Letting Go of the Bay Leaf: October 2019

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Mosaic Monday #51: Hamburg, Part I

Water is everywhere. The canals. The Elbe. The lakes. And so you must have bridges. Did you know Hamburg has more bridges than London, Amsterdam and Venice put together? Indeed, it's true. Perhaps, then, it's no surprise that one can easily fall into a romance with Hamburg. I couldn't possibly cover our six days in one post, so you can expect several chapters as I share the many sights, sounds and tastes of the second largest city in Germany.

Upon our arrival at the airport, we were greeted by a former au pair, Dr. H., and whisked off to her comfortable, homey third-floor apartment overlooking a canal and conveniently located two blocks from the railway station. Our welcome was complete with an introduction to Lola the dog, who quickly adopted us as family members.

We began to catch up on the six years since we last saw each other, but it was so easy and relaxed to hang with Dr. H. that you would think we might have had morning coffee just yesterday. After a home-made snack of apple crumble and applesauce (with ice cream), Lola took us on a walk to the canal.

The apples come from orchards outside the city

Yours truly, Dr. H. and Lola

The next morning, our cultural education about Hamburg began. In this metropolis of almost 2 million people, public transportation is the name of the game, and Lola thought nothing of waiting 4 minutes* for our train to downtown. Destination? Breakfast. Restaurants and small cafes abound, and it is a blessing to have a friend who can guide you to "where the locals go".

*Locals will grumble about waiting for a train, and it became a joke among us over the next few days - 4 minutes? 3 minutes? 2 minutes? I don't think we ever stood on the platform for more than 10 minutes.

Our next stop, St. Michael's, is referred to as "the Michel" by residents. It is dedicated to the Archangel Michael, and a large bronze statue, standing above the portal of the church, shows the archangel conquering the devil. During our visit, we were charmed by the organist preparing for the mid-day service, and climbed the tower for a 360-degree-view of the city.

Given its height, the tower of the Michel becomes a landmark that is easily seen from throughout the city. It is said that ship captains would use it to navigate into the harbor. Later in the day, we would take a photo of the three of us with the Michel in the distant background.

Upper right: the mechanism that runs the clock on the tower

Lower left: Love locks appear many places in the city, and the tower was no exception

From left: Archangel Michael; Dancing Towers; Harbor with container ships; Elbe Philharmonic Hall in the distance

We re-joined Dr. H. and Lola, waiting patiently in the park below, and soon crossed this "Oriental Carpet of Stone", which paves the way to the warehouse district of the city and serves as a symbol of Europe's biggest commercial shipment point for oriental carpets.

The "carpet" has been in this location for quite some time, but was completely re-done earlier this year with granulated marble, jasper, synthetic resin and threads from mop heads. From a short distance, it appears to be a real carpet!

As we strolled the Speicherstadt (literally "City of Warehouses"), we caught glimpses of many oriental carpets through open warehouse doors. If we had a slightly bigger carry-on bag, we might have been going home with one of these stunning pieces of art!

Hamburg is Europe's third largest port, which belies its heritage in the shipping industry. The warehouse district is the largest in the world where the buildings stand on timber-pile foundations, oak logs in this particular case. Built from 1883 to 1927, the district was awarded the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015.

(Internet)

The Elbe Philharmonic Hall, opened in January 2017, houses concerts in a wave-shaped building perched on top of an old warehouse. Anchoring one end of the warehouse district, the Hall was criticized during its construction, mainly for its cost. Now, it is a favorite landmark for tourists and locals alike, and is lovingly referred to as the "Elphi".

By now you have surmised that the city features innumerable architectural gems, and we passed many of them on our first full day. The Chilehaus, a brick expressionist office building built in 1922, is shaped like an ocean liner. St. Jacobi Church is located directly in the city center, has a 410-foot tall tower and showcases a famous organ from 1693. The Rathaus (town hall) is a richly decorated Neo-Renaissance building completed in 1897.

Top three photos - interior of St. Jacobi Church; Bottom: 1932 aerial shot of Chilehaus

The Rathaus. Top Center: the Fountain contains the goddess Hygieia, who stands for preventive

health care. This is a remembrance of the victims of cholera in 1892.

In most cases, Lola was welcome in these buildings. If not, we would take turns keeping her company. But when we visited St. Jacobi Church, I was simply amazed. It had a vestibule occupied by a watchman, and he requested that Lola remain there while we toured the interior. Do you know? She never moved from the spot once Dr. H. told her to stay!

