Knotty Ewe On the Land

First off sorry I’ve been awol for the past few days.  I’ve been fighting a cold and it’s been all I could do to get around all the sites before collapsing into bed for sleep.  I’m feeling much better now and have so much to tell you about our past few days in Dublin.  So, this might take a bit as we’ve been doing lots (adding to my state of collapse at the end of the day!).

On Thursday around lunch time we arrived safely in Dublin. After taking the convenient city AirLink bus into the city centre, which only takes 30 mins, we dropped our luggage at the hotel (Charles Stewart Guesthouse) and headed out as our room wasn’t quite ready.  It was a low key afternoon spent running errands like getting cold meds from a pharmacy and a local SIM card for my cell phone.  Late in the afternoon we did the hop-on-hop-off bus tour in its entirety as an orientation on the things we most wanted to see in the next 2 days.  Since the bus ticket was good for 2 days we made use of it for transport the next day (we actually heard the commentary for one section 3 times in the end!).

We actually very quickly figured out how to distinguish the locals from the tourists – locals walk on the left, tourists on the right and locals don’t wait for crosswalk signals to turn green.  For some reason the cross walk signals take forever and aren’t synchronized with the car signals.  It is helpful that on the pavement they tell you which way to look for cars (“Look right” or “Look left”) so you just look and go.  Such a difference from Germany where we saw a police car pull over to give some people a warning for jaywalking when there were no cars around.

Yesterday was our first full day here and we made good use of time.  Most of the primary sites are in the city centre which is compact and easy to walk around.  First stop was Trinity College Dublin (founded by Queen Elizabeth I to help civilize her Irish citizens) to see the Book of Kells and the Long Room of the Old Library.

The Book of Kells was lovely to see.  I have read about it in various history books and seen pictures but to see the illuminations in context was amazing.  It is also accompanied by a fantastic explanation of illuminated texts.  We only had to do battle with a few massive tour groups even though we were second in line for tickets in the morning!  Here is a borrowed copy of an image if the Chi Ro page (we weren’t allowed to take pictures).

Chi Ro page from the Book of Kells (created around 800 AD)

We also strolled through the Long Room of the Old Library which holds a copy of every book published in Ireland and England since about 1590 (obviously not all in this room anymore!).  They are currently undertaking preservation and conservation work on 90,000 items that have been damaged over the years.  There were big posters explaining how it was being done.  Since at one point I considered doing a Masters in archeology for artefact analysis and worked in archives I always find this information fascinating.

Long Room of the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin

Continuing on our history binge we walked down the street to the National Museum of Archeology and learned all about Irish history from pre-historic iron age through to the middle ages.  I have really enjoyed reading Thomas Cahill’s “How the Irish Saved Civilization” before so it was fun to see many of the artefacts and items he mentions (though honestly I can’t remember all the details of their significance right now – I need to reread the book).

Gundestrup Cauldron (made sometime between 200 BC and 300 AD)

Well preserved body found in a bog. Note his hair is still styled nicely with tree resin based hair product.

Cross of Cong (12th century) – held a fragment of the true cross

Chalice of Ardagh (8th century)

After wandering through Temple Bar and having some lunch (sorry no pictures – it looks like downtown Halifax!) we headed to the Guinness Storehouse brewery.  The storehouse is a 7 floor self-guided tour on how Guinness is brewed and how wonderful it is.   Basically we paid to be advertised to!  We did though get a pint on the 7th floor Gravity bar which has lovely views of the city.  Can’t say I’m a fan though – I just can’t get a taste for the brew.

On our way back towards more central locations we happened across a very cute knitting store.  Of course we had to go in.  I was very happy that they were able to provide a few things I forgot to bring with me to finish off projects.  Last night I was even able to finish a sock that has been in the works since my trip to Malta in February.  It was restart since my needles were confiscated at the Malta airport (Hint to airport security – knitters only get violent when you take away their needles, especially when they have a 6 hour layover a Heathrow!).  Anyway, the Constant Knitter kindly provided bamboo needles so I can now fly and knit!

