Just Another Sunday Afternoon in Franconia Slideshow

Just Another Sunday Afternoon in Franconia Slideshow: TripAdvisor™ TripWow ★ Just Another Sunday Afternoon in Franconia Slideshow ★ to Ansbach. Stunning free travel slideshows on TripAdvisor

I fell in love with Ansbach...

nothing a little mystery will do for the soul!

This past weekend wanting to get out of the Wonung (apartment) and do something, I took out the map and started looking up the towns that are around Nuremberg. The ones most people don't talk about.  Jack Pot.  The town of Ansbach intrigued me.

The most interesting thing was a story of a young boy, Kasper Hauser.  I had never heard this story but apparently it is quite well known and the phrase " a real Kasper Houser" has been used many times to convey the meaning of a mysterious child with an unknown past. hmmm He is mentioned quite often even on our side of the pond; In the book Fahrenheit 451, the show Smallville and even Susan Vega wrote a song in 1987 about him. Thousands of books, poems, studies and songs have been written in German as well.

The monument, dedicated in 1981, shows the “European Child” in two different versions:
Once as the person that surfaced in Nuremberg in 1828,
and once as a young gentleman who was murdered in the castle gardens in Ansbach in 1833.

A small boy was found wandering the streets in Nuremberg in 1828 carrying an unsigned letter addressed to the captain of the Calvary. The letter talked of his upbringing in solitary confinement and secrecy. He was later brought to Ansbach to live...mystery surrounded him all his life and he died a very mysterious death.  Many believe it was from a self inflicted chest wound other and assassination attempt, he was believed to be the crown prince of Baden and legitimate son of the grand duke Charles, kidnapped and lead off to secure succession ob the crown to the offspring of the morganatic wife of the grand duke, the countess of Hochberg. To really understand the story have a look http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaspar_Hauser.  I spent hours reading all the accounts.  Who doesn't enjoy a real mystery?

the letter he carried with him

the spot in the Hof Garten where he was mortally stabbed;
                                the inscriptions
"On this spot an unknown was murdered by an unknown"

Despite DNA tests and numerous books and studies, his real origin will remain an enigma, and probably will stay a mystery with no answers.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon, wandering the streets where this mysterious child lived.  I myself think he was a fabulous storyteller (a hem...liar). Okay maybe a bit of doubt.

The town of Ansbach itself is full of History and one could spend more than a day wandering the streets and gardens.

We visited the Hof Garten to see where Kasper Hauser "did himself in " and found an amazing Orangery and gardens.  I think I need to have a Orangery when we return the US of A!

The Herb Garden caught my attention right away.  I do love gardening and the art of the perfectly arranged shrubbery and herbs of the old English Gardens has always been of great interest.  Who knew that right her in this garden We would find the Good Ole Dr. Leonhard Fuchs.  He was the personal doctor of the Margrave Georg von Brandenburg right here in Ansbach from 1527-43.  At that time medicine were based mainly on what was found in nature. He did extensive work on healing and his information was collected and put together in a book, which made him the 'father of botanic"  In the year 1696 Charles Plumier the royal botanist to king Luis XIV discovered a plant in now Haiti and named it after Fuchs...Fuchsia! hmmm good to know.

Fushia plants for Dr. Fuchs 

The Orangery forms the Architectural focus of the Court Gardens Built in 1726. an orangery was a building frequently found in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th -19th centuries. Very similar to a greenhouse or conservatory, the name reflects the original use of the building as a place where citrus trees were often wintered in tub under cover, surviving through the harsh winters. Here there is an assortment of lemon, Seville orange, olive, pistachio, and laurel trees all in the white tubs.

I'm just saying...

even with an English chapter in the user guide
I have a hard time with this lovely ofen

Nuts! I am just saying it is nuts.  Did you ever have one of those days where everything was a bother?  Well let me tell you!  I woke up last night and the clock said 0:43, (okay so what the heck happened to the hours?) the temperature in my Haus is 28  and my dinner cooked at 190.  Everything just seems to be so much work.  Well, when it is one of those days! Then there is the constant 6 hour time change I need to think about from here to there, the broken wine glass, the table runner I shrunk and faded because I put the washer on 40, not kalt. grrrr, and did I mention it is HOT in here.  It is not even 10 in the morning yet.  Well at least until 12 I don't have too double take the clock ha ha. I walked home with 3 large bags of heavy groceries, my bed is too close to the floor, there are NO screens on the windows and I keep trying to catch the little bugs that they don't supposedly have here ha ha.  It isn't so bad but one needs to vent once in a while and well I guess this is my once in a while!

