ST STEPHEN'S --PASSAU, GERMANY

                         An Old Historic Church

        

I’ve had the opportunity to visit Passau, Germany at the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz Rivers three times. The first time we were biking, and we just biked on into the city of three rivers. The second time we were grounded on the Danube River because of low wate, so we bused into the city.

            On the first two  visits we ended a city walking tour over cobbled streets and small alleys at  St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the largest baroque church north of the Alps, just in time for an organ concert. St Stephen’s with its onion topped twin towers sits on the highest point in town. There is a third, higher tower. The 1662 fire that destroyed eighty percent of the city also destroyed all of the church except the Gothic nave. 
         Built of sandstone, restoration is always on-going. Many of the large sandstone blocks were being replaced with limestone. Each new block is marked with the mason’s signature with a cross above it. We were told that it takes three months to cut and replace each large stone.

        Italians rebuilt most of the city, including the church, which accounts for the heavy baroque influence. The new part of the city is 400 years old.  Italian baroque is a little less ornate than Romanesque baroque, but you could have fooled me! Baroque churches do not contain stained glass windows.

       During World War II, bombing was confined to  areas around the railroad tracks so the church escaped damage. The fountain in the church square was erected in 1903.

        Inside the church we had time to absorb its beauty. The ceiling is 90 feet high, but in the nave 110 feet high. Statues are nine feet tall while the angels are six feet. The ceiling fresco allowed for no errors as it was painted on fresh plaster. The largest church organ in the world has five organs and 17,774 pipesand 80 miles of electrical wiring!  The 1928 organ is placed on an 18^th century casing.  (The Mormon Tabernacle organ is larger but is not considered a church organ.)

It is the custom in this part of the world to have the cemetery within walls that surround the church. The wall is usually concrete and about five to six feet high surrounding the property’s perimeter. Then each grave in the cemetery has a raised bed for a flower garden. Relatives often tend these mini gardens with great care. Sometimes the family hires someone else to do it and there are people, often elderly women, who make an occupation of just tending these little gardens.

            For 600 years the church was closed to the public and used only by clergy. By 1803 the church had lost a lot of its power and the reigning Hapsburgs returned the church to the people. In the early 1990s the church underwent a 12-million-Mark restoration.(before the Euro currency.)

High water marks are dated on buildings near the river. A bus takes one across the river and to the castle high on the hill opposite the main part of the city. Otherwise the city is very walkable. Passau has a lot of character and a very friendly feel to it.

NOVA SCOTIA

Memories of Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island ---PEI

Historic Pictou

            A replica of the Hector sits in the harbor at Pictou on Cape Breton Island, Canada.

in the historic village of Pictou.  She sailed from the Isle of Skye in the Scottish Highlands with 200 passengers. A piper wanted to sail on the Hector, but had no money for the passage, so the other adventurers took up a collection to pay for his passage.

            He played the bagpipes during the difficult passage to keep everyone’s spirits up. When they landed on the island, Indians greeted them---not sure friendly or otherwise. The piper played a greeting, which scared the Indians who took off running.

            Strolling down the main street of the historic town we stopped several times to read waist high brass markers giving a single historic fact. I thought this was an excellent way to relate the city’s history. The markers were easier to read than a plaque on a building, which is such a common practice. One fascinating tidbit was that chloroform was produced in Pictou in 1848, ----the first time in North America.

Charlottetown

            PEI is the birthplace of Canada dating back to 1864 when there was discussion of a British Union. PEI is divided into three counties: Prince on the west, Queens in the center, and Kings in the east. The Micmac called the island Abegeweit meaning land cradled by waves. About 1000 Micmac reside on the island and the culture thrives here.

In the French River mussel farming is a thriving industry. There are no true rivers on the island, but the brackish inlets are called and named rivers.

            PEI grows potatoes in its red soil, feeding most of Canada its spuds. The 30 varieties grown on the island are grown for food, seed, and the huge French fry industry. Canadian Farms, a French fry processing plant, is the largest industry employer on the island. It takes 27 tractor loads of potatoes a day to run the plant at full capacity!

Part of the gardens at Victoria Park

            Canadian Bloom is a nationwide project of beautification. Charlottetown is covered with window boxes and concrete planters producing gorgeous blooming flowers. A water truck rides the city each day watering the planters. Many pocket parks throughout the city lend an air of spaciousness as well as peace and quiet. There are also many lovely parks.

            Grass covered sand dunes, salt marshes, sandstone cliffs, and red clay lanes rolling over the picturesque undulating countryside has virtually nothing to spoil the lovely scenery. The north coast has 24-miles of beach in the Prince Edward Island National Seashore.

            By far, the biggest tourist attraction on the island is the Green Gables Museum---the house where Lucy Maud Montgomery visited her aunt as a child and is the setting for her stories about the red headed orphan Anne, spelled with an e.

People living on the island are from here, and everyone else is from away.