Germany Part 2: wild & domestic

On the second full day of our Germany trip, Max had to work, but Sevie took us to the nature preserve in their community (living in the country has its advantages) so the kids could see the indigenous animals that tend to make it into European folk tales. The drive was brief and the rain held off, but it was cool, so we were glad for the scarves and mitts that came with us.

The place is located within a huge piece of forest with lots of space between display areas, so even though there were other visitors to the park, we didn't feel at all as crowded or pushed along as we did the previous day at the aquarium. The first few viewings weren't spectacular, but the path we chose took us the wild bird and rodent way. It took us another 20 minutes or so to get to the larger forest animals like the deer, foxes, wolves and storks. The first spectacle came when we saw the wild boars (who came trotting over to us when I offered them some of the deer pellet food we had bought in a mini cereal box at the entry. Here's a picture of "Rufus" willingly accepting handouts. This was a great place with just the right amount of education around ecology, pollution, water use, preserving habitats and so on. Thankfully we had Sevie with us who translated very well if she thought the boys would be interested in the
content printed on the placcards. I was very impressed that she kept pace so well...her belly didn't slow her down in the least.

We also went by some streams and brooks, and within were some Canadian Otters! *(this is a direct translation from their latin name, at least that's what Sevie thought) who were incredibly playful performing for us by swimming, leaping, having a game of tag and showing us their tricks over and over again. They reminded me of puppies or children cavorting in the river, as they were having that much fun. This picture doesn't do the animal justice, as a still pic can't convey what agility he had and the joy of life he exhibited. Ah to be that carefree!

The next things we saw were typical of a game farm: snuffy the greedy deer almost took my fingers with the crunchy snacks I offered him and his mates (yuck: he'd been grazing in the muddy grass just a few minutes before, so covered our hands in grimy slime) and very stoic looking wolves in an enclosure about the size of a city park. The three of them had lots of logs to climb, rocks to stand upon and area to pace. We could see their route around the perimetre of their enclosure, as the ground had been worn into a hard beaten path. As I said, these were all the animals that ended up in The Brothers Grim type fairy tales and some really have suffered from this poor reputation provided them: over the years, the wolf killing in Germany alone has decimated the population to only dozens of wild animals within the country, a few re-released monitored couples and the rest are in preserves like this one--not really wild at all. Yes, they steal chickens, but they much prefer fowl to child and the last time they ate a Grandma, well...you know what happened to THAT wolf!

At the end of this activity, we were glad for the petting zoo and playground. The boys loved it, as there were plenty of guinea pigs, peacocks, ducks, lambs, and baby goats around to have a good talk to. One young goat liked the taste of the cardboard box more than the deer crunchies, or better yet, M's leather coat, but they were awfully cute. We entered the park at the same time as a bus from a residence for people with moderate to severe mental challenges, so when we got to the playground, there were about six people there with their aides, and D was really taken with one woman (about 35 I'd say, but with the face and stature of a 12 year old) who was uncommunicative to everyone but the goats. He and she petted the same bunch for some time, and even though they didn't use language they communicated about petting and being gentle to the animals very effectively. He can be so perceptive and sweet sometimes...there's definitely potential in that boy!

It was now much past lunch time, and the boys were grumbling, so we all went back to the house and Sevie and I went grocery shopping for snacks, typical German items that I should return home with and a few things to contribute to breakfast next day. Also, we needed to pack a lunch for our long trip home, since we were going to stop off for a late brunch/early lunch with Sevie's dad, Walter.

The trip to Walter's from Sevie's is about 90 minutes, and quite easy with a GPS...glad we had it since we had set it for fastest route, and at one time it took us down a dirt lane between two farmer's fields (I guess it was the fastest way!). It was a much more fun trip that the main route, for we saw some marvelous black faced sheep that the boys called out to from the car and they responded.

