Goslar und Wernigerode

Posted on July 1, 2024 by borysSNORC

It’s Monday, in Europe… and you know what that means! Everything is closed!

So as much as was possible, we arranged for today to be a transit day between Hanover and Berlin with some drive through visits to a couple of small towns in the Hartz Mountain areas for a bit of a sticky beak knowing that we’d get to these villages and likely nothing would be open. All good – day of scenic driving it is.

First stop was the town of Goslar, which is mostly known for its super cute medieval altstadt (old town) and its half timber houses. There is also an Imperial Palace here with historic murals (Monday: closed) and a cool church St. Cosmas and Damian with some fragments of 13thC stained glass windows (Monday: open). The area is also known for its silver and copper mining in the Rammelsberg Mountains which have been operating for over 1000 years in the area (which does my head in, because *nothing* is that old at home!), and there’s a Mining Museum in the area (Monday: closed), and a cool underground railway with waterwheels and stuff (Monday: closed), but most of that will just have to wait until I come back and visit the area at some time in the future. Which I totally intend to, because this place must be so fairy-tale cool during December when the Christmas Markets are on.

The Altstadt was really beautiful – perfectly preserved, beautiful brick and timber buildings with slate roofing, and pretty little turret windows everywhere.

Most of these buildings are restaurants with small holiday accomodations above.

The cobblestone streets and squares are gorgeous to look at, but not a lot of fun when you’re having problems walking. Stupid fucking knee; can’t wait to get it sorted.

There’s civic art and then there is this ‘thing’. It’s right outside the tourist information office and beside the old church – but with no placard or explanation whatsoever. It seems really out of place. It is apparently called the “Goslar Nail Head” and no one is quite sure what it means, but I have a feeling it’s nothing good!

The market church in Goslar is a Protestant Parish church called, St Cosmas and Damians. It is named after those two saints who were early Christian doctors believed to have performed many miraculous healings of sick people in the Asia Minor region in the 3rdC AD. The two saints are considered to be the patron satins of the sick, as well as doctors and pharmacists. The church itself is first mentioned in historical documents from the 12thC but the construction of the existing church is predominantly 14th-15thC work.

This guy started playing the organ not long after we entered the church – it’s amazing listening to these enormous instruments filling the space as you visit.

These are apparently 12thC stained glass panels from the original church – which would be super impressive if I hadn’t just been in Saint Chapelle in Paris just a few weeks ago! I’m so lucky!

It is a very pretty little church to explore, but compared to the majestic cathedrals of most cities in Europe, it is a fairly quick visit.

I would definitely like to come back here in winter for the Christmas markets – the more you wander through the town centre, it has a really lovely atmosphere and every street has a beautiful old world medieval feel to it. It’s a gorgeous place.

I was remarking to Angus on how the Cologne Cathedral was built across a period of over 600 years with the same design and architecture, but spanning over generations of people all sticking fastidiously to the plan even though they would never be the people who would see the project completed… and I compared it to the difficulty you have these days getting even five people to agree on what a bus shelter should look like?! Well, apparently in Goslar they don’t have that problem – someone/s here have decided that a throne is integral to superior bus shelter design! 🙂

This cute little hotel is called the Romantix Hotel Alte Münze – and I took some pics of it because it is the perfect location and exact amount of quaint I will require for my next visit! 😀

This little train runs tourists around the town to see all the old buildings… bit Disneyeque imo, but no doubt some with young children would enjoy it.

As we were getting ready to leave – there was a parade coming through the town. We have’nt been able to ascertain what exactly it was to celebrate/honour, but there was a drummer and lots of flautists and a fair bit of prideful pomp and costume.

Love me some good heraldic banners!

After this it was back on our scenic route to Berlin via Wernigerode.

We passed many ‘unsightly’ windmills that were no doubt killing birds and upsetting whales or whatever the fuck that ridiculous orange-cockwaffle keeps saying about renewable wind energy equipment. :/

We also went through loads of beautiful countryside with corn fields, wheat field and (because, Germany and beer!), fields filled with hops!

Wernigerode is another village which has a fabled timber housed old town, including a cool medieval Town Hall or ‘Rat Haus’ (Monday: closed) and a well known, leaning old Crooked House. There’s also the Wernigerode Castle (Monday: closed), and a wee musuem (Monday: closed), which has views to the town, but we didn’t drive up as everything is shut up there. You gotta be somewhere on a Monday when you’re travelling and being on a drive may as well be it, but it’s sad to be so close to lots of cool stuff and it’s shut. We did see the Drei Annen Hohne train station, where the Brockenbahn steam trains run to Mt. Brocken, and this was open, but we didn’t really have time to go tootling around on steam trains for the entire afternoon… not when we were chasing some food, having skipped breakfast, and still had to make it to Berlin (and preferably before peak hour!). 🙂

This fountain was a little hard to decipher – apparently that is the Branch of the Past which has witches and Roman gods on it (there were witch trials held in the Hartz Mountain areas, so there are witch motifs all over here and Goslar – on food labels, on souvenirs, everything), and on the other side is this weird dude who represents the future and he has a frog apparently, though Lord knows why? Might need to dig into that a bit later at some other time!

The Marktplaz… and (closed) Rat Haus.

So many restaurants to choose from – but as you get closer to them, you discover most of them are cake and coffee shops, designed to sit and watch the world go by. The ‘world going by’ was notably rather quiet today – because MONDAY!

The very empty town square which must get extremely busy in full Christmas season also.

We ended up at the Wernigerode Brauhaus for lunch – and we got a very quizzical and confused look from the publican when neither of us ordered a beer! Upon looking around, everyone was sitting in front of a large stein of something. Oh well… neither of us particularly like beer, so it’s all so thoroughly wasted on the two of us. Instead, it was schnitzels and burgers for our main meal of the day, and skipping dinner tonight I think. I can’t seem to order a meal without pommes frites so usually ended up sending back a plate full of fries.

This is the tourist information office in Wernigerode. What a cool little building.

