Category Archives: Travel Tales

Hanging Out In Hannover – Part Two

Like a moth to the light, I am invariably drawn to certain kinds of cathedrals or churches or abbey ruins. Thus it has always been as I travelled throughout Europe and Great Britain and this trip is proving to be no exception to that.

Arch side detail on the Marktkirche in Hannover

Overdoor detail of Death chasing a man

Marktkirche in Hannover, Germany

Discovering the beautiful old Marktkirche in the heart of the historic precinct on Hannover was made all the better when we heard music drifting outward into the plaza. Ever curious about what was going on during a Wednesday afternoon, we had a marvelous moment of serendipity as we happened upon the rehearsals for the Easter weekend concert performance of a Mozart Requiem and several other pieces in a similar vein. The music was glorious and there were less than a handful of people watching from the back.

I don’t know that I ever remember being inside such a large church where the brick vaulting was so evident instead of plastered and painted over. But lest you think that it made it feel heavy or oppressive inside, let me assure you that the height of the interior dispelled any sensation of being dark or enclosed. And the acoustics were marvelous!

Rehearsal for Mozart Requiem performance

Brick vaults and columns in the Marktkirche in Hannover

Concert poster at the Marktkirche in Hannover

Organ pipes inside the Marktkirche in Hannover

It was apparent that the church had been rebuilt — most likely after World War II — but it was not until I did some research following our visit that I discovered that Marktkirche had been built in the 14th century and was flattened by bombs in 1943. The church was then rebuilt in the 1950s.

A prominent statue of Martin Luther outside reveals that it is indeed a Lutheran church. The other giveaway is the very plain yet serene and lovely interior which is devoid of the ornate ornamentation so common amongst Roman Catholic churches and cathedrals.

The entry portal leads to doors with a rather startling subject matter — the events in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. They were created by the artist Gerhard Marcks and I found them quite compelling.

Door #1 panel on Marktkirsche in Hannover

Door panel #2 on Marktkirsche in Hannover

Door panel #3 on Marktkirsche in Hannover

Door panel #4 on Marktkirsche in Hannover

Door panel #5 on Marktkirsche in Hannover

Door panel #6 on Marktkirsche in Hannover

Hanging Out In Hannover

Hannover in Germany — visually beautiful, very tranquil, and we barely had time to scratch the surface of it!

After leaving Rotterdam at 1 PM, we arrived in Hannover at about 7 PM. It was still bright and sunny and our hosts for two nights, Peter and Maria, were waiting for us out in the garden. Over a lovely and light supper, we discussed all sorts of topics and made plans for the next day. Mark and I would be out and about on our own since Peter was attending to his medical patients and Maria was off to her Hatha Yoga and weekly grocery shopping.

I took so many photos (hundreds in fact!) that I will have to space them out over several posts. So come back often to see what else is online. And when I post the smaller versions, do take the time to click on them and see all of the detail in the larger ones.

We were walking through a leafy suburb on our way to the train station when we spotted this first oddity. In every other place we have lived, you have to “Dial Before You Dig” so you don’t snap an underground electric or telephone cable — or sever a water or gas line. I’ve never been in a place where you have to check for unexploded munitions from the World War II before you dig for services! Apparently this type of service exists in many places in Europe since unexploded ordinance is still quite an issue. The previous link cites one study, and this one from 2010 which was a feature on NPR also discusses the ongoing problems.

Munition van checking the ground near new construction

Leaving the suburbs, we took the short 15 minute ride into the city on an ultra-clean and very smooth train, emerged from underground, and walked to the beautiful Hauptbahnhof (the main train station) a block away where our host had told us we could find the Tourism Bureau and obtain a walking map of the inner city area.

As we walked, we saw countless beautiful buildings with intriguing bits of architectural detail. The city is a feast for the eyes and as I mentioned before, I took hundreds of images along the way. I supposed that the best way to deal with that overload of photos is to create a slide show at a future date. But for now, here are few examples of what we saw. Enjoy!

