The 366 Project: September

 

September had hardly begun when it was already over - at least that's how it felt. It was a busy month.

My friend Kris and I went on some beautiful walks in our regional parks where we saw the first signs of autumn.

At the lake we discovered a huge hornet nest.

Look at that intricate work! Isn't it impressive?

I love to be at the lake early when the water steams and is backlit by the morning sun. Such a beautiful and slightly mystical mood.

It also was a busy month in regards to knitting. I was often sitting in the garden knitting up hats and socks, often with Kibeau as my reliable but mostly sleeping companion.

At the farmers market I could still get peaches and made buttermilk peach cobbler. Next time I will not make it in the cast iron pan because it was a bit of a pain to clean out the baked-on parts, even though my pan is well seasoned and it shouldn't be a problem.

We were very excited that the Mourning Doves came back to their nest and had another brood. I'm happy to say that they raised both babies and about a week ago I saw them taking off. I still see the little ones occasionally in our big tree. The other excitement was that I noticed a bird in my garden that I hadn't seen before. After consulting Merlin and my Sibley and confirming with David, I now know that this is a Black-headed Grosbeak. This little guy is very camera shy.

And of course we're getting closer to the election. Campaing signs have turned up in our neighborhood. I love the cat ones, but I love the handmade signs by children even more. I asked one of my little neighborhood girls whether she would make one for me, and we now proudly display it right next to our frontdoor.

Unfortunately, there was also this:

I have no idea what people who steal campaign signs want to achieve with that. Do they think people would change their mind? Hardly. This behaviour makes me mad, and I would be just as mad if this would have happened with Trump/Vance signs. I wish we would return to respect and civility.

Together with other neighbors we were busy writing letters to voters in states with voter suppression laws to let them know how they can get heir voter ID. That there even are voter suppression laws in a country that boasts about its democracy is shameful.

Last but not least, September is a special month for the Geek and I. 28 years ago we had our first kiss on top of the tower of Stiftskirche in Tübingen. You can see the tower here - taken on a cold but clear and sunny winter day. It was warmer back then on that day in September, but there was a constant drizzle - which didn't prevent us from kissing.

For us it's a reason to celebrate and open a bottle of bubbly. Cheers, my friends!

With all these faces, I'm linking up with Nicole's Friday Face Off.

Christmas Market in Tübingen

 

Advent, those four weeks before Christmas, are a very special time in Germany. In many cities and towns, Christmas markets open their booths, many of them being a part of the place for several weeks. 

I remember the third Advent-weekend in December back in Tübingen, Germany, where I spent more than twenty years of my life. It's a medieval university town with its typical old buildings that look like they're straight out of a fairy tale by the Grimm Brothers. Narrow lanes wind among medieval timber-framed houses and cars are not allowed within the city center. It's a huge pedestrian zone that makes wandering the old alleys so peaceful.

This is the setting for one of the most beautiful traditions of the town: the Christmas Market. It's nothing like its big siblings in Nürnberg, Stuttgart or München and so many other cities. First, it only takes place from Friday to Sunday and not weeks and weeks and weeks. Second, it's not commercial. There are tons of local artists who sell their work, school classes who raise funds for their annual end-of-the-year trip, small local environmental groups who fight for preservation, neighborhoods who try to raise awareness and money for people with disabilities - the list could go on and on.

So that's the eye-candy. The next is the food - just one word: delicious. The food is mainly local specialities, the best time to eat "Bubaspitzle mit Sauerkraut" (a thin rolled kind of potato pasta with sauerkraut and sometimes bacon), one of my fondest memories in the food department. There was a guy with a complicated portable special oven who made Swiss Raclette that was to die for. Of course there was Glühwein (mulled wine), very welcome in the cold. None of the food or the drink was allowed in any kind of plastic or paper container, everything had to be re-usable! Most of the plates were eatable - envision big sturdy waffles for apple strudel! No trash! You bought a beautiful mug with the words "Tübinger Weihnachtsmarkt" written on it and this could be refilled at any booth that offered Glühwein or juice punch. I still have a few of these mugs, pictured below, and they are this week’s ticket to Bleubeard and Elizabeth’s T Tuesday.

