Schwäbisch Gmünd from a different view

Even though we are spending time in and around Schwäbisch Gmünd, there is still so much to explore.

We began our day today going back to Ludwig Tomas Strasse to Felix and Steph's former home. We can help out doing a few chores that will give them more time on the weekend. While Michael spakfilla's the holes left by nails and screws, I give the house a good sweep out.  Its dusty more than anything, and the three rooms in the basement have plenty of evidence of previous spidery residents - although there is only one still there. I guess without the human presence, the eight legged variety lose interest!
Thought to take this photo as we left - the garage is the iron door and you are looking from the front door through to the back year.

Once done, we went back to Xavier Bader Strasse and the new house - which is really only about 4 blocks away to get changed and go into Schwäbisch Gmünd to have a look at the church being renovated and to have some lunch.

We lunched at Mauritius, which Steph later tells us is a chain restaurant.  We were thrilled to find that they make a fresh lemonade, but with limes, so it doesn't quite have the tang of those we had in Romania.

The St Johannis Kirche was just closing when we came in on Monday, but a quick look inside and we knew we had to come back to have a proper look. Turns out that this former church has a tower and for the princely sum of 2 euros, Michael can climb it. This is all the more special as the tower at the Schwäbisch Gmünd Minster has collapsed and no longer exists. 

The tower exists over 5 levels and climbs to a base height of 30.36 m - high enough to get those really interesting shots of the rooftops and the layout of the old centre as well as some close-ups looking down on the Munster and the nearby 'Mouse Tower' as well as the surrounding area.

There has been a recorded church on this site since 1210 AD. The current form of the former church dates predominantly to the 15th century when in 1429 the high altar was added to complete the church. In 1706 significant changes saw the church take on a more baroque form and from 1842 it was re-reromanised. It fell into disrepair and has been almost constantly under repair since 2008.

The bell tower dates from the early 13th century and was the first free-standing and tallest structure in the city. 

Found under the chancel in 1972 is the 12th century Romanesque Pomeranian, also called Staufische Madonna. This is considered the most important sculpture in the City. The amazing wall and ceiling paintings were re-created in the 1870s and re-make the original. Today, these are all under constant restoration.
The side ships of the church store the collection of carvings and statuary from this church and the Minster.

They include saintly bodies, characters that would adorn the roof-lines known as grotesques and even the odd green man.  
While looking at these, and during his climb into the heavens, Michael managed to identify three mason marks - they have not stood the weathering of time too well unfortunately.

Surrounding the church and framing Johannisplatz - the square outside the church are some really well maintained examples of early architecture dating back to the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. These buildings have each been restored over the past century. This square was once a cemetery site, and later was paved as a parade ground for the barracks that were converted from the former preacher's convent.

We finished off our visit back into the City with coffee at Cafe Margrit - too bad we sat in the plaza - Steph tells us that they have the best cakes in Schwäbisch Gmünd - in cases inside!

Still, didn't matter - it meant that we were ready to eat grilled steak with herbed potatoes, mushrooms and salad that I cooked for dinner tonight. We ate in the balmy night outside and chatted until it was time for Steph to head for bed. Felix had caught up with an old friend in Schorndorf tonight and comes in after 10.  We chat very briefly before he heads to bed with us not too far behind him.

Sibiu - where the walls have ears and the roofs have eyes

Sibiu is a city of superlatives, recording many firsts in this part of Europe. 
The first hospital, the first library, the first school, the first pharmacy, the first paper mill, the first book store, the first theatre building, the first museum, the first cast iron bridge, the first mental illness hospital, the first whole Romanian capital bank, the first spring factory, the first beer factory, the first balance factory, the first tool factory, the first hydropower plant, the first Zoo garden, the first open-air cinema in Romania.

The first archives, the first folkloric ensemble, the first printing press in Transylvania and the first book in Ardeal having been printed here and the first newspaper in Transylvania.

The first mountain resort, the first encyclopedia in Romania was published, the oldest lightning protector in South Eastern Europe was installed near Sibiu, the first Museum of Natural History in Romania, the first city in Transylvania with a public lighting powered by electric power and the first electrical means of public transportation. Konrad Haas experimented the first stage rocket in the world near Sibiu. Sibiu proved to be a pioneer, a city with an accentuated innovative spirit due to its people and to the historical context.