Lovely shop that provided flying-safe bamboon needles!

First sock finally done!

Flying high on the success of my knitting needle find we headed off to St Patrick’s Cathedral.  There is a genealogy legend floating about that there is a copy of the Moran family crest somewhere in the Cathedral.  Unfortunately despite my best efforts (and asking assistance of the site attendants) I was unable to located it.  It is a lovely place though.  We even attended what was supposed to be Evensong (but it was said instead as the choir is on vacation!).

St Patricks (Anglican) Cathedral

Inside St Patricks

Flags above the choir stalls (note the helmets for the members of the Order of somethingorother).

And thus endeth Day 1 of our time in Dublin (hence the need to collapse!).

Today was our last day in Hamburg and since we blasted through the primary attractions in our first few days we were a bit at a loss for what to do.   We really do need to slow down the pace as we’ll never survive at this rate in Ireland.   The things we did today seemed to be all about our senses.

Deichstrasse near the Speicherstadt

First stop was the Chocoversum which is a chocolate museum in the Speicherstadt that explains where chocolate comes from and how it is processed.  It includes lots of taste tests along the way including right out of a fresh pod before it has been fermented (disgusting), a freshly fermented bean (tasted like manure smells), after it has been roasted (bitter but the flavour is there), and during the mashing, mixing, and sweetening process (yummy).  We also got to make our own chocolate by adding various bits like chili and salt to milk chocolate.

Mum making her chocolate

My yummy results

In learning about chocolate, we unfortunately found out what goes into the stuff we eat.  Quality bitter-sweet chocolate is just cocoa mass (crushed up roasted beans) and sugar.   They confirmed for me that white chocolate is disgusting (sorry just can’t stand the taste) as it is made of 26% milk powder, 46% sugar, and 28% cocoa butter (which is the fat pressed out of the cocoa mass so not really chocolate).

Breakdown of the contents of the most common chocolate products.

After a quick lunch at a lovely outside terrace in the Speicherstadt we were off to our next stop.

The next sense to be challenged was smell.  We visited the world’s only spice museum, Spicy’s Gewürzemuseum which taught all about spices and herbs and where they come from.

Spicy’s spice museum

This evening we are pampering our hearing by going to an organ recital at the Michel (St Michael’s Cathedral).  I’ll let you know what we think.

Yesterday we took it really easy.  Because we had been so active walk and walk all over the old part of the city in the past few days our legs and feet were pretty tired.  We treated ourselves to the hop on hop off bus tour.

We did one ride around the main historical sights.  This included going around the Außeralster which it only took about 20 minutes to get around while it took us 3 hours to walk (with various breaks to enjoy the view and a drink!).  I found out that the houses we admired so much are unsurprisingly amongst the most expensive in the city.  They cost about 10,000 euros a square meter.  Hamburg has the highest concentration of millionaires and billionaires in Europe.  Anyone want to share a few?

We also did another line with the tour that took us through the dock lands and ship yards.  Unfortunately I didn’t really understand the commentary and it was rather extensive.  I don’t really have any pictures to show as it was all pretty much a repeat of previous days.

After some very very late lunch and a walk to the Binnenalster we just camped out and relaxed in our hotel room.  We’re such party animals!

Today was another beautiful sunny warm day perfect for more walking.  We had a later start this morning thanks to my needing to fight with our hotel internet connect to finish my posting from yesterday.   When we first arrived at the airport in Frankfurt I got a local SIM card for my cell phone.  This has been very very handy to help get directions to places and get other information.  I have the Google Translate app which has been very handy to help me translate words I don’t know when my walking dictionary, aka Mum, gives out.  I’m actually surprised how much my German is actually still there.  It got a good workout visiting our friends last week and helped it surface a lot faster.  I can still participate in conversations and make myself understood.   Not bad for living near Stuttgart for three months when I was 16 then not using it since (I’m not going to admit how many years have passed since then!).

