Monthly Archives: April 2011

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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Catch-up On The Way!

Just a VERY quick note before we eat our first lunch in Berlin.

We left Rotterdam a few days ago and visited Hannover — and we had a perfectly splendid time. And yes — I took LOTS of photos!

But we didn’t have internet access for our time there, so I am backed up on both posting and answering emails. Please bear with me. I’ll be back up to speed as soon as possible.

Bye for now!

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!

Rambling Around Rotterdam – Part One

The ship slid quietly through the dark night. There was no rocking or swaying to cause distress in the form of seasickness, but I still had very little sleep. Arriving in Rotterdam for a long weekend, I was excited about being in a new city but subdued from fatigue.

We are staying in a very diverse and attractive neighbourhood on the western-central side of Rotterdam called Coolhaven. It is so conveniently located that we can be in the heart of the city in 10 minutes on the #4 tram.

Cafe in Rotterdam on a Spring day

Day One saw us sitting in a sidewalk cafe/bar, drinking dark beer, and doing a lot of people watching after a brief ramble around town. We chuckled aloud when we saw these racing grannies on motorized carts who went zooming by whilst carrying on a very animated conversation.

Zooming Grannies on a Rotterdam street

Apartment living, whether owned or rented, seems to be the norm here. But there are lovely green spaces that punctuate the city and give you a respite from the acres and acres of bricks and concrete. The one in the picture below is only 3 blocks from the apartment where we are staying in the Coolhaven district with our lovely friend Amalin.

Green park in Coolhaven district of Rotterdam

Tomorrow’s post will show how the typical Rotterdam citizen spends their Sunday. So check back again!

Rotterdam Respite

Sorry to say that I am in Rotterdam and am feeling positively cold-and-fluish. Yuck!

The sea crossing from England to the Netherlands was as smooth as glass and the sat-nav on our little car got us here quite easily once we came down the ramp of the ship. So at least THAT part is all good!

Will try to post some articles and photos this week — but no promises.

More soon! (I hope!?!)

Bye, Bye Edinburgh and Hello Borders

Quite a few people claim to live an eco-friendly life, but very few of them actually live by those principals to such an extent as those we met in Scotland.

Stop and think of how challenging your life would be if you tried eschewing a motor vehicle altogether, cycled to work each day, did all of your shopping with a bicycle, and had a small child in tow on a bike cart or in a backpack as you walked. This is exactly how our friends live in their ultra-low-consumer and recycle-everything mode!

Ellie and Baby Sula with their daily form of transportation

Saying goodbye was hard. Our two weeks in Edinburgh had fairly well flown by and we had grown quite attached to our marvelous WorkAway hosts — Ellie, Simon, and the adorable baby Sula. We had driven north to participate in a project at Greenworks and ended up making what we hope are a lifelong friendships.

The winds were brisk and the air was filled with micro-rain. But the scenery at the Borders (where Scotland and England meet) was simply stunning — wild and raw and unforgettable.

Scottish rural landscape

We’re hoping to go back to Scotland before the end of the year — so fingers are firmly crossed!

Gatepost carving on rural fence at the Scottish Borders farm