So much for the boasting! Sibiu is also a city of beauty, a place to behold.  I never get jaded of being immersed in the ages of old!

As we had arrived in Sibui late yesterday, we could afford a little sleep in - breakfast was not served until 8 am. I am trying to eat lightly, but Michael is enjoying the full array of offerings.  This morning it was wurst (like frankfurter) and mustard along with his scrambled eggs and cheese.  We are only a few minutes to the old centre, but have trouble parking at first because the streets around here are filled with churches and as it is Sunday, the worshippers are being called to services!

St Frances doesn't abandon us altogether, and we find a spot between the lower town and the upper town. 4 Lei later (about $1.30) and we have a parking chit to cover us not only for today, but tomorrow also!

We head for the amazing tessellated spire that we first see when we turn away from the crooked and seemingly part finished roofs of the old town. We find out that this is the Lutheran Evangelical Church - which is closed to visitors for the moment due to the weekly service for locals. And while the service is on inside, there is another preaching happening under the watchful eye of the former Bishop Teutsch! Never mind, we have all day, so will see it on the way back to the car.

Along a cobbled street, through an arch and we find ourselves in the Piata Mare - the Big Square - oh, and look - there is that international sign the fabulous i. So Michael dashes in to get a map - but no directions!  Never fear, Cosmir, a local Police Officer comes to our rescue with some directions and a lovely chat. We tell him how much we are loving Romania in general and our first impressions of Sibiu. He moans that it is a very expensive place to live thanks to the impacts of the year round tourists. I console him with the thought that if you have to pick somewhere to live,it might as well be this beautiful. He wishes us a great holiday and we leave him to his duties.

He also shares a little piece of information not seen in the tourist literature - the 'Blue House' in the photo above this one was the headquarters for the Gestapo in Romania during WWII.  And because of this, there was almost no bombing here in Sibiu - all the architecture survived unscathed.  The cost of housing the enemy :(

"You must see the museums," he said, "they are excellent". And yes, excellent they are. The Brukenthal Museum houses the National Art Gallery and has more than 800 paintings in 13 galleries in this former palace. Remember how Sibiu had the first electric public lighting - well, it began with this building. With parquet floors that creak with every step, there is not a single nail or screw to be seen. There are painted and silk lined walls and crystal chandeliers everywhere - a truly amazing sight. But that artwork - sorry we could not photograph that - it was amazing - much of it religious in nature and dating back to the 13th Century. Still so vibrant and with nuances of light and shade giving such depth and body.

Other displays included one on the "Ball" and the history of Dance Cards, the Plaster Casts display, the Romanian Folk Art Gallery, the Lapidairie Medieval (masonry and capping stones from graves), and Prints and Drawings - truly fascinating.

Back down in the cooler courtyard, Michael pets one of the biggest cats we have ever seen - this one is particularly for you  Gen!

We next turn to the Blue House which dates back to the early 17th century. It now houses offices and workshops for the Brukenthal Museum AND a display on the Bibles owned by Simon von Brukenthal. The oldest  one dates back to 1478 and has illuminated capitals - something of which Brukenthal was very proud. He sent his agents to all the book sales of Europe to secure bibles, some costing more than an average person's annual income.

Back out in the Square, its a toss up for a coffee or the Catholic Church - coffee wins!  It is almost midday and something light to eat is on the menu.  Like yesterday, seating in the shade at a restaurant is a thing to be coveted. Luckily, we spy a party vacating their table and make a bee-dive. And Dani, the poor waiter in our section at 'Monsieur Joban -exceptionalle existent' is run off his feet. We order two iced coffees and a cheese plate to share.  I can't help but notice that the owner is in place today and watching with his eyes everywhere.  Once we have finished and ask for the bill, he comes over to check that we were happy with our meal.  Yes, we really were!

Over to the Catholic Parish Church next, and the smell on incense will always remind me of weekly mass as a child. Almost gagged on it back then, but now it has a reassuring familiarity. This church is built in the baroque style as many in Europe are - a sense of grandeur at a fraction of the cost of the real thing! Its funny how a camera finds light that the eyes can't.  This church was much darker than the camera depicts, but every bit as grand.

