The day improves

Arriving in Trier in the early afternoon gave us plenty of time to explore this, Gloucester’s partner city.  Edward had been here once before, on a school exchange trip, but remembered little.  For the rest of us, it was new ground.

Our hotel room offers a splendid view of one of the main attractions, the Porta Nigra.

The travelling companions wasted no time in securing the best view in the house, of course.

So, taking the advice of the tourist office, we started our walking tour here, naturally.

Strolling through the pedestrianised streets was a delight.  So many interesting buildings with a wealth of details.

The lovely medieval marketplace promised plenty of choice for supper later, but for now, we resisted the temptation to sit and relax and kept on through to the other side.  There was more to see!

The recurring theme of “liebfau…” is apparent and our next stop was in the Liebfraukirche.

It’s a beautiful space, open and airy.  The modern, light wood pews are comfortable and provide a good place to sit and observe.

The ceiling is beautifully decorated.

The modern stained glass is very different to that in Zurich but I find it equally effective.

Of course, the small chapel dedicated to the Liebfrau herself was the brightest, most lavishly decorated corner.

As is frequently the case, I’ve only discovered the significance of these paintings of the apostles since I’ve been back and finding some links to illustrate this post.  Now, of course, I wish I’d looked for the black stone.

Next stop was the cathedral next door, based on a Roman structure.  Another breathtaking space, Edward and I left the other two sitting gazing at the magnificent basilica and climbed the stairs to the small chapel behind the altar where a relic is kept.

From here, there was a stunning view of the whole nave, including the rather over-exuberant baroque arch at the West end of the cathedral.  The proportions of this huge space are difficult to gauge from the photograph: The altar can be seen roughly in the centre of the picture, with the wooden pews either side of the central aisle beyond it.

Our next stop was another Roman masterpiece – the Basilica of Constantine.  Brick built, this was another enormous, light filled space (no photographs allowed inside).  Still standing in its original form, it was restored by the same King of Prussia as built Hohenzollern Castle, having previously been part of the Archbishop of Trier’s castle.

Just across the way were the Roman Baths, but feeling a little weary by now and being familiar with hypocaust and other such bath-associated structures, we passed that one right by.  I couldn’t resist putting my rather sunburned-stripy foot by that of Constantine.

(I think the sculptor had exaggerated its size, don’t you?)

As we returned to the hotel for a short break before supper, we spotted the markings on the door which I’ve blogged about before, though here in a street with modern, metal doors, a degree of imagination has been called for.  Each chalked sign that Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar have visited is written on a small piece of chalkboard paint (or is it tape?) rather than on the door itself.  Clever!

Dinner – our last German supper for a while – was a hearty plateful at the Domstein in the Marketplace

followed by enormous icecreams at the Eis Cafe just down the street.  Yes, our eyes were bigger than our tummies and only one of us finished.

I’m not telling you who

Tomorrow, we’ll leave Germany behind and head into two different countries.  I’ll bet you can guess which ones?

It started in the car park…

We drove to Heidelberg this morning. It was a fairly easy journey from Baden Baden and our satnav helped us avoid the long delays on the autobahn, taking us through some smaller, interesting towns along the way.  Once in the city, we found our way to the castle car park with the idea of taking the funicular up the steep hill to get our bearings by means of an overview.  We’d been here before, with Karin and Jurgen and have some lovely photographs of Edward as a small boy being held up on top of the castle wall by a proud Grandad.

The car park turned out to be a multi-storey affair and had the tightest of turns and the smallest of spaces imaginable.  Though we kept our eyes open for blue-badge spaces, we saw none and it was with difficulty that my hero managed to get the car up to floor 7 where we found a couple of very tight spaces.  Negotiating a seventeen point turn and with just a centimetre to spare at times, the car was parked, only to find that it was impossible to get out of it!  (I might add that we were not the only ones having such difficulty)  Giving the place up as a bad job, we slowly made our way down once again and by some stroke of magic, found a single, empty blue badge space – huge – right by the lifts.  Phew.

But the fun had only just begun.  Downstairs, by the funicular ticket office, several coachloads of people wanted to buy tickets and there was just the one cashier on duty.  Not only that, but the concept of queueing doesn’t seem to extend much beyond the English Channel (or the people in this neck of the woods believe that rules and/or manners don’t apply once you’re over 70?) and in the same way we found ourselves being pushed and shoved by seemingly respectable men and women at Hohenzollern yesterday, the scrum for the funicular was not much fun.

The story of accessibility here and in several other places is a whole different story, too.

