A Good Neighbor

 

There is a beautiful big pasture in our neighborhood. I wrote about it here in 2016 when it was for sale and we all were worried that new development would destroy this precious little corner. 

Thankfully someone in the neighborhood stepped up and bought it, so that its rural character could be preserved. There was a big sigh of relief going through my neighborhood.

We all agree that our very best neighbor was living here.

No one knew what his real name was - he was just Donkey. Some kids called him Don Quixote which I think was very smart. Kaefer and I called him Donkers, and whenever you called him by whatever name, he came running down to the fence, expecting some nose rubs and, even more, some food. 

Carrots might have been his favorite food. He loved them and never gobbled them down, but chewed them very carefully and thoughtfully. 

He certainly didn't have the best teeth anymore, though.

He was owned by the people who live above the pasture. He was rescued from BLM land about 30 years ago and quickly became an integral part of our community. He loved us and we loved him back. My friend Matt lives right across from the pasture and says that Donkers made his demands for fresh carrots pretty clear when he saw Matt standing in his kitchen (which faces the meadow).

I could hear him braying even inside our home with all the windows closed - granted, I only live a couple minutes away from the pasture.

I was particularly fond of his ears.

On the first Saturday of the new year, Donkers was found dead in his pasture. He had been suffering from Cushing's Disease (which none of us knew), but despite the disease he was around 40 years old. That is quite an old age for donkeys whose average lifespan is 33 years.

He even made it in the paper.

Our tight knit neighborhood came out with a little memorial at Donkers' gate.

I think we will all miss him. The pasture is not the same without him. But I'm sure he will keep on living in our hearts and the children will always fondly remember him. I know that Kaefer does.

This is the last photo I took of him, just a few weeks before he passed.

His sweet face is my contribution to Nicole's Friday Face Off.

The Cradle of Europe

 

City Hall

Let's go back to our time in Germany back in the fall. My last post about our trip was our visit to Burg Vischering in Münsterland. Today I'm taking you to Aachen in the very West of Germany on the border to both the Netherlands and Belgium. This area is also known as a Dreiländereck (three countries corner) - we have a few of those in Germany.

The once Celtic settlement is sometimes called "cradle of Europe" because in the 9th century, Aachen was constituted as the main royal residence of the Frankish Empire ruled by Karl der Große or Charlemagne, as he is widely known. It served as the coronation site where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans from 936 to 1531. Charlemagne (748-814) united most of Western and Central Europe; his reign was marked by political and social changes and had lasting influence on Europe throughout the Middle Ages. Because of his long lasting influence he is often called "Father of Europe" by many historians and is seen as a founding figure by multiple European states.

Aachen certainly didn't get stuck in the Middle Ages but has become a modern and lively city. The Rheinisch-Westfälisch Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH Aachen University) is one of Germany's leading institutes of higher education in technology. The Geek studied and received his Diplom here (Master equivalent). The Uniklinikum Aachen (university hospital) is one of the largest medical facilities in Europe, housed in a single-building hospital (very interesting hi-tech architecture).

These are the Geek's old stomping grounds. He not only studied at RWTH, but he grew up in a small town not too far away from Aachen. We visited on a sunny day in the second half of October, and people were out and about, taking advantage of a mild autumn day.

Within the old center of Aachen, you can find some beautiful bronze sculptures.

Frauen mit Schirm (left) and Puppenbrunnen (right)

Printenmädchen

We had three reasons to go to Aachen - the first one was Aachener Printen (this is what the girl in the image above holds in her hands).

So what are Aachener Printen? They are a type of Lebkuchen (which is similar to gingerbread) with certain spices including coriander, cinnamon, anise, clove etc. and sweetened with syrup. The exact mixture of the spice ingredients is a carefully kept secret of the individual Printen bakeries. To put Aachener Printen in the name, all manufacturers must be located in or near Aachen. The most typical form of Aachener Printen is the Platte (seen in the photo above), but the dough can also be pressed into distinctive molds. And of course there are also all other kinds of forms like cookies, small pieces etc.