Our first stop this morning was the Rathaus which is both city hall and state (Land) legislature as Hamburg has been a self-governing city since about 1100.  Unfortunately we weren’t able to take a tour or see much as they were in session.  They actually have both Land and Federal elections coming up in September for which there is political advertising all over the place.  Every tree seems to have a sign tied to it. It’s fun trying to make out the slogans – almost impossible with so much slang and double entendre.  They even have a Pirate party!

The Rathaus

The inside of the Rathaus

Our goal for today was to complete the 8+ km loop around both the Binnenalster and the Außeralster (which translate as inner alster and outer alster).  These are two small lakes which lie entirely within the centre of the city and were the original source of drinking water.  They are very lovely and on a weekend afternoon the Außeralster (the bigger of the two) is full of small sailing boats.

The Binnenalster with it’s big fountain.

The Außeralster with sailing boats

Locks on the bridge at the end of the Außeralster. Couples enscribe their names on the lock and put it here.

As we trudged along we saw so many people enjoying the water and the area around it.  Many many runners (some serious folks who lapped us a couple of times!), cyclists and obvious first time canoers on the water.  Of course the houses around the lake are very fancy and beyond unaffordable.  Think Rosedale with a waterfront view.

Needless to say our feet and legs have taken yet another serious beating tonight and so we will try and give them a break this evening.  Our first effort in this direction was choosing a restaurant just outside our hotel and enjoying more local food.

Labskaus – traditional Hamburger dish of minced salted beef mixed with minced salted fish and pickled beets topped with fried egg (Mum had this!)

Schnitzel with mushroom sauce (salad not shown!)

Tonight we are going to relax and let our feet have a break so they are ready to go for tomorrow when they are up for more walking!

Today we spent the day wandering more places of significance from my mother’s early years.  We got up at 5.30 to go to the traditional St Pauli Fischmarkt which is held every Sunday at 5-9.30 around the old fish auction hall.  Arriving shortly before 7 were part of the throngs of people headed there.  Some early risers like us with some locals intent on actually shopping and some going for the entertainment value.  There was also a healthy mix of young people strolling the water front who hadn’t yet made it home after a long night out (and looked a bit worse for it!).  My mother used to come with her father early in the morning to buy fresh fish – with eel from the Elbe river being a favourite.

Entrance to the Fischmarkt

Traditionally the vendors call out their wares.  The food vendors kept calling out deals – they kept putting stuff in the basket which cost 10 euros.  When someone felt they had filled it enough they bought the basket. The guys with the biggest crowds were putting on good shows – the noodle guy had a massive voice.  There was probably enough pasta in a basket for a year.  The fruit for 10 euros for a basket looked like a good deal.  There is a wide variety of products now – everything souvenirs, clothing, fruit, and fish.   I was very tempted to get a basket of cheese – but I resisted!

Fish vendor calling out his deals and haggling with the blond woman.

Smoked eels

There was also traditional entertainment at the market with one man operating a crank organ and another pair playing the accordion and singing old Hamburger folk songs.  Mum was singing along a bit!

After the Fish Market we headed to the Landungsbruecken again to take a harbour tour.  We went along the inner and outer harbours.  It was interesting to see the big container ship terminal and the dry docks.  Our tour boat was a converted goods transport boat that used to be used to transport goods from ships to shore before containers took over everything.  My great-grandfather (Oma’s father) operated such a boat before the war.  We also went through the Speicherstadt area again which was kind of interesting to see from the water.

Cargo ship in drydock

Warehouses in the Speicherstadt

Our tour boat – a converted cargo transport boat like that operated by my great-grandfather.

After we finished the tour we headed north through the connective green spaces of the old botanical gardens to the Planten un Blomen (dialect for Plants and Blooms).  It was such a gorgeous sunny, warm day there were throngs of Hamburger families there.