Many of the historical displays we saw included pictures of destruction during the Second World War, a somber reminder of that era and its impact on the city and the world. Even more striking, for me, were the "Stolpersteine", or "stumbling stones", which commemorate victims of Nazi extermination or persecution and are placed outside their last-known freely chosen residence. The inscription on each stone begins "Here lived", followed by the victim's name, date of birth, and fate: internment, suicide, exile or, in the vast majority of cases, deportation and murder. Since our visit to Hamburg, I read more about this form of remembrance, and it has affected me deeply. I highly recommend a visit to this link, especially the section called "Origin of the Name". Pictures of bombed-out buildings are graphic, but the simple Stolpersteine bring to life thousands of tragedies at a very individual level.

Left stone reads: Julia Schwarzwald. Born 1872. Humiliated/Disenfranchised. Escaped into Death. 22/2/1942

Right stone reads: Eugen Gowa. Born 1904. Deported 1943. Murdered in Auschwitz.

We ended our day as it began - near the water. The Inner Alster Lake is one of two artificial lakes within the city limits that are formed by the River Alster. Bordered by the city on three sides, and the historic Lombard Bridge on the fourth, the Lake virtually guarantees gorgeous pictures from any angle.

A perfect place for a romance, whether you're an "old" married couple like us, or Dr. H. and her trusty dog Lola.

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.
Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Mosaic Monday #50: A Whirlwind

Fluffy rabbits at Amsterdam

airport

Dateline: October 16. Durham Tees Valley Airport. Waiting for our flight to Hamburg*.

A little dizzy. That's the best description of my feeling at the moment. Maybe it's the strong coffee I'm imbibing, but I think it has more to do with four countries and four airports in as many days. I haven't completely adjusted to the time zone and the new rhythm of the days. Trust me, I am not complaining - we've had a smooth journey so far.

On October 13, the full moon cast the only light at the early hour of 6 a.m., as we navigated the silver thread of road in our neighborhood. The Toyota GPS predicted a travel time to Calgary of 6 hours and 37 minutes. Well, that was a concerning moment - we had planned on five and a half hours.

I will cut to the chase and tell you that we made good time, even with two comfort stops. At that hour, we were the only car crossing into Canada, and we passed through quickly despite a slightly grumpy Canadian border agent (I suppose I would also be annoyed to get out of my chair at 7 a.m.)

The drive from the border to Calgary traverses the Rocky Mountain range, and with the early snowfall in British Columbia and Alberta, the scenery was stunning. Every few miles, we would say "We need to come back here."

Near Fernie, we saw 60 elk in a field along the Elk River. Amazing. A bit further on, Crowsnest Pass wowed us with alpine lakes lapping closely on either side of the highway.

As we descended toward Calgary, the scenery transformed to prairie and soon enough we had parked the car at the Hilton Garden Inn. (Through friends, we learned of way.com, which offers discount parking at hotels - what a novel idea. We will be staying at the Hilton upon our return to Calgary. And in case you're wondering why we would fly from Calgary, it's simple - tickets were half what we would have paid flying from Montana!)

In no time we had checked in with KLM and were enjoying a late lunch at Vin Restaurant. (We also watched the Cleveland Browns play the Seattle Seahawks - not so enjoyable with a loss, 32 to 28.) So glad the Coconut Curry Soup was outstanding!

Our flight to Amsterdam was slightly over 8 hours, which "flew" by quickly, courtesy of a couple of movies (I watched "Rocketman" and "The Mule"), a meal and some napping.

We occupied the four-hour layover with walking (who wants to sit after 8 hours in a narrow airplane seat?) and window shopping. This was not our first time to Schiphol Airport; despite its size, I love it. You can stroll for miles, it offers a plethora of unique shops, and you can still locate a corner or two with peaceful serenity.

Cheese, anyone?

Left: Tulips, Middle: Robot welcomes you to the store

Upper right: HUGE amaryllis bulb; Lower right: Dutch blue pottery

I slept through much of the hour-long flight to Newcastle, but awoke in time to see the green patchwork of fields rising to meet us. Was it tears suddenly blurring the view? No, I'm sure it was just some wispy clouds!

*We were with my in-laws for a day and a half and now we are in Hamburg. More to come from the UK and Germany!

Mosaic Monday

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Mosaic Monday #49: And perhaps a hedgehog

We're going on vacation! I must admit, I am amused by the concept of "vacation" for folks who are retired. "Vacation: An extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home or in traveling." We are already enjoying leisure and recreation, and we sure are extending it. Our destinations are Northeast England and Hamburg, Germany, which ticks the box for time away from home/traveling. That settles it, then. As of today, we are officially on vacation!

