-the-century architecture. Our campsite here were, as on Lake Como, dominated by trailers and campers. Our little tent was quite lonely, but that was to change soon. The next day, after a quick stop in the small town of Orta San Giulio, we made our way to the Aosta valley, which has several impressive castles guarding the way. In the town of Aosta, we saw the Roman sights (yes, they had already settled there), and visited the well-preserved upper parts of frescoes underneath the ceiling in the church of Sant'Orso (the lower parts were destroyed in the 15th century during renovations). After seeing a branch of Grom, we couldn't resist and got some gelato. Our goal for the day was the mountain town of Valnontey, where we found a very nice campground with a fantastic view of the Gran Paradiso massif. The next day, we did a day hike to the Lake of Loie and the Alpe Bardoney, a summer dairy farm. Although we were hoping to see ibex and chamois, they were not to be found. We did see a bunch of marmots, though, and heard them whistling to each other. On the way back, we did a detour to the waterfalls of Lillaz before returning to the car and the campsite. The next day, we drove the rest of the way through the Aosta valley and through the Mont Blanc tunnel (incredibly expensive) to reach the French city of Chamonix. Although we were initially planning on taking the cable car up to the Brévent and then hiking down, that side of the valley was in the clouds. The other side though was in the sun, and so we took the cable car up to the Aiguille du Midi instead, from which there was a fantastic view over the entire Mont Blanc massif. For dinner, we went to Le Dahu in Argentière that my parents had already been to many times several decades earlier, and had a traditional cheese fondue. From there, we made our way through the foothills to Annecy, and drove by two castles nearby. Since we were determined to avoid staying in Switzerland as much as possible (because it's incredibly expensive), we found a campsite just outside Geneva but still in France. Out of the mountains, we were now unfortunately back in trailer-park country. Following Lake Geneva, we passed through several nice towns, each with its own picturesque castle, until reaching Lausanne. After a quick sightseeing tour of the city, we changed (becoming the best-dressed people at the campground) and attended the public Ph.D. defense of a friend of mine. The next morning we encountered some of the first clouds and rain of our entire trip while continuing along Lake Geneva and seeing some more castles (a highlight being the Château de Chillon near Montreux) as well as stone-age menhirs. Then it was back in the direction of home, with stops in Gruyères (where we bought some cheese, of course) and Fribourg, before spending the final night in Bern. Sunday, the weather had become completely rainy, so the sightseeing tour of Bern was rather quick and hasty. A pity really, because the city seemed very nice (if also very sleepy on this Sunday morning). Then, after two more quick stops for a castle at Burgdorf and the waterfalls of the Rhine in Schaffhausen, it was back home to Ulm.

Things You Don't See in the U.S. #10

can't do that

Nabada

The Nabada is the annual water festival on the Danube in Ulm. It happens on Schwörmontag (oath Monday), when, basically, the mayor swears loyalty to the citizens. Anyone who has a raft or something that floats, or not, can be in it.




there were several of these

Mittelaltermarkt

Here are some pictures from the medieval market Ben wrote about.