Warmer thoughts

Hmmm….winter announced that it isn’t too far away today, and the weather turned grey and cold, exacerbated by having to keep the doors open for the builders who are traipsing in and out in their efforts to replace the upstairs balcony railing.

Our thoughts went back to a couple of weeks ago when we took J's 2 kids to visit her parents in the central German town of Bad Karlshafen.

Bad Karlshafen - known for its natural, hot, salt water thermal baths


The weather was incredibly balmy for the time of year and we used it to good advantage by taking daily walks through the countryside.

Happiness is an empty lane and a stone to kick along it


Investigating black beetles


Seeing the wood for the trees


We now have the fire burning, and thank goodness we’re soon returning to Dubai!

Squirrel bait

While Berlin basks in glorious unseasonal sunny and warm weather, the animals are preparing for winter.

Birds are flying south, and the cranes and geese travelling from the north to South Africa use Germany as a resting point during their journey.

Closer to home, our resident squirrel, Ginger, is busy gathering supplies and storing them wherever possible.

Today she got braver, and J looked up to see her peering into the house through the closed door. Upon the door being opened, and enticed by a heady mix of walnuts and hazelnuts, Ginger ventured into the house to collect her shopping, before scampering back out the door to bury them in the garden!

Click on this image to play the video

She's a fussy squirrel - peanuts are a no-no, broken walnuts are to be eaten immediately, all intact walnuts and hazelnuts instantly become buried treasure.

Ginger grabs walnuts and hazelnuts while the Blue Jay gets the peanuts!


If she becomes any more familiar, she'll be arriving with a packed suitcase and asking to stay indoors for the winter.


We're going to be broke because it's costing us more to buy nuts for the squirrel and birds than it is to buy food for ourselves!


UPDATE: Now we have 2 regular squirrels dropping in, as well as the Bluejay. Our new arrival has been named Van Hazel! The only way we can tell them apart is that on Ginger's left hind leg, she has half a toe missing.

Van Hazel tucking into a walnut

Celebration time!

Eid Mubarak to all our friends and visitors to this blog who are celebrating Eid Al Fitr.

تقبل الله منا ومنكم - may Allah accept from us, and from you. (I sincerely hope that the Arabic is correct, and now with Moryarti's input, I feel better that it is!)




Also:

Happy Diwali to all our friends and blog visitors who are also celebrating this time which, this year, coincides with Eid.

The festival of lights is one of M's fondest memories of Fiji!








A time of joy and celebration for many!

We've been X-Rayed

As I’ve mentioned from time-to-time, J and I are scuba divers, and we love it. We love it even better if the water is warm!

We’ve only just recently discovered X-Ray Mag which is a FREE bi-monthly online publication covering everything there is to know about the sport.

What an awesome magazine! The articles are well written, the images are just spectacular and the information invaluable. Even the advertising is educational and interesting!

There’s also mention of the UAE in Issue #13’s 102 packed pages. On Page 9, there’s a short article about coral regeneration in the Arabian Gulf including Abu Dhabi, and on Page 14, there’s a full-page spread on Fraser Bathgate who has become the first wheelchair-bound person to gain a Course Director qualification with NAUI. Fraser started his diving in Dubai in 1992.

On Pages 5 & 6, there’s an excellent article on diving in Lebanon, and how the oil spill is being cleaned up. Fortunately, it has had little impact on the Lebanese diving companies, although overall they are badly hurting from the lack of patronage. Read the article and then go to Lebanon for some excellent underwater experiences.

One of the great aspects of the X-Ray website is that it allows you to download the magazine as a pdf or as an online magazine with several different options to choose from depending on the speed of your internet connection.

So, all you divers out there – Mme Cyn, Grumpy Goat, Mrs Moryarti and my NZ friends C, C and D&G included – if you haven’t already discovered X-Ray Magazine, go do it!

There's even something there for you on the X-Ray website, AWoS and Mise - singer Kate Melua and her band descended to 303m on a North Sea gas rig to set a record for the deepest performance with an audience! Read all about it here.

I’m off to download the back issues from the archives!

Eau de Cologne

We’re now back in Berlin, although J is on a whistle-stop 2 day business visit to Dubai to sort out some details. So while J is away, M will play – with the blog!

Visiting Photokina a couple of weeks ago also brought the opportunity to go into Cologne (Köln) for a few hours before catching our train back to Berlin.

Before you think that we’ve lost all sense of taste with the border colour of our images, let me explain!

How many of you remember (or know about) 4711 Eau de Cologne? How many of you know that it is actually made in Cologne, and is still manufactured today?

M’s grandmother was an avid fan and user of 4711 Eau de Cologne, and her birthday date was the day after our Cologne visit. I remember standing in her bedroom, holding the 4711 bottle and gazing at the detail of the gold filigree on the label. On the recent visit to J’s parents, we discovered that her grandmother was also a 4711 user.

So, as a tribute to our late maternal grandmothers, we’ve coloured the image borders in this post to reflect the trademark colour of the 4711 label! Displays of the 4711 products could be seen all over the city.

