Friday, April 27, 2012 at 9:24 
Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 23:30 When our group of English-speaking bloggers in Germany met last year (in Cologne), some of us took an afternoon side trip to the city of Aachen. In the prior post we shared photos of a unique children's fountain, a fantastic torte-like treat from one of the best cafes in town, and a glimpse of the Rathaus (town hall).
The walk through town was nice, but the headline attraction that day was the Aachen Cathedral.
In the photo above, there is a store on the right side called Nobis Printen - I remember them from my semester studying at the university here... in 1992! Printen are Aachen's version of lebkuchen (like gingerbread but denser).
Of course we took a minute (or 10) for some photos outside...
...and bracketed & tonemapped as well (HDR) to see how it looks with exaggerated details:
Wikipedia says that it is the oldest cathedral in Northern Europe.
Charlemagne apparently liked the mineral baths in Aachen, and spent a lot of time here. He began construction of the Palatine Chapel on this site in 792 AD - it was expanded in the 10th century. He was laid to rest here in 814. (Two later kings had his vault re-opened. In 1000, Otto III took one of Charlie's teeth!)
Then, for about 600 years between 936 to 1531, 30 German Kings and 12 Queens were coronated here.
In 1978, it was one of the first 12 items to be named a UNESCO world heritage site.
Here is the entrance, on the other side of the cathedral.
There is an interesting feature on the cathedral entrance -- a decoration on the door of a lion's head, whose "nose" is open from one side to the other. This is the earliest known bronze casting north of the Alps, and also has a traditional tale about it, relating to the construction of the cathedral.
As the legend goes, at some point in the construction, the people ran out of money. The devil himself offered to fund the rest, but his price was this: he would get the soul of the first mortal to enter after its consecration. So the Aacheners caught a wolf, and chased it into the cathedral first. The devil blindly grabbed the living soul of the first thing that crossed the threshold. As soon as he realized he was tricked, he became enraged and slammed the door... but with such force that his thumb was ripped off in this decoration.
If you reach a finger into the lion's nose, you feel something shaped like a thumb. Here is Frau A checking it out:
Stepping inside (souls intact, I think), you are hit by a wave of lovely detail and lots of GOLD:
Coming completely inside, it feels smaller than many newer, larger churches... but that makes the decorations more visible, more 'accessible'. The dome, for example, is something we stared at for minutes at a time.
Here's a wider view, without the chandelier but showing more of the upper levels, columns, and arches:
Moving all the way forward to the apse, you now see the large stained glass windows that we glimpsed from the outside. And if you didn't notice in the foreground in GOLD, the altar (which dates from the 11th century).
Here's the same view, but again bracketed, merged, and tonemapped for HDR output in Photomatix...
...and another HDR composition of the apse:
The cathedral was also known as the Royal Church of St. Mary at Aachen, so she has a strong presence as well:
It was really a traveler's and photographer's delight. We spent a relaxed while soaking it in (and me, remembering bits and pieces of my time here 20 years ago) before finally returning to the train station.
Interestingly, this was the perfect "warm up" because the next day (and next blog post) is at the Cologne Dom!
Herr J ... Post a Comment Sunday, April 22, 2012 at 6:00 Last October, Frau A and I attended a get-together of English-speaking bloggers in Germany. The core group have held this gathering annually in various cities for years, but it was our first time to join them. (At the time, Schnitzelbahn was only a little more than a year old - we were the newcomers.) We were looking forward to meeting the people that, to date, we had only communicated with via email and web comments.
They decided to have the 2011 get-together in Cologne, with a side-trip to Aachen. It was especially interesting for me, becuase I spent a semester in college studying at the Technical University in Aachen (one of the "German Ivy League" universities, with focus on science and engineering topics).
Frau A and I flew to Cologne, and then headed to the main train station to meet the other bloggers that were also making the side trip to Aachen. It would be a short (~40 minute), easy train ride away.
When we arrived, we walked from the station into the town center. On the way, we passed the Aachen Theater, which opened in 1825. I remembered this right away from my summer there (in 1992)!
The idea behind holding the bloggers' get-together in different cities each year is that one of the bloggers "in the know" (who lives there) will organize things to do -- less touristy places for dinner, intereting sights (some typical, some less well known, etc.). The one blogger who lives in Aachen met us in town and took us to its most famous cafe, Van den Daele, for some coffee and cake!
Just looking in the window gets the mouth watering...
