The 366 Project: November

 

It's just two weeks ago that I posted my 366 project for October, and here we are in December and it's time for the November 366. The month began in France, took us to Belgium and the North of Germany and finally back to California.

As you can see, there's a beautiful coffee mug in these collages, and that is my first ticket for Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday. My daughter brought this mug from South Africa where she attended a congress in her beloved Cape Town in September, and she gave it to me while we were in Münster.

Get ready for some random pictures that I took in Münster. My daughter told me that I need to go to Dille & Kamille, a Belgian shop that has a few stores in Germany as well. I was very tempted to get one these houses (you put a tealight in it) since they don't only look like buildings in Bruges or Ghent, but also like the ones in Münster. However, in the end I only bought a tiny ornament.

At the other end of Prinzipalmarkt was a cheese shop where they sold Gouda in all kinds of flavor. You can tell that the Netherlands aren't far from Münster...

My daughter's flat is above an Italian ice cream parlor (called "Eisdiele" in German), and when the weather was nice, we sat on the patio and enjoyed some wonderful Eisbecher (sundae).

Or would you prefer German cheesecake (not made with cream cheese, but with Quark) or Tiramisu?

Of course I had to visit my favorite clothing store, Gudrun Sjøden, a Swedish company. The walls are full with pictures of their patterns and even the stairs had the flower pattern on some steps.

While I was looking around, the Geek was served coffee - nice touch for the waiting husband - while he sat at the table chatting with Kaefer.

A cozy little corner to sit in one of the little alleys close to the Dom.

If nature calls in this café, you know where to go.

Especially if you had a few of these delicious cocktails, a Hugo. This is an alcoholic aperitif that originated in South Tyrol and is very popular in Northeastern Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. It is based on prosecco, elderflower syrup, seltzer or sparkling water and mint leaves. My second ticket for T Tuesday.

A pillow I saw in Kaefer's neighborhood bakery - "lovely that you are here".

I wish all of you a lovely last month of the year and leave you with this shot that I took this morning in my front garden. The sun always rises.

Happy Days in Münster

 

When we left for Germany in the middle of October we were heading to Münster, the city where Kaefer now lives. She works at the University of Münster, one of the biggest universities in Germany. Münster is an independent city (Kreisfreie Stadt) in Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia) close to the border with the Netherlands. It is considered to be the cultural center of Westphalia. It has a population of more than 300,000, more than 60,000 of them (university) students. The city is more than 1,200 years old.

The centerpiece of downtown definitely is the area of and around Prinzipalmarkt (principal marketplace), pictured in the photo above. The historic buildings were largely destroyed during the WWII bombings and reconstructed from 1947 to 1958, mostly true to the original. The buildings house shops and cafés and have picturesque pediments. Since it rains a lot in Münster, the archways are very useful.

Prinzipalmarkt looks especially beautiful at night.

At the Southern end of Prinzipalmarkt is the historical town hall (Rathaus) which houses the Friedenssaal (Hall of Peace) where the Westfälischer Frieden (Peace of Westphalia) was signed in October 1648. This ended the Thirty Years' War and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire. European history is incredible complicated and it would really break the mold of this blog if I would try to explain in detail what happened during those 30 years and how long it took to achieve this peace treaty. Especially since there are more historical events to come that took place in Münster. Wikipedia gives a good introduction to both the Thirty Years' War and the Peace of Westphalia if you're interested, but I have to warn you - it's confusing!

The next place at Prinzipalmarkt that we're going to visit (and which has fascinated me since I was a child) is Lambertikirche (St Lambert's Church). It's of late Gothic architecture and about in the center of Prinzipalmarkt.

It has a couple interesting things inside - one being the large hanging organ built by Karl Schuke in 1988. It feels very impressive when you stand right beneath it.

The second is the Himmelsleiter (Jacob's ladder), a light installation by Billie Thanner from 2022. It used to be exhibited on the tower of the church, but is now hanging above the baptismal fountain.