I was a bit afraid to clean up the glass I broke because - one should not run the sweeper during quiet hours 13 -18. But run the sweeper I did, because it would have been much louder if I had stepped on one of the million pieces of glass.  It hit the granite counter top and when I went to catch it, yes I know now that it is NEVER a good idea to catch a broken glass, I cut my finger. I really couldn't believe there wasn't a piece bigger than a large fingernail.  Good grief. Thoughts of trying to find a doctor in this town rushed through my head as I saw my finger bleeding. "Only a flesh wound silly put a Band-aid on it and get on with it!" I bought a new toilet bowl freshener and silly me tried to take the plastic wrap off, who knew it wan't suppose to come off.  In a country where you literally separate the wrapping from the cheese.The paper peels away from the plastic and then you put them in different containers to recycle. Why on earth would you wrap a toilet cleaner in plastic?  Because it washes away silly!

I did however remember to bring my own bags and my Euro coin.  If you don't have a coin you will not be able to free one of the carts to grocery with.  I do love the carts as all 4 wheels are independent and it is quite easy to slide it around - hold on...bug - I need to catch in-front of the computer screen....missed it. Where was I, oh yes the runaway carts.  They are quite a joy when you are in a mood! I decided just in spite of it all to go ahead and buy my Campbell's Tomato soup for 5 bucks!  Why the heck not, the German soup was not much cheaper and I had mentioned earlier I was in a mood!!!!

I must admit I am feeling a bit better after venting, of course the Macchiato and chocolate might have been the trick. Grrr guess I will need to walk those K-cals off now hmmm

until next time

tschüß

I think I need a drink!

I am getting to old for new things. Okay I am not THAT old but really. Why do I do these things to myself.  I decided it was time to go get my hair cut and colored, yes I color my hair it doesn't grow in blonde and brown strips but I won't say it more than once.

Just look at the size of the plug!  220 is what your washer runs on

To start with I burned the heck out of the hair on the top of my head right after coming over here.  Germany has a much higher voltage than the US when it comes to appliances.  You would have thought when we lived in Dusseldorf and I melted my US curling iron, literally had to throw it out it smelled so bad, I would have learned a lesson but no.  I had gone out and bought a Germany curling iron, one that takes 220 or whatever it is over not 110!  And proceeded to burn a nice little patch on the very top of my head.  Instant curl!  Anyway I have a tendency to get sidetracked....after being here a month it was time.  I found a place across the street. A bit on the pricey side but the clientele coming and going seemed to look pretty good when they were done, so I stopped in for an appointment. Luckily there were a couple of young cosmopolitan looking girls that spoke English, well sort of, and I made my appointment.

This morning at 9:55 I walked across the street with my stomach in a knot.  I kept thinking what if my hair turns that lovely shade of Germany red that I see on all the older ladies or worse yet falls out or burns up?!  And what if it is cut too short and I look like a boy, well that can at least be addressed and as David so lovingly said "who do you see here anyway?"  Really he has apparently never been a 40 something year old women living in a foreign country needing a dye job! I sat under my black cloak with my hands folded in prayer for 2 hours. Yup you got it. They didn't put me under the hairdryer which I guess is good, with my luck I would have gone up in flames!  So after 20 min of not enough change they bring out this thing on wheels and roll it up behind me.  It was  a heat lamp but honestly it felt like someone left the door open in Texas on a 100 degree day.  Yet it worked and my hair did not burn up or turn red!  Thank goodness for small wonders.

An hour later and a lot shorter, I was done.  A total of 3 and 1/2 hours. I know I said I don't do anything over here but I didn't mean NOTHING...well okay maybe nothing but I was starving and was eager to get home to my Mango-Cucumber salad before it spoils, but that is a whole different blog. grin grin.

I went to pay praying it wasn't more than what I was quoted the day before - it was and I almost had a heart attack.  David keeps telling me it is funny money (the money here is all different sizes and colors) and don't even try to do the exchange rate or you will blow a fuse! Soup is 5 American bucks a can here!  Okay so I give her my card and punch in my pin and it is FALSCH...good grief I feel like thief. I try again FALSCH.  I tell them not to worry I have cash...which I did but was hiding for my clothing money.  Sorry David but a girl has to have "sock money".  Now my stomach is really flipping out.  She says "don't you have it written down?" and I say n"No I use it all the time."  So if I try again and it doesn't work will the German police come and take me away or worse yet lose my card? Forget it...I dig into my secret stash and empty it completely out. Plus the 50 Euro he tells me to keep in case of an emergency and this in my opinion is quite the emergency.