I like these – I think Brisbane needs one. Wait, we might have one somewhere, I’d never know! Never played tourist in Brisbane because I think of it as somewhere ‘with no cool shit to see’. 😛

The castle overlooking the town with an ominous sky… after a brief wander around and a stop for lunch we hit the road to head to BERLIN!

Berliner Dom – I’ve been here before, but it’s on the agenda for Angus to visit tomorrow.

Berlin is a very beautiful city full of gorgeous old buildings – which never fails to boggle the mind when I consider how heavily bombed the city was in WWII. The efforts and funds involved in rebuilding are phenomenal. Because we are here for three nights, have work to do while we are here, and I felt we had probably had enough of the pokiest of pokey hotel rooms in the Altstadt s for a while – I had booked us a larger room at the Radisson Park Inn. Seems to have been a good call. We have a proper desk to work at and a couch space for a change so no need to sit on the bed and work on laptops.

View front he 35th floor – very cool. This is the only really tall building around for some reason…? Tomorrow we hunt out security and infrastructure overlay information surrounding the EuroCup and then hopefully hit up a museum if we have time.

Cologne

Posted on June 27, 2024 by borysSNORC

Cologne Cathedral is enormous! Like most important cathedrals and churches in Europe, it was built on very early Christian sites. In this case, on the site where early Roman Christians met in Cologne around 300AD. The building as it exists today wasn’t started until the high gothic era – around 1248, and unlike many other cathedrals that took hundreds of years to complete, the build plans never changed.

It’s hard to imagine that everyone who worked on the construction of this magnificent cathedral all knew that they would never live to see the endeavour completed. The plan to build the cathedral was started in 1164, when there was an agreed upon transfer of some relics to the town. In 1225, the planning for a bishop’s residence and pilgrimage church were established, and the prior building (from the 9thC) was demolished. In 1248 the foundation stone was laid.

In the 1360s building work slowed down, as the foundations were completed and some areas of the cathedral were already consecrated and put to use as a church. It wasn’t until the 15thC that the south steeple was completed at a massive height of 58m tall. Around 1530, work on the cathedral came to a halt all together as most of the ground floor, the nave, the choir, transepts and two lower storeys became usable.

And it pretty much stayed in that condition until 1794 when the French Revolution troops invaded and the archdiocese of Cologne was abolished. The cathedral was temporarily used as a fodder storage room and also as a makeshift prisoner of war camp! It wasn’t used as a church again until 1801, and the archdiocese wasn’t reestablished until 1821.

Construction eventually resumed on the cathedral in 1842 to be finally completed in 1880 – and all still to the exact same plans that were laid out in 1225! Which is just unbelievable when you think about how difficult it is to get a committee of five people to agree on how a fucking bus shelter should be built these days… let alone be able to keep an enormously intricate build of this calibre, going to the original plans and specifications for over 600 years and generation upon generation of architects, stonemasons, builders and who knows how many other masters and craftsmen, involved. It’s simply amazing.

In WWII, Cologne was reduced to rubble, and the cathedral was severely damaged by numerous bombs. Entire bays of the vaulted ceilings were collapsed and various windows were blasted out. One bomb tore an enormous hole in the western facade and destroyed a supporting buttress which was hastily stored up with makeshift bricks. Due to the construction techniques though, the bulk of the cathedral was able to withstand the shock of the blasts and vibrations. At the end of the war, it stuck out of a massive field of debris and destruction, looking largely undamaged compared to the rest of the city.

These windows were created in 1884, and based on a designed by Johannes Klein. Six of the eight windows were destroyed in WWII and remade in the 1990s.

This picture does not come close to conveying the sense of enormity and proportion this cathedral has. It feels as big as the Hagia Sofia, or the Florence Cathedral, the only other medieval cathedral that I remember feeling this overwhelming sense ginormity is possibly St Peter’s in the Vatican.

Altarpiece of St Claire, c.1350-1360. Oldest existing retable that contains a tabernacle for holding the sacraments. Originally came from the former Franciscan convent of St Clare and has resided in Cologne cathedral since 1811.

The ‘swallows nest’ organ was built in 1998 to commemorate the 750th anniversary of the Cathedral.

Crucifix of Gero (because… donated by some Bishop Gero c.976). At over 1000 years old, and considered one of the first larger than life size sculptures of the midlands, it represents Christ in the moment of death, through which mankind was redeemed. The Baroque altar was added in 1683 by Canon Heinrich von Mering. The Crucifix was said to be miraculous, and has been especially venerated over the centuries.

Statue of Grace depicting Our Lady, decorated with jewellery – also known as the Schmuckmadonna (great name!).

I just can’t get over the scale of this place.

Altarpiece of St Agilolph carved timber and painted. Antwerp c.1520.
From the former collegiate church of Our Lady at the Steps (St Maria ad Gradus).

St Heribert’s Shrine, c.970. Heriberto was born in Worms to Count Hugo and Tietwista – his maternal half brother was Heinrich, Bishop of Wurzburg. Silver, gilded, gold, precious gems and enamel, Cologne. It is under glass and has a rope around it so it ws difficult to photograph – but stunning enamel work!

St Christoper statue, Tilman van der Burch, c.1470.

Intricate mosaics cover 1,350sqm of the cathedral floor and are based on designs by August Essenwein – and created and laid 1885-1892 by Villeroy and Boch in Mettlach (believe it or not!). Villeroy and Boch… not just overpriced crystal! 😉

The Altarpiece of the City’s Patron Saints – originally created c.1445 the triptych is attributed to Stephan Lochner, Cologne. The central panel portrays Adoration of the Magi flanked by St Ursula and her companion, St Gereon, partron saints of Cologne.

Altapeice of the Magi, Wilhelm Mengelberg, c.1892.

From the crypt below the cathedral:

Visitors are able to climb the 533 steps into the south steeple for amazing views over the city of Cologne. It brings you to 100m above the ground…needless to say, me and my bung knee didn’t make the climb, but Angus did.