But the main historical importance of this church was something very different and more gruesome. Look carefully at this picture.

Have you noticed the three cages above the clock? In 1536 the corpses of three Wiedertäufer (Anabaptists), Jan van Leiden, Bernhard Krechting and Bernhard Knipperdolling, were exposed in these cages after they were publicly tortured and killed in Prinzipalmarkt for leading the Täuferreich von Münster (Münster Rebellion). In short, radical Anabaptists attempted to establish a communal sectarian government in Münster - a city and Bistum (diocese) that has always been and still is dominantly catholic. The city was under Anabaptist rule from February 1534 until June 1535. It's quite a gruesome "story" - again, Wikipedia gives a good overview of the rebellion. 

Let's have a break, shall we? What about some coffee and cake? Germany's afternoon coffee and cake (Kaffee und Kuchen) culture is not to be missed - and it's my ticket to Elizabeth's T Tuesday.

As I mentioned above, Münster is dominantly Catholic and since it is a diocese it also has a Dom, the St. Paulus Dom (Cathedral of St Paul). It is off Prinzipalmarkt and surrounded by a large square where every Saturday morning a huge farmers market takes place.

For a Catholic church the Dom was surprisingly plain and simple on the inside. I liked these windows.

Probably the most well-know bishop of Münster was Clemens August Graf von Galen, who during World War II led Catholic protests against Nazi euthanasia, denounced Gestapo lawlessness and the persecution of the Church in Nazi Germany. His sermons inspired some German Resistance groups, among them Die Weiße Rose, about whom I wrote here.

The Bistum of Münster was established in 805 as this manhole cover on the Domplatz (Cathedral Square) lets everybody know who cares to look.

Here you can see how close Dom and Lambertikirche are. They are just a few walking minutes apart from each other.

And a view of them from Café 1648 on the 11th floor.

Are you already tired of churches? One more - Überwasserkirche ("church beyond the water"), my favorite. It reminds me a little bit of English country churches.

It has a beautiful window and an interesting door.

Here it is reflected in a car window.

Münster also has many narrow alleys like almost all of the old German city centers. Here is an alley close to Überwasserkirche and the other near the Dom.

Maybe you have noticed the many bicycles in some of the photos. Münster is known as the bicycle capital of Germany. It is flat, perfect for riding a bike, and almost everywhere there are bike paths that keep bicycle riders safe from cars. Kaefer doesn't have a car and goes everywhere in Münster by bike, and if the weather is too ghastly she takes the bus. It is also well linked to the train network which enables her to get almost everywhere she wants to. But let's talk about that in a later post, because the Deutsche Bahn (German rail) is one of the things that Germans complain about the most (and I can't blame them for it).

And one more fun fact. Münster is the location for two German crime shows - "Wilsberg" and "Tatort". "Tatort" is one of the longest running crime shows in Germany and the title music and beginning hasn't changed since at least the 70s. It's not a "real" series per se since it is produced by different TV stations (depending on the Bundesland or state). I think each of the participating states (there are 16 in Germany) get at least 2 episodes a year - and one of them is Tatort Münster which I believe is one of the most popular ones. I certainly am a big fan.

One last picture of a church (in the rain) - I liked the round tower which is kind of unusual. 

Thank you for sticking to the end of this long post. I hope you all have a wunderbare week and if you're in the US, a lovely Thanksgiving.

The 366 Project: October

 

It's rather late for the October part of my 366 project, but since we only came back from our 4-week trip to Germany, France and Belgium the day before yesterday, it still seems on time for me. The first half of October was spent in Santa Rosa and ends with the drive over a very foggy Golden Gate Bridge on our way to San Francisco Airport.

The second half of October was spent in Germany and France.

On the first weekend in Germany - in Münster, Westfalen - we had our Bartz family reunion with the Geek's parents, his two brothers and their families.

On the last Friday of our trip we met with my brother and his wife.

