Friday 23 August 2013

Back in the UK Planning Next Year's Visit.

After an easy journey and flight from Braunschweig and Hanover,  I'm now back to normality (whatever that is) in Devizes.  This morning (Friday 23rd August) will be by first meeting with the walking group, who have planned a nice flat walk of 3.5 miles along the banks of the River Kennet from Berwick Bassett to Avebury, for lunch in the "Red Lion."

Please go to: www.devizesdays.blogspot.com for continued news of the goings on in Devizes. 

The 16 continuous locks on the "Caen Hill Flight" of the Kennet & Avon Canal in Devizes.
(One of my spiritual homes.)














Tuesday 20 August 2013

Last Post from Timmerlah.

My home tucked away in a quiet corner of Timmerlah.

After a morning of intensive cleaning and floor washing, I had a lunch of "bits that needed using up and a cuppa."  Then a last trip on the tram to the railway station, where I bought my one way Wednesday ticket to Hanover Airport, leaving on the 09.20 train.   I had to use the automatic ticket machine, which is not my favourite method of purchase, but in Germany it is not possible to buy a ticket on the train.   I did some last minute shopping, went back home,  put my feet up and drank another cuppa!   This is not very interesting news, although it is of great importance to me.

After a bite to eat this evening,  I did a last trip to the rubbish disposal point, and then took my usual walk around the Timmerlah fields.  I am sad to leave this year, but my other life in Devizes awaits me, and September heralds the start of the singing season, and it will be good to get back, see all my friends and to sing my socks off!   This blog will soon morph into the Devizes version, the address of which will appear soon.  Watch this space.

Walking towards Weststadt, where at the end of the path,  I turn right... 

I turned right and walked towards the railway line behind the row of trees. At the end of the path, I turned right once again.

Having turned right, I can see a distant Timmerlah, with my home far left on the horizon.

Sunset over my 2013 visit to Timmerlah and Braunschweig.



Sunday 18 August 2013

825 Years of the Marienaltar in Brunswick Cathedral.

 Herb Garden

A festival is taking place until the end of October to celebrate 825 years of the "Marienaltar" in Brunswick Cathedral.  The altar, with its five bronze columns which support a heavy, marble table, is the spiritual centre of the cathedral.    It takes the form of a Romanesque "Table Altar," on which rests the holy scriptures, originally in the form of the Gospels of Henry the Lion, and at which the congregation celebrates Holy Communion. 

In 2012, an anonymous,  generous benefactor left €4000 on this altar,  which enabled the children from Bath to visit Brunswick and to sing in the cathedral.  At the end of their visit in early June, a gift was left for the benefactor on this altar by the Bath children.   I took a peep on Friday, and could see no sign of the gift, which was left under the bible, where envelope of Euros had been donated.   I hope the mystery donor, who continues to leave large amounts of money for good causes in churches throughout the city, has taken his or her token of thanks.

 Lilies for Mary's purity and for remembrance.

The festival programme celebrates the historical and contemporary significance of the main altar,  gifted to the cathedral by Henry the Lion, and which was blessed by Bishop Adelog of Hildesheim in 1188,  in adoration of the Virgin Mary.   Above, lilies surround one of the magnificent iron tombs.

 Herb Garden

Words and music, art and the history of religion, piety and the enjoyment of art, are the facets of a rich programme of music, made possible by the commitment of the cantors of BS Cathedral. The music spans from Gregorian chant,  via Palestrina and Bach to the present, with music by John Rutter.   Unfortunately I will not be here to listen to this glorious music, and especially to a concert given by Choir of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, one of the churches in which my hero JS Bach worked as cantor and organist.  The choir will sing music by Bach, Palestrina, Wagner and Reger, together with a concert of organ works by Mulet and Guiraud.

The anniversary of the Romanesque Marienaltar from the time of Duke Henry the Lion and his wife Matilda of England,  promotes the significance of the history of Romanesque art in the cathedral, with the Imervard Cross, the Marienaltar, the seven-armed Candlestick made around 1180,  the stucco murals and the many grave monuments.

Apples and the Apple Tree.