Just along the street, Michael makes a visit up one of the gate towers - as he does.  The photos over the square and the upper and lower towns are fantastic as usual - gotta love the rooftop shots! And a pigeon and her chicks have taken shelter in one of the gun slits!

We continue to explore the streets and squares, thankful that it is a little cooler at about 29 degrees. We stumble into Piata Mica (the Little Square) and finally  Piata Huet after crossing the Bridge of Lies.  We find the tradesmens house - complete with a couple of young tradesmen sitting in an upstairs chamber, on the windowsill in the cool.  Beneath them is a sample of the blacksmith's trade.

This brings us full circle back to the Evangelical Cathedral with that amazing roof.

Again,the camera lies - this church is even darker and danker than the catholic one. And just a little bit creepy.  The walls are lined with family plaques - I guess the higher they were placed, the more important the family was!  Some are indeed very high.  And some were almost too gothic in nature - including this one filled with corpses.  Social history at its best!  The main aisle has been worn with the foot treads of the faithful over many many years - to the point where it is actually a concave floor that you need to walk in carefully.  The pew ends are polished smooth with the hands of the faithful too.

And the best part of all - according to Michael - this one has a tower to climb too - complete with bells!
And the view over the roofs of Sibiu - and the crossed nave of the church below!

Late in the afternoon, we travelled a mere 54 kms to the Complex Europa Touristica just outside Cartisoara ready to tackle the Transfagarasan Highway tomorrow.  With the return of the weekend traffic towards Bucharest, it took us almost 90 minutes! Yes, bumper to bumper like the trip from the Sunny Coast back to Brisbane on a Sunday afternoon.

Simple lodgings reminiscent of a hostel - all raw timber with a stream rushing below our balcony, and the Carpatian Mountains at our backs.  The clouds were rolling in as we drove here and as I get ready to post this and go down for dinner, the rain has started.  Hope it clears for tomorrow!

High on Mount Tampa overlooking Brasov is this cheeky sign styled on that famous Californian icon.

We laid in a little later this morning - getting sick of early starts and long days in the car, we have a full day to explore Brasov on foot. We have breakfast before leaving our very comfortable abode and head down from the hilltop to park closer. Finding a spot wasn't too hard - thanks again to St Frances - the Catholic patron saint of car parking. Finding where to buy the parking ticket was another matter - and then Michael had to find someone to change paper Lei for some coins as the ticket vending machines only take coins! Finally though, parking sorted, we hit the pavement.

Brasov is one of those age-old towns cradled in the embrace of mountains, where time really could have stood still. Settled by Teutonic Knights in the early 13th century, Brasov was at the intersection of trade routes linking the Ottoman Empire and western Europe.  This once walled City is filled with the red tile roofs that are so common across Europe atop baroque style facades - many of which are crumbling. And then you wander in to the old Town Square in all its splendour.  The Old Town Hall sits proudly in its centre, resplendent with its tessellated tile roof.

Its summer and it seems that a good percentage of the Romanian population is in Brasov, taking the sun. We are told that Brasov is busy year round - in the summer for walking and in the winter for skiing - no wonder it is so hard to get accommodation.

Street musicians provide musical interlude as we wander the streets and back lanes. We head over to the Black Church - a Lutheran Church that began its life in the 14th century as a Catholic Church.  It gets its name because the walls were heavily blackened by a massive fire in 1689 that destroyed the interior and the roof. It was rebuilt and today it contains some pretty darn impressive relics including a collection of Ottoman rugs that need to be seen to be believed - these are hundreds of years old and while some are seriously worn, others are still in amazing condition.  The whole Church has unpolished timber floorboards that are about a foot wide and creak with every step, and timber ventilation / heating grates set into the aisles. There are two saved original wall paintings and a number of old masters hanging. The columns soar about 35m towards the heavens and the old pews are decorated with paintings depicting the local guilds all dating back to the 1700s. This Church has one of the largest pipe organs in Europe with 4,000 pipes set throughout the church and we are lucky enough to be here while a recital is playing.  We cannot take photos inside, but buy a photo card with photos on it as we leave.