I finally decided on a chocolate mousse-type treat (and had a cappuccino to go with it).
After fueling up, we walked around town a bit together. Our hostess and fellow blogger would explain the history or special attributes of different buildings and places - she really put a lot of effort in for us.
We passed the Puppet Fountain, unique because the figures have hinged (movable) arms, heads, or legs. The different figures represent different roles and aspects of society: horseman (representing Roman historical influence), professor (representing education), jester (representing amusement), and a fashionable lady (representing the cloth trade).
Kids like this fountain - the daughter of our blogger friend/guide was having fun moving the figures around.
We then walked past the back side of the Rathaus (town hall). Again, memories for me came rushing back!
We circled around to the front of the Rathaus, where another fountain and figures waited.
This is the Karlsbrunnen (Karl's fountain), the oldest in Aachen (first in 1334, then rebuilt in 1620).
The daughter of our blogger and "tourguide" was incredibly charming -- I think she's going to be an actress!
We also made a stop at the Aachen Cathedral, but that has so many cool photos that it will be the next post...
Herr J ... Post a Comment Friday, April 20, 2012 at 16:03 This one is an HDR photo from an early morning trip to Munich's Olympiapark.
I love the colors and light in this photo, as well as the winding path up to the lookout where we experimented with our tripods. It gives me a warm and peaceful feeling when I look at it. We have this one in rotation on our digital frame.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 6:00 We had one last day on our hiking/relaxing vacation in the Pyrenees and Banyuls sur Mer. The weather got a little colder and windier, so we simply decided to explore the town a bit.
A French navy/coast guard ship was anchored just offshore, and a surfer was taking advantage of the wind/waves:
We walked to the Church La Rectorie, built in the 12 century (Romanesque).
From what we read, the bell tower with three bells is somewhat unique.
Right next to the church is the oldest cemetery in town, with family crypts (some old, some newer):
As it turned out, a small festival was starting in town. This band started entertaining in the afternoon. Notice how Spanish the traditional costumes appear -- we are very close to the border after all!
The music played was also quite "Spanish". (The stage in the background was being set up for later concerts).
The performers were compete hams - and of course the crowd loved it. Notice the jackets and scarves and body language... the weather had definitely turned and was no longer Summer. We had our fleeces on.
After a brief listen, we headed back to the waterfront one last time for a glass of Banyuls. All of the beach cafes brought the plastic sheets down to keep out the wind and light rain, but the view was still nice.
After dark, we found a pizza restaurant that looked promising:
The "cave" was small and comfy, and the pizza quite good. (With another glass of Banyuls, too.)
As we walked back to the hotel for the last time, the small festival was still going stong.
It was a great way to end the vacation, and we can clearly recommend Banyuls for a Mediterranean getaway.
Herr J ... Post a Comment Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 6:00 The role of asparagus in German culture is one of those things that must be experienced first hand. Therefore, last year (2011), Frau A & I put together what we consider to be the ultimate Spargel-zeit blog post.
That post has photos of the "Asparagus Queen", government statistics on German production and consumption of asparagus, and examples of asparagus paraphernalia ranging from to shoes to ties to doggie t-shirts to erotic cookbooks.
Not long ago, I received my first formal reminder that the 2012 Spargelzeit is here -- from Amazon.de no less!
In my inbox was an email that looked like this:
The email title means "out with the Winter sleep, and in with Spargeltime!".
Naturally, they are trying to sell stuff. And the first products that come to mind when merchandising for asparagus time are... bed sheets? Interesting, huh? (They are described as "Spring Bedsheets", but the email is still asparagus-titled.)
The Amazon.de email also listed an asparagus pot, and asparagus-colored appliances (refrigerator and water boiler).
Yes, asparagus season is in full swing now. A local (Munich) magazine last week write that 16 exclusive restaurants already have their asparagus menus on the table. (Sorry, link is in German.) Many others have such a menu too.
Rather than re-state all the cool info from 2011's encyclopedic Spargelzeit article, let's see the 2012 Asparagus Queens!
Congratulations, Spargelköniginnen! (I posted as many as I could find, as of 15 April 2012.)
This has by far the best posed photo...in the field, really getting hands on with the veggies:
Asparagus Queens Aenne Heins of Breitenfelde, and Alyssa Dude of Geesthacht
And here are the same two members of asparagus royalty, performing the first ceremonial harvesting:
Alyssa seemed a lot more enthusiastic, but Aenne eventually got into the act too:
Individual towns have their queens, but the entire region of Franken crowned it's queen in Nürnberg (left, below). On the right is the "Asparagus Princess of the Garlic Region" (I guess the Franken region grows garlic as well?)