Throughout the market you could listen to music. Children were singing, little choirs stood at the fountain in the market square, someone played the violin, another one the bagpipe, and again another one the flute. There was a cantata concert in the main church. There were jugglers and clowns. It was a very festive atmosphere. 

And of course there was “Paupersingen”. The Paupersingen (paupers singing) is a tradition that originated in the Middle Ages. "pauper" is a Latin word and means poor, and in this case it refers to poor students of Latin who paid part of their school fee by singing during church services and at funerals. During Advent they wandered through the narrow lanes of the town, wearing their black scholar cloaks and singing in front of every house, hoping for some donations.

Today it's the children choirs who start out at different parts of Tübingen and slowly, with several stops in between, walk to the market square, all the way singing the old Christmas carols. They all meet at the huge Christmas tree where all of them together sing for another half hour or so. The donations today go to some charity of their choice. (I apologize for the very unfocused photo.)

We felt like community, we were community. People spending three days in the cold in order to help someone else. To serve others. To share stories. To entertain children and their stressed parents. To bring smiles on the cold faces, red cheeks from the mulled wine.

That third weekend in December was spent in the streets among those medieval buildings, no matter whether the sun was shining, it was raining or snowing. It was freezing cold - always. But everyone was there. Community.

(This is the slightly edited version of a post that I first wrote for Vision and Verb in 2010 or 2011.)

Crossing the Border

 

After nine days in Munich, we left the city for our mini road trip during which we crossed into several European countries. Our first destination was Alsace where we planned to spend a few days. On our way there we decided to stop for lunch in Tübingen, my old stomping grounds.

I moved to Tübingen after I had graduated from high school in order to study at the university. Tübingen is a mediaval town with narrow alleys and hidden corners, all of which I got to know and love so well during the 22 years I lived there. I was very lucky that pretty soon after graduating with a master's degree I found a job in a town nearby. I commuted for many years because I simply didn't want to leave Tübingen. Coming back after so many years to a town that will always have a special place in my heart was a bit weird - and interesting. The routing of streets was as odd as it was more than 20 years ago and thus felt very familiar. Some well-loved pubs and restaurants weren't there any longer; in their place I saw modern shops that no one seemd to visit. One of the restaurants where I used to spend many lovely times was still operating and this is where we had our lunch.

Through the Black Forest we made it to Strasbourg where we first checked in our hotel that we had booked some time during the day and then took the tram to the city center. Other than in Munich where almost everyone wore masks in public transportation, France behaved like there never was a pandemic. Only a couple other people and ourselves were the only ones who wore masks in the rather crowded tram. Clearly, no one cared about COVID anymore. My daughter - the budding epidemiologist - was not impressed.

The famous cathedral is visible from almost everywhere.

Strasbourg, located right on the border between Germany and France, is a cosmopolitan city through and through. It is the largest city of the Grand Est region of Eastern France and the official seat of the European Parliament. The most attractive part of course is the historic city center, the Grande Île (Large Island), which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As the name suggests, it is an island that is surrounded by the main channel of the Ill River on one side and by the Canal du Faux-Rempart on the other side. Strasbourg lies on the Rhine which is the bordering river between France and Germany.

We spent most of the evening on the Grande Île, wandering along the streets and narrow alleys. It was a warm evening and many people were out and about. 

The Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg or Strasbourg Minster is an impressive old building of outstanding Gothic architecture. The cathedral is the sixth-tallest church in the world (the tallest one is the Minster in Ulm, Germany) with just one octagonal tower instead of the originally envisioned two spires. Here is the west front with its spectacular rose window and gallery of the apostles:

The Place de la Cathédrale was busy with restaurants getting ready to welcome dinner guests.

We weren't ready for dinner yet, but preferred to walk around a bit more, looking for the famous "La Petite France", probably the most touristy spot in the city, but beautiful.