The Cologne Cathedral is truly impressive; it’s no wonder it was included in the original 1978 listings of World UNESCO Heritage sites. It was declared endangered in 2004 as there were plans in place to build several high rise buildings close to the Cathedral, but it was delisted from being endangered in 2006 when city planners thankfully came to their senses and put a limit on the height of modern buildings near the cathedral. It would have drastically altered the city skyline had they built up right beside it.

Some clever fundraising… hearts with the flags of all nations. For some reason, people can’t help themselves but pop some coins onto their own flags. The American heart even had a bunch of USD$1 notes plonked on it.

The Cologne Cathedral also has a rather impressive collection in their Domskammer / Treasury, which was an amazing labyrinth of tunnels underground at the back of the cathedral.

Reliquary monstrance. Cologne, c.1500. Silver, copper, gilded, rock crystal and glass.

Reliquary of the Cross from St Mary ad Gradus.
Constantinople, mid-end of the 12thC. Figures, wings and ornaments, Cologne, c.1240.
This reliquary was reset in the late Romanesque times with pieces of a Byzantine relic casket containing pieces of The Cross.

Shrine of St Engelbert. Goldsmith: Conrad Dulsbergh.
Casket Designer: Jeremiah’s Geisselbruhn. Relief Designer: Augustin Braun
Cologne, 1633, silver, partly gilded.

Reliquary of St Vincent de Paul, c.1800, silver, gilded.

Reliquary of the Cross with spectacle-glass.
Workshop of Hans von Reutlingen, Aachen, 16thC. Silver, gilded, spectacle-glass.

Statue of a deacon holding a reliquary of King Melchior. 16thC, Cologne.
Silver, gilded, glass reliquary, bronze, partly gilded, silver plated, precious stones.

Hammer and trowel, Wilhelm Pullack, Cologne, c.1842. Silver and ebony.
These tools were used by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussi when he laid the foundation stone for the completion of Cologne Cathedral on 4th Sept 1842.

Shrine of the Magi, Cologne, late 12thC.
inner wooden construction of the sharing, oak, glass, copper, gilded.

Reliquary Monstrance with links from St Peter’s Chains.
Cologne, c.1500, Silver, copper, gilded, rock crystal and glass.

Necklaces/Collars of the Mayors of the city of Koln
Cologn, 1954-1955. Gold, niello gold and silver gilded on bronze and garnet.

The Domskammer really feels like you’re walking around in a medieval vault.

Left: Crosier of Philippus Cardinal Krementz, Archbishop of Cologne (1885-1899)
– Unknown artist, Rhineland, 1868, silver, gilded and enameled.
Centre: Crosier of Herman Jospeh Schmitz, Auxiliary Bishop of Cologne (1893-1988),
– Peter Oediger, Krefeld, 1893, silver, partly gilded and enameled.
Right: Crosier of Hubertus Theophilus Samar, Archbishop of Cologne (1900-1902)
– Gabriel Hermeling, Cologne 1892, silver, gilded, enamel, precious stones.

Left: Chalice Franz Christoph Mederle. Augsburg. c. 1750. Silver, gilded.
Right: Chalice, Augsburg, late 18thC. Silver, gilded.

The Lamb of the Apocalypse. Johann Heinrich Rohr, Cologne, c.1774-1780. Silver, brass, partly gilded.

Monstrance. Franz Christoph Mederle, Augsburg, 1749/51.
Pendants: c1516. Gold, silver, gilded, and precious stones.

Necklace c.1657. Donated by Archbishop Maximilian Heinrich as jewellrey for the Schmuckmadonna.
Christian Schweling, Cologne, gold, enamel, previous stones

Matching bracelet – also by Christian Schweling, Cologne, c.1657.

Processional Cross – Silver, copper, gilded, enamel and precious stones.
Enamel plates: Limoges c.1200.
Setting: Cologne, c.1220.

The Sumptuous Monstrance. Christian Schweling, Cologne, c.1657/58.
Destroyed in 1975 when theives broke into the Treasury and reconstructed by Peter Bolg 1978-1987 using original pieces. Gold, silver, gilded, enamel, rock crystal, precious stones, pearls.

Epitaph of Jakob von Crzny, Brussels, c.1518. Bronze, gilt, brass and enamel.

Bust Reliquary of St Gregory of Spoleto. Cologne, c. 1500.
Silver party gilded, gold ring with precious stone.

Bust Reliquary of St Sebastian.
Franz Wusten, Cologne, c.1875. Silver, partly gilded, enamel, precious stones.

Reliquary of St Walburga. Wilhelm Sittmann, Cologne, c.1765. Silver Gilded.

Reliquary. Johann Heinrich Rohr, Cologne, c.1766. Silver, gilded.

Two Angels as Candleholders. Cologne, c.1500, Brass, silver, partly gilded.

Left: Censer, Rhineland, c.1500, silver.
Right: Censer, Cologne, late 16thC lid, 20thC charcoal holder and foot. Silver.

Chalices all from Cologne.
Left: 15thC silver/gilded. Centre: early 14thC, silver/gilded. Right: late 15thC, silver/gilded, enamel.

Monstance, Cologne, c.1400. Silver, gilded, enamel, mother of pearl.
Donated to the Cathedral by Maria Theresia Schaefhaueun in 1846.

Electoral Sword: c.1480-90. Sheath: c.1515-1547. Cologne, Silver, partly gilded, enamel, steel, velvet.
Gothic Bishop’s Crosier: Cologne, c.1322. Silver, partly gilded, enamel.
The bishop’s crosier and the electoral sword are the symbols of spiritual and secular authority of the archbishops of Cologne. The Crosier is from the consecration of the Gothic Cathedral Choir in 1322. The sword from the reign of Archbishop Hermann von Hessen (1480-1508).

Details of above:

Chalice with paten and spoon. Heinrich J Wilma. Düsseldorf, c. 1893.
Silver, gilded, enamel, precious stones and pearls.

Chalice with paten and spoon, Franz Wusten, Cologne, c.1888. Silver, gilded and enamel.

