HEIDELBERG, GERMANY

                            Heidelberg Castle and Environs         

The big attraction in Heidelberg is its castle sitting high on the hill overlooking the Neckar River. There is much to see here and lots of history to learn. The castle ruins are the largest in Germany. The French destroyed the castle during the 30-year war. One tower blown up by the French had 21-foot thick walls! Five dukes lived here, each adding another wing to the castle. The moat has always been dry.

We entered the castle through the Elizabeth Gate which was a birthday gift to Elizabeth from her husband, Fredric. She was the daughter of Mary, Queen of Scots. Elizabeth had 13 children. Her fourth child established the Hudson Bay Company. Another son became George I, and number twelve child became a Hanover. After WW I the Hanover House became the House of Windsor.

The views of the city, river, old city towers from the once fortified walls, and the 200-year old bridge spanning the river were fantastic from the high vantage point.

Berg denotes a castle before the advent of artillery when a structure was primarily used as a fortification. Schloss refers to a castle after fortification when a structure was primarily a residence.

Famous Heidelberg Fass

In the castle cellar sits the Heidelberg Fass, also known as the Tun. The largest wine barrel in the world has a capacity of 58,124 gallons of wine. Today it is more of a tourist attraction than anything else as it is no longer used. It is said that it took 130 oak trees to build the enormous keg.  Stairs lead up to a dance floor built on top of the barrel. Mark Twain apparently visited and received inspiration for a chapter in Huck Finn.

            Heidelberg is a rather small baroque city built on Roman foundations where culture is highly valued. The city is home to Germany’s oldest university, founded in 1386.

            We learned about several old historic buildings and churches  in the heart of the city before moving on to the university. A rather unusual feature of the university was its Student Prison, which functioned from 1712-1914. Mostly well bred, rather well-to-do students attended the university. Punishable offences included dueling, brawling, practical jokes, drunkenness, extinguishing street lamps, and chasing citizen’s pigs down alleys.

We were told, “Students actually liked to be sent to the student prison as it was such a lark. The first two days they were starved on bread and water, but after that they could have food brought in. Water came from a well in the courtyard. Visitors were allowed. The boys continued to attend classes. Liquor was not banned. The boys arrived with their mattress and linens.”

 The walls were covered with graffiti. There were five cells with an iron bed frame, a couple of tables and stools. Using a bright light and candle-soot the boys fashioned silhouettes. The graffiti is preserved now with a coat of varnish. There are a few stairs up to the prison, but it is quite unique and worth the visit.

For some unknown reason the city of Heidelberg escaped WW II bombings which helped preserve its lovely old buildings.

KELHEIM, GERMANY

                               Kelheim Surprises

            On our way into Kelheim, Germany we stopped at Liberation Hall, nicknamed the drum, built to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Nations’ War by Ludwig I. The Nations’ War was when 18 nations came together to defeat Napoleon. The domed building stands isolated atop a hill. We climbed 85 steps to reach the entrance where we had a spectacular panoramic view of the city and Danube River below.

            Inside is a huge rotunda where, surrounding the base, stand larger than life marble angels, each in different dress and hair adornments. A spiral staircase with an additional 255 steps led to a viewing area at the top of this huge circular monument.  I climbed the stairs and   walked the whole 360 degrees around the top. Occasionally I stepped on a spongy board, which was a bit disconcerting, as I didn’t know if there was a sub-floor or if it was just a good drop down to the base. 

            It is a lovely huge monument, but it seems to be plunked down in the middle of nowhere. Maybe it means more to Europeans  than it did to me. Still it was an interesting little detour.

       Kelheim is located at the confluence of the Altmuhl and Danube Rivers. It is a small fairy tale town that we entered through the old south gate. The 400 year–old city hall was located on the one main street, and right next door sits the new city hall. Pastel painted homes lined the cobblestone street. 

            There is a plague statue and a glimmering golden Marie Ascension statue half way up the main cobblestone street. At the end of the street is a statue of Ludwig I. We poked our head in the 14^th century Maria Ascension Church to view the gothic and stained glass windows.