Of course by this time breakfast was a distant memory so we stopped at a cafe in the park where we tried some “currywurst” which turned out to be sausage drowned in bbq sauce with a sprinkling of curry powder on top.  I suspect this was not the finest example of this dish as it is everywhere.

Currywurst

We happened to be at the pond at 2 when the fountains exploded in a choreographed display to lively classical music played over the loud speakers.

We then walked towards my mother’s old neighbourhood.  She lived at 61 Hütten strasse.  The area was pretty much bombed out during the war though her building and school survived.

My mother’s elementary school around the corner from their apartment.

My uncle’s elementary school just along the street from my mothers.

My mother’s family had an apartment that is where the first two windows are to the left of the front door at street level. Only windows at that time were at the back of the building.

Hüttenstraße today

Across the street from their was entirely reduced to rubble during the war and they used to play there.  At the time it was all pretty grey and run down as a result of the war but now it all looks snazzy and rebuilt.  Across the street on Peterstraße they rebuilt the 16th and 17th century houses that once stood in the area.  The Johannes Brahms museum is now located on this street.

The Brahm’s Museum

Peterstraße

After all this walking it was time for a break as our legs and feet were starting to protest.  The results were what I consider to be comfort food.  Liver dumpling soup for my mother (not really my thing – bad childhood memories of liver and onions…) and for me a plate of sausage, sauerkraut, and spätzle (southern German pasta).  Very yummy when accompanied by more Alsterwasser (which I’ve found out is just a shandy!).  Despite appearance we are also eating some veggies in the form of salad so hopefully we are keeping scurvy at bay (which is necessary since I left all vitamin pills in Canada as they were too heavy!).

Liver dumpling soup

Sausage, sauerkraut, and spätzle

After this we were so full, tired, and sore that we just went back to the hotel and collapsed.

This morning we bid our goodbyes to Anja and her family in Frankfurt as we boarded the train to Hamburg.  We took the ICE (Intercity Express) direct to Hamburg which took about 3.5 hours.  Despite chaos at the beginning with there not being enough space in our carriage for luggage and there being other people in our reserved seats initially it was a quiet enjoyable ride.

At the Hauptbahnhof in Frankfurt

Once in Hamburg it was very easy to find our hotel, Novum Kronprinz, as it is right across the street from the Hauptbahnhof (main train station).  Though our room is opposite the train station, with the windows closed, it is very quiet (except for the tv going in the room next door).  After dropping our bags we dropped our bags and headed out for some exploration.  Thanks to my uncle who was here in May and shared his pictures with us when he was visiting we already had a good idea of where and what we wanted to see today.

The draw for me personally to Hamburg is family history.  My mother was born here and so I’ve always wanted to come with her to see all the places she remembers from when she was young.  So besides exploring this lovely city we also are going to explore more personal sights.

First stop was the Speicherstadt which was the warehouse district for the merchants in the 19th century.  There are small canals amongst the warehouses built on piles so that goods could be brought right up to them and lifted into storage pulleys that hung from the roof of the warehouse.  Most of the buildings are now being converted into loft workspaces for media and technical companies as well as still used as warehouse space by carpet and spice importers.

Speicherstadt

Speicherstadt warehouses and canals

Speicherstadt – Carpet merchant

Speicherstadt – Brickwork in the passages between warehouses

Speicherstadt – coloured brickwork on the warehouses

We treated ourselves to a break and some lunch on a terrace overlooking the water.  I tried a local specialty called Alsterwasser (beer mixed with sprite) which is very good.  The Alster is the inland lake that is within the city and was the source of fresh drinking water for the city.

We joined the throngs of Hamburgers and their families enjoying a warm sunny Saturday afternoon along the Landungsbruecken which is landing stages for the many passenger boats and ferries which go up and down the Elbe river.  The Bruecken are actually a series of floating pontoons.  You can see the cargo ship yards from the walkway that goes all the way along the water front.