Altar braid from the High Altar of Cologne Cathedral. Cologne, completed prior to 1518.
Silk, and gold threads. The altar braid was believed to have been bestowed by Dean of the Cathedral, Friedrich von Simmen-Sponheim. The coats of arms of his parents are appliquéd onto both ends of the braid.

Fragment of the canopy of the Madonna of Milan, Cologne, c.1280/90.
Limestone with traces of colouration.

Four apostles of the jamb of the portal of Cologne Cathedral, c.1375. Limestone
Behind: Saints Andrew, Peter, Paul and John.
Front: Angel with a bell, St Catherine, a Prophet.

Detail: the Prophet.

Prophet from the reading desk in the choir of the cathedral. Cologne, c.1300. Tuff with colouration.

Grave goods from a Frankish woman’s tomb. Located under the inner choir during renovations in 1959 were these objects belonging to a young woman of approximately 28 years old. Personal objects were burning with noble perons at that time and included these lavish jewellery items.

Rosette brooches. Gold, garnets. Frankish.

Strap tags from cross garterings. Gold and garnets.

Bow brooches, gold, garnets.

Spherical pendant. Gold, rock crystal or moonstone. Frankish.

Six Capitals – Master of the Laacher Samson, Cologne, c.1200. Limestone.

Dalmatic and stole from the Capella Clementina. Paris, c.1742. Silver fabrics, gold embroidery.

Pluvial and five mitres of the Capella Clementina, Paris, c.1742.
A forty-four piece trousseau of silver fabrics and gold embroidery.
These splendid vestments were ordered in Paris by Clemens August von Wittelsbach, Archbishop of Cologne on the occasion of the coronation of his brother, the Emperor Karl VII – 12th February 1742.

Chasuble and mantle of the Capela Clementina, Paris, c.1742. Silver fabrics and gold embroidery.

Pectoral Cross and ring. Johann Bernhardt Clausius, Frankfurt AM, c.1769. Silver, precious stone.

Burse with the Virgin on the Crescent. Germany, late 19thC. Silk, gold and silver threads.

Cope of the Angels Vestements. Germany, c.1713. Silk, gold and silver threads.

Book Cover, Johann Franz Weissweiler, Cologne, early 18thC. Silver.

Book of Hours, Early 17thC. Leather, silver, gilded, iron.

St Peter’s Banner, Wilhelm Mengelberg (design), Minna Peters (worked), Neuss, c.1899.
Cotton, silk, gold and silver metal threads, glass stones and pearls.

Magi’s Banner. Wilhelm Mengelberg (design), Minna Peters (worked), Neuss, c.1899.
Cotton, silk, gold and silver metal threads, glass stones, pearls.

Chasuble with coat of arms of the Hirzelin Family, Cologne, c.1480 (appliqué work).
Ground cloth replaced in 1963. Silk, linen, gold and silver metal threads.

Pluvial brooch with a figure of St Hubert. Gabriel Hermeling, Cologne, c.1892. Silver, gilded, enamel.

Crosier: Belonging to Johannes Cardinal Geissel (Archbishop of Cologne 1842-1864).
– Made by Gabriel Hermeling, Cologne, c.1862. Silver, gilded, enamel.
Mitre: Belonging to Johannes Cardinal Geissel (Archbishop of Cologne 1842-1964).
– Unknown artist, Lyon, c.1850. Silk, gold, glass stones .

Magi’s Chasuble. Joseph Grossé, Bruges, c.1901. Silk, gold and silver thread.

1) Mitre of Joseph Hammels, Auxiliary Bishop of Cologne, 1924-1944. Germany, c.194. Silk, gold threads, glass stones. 2) Bishop’s ring of Antiochus Cardinal Fischer (Archbishop of Cologne 1903-1912), made by August Witte, Aachen, c.1904. Gold and precious stones. 3) Crosier of Peter Josef Lausberg (Auxiliary Bishop in Cologne 1914-1922), made by Leo Moldrickx, Cologne, c.1914. Silver, enamel, precious stones, ivory, pearls.

Large Plate, Friedrich Toussaint, Aachen, c.1900. Silver, gilded, enamel.

Dalmatic, Peter Hecker (design) Cologne, c.1922. Erica Freund (embroidery), Cologne, c.1927.
Silk, gold, threads, steel, pearls and glass pearls.

Pluvial accessories. Peter Heckler (designer of the cope) Cologne, c.1922. Erika Freund (embroidery), Cologne, c.1927. silk, gold threads, steel pearls, glass pearls.

After the cathedral and the amazing Domskammer – we made sure to take a break and visit the famous Peter’s Brauhaus for pork knuckles and schnitzels! Of course. It was a really cool place, great facade on the building and they have a massive overflow dining area across the road, up the street a little and in the square – which was packed at the moment due to all the football fans that are here for the 2024 EuroCup but aren’t using the Fan Zones.

We managed to get a table inside.

I wanted to see the stained glass ceiling, and I did, but it was packed with people and it was impossible to get a photo of it without snapping all these folks mid-forkful, so, below is a pic I unscrupulously stole off the internet.

Naturally I went for a schnitzel, which was such a polite portion of food compared to Angus’ enormous pork knuckle dinner! So much potato though – didn’t eat any of it. I’m going to look like a schnitzel by the time we leave Germny… the cuisine here is not ideal for someone who doesn’t like sausages and refuses to eat bread or potatoes. 😛

Totally forgot to take an ‘after’ picture – he demolished that thing!

Bastogne – War Museum

Posted on June 26, 2024 by borysSNORC

The Bastogne War Museum is a World War II museum focusing on the Battle of the Bulge, located a few kilometres northeast of the Bastogne city centre in the Belgian province of Luxembourg. We were looking for somewhere to break up the afternoon drive, and this feel like a culturally useful stop… gotta smash some history into your STEM students any which way you can!

Out front we encountered what appeared to be some select pieces from Berlin’s East Side Gallery, including some very colourful painted Trabants.