Spargel Queen of Franken region, Theresa Sterk (right)
One her web page, this Spargel-Queen poses with chefs, in local shops, and with flowers... but never with asparagus!
What's up with that??? No crown here, but she is wearing a dirndl.
Michele Zimmermann, Asparagus Queen of Beelitz
Michele did pose in a traditional (farmer?) outfit with other ladies from Beelitz, in an asparagus field:
"Kathleen I" has taken over in Klein Radden as Spargelkönigin, also with a more traditional costume:
"Kathleen I", Asparagus Queen of Klein Radden
Michele (two above) could take lessons from Margarethe (below), who posed with a 2+ meter tall asparagus prop:
Asparagus Queen of Bornheim, Margarethe RibbekeMany Spargelkönigin (queen) titles are awarded every other year, so each winner has 2 years of marketing duties. Therefore, "Kim I", crowned in 2011, is still the reigning queen in Füchtorf:
Asparagus Queen "Kim I" of FüchtorfNote: if you click on the photo above, it takes you to the page with their past queens as well.
Katharina Rau ("Katharina II") was recently crowned, and will represent the asparagus growers in Nordrhein-Westphalen for the next two years. At the link (click on the photo) she says "I can't get enough of this great vegetable!"
"Katharina II", Spargelkönigin of Herten in NorthRhein-Westphalia
Nadine Isabel Schönhardt was crowned 2012 Asparagus Queen in Lampertheim. There's a crown, but no sash?
Asparagus Queen "Nadine I" of Lampertheim
In the town of Geest, the asparagus queen gets a real homemade sash -- no fancy gold letters here (but no crown?).
Sina Dubbels, Asparagus Queen of Geest
Daniele Kügler took one of the most prestigious titles: Asparagus Queen of Schrobenhausen, Bavaria.
Sash? Check. Crown? Check. Dirndl? CHECK. Now that is a truly regal outfit.
"Spargelkönigin" of Bavaria, Daniele Kügler
Here is Daniele, at Munich's Viktualienmarkt, performing Bavaria's ceremonial first harvest of an asparagus stalk:
And finally, the video of her after winning -- walking, waving, getting crowned, receiving a HUG lebkuchenhertz (lebkuchen heart)... all in an Oktoberfest-like beer tent with Bavarian music. I need to attend this next year!!!
Monday, April 16, 2012 at 6:00 After four days of hiking through the Pyrenees, Frau A and I got to relax in Banyuls sur Mer, France. Since it lies right on the Mediterranean coast, we spent a lot of time near the water. We lucked out with great weather:
At one end of the marina is the Banyuls aquarium. Frau A really loves animals, so we had to see it.
The aquarium is run by the biology and land ecology department of Paris IV University. They also maintain an "underwater trail" in the sea that you can snorkel through, but it was already closed for the year (October).
The aquarium houses "local" (Mediterranean) water life: fish, octopi, coral, sea horses... here are anenome:
The aquarium put special lights on this guy and he seemed to glow:
He had a friend nearby too:
Other anenome also had cool colors:
It was challenging snapping photos of fish: moving fast, through glass, little light. But we got a few:
This octopus was pretty social. He was quite active when we hung around his enclosure a while:
The Mediterranean lobster is very different from the Atlantic kind I'm used to -- no claws!
These were probably the most interesting fish - sorry, forgot to write down the species (darn).
This tank was cloudy, but we caught a small ray and two moray eels in the same frame:
In that same tank were some larger fish. This one poked his nose right at us. You can see the moray, ray, and another fish in the background. There was a lot of action, in what was probably the largest tank there.
The spotted ray reminded us of the ones we saw in the Maldives a year before.
Here is our in-your-face friend again!
In another tank, this angler fish was perfectly still, but did twitch his "fishing pole" every once in a while.
The rock fish also has an interesting bodym and stays very still the entire time.
In a small tank near the exit were a bunch of sea horses, swimming through a seaweed forest. Really nice.
This was probably the most popular tank, with people just mesmerized by these little guys.
The aquarium was a nice, short diversion in town. We headed back outside into the sun after maybe 1.5 hours (it's not very large) but hope to go diving/snorkeling around here on a future vacation.
Herr J ... 2 Comments 