            At the end of the street just beyond the Ludwig statue we entered the 1607 Brewery. It was my friend’s  birthday so she  enjoyed a celebratory beer. This was during Europe’s unseasonably hot summer but  the temperature in the outdoor biergarten was comfortable.  For the non beer drinkers there was the inevitable ice cream!

            The shopping opportunities for those so inclined were limited, but this lovely, picturesque, quiet, little town was certainly worth the visit to remind us what our busy lives used to be like.

USEFUL GERMAN INFO

                                     German Tid Bits

            In Germany I marveled at how clean the cities were, how nearly all parking was underground, and how we’d seen almost no utility lines or billboards to spoil the lovely scenery.

            Berg refers to a fortress or castle while Burg refers to a hill.

            We were wished a happy fahrt (pronounced fart) all along the way on our bike trip from Munich to Vienna. But before you get all excited, fahrt in German means journey, roadway. So we were being wished a happy journey! We observed farht in many words such as abfarht meaning exit.

            Small villages are charming and very walkable, but full of cobblestones, so good walking shoes are essential.

            A good guide will give you more history than you ever thought possible, and they know it all by heart.

            River boats do get grounded—the river is either too low or too high. It has happened to me twice, once each way. With low water there isn’t enough water to float the boat; when the water is too high there isn’t enough clearance for the boats to get under the bridges. Water levels produce a domino effect all along the river. Boats that have berths stay in them, so even if you could move you’d be stuck for berthing space at your destination. Fear not though, companies who are in the riverboat industry always have contingency plans.

DELFT PORCELAIN

                                       Famous Delft Ware

            I would guess that most of you are familiar with the well known blue porcelain known as Delft Ware. And it is not a far reach to figure that it might come from a place called Delft in the Netherlands. Today I’ll talk about the porcelain.I talked  about the delightful city in early November '13..

            During the 13^th century Delft was a   long-time home port to the Dutch East India Company.

Several small Dutch facilities produced tin-glazed pottery known as Majolica in the 16^th century. The Dutch East Indian Company began importing porcelain from China in the seventeenth century, and it, especially the blue and white, became very popular. The imported Chinese porcelain meant competition, so the Majolica-producing factories started to imitate the Chinese porcelain, plus travel time meant long waits for specific pieces of pottery from China.

            The famous blue and white porcelain known the world over was first produced in the 17^th century. From about 1615, the potters began to coat their pots completely in white tin glaze instead of covering only the painting surface and coating the rest with clear ceramic glaze. They then began to cover the tin-glaze with clear glaze, which gave depth to the fired surface and smoothness to cobalt blues, ultimately creating a good resemblance to porcelain. By 1640 Delft potters began using personal monograms and distinctive factory marks. Many factories were established in beer breweries that had stopped production after a large explosion.

            Delftware ranged from simple household items--plain white earthenware with no decoration to items with fancy artwork. Pictorial plates were made in abundance. Delft potters also made tiles in vast numbers over a period of two hundred years, and still today many Dutch homes still have tiles that were made in the 17th and 18th centuries. 

            Today artists work 3-5 years training to paint the porcelain before they are allowed to paint on their own. Delft ceramics have been an important export product for more than 400 years.Royal Delft, established in 1653, is still entirely hand-painted according to a centuries-old tradition. In the1600s there were 39 factories producing Delft pottery; today three remain with 20 painters.  

            We visited one of the small factories, De Candelaer, where the owner explained the pottery process. Especially interesting was how to spot a fake opposed to  real delft.

            The fellow told us, “Clay for genuine delft is imported from Cornwall, England and arrives in powder form. The first firing takes 9 hours at 2000 degrees. Then it is 24 hours before the mold can be opened. It takes 8-10 days for a piece of pottery to be completed. It is microwave and diswasher  safe.”

            Before leaving the facility and the interesting presentation on the famous blue porcelain most of us helped the city economy. I did my part by doing some Christmas shopping!

ENGLAND'S MOORS

                                     My First Moor Hike

            The first day in Yorkshire, England we woke to cloudy skies and considerably cooler temperatures. I decided it would be a good idea to put on my silk long johns since the trousers I was wearing were lightweight.

I was looking forward to our first moor hike because of the literary romance of the area. We were to hike over the Spaunton Moor to Lastingham, finishing at Hutton le Hole. 