Faithful readers know my in-laws live near Durham, England. While I may have lost count of the number of times we have returned to the village of my husband's youth, I maintain my enthusiasm for our visit and all it has to offer. These last few days, as the clock wound down to our departure, I found myself daydreaming about the trip, and all the things I am anticipating.

Such as the chicken. No, not chicken you eat, but the hen that is cared for by my father-in-law. I probably won't be up early enough to release her from the hen house, but I like to pair up with Dad to check for eggs and tuck her away safely for the night.

Re-uniting with family and friends is always a highlight of our visits. I am blessed with terrific in-laws, and I am looking forward to spending time with them, whether it's looking after the hen, watching soap operas (East Enders and Coronation Street) with my mother-in-law, or experiencing a new pub for a bar meal. In recent years, my in-laws have become quite adept at carving pumpkins, which is catching on in the UK. Since we can't be home for the Halloween costume contest in Whitefish, at least we can get in some pumpkin action.

My husband's one and only cousin began singing publicly as part of a duo about four years ago, and recently she made the transition to a solo act. I know it is easy to be biased when it is family, but let me tell you, this woman can sing, and plays guitar and piano to boot. We are delighted that she will have a gig during our visit - my dancing shoes are packed and ready to light up the dance floor.

The first time I lived in the UK, I worked with a woman who has become a life-long friend, even though we might only see each other once a year. It has become our tradition to savor afternoon tea while catching up on 12 months' worth of news. Our last "outing" was in July 2018, and she put on quite a spread at her house, which we enjoyed in the summer sunshine of her back garden. We haven't firmed up arrangements for this trip, but I am already salivating for the finger sandwiches and pastries that I know will be part of our get-together.

After a couple days getting acclimated to our new time zone, we'll jet over to Hamburg to visit one of our former au pairs. We hope to participate in Oktoberfest, complete with dirndl dress and lederhosen, but in any event we'll be content to tour this magnificent city in the capable hands of our au-pair-who-became-a-medical-doctor.

This week, I mentioned my daydreaming to a friend in Whitefish, and she quipped, "Surely you're not looking forward to England's cuisine." Truth be told, foodstuffs were top of mind. A full English breakfast. Toasted tea cakes. Pie, peas and chips (meat pie, mushy peas and French fries). Bourbon biscuits (cookies). Sunday dinner (usually roast beef, roasted potatoes, parsnips, carrots, peas, Yorkshire puddings - popovers, gravy). Fish and chips, at the seaside. A cheese board for dessert, preferably with Tawny Port.

With all those calories on offer, I am committed to my running regime, and also thankful that walking the public footpaths will be high on our agenda, regardless of the weather. There may be sheep, and there will certainly be a pub somewhere along the way. Possibly a random castle, and assuredly an ancient churchyard.

And if I am REALLY blessed, a hedgehog!

Note: given our travel on Sunday into Monday, I may be delayed in commenting, but I will be on line. I also plan to post Mosaic Monday per the normal schedule. Hope you join us!

Mosaic Monday

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Mosaic Monday #48: The (brief) Interval

On the last day of September, friends and family members from outside Montana were texting me. Are you snowed in? How much snow did you get? Apparently, erstwhile news outlets reported Montana with deep piles of the white stuff, an outcome of the September 29 storm. To set the record straight - we woke to a dusting. Areas east of us, such as Browning, had four feet of snow. Those schools were closed on Monday and our Governor declared a state of emergency for certain localities - both rare events in a state that prides itself on making it to school and work and Costco no matter the weather.

Down by our lake

As I reflected on my pictures from September, I had to wonder - is that it? Was that our Fall? Was that THE INTERVAL between Summer and Winter? The current forecast calls for highs in the 40s for the foreseeable future - yep, feels like Winter to me. So I am grateful that I captured a few Fall photos while I had the chance!

In September, plants featured berries and fresh technicolor coats. Mushrooms sprang up, the birthright of bounteous precipitation. Some insects seemed to slow down with cooler temperatures, such as this dragonfly that I encountered on the road during a run.

In honor of the changing seasons, I replaced the summery flag in front

of the house with the fall-themed Moose Lodge

I didn't know it at the time, but a kayak on the lake on September 22 with Dear Neighbor Friend may be the last of the season for me.