According to the interwebs – ‘the musuem is located on the former Bastogne Historical Centre Site and was opened in 2014 after four years of work. It features a highly interactive audio tour walkthrough which takes about two hours and showcases many artefacts from the events leading up to and the battle of Bastogne itself. It has three immersive films and follows the story of four fictional characters involved in the battle. The main exhibition progresses chronologically and presents a timeline before, during and after the offensive’… which kinda sounds okay? Until you get there!

OMG it’s a massive swing and a miss from me on the audio tour nonsense. Most of the displays are full of text – lots of maps, written explanations in four different languages, info about different artefacts and objects, and all the while you have these four fictional characters babbling in your ear trying to make the experience somehow personal and relatable. I had to shut those fuckers up so I could read and actually absorb something!

I know these sorts of things are probably designed for people who are unaccustomed to steady reading, or are only used to having their history totally spoon-fed to them, but I don’t know how anyone could possibly follow the narration of the tour *and* absorb the chronological timeline and details that are right in front of them. Especially given the narration is done very emotively with music and/or the sounds and noises of war running through the entire soundtrack. :/

I took some photos here and there, but am so not going to hash over the day to day of the build up to the Battle for Bastogne. I am certain there are any multitude of documentaries available on this particular engagement on Netflix at any given time, and if your patience doesn’t run to an hour long documentary, I am sure there are some TL;DRs on YouTube you could find for a 20min run down… failing that, go watch ‘Band of Brothers’ and you can have a expertly dramatised version of the events as told by US soldiers who lived through it.

Hitler wrote Mein Kampf while in jail after WWI… not sure why it made me think of Trump’s Project 2025 manifesto, but it currently does. 😐

DM notes when inflation went crackers post WWII.

I find Nazi memorabilia morbidly interesting; at the time it was probably no different from any other type of orangised group of people in society plonking their symbols all over their badges, flags, crockery, cutlery etc. But now? With the historical context, seeing a swastika anywhere (that isn’t a Japanese temple) is just so… jarring.

Youth passport.

Typical items of kit.

A portable printing system used by the Resistance.

Map of the European and Pacific theatres.

Paratroopers very high tech kit… oh dear god.

The Pacific Theatre – just like in Japan, there is ZERO mention of the ANGAU troops and the engagement in Milne Bay in PNG that dealt the Japanese army their first defeat in the region. I mean, I would probably know nothing about it if it weren’t for the fact that my grandfather served in the 25th Batallion there in WWII. I find it interesting that even here, there is plenty about the US and Midway and Guadalcanal, but not a peep about Aussie chokkos repelling the Japanese.

I had expected far more vehicles and even aircraft in this museum – the air support was integral to holding Bastogne against the Germans once the Allies were surrounded. But not so much.

How to talk, children and not give away plans to the enemies.

I’m unsure what sort of tank this is… but it does look far to clean and shiny for this purpose.

The restored state of these vehicles seems unnecessary. In Gallipoli, nearly everything looks aged, distressed and ‘like it’s been through a war’. A lot of these displays feel… sanitised.

One of the video presentations, complete with fog machine and voices of a German LT, and an American solider talking about the days waiting for Patton from either side of the engagement.

Another dirty big tank, that looks clean and brand spanking new with a fresh coat of paint, in spite of the enormous hole in the side of it?

Local artwork made in the years following the war – repurposed brass to make lanterns, reliquary type objects, an umbrella stand and even a little wishing well.

Newspaper front page after Hiroshima is bombed…

There was another section of the Musuem called, the ‘45 … which had some enormous dioramas made up. This was weird – there was no context given for this area of the museum. Just cleaned up cars and staged scenery for them.

Outside there are some monuments to the 75,000 American soldiers who lost their lives in Bastogne at the Battle of the Bulge. The offensive was integral in turning the war in favour of the Allied forces. The German army suffered over 100,000 casualties. These monuments have a very ‘Thank you, America!’, feel about them. In fact, the entire town of Bastogne has that vibe, with plenty of American flags and actual ‘Thank You!’, signs visible in shops etc.

The major monument dedicated to the American servicemen who came from all parts of the US.

Much like Waterloo, which I visited a couple of months ago, it is a strange feeling to look out onto such peaceful countryside and know that the ground was once soaked with the blood of so many young men killed in war here. The noise of the aircraft, tanks and artillery couldn’t be further away as you listen to birds and leaves rustling in nearby trees.

Popped into a cafe in Bastogne with Angus because Belgium equals… WAFFLES!

And later – some traditional pommes frittes with mayo on our drive.

Luxembourg

Posted on June 25, 2024 by borysSNORC

Luxembourg seems to be in two parts, and in between is a gaping chasm that must be 150 feet deep… it feels really weird topography to build a city on?

It doesn’t look that steep from these pics, probably because it’s heavily forested, but trust me, it’s quite the ways down. There seems to be massive public skate parks. Need to sus this out a bit more – weird topography for a city just going from the new section to the old town.

Monument to the Jews of Luxembourg in the Second World War…

Ah, another Notre-Dame Cathedral! But, because we are in Luxembourg, it’s got a sign out front saying ‘Kathedral Notre-Dame’ (in Luxembourgish, yeah apparently that is a real dialect), but also saying ‘Cathédrale Notre-Dame’ (in French), and ‘Kathedrale unserer Lieben Frau’ (in German) because these poor buggers live in a strange little confluence of culture that is smack dab in the middle of France, Belgium and Germany… all the while they seem to be trying to keep their own thang alive.

Construction first started on this cathedral in 1613… so it’s kinda shiny and new compare to Metz yesterday!

Some very cool carved beasties in the western portal.

While the church is predominantly an example of late gothic architecture, it also has many Renaissance elements and decorations. I love these high vaulted ceilings in these beautiful old churches. I can’t imagine what medieval people (I know I’ve ranted about his recently but it bares repeating), who had no mass media in their day to day lives, made of these extravagant buildings.

The organ gallery is unusually at the very front of the church, above the main entrance. It is not a very large cathedral all things considered, so I guess it doesn’t need to be located closer to the main altar place where masses would be delivered.

Luxembourg Cathedral has some frescos, which appear to be in high medieval style, but they are in such good condition, I suspect they may be latter additions. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a lot of English information to go by in this visit.

