travel – Page 5 – Retreading for Retirement

Cologne, Germany, and Kinderdijk, The Netherlands

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June 13, Cologne, Germany

The main feature of this city is the Gothic style Cologne Cathedral. Its construction was begun in 1248 but was stopped in 1473, before completion. Work began again in the 19th century, and the cathedral’s original plan was completed in 1880. Although badly damaged during World War II, it remained standing. Repairs were completed in 1956.

Rain fell steadily during our Cologne tour and we therefore have no outdoor photos of this massive cathedral, which is 474 feet long by 283 feet wide, with towers approximately 515 feet tall. It’s the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe.

However, you can get a sense of the cathedral’s size from this interior shot:

I’ll have to go back to Cologne some time to visit the Roman Germanic Museum, located near the cathedral. The Romans established a major settlement here around 50 CE. In 1941 workers building an air raid shelter discovered what is now known as the Dionysus Mosaic, a well preserved art work created around 220 CE. The Roman Germanic Museum was later built around the mosaic to preserve its integrity.

June 14, Kinderkdijc, The Netherlands

Kinderkijk, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, comprises 19 windmills dating from 1738:

The purpose of the windmills was to pump water from the river into a reservoir to keep the land dry. When the river level fell low enough, the water in the reservoir could be pumped back into the river.

These historic mills are built from brick and have large sails that come within one foot of the ground.

Two diesel pumping stations now move most of the water when necessary. But the windmills of Kinderdijk remain one of the best known Dutch tourist sites.

Wertheim, Cruising, Koblenz, Germany

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June 11

This morning there was a one-hour walking tour of Wertheim before the ship left for Koblenz, Germany. Because my husband and I were still feeling poorly, we skipped the Wertheim tour.

The ship spent the afternoon cruising along the Main (pronounced mine) River and then the Rhine River. My husband took both of these two photos on the Main River:

June 12, Koblenz, Germany

On the morning of June 12 we continued cruising. My husband took this photo of Pfalzgrafenstein Castle, a toll castle on tiny Pfalz Island in the middle of the Rhine River near Kaub, Germany.

After lunch we arrived in Koblenz, at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers. We took the Moselle excursion, on which we learned about the history of wine making along this river and visited a winery in the town of Winninger. Wine making is the main occupation of this town, which features grape vines as street decorations:

Vineyards line the Moselle River:

Notice that the rows are vertical rather than horizontal, despite the steep slope of the hills. Vintners originally adopted this arrangement to take advantage of having rain water travel downhill. Some vintners now use irrigation systems but continue this arrangement because it’s cheaper to install long vertical pipes than it would be to install many more shorter, horizontal pipes.

Notice, also, that just about every available bit of space on the hills is cultivated.

Our tour guide told us that the annual grape harvest requires a lot of people. All the wine makers help each other out, and family and friends also come to help. Our guide herself takes time off from her job to help with the harvest because it’s such an important part of her town’s identity.

Three Things Thursday

It’s time again for Three Things Thursday, the purpose of which is to “share three things from the previous week that made you smile or laugh or appreciate the awesome of your life.”

Psychology of Baroque Art and Architecture

I never took an art appreciation course in college. Over the years I picked up on the fact that Baroque art and architecture are heavily ornate and complex, but on this trip through the heart of Europe I learned why.

The lovely Baroque churches of Europe were created to demonstrate visually for a mostly illiterate populace the grandeur of God and His heaven.

(Click on images to see a larger version.)

1. Ceiling of Benedictine Abbey Church, Melk, Austria

Our tour guide at Melk’s Benedictine Abbey explained that the church was built as an audience for God. The ceiling presents a portrait of the beauty of God’s Heaven.

Ceiling, Benedictine Abbey, Melk, Austria

2. The Pillars in St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Passau, Germany

The bottoms of the church’s pillars are ordinary, unadorned, to demonstrate the plainness of everyday existence on earth.

St. Stephan's Cathedral, Passau, Germany — St. Stephan’s Cathedral, Passau, Germany

3. Top of Pillars and Ceiling, St. Stephen’s Cathedral

The bottoms of the pillars suggest the drabness of human existence on earth, but as congregants look upward, they see the beauty and grandeur of Heaven in the gilt and ornamentation higher up. This use of decoration served to remind people that Heaven is better than earth and that they should follow the church’s teachings if they wanted to end up in Heaven.

Ceiling, St. Stephan's Cathedral, Passau, Germany — Ceiling, St. Stephan’s Cathedral, Passau, Germany

Wurzburg and Rothenburg, Germany

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The trip itinerary lists today’s stop as Wurzburg, but we took the optional excursion bus to nearby Rothenburg, the best preserved medieval town in Germany. A 1.5-mile wall surrounds the city. Just in case the wall wasn’t enough to keep enemies away, the wall builders employed scary faces as well:

The wall connects five medieval gates with guard towers dating from the 13th to 16th centuries.