We attended the Celtic Festival in the middle of the month. It was one of those days when you really don't know what to wear. The morning started off brisk, but then the sun bore down and you wished for shade. And just for good measure, we had a light rainstorm in the late afternoon! We loved watching the athletic events, the dancers and the musical groups. Nothing could match Amazing Grace on the bagpipes. The video below does not present the performance in justice - one bagpiper started it off, and after the first verse, the rest joined in. Stirs my heart every time. (And sorry it's sideways!)

Just for fun, I have included this video of the Sheaf Toss. A bundle of straw weighing 20 pounds is tossed over a ever-rising bar, using a pitchfork. The highest toss wins.

I haven't taken the opportunity to play the piano much this summer, but anticipating a smidgen of indoor time, I followed up with the Piano Man on the repair of the "action" on our upright piano. I am pleased to report that the piano has now been restored and re-tuned as far as he could take it without breaking any strings. Just look at the fresh new leather strips, and the unblemished felt hammers!

On a recent volunteering day in Whitefish, I found myself with extra time and I enjoyed a stroll around town as I used to do when we lived there. It was quite nostalgic, and I might have even sucked up a tear or two!

With the onset of fall in Montana, it is critical to pick fruit that can be an attractant to bears. With great joy we plucked apples from my Mom's Goodland tree for the second year (see first year story here and here.) It was enough for an apple pie, and I can't put into words how I felt when I dove into it. How do you express cinnamon and love, apple and childhood memory, butter and the miracle of the fall harvest?

As long as we are on the subject of food - Head Chef has turned to some of his fall favorites, and as always, I am glad I have a strong workout regime or my waistline would be expanding!

Upper left: Roast Beef, Yorkshire Puddings, Mushy Peas Upper right: Pizza with home-made crust

Bottom: Zuppa Toscana with home-made bread

Inevitably, cooler temperatures inspire my inner craftsperson. I have taken to sending hand-drawn and hand-written birthday cards. Imagine!

I hosted my first Munch and Make session since April. In Montana, summer is precious and most folks wouldn't be caught inside when the mountains are calling! Now, with shorter days and questionable weather, crafty birds flock together.

April Munch and Make - my neighbor, who is a hula dancer, works on a raffia headband. The hula group makes

every element of their costumes.

September Munch and Make: A friend brought hand-made ceramics and glued them to narrow wood pieces

Bottom pictures are the finished product on her bedroom wall

For my part, some new Christmas ornaments are underway.

Pinterest Ruffle Skirt

But I am most excited about the Christmas tree skirt. I mentioned it in my last post about Josie, and now it is appropriate to tell you more. Last year, we bunched up some burlap around the base of the tree, in keeping with our rustic theme. But I wanted something a little more formal, and Pinterest came to my aid with a ruffle skirt design. You would be so proud - I have been able to take the basics of the design and ADAPT it - not usually my strong suit!

The skirt is six feet across, with brown felt as the base. Per the Pinterest design, I began cutting the burlap I had into three-inch strips, using conventional scissors. After my hand nearly fell off, I invested in a rotary cutter and a cutting mat.

Using my superior math skills, I created my own pattern, assuming 13 rows of ruffles and utilizing the burlap on hand. Here you can see Josie helping me measure the radius. No problem.

Not so fast! I dramatically mis-calculated the amount of burlap required. It's the pleats, you see. A seven-foot piece of burlap becomes a 3-foot piece once it's pleated. I need A LOT more burlap. And does Hobby Lobby have the color I need? Nope. I can't really blame them; burlap dyeing is variable, to be sure. So I went back to the drawing board and I believe I have a workable pattern that doesn't waste the burlap I have. You are sure to hear more about this in a future post, whether you want to or not! I might have been a little (!) frustrated, but Candy Corn helped me get through it!

By now you have forgotten (like me) that this post started with snow. But one thing's for sure - my plants are not coming back. While the snow may have been shallow, the temperatures were in the deep freeze, and shriveled fleshy plants.

Left - Pink Poppy on September 27 Right: Same plant on September 30

You might expect me to be outraged, or at least disappointed, about this. As you know, animals who nibble my plants can have that impact. But somehow, I am taking this in stride. Maybe it's because we head out of the country in a week - I am not going to be here to enjoy the garden anyway. Or perhaps I accept that this is a force I can't control with chicken wire or a spray. Or possibly, just possibly, I am growing excited about the Winter - skiing, snowshoeing, the Christmas season - did I mention that both of the kids are coming for Christmas? That's enough to tip me over the edge and past The Interval.

Mosaic Monday