Landungsbruecken

Landungsbruecken

At the western end of the Landungsbruecken is the entrance to the Alter Elbtunnel which is a tunnel that goes under the Elbe river from St Pauli to Steinwerder (the old shipyards).  You have to take elevators down to the tunnel and then back up the other side.  They used to allow cars to drive through.  Seeing the width of the tunnels though I’m surprised any car could ever get through.  It is only for pedestrians and cyclists now. I’ve heard that they sometimes do theatre productions in the tunnels. My mother and her family used to go through the tunnel on weekends to get to a beach on the island.

Entrance to the Elbtunnel giving stats about the tunnel.

In the Alter Elbtunnel

The elevator to take you down into the tunnel and back up. Holds 130 people or maybe 2 cars.

Hamburg harbour view from the Steinwerder side of the Elbe river.

After wandering north from the Landungsbruecken we stumbled across Ditmar-Koel-Strasse where my great-grandparents lived during the war.  It doesnt’t look anything like it did then as it has been greatly gentrified.  My mother remembers it as all being very plain and grey due to it being a poorer area and close to the harbour.  Unfortunately we weren’t sure exactly which house was her grandparents.

One of the main symbols of Hamburg is the St Michael’s Kirche or just known as Michel by the Hamburgers.  This was our family’s church – it is where my grandparents were married and my mother baptized.  We have a wonderful recording of Christmas music of the choir at Michel from before the War that my grandparents have.   It always put’s me in the mood for Christmas.

The Michel

Michel – St Michael slaying the devil over the entrance

Michel – Altar and pulpit

Michel – One of three organs in the church. This one has over 60,000 pipes.

We went up the Michel tower to enjoy the view of the city.  As was getting close to sunset the lighting was very interesting.

The Alster lake

My mother’s old neighbourhood with her’s and her brother’s schools.

The Elbe out to the east.

The Elbe river and shipyards to the west.

As we had now been walking for close on 6 hours we had a break enjoying a beer and wurst at an Irish pub before heading back to the hotel to rest our feet and legs.

I am very much enjoying this time being here with Mum and seeing things which have special meaning for her.  I’m very glad we have the chance to do this together.

This morning we headed off bright and early with the intent of driving the entire length of the Weinstrasse which is a local driving route which winds through the principle small villages of the wine growing region.  We started in the northern part at St Martin in the morning.  It was a lovely small town that seemed very lively with many tourists.  The stores and wine tasting rooms were still opening while we were there so we just walked around and enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere.

Of course as it was late morning we were looking for some kaffee and kuchen.  We found a lovely spot in the sun which served wonderful zwetschgenkuchen (plum cake) for which Mum has an absolute obsession.

Because it was still a bit early and we weren’t really in the mood we continued on our way along the Weinstrasse thinking we would do a wine tasting in another town.  Unfortunately we stopped at a few towns and found them to be absolutely dead.  All of the wine tasting establishments were closed and there were no tourists or people around.  We couldn’t understand what was going on.  After the third such town we gave up and went directly to the southern end of the Weinstrasse at the Deutsches Weintor.  This is a big stone tower built in 1936 to mark the end of the wine region in Germany as the French-German border is close by.

We had lunch on a lovely terrace overlooking the vineyards.   The restaurant was part of the Weintor complex.  It was so relaxing to sit in the sun and enjoy the view.  The atmosphere and food were wonderful but wow it was very very slow service!

After lunch we leveraged ourselves out of the comfy chairs and continued further into Alsace bidding the Weinstrasse farewell.  Our object was the lovely town of Wissembourg.  We had a lovely stroll around.  Unfortunately we were still too full from lunch to enjoy a cup of kaffee at a cafe.

It has been a lovely time here in Lemberg and I am very grateful to Henny for her wonderful hospitality.  It was also lovely that today her daughter Silke could join us for our wine tour.