Here’s another indication of the town’s medieval origin:

Typical German souvenirs were on display in the city’s shops:

And the local delicacy is the snowball, which was described as a dense, hard pastry:

We stopped at a little shop for Italian gelato but passed on the snowballs, which some of our fellow travelers said weren’t very good.

Bamberg, Germany

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Instead of the walking tour of the city of Bamberg, we opted for the optional bus tour of the Franconian countryside. This area is geographically within Bavaria, but Franconians still think of themselves as ethnically different from Bavarians. The two groups speak distinctly different dialects of German.

This tour made three stops.

1. Seehof Palace

Located not far outside of Bamberg, the Seehof Palace, begun in 1686, was built as a summer residence for the Bamberg Prince-Bishops. After the fall of religious rule, the palace and grounds fell into disrepair under private ownership and, by the end of the 20th century, required extensive renovation.

The palace is now owned by the Bavarian State Conservation Office, which has renovated the gardens and restored the original fountain with their waterworks, which work by gravity:

Central to the garden is the cascade created in 1772, which dilapidated increasingly after secularisation and was put back into operation in 1995. Its programme heralds the glory of Hercules, in allegory of the Prince Bishop’s glory.

The nine rooms of the Prince-Bishop’s apartment have been restored and are open to the pubic, including the White Hall with its ceiling painting by Guiseppe Appiani:

Several other rooms are available for rent for events such as marriages, receptions, banquets, and concerts.

2. Drei Kronen (Three Crowns) Brewery

According to our tour guide, all Franconia is divided into two parts: the beer-making part and the wine-making part. We rode through the beer-making part and stopped at a brewery to try the region’s specialty, “smoke beer” or rauchbier.

Smoke beer gets its name and its distinctive taste from malt that has been dried over open fires. All beers were originally smoke beers because of this drying method, but modern brewing procedures no longer dry malt this way. As a result, smoke beers are becoming rare.

The brewery’s name translates as “three crowns,” and groupings of three crowns surrounded the tasting room:

My husband and I both enjoyed the smoky taste, although he’s much more of a beer aficionado than I.

3. Pilgrimage Church

This church must have a real name, but all I remember is that it has been a pilgrimage church since the 18th century, when a peasant girl with an eye disease went there to pray and was, according to tradition, cured. Many groups still make pilgrimages to the church every year.

The interior was still decorated with streamers because of the recent celebration of Corpus Christi.

The church contains a large organ, although we did not get to hear it.

Nuremberg, Germany

At the end of the first week of the cruise my husband and I both caught a cold that went the rounds of the ship. In addition to a runny nose, the main feature of this germ was a deep cough. Within just a few days we heard people hacking all over the ship.

As a result, we chose to stay on board and sleep during this afternoon’s tour of Nuremberg. It was an easy decision, really:

We both felt lousy.
It was rainy and chilly.
We didn’t want to see and hear a lot of depressing stuff about World War II.

So sorry, no photos.

Regensburg, Germany

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Regensburg, on the Danube River, marks the northernmost point of Roman expansion. As a classics major, I was interested in the remnants of the Roman settlement, which dates to the year 79 CE.

Roman arch, Regensburger — Roman arch, Regensburg

I love how the arch is tastefully incorporated into the modern building.

The local people considered themselves a David challenging the Goliath of Roman takeover, a motif that survives today in this mural:

St. Peter’s Cathedral, also known as Dom St. Peter or Regensburg Cathedral, has existed since about 700 CE. However, after several fires the church was rebuilt, and the present high-Gothic style building was completed in 1320. The cathedral is 279 feet long and 115 feet wide, and the two towers are almost 350 feet high. Most of the stained glass windows were installed in the 14th century and depict apostles, saints, the life of the Virgin Mary, and the legend of Saint Catherine.

St. Peter's Cathedral, Regensburg — St. Peter’s Cathedral, Regensburg

Tourists in Bavarian lederhosen, Regensburg

Bratislava, Vienna, Melk

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June 3, Bratislava

In the 16th century Slovakia became part of the Hapsburg Monarchy and benefited from the enlightened reforms of Maria Theresa (1740–1780) and her son, Joseph II (1780–1790). In 1919 Slovakia joined with Czechia to form Czecho-Slovakia, a nation whose independence was limited by its strong economic, military, and political dependence on Germany.

It was later conquered by the Soviets, who turned Czechoslovakia into a pro-Soviet Communist country, which lasted until the fall of Communist in the Velvet Revolution of 1989. In 1993 the Slovaks and Czechs into separate countries, a peaceful agreement known as the Velvet Divorce. Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia.

June 4, Vienna

Austria continues to honor Maria Theresa, the last Austrian Hapsburg, who died in 1780. Although the family no longer rules, several family members are active in both politics and business in Europe.

Vienna prides itself as a city of music. On the evening of June 4th we attended a chamber music performance featuring music of Mozart and Strauss. For me, the highlight was the Queen of the Night’s aria from Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute.