Eventually, we reached the castle – the first stop – and with a sigh of relief, got out of the crush.  But here, too, were large groups of people, all wanting the same picture and, it seemed, with only five minutes to do the whole thing. 

And what is it about taking pictures with an ipad?!  Aaaagh!

The view from up here was lovely, however, even if I didn’t notice the fingerprint on my camera lens until I sat down just now!  Oh dear…

Eventually, the crowds were just too much and we decided to take the funicular down again and take a walk through the city below.

Whether or not this was a reason for the crowds, we have no idea, but this weekend, Heidelberg was celebrating the wedding anniversary of Frederick and Elizabeth in 1613.

As a result, there were flags and signs all over, people in costume and a small exhibition which included a display of specially concocted chocolate truffles to celebrate the event.

We sat and enjoyed a cool drink in the marketplace, as the large groups were led past one by one, following their leader.

The old bridge looked really good in the sunshine and thankfully, the groups didn’t seem to have made it this far.

Making our way back to the car park, we felt we’d had enough of the crowds and the tacky souvenirs and all felt a little let down, not by Heidelberg itself, but by the level of tourism here on what we’d expected to be a quiet Sunday morning.

Just shows what we know.

Come on, let’s drive on through the Moseltal to Trier and see what’s to be found there, shall we?

Not Grumpy

but perhaps I’m not my usual little ray of sunshine here in Baden Baden.

We left our comfy apartment this morning to drive through the Black Forest, making a scheduled stop at Hohenzollern.  We have an extra passenger for our homeward journey, because Edward is with us, too.  Crossing the border at Schaffhausen, the guard gave a cursory glance into the car and waved us through without a stop, though the incoming traffic was being rather more closely observed by the Swiss patrol and there was quite a queue to get in.

So we are in Germany once again and still feel quite at home.  It’s good to be here!

It wasn’t long before we caught sight of the castle, high on the hill.  My hero and I had been here before, not that long ago, but Edward had expressed a wish to drop in here on our way and it was an interesting stop for us all.

We arrived in perfect time for the 11.30am tour in English.  Sadly, another 90 or so people were there too.

Never mind, the guide spoke clearly and held everyone’s attention, so we were able to follow and learn quite a bit about the Hohenzollerns, who were the Kings of Prussia and the Emperors of Germany.

There is a small piece of land that is forever Prussia, too.

 

I think I have this self-same photograph at home as well, but since no photos were allowed inside, such a fine view will have to do.  The interior was grand but not quite a special as Neuschwanstein or the Wartburg for that matter, but then this castle is fairly new, having been built around 1850 as a symbol of power rather than a true stronghold or residence.

We were able to see the crown of the King of Prussia and the uniform of Friedrich the Great whose life was saved by a snuff box in a pocket, which took the force of the bullet which might have killed him.  The bullet hole was there in the snuff box to see – except it wasn’t the real snuff box and, one assumes, not the real bullet hole either.  Hmm.

It was pleasantly warm outside, so we settled into a corner of the beergarden for a bratwurst and beer for lunch (well, my hero had to make do with apfelschorle, for which we were grateful of course).

Then we were off again, heading towards Baden Baden through the Black Forest – the Schwartzwald.  Yes, we dreamed of Schwartzwalder Kirschtorte.  Who wouldn’t?

We stopped for five minutes break with a couple of dozen bikers at the Schwartzenbachtalperre dam, where there was a queue for the two or three pedalos available to hire.

Whilst we meandered by the motorbikes, we favoured the red one parked next to us, thinking that “he” could get his mid life crisis kicks by riding the bike bit, whilst “she” could sit in comfort and safety in the back.

Until it rained, that is.

In no time at all we were in Baden Baden and checking into our hotel, a rather grand place which is perfectly located but which could possibly do with a little attention.  Only one of our three rooms were ready – grrrr – even though it was 4.15pm, so we hauled our luggage up into the one and decided to go and explore.

We could hear some band music coming from the gardens opposite so decided to go and see what was happening.  Sure enough, a brass band was playing a few popular tunes to an audience of the type which might be expected to listen to a band concert in the park on a sunny afternoon.  I loved the planting in the flowerbeds and thought the pale lemon and blue was just lovely!

We took our seats at a table in the cafe of the Kurhaus and waited some time to order iced chocolate from a very slow and uncommunicative waiter.  Eventually it arrived and was very good – but oh my, did it take time.