The Marienaltar can be seen in the middle of the photo, to the right behind the column. Unfortunately I inadvertently failed to upload the best photo of the altar I took that day!   The green of the plants and trees give the cathedral a wonderful, spiritual connection with the continuation of life.  I wish we could all stop slaughtering one another, and finally live together in peace,  in what could be a paradise on earth.


Friday 16 August 2013

It's Time to Say "Aufwiedersehen" Again!

 Biscuits, home made chocolate fudge, other delicacies, and a good cup of English tea.

It was goodbye to J & G in Querum yesterday afternoon, and again in the evening to my friends in the choir.   It was chocolate all round last night, as I took three boxes of chocolates to celebrate my leaving,  and another soprano who had recently returned from holiday in Poland, had brought in a box of chocolate covered plums.   Well, what a delicacy and so difficult to resist.   This morning I am suffering from a headache.  Chocolate does not really agree with me, but it is so tempting when displayed right under my nose!

I find this part of my visit here every year rather depressing, as I have to say goodbye to all my friends.  I know I will return next year, but every year it gets a little more difficult to leave.  But the autumn singing season awaits me in Devizes, and I am interested to know exactly what music we will be singing.   We will sing the usual carols at Christmas, but also one or two other short pieces that will be new to me.   The Marlborough choir may perform Bach's B minor, a work I have always wanted to sing.  The choice of work was made by Simon our previous conductor, who has now left to take up a position at Worcester Cathedral Choir School.  Let's hope the new Marlborough College conductor has not changed his choice.

 More Chocolates.

I must not eat chocolate, as it always gives me a headache!  This evening  our music group are having a garden party, with singing and making music in the fresh air and eating more chocolate and drinking beer.  Life is so difficult at times!

What is this?

This, and many more like it are growing in J's greenhouse among the tomato plants.  It has a fleshy, star shaped base, with a soft, bulbous mushroom growing out of the top.   Please send me the answer post haste!

Tuesday 13 August 2013

Verdi´s "La Traviata" in the Round and on a stage full of Steps.

 Students gathering outside the open air theatre in the Bergplatz.

Tuesday morning´s performance of excerps from "La Traviata"  was performed for students and schoolchildren, with two shortened scenes, and the story related to the young audience by a man who spoke such clear German, that I could understand most of it!   The singers and music were wonderful, even though I am not an opera fan in a theatre in the round.  I can sing oratorio, and have no qualms about a story told in song, but I find opera so unconvincing! Perhaps I am missing some vital element of understanding.  

The above photo shows the young students and we elderly, older ladies waiting to go into the theatre. Dark and threatening clouds hung over us, but fortunately only a few drops of rain fell to dampen our spirits.

A French Horn player passes the door, through which the orchestra can be seen warming up.
The information board gives details of the seating arrangements.

 The harp awaits its player on the steps of the Landesmuseum.
In one scene, Violetta hears Alfredo´s voice singing to her in the distance, and with the harp accompaniment, it sounded so romantic, but also sad.

 The Lion Monument is alway centre stage, with the seating set around.

The multi-stepped stage, which caused me a great deal of angst!  

This was not the easiest of stages on which to move around, particularly as many of the ladies wore high heeled shoes, and had to watch where they were stepping.   Am I suffering from lack of imagination or am I getting old?

Sunday 11 August 2013

Meeting under the Horse´s Tail for a Visit to the Herrenhausen Gardens in Hanover.

Duke Ernst-August right, rides his horse into the city from the railway station, the place where I met my friends from Hamburg on Saturday, underneath the horse`s tail!  The city was full of football fans as Hanover was playing Wolfsburg, (final score 2-0,) and the station was full of flag waving fans!  Meanwhile Braunschweig United was playing Werder Bremen and lost 0-1.  The big police presence in both cities was very conspicuous! The walkway down to the trams was cordoned off, so we walked along the mall to the underground tram station.  A short ride took us out past Hanover's "Gottfried Leibniz University" to the Gardens, where, after buying an all day entrance ticket,  our first stop was at the nearest cafe selling beer.  See the full glasses of beer below, which didn´t stay that way for long!