Here you can see a variety of those other forms of Printen.

And just like their "cousins", the Nürnberger Lebkuchen, they come in beautiful tins if you want to spend a bit more money.

Lambertz is probably the most famous manufacturer of Printen, and Nobis with its store right across from the Dom is well known as well, but we prefer our Printen from Klein.

The third Platte that we bought has already disappeared...

Our second reason (especially mine) was this:

The Aachener Dom, one of the oldest cathedral buildings in Europe.

I am a big fan of those old cathedrals like you find in England and France, but for me, the Aachener Dom tops them all.

It is cramped smack in the center of the city which makes it practically impossible to get a photo of its entire size. But the real magic is revealed inside those ancient walls.

Instead of a large nave you find yourself in a high, two storied octagon that simply takes your breath away. This Carolingian-Romanesque Palatine Chapel is the core of the cathedral. The choir was constructed in the Gothic style; hence the Aachener Dom uses two distinct architectural styles.

Have a closer look at the octagon:

and looking up:

The Dom was constructed as the royal chapel of the Palace of Aachen of Charlemagne, who was buried here in 814. He began the construction of the Palatine Chapel around 796. It is not quite clear when it was completed, but in 805, Pope Leo III consecrated the finished chapel. The Gothic choir hall was added in 1355. During World War II, Aachen experienced heavy bombings and much of the city, including the Dom, was damaged, but the basic structure of the Dom survived.

The interesting marble floor:

In 1978, the Aachener Dom was one of the first twelve sites - and the first German site - to be listed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Its exceptional artistry and architecture was mentioned as well as its central importance in the history of the Holy Roman Empire.

The beautiful ceilings and mosaics.

And finally, the Gothic choir with its beautiful windows.

Outside the Dom we saw this sculpture of St. Stephanus.

Charlemagne and his influence on Europe is still alive in an international prize that the city of Aachen awards every year to an individual or institution for work done in the service of European unification - the Karlspreis. Some of the recipients are Winston Churchill (1956), the European Commission (1969), Henry Kissinger (1987), Václav Havel (1991), Bill Clinton (2000) and Angela Merkel (2008). 

And finally, the third reason for our visit was the building in the back of this photo:

It houses the Van den Daele Café, with a historic interior that is highly atmospheric. The Café consists of several smaller rooms on two floors and you can almost get the feeling of being lost when you go there for the first time. It is old fashioned with table service (heaven!) and real tableware. We came for the hot chocolate. In the left picture you can see how it is served - hot milk in a glass and different kinds of chocolate chips and whipped cream on the side. You put the chips in the hot milk so that they can melt, then you add the cream - delicious. The cookie on the side is Spekulatius.

And of course you guess right if you think this is for Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday.

One last thing that I noticed when I left the Dom. The Letzte Spur (final trail) monument which is part of a project called Namen und Steine (names and stones) by the AIDS Foundation in Aachen. As you can see in the picture below, it consists of a path hewn in stone dedicated to the victims of AIDS. It is laid in the passage of the Domhof square and covers half city, half church ground. It serves as a reminder that HIV can affect everyone.

The 366 Project: December

 

This is the last month of my 366 project - yes, I did it. I took at least one photo each day of the leap year that 2024 was (hence 366 and not 365). Many days it wasn't difficult at all, especially while traveling, but on some days I struggled and sometimes even only remembered to take a photo shortly before I went to bed.  I'm glad that I kept at it, but I'm also sure that I won't do any project similar to this anytime soon.

So, here's December:

As you can see, the month started with rather familiar images like the winter lights on our home,

and fall vibes we still enjoyed in the first month of winter.

On two Saturdays I worked as a substitute teacher in my old class which was a lot of fun. And then, when we were talking about whether we want to invite friends for New Year's Eve, the Geek came up with an "alternative idea", as he called it - why not a road trip to the American Southwest like we so often did in winter years ago and haven't done since 2014? It was a crazy, spontaneous idea, and of course we went for it.