Ornate tiles and door in central Hannover

Stone door surround - left side

Stone door surrround - right side

Memorial fountain & neo-classical building

And finally — this little gruesome bit of stone carving. Come back again soon for more images from Hannover!

Gruesome face carved in stone on the side of a building

Rambling Around Rotterdam – Part Three

Note to self — never think that you will be attending any museums in Rotterdam on a Monday because they are ALL CLOSED!!!

Museumless on Monday in Rotterdam

We had a list of museums that we were interested in seeing on our last full day in Rotterdam, but I had failed to note the days and times and absorb the fact that none of them are are open on a Monday!

Ah well — move to the back-up plan — just walk around Rotterdam, take lots of photos, see new parts of the cities.

We walked into the shopping precinct, had a quick lunch, and then caught a bus across a bridge and over onto a small island. And as we walked, we passed some of the things that you see below. Click on any of the smaller ones and they will enlarge quite nicely!

Old BMV with sidecar parked at the docks in Rotterdam

Looking back towards Rotterdam

Is white REALLY the new black???

Touring Rotterdam with a By Cycle tour

Orange Citroen at a French wine tasting in Rotterdam

Straw-clad bicycle in a Rotterdam courtyard

Finally, in a charming affirmation of their multicultural citizenship of Rotterdam, even the mannequins of infants in a children’s store come in every shade of the rainbow.

And as the icing on the cake, doesn’t your special little Princess or Prince need a made-in-Italy by Piaggio electric version of a Vespa???

Multicultural infant mannequins in Rotterdam window

Italian electric version of a Vespa for children

Come back soon for more on-the-road adventures!

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Rambling Around Rotterdam – Part Two

Asking our friend Amalin what the citizens of Rotterdam did on a Sunday afternoon produced an instant response. “They go shopping!” And she certainly wasn’t kidding! Out the door we went, constantly remarking about how visually tantalising everything seemed.

Red tulips and a black cycle

We made our way to the tram after a leisurely brunch, headed into the shopping precinct, and were simply astonished at how clogged the sidewalks and shops were with people. But the area is quite attractive architecturally, there are plenty of places to stop and eat or get a coffee, and there was a happy vibe amongst the people who were out and about in the sunshine.

There are boutique-small and department-store-large places to shop for block after block. One section is a deep slash in the street which leads down to even more shops. The Dutch have a marvelous sense of humour about this particular district. They refer to it as “shopping in the buying gutter.” If you click on the picture, it enlarges so you can see more of the detail. Click again and you will see just how many people are milling around on that upper level!

Rotterdam shopping on a Sunday afternoon

Close-up of flashing tram sign

Flashing signs at tram crossing

The tram system here is utterly delightful and seems to get you just about everywhere you want to go. But you must be aware as you are crossing the tracks that the trams can be ultra-quiet and it would be far too easy to step out in front of one. For that reason, there is a tram crossing sign at the intersections of streets that makes a ding-ding-ding sound to draw your attention and there is also a flashing sign at the corner with a tiny little tram symbol in it. Wonderful!

We have seen no traffic congestion here at any time of day or night. I believe that this directly relates to the availability of public transportation throughout Rotterdam via tram, train, or metro. And there are quite a lot of people who ride their bicycles everywhere! There are dedicated bike lanes, some which also allow motor scooter traffic, and it keeps the number of cars on the road at a minimum compared to most other metropolitan European cities.

And to mention the Dutch sense of humour for a second time, I know of no other place that would have a bronze piece of sculpture in a public street that was an ‘homage’ to a dog and his poo!

Special lane only for bikes and scooters

Dog and poo sculpture

Come back tomorrow and I’ll have Part Three of Rambling Around Rotterdam with lots more pictures!

Crushed By Crowds and Crabby

Note to self — no matter which of us says to the other one, “Oooo! They have a really big market over at (insert location of choice). Want to go?” — the default answer in a humongous city the size of London should always be no-no-no-no-no. This also falls under the category of ‘How to spoil a perfectly lovely day on the weekend.’

Jammed up in the crowds at Camden Market

But wait — it gets better. Not once (are we slow learners on occasion?) but twice on the same weekend we sampled a market. At least on the second try I took zero pictures and we walked briskly through the crowds and out the other side in less than five minutes with me saying “This is not the way I remember things being.”