We continue to explore the streets with Michael making a dash back to extend our parking spot.  Eventually, it is time for lunch. Now, in the main drag and in the Old Town Square, there are literally hundreds of restaurants catering to the tourists. But in a back street, we come across a local restaurant catering to a local birthday party; and three older men sharing a beer, a smoke and a yarn; and sit down. Michael orders the Spaghetti Mediterrania and I had a plain omelette. Delicious and fresh. I had an iced coffee and in the end Michael was so taken with it that he ordered one too. If the locals are frequenting it, it must be good! And all for under $15 tops.

We had tried to park up near the cable car up to Mount Tampa first thing this morning, but had no luck, so after lunch we had another go and - "there you go" says St Frances again.  So while we have the chance we head on up. It takes an hour to 'walk' to the top, or 2 minutes and 6 seconds by cable car.  even though it means climbing 3 sets of very steep multiple steps, this is by far the easier way to get to the top. That ride is stomach churning, fast and smooth even though the exterior of the building and the cable car itself looks very dated and weary.

Once at the top, you have the option of a number of walks. A walk of about 5 minutes brings you behind the Brasnov sign - Hollywood styled signage that can be seen from all over the City.  Michael manages to get a great photo looking through the letter B out of the City.  And despite looking hard, we have not seen any sign of the resident wildlife - brown bear, linx or boar.  After about an hour, we head back down the mountain, with me not looking out at all - I had no desire to heave the contents of my stomach!

From up on high, you can clearly see the remnants of the City Walls and the various bastions and gates.  Once back on lower terra firma, Michael tries to get up onto the wall, but the access ways are all badly corroded.  Better that he leaves his feet on firm ground.  The towers are all inaccessible but you can walk around and along them. They originally stored powder, but as the conquests of the city abated, in time they were given to the various guilds. They became the Rope Maker's Bastion, the Powder Store Tower, the Draper's Bastion and the Weaver's Bastion. No doubt these artisans were very important and powerful in a city that straddled east and west.

We have had to change hotels and tonight are in the Belfort - another lovely modern hotel. But no dinner service.  Given that we had a reasonable lunch, we make do with tasty takeaway kebabs.

Its an early start with breakfast at 7 (this is when they begin service) as we head for Sighisoara and then on to Sibiu for tomorrow night.  We are starting to realise how little time we have and still so much to see.  Tonight I manage to contact Diana who we met in France in 2009 and she will contact Lorena - we hope to meet up in Bucharest.

Bugger - the blog doesn't want to load pics tonight - I'll post them to my Facebook page so you will have to dive over there to have a look.

Water water everywhere! A day of contrasts.

The Wasserstrassenkruez or Water Bridge just outside Madgeburg in Germany sent the email world into hoax spins a few years ago when people queried the legitimacey of the photos that were being circulated. But now, as then, this is very definitely a real resource.

It compares with the Falkirk Wheel that we saw earlier this year in Scotland in terms of ingenuity and actually performs almost the same function - well, they both serve to minimise the number of locks on their water courses and to transport ships and boats far more cost effectively than the alternatives! We had been through here once before in August (on our way to Paris to collect Helen) and although we could see it above us, we were obviously in the wrong spot as we could not find our way through the huge fence. With directions from the staff at the Hotel Sachsen Anault though we find it easily from Barleben near Madgeburg. As we drive towards the River Elbe on the motorway we can see the canal (although it doesn't really look any different to another bridge of sorts) from afar.

We begin our look at this engineering marvel at the lock system that allows boats to enter and leave the canal. As the height of the canal is much higher than the previous waters, a complex system of holding ponds was created so that the water would not need to be taken from a diminshing source. There are three locks side by side and the width of the canal would easily allow two good size boats to slip by side by side very easily.

It is a truly impressive system and I only wish that there was some way that I could get in to one of the towers so that I could get a better photo of one of the paths of water flowing over the top of the other! There are plenty of photos that you can seek out elsewhere and todayis not the best of days with only one barge travelling on the canal while we are there. Not like the plethora of boats that many photos show! In the autumn chill of 6 degrees, this is one lonely place today!

We had read a little about Magdeburg Cathedral while I was researching the Water Bridge and so once we have had our fill there, we head into the centre of the City. As soon as we reach the outskirts we start to see the dichotomy of this city where the new sits proudly alongside the old, without conflict, but more with a 'what the ???' While much of the civic architecture is old, much of the housing is new. Apartments blocks sure, but at least with an effort to make it interesting with blocks of colour and great public art.