Walter lost his wife (in her late 50's) about two years ago to ALS and he is still dearly missing her. She was a lovely lady who taught Home Economics, participated in charity work, was an artist with paint and fabric (quilting and wall hanging) a whiz in the garden, and loved to cook. I never got to meet her but I think I would have very much liked her since we had so much in common. When we got to the house Walter had laid the table to groaning levels for a very typical German brunch: 4 cheeses, 5 spreads, a dozen buns, kaizers, croissant rolls, seed breads and the like, two or three cold meats, coffee and hot milk for the boys, juice, fruit, mueslix...you name it. He had set the table with the good china and had lit candles for the occassion. We all appreciated the care he took, the choices he offered and the wonderful hospitality he provided. He was very sweet and we had a great time and plan to return very soon to continue our too short visit of catching up with him since our Canada visit. It doesn't hurt that he's an Opera lover and a musician in his own right--lots to talk about!

We had a tour of the house (lovely!) and the gardens (wonderful--a pond full of koi that captivated both me and the boys) and the work still hanging that Elanor had done. Earlier in the trip when Sevie had mentioned regret that her mom wouldn't be around for her granddaughter to be--that we all think our time is unlimited, we got onto discussing her charity work and generosity. Sevie said that her mom had made a baby quilt for a family friend and wished she had made two, so that there would be something to give Sevie's new baby from her mom. I asked if there was still fabric around, and did she quilt. She laughed and said she didn't have the patience that her mom had and her talent wasn't something she inherited, but that there were cases of fabric still in her dad's house. Tentatively I suggested that I could make the quilt, if there was something she'd like done in the same style as her mom would do...I felt odd asking, but since I had just bought a sewing machine, it would be great to have an important project to work on. Sevie was very enthusiastic, and later that evening, phoned her dad to let him know just exactly which fabric she was referring to and where it was. After lunch, Walter and I went up to the third floor bedroom and pulled down half a dozen boxes to have a look. What a collection! I took only one box that contained the bear fabric but upon Walter's insistence, put in the pieces for a partially done quilt so that I could put together something by Elanor first to learn her style and methodology. Here are two pictures of the quilt: one as planned by Elanor in November 1999 and the other my finished version of her work. I hope she'll be glad that one of her UFO's (unfinished objects) has come to (almost) completion. I learned quite a bit from her while doing this, and now I'm fired up to begin the baby quilt for Sevie and little sweat pea...the fabric's laid out, the design is drafted, and my fingers are itchy--now I hope I can get some of this done in between working and cleaning the house for Marie's final week-long visit starting next Friday...!

Germany, Part 1: Hamburg's fish

Ah, the holidays (two weeks plus 2 days of them) are nearing to a close, and I've been remiss in telling you what has kept us busy since the return trip from Edinburgh. We got ourselves back, cleaned out the suitcases just in time to fill them again and rented a car (Mercedes C class Diesel 180) with GPS then were off like a herd of turtles to the East and North to Hamburg. On the navigation computer the distance was 596 kms and knowing that there aren't speed limits in Germany's autobans, we thought that would be a nice round 6 hours, if considering stops for snacks and stretching.

Well, we didn't count on traffic jams, construction, a vomiting kid or bickering children ("Don't make me stop this car--just try me, I'll do it!"). We were late getting going Saturday morning, so when noon arrived and we were just getting into the car, we knew it would be a long trip...both ways. We arrived at Sevie's and Max's just a little over 8:00 p.m. exhausted and hungry but happy to be there.

Sevie looks just radiant. She's started her "mother leave" which requires that she finish work 6 weeks before the due date, and not return before 2 months is up...this is fully paid by her company and the remainder of the year should she choose to stay off is covered by the government. She and Max had a lovely supper waiting for us when we arrived, and Max is very sweet doing all the cooking and looking after his dear wife and daughter-to-be. We had a great night of catching up and learning all about their eco-conscientious house (roof solar panels and internal vents collect heat for the heat exchanger that warms radiant floors and the water heater for the house...the triple glazed windows let in light without loss of internal temperature...there was lots more but I was getting tired by this time.

Both Max and Sevie with her dad came to Canada 18 months ago for a canoe trip to the Algonquin interior so there was lots of reminising and memories to recount. We went to bed late, but got the next day planned which included an aquarium (a new part of the Hamburg Zoo) a trip up St. Michel's (Lutherin) tower and a stroll down the harbourfront for a fish bun and people watching.

