Four countries in a day

Did you guess?  We set off from Trier this morning, bright and breezy and in no time at all, we were crossing the border.  Please, be impressed by the efficiency with which we can pack the car these days – not a square inch is lost!

Anyway, here we were in Luxemburg and with time to spare, we thought we’d take a closer look.

We parked by a statue of some jolly Luxembourgers though once again, our search for a blue accessible parking space was thwarted.  What happened to European legislation on this side of the Channel, eh?

We followed the walking tour suggested by the tourist office and tried hard to think of a famous Luxembourger.  Famous Belgians?  We can name a few.  But who could we think of from the Grand Duchy?  Sadly, no-one came to mind, so when we encountered two young women from the tourist office standing outside the palace, wearing “Ask me a question” jackets, we did exactly that.  They could name only the heir to the Duchy, Guillaume and his wife Stephanie and what’s more, I was admonished by my hero for asking a question which could only emphasise the lowly status of the country in terms of world rankings.  Needless to say, that could not be further from our intentions and actually, Mary and I had an interesting conversation with the pair of them, learning about what’s great about growing up as a Luxembourger.  Great education, they said!

From the terraces by the modern Palace of Justice, there was a fine view of the lower city, reminding us all of Quebec.  It was a lovely place to spend a few minutes in the sunshine.

 

A little further along, I spotted this column in the distance and zoomed in to take a photograph, thinking I’d find out more later.  I haven’t found out anything yet and have no idea who she is, but I hope that whoever she is going to drop that cream pie on is ready and prepared for it!!

Our next stop was the cathedral with a collection of interesting and curiously shaped spires.

My eyes went immediately to the ceiling.

Then to the stained glass, both old

and new. (ish)

We were curious about the language – meng stad, especially when I spotted the three dots above the M in Luxemburg.  Is it a real linguistic form or a mere advertising gimmick?  Need to know (and will find out…but not now!)

Time was moving on and we needed to be on our way.  We hit the road again and passed into Belgium without further ado.  Not really a great deal to say about that.

The roads were pretty busy and there were quite a few heavy lorries making driving a challenge for my hero, but he coped of course!  Filling the car was another matter, since for some reason, the filling station demanded pre-payment – not that they explained that to anyone first, of course.  The result was that several people were trying to get the pumps to work with no success at all and there was much shrugging of shoulders and puzzled expressions until we heard the magic words “il faut prepayer” or whatever. 

Tiens!

Even the French pair at the pump beside us were perplexed and for once, there was a distinct entente-cordiale in this part of the filling station.  Doesn’t take much more than a weird Belgian practice to foster that, then!

Shortly afterwards, we were in France and almost at our destination: Lille.

Our hotel is near – almost in – the Grand Place and the decor so bold that I’m a little worried that the triffid will give me a hug in the night.  Hopefully, George and the other travelling companions will keep an eye on it.

The view is pretty good though.

We spent the afternoon wandering about and since Mary hasn’t been here before, we saw things through new, Californian eyes.  Yes, it is indeed a pretty spectacular place.

Of course, we’ve shopped at La Droguerie, too.

Our last dinner of the trip was rather smarter than we’ve been accustomed to of late, at L’Ecume des Mers.  Had I not ordered two courses which needed much mircosurgery and excavation, then we too would have been smart.  Still, the crab and the huge prawns were delicious and I’m sure no-one really noticed the splatter marks on my clothes (and on those around me)  as we left.

Goodnight from Lille!

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?

Going with the flow

We decided that, rather than simply zoom down the motorway to Zürich, we’d take in an interesting town or two along the way.  But, deciding on a route was proving to be a challenge, so we decided to simply go for it.  See what happens.  Go with the flow.

Anyone who knows us will know that’s pretty unusual.  We must be in holiday mode!

The first unscheduled stop came as a result of spotting the word “Limes”.  Being the non-historian that I am, it meant nothing to me, but to those in the know, it was a “must see”.

So, I had no idea that there had been a “Hadrians Wall” kind of structure built by the Romans across Europe called the Limes.  Here, in Aalen, southern Germany, there was a huge cavalry fort connected to the Limes and this was the site for a large museum.

This “wall” wasn’t really anything like Hadrians Wall and was more of a wooden stockade with watchtowers along the length of it. 

Models helped those like me to envisage the structure and though there was a great deal of historical detail, for me, it was the smaller things which attracted my attention.

Like the beautifully preserved builders stamp on the brick made by someone from the 8th legion.

Or the manner in which the stonemason squeezed a longer word into his work than he’d allowed space for.  Don’t you think it’s good to know that such things happened to the best of craftsmen?!

And what is it about shoes which make them so poignant?   Perhaps it’s that they are such personal items and their relative size tells quite a story about the people who wore them?

Anyway, pleased to have seen this place, it was time to move on.  Who knows what might be found just a few miles down the road?

Aha!  This looks interesting…

The Steiff Museum is here, just off the motorway and we can’t pass by without taking a look, can we?

The story begins in Margarete Steiff’s workroom and is a little creepy.  Several of those things begin to move and fly about, even though there was no-one there.

But really, the place was very clever, for no sooner had the history been told, than the doors opened and we found ourselves in a soft toy workshop of today, and our guide for the presentation was the elegant chap in the picture above.

Then, when he’d said all he had to say, the whole room rose up to the top of the building – we’d been standing on a lift platform and this was a clever way of maintaining visitor flow through the exhibition.

Actually, the rest of the top floor was geared towards children, naturally, with huge animals for them to climb upon and snuggle against.

We found the floor below a little more interesting, since it showed the Steiff collections from the early days until now.  There were quite a few cuties on show!

Finally, into the workshop, to see different stages of the process.  This woman was stuffing heads, taking far longer than one might think to ensure every little corner was full.

I liked the wall hangings – actually pattern pieces of all kinds hanging there all around the workshop.

There were some samples to handle, too.  The overall theme throughout was “quality” and there’s no doubt that anything leaving the Steiff factory is going to be first class.

The exit was, of course, through the gift shop.  We passed this little chap right by, though he might have been a smaller, younger cousin of Anton, back home!

So, onto our next stop, accompanied by George.  Whether his full name is George Alexander Louis or not remains to be seen, but for now, he’s George.  Plain George.  And very sweet he is too!

We decided that there were to be no further stops, that we needed to make straight for Zürich now, because Edward and Amy had texted to say they were on their way.

Lake Constance was looking beautiful in the afternoon sunshine, but we pressed on, over the border and arrived at our apartment in Zürich around 3.30pm.  Edward and Amy arrived shortly afterwards, around 4.30.

And now we are five!