I am now officially POOR!  But hey I look pretty good!
Oh you have to love living abroad! so at least the Wine is really cheap over here!  Prost. Zum Wohl!

In our own backyard...

A nice quiet weekend in town. And I do mean quiet. The people who live above us have 4 kids in the same size place as us! And the little girl who we jokingly call Pima (pain in my - well you get the idea) Runs all day long from one room to the next. No lie I am not exaggerating one bit. I hear thump thump thump thump and then it almost always ends in hysterical crying. Amazing at first but not so much now! They must be out of town, I hear NOTHING. I told Dave maybe we should stay in all weekend ha ha.... So back to the quiet weekend.

We had a nice walk around town on Saturday purchasing some wine, phone min., and a few groceries from the big market. Then off to dinner at a Dave's boss's house. He does the cooking for his family, and it was very very good! Sunday we headed out for a bit of sightseeing "in our own backyard". Nuremberg's city center is pretty big and it is amazing how much there is to see. I had read about a fountain that I wanted to visit so we headed out taking a different path every time we could. We found we could walk along part of the city fortification and while up there found lovely gardens and views. Then there were a couple of churches and another one of the city's towers we had not seen, so off we went. It was rather funny when we finally got the bottom of the city and found the lovely fountain we found out we were literally on the corner of where I shop every week! Too funny. You just never know what is just around the corner here. And really you shouldn't miss a thing.

St. Elisabeth, Catholic church

St. James on the left, the town tower in the background and St. Elisabeth on the right

the Marriage Carousel fountain - created by Prof Jurgen Weber,
according to the poem by Hans Sachs in 1541; "Bitter Sweet Married Life".
Hans Sachs himself in standing on the corn. hmm

Bitter-Sweet Married Life
god be praised and honored
who has given me a god-fearing wife
with a home I have lived for twenty-two years
God gave me a home even longer
although in my married life
both sweet and sour have often happened
'My wife' is heaven and hell, devil and angel, peace and strife.

looking down from the wall to one of the entrances to the city...in the background
you can see the Nuremberg Castle and another on of the towers

a long day of walking needs a little refreshment

Am I settling in yet?!

That is a very good question.  I spent the morning writing my grocery list in German, most of it I knew but there were a few items I had no idea about.  Then I spent a half hour trying to figure out what to buy for sour creme.  As noted by others the translation is Sauer Rahm, or sauer Sahne; howerver, they SHOULD NOT be confused with what I am looking for.  I have used Quark which is thicker than the sour tasting cream above but in my hunting I found that there is something called Schmand.  I will look for that and see if this part of life gets any easier.  grrr

Last night Dave and I went out with another American. I was actually feeling a bit normal. If that makes sense.  We took the U-Bahn (subway) into the Alt Stadt for a nice Italian dinner.  Well I ordered a glass of Cabernet.  Easy I thought. I knew I didn't screw that up.  The waiter brings me a Chardonnay. Hmm am I losing my mind - in my talking away (which I haven't done much of here of late) did I get distracted and ordered a white wine?  Nope the guys said I had not.  The waiter left and returned later with my Cabernet, only to tease me the rest of the night saying CHARDonnay hmm and I said back, with a smile, CABernet. I get it and actually it was kind of funny after a bit.  The older Italian waiter would be walking buy and grab my shoulder and say chardonnay, through out the evening.  I think I will go back this weekend and order a CHARDonnay just to mess with him ha ha. So...we had a nice dinner, a couple of drinks and then headed out for Gelato...good choice. We decided to walk home and stopped on the way for a nightcap. Here they open the walls on the street so even when you're inside you feel as though you are outside.  I decided to try a Caipirini or something like that. The national drink of Brazil. It too was good but did give me a bit of headache today.

So here is a rather funny story relating to the German grocery store...I think I have mentioned in an early post that it really isn't the German way to buy more than a few items at a time.  You get bumped with the cart behind you and the idea of personal space is practically non-existent.  And, they take your items and fly them through the scanner expecting you to throw them all back into your cart - don't take time to bag them in the bags you brought - you do that later, out of the way of the hurried German folk behind you in line.  Need I digress, soooo the gentleman we had dinner with came up with a BRILLIANT plan, did I say brilliant?  He scratches the bar code (not the numbers) so that the 2nd or 3rd item from the end will not scan and the cashier as to slow down and punch in the numbers, giving him enough time to load his goods and get his money out.  I laughed so hard I almost feel out of the chair.  Then get this, he told his German co-workers and they all sat their with their mouths open.  I said you have lost the respect now.  But after a moment and lifting up his jaw one of the German's indeed said it was a brilliant plan!  Oh the simple things in life.