And in between the three of us - the Geek, Kaefer and myself - travelled in Germany, France and Belgium. Here you can see us in Hamburg's Miniatur Wunderland, which has become the no. 1 tourist attraction in Germany and has been on my list for quite some time. Definitely a must-go!

The best part? Seeing Kaefer again. It had been almost two years since we saw her the last time.

There will be future posts about this trip, but for now I want to share these faces with Nicole's Friday Face Off. It might take me a while to visit your blogs, since I still haven't quite arrived yet. I wish all of you a lovely weekend.

Bowling at Dawn

 

When we first went to Bowling Ball Beach it was during a low tide. But then we learned that there was a zero tide two days later at 5:38 in the morning. While scrambling down the cliff in the dark wasn't really appealing, nothing could keep us in our little cabin.

When we left, it was pitch dark and there was no one else driving along Highway 1. We arrived at the parking spot a bit more than 10 minutes later and started our walk toward the beach along the same path we took two days earlier. It was a clear morning with no marine layer which is rather unusual for our coast. Above us we saw a magnificent starry sky. Our flashlights helped us going down the difficult part of the cliff, but then the walking was easy on the beach until we reached the big boulders.

When we arrived it looked like this

but looking south we already saw the day dawning.

We lit up some of the "bowling balls" with our flashlights and took a couple photos in that light just for fun.

In all my photos you will notice different quality of light. This is because some of the pictures have been taken with my DSLR and some with my phone. The phone camera is more light sensitive than the DSLR (except if I crank up the ISO at the expense of the quality of the photo), but the mood is different. You can easily tell which photos were taken with which camera - the lighter ones are the phone pictures and the more atmospheric ones are the DSLR photos.

In reality it wasn't quite as light as in this picture. The phone picture does an excellent job in picking up light, but unfortunately at the expense of mood.

While the Geek was setting up his equipment, I turned my view (and lens) to the ground and explored all the tiny tidepools.

I think these tiny green fish might be Tidepool Sculpins (Oligocottus maculosus) and I'm pretty sure that the black snails are Black Tegula (Tegula funebralis) since they are so abundant on the West Coast. The lighter ones might be Checkered Periwnkle (Littorina Scultulata), another abundant snail on our shores. You can also see sea anemones.

The light changed constantly and the sky displayed a tender pink glow.

It was time to take pictures of the bowling balls before the tide would come back in.

I wrote about the ruts in my previous "Bowling Ball" post. As you can see, they were covered with seaweed and algae and it was really difficult to walk on them since they were very slippery. Even my hiking boots couldn't always find a secure footing.

Since the boulders are covered with salty water most of the time, they were covered with seaweed and algae as well. Most of them had a bad hair day.

When I looked up, the light had changed again. Looking toward northwest:

I decided that I had taken enough pictures of the boulders and focussed now on the beautiful views around me.

To the south the light became more dramatic and I loved the reflection in the water.

The reflection of the cliffs and the trees on top were stunning, too.

Of course I had to take photos of the gulls - how could I not?

Looking down, I noticed the different texture of the sand.

Then it was time to slowly walk back. By now it was an hour after the lowest point of the zero tide and we noticed the water coming in again. While walking back I still had my eyes trained on the sand and the ocean (you never leave your eyes off the ocean while on the beach anyway - that's a lesson you learn very quickly when you live near the coast). This read algae, Callophyllis, I often see on our beaches. Fun fact: Callophyllis is commonly known as carola.

Of course there was a rock cairn as well. They almost always are.

Looking back we saw the sun touching the cliffs in the north, those that were reaching out into the ocean.

The Geek while walking up the path, and a look back toward the beach.

When I looked down, I could clearly see the ruts disappearing in the water. We hadn't seen this the last time when the tide was much higher.

When we reached the top of the cliffs, the sun touched the trees. It was such a lovely morning.

I leave you here with a few more atmospheric photos of the ocean.

It was such a wonderful start of a new day.

I will take a break from blogging for a few weeks. I hope all of you have a lovely, colorful autumn or joyous spring depending where in the world you are, and I will "see" you again in November or December.