The aquarium was a bit costly, but not too bad now knowing all the lovely things we saw when we were there. It was very attractively laid out with tropical plants, temperatures and equatorial fish, lizards, snakes, bugs, slimy and scaly things and a few birds, rodents and the like all in authentic and natural looking habitats. For example, the black python from India was curled up in a Tuk-tuk (three-wheeled bicycle taxi) "parked" outside a shack's veranda...the tarantula was nicely nestled in a glass terrarium that looked exactly like the last Mexican outhouse I visited.

Interesting as all this was, it was all just the appetizer for the grand sight we saw in the tanks...here are some spectacular shots taken with Sevie's new camera by Max...I don't think they require words as they're so beautiful.

The best part by far was the three storey tank at the end with two sharks, a grouper and thousand of other fish that were just being fed as we arrived.

The kids and adults alike just loved it and I for one could have stayed for a long time looking up into that world.

Lovely.

The snacks were running out so we headed downtown to the harbour for a fishbun. This was an interesting fast food item--nothing like the fish burger some North American burger joints try to pass off as food...this was a real piece of just-caught fish battered or pickled, peppercorn'd or dolloped with curry-mayo stuck between the freshest kaiser roll in the world. I'm not a fish fan (shell fish are my exception) but this was really yummy. The boys had bratworsts but we had the real thing: M's smoked mackarel looked ready to swim away! of course, it came with beer--this in a country where the pop bottles (plastic 350 ml ones) get you 10 cents back but the beer bottles don't. Hm... I've yet to figure that one out!

Now that we had some fuel in our tummies, we headed up the city streets into the area where St. Michel's church is located. It was one of the few tall buildings to survive the air bombs of the second world war, so shows its divinity through an 8 euro trip up the tower complete with pictures of the surrounding areas during that time and after. The boys hoofed it up the stairs, but I kept the pregnant lady company up the elevator. The first picture you see is a view of the inner lake where people can sail boats (real sized and model) and the remarkably modern buildings that make up this city's skyline.

On our way down we stepped into the santuary to say we did (my mom says my kids are now part of the ABC club, which came from a remark I made as a child during traveling with them to other countries, as I was heard to say, "Aw, not Another Bloody Church!"). Not that I'd admit it then, but this one would have shut my mouth as a kid...It was all white with gold trim, art nouveau wood carvings, a circular balcony around three-quarters of it and a choir practicing up there. The light was perfect, the sounds inspiring and the feel very welcome. M lit a candle for his grandpa and we sat and enjoyed the echoing sounds of the choir. Wow.

This was enough for the day, so we headed back to our host's home and enjoyed another great meal cooked by Max. He had some international nannies as a child and a mom who loved to cook, so we were generously served meals of Spanish, Chinese, and Italian cuisines...not a "worst" in the lot of them! Our expansive breakfasts of fresh seedy rolls, salamis and ham, boiled eggs, many cheeses and several spreads made up for that, as this is a typical German beginning to the day...though I think a bowl of bran flakes would have done just fine for me. Here's a picture my youngest took of Max having fun in the kitchen--looks like dinner's ready!

Far too few kilts, I'm afraid...

Edinburgh was just incredible! Being there reminded me of a CBC broadcast of psychological phenomena that I heard once. According to some psychologists in Europe, there's documentation of actual physical effects on people who view incredible works of art (say, in the Louvre or the architecture of Milan) in the flesh rather than just study them in books: euphoria, racing heart, sense of enlightenment about one's place in the universe and for some, this can also lead to shortness of breath, disorientation and fainting...thankfully I only had the good symptoms and not the negative.

As an homage to my dad, we made careful plans to visit Edinburgh University, travel the same lane ways (a lane way between these massive built-up stone buildings is called a "close" and I know why!) and streets as he did between 1953-54 when he was there as a divinity student. We even went to the church where John Knox preached (for those non-protestants on my reading list this was the guy who among others led the reformation of the church away from the hierarchy of the Catholic church and rigidity of its liturgy). I may have my story wrong, but I believe Dad either practiced his preaching in St. Giles Kirk or actually was a guest preacher here. But I digress: lets start at the beginning.