I love the enormous vaulted ceilings.

There were a couple of rather bold mosaics in some small altar spaces either side of the main nave… again, I couldn’t ascertain how old these mosaics were, but I can confidently say, they are not as accomplished as many of the high medieval golden religious mosaics I have seen in many other churches and institutions, leading me to think they are also a rather more recent addition.

The stained glass windows around the central nave are in keeping with the original construction time of the church – approx 17thC, however the glass towards the towers at the front of the church are of much later, added in the 1930s and then replaced in the 1980s after a fire caused one of the towers to be severely damaged.

Even modern stained glass is beautiful. It’s surprising we don’t see stained glass elements included more in modern architecture… but I guess everything comes down to cost these days.

The enormous columns throughout the cathedral have different patterns carved into them. I can’t say I’ve noticed this in other medieval religious monuments. I mostly recall seeing plain, smooth columns, or in some cases fluted columned, but these have knotwork or diapering patterns carved into them, and hardly any of them match?

Below the Cathedral is the crypt which houses the remains of many important Grand Dukes and Grand Duchesses of Luxembourg… the oldest being a tomb for John of Bohemia (1296-1346), and then a long line of modern Dukes and Duchesses: Marie-Adeliade (1894-1924), Marie Ann the Infanta of Portugal and Consort to William IV (1861 – 1924), Felix, Prince Consort of Charlotte I, and a bunch of others up until like five years ago.

The small chapel where the royal family of Luxembourg gathers for the farewells is under the Cathedral and not really open for public use.

The tomb of John of Bohemia mentioned above (1296-1346)…

The exit brings you out onto the main square of the Kneudler – or basically the altstadt (but we don’t call it that in Luxembourg because we are being all Luxembourgish.

The Kneudler is the area surrounding the Place Guilliame II, who is depicted on his horse here.

In 1923, this memorial to the Luxembourgers who volunteered in WWI was created by artist Claus Cito. The very noticeable Gëlle Fra (or Golden Lady) overlooks the Place de la Constitution. 1923… feels like maybe they probably wished they’d waited a few years to build this one; could have saved themselves having to build a second one to honour the volunteers of the next clusterfuck.

Luxembourg is a city built over an enormous ravine with huge towering bridges spanning the two plateau’d areas that comprise the old city and the new. So many streets we wandered along had very high drops down to the river below.

Many walking and biking trails line the river and wind up the steep paths to the city. I dare say building housing in this area would be expensive, hazardous and potentially a flood risk, so it’s all enormous public park spaces.

Grand Duchess Charlotte (1896-1985), who ruled in her own right from 1919 to 1964.

The Grand Ducal Palace, which is rarely open to the public and was most definitely not open to the public at the moment as the family is in residence due to it being the Duke’s birthday, like yesterday.

Complete with beautiful carved stone turrets, and beady eyed guards staring suspiciously at tourists and having to tolerate us wankers taking their photograph.

Around the corner – literally – from the Grand Ducal Palace is the Luxembourg National Art and History Museum. Best thing about it : it’s free! Luxembourg seems to like free, they have entirely free public transport here, since 2019. All local trains, trams and buses are 100% free for locals and tourists alike, so the city seemed to have hardly any cars in it, and we found when walking the streets, there were plenty of paid parking spaces available as most people were using the free public transport.

Now unfortunately, this was going to prove to be one of those museums where if you don’t speak one of the languages that they seem to want to embrace (French, German, Dutch and Luxembourgish!), details were going to be scant, but we did what we could.

Merovingian clasps, fibula, buttons and brooches.

I love how the temporary little sign informing visitors that an object has been removed is written in English – when hardly any of the other descriptive panels are!

Cruiciform Fibula – Zwiebelknopffibeln. 😐 Yes, that’s the level of information we got here. lol
Oh and that they were worn by high functionaries and officials. But no where or when…?

Merovingian jewelled pieces, gold and garnet. Clasps and necklace pendants. Bertrange.

Buckets c.560-570 AD. One extant, one reproduction. Bertrange.

Merovingian belt buckles

Merovingian era beads.

And suddenly we jump to some glassware, 1stC Found at a necropolis for nobles in a different find in Bertrange.

Orfevrerie Merovingienne. 6-7thC of local provenances.
A collection of gold and garnet fibula, ornaments, buttons and accessories. Some from bracelets, necklaces. Motifs are inspired from Germanic art, and early Christian design.

Spoons! Merovingian also, and they’re quite petite compared to spoons seen in other museums. Approx 50mm in length.

Carved monuments from ‘La Colonne de Jupiter’ – a regional monument that was devoted to the population. Objects are all 1stC and made for Jupiter Optimus Maxium and to honour emperor Nero.

Fragments of decoration from a funereal monument, c.2nd-3rdC.
Cal air, Wasserbillig op der Spatz.

Seals of various Luxembourg nobles, ranging from 1340 to 1530. Impressions all taken in 1851.

Official regalia and medals of various noble and marital orders:

Busts of Jean l’Aveugle and Elisabeth de Boheme, Pierre Blanc, c.1872

Reliquary of the True Cross.
Gold and various gemstones, c.1230-1240

No plaque for this one… le sigh.

Virgin and Child surrounded by Saints – Crucifixion. Oil on wood.
Paolo do Giovanni Fei, (1345-1411).

Virgin and Child surrounded by Saints,
Lorenzo do Bicci (1350-1427), oil on timber.

Virgin and Child,
Unknown Venetian painter. 15thC, oil on timber.

Saint Bernardino of Siena and Saint John the Baptist,
Giovanni Ambrogio Bevilacqua, (1481-1512), oil on panel.

Madonna and Child surrounded by Angels and Saints (freaky looking saints!)
Giacomo del Piscano, c. 1475, tempura on panel.

Group of Saints – Heligengruppe.
Don Silvestro dei Gherardcci (1339-1399), tempura on board.

Crucifixion.
Simone del Crocifissi (1350-1399), oil on board.