So, off we went to explore Baden Baden a little.  I found it to be a strange city, full of people who seemed to be out of place.  Most, I imagine, are here from somewhere else.  Many are overdressed, in a flashy sort of way, and I found myself wondering how it is that a woman such as the one above can put some much time and effort into her appearance and choice of clothes, only to have her partner walk alongside in shabby jeans, a scruffy shirt and a pair of trainers?

As for this colourful lady with an abundance of what my hero refers to as “I’m wacky, me” hair, we encountered her several times over, first at the band concert and then again a couple of times in the town.  I can’t imagine why she caught our eye, really.

We chose to eat dinner in the Lowenbrau beer garden, making the most of the last few evenings when we can do such a thing.  We made our choices but sadly, none were really up to scratch and the place and the food they served was a disappointment.

Yes, we might have sat at a table which claimed to be a square metre of Bavaria, but we felt sure that our Bavarian friends would have disowned the apology for Bavarian food which was served.

So we returned to our hotel.  Edward’s room was finally ready and we each went our separate ways – not to do email, which is an horrendous price, but to read and relax.  I can’t really say that Baden Baden appeals to me on this visit, mostly because of the people who are here.  Flashy dressers, noisy out of towners and the very rich – not really our kind at all.

Perhaps the answer lies in the magazine which I picked up in the foyer of the hotel?

Thoughts from Zürich

It’s been our last day here in Switzerland for the time being and somehow, we’ve found so many things and thoughts to bring home with us.  We needed the umbrellas again this morning, sadly, but thankfully the weather brightened up this afternoon and though we weren’t confident enough to leave them at home, we didn’t have to use them.  In the picture above, they are dripping into the stand at the Fraumünster, whilst we perused the windows by Marc Chagall, which we love.

Crossing over the bridge in search of the last couple of things on the list, we found a few ducks in the fountain which prompted us to smile and to get the cameras out.

Looking more closely, there was a reminder on each one:

Life is good.

Can’t argue with that one.

Over the river, in the Bookbinders shop, we’d admired these colourful boxes as we passed by the other night and wanted to take a closer look at them when the shop was open.  We spent a happy half hour or so in there, making one or two little purchases and noting the message beautifully written on the wall.

Mmm. 

I agree with that one as well!

We spent the rest of the day filling in one or two gaps and rounded it off in the Zeughaus.  We missed Amy, who returned home this morning, and raised our glasses to her before coming home to pack our bags for the homeward journey.

We’re not quite ready for home yet and still have one or two adventures up our sleeves, but for now, it’s uf Wiederluege, Ciao and Tschüss and Merci vilmal to Switzerland.  Tomorrow, we’ll be hearing HochDeutsch once again, albeit with a Schwäbisch accent.  We’ve had a great time here and take home so many lovely memorable moments.  We’ve been so busy having fun that we are way behind on our journals, but no matter.  There will be time.  They will be done, for sure.  But for now,

Bis spöter!

Umbrellas on the train

Well, we’ve been so lucky so far, we could hardly complain that it’s raining today.  It wasn’t when we set out for Rapperswil this morning, planning a fairly easy day without Amy and Edward, who had decided to spend the day in the city before Amy returns home tomorrow.

But by the time we’d got there and had a coffee, the rain was coming down pretty hard and we were getting wet in spite of our umbrellas.

We put a brave face on for a while and managed a quick look around, but soon decided our best option was to make our way back to the station and go somewhere else.

It wasn’t just the weather: Rapperswil hosts a big “SeeFest” this weekend, with a three day party by the lakeside, so it wasn’t as if we could enjoy the view of the lake, either.  So, we made our way back to the station and returned to Zürich by train.

We got off the train a little before the city centre and finished the journey by tram, thereby avoiding the Hauptbahnhof altogether.  It wasn’t raining quite so hard in the Bahnhofstrasse, but we scooted into Globus for a happy hour or so, browsing.

The Panorama Knife amused us, though we remain unconvinced of its effectiveness in cutting.  Still, it looked good and the matching wooden board was beautiful.

Mary and I were very taken by the Sal-y-Limon bracelets there too.  They were arranged en masse and the glorious block of colour caught our eyes immediately.  As always, though, one isn’t really enough, sadly.  But a collection would be most acceptable!

The sentiment on a cushion suggested the right idea.

So off we went, to spend the last part of the afternoon doing a little catching up; blogging, emailing, ironing and generally getting ourselves together.  The youngsters were still out shopping, so we picked up a little something for afternoon tea and came back to the flat.

On a rainy afternoon in Zürich, what better accompaniment to afternoon tea?