The day started with a car trip to the train station and a train trip to Edinburgh's downtown station. The weather was chilly but bright and crisp, so we took ourselves by foot along the gardens in the downtown core to the University area. Everything in Edinburgh is built on hills, so this was a bit of a workout for us. Interestingly, the many bridges over low areas in this town were (and still are) used as building supports, so this was the first city to have 15+ storey buildings even as early as the 1600's...must have been a spectacular sight! Here's a picture of the family standing in front of the building where Dad studied. Then we made our way to the writer's museum to warm up.

This remnant of a 17th-century house had lots of portraits, relics, and manuscripts relating to Scotland's greatest men of letters: Robert Burns (1759-96), Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), and Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94). It had items from the life of Stevenson (including his fishing rod and riding boots), as well as a gallery of black-and-white photographs taken when he lived in the South Pacific. The main floor features Scott with personal artifacts and original manuscripts. Another set of rooms gives details of Burns's life including his death notice in a copy of London's Herald on July 27, 1796 along with his writing desk, rare manuscripts, portraits, and other items. Just as Frommers' said it would be, it was pleasantly uncrowded and one of the few free things we found in the city this day.

The kids were patient to a point, but we knew our limit, so quickly headed up to Edinburgh castle to see the cityscape and investigate the prices of this still working castle built in 1140 and home to the Queen when she visits Scotland. Check out www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk for a grand website of interesting features. When we discovered the price for the six of us, though, we realized we'd either have to sell some real estate before another visit or auction off a child: for the four adults it was going to be 54 pounds and another 6 for each child. So you don't have to take out your calculator, this came to a whopping 132 Canadian dollars for a 90 minute visit. You'll forgive me for not investigating my heritage to this intimate level, I hope. One disadvantage of NOT visiting was the fact that we'd not be checking out the nobby knees of kilted clansmen walking the halls of the castle...at least the other views were free, and quite spectacular...we were able to see St. Giles from up on the cliff and headed down towards that way after a few snaps of the city and the castle's exterior. First we mortgaged the house for lunch and enjoyed mediocre service...serves us right for eating at a tourist-trap type burger restaurant. Is this island ever expensive! How do people survive here?

After fortification, we made our way down the Royal Mile to the site of St. Giles Kirk, built in the early 1100's. I swore as a kid I'd never drag my children around Europe's churches and cemeteries, and that's exactly what we did for the rest of the day. But first we had to spit on the heart of the city...not sure why, but here's a picture of my men doing just this. It is in the square just outside the chapel.

One of my boys in particular is like a bull in a china shop (not naming any names) so when we got inside the church, M and I kept our big bag of "shush" handy. When admonishing him for about the 10th time, we drew the attention of a guide in the church. This man was quite friendly and after giving us a bit of an earful for shushing our kids by saying, "You know, touring this place is for them--make it memorable--do you have a minute for a story?" He then went on to tell us the story behind the name of the place, the coles' notes on the history of the reformation of the church and a tour of the main floor of the building, that has had a place of worship of some kind or another standing for more than 800 years. He gave us some laughs, a few remarkable anecdotes and a few pictures, and the boys still remember Mr. Hauganot when we ask them about visiting grandpa's church.

We then tried to visit a haunted house, since we had built this event up all day for the boys. Unfortunately, the tours were all booked until much after our last train, so instead we stomped around one of the older cemeteries of the city. We wanted to show the boys some ghosts, so thought this would be the next best thing. We visited Greyfriar's Bobby...a statute honouring a dog that stayed by the grave site of his owner faithfully for 14 years. When the dog himself died, the people of Edinburgh erected a gravestone beside his owner and this statue outside the kirkyard pictured here. I admit, I got a little lightheaded thinking that both my close and ancient ancestors stomped the same grounds I did that day...it makes me feel very insignificant to realize I'm only one very small piece of a huge space-time puzzle that makes up this world!

This was about our limit, so made our way to the train station for the return trip home, via the Edinburgh student store to buy Matthew a sweatshirt and a textile shop to get me a cabled cardigan. The boys trinkets would have to wait for anther trip.

Thanks to Viki and Rob's eventful tour-guiding, we slept well that night, and made our plans for the return trip home to Brussels...just enough time to shower, do some laundry and be off again -- this time to Hamburg. Ah, but you'll have to wait for that story for another day! Don't forget to check out M's blog, in case he's faster at this typing thing than I am!