We took Highway 50 through Nevada, the "loneliest highway in the US" and into Utah where we visited beautiful national parks like stunning Bryce Canyon,

crowded Arches (first in fog that eventually gave way to sun),

beautiful Canyonlands (this is the Needles District),

enjoyed the last sunset of the year over Grand Canyon in Arizona,

and visited state parks like Cathedral Gorge, Kodachrome Basin, Gobelin Valley and Dead Horse Point as well as Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.

More about this in much later posts, because I would like to continue sharing more of our trip to Europe.

But I do need a drink for Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday. Can you believe that I didn't take a single shot of a drink in December? So I need to turn to the jerk - unfortunately, when you go to national parks you also can't avoid a lot of jerks. One of them we saw on the last day of the year at Grand Canyon. While most people enjoyed the sunset quietly from the viewpoint, this guy went to the top of the rim, unfolded his camping chair in front of allof us and set there for everyone to witness how he drank his can of beer and being a - well, jerk. That's my drink contribution this time - I wish it was without the jerk.

Since I was away from Blogland for more than two weeks, I didn't have the chance to wish you a happy new year. All my best wishes to you for an enjoyable and healthy 2025.

Revisiting a Favorite Childhood Place

 

Taken from the moving car

Münsterland - the area around the city of Münster - has an abundance of (moated) castles, and one of them was a favorite place in my childhood. Whenever we went to Münsterland, this particular castle was always top on our list: Burg Vischering.

So when we stayed with Kaefer in Münster, we of course had to take her there (and the Geek hadn't been here before either). It's not a long drive from Münster through the beautiful surrounding landscape.

You approach the castle through a couple of gates.

Then you have to cross the first body of water until you finally have a first view of the castle.

I liked all the old gates here.

The castle is surrounded by an additional, deeper body of water, the moat. Since Münsterland is very flat, in order to protect themselves, castles were surrounded by deep moats and you could only enter the castle grounds via a drawbridge and heavy gates.

Here you can see part of the chain in front of the gate that would draw up part of the bridge.

Burg Vischering was founded by the Bishop of Münster in the second half of the 13th century and became the ancestral seat of the Droste zu Vischering family who has owned the castle to the present day. In 1521 a fire caused substantial damage to the castle, but it was rebuilt and extended in the Renaissance style by 1580. In 1986 it has been declared a historic monument and today houses the Münsterlandmuseum. 

The inner courtyard:

We immediately noticed the interesting construction of mirrors and of course we all had to take pictures here.

I liked the doors, the symbols above them and the handles and locks.

We couldn't figure out this small opening - a special door for the castle cats?

Stairs and little details...

I didn't take many pictures inside the castle, but I do want to show you this old manuscript and there was an abundance of Delfter Fliesen.

You can walk on the wall that borders the courtyard.

One of the castle residents lives here.

You can also see the adjacent buildings from here. I like the clay shingles, they are typical for this region (I grew up in a house with clay shingles) and many parts of Germany.

Now let's take a walk around the moat and look at the castle from there.

Windows with tiny shutters that would only cover parts of the window.

I loved the reflections in the water. That's what I remember the most from my childhood visits.

Usually re-visiting sites that you loved as a child can be disappointing. Burg Vischering, however, was exactly how I remembered it, except that it wasn't possible to go inside back then. I'm very glad that we went here and strolled down memory lane.

Outside I noticed the paving stones and the crest of Nordrhein-Westfalen (the Bundesland - state - Münster and the Münsterland belong to) on the manhole cover.

A last view through one of the crenels, and then we were on our way back.

A few shots out of the moving car of the area. As I mentioned, Münsterland is very flat which makes it perfect for riding a bicycle. This is Kaefer's preferred way of transportation. However, as beautiful as it is, I would miss the mountains or at least some hills. I have always lived in regions with hills and mountains, so I don't know how it is to live in completely flat surroundings. It might be nice for a certain time, though. Kaefer, who likes to hike and climb, does miss the mountains a lot and I can well understand it. I would, too.

Since there are a few faces in this post, either human or 'stony', I link to Nicole's Friday Face Off.