It is rather interesting to me...I think I have way too much time on my hands. But all of this is wonderful, don't get me wrong. I am blessed to be here and able to see the world. But... and here it comes...I don't want to sound ungrateful....but...when the things in life that bring you the most joy are God and family and it is hard to find a church (in English with English speaking people) and your children and extended family are not with (and yes I mean the dog too) it can be very unsettling - To displace from a settled condition; disrupt. So maybe I am not settling in, but I am taking it all in day by day, or one dinner out at a time, and maybe at some point things well feel more "normal".


I am at least going to be a bit braver at the grocery store!


tschüss

Photos photos and more photos...

I have a degree as  professional photographer and graphic artist.  Years ago (ahem) when I was finishing up my studies I had the opportunity to study Photography in Paris.  I remember the professor telling us we had to take 2 rolls of film a day.  I was wondering how the heck would I be able to shoot 2 whole rolls a day while studying abroad.  Back then, (clearing my thought again) a large roll of film contained 36 frames.  I was shooting 2 rolls of black and white and 1 roll of color everyday.

Well we just got back from four days in Saxony, Germany.  First we stopped in Seiffen and then over to Dresden.  I do believe I shoot 579 photos on this trip.  Good thing photography has come so far.  My digital camera lets me shoot any and everything and I don't have to worry about missing a shot or running out of film!  I also don't have to worry about spending hours in the darkroom developing the film and printing my photos. No worries I won't post all 579 of my photos.

our hotel Buntes Haus

our room number, smoker priest

What a fabulous trip.  I feel in love with Seiffen. Have the artist background going into the mountains to find a town that has changed very little from it's origins in and of itself was wonderful. Then fill the town with artisans that carve the most delightful wooden creations and you have a wonderland of sorts.  The whole town is like a storybook.  Almost every building has some sort of wooden creation outside - many of them life-size!  Our hotel was like a doll house.  Every door had a smoker under the number.

Dave checking in

"History of “Rauchermen” (Smoker) For five thousand years, incense, like gold, spices and gems, has been among the most precious gifts of kings and emperors. It has also been closely connected with religion. The bible says in Matthew 2, verse 11, about the journey of the Three Wise Men to Bethlehem: “and opened their treasures and offered him gold, frankincense and myrrh”. The festivity of the Three Wise Men is still celebrated in Germany on January 6.Christian and Germanic customs together with superstition made people believe that the evil spirits of the “Raunaechte” (longest nights of the year) could be driven away by noise and light. Once the devils and evil spirits had left the house fine incense was burnt to bless hearth and home.

bigger than life Angel and Miner - pyramid

The old sign: C+M+B

is also today written in chalk over the front door would be the magic spell that keeps all evil away throughout the year.

After the 30 years-religious-war (1618-1648) that was fought in the heart of Germany medieval piety and folk art combined to bring about new forms of burning-incense. Thus, the “Rauchermen”, carved and turned from wood, were born in the Miriquidi Forest, later known as the Erzgebirge. Over the years all kinds and types of Rauchermen were designed: respectable and professional people, folk characters, heroes and forest workers." 

even the street signs look like toys

So that brings me to the photos!...

While sitting on the bench waiting with the others....

It was a rather funny start to the day.  I needed a few groceries so I ventured into town.  I decided before getting the groceries maybe I should go all the way into the Alt Stadt for the paper I so desperatly needed and could not find.  I grabbed my cloth bags (not going to forget twice!) and off I went.  A bit too early I must add....so



...as I sit on the bench under the shadow of the spires from St. Lorenz Kirche an older German women wonders down the road. It was something out of an old movie. Dressed in her light blue housedress with pink sweater, brown vest and multi colored old fashioned apron you couldn't help but look.  Under the long skirt peeking out where the most amazingly colored long socks!  She wobbled back and forth as she made her way down the street.  She is what my mother would call saftig (which I always thought meant "large, German women"). Come to mind out I don't think it means anything. I imagined she was off to the market in the middle of her house work for the day's vegetables.  I had walked into town to do the shopping and apparently gotten there a bit too early so I took my seat on the bench and waited.  I have at least a half hour to wait and looking around the bench I am sitting on I am a bit out of sorts.  All my friends are about 20 years older than me. hmmm Oh I hope I brought some change...it is along walk home and if I don't have change I can't use the WC.You need to tip the attendents in the restrooms here!