Old iron kilns at top of moor

What a start! The first and really only undulation that day was straight up 1000-feet to the top of the moor.  The cloudy and cool day didn’t tame the steady climb upward over a narrow switchback footpath. Many of us did a fair amount of huffing and puffing, and I, for one, thought we might never make it to the top. But about two hours and two miles later we all made it, only to find it so windy I thought it might blow a couple of the little  people over! We stood in the cold wind near some old railroad tracks for an explanation of the old iron kilns where the iron ore was decalcified to make it lighter for transport.

Fortunately the afternoon was all downhill—gently--over a reasonably good wide path. A couple of days later I learned that most groups are taken up to the moor over this gentle upward route, but our group was deemed fit enough to make the climb up the moor through the pastures!

It got warmer and warmer as the afternoon wore on. Coming down off the moor a stop in Lastingham provided a visit to the old crypt church. Built in 1078 this church is unique to England. Built on the site of a Celtic monastery, it is a shrine to St. Cedd who brought Christianity to this part of England. He is buried within.

     By the time we reached Lastingham I was more than ready to shed those long johns that were under my cargo pants. At first I thought the crypt might be where I’d shed the silkies, but after actually getting there I decided that the church might not be quite the appropriate place to disrobe. However, the deserted church cemetery served nicely. I found a large stone to sit on and in the blink of an eye, one boot and leg at a time I retrieved half of my under garment. My hiking boots were back on so quickly no one knew what I’d been up to and I certainly was more comfortable. With no one the wiser, those silkies made it back to the hotel in my pants pocket!

 From Lastingham it was only a little over a mile to Hutton le Hole where our guide knew the best ice cream stop in the village. This ice creamaholic vouches that it was really good ice cream and was a nice treat at the end of the day.

FRENCH ECO-MUSEUM

                                              Les Landes 

In the early afternoon after biking to Sabres, France we boarded a train for a short ride to Les Landes, an eco-museum. The railroad, built originally to transport logs from the pine forest, has been in operation since 1887. Napoleon gave permission to plant the sandy area with pine trees for erosion control, and it became the largest pine forest in Europe.

As the train rolled along I couldn’t help but notice the many trees that were tapped. The pitch was collected, refined and sent to factories to be used in turpentine, resins, cosmetics, pharmacy and paint cleaners.

The docent meeting our train was quick to tell us, “This museum was established in 1970 and covers an area of 10,000 square kilometers. The L’esgunmas River runs through this land mass.”
            She toured us around the home site area explaining each house. The long steep roofs  to the west to protected the homes from wind and storms. At one she noted, “Notice that the beds are high off the ground and are rather short. Years ago people here slept sitting up as they were very superstitious and believed that lying down was the position for the dead.”

I was surprised to see well established grass growing in the sandy soil. Over hearing my surprise she added, “Sheep were and still are grazed in this area. Their droppings provided good fertilizer which promoted the grass growth. In the fields beyond the fence rye and corn are grown as alternate crops.”

Entrance to Les Landes

It was fun to see real maypoles, and since my visit was the right time of year, I saw many of them on the trip. They are planted on May 1 and remain in place for a month. Friends do the planting at night for newlyweds, anniversary couples, birthdays or any other occasion they can think of. The poles are decorated with all sorts of things—bright colored paper, flowers or whatever the imagination conjures forth. If the recipient should wake and learn who is erecting his maypole, tradition dictates that he must have all the ‘planters’ to dinner.

The museum sheds  light into the  daily farming and shepherding life. Shepherd farmers abandoned their flocks when the area was planted in pine trees and became woodmen and resin tappers.

It was an interesting visit where I saw a couple of new things and was particularly drawn to the fresh baked bread coming out of the community oven!

DANISH MEMORIES

                                 Interesting Denmark
                             

When biking in Denmark, almost without exception, all of our rest/pit stops were at churches. The restrooms were well stocked and very clean. This seemed a bit unusual to me, but the guide knew where all the facilities were located and there was no rigmarole in searching for a key or roaming the grounds to find the common room. It was really nice and much appreciated!

            We ferried among many islands and biked on the islands of Sealand, Fuen, Areo, Langland, Lolland, and Falster over paved paths, streets, gravel, through forest, through many wheat fields, along the sea, and  up and down lots of hills. 

