Wednesday 31st August, and flying back to Heathrow Airport, London today.

I fly back to Heathrow Terminal 5 from Hannover on one of these airbuses.  The journey lasts around 1.45 hours, and I leave at 11.15 CET, and arrive in London at 12 noon GMT.

This blog will now hibernate until the end of May 2017.  Thanks to everyone who reads the stories of my stays in Germany each year.

Best wishes, and take care.

Abschiedspartys that make me feel Sad!

Abschiedsparty No. 1  Saying goodbye to the Friday music group.

Every year it gets harder and harder to say "Aufwiedersehen" to all my lovely friends here in Braunschweig.  The last two weeks of every stay are spent with me feeling sad and tearful at having to leave, although I know I will be back again the following year.

I fly back to London on Wednesday 31st August!

Abschieds Party No. 1 Handing out some tasty rolls.

Abschiedsparty No.2, and later that evening No.3 with Waggum Ladies Choir.

Abschiedsparty No. 4 at a neighbour's house in Timmerlah.  I got rather tipsy on the Duckstein.

Abschiedsparty No 5. at the English Group on Monday morning.  I got a little merry on the wine!

Tea Tasting with the Deutsch English Association

Tea, tea glorious tea!

 

I am a member here of the DEG, the German/English Association in Braunschweig.  Anyone with an interest in GB and the English language can join, and each month the group holds a meeting, with a speaker talking about anything from tea to other English inspired topics.

 

I have never before taken an interest in "Fine Teas" much preferring what I call "Railway Porter´s Tea" which is so strong, that it is almost possible to stand a teaspoon up in the mix.  My father was a tea expert, and I drank the strong stuff as a child, and it did me no harm!  I was surprised at the difference in taste of each tea, never having tasted them before one after the other.  Never again will I describe them as "coloured water."

 

The strongest was a "Brown coal" smelling and tasting tea, which is drunk with a cherry in the bottom of the cup.   Not many of us were keen on the taste, but the cherry tasted good!

 

The tea talk was given in German, by a really knowledgeable man who runs a shop in Braunschweig, who learnt his English whilst working here with the British Army.   He mentioned that he thought his English sounded "Cockney" so would not give the talk in English.   I had a chat with him after the talk, and his English sounded excellent.  My father was a "Cockney" so I am tuned into listening to the sound of a London accent with all its slang, and his English was sounded excellent to me.

Eating yummy Cake in Waggum

Abschieds Parties No 3 and 4.   Look at the splendour of the cakes.

 

It is "Aufwiedersehen" time again, and my stay here rapidly comes to an end.  The four months has flown by, and I leave on Wednesday 31st August, to pick up my English life again.

 

I met two friends for tea in Waggum, a little town just outside , to say "goodbye, see you in Bath!"   The Waggum Ladies Choir hopes to visit Bath in May 2017, so saying goodbye this year has a special meaning, as we will all meet up again on my home ground.

The pond in the garden.

 

It was a really hot day, and I think the photos show the humid 32c heat reflected on the pond water.  The fish seem to be in the coolest place, and were on the surface as they had just been fed.  You can just see an plastic line at the bottom right of the photo.   This is part of the "heron defence" system, with lines stretched around the pond preventing any hungry herons from landing, and eating goldfish for tea.

 

The lily pads with lots of frogs sitting about, although difficult to see.

My two friends chatting in the lower part of the shady garden. 

 

It was soooooo hot. 

Back in Devizes on Wednesday 31st  for the start of "My Life as a Brit."

 

 

Stinking hot in Braunschweig.

 The insect eating plant house in Braunschweig's Botanical Garden.

I took these photos last Wednesday, when the temperature was only 30c!  On Thursday it had risen to 33c, and today Friday it is 35c, and much too hot to do anything. I thought I had got away with coolish weather this year, as overall,  my stay this year has seen the worst weather ever.  I was very surprised however to read, that  my final days here would be spent in temps of over 30c.