Yesterday we went for  a lovely long walk in the forest.  We actually started just on this side of the German side of the German-French border in Nothweiler and walked across the green border.  Unfortunately there is no longer anyone in the little house to stamp your passport.

After hiking along for a while we came across a guesthouse and restaurant called Gimbelhof in the middle of nowhere.  After refreshing ourselves with some coffee we headed on our way.

The target of our hike was a recreated medieval castle, called Fleckenstein, on top of a relatively nearby hill (it looks bad but it was only 20 mins walk through the forest from Gimbelhof).

We didn’t climb to the top as we knew we still had to walk 1.5 hours back to Nothweiler where the car was.  In Nothweiler we stopped for a late lunch.  Our reward for all our work was a regional specialty called flammkuchen.   It is the German version of pizza with a very thin crust.  Traditionally it is topped with onions, bacon, and maybe cheese and mushrooms.

It was a lovely bright sunny day so we very much enjoyed sitting on the terrace in the town square.

We continue to visit with Henny here in Lemberg.  We have had fun exploring the area further and visiting with more family and acquaintances.

Yesterday we went for coffee and cake (kaffe und kuche) at a friend’s house.  Annie (our hostess) kindly made her lovely cheese cake against orders from my mother.  Besides the yummy cheese cake (very light because it is made with cottage cheese instead of cream cheese!) there were yummy pretzles.   We’ve been eating so much bread it’s incredible!

Of course before we went to visit we had to stop at the Aldi (a much smaller Walmart – groceries and drygoods).  Mum brought two pairs of reading glasses with her and in the course of three days managed to lose one pair and break the other!  Not a shocking surprise!

I liked the bread dispenser.  You press the button for the type of bun you want!

Today has been all about hiking in the Felswald (Cliff Forest) which is what this area is called because there are so many outcrops on the hills in the middle of the forests.  We are on the edge of the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) here (think Hansel and Gretel territory).

This morning we visited the Berwartstein castle which is build on top of one of the outcrops.  The original parts of the castle date from about 1150 and were dug out of the soft sand stone.

Unfortunately we couldn’t see most of the castle because it is divided into apartments and long stay vacation rentals.  This would definitely be a lovely place to stay and take a walking holiday!

At the foot of the burg (castle) there is a wilderness area where we went for a love walk around the small lake.  It was so lovely to be outside in the forest.

Because it has been so lovely today – sunny and not too hot after the rain of the past two days, I couldn’t resist going for another long walk in the woods after a late late lunch.  Where Henny lives it is a short 10 minute walk until you are deep in the woods again.

It was so lovely to be outside and on my own in the peace of the woods.  The trails are all well marked.  Even in the middle of the woods there are sign posts with distances to the next village.  There are so many people in the woods walking and enjoying them it is lovely.  I also met a few who appeared to be walking between towns as a vacation.  I’ve also heard it is possible to walk the length of the Thames in England from London back to its source.  Walking along the tow pathes between towns sounds lovely.  So many fun things to do – but not right now!

Today was our first full day in Germany.  So our first stop was a group outing to the medieval town of Limburg which was a 45 minute drive.  The town has many lovely half timber houses and a beautiful cathedral.  It is probably best know for its stinking Limburger cheese.  There was no sign of the cheese anywhere though.

Limburg Cathedral

Limburg half-timbered houses

Limburg half-timbered houses

Limburg Cathedral above the Lahn river

This evening we drove two hours to stay the rest of the week with Henny in Lemberg which is quite close to the French border.  To get some exercise after dinner Mum and I walked up to the top of the local “berg” to enjoy the view and see the castle ruins.

Lemberg Castle ruins

A couple of notes –  they don’t all drive like mad people on the autobahn.  Most drive 110 or 120 km / hr.  Of course there are a few nuts who drive 160 kph in the fast lane.  But it’s not as bad as it is made out!