Am I getting old and crabby? (don’t answer that!) Or has my tolerance for being crushed by crowds, smelling too many overlapping food aromas, hearing music playing loudly that I outgrew decades ago, seeing people draped on every available surface, and looking at items that I could find on Ebay simply erased my joy in the whole ‘market scene’ rather a lot?

I choose to regard this minor case of a shock-horror moment — complete with remarks from my husband to the effect of “If you could see your face, Deborah!” — as another time capsule moment when things were viewed from a different perspective 17 years ago. Otherwise, the population boom in London really has resulted in a population boom at the large markets and they are no longer a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Camden Lock

Crowds on every waterside walkway at Camden Market

It isn’t strictly a ‘young scene’ although the preponderance of people sitting, standing, or elbowing their way through the throngs on the waterside walkways did appear to primarily be in the under-30 category.

Elsewhere there were people in attendance of all shapes, sizes, and ages — gamely picking through the goods on offer, slurping down a latte or a chai tea, or simply people watching.

I continue to read that this market is a recommended place to go when you visit London. But unless you have lived a deprived or rural or shopping-zone-free life, I cannot for the life of me understand why a guidebook writer would find this place thrilling.

Crowded shopping in the Camden Market halls

So, if a crush of crowds with pointy elbows and massive feet, a plethora of ‘cuisine’ smells, dated music sounds, and so-so merchandise makes you as crabby as it made me, this might just be a place to avoid!

When The Sun Comes Out In Edinburgh…

When the sun comes out in Edinburgh, Scotland — a rush is on for any available seat outside to soak up the rays as you eat your cafe lunch. At least that’s what we witnessed yesterday at the National Gallery of Modern Art. And as we drove through the park-side areas along Queen Street on the way to and from the museum’s two massive buildings, we could see that the paths were filled with women pushing strollers, children were playing on the grass, and people were sitting atop benches and low stone walls everywhere as they ate their lunch in warmth for a nice change.

Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, Scotland

Architectural details: exterior steps of Dean Gallery

Afternoon light in the museum cafe - Photo by Mark Harmes

Each of the museums, one formerly an elegant boarding school and one a former orphanage housed in a rather impressive building, had vast rooms with high ceilings that were perfect for displaying the art in the collections. I was unable to take photos inside due to the rules of each museum, but I quite enjoyed the massive metal sculpture by Eduardo Paolozzi as you entered the gates of the Dean Gallery.

Large sculpture by Eduardo Paolozzi at Dean Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland

Sunless Edinburgh Sunday

The semi-permanent gray of the Edinburgh skies merged with the soot-tinged stone buildings that comprise much of the city and formed a subdued winter palette for my photography. Some find the colour tones of this city to be too somber for their taste. I find it soothing. And when there is a bright spot, whether it is provided by nature or the paintbrush, it stands out all the more against the blackened stone.

Leith street scene

The dinosaurs were waiting at the end of Constitution Street. Three hulking cranes, long abandoned and now a residence for pigeons, stood with arms raised high into the slate-gray skies. We had followed the sound of seagulls until we discovered the less prosperous part of the harbour and the detritus of its former glory days.

Abandoned cranes at Leith waterside

On we went, hoping for more inspirational things to view than that particularly derelict harbour area and our patience was rewarded. A mere few blocks on we discovered a canalside area with former industrial buildings turned into apartments, restaurants and pubs, open-air sculpture, and scenes reminiscent of Amsterdam with canal boats pulled up alongside the walkway and bicycles chained out front. Charming!

Canalside in Leith

We had walked for hours and a light, misty rain began to touch our cheeks. Time for a restorative tea break! And after peeking into window after window on our stroll back up Constitution Street toward the house, we chose a cafe named Rock Salt and settled in to rest our legs and warm our bodies.

Rock Salt Cafe interior

Time to end for now and edit some photos for GreenWorks. I’m hoping to have a sneak peek at the promotional artwork that I am designing for them in the next day or so. Bye for now!