Some whispy clouds have appeared in the sky, which is a sure sign that the weather will soon change, and that cannot come too quickly for me.

I fly back on Wednesday 31st August, leaving behind temperatures in the mid 20s.  I shall not be sorry to come back to the cool dampness of English weather!   (and a big plate of fish and chips.)

The Cactus House

 

My favourite seat near the Biology department of the University.

A big plant with big leaves. That is all I know about this monster.

A Lot of "Hair" in the Burgplatz!

The audience gathering near the drinks marquee before the performance.

 

The performance started at 7.30pm, and this photo taken at around 7.10pm shows how gloomy it was, just after the heavy rain had stopped.   Amazingly twenty minutes later, as we all started to find our seats, blue sky appeared, and the rest of the evening was dry if a little muggy. 

A sneaky view of the dancers!

 

It was a good performance, with excellent singing and energetic dancing.  The orchestra was a little too loud at times, which drowned out the singing, but the message came across well, that it is better to make love rather than war.  The world never learns does it! 

The Lion Monument in the Burgplatz takes centre stage each year.

 

I must confess to having a few problems with theatre in the round, which I find a distraction from the main, central action.   "Hair" of course, is about free living, drug taking and love making, and trying to watch the main action, whilst couples simulate sex  to the right and left of  the stage, was a little disconcerting!     I must be getting old.

 

I am busy packing my suitcase for my return next Wednesday 31st August.   I am sorry to leave my adopted second life, but my English life in Devizes is about to begin again.

 

 

 

 

An Introduction to "Hair" in the Burgplatz.

The ticket booth in the Burgplatz with the cathedral in the background.

 

A couple of weeks ago I went with friends to a free introduction to the musical in the open air theatre in Braunschweig.  It was a chance for the production team to dance and sing in front of an audience, and also a chance to listen to the Brazilian choreographer, who talked about the problems of performing in the round.  All very interesting, particularly as he spoke in English, the one common language he had with his dancers and crew. 

 

I am going to a performance proper on Saturday evening, 20th August.

Watch this space for a write up.

One of the lighting towers to the left, with the controller's booth centre.

Henry the Lion, the 12th cent Duke of Braunschweig's "Lion Monument,"  is always included centre stage in the action.

Part of the audience, with the towers of the City Hall in the background.

Up to the Brocken on the Brockenbahn!

 

Photos from my train ride up to the Brocken, the highest point in Lower Saxony.

I will attempt to finish this post in due course.


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Stepping out of the old 1930's carriages.

The engine chugging away in the distance.

It is impossible to ride up to the Brocken without some alcohol.

Nearing the top.

 

Taking on water at one of the stations.

Paläon, the Museum that houses the famous Schönigen spears.

 The Paläon Museum after completion in July 2013.  Its mirror clad facade makes it blend into its background at any time of day

The Paläon Museum is a research and experience centre in Schöningen, near Helmstadt, where five wooden spears were found in the brown coal layers of an opencast mine.   It is a museum and visitor centre, which was built exclusively for the exhibition of eight Schöningen Spears, and showing the people of the pleistocene era and their living conditions at the time the spears were made.

 

Huntsmen with their spears, from a series of pictures made from overlaid sheets of paper.

 

Five of the Schöningen Spears, the oldest known objects made by mankind.

 

The core of the exhibition is the eight Schöningen Spears presented in a display case. The preservation of spears was performed using water-soluble resin that stabilized the weakened wood.  They had previously been preserved for many years in a dark stainless steel tank filled with distilled water, and were later displayed in transparent water containers at the Lower Saxony State Exhibition in 2007 and 2008.

The exhibition area is devoted to research into the Schöningen area and Pleistocene archeology, and also designed as an extracurricular place of learning.   The Museum is located on the edge of a lignite opencast mine in Schöningen,  south of Helmstedt, in which all the artefacts were found.   From the building itself, visitors have a direct view of the opencast mine.  On the museum´s 34-hectare outdoor site, wild horses, similar to those that lived at the time, graze on wild plants similar to those of the warm, interglacial period, illustrating the natural environment of around 300,000 years ago.