But our time here is limited as we have to drive to Wuppertal and it will take us over 3 hours. With Kate programmed for the city centre, we manage to find a parking spot (thank you Frances) in the Cathedral Square! It is a truly impressive gothic building whose towers can be seen for miles away. In fact we could see them from the motorway long before we got anywhere near the city. This Cathedral has a very interesting past - read about it here. Today it is quite an austere in first glance, but if you take a seat and quietly look around, special discrete items come to your eye. Like the ornate tomb that lies in Mary Anne's Altar in the Ernst Chapel, like the restored choir seats with their faces and scenes relating to earlier occpiers on their misericords, like the Green man and the Tree of Life - one old, one new, tying the 800 years of history relating to this church together. There is a beautiful Pieta and the tomb of King Otto I. And that is just inside. Outside is another story altogether!

The current Cathedral was built after the first cathedral burned down in the early 13th century. This one is much larger and grander. But unlike other gothic churches, there are no external buttresses supporting the walls of this church. The outside is filled with the most fantastic examples of gargoyles, grotesques and agonys. These characters take the forms of animals and people in the most wonderful poses. And then there are the finials and crenellations and parapets and quoins. Aren't they a wonderful mouthful of words - watch out my Scrabble mates, I might just use them! If you need any explanation look here.

Oh, but Magdeburg is more, so much more. It was the cross-roads of the old Roman northern and southern routes, so there are ruins of former roman settlements including statues found in niches that line the oldest garden in the city. Nearby stands the remnants of the former City walls. In the main square, the Markt, lies the outline of the former cathedral that was only discovered in recent times. At the edge of the square there is brass model of the inner city area showing the old cathedral and the new one with all the related church buildings and the other city churches as well as major civic buildings. I always love these reliefs, they visually set the place up so that you can see the relationship between them all.

Surrounding the other sides of the Markt Square are grand buildings that once formed part of the castle and today forms government offices and museums, and on the fourth side are two modern office buildings of a similar height. They are striking and coloured in shades of blues and purples, yet they blend in beautifully in the autumn air. They aslo provide a link to another striking building.

Here in Magdeburg there is another of the stunning Hundertwasser houses. This one is known as "Die Grüne Zitadelle" or The Green Citadel of Magdeburg, a large, pink building of modern architecture completed in 2005. We had hoped that we might get to see it while we are here and low and behold, there it is, peeking out from behind the earlier grand structures, just off the Markt Square. A composite structure, it houses commercial spaces, offices, a hotel and apartments.

Weaving arcades with undulating floors connect a series of inner courtyards with columned colonnades that look more mexican than anything that you would expect here. We can't resist a visit to the public toilets and are not disappointed there either - although at €1 a visit they certainly are the most expensive! There are some shops that really belong here with truly funky items and I manage to buy a few 'souvenirs' of our visit to take home. This adds to the rather small lot of mementos that we have bought!

Later than we had originally planned, we finally left Magdeburg at 3 pm. The drive over to Wuppertal was in and out of rain again. Germany is determined not to allow us to lift our mood as we leave her for the last time this trip. Wuppertal is definitely a working city and our hotel - the Art Fabrik & Hotel reflects this. Once a factory building, this funky establishment appealed to us as soon as we saw it advertised. A series of artists has been involved in the design and layout and their works are all through the hotel, including the furniture of the restaurant.

Dinner is eaten in the hotel as it is raining yet again.
Entrees:
Minestrone - Michael
Special Fleischbällchen in Tomaten-reich (Special meatballs in rich tomato) Maria
Mains:
Rolled Seezungenfilet gefüllt mit Krabben in Hummer-Soße mit Reis und Gemüse (Rolled fillet of sole stuffed with prawns in a lobster sauce with rice and vegetables) Michael
Scallopine in Weißweinsauce mit der Hand geschnittene Kartoffeln und Gemüse (Scallopine in white wine sauce with hand cut potatoes and vegetables) Maria
Dessert: we both have the Creme Caramel that is served with a vanilla custard and chocolate sauce - very nice.