My bench is getting quite full now. You would think we were waiting to rush the store for some sort of HUGE sale or somthing. Ten minutes to go, as I notice my Haus Frau wondering back up the road with newspapers tucked under her arm, her apron pockets appear to be quite full with who knows what.  Oops now we are lining up at the door...wouldn't want to wait to go in now would we?

Well that was a success. I found paper, of course I had to ask and a vegetable peeler and a couple of really nice red wine glasses.  We got a bit tired of drinking our red wine out of juice glasses!  So off to the clothing stores for a few new scarves.  They are wonderful to have, given the weather is hot and cold all the time.  Guilty little pleasure to go with the shoes he he.  Then back towards home for tonight's dinner.  I was thinking I should stop by the bakery near the house and pick up my daily bread and maybe a little treat.  Apfelstrudel bitte?


So here is the little bag that all German's carry.  It contains the yummy bakery item inside. So seeing as I am in Germany and trying to acclimate I must have one.  Okay then Apfelstrudel it is!


hmm One should not live up hill from town when one must walk into town everyday! The walk = nice legs, the strudel = ...well, big rump!


till next time
I am off to eat my strudel tschoss.

Sunday...

Sunday...we headed out for some breakfast from our corner bakery, zu nehman (to go), then home to watch our Church service via the internet.  After that it was still quite early so we headed into town to see what the hub bub was about.  This weekend in Nuremberg was the  36th Bardentreffen Nuremberg 2011,Germany’s biggest free open air world-music-festival, 2011 What is a Bard? good question. Bards are poet/musicians, and yes Bard is an English word.  hmmm. We spent the day going from one stage to the other and listening to some amazing talent. And yes all while eating and drinking the local fare - Beer, Brats, wine and stone fired pizza.  It was only about 60 degrees and the wood-fire grills and warm almonds made for an amazing touch to all ready great day!

Haupt market

Now on to a short week as we are heading to Seiffen and Dresden next....ewww I can hardly wait!

What a weekend...even the rain could not keep us away.

Saturday morning we headed out to Regensburg. A bit ironic if you really think about it. The day started with me putting on my Gummi Steifels because of the impending Regen (rain) Nope the irony not lost on this woman ha ha. Regensburg is just south west of Nuremberg - about an hour away by car.  We wondered the day away going in out of wonderful old churches and buildings. It is fascinating to think we could stand where Romans once lived around 179.

The history is so rich in this country I never tire of it. The architecture beautiful and the food and drink keeps me wanting more. I was a bit apprehensive about packing up and heading back to Europe, given all the family things going on in my life right now...the death of my father, the engagement of one daughter and maybe the other, weddings around the corner and then the move across the pond.

But God had other plans...the travel is quite a relaxing bonus to all that is going on and I am trying to relax and enjoy it. It was probably good timing and let's face it God's timing is not always ours, but He does know what He is doing.  So I will try and sit back and enjoy the ride.

So with that said I am taking every opportunity to enjoy...He is making it a bit easy at least on the weekends!  Regensburg is a medieval town that is pretty much not changed from the start. The Basilica is unique in that from the outside you would never expect the grandeur that awaits inside.  What a lovely surprise to happen in.  It was not over run with tourist and we really could wander and take in the beauty.  One could spend hours looking at all the paintings and sculpture.

We had another amazing lunch at a quaint Beer Garten down a small road with nothing spectacular on it.  Again another little find. Once inside we could sit and enjoy each others company and rest a bit while drinking some more amazing beer!

Then it was off to the King Ludwig I Hall of Fame - Walhalla. We didn't have the address so we got in the car and followed the river hoping we would happen upon it.  We did. In the middle of the trees up a winding road it stood all by itself.  A replica to Greece's Parthenon. What an interesting visit.   Walhalla is almost a perfect copy of the Parthenon and has virtually the same dimensions: 413 feet long, 165 feet wide, 66 feet high, with its roof supported by 52 Doric columns. The whole inside is marble there are 120 busts of  German greats of literature, art, music, science and statesmanship, covering a span of 2,000 years of history. Okay a bit over the top I am sure but elegant and simple all at the same time. It was certainly worth the 3 Euro to get in. After climbing down and up the stairs - all 258 of them we were ready to hit the road and bid Tschoss...and the Regen came! What timing, what a wonderful day.