In the nearest cafe selling German beer.

The Grosser Garden.

This garden is at the heart of the 135 hectare grounds.  Begun in 1666, it is the only Baroque Garden in Germany to have retained its original lines and features.  Electress Sophie of Hanover, who established the gardens wrote that, "The Garden is my life."

The Baroque Garden.

Off the Grosser Garden were many other smaller ones, enclosed within hedges.  I  particularly liked this one and also the Rose Garden with its blue garden furniture.

The Great Fountain.

Thirty cascades and fountains murmur around the gardens, and the most spectacular is the "Great Fountain," with a height of 72 metres on a calm day. Many experts tried and failed to create enough water pressure to produce this height, but it was solved by English technicians sent here by King George 1, the son of Electress Sophie.   In 1721 a height of 35 metres was achieved, but with the help of an electric pump from 1956 onwards,   the present height of 72 metres is achieved.

The Bell Fountain.

Fine jets of water from 164 spouts form this bell shaped fountain.  In the background is the recently completed Royal Summer Palace of Herrenhausen.  The original building was destroyed in the war, and it has taken many years of discussion to eventually decided to rebuild its original facade.  Inside is a modern building with offices, function rooms, a University research areas and a library.  The Palace is now the centre piece for the surrounding gardens. 

One visit here was not enough, as there was so much to see, and after several hours of wandering, sitting and drinking beer, we were all tired.   We have decided to visit again next year, and my diary for German visits in 2014 is rapidly filling up.  A visit to Lübeck is already pencilled in, and I need to find time for Eisenach, Weimar, Köthen, Celle, Freiburg, Lüneburg and.........................

In the Orchid House.


Orchids in the Orchid House.

Fish in the Sealife Centre.

Herrenhausen Gardens - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herrenhausen_Gardens

Friday 9 August 2013

A Cool Thursday in Magdeburg.

 The towers of the Cathedral viewed from the cloister.

After every visit to a lovely German city,  I always think to myself,  "Wow, that was the best ever!"  Until of course I go somewhere else, and think, "Wow, no,  Magdeburg was the best ever."  There is too much to write about so I´m referring you to the information on the attached Wikipedia link.


Cathedral of Magdeburg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

              en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Magdeburg
                     
The tomb of Otto 1, founder of the Holy Roman Empire. 

The splendid woodcarvings on the pews and misericords can be seen in the background.  When we were visiting a small men´s choir arrived, and started singing German songs near Otto´s  tomb and the high altar.  They sounded so lovely, and I burst into tears of course!

Medieval woodcarving on the pews dating from 1363.

 The "Green Citadel" designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser  (1928-2000.)


Friedensreich Hundertwasser - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

                 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedensreich_Hundertwasser

 The courtyard and fountain within the "Green Citadel."

We sat here in a little cafe and enjoyed a drink.  The ceramic clad columns that support the building were all different, no two were alike.  How Spanish and Moorish it looks.


 Walking along the bank of the River Elbe.

Debris and huge tree trunks can be seen amongst the grass and reeds, left behind by the recent flooding.    The flood came over this wall, but did not reach the inner city, although the railway station was underwater for a time.

 The cafe beside the River Elbe.

I was surprised at the strength and speed of the flow on the Elbe.  A trip boat can be seen on the river, and went past speedily to the left with the flow.  It was a different matter coming back, when it struggled against the flow to make headway.   Later a very powerful marine engine unit chugged past pushing two huge barges, and making very slow progress.  Engine failure on that flow would cause serious problems, especially if swept against the bridge supports.

During the recent flooding, the water rose to the first step on this terrace in front of a restaurant, where we enjoyed drinks and a light supper.


Tuesday 6 August 2013

All is Safely Gathered in.

Harvesting with a monster machine!

Yet another harvest to watch this year, and how quickly the fields have been cleared.   I have seen crop rotation over the last four years, with cereal this year, sugar beet, rape seed and a fallow year.  It is hot again today, 28c at 16.50,  although a wind is blowing and refreshing storms are expected tonight.  Wednesday will be hot and stormy, but the trams should be running again, which will make life a lot easier for me when travelling into the city.  I cannot face travelling in hot buses anymore.  