            We rode many kinds of ferries. The largest carried big trucks as well as trains. There were four train tracks on the loading deck. The ferry berthed where the land tracks ended at the end of the pier and the trains just rolled onto the ferry. It was an interesting operation to watch. The smallest ferry was a hand pulled one and an interesting one was the postal ferry.

Kirke means church. We visited many centuries-old churches. Many had frescos hundreds of years old. We saw the oldest fresco in the country, painted in 1120, over the altar at LyngeKirke. Most of the churches were originally Catholic. Reformation came to Denmark in 1530, and now most of the churches are Lutheran. In Texas we look for water towers; in Denmark one looks for the church tower which is always on the highest part of the church grounds. Chevrons in alternating colors are common from floor to ceiling in the graceful arches in gothic churches.

We stopped at Hesnaes, a quaint, charming and uniquely Danish village, to view all the thatched roof houses. Some of the homes even had thatched sides. The thatching was very thick but needs to be replaced fairly often and really is quite a fire hazard.

            We biked through the forest along the Baltic Sea. We stopped at the General’s teahouse. A couple of kilometers inland  there was a manor house. The owner, a munitions manufacturer,  made a lot of money and built the teahouse so each day he could visit it  and have afternoon tea while gazing out over the Baltic Sea.

            The Little Mermaid statue, a gift to the city in 1913 by brewer Carl Jacobsen, is quite small and sits on a stone in shallow water a few feet off shore. She is about a quarter mile from the palace.

            It is always fun to watch the changing of the guard at a palace. I’ve been fortunate to observe the one at Amelienborg Palace in Copenhagen on each of two visits.

           

GUTTENBERG

                         Mainz and Guttenberg  Museum

          

            Mainz, Germany, on the left bank of the Rhine, the third longest river in Europe, has bounced from German to French rule many times. This bustling city, capitol of the German state Rheinland-Pfalz, is home to the oldest castle on the Rhine.

Mainz remained a walled city until the late 1800s. The old city is 2000 years old, the new city from the 1800s. There is a mix of old and new buildings, often side by side, but they blend quite well. Bombing of WW II destroyed 85% of the city. Buildings were needed quickly and the old facades were not added until the 1960s

Our delightful city docent stopped in front of St. Martin’s and said, “This 975 cathedral, was built for coronations at a time when the city had a population of only 2-3000 people.  In the 11^th and 12^th centuries seven kings were crowned in the cathedral. The cathedral completed in 1009 burned down on its dedication day, but was rebuilt in 1036 and most of the present structure dates from 1239. The cathedral escaped damage in WW II bombings, but being made of limestone it is always in some state of repair or restoration.

“The clock is 200 years old. Look at the top of the spire. A single cross designates a church, but a double cross designates a cathedral. Inside, the pulpit will be on the right if it is a church, on the left in a cathedral. Before people could read, monks had different floor tile designs so people would know where they were. Dom means dominate, to the highest power.”

The highlight of my visit to Mainz was the Gutenberg Museum. Johannes Gutenberg was a Mainz native. After inventing movable type he printed 180 copies of the Gutenberg Bible, of which 49 remain and are priceless. His error-free replaceable text revolutionized the printed word.

 A docent is necessary to understand the Bibles displayed in the darkened temperature-controlled room of the Gutenberg Museum, which opened in 2000. The Bibles have no page numbers. The cost of a Bible was four oxen, and owning a Bible in those days was a status symbol. The Bible was delivered as separate pages. Then the purchaser had to take the pages to an artist for color to be added in various places, then to a binder.

Centuries ago people would pay a pilgrim to travel to a place or church to relieve them of their sins. This was called selling indulgences. The pilgrim would return to the person with a coupon or token as proof that he had carried out his mission. Pilgrims often wore beards as they had little time to shave, and beards were seldom seen on men other than pilgrims.

We wrapped up our visit to the museum in a replica of Gutenberg’s workroom where we watched a demonstration on how the press worked. It was a tedious process to produce a single page, but once the page print was set up many pages could follow and it certainly was an improvement over the time consuming task of hand copying a page, which was often done by monks.

It was pretty exciting to be in the place where such history-making events had taken place.