I enjoyed looking at the old houses and finding pretty little nooks and niches (the pots on the balcony are of the famous Betschdorf pottery industry).

Or weird shop window displays... (I couldn't resist taking this picture!)

We eventually had dinner and just enjoyed the lively atmosphere before we headed back to the hotel. It had been a long day.

The next morning we found a little street café where we had an excellent breakfast with wonderful coffee and very tasty bread, butter and homemade jam. This is my ticket for T Tuesday that Elizabeth is hosting every week. After that breakfast we headed further into Alsace (more posts to come).

 

October Day

October is my favorite month, autumn my favorite season, and one of my favorite poets, Rainer Maria Rilke, wrote one of my favorite poems about fall (I know, this sentence has a lot of "favorites"!). I have written about it here before, but I never seem to find a translation that I really like. At my high school library I found the poem in a translation by Robert Bly which so far I like best, even though it is not always 100% accurate. I think translating poems in a different language is one of the most difficult things to do.

The poem is called "Herbsttag" in the original which translates to "Autumn Day", but I am fine with "October Day".

Oh Lord, it is time. It was a great summer.

Lay your shadow now on the sundials,

and on the open fields let the winds go!

Give the tardy fruits the hint to fill;

give them two more Mediterranean days,

drive them on into their greatness, and press

the final sweetness into the heavy wine.

Whoever has no house by now will not build.

Whoever is alone now will remain alone,

will wait up, read, write long letters,

and walk along sidewalks under large trees,

not going home, as the leaves fall and blow away.

I am not quite happy with the word "sidewalks" since Rilke was using the word "Alleen" which is very difficult to translate into English. But look at both the photos on top and at the bottom - that's a kind of Allee. Whenever I read this poem (I don't even have to read it since I know it by heart) I think of this place - the long island in the Neckar, the river that runs through Tübingen. How many times have I walked here, sat on a bench reading and came here with my old film camera (these photos are slides I took in the 80s and 90s with my trusted Nikon EM). Every season was wonderful here, but autumn was especially delightful.

In My Dreams I Walk These Streets

Neckarfront with Stiftskirche and Alte Aula

It's been 16 years since I left Germany for California, exchanged the beautiful medieval town of Tübingen in the Southwest of the country for a non-descript and not in the least pretty city in gorgeous Sonoma County. Even though I enjoy living in this stunningly beautiful part of Northern California I sometimes miss the crooked alleys of Tübingen, the uneven pavement and the old buildings, some of which look like they won't make it another year (they will though; they have been there for 500 to 600 years).

Neckarhalde

I used to know every little alley, every street, every corner and every little nook in this town. On Saturday mornings I would walk down the Schloßberg (castle hill) where I lived and wander along the streets, go into some shops and sit in a street café drinking cappuccino and watching people.

Haaggasse

Clinicumsgasse

Usually I had my camera with me because there was always something I found interesting or weird enough to photograph. The result is an abundance of Tübingen photos.

This is the castle, sitting high over the town. From up there we enjoyed great views over the terracotta roofs of the old buildings and beyond to the Schwäbische Alb (where I would often go to hike).

This is the path leading up to the castle from the far side of the town - the long back of castle hill at which end I lived.

Coming down from the castle there were so many little streets I could stroll along.

Bursagasse

Judengasse

Klosterberg

Some were very narrow and more like passages between buildings. You could easily get lost if you didn't know your way.

Hasengäßle

Neckarbad

This is Münzgasse with the domineering Stiftskirche at the end of it.

The pavement in front of the church...

... and this is the side toward the river.

A glimpse of the town hall with its beautiful Renaissance facade, seen from Wienergäßle.

The German poet Friedrich Hölderlin (I wrote about him here) lived in this tower which is right on the river Neckar and is part of the famous Neckarfront which is the most photographed location in Tübingen.

The bigger picture - in summer... (if you want to know more about the punting boats, I wrote about them here)

... and in fall.

This place is beautiful in every season. Yes, I do miss it.