Letting Go of the Bay Leaf: Elphi

Showing posts with label Elphi. Show all posts

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Mosaic Monday #62: Hamburg, Part III

The peace of the holidays is rapidly dissipating. Wildfires in Australia. Tension between the US and Iran. And closer to home, the sale of 630,000 acres of Montana timber land by Weyerhaeuser to Southern Pine Plantations, a Georgia-based brokerage and investment firm. Rumors abound that treasured public access to recreation areas will evaporate as smaller parcels are sold to developers.

While I am not one to panic, it is enough to bring on a general sense of unease. In response, I pray. And then I look for escape. Akin to the proverbial ostrich, I stick my head in the sand of happier, carefree days. So let us return to October 2019, and our trip to Hamburg, Germany. As I wrote in my previous two posts, a city of romance, and of hopes and dreams.

Our tour of inspiring churches resumed with the Russian Orthodox Gnadenkirche ('church of mercy'). The round church was built in 1907 and for almost a century served as an Evangelic Lutheran house of God. As the number of churchgoers petered out, in 2004 the church was acquired by the parish of Saint John of Kronstadt. After extensive renovations to suit its new congregation, the church now possesses captivating frescoes and intricate iconostasis crafted by Moscow's premier icon painters.

Iconostasis - a screen bearing icons, separating the

sanctuary from the nave

Our admiration continued, albeit in a more natural setting. Planten un Blomen ('plants and flowers') is a 116-acre urban park, famous for its water-light concerts, public theater and music performances. It is easy to imagine summer-time, with families strolling wide pathways, and couples relishing a picnic while lounging on a blanket near one of the numerous water features. This day, light rain spattered the ponds and gravel paths, leaving the park to a handful of visitors braving the weather. Readers, you know my adoration for any garden, so you will believe me when I write that my enthusiasm was not dampened by a pinch of precipitation.

By evening, the walking tour resulted in a voracious appetite. Once again, Dr. H hit the mark with a reservation at La Creperie Bretonne de Hambourg. As you might surmise from the name, this restaurant serves only crepes and galettes, but I challenge you to peruse the menu without finding at least three dishes you would like to sample. And then you have a decision to make about a dessert crepe! Ooh la la!

Staff were dressed in traditional French garb (think white and blue striped seaman shirts) and speaking French!

Stuffed full of crepes, I was ready for fresh air and a promenade to our next destination, the Elphi. On our first day in town, we viewed the Elphi from a distance, but Dr. H promised that a night-time visit has a magic all its own. As we approached the Philharmonic Hall, its dazzling blue and white lights pulled us forward like bees to honey. We were bewitched by the escalator, which curves over its 270-foot length as you ascend to the Plaza level.

A stroke of marketing genius, the Plaza permits access without concert tickets - thousands of visitors cop an up-close view of the building's architecture, undoubtedly resolving on the spot to attend the next available performance. And then, there is the panoramic vista of the harbor - everywhere you look, people lean on the railings, taking in the ships outlined by strings of lights, with Hamburg's skyline beyond. Who can resist a romantic picture for two?

The night was still young when we crossed town to the Reeperbahn, Hamburg's legendary nightlife mile. Its reputation as the red-light district jangled a few of my nerves, but I rested easy in the trustworthy hands of Dr. H. Although the area offers "adult services" of every type, most are not obvious and many are on side streets. In the end, the Reeperbahn reminded me of the music scene in Nashville, the neon of Las Vegas and a US-style Spring Break, rolled into one. Dr. H took us to two of her favorite bars, and we danced our little feet off. Before we boarded the train to head to her apartment, I was tickled to see a bar with my name. Who knew?

The next day saw a late start (“old” people need their sleep), and it was mid-morning when the train swept us to Blankenese, on the western outskirts of Hamburg. Blankenese is a wealthy residential district known for its half-timbered fishermen’s houses and pre-war villas, many of which line the winding stairs of the Treppenviertel (German for “staircase quarter”) neighborhood. I was fascinated by the contrast of traditional homes cheek to cheek with ultra-modern construction. Just a guess – being fit is a requirement to live here; I read a statistic that the average mail carrier in this village covers 5,000 steps and 300 feet of elevation each day.

The rain had picked up again by the time we chose a lunch spot, but that did not deter us from outside dining. As I reported in an earlier post, many restaurants provide heaters, blankets and even awnings to protect customers from the elements. That said, my pumpkin soup was a warm welcome.

The restaurant offered a ring-side seat to the harbor action, as container ships were loaded by sky-high cranes. Impossibly large cruise ships squeezed past the commercial operators, their captains somehow keeping them within the deepest parts of the channel. Soon enough, we joined the fray on the ferry that transported us back to Hamburg.

Although we were still satisfied from our lunch, Dr. H convinced us (it wasn’t too difficult) that we must try the fischbrochten at her favorite harbor-side shop. We gazed into the glass case to select among these sandwiches, made with fish and complemented by one or more of the following: onions, pickles, remoulade, creamy horseradish sauce, ketchup or cocktail sauce. Spousal Unit was in his element, recalling the salty, fresh fish of his youth. (Of course, the souvenir emporiums beckoned and we documented our stay in Hamburg with his and hers t-shirts, and a shot glass for his bar.)

Too soon, it was our last day, and Dr. H laid a fine breakfast table before she returned to work. We ran 6 miles (gotta do something to work off those calories) and finished our packing in time to head for the train to the airport. We felt like locals when we grumbled about waiting FOUR MINUTES!

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 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