Click on the images to enlarge them in your browser

Upon leaving the train station and walking out into the open air, the most imposing sight greets visitors to the city. The Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) dominates the skyline, exuding a mixture of impressions – fear, wonderment, awe, and foreboding. Cologne is built around the cathedral, and it has the largest façade of any cathedral in the world – it is truly mind-boggling to see the detail and intricacy of the thousands of carved figures, and the actual shape of the building, and take into account that all this work was done mostly by sight and by hand – no computers, no laser alignment equipment, no modern day equipment.

This is what greets you when exiting the train station


The foundation stone was laid in 1498. Intended to be the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne, the church is under the administration of the Roman Catholic Church, but run as an independent entity.


If you’ve read Ken Follet’s The Pillars of the Earth, you’ll have some idea of how long these cathedrals take to build. Generations of families work as architects, builders and stonemasons to complete the construction which can span centuries. The Cologne Cathedral is no exception, taking 600 years and the intervention of the Prussian royalty to ensure that it was finally finished in 1880. The 2 taller spires reach to 157m, and the whole structure is 144m long and 86m wide.

Walking around inside reveals what a masterpiece of craftsmanship and architecture this building is. The exceedingly high naves curved over the top of us – largely unhindered by any ugly structural reinforcement – a true work of engineering art.


Shrine of the Three Kings
Of course, in the cathedral there are many artworks and religious symbols of great significance to the Roman Catholic faith – and also one which transcends denomination to touch all faiths, for here is the resting place of the 3 Kings – The Shrine of the Magi. Also known as the 3 Wise Men, they are thought to have been of Persian descent, and travelled to Bethlehem following a star, to bring gifts for the newborn Jesus.

Placed above the high altar in the cathedral, the 13th century Magi reliquary shines with a golden light and is believed to be the largest reliquary in the world. The graves of the Magi were reputed to have been found by St. Helena on a pilgrimmage to Palestine and the Holy Lands. She took them back with her to Constantinople (Istanbul). Later, they were moved to Milan before being brought to Cologne in 1164 by the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa I.

If you ever get the opportunity to visit the shrine, look at the mosaics on the floor all around the altar. They depict people of different skills. Most interesting is the one directly in front of the altar. In the circle around the main image, are images of women as astronomers, architects, and other careers that would not have been thought to be women's work during the era of the church construction. Unfortunately I couldn't get a photo of it because of the over-zealous minders telling off anyone who wanted to take photos!


After walking around the interior of the cathedral, and getting cricked necks from all the upwards gazing, we decided to go up to where we had been staring.

The Spire
One of the 157m spires is open to the public to be climbed – 509 steps up to the 95m observation platform. 509 of mostly narrow spiral staircase echoing with the huffing, puffing and groaning of gung-ho climbers like us who decided to brave the ascent!

The right-hand spire is the one we climbed


The Bells, the Bells
Halfway up the spire is the Belfry where we paused for a well-earned rest, sinking gratefully onto a wooden bench to wipe the sweat from our brows and gaze at the 12 enormous bells which hang there. In the center of the Belfry sits the Master of all bells, the bell of St. Peter – the world’s largest free-swinging bell weighing 24 tons.

Any bats in this belfry would surely be deaf!


We were lost in the wonderment of trying to figure out how, all those years ago, they made a mould that big, melted enough metal in one go and poured the bell in a single cast. Fantastic. While in the Belfry, we heard the half hour chime on the way up and the hour chime on the way back down. One word – LOUD!

The Spire continued
After our break in the Belfry, we continued to ascend the steeple, finally getting to the observation deck to gaze over the city and stand in the cooling breeze. If they had sold bottled water in the Belfry or on the deck, I would have bought the lot!

Looking up


It was wonderful to look over Cologne with the Rhine River running languidly through it, and to look down at all the buildings surrounding the cathedral.

Looking down


The Treasury
After our descent, we made a pit stop at the nearby café in the square for a glass of cold water and another of cold local beer! The ice cream sundaes looked so tempting, but we were very controlled!

We rested down there!

Rehydrated, we made our way to the door of the cathedral treasury, where we descended into the depths of the church to hunt for relics. We were fortunate to latch onto a guided tour of some detail. The visiting group was from another German Catholic church, and their priest had brought them to Cologne to see the Cathedral. Of course, the information which was given to them was far more detailed than the standard tour patter!

The first vault room under the cathedral


What these vaults contain is truly breath-taking. In the first chamber were reliquaries, chalices, crosses, crucifixes of incredibly intricate and detailed crafting – gold, silver, and precious stones uniting in exquisite harmony.

A ceremonial cross with Limoges inlays


Exquisite reliquaries


The Archbishop wears this brooch and ring for special services


The next chamber held clerical robes of such finery that MamaDuck would quack with delight. Silks, wools, silver and gold thread, precious and semi-precious stones – sewn, woven and embroidered into garments and tapestries of intricacy.