Virgin and Child.
Unknown veneto-byzantin artist. 13thC-14thC, oil on timber.

Holy Kinship, Frans Floris (1516-1570)

The Adoration of the Shepards,
Joachim Beukelaer (1533-1574). Oil on canvas.

Saint Jerome
Attributed to Joos van Cleve (1485-1540), oil on board.

Charity
Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553), c.1538. Oil on canvas.

A Boy and Girl with Their Pigeons in a Loft – the only ‘domestic’ scene in the entire museum.
Henri Voordecker (1779-1861), c.1833, oil on canvas.

The Temple of Vesta in Tivoli,
Attributed to Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld (1758-1846), oil on canvas.

Francesca de Rimini (1255-1285) and her brother in law, Paolo Malatesta (1246-1285), embracing while reading – both were married to other people but fell in love. When Paolo’s older brother discovered the affair, he killed both his wife and brother with a dagger, (a story originally told by Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedies, 1320).
Sculpture originally attributed to Antonio Canova (1757-1822), c.1790, but since determined to be a work by Tito Angelini (1806-1878), an important Italian Romantic sculpture.

Isaac Blessing Jacob,
Argus Wolffort (1581-1641), oil on canvas.

Bacchus and a Follower,
Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678), c.1645, oil on canvas.

Roman mosaic of the Muses of Vitchen.
10.3 x 5.9m. Polychrome mosaic, 1stC AD.

Grand Marble Vase, 2-3rdC AD.
61cm tall, 70cm diameter, carved from a single piece of white marble.

Roman amphorae
1-3rdC AD, terracotta. Diverse provenance – used for the commercial transport of wine, oil dates, and that fishy stuff the Romans loved but I can’t remember the name of right now…. Garum! Remembered. 🙂

Oil lamps, GalloRoman 1-3rdC AD.

Fragments of large fresco-style mosaics popularised in GalloRoman restaurants.

All museum’d out, we went for some drinks and were having a lovely time with some Long Island Iced Teas and some Pisco Sours – until a bunch of French people came along and reminded us of how Europeans still love to chain smoke! Yikes! Happy B’Day Angus.

Dinner was at a local French restaurant called ‘Copin D’abord’. We had a delicious meal made from local produce. Entrees: clothed foie gras and mango chutney, and scallops in Galician sauce. Mains: Beef Bourginon and rump steak with Forrester champignon sauce. Desserts: unstructured Lemon Tart and Crème Brûlée and Panacotta. Delicious!

Heidelberg with bonus Castle

Posted on June 22, 2024 by borysSNORC

Heidelberg! Such a cool little town in southwestern Germany on the Neckar River. It is mostly famous as a university town. Heidelberg University was founded in the 14th century and the place, unsurprisingly, has a real student hangout kinda vibe. Lots of cafés, a bit of street art, and I understand they have amazing Christmas markets here. There is also a Literature Festival happening here at the moment, which is adding to the student ambiance – lots of people sitting in cafes reading a book of all things! The red-sandstone ruins of Heidelberg Castle, a noted example of Renaissance architecture, stands on Königstuhl hill and we plan on checking that out if time allows.

The European Cup is on at the moment and everywhere is football mad. There are bus loads of football tourists everywhere. It’s largely the reason why we are in Germany for this trip – where there is sporting events, there is event transport requirements, which is huge part of what we are doing with our US clients for the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics – study tour ahoy. The Fan Zones are really interesting study in the logistical management of inebriated patrons!

Anyway, Saturday, so sightseeing at the Heidelberger Schloss.

The ruins of Heidelberg Castle dominate the skyline over the town. It has only been partially rebuilt since it’s near total demolition in the 17thC and 18thC. It is about 80m up the northern face of the Königstuhl mountainside and you can’t miss it from the Altstadt.

The earliest part of the castle construction was started back in 1214 and was later expanded into two large castles to hold an ever expanding court in 1294. In 1537 however, a lightning bolt destroyed the upper castle (photos of the split tower of the upper castle are below), and the present structures were then expanded from that time until 1650. The castle copped more damage from the Palapatine Wars and other fire incidents, and would you believe it? Another lightening bolt struck the caste in 1764, this time hitting a gun powder store, which utterly obliterated much of the rebuilt sections.

All of which is to say, that the castle is in various parts, ruins, and a hodge-podge of architectural styles from the different periods through which it was originally built, and then rebuilt after destructive events.

I love these big old fortification doors – with the itty bitty door to let people in and out without opening the whole thing.

Above: an obviously older part of the original castle.
Below: the later period Ottheinrichsbau courtyard…

Also inside Heidelberger Schloss is the Deutsche Apotheken Museum – a historical examination of the apothecary’s trade, place of work and products. It follows chronologically through from, traditional medicinal treatments to including a small glimpse at modern pharmacology. At the entrance is a showcase of this beautiful baroque pharmacy interior from the former Benedictine Abbey of Schwarzach (from Rheinmünster in nearby Baden). Beautifully preserved.

As someone with obsessive traits, I absolutely greatly appreciate and adore the orderliness of the apothecary’s store. Everything has its place and it is neatly labelled in delightfully matching jars!

Oooh… *shudder*.

The second elegant pharmacy set up was from the Kronen-Apotheke in Ulm and was built around 1820. The pharmacy owner at the time, Christoph Jacob Faulhaber (1772-1842) had a fondness for fine timber and very precise labels too – bless his cotton socks.

Around the corner from this is a Renaissance room with beautiful support columns that has the Germany Pharmacy Museum (a sort of museum within the museum) that houses an impressive drug collection full of drugs and botanicals. The walls are covered in large display cases that were made in the 1950s, and this part of the museum shares a history of the animal and plant extracts, roots, leaves, herbs and tinctures that were used to treat various ailments throughout history. Every cabinet is stuffed full of secret herbs, mysterious tonics or even poisons!

It was very interesting to look through all these old ‘medicines’ and see just how many of them were substances that we 100% now know to be utterly toxic to humans.