On Thursday 23c is predicted, which will make my visit to Magdeburg Cathedral and Hundertwasser's "Green Citadel" one of blissful coolness.   I'm going with a friend, and we'll catch the the 11.17am train from BS to Magdeburg station, which, owing to the flooded River Elbe, was underwater a few weeks ago.  

The chaff discharging from the back of the harvester.

I had to close the windows on field side, to prevent myself from being suffocated by the fall out from the harvester.  What an amazing machine, which harvests the short stemmed crop, (especially breed with short stalks,) separates the grain from the chaff, which is then disgorged from the rear.   The grain is transferred to a separate container pulled by another tractor.

The harvester transfers the grain along a chute and into a tractor pulled container.  

My camera has some flecks of dust on the lens which is becoming a great nuisance.  They can be seen clearly in the sky in the above photo.  I will have to avoid sky scenes, when the flecks are most obvious.   I usually try to match the dust specks with a convenient tree or bush, but eventually I will end up with lots of landscapes, trees and bushes and no sky, unless the specks can be hidden in a convenient thunder cloud.   I hope you follow what I'm talking about.   I don't think I'm suffering from heatstroke!  


Sunday 4 August 2013

Up to the Top in the Cable Car at Bad Harzburg

 Waiting at the bottom for another car to arrive.

I had a really lovely day out with friends at Bad Harzburg, a town in central Germany, in the Goslar district of Lower Saxony.  It lies on the northern edge of the Harz mountains and is a recognised saltwater spa and climatic health resort.  The day was cooler than of late, and by the time we had arrived at the top, and alighted from the cable car, a gentle wind was blowing.  We had lunch and a beer in a nice little cafe near the fortress and the "Bismarck" monument. 

We took a short walk around the former castle, which according to legend in ca. 780 Emperor Charlemagne built a chapel built on the Burgberg, a hilll overlooking the town.    A castle and fortress were built on the site in the 12th century, and what a stronghold it must have been, standing on its prominent hill top.

Further information can be found on the following link:

Bad Harzburg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

                         en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Harzburg

The statue of "Krodo" the Saxon God.

"Dona" the Welsh terrier explores the outer walls of Castle Harzburg.

 Viewing the very deep castle well.

 On the way down, passing the upwards travelling other car. 

 Almost  down on Mother Earth again.

Back on the ground we met some more friends, and then took a gentle walk around the town, ending up in a very nice ice cream parlour!   After a stroll back to the car park, we were all tired and needed to drink tea or coffee and have a short nap!

The "Trinkhalle,"  where you can take the waters and stroll with friends in the long building.


Friday 2 August 2013

Janet´s Yucca is Blooming Marvellous.

On a hot, hot day, it was a welcome relief to spend some time in the cool of Janet´s house.  Mind you, I had to travel the entire distance to Querum from Timmerlah and back, on a hot bus, which is supposed to be air conditioned!  In temperatures in the early 30c´s buses need windows that can be opened, and although two small ones at the back were open, they allowed no flow of air through the bus.

Next year I will make my annual visit here early in the year and before the school holidays begin. That way I will avoid the massive improvements to the transport system that are heralded by the "school´s out" season.   At the moment, the tram lines from Weststadt and Broitzem into the city resemble scenes from war torn Syria.  Forgive me if I repeat myself, but constant heat disables my thought processes, and I cannot remember what I have previously written in this blog.  How the labourers and civil engineers have managed to work in the fifth hottest German summer on record, I do not know.  They are all very sun tanned.

On a happier note, Janet´s Yucca (left) is in full bloom, something that has never happened before!  It looks lovely, as did the rest of the plants in the  sub-tropical garden. The temperature today (Friday) is expected to reach 35c, which is no good for man nor beast, but obviously good for Yuccas.

In the sub tropical garden.

A distant gentleman sits on the terrace. 

Courgettes growing in a well watered raised bed. 

A croak of three frogs.  Spot the real one!