June 5, Melk, Austria

The Benedictine Abbey at Melk, built between 1702 and 1736, sits on a hill high above the Danube River. It originally contained a royal wing, kept ready for the possibility of a royal visit. Monks lived in other parts of the abbey. The monastic community of Melk is more than 900 years old. Today about 30 monks live there and run a monastery school with more than 700 students.

Royal Wing, Benedictine Abbey, Melk, Austria

The monastery’s library contains more than 80,000 medieval manuscripts on a variety of subjects. The interior of Abbey Church is an amazing display of Baroque art.

Three Things Thursday

Another week, another entry for Three Things Thursday, the purpose of which is to “share three things from the previous week that made you smile or laugh or appreciate the awesome of your life.”

Three Approaches to Travel

My husband and I have just begun a two-week Viking River Cruise through Europe. Since coming on board we have encountered people who exhibit three different approaches to travel.

1. Travel as Conspicuous Consumption

We met one woman, B., who said this is their fourth cruise this year. And when we disembark in Amsterdam, she and her husband will be staying there for four days before flying to some other city to pick up their next cruise. (I wonder how, where, and when she does laundry.)

When I asked if she had any advice for us less experienced travelers, she answered without any hesitation, “Get a suite.”

2. Travel as Opportunity for Self-Aggrandizement

There’s at least one couple like this in every crowd. The second night at dinner a woman came over to me at the dinner table, leaned down and put her face right next to mine, stuck out her hand, and said, “Hi, I’m S.” She then pointed out her husband, B. They both immediately began talking quite loudly about what they do and where they’re from. They overwhelmed everyone else at the table. These are the people who always have to have the last word: the best story, the funniest joke.

And of course they know everything about everything. After we had toured a Benedictine Abbey in Melk, Austria, that was built in the 16th century, B. sat across the aisle from me on the return bus ride. Here’s what he said to the person sitting next to him:

That was really something. Five-hundred years ago, when they were building this abbey, American Indians were still digging arrowheads out of the dirt. And in Africa they didn’t even have language yet. But look at what these Europeans were doing.

I swear I am not making this up.

3. Travel as Learning Opportunity

Fortunately we met many more of this variety of traveler than of the previous two. There was D., whose mother was an immigrant to the United States. He talked about how traveling in Europe was giving him insight into how his mother thought and why she was such a staunch supporter of the U.S. There was B. and another B., who both talked of how the 60 pairs of iron shoes along the riverwalk in Budapest, a tribute to the 60 Jews who were shot into the Danube River near the end of World War II, had moved them to tears.

The boat’s dining room was open seating, and these were the people we sought out during meals. I learned a lot on this trip, not only by seeing things for myself but also by talking with other people who were eager to discuss what they were learning as well.

Viking River Cruise: Grand European Tour

If you’ve watched Downton Abbey or any other Masterpiece! presentation, you’ve seen the commercials showing Viking’s longships cruising the world’s rivers.

My husband F. and I are setting out on the Viking River Cruises Grand European Tour. We had a 10-hour direct Delta flight from Sea-Tac (Seattle-Tacoma) International Airport to Amsterdam. After a layover of just under two hours in Amsterdam, we caught a one hour and 40 minute flight to Budapest, where we were met by representatives from Viking and taken to our ship, Vidar. We left Sea-Tac in the early afternoon of May 31 and arrived in Europe in the early afternoon of June 1.

Map of Viking River Cruises: Grand European Tour — Viking River Cruises: Grand European Tour

Neither F. nor I was able to sleep at all on the plane, so we were pretty exhausted by the time we arrived on board. Fortunately, our stateroom was ready as soon as we arrived. The ship’s personnel urged us to use our free time until dinner to walk around Budapest on our own, but we opted to take a nap instead. At dinner we discovered that just about everyone we talked to had done the same. We had no trouble falling right back to sleep after dinner.

This morning we had a tour of Budapest. We had a local Hungarian guide, who told us that the Hungarian pronunciation is Budapesht. The city comprises two formerly separate cities, Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube River. Buda is the older city, high on a hill, while the newer Pest is on lower ground across the river.

Fisherman's Bastion, Budapest — Fisherman’s Bastion, Budapest

Ceramic tile roof on Matthias Church, Budapest

Portion of Heroes' Square, Budapest — Portion of Heroes’ Square, Budapest

Hungary is famous for its paprika. The capsicum pepper plant used to make this popular seasoning was introduced to Hungary by the Turks in the 16th century. The spice’s pungency ranges from sweet to very hot. The brighter red the paprika, the hotter the spice. We made sure that the tins we bought to bring home were labeled “mild.”

June 13, Cologne, Germany

June 14, Kinderkdijc, The Netherlands

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June 11

June 12, Koblenz, Germany

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Psychology of Baroque Art and Architecture

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Three Approaches to Travel

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