 

Animals from the Pleistocene period in the long gallery, complete with some terrifying noises of animal being hunted and killed by shieking hunters.  All a bit too blood curdling for me!

The skull and tusk of a mammoth.

 

The two feet at the back left, show a big mammoth´s foot and a smaller, present day  elephant´s foot for comparison.

A very hairy Pleistocene man, holding the skull of one of his hunted animals.

 

The skulls on the display show Neanderthal man, and the white skull of modern man.

 

A three dimensional map, showing the area after the retreat to the right, of the last ice age.

 

It was a very interesting museum, although not suitable for young children.  The building itself was rather clinical, although when some trees have grown up around it, it should have a more homely feel.   I was particularly interested to see the spears, and our guide showed us a replica of one,  and also a modern javelin, and both were of similar length and thickness. 

We visited on a damp, rainy day, so we did not have a chance to go outside and practise our hunting skills in a special area set aside for amateur spear throwing at distant model mammoths und bears!

 

We had a good afternoon out, and the after exhibition Currywurst and beer in the cafe went down a treat.  There were no mammoth burgers on the menu!

 

 

The Stadtpark Restaurant.

The pretty restaurant building under the trees.

 

I am so behind with all these posts, so will do a quick catch up without much text.

Dining out with friends for the English group.

 

I chose to eat what was supposed to be a vegetarian curry, which unfortunately did not agree with me, and I spent two days getting over it.  Next time I will chose the safe option, and go for a pizza!

German beer, what more can I say!

Friends from the English group discussing the merits of German beer.

Lotte Reimer´s Pottery exhibition in the State Museum, Braunschweig.

A selection of Lotte Reimer´s hand built pots.

 

I have now recovered from my "I had too much to do in July" mode,  and have settled into "I´ve got a quieter, must quieter August" lifestyle, which means visiting museums, and the more local places of interest in and around Braunschweig.

 

Last week was very hot, and especially so on Sunday, when I went into the State Museum to see a special exhibition of the work of Lucy Reimers, a potter, who was born in Hamburg in 1932, and worked there most of her life.

 

All her pots are hand built, and decorated either with slips, (coloured, liquid creamlike clay) or with simple low fired glazes, which were  fired  in wood burning kilns.  This kept the earthy, natural colours, and whilst at first the large collection of them all together made them look rather dingy (I am not meaning to be rude,) on closer inspection of each one, they were so refreshingly simple and natural.

 

Each shape is hand built from coils of clay, with her finger and thumb prints left to enhance the hand built quality of each pot.

 

I particularly liked the dish in the above photo, which was made from a mixture of coloured clays fused together, with the impression of an ammonite in the narrow base, just visible I hope.

 

Most pots had a narrow neck and small opening at the top.

 

Some of the textures and colouring on each pot reminded me of animal skins.  To the top right, the pot has a patch of spotted leopard´s coat.

 

The pottery exhibition was housed in some pleasantly cool rooms, but when I ventured into the musical instrument collection, things warmed up somewhat!   Wooden instruments need to be kept at a constant temperature, so I missed the nice coolness of the Lotte Reimer´s pottery collection rooms.

Theodore Steinway 1825 - 1889.
 
A bust of the eldest son of the piano maker Heinrich Steinway who founded his famous piano factory in New York in 1854.  The family originated from Braunschweig, a city which has a long history of piano making, and is now home to Schimmel pianos.

A concert grand piano by Steinway and Sons, Braunschweig.

 

The inner workings of from top,  of a spinnet, piano and a clavichord.

 

This little display answered my question on how a string is plucked in a clavichord.  On pressing each key to the right, it was possible to see exactly how the sound was produced on the three different instruments.   The clavichord has a little hook, and when the key is pressed, the string rises above the hook and when dropped pings the note.  It´s taken me 71 years to realise that, but well worth the effort!   Am I a slow learner?