Part of the Drug Museum, had some rather more later period objects – most thanks to the German Bayer pharmaceutical company. Including some early penicillin etc.

The pharmacy below came from the Ursuline Monastery in Klagenfurt (modern day in south-west Austria). It was from 1730 and is an excellent example the extremely popular gold-framed baroque aesthetic of the time. The shelves are full of typical pharmacy vessels, all very colourfully decorated and coming from all different regions – faience and majolica pieces are everywhere. There are also pewter hot water bottles, and a wide variety of pharmacy equipment: scales, horn spoons, spatulas, mortars and weight sets etc. So orderly!

The canisters are beautiful!

The Herbist’s workshop/Herbarium.

Below is a pharmacist’s workshop, which is well fitted out with equipment and vessels. This installation is an example of an 18thC pharmacy, but this style was used well into the 20thC. The table in the centre of the workshop has a slot in the top, which money can be put into enabling drawers to be opened – which somewhat implies that it was potentially ‘self-serve’ in part? Or perhaps that workers were not trusted to openly access all medicines at any time, maybe?

I particularly noted the narwhal tusk (which must have been over 6’ tall/long) and was presumably kept as a novelty of natural history – and hopefully wasn’t used as a medicine?

Who doesn’t like a good taxidermied (or maybe more correctly, it’s tanned?) puffer fish. Which started a wee debate about how cool puffer fish are (FUGU!) and Angus had to educate me on the intricacies and ‘how amazeballs’ a puffer fish skeleton is. You learn something new everyday!

Below is a homeopathic pocket pharmacy from 1836… homeopathy fucking with allogenic medicine for that long – who knew? I always thought it was a recent hippy dippy, ‘I don’t believe in vaccinations’, kinda thing.

Above: a German microscope c.1869 and various lenses in a kit.
Below: early microscope slides with specimens

Benzin petroleum as a medicine… from what I could make out, it was used to clean wounds and cuts, and was also good at removing ‘fatty tissue’ >.> which is a bit vague. Additionally, it was good for cleaning out wounds that had had maggots in them… Yeuck!!

Below is the Augsburg travelling first aid kit that first belonged to a 17thC general. It is made from Ebony and fitted with finely crafted silver furniture, and filled with glass and silver vessels all containing various treatments.

The courtyard of the Schloss.

After exhausting ourselves inside the caste, we took a walk around the gardens and ramparts, getting to see first hand where the destructive lightning strikes had destroyed one of the caste’s towers.

The view back over the modern town of Heidelberg.

Back in the town centre, trying to decipher the civic art. Yep, I had nothing.

Dinner! How surprising to find schnitzel on the menu… I have a feeling this will be the first of many jagerschnitzel dinners this trip.

At the centre of the Altstadt is the enormous Gothic, Heiliggeistkirche (Church of the Holy Spirit). It stands some 41m tall and towers over the cafe-lined Marktplatz. The belfry is so tall, and the buildings of the square are built so close that it is impossible to get back far enough to take a photograph of the main facade… though photographic composition was probably not a huge consideration when the build was started in 1398 and finished in 1515.

Inside is a beautiful, but somewhat austere interior. It was originally built as a burial place for the Electors (princes) of the Palatinate, and as a primary place of worship for the residents of the Palatinate city. The various Princes’ graves were devastated during various Wars of Palatinate Succession, so now, only the grave of the builder of the church’s choir remains in the church – Rupert I, who was a German King in charge at the time the choir was built or something? Info can be hard to come by when there are language barriers. The most interesting thing about this place was that from 1706 to 1936, it was divided into two by a dividing wall… the nave was used for Protestant services, and the choir end was used for Catholic services. Fancy that!? Protestants and Catholics sharing like proper neighbours for 200 years! Since 1936, the whole church has belonged to the Evangelical Church of Baden.

The Catholic end…

I saw this striking armoury of heraldry, presumably belonging to notable local families. A little investigation relevance that they belonged to, wait for it… “The Society With The Donkey!” Yeah, I didn’t make that up. It was also called the ‘The Donkey’, ‘Zum Esel’, ‘Ober-Esel’, ‘Turniergesllschaft zum Esel’ and ‘Nieder-Esel’ – because every Donkey Society needs a bunch of secret handshake nomenclature. I’m just totally WTF’ing at this, in case you haven’t noticed. The Donkey Society dates back to 1387 and was like a knights’ association – it actually reads a bit like a union or guild (more that than a chivalric order), and it included members of the high nobility who were important during the reign of King Rupert (1400-1410). This frieze was only discovered in 1936 when the church reverted back to Evangelical ownership. How BIZARRE!

Top left is St George and the Virgin, which are a little hard to make out.

There are lots of cute little squares dotted throughout the Altstadt which no doubt were used as market spaces initially, and house public water fountains etc.

There are loads of huge and gorgeous waterfront properties on the Neckar River, just alongside the famous Heidelberg Bridge. I wouldn’t even want to hazard a guess as to real estate values just here.

Near the Old Heidelberg Bridge is the legendary Heidelberg Monkey – according to the myth, the monkey is meant to remain people who cross it from other side to look over their shoulder at where they have come from. Whether a person is coming from within the city or living outside the city, it was supposed to remind everyone that all were equal and no one is better than their inner city/outer city dwelling counterparts. Sounds much like a ‘Northside/Southside of Brisbane’ thing to me; so I’m sure the monkey had it’s work cut out for it because, as we all know, Southsiders are far better! Represent!

This current statue – depicts a monkey holding up a mirror to passersby, and was only placed here in 1979, but apparently there has been a monkey statue at this spot documented back to the 15thC… the original one was said to have been clutching it’s butt at people, but it sadly disappeared around the Palatinate War of Succession (1689-1693). You can stand under the head of this monkey and have your photo taken with your eyes showing out from above his huge cheeks… which seems to be something every man and their dog is trying to do; it’s quite the feat to snap a pic without some random tourist standing under the monkey’s face.

Reckless and Unlawful people – watch out!

Loved Heidelberg… didn’t realise until it was too late, that I missed the Tun by a bee’s dick! Next time.