The Tapestry Room


Look at the detail in this tapestry of the Magi visiting baby Jesus – truly wonderful. Semi-precious stones, such as the one in Mary's crown have also been added.



A selection of the clergy vestments on display


Mitres and Altar cloths


In a neighbouring chamber sat some of the restored statues from the exterior of the cathedral and it was great to be able to get a closer look at the detail and to be able to achieve a sense of scale.

These smaller ones, shown here, number in their hundreds around the cathedral exterior and are mostly found in the apexes above the doors.


In this image they are black and unrestored, in 4 rows lining the arch above the heads of the lifesize statues at the bottom.


Leaving the Treasury bang on closing time, we had just enough time to walk through some of the surrounding cobblestoned streets and eat a traditional German meal of sausages, potatoes, and red cabbage - washed down with another couple of beers!


Then it was back to the station to catch the ICE train to Berlin.

Light to non-existent...

...will be the state of our blogging for the next week, while we escape to the middle of Germany for a week with J's kids and parents.

No internet is the main culprit, but we also plan to make the most of the fact that there is nothing pressing for us to attend to in this time.

Meanwhile, you can enjoy the previous post on Schloss Sanssouci, or browse through our archives - or go visit other blogs for a while!

See you on the other side!

Without a care at Schloss Sanssouci

A couple of Sundays ago, J released me from the gardening and took me on a German adventure from Berlin to the nearby town of Potsdam.

From the train station we caught the #91 tram to Schloss Sanssouci. I had no idea where we were going, so you can imagine my delight when we entered the gates into one of the biggest heritage places built in the 1700s, and rivaled only by the Château de Versailles in France.

Schloss (German for palace) Sanssouci was built as a Summer palace by the Prussian King Frederick II, or Frederick the Great, as he was better-known. Frederick loved the German countryside and wanted to grow produce on the land. The whole area is about 2kms long and about 1km wide, and apart from the main palace, there are also smaller dwellings which were used by family members, as well as buildings which served other purposes, such as the Roman Baths and the Windmill for making flour.

We arrived at one of the side entrances and close to the Charlottenhof Schloss which we toured in the company of a Romanian tour guide whose German was served with a thicker than usual accent. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos inside the dwellings, so apart from a few sneaky ones that I took from waist-high, I didn’t get many interior shots.

You can click on the images to enlarge them

The gardens near Charlottenhof Schloss


The quality of the paintings and artworks in all the palaces was sublime. Small 8”x10” paintings on wood lined the rooms of Charlottenhof – images of women and men of various ages, vocations and importance. The woman’s bedroom was kitted out like a Bedouin tent – canvas linings on the ceiling and walls, and all the furniture was foldable and easily transported.

Upon leaving Charlottenhof, we headed for the New Palace. The grounds around the buildings are vast areas of woodland and open fields. We could imagine the royalty out for their early morning rides, or picnicking under the trees, reading, painting and leading the gentile life.

These are aerial treeroots. From a distance, it looked like a cemetery!


Frederick IV had built the New Palace after the 7 year war (1756-63) to prove the Prussian state’s undiminished abilities after the conflict. He didn't live in it, preferring the Schloss Sanssouci for his residence. The New Palace was used for guests, and the large ballrooms and halls were witness to many grand celebrations and parties.

The New Palace
Here, we joined another tour and went from room to room to room, admiring the Rococco styling that was prevalently used at the time of construction. Again, huge paintings adorned the walls. One showed a church service in which 130 important dignitaries of the time could be recognized, including Queen Victoria’s daughter Victoria, Princess Royal, who married Frederick III of Germany and was mother to Kaiser Wilhelm. Another showed a depiction of a Middle Eastern bazaar – a little over-imaginative as it showed women with hardly any clothing!


The rooms were magnificent. One huge room was adorned with rock crystals, semi-precious stones and shells. Another, the Marble Room was a massive space where the balls and parties were held.


After leaving the New Palace, we started walking down the incredibly straight and long 2km driveway that leads from the main gate to the New Palace, with roads leading off to all the other buildings on the estate.

We walked past the Orangery Palace and the Windmill before arriving at the Schloss Sanssouci.

The Orangery - greenhouses for the potted plants and a gallery for Raphael paintings


The Windmill - flour for the Royal Chefs


The main palace sits atop magnificent terraced gardens which somewhat dwarf the building. The terraces are planted with grapevines and rose bushes.

Schloss Sanssouci


All around the buildings and the gardens are marble statues. I have never seen a woman’s torso on a lion’s body before, as in this statue, and I was amazed at the delicacy of the carving. Look at the cherub in the foreground. See how his head is covered in the veil-like material? All this is solid marble! What masterful craftsmanship.


The Roman Baths, in idyllic tranquil solitude, are set away from the palaces. I could picture the horse-drawn carriages rattling down the roadways from the palaces to bring guests to the baths.

The Roman Baths
Schloss Sanssouci is definitely a place where you can spend at least 2 days to properly tour all the buildings and walk the vast gardens. I’m hoping that we get the chance to go back and see what we missed the first time!