New Watercolors

 

Last week I got new watercolors. These are the Cotman Watercolours from Winsor & Newton. So far I have only had a little travel set (also Winsor & Newton), but while I enjoyed mixing the colors, I was still craving more. This studio set had been on my radar for about six months and after I had got a big order through my shop I decided to splurge on this.

First, I unpacked all the little half pans and painted a sample with each color to see what they look like when they have dried on watercolor paper. 

I'm still little experienced when it comes to watercolors, but I really want to learn how to use them. While I painted quite a bit with watercolors, I didn't really know what I was doing. Not that I know much more right now, but eventually I will. After all, my word of this year is "explore".

So I painted a tiny little piece because my fingers were itching to try out these colors. I used a stamp and simply colored it in, adding the chili peppers as a final touch.

This is my art part for Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date. Now on to the dinner part.

There are still tomatoes and zucchini that I harvest from my garden. Last week I made veggie pasta with shrimp that I had marinated in sesame oil, smoked paprika and salt & pepper. Zucchini and tomatoes came from the garden plus Red German garlic from the garlic guy at the farmers market.

I had put a little chili sesame oil in it towards the end of cooking time to give it a bit of a kick - it was delicious!

What are you cooking these days?

Laid Back at the Edge of the Black Forest

 

Schwabentor

Last week I mentioned that we went to Freiburg after we had left Colmar. Freiburg - or its full name, Freiburg im Breisgau - lies in the furthest Southwest corner of Germany surrounded by wine country, just a stone's throw from France and Switzerland. It is the fourth largest city of Baden-Württemberg with a population of about 230,000. It has an old and famous university and has a very cosmopolitan atmosphere. Despite its size it has a very laid back feel. It is also a very green city, aiming for sustainability since the early 80s. The surrounding area is characterized by beautiful nature and, of course, its immediate closeness to the Black Forest.

The pictures in this post are from both our trip in May and earlier visits.

The Freiburg Minster (Freiburger Münster) is the city's landmark. The building was started around 1200 in the romanesque style, but then continued in Gothic style. In 1827, it became the seat of the newly erected Catholic Archdiocese of Freiburg and thus a cathedral. It is surrounded by the Münsterplatz where you can buy fresh produce at the farmers market.

Inside, the minster lacks all the overpowering pomp that so many Catholic churches have. It is simple and mostly inornate. The beautiful windows are true eye candy.

I love these door handles which were slightly different on the outside and the inside.

Much of the minster and the city itself was destroyed in the bombing raids of November 1944, but there was one part that survived: the tower.

With a height of 116 meters, it is the only Gothic church tower in Germany that was completed in the Middle Ages (1330) and has lasted until the present. The tower is nearly square at the base, octagonal and tapered above the star gallery at its centre, and above that is the spire with its ornate pinnacle. Its open lattice structure was the first in Gothic architecture. You can climb the tower from where you have a wonderful view over Freiburg and beyond. 

Freiburg's Old Town was completey destroyed during World War II, but has been beautifully restored in the minutest details. Konviktstraße (Konviktstreet - photo below) is regarded as the jewel of Old Town restoration.

You can't tell that these buildings are not the original ones.

 

Look at the red sandstone and the wonderful details.

You can see ornate decorations everywhere if you just look - on grates, lampposts, and of course there are also gorgeous signs.

I first thought that this is Saint Francis of Assisi and loved that the pigeons so fittingly rest on the statue, but I learned that this is a statue of Berthold Schwarz, a Franciscan monk and alchemist of the late 14th century, who is credited with the invention of gunpowder by 15th- through 19th-century European literature.

But the most charming part of Freiburg is the Bächle, little brooks that run through the city's streets for 16 kilometers. The were supposed to provide water to livestock in the Middle Ages. Today, they're a big attraction for kids and adults alike. You can bring little boats or buy them and let them run in the water. There are even races going on, and I think one of them is with rubber ducks. Legend has it that every single person who accidentally stumbles into a Bächle (which is not hard to do, so keep your eyes open!) has to marry a Freiburger.

Last week I wrote that Freiburg has a special meaning for me. Well, first of all, I simply love this city, its cosmopolitan flair, its mediterranean feel, its "multikulti" (multicultural) and its weather - it's said to have the best weather in Germany. In less than an hour you are in France, it takes slightly longer to Switzerland. The Black Forrest is right there with all its possibilities of hiking, biking, climbing and skiing. Schauinsland, a mountain that you can reach via cable car, offers the most stunning views as far as the eye reaches. It's a wonderful wine region called Kaiserstuhl. There are hundreds of kilometers of bike paths in and around Freiburg.

Even the ground looks interesting!

And why does it have such a special meaning for me?

This is the place where I want to live if we ever decide to move back to Germany.

In the evening of our short stay we went to a restaurant where we could sit outside and enjoy a delicious meal. Kaefer had an Aperol Spritz, which is very popular in Germany these days. The Geek and I had a beer and a Bellini. These are already three drinks for Elizabeth and Bleubeard's T Tuesday.

The next morning we had breakfast in a street café right next to the minster. It was a glorious morning with sunshine and pleasant temperatures - only later in the day when we were on our way to Switzerland did the sky darken and send some rain.

We had a typical breakfast with freshly baked rolls, cold cuts, cheese, yogurt and fresh fruit. Plus coffee, of course - more drinks for Elizabeth and Bleubeard!

To those of you who are still with me, thank you.

Last Saturday would have been my Mom's 101st birthday. She passed away 15 years ago. This photo is from 1983 - we were joking with each other and kidding around as we so often did. I miss her so much.

Painting over a Painting

 

When I started painting "more seriously" I created many paintings that I either didn't like or that were hideous. I usually would put them away and come back to them weeks or even months later. If I still didn't like them I decided to "recycle" them. 

This fate was met by the painting that is lying beneath this mixed media painting of a young woman. I don't quite remember which painting it used to be, I only know that it was the face of a woman and it turned out awful. I tried to like it, but didn't succeed. So I decided to paint over it - this was the first (but not last) time that I recycled a painting this way. What I do remember is that I used little daisy paper die cuts for the hair - in this photo you can clearly see them (the old painting used to be in portrait mode, not landscape).

This second face, that I am sharing with Nicole's Friday Face Off, turned out much more to my liking. In fact, it was the first face I painted that I really liked. I had some of those paper daisies leftovers and used them in her hair - it kind of ties the old and new together. This painting was done in 2013.

Birds on a Hat

 

The art I'm bringing you today for Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date is my knitting, in particular this birds hat. I have been knitting several of this hat for a couple years now in different color combinations. They're for purchase in my Etsy store and usually sell out pretty quickly during the months before Christmas. This year I added a new color combination - grey with red birds. I'm planning to knit more hats in grey or charcoal and contrast the neutral color with more colorful birds in the near future.

Recently we had linguine with lemon sauce for dinner. It's another NYT recipe and super easy. I've enclosed the recipe below. I find it better to start heating the butter and adding the lemon zest more toward the end of the pasta's cooking time. However, I would add a few good grinds of fresh black pepper at the end and I also tend to be quite generous with the Parmigiano-Reggiano (I prefer this aged kind of Parmesan).

Last weekend we finally got some rain! It was such a relief. While we didn't get quite the soaking that was in the forecast, we still got a decent amount and my garden is very happy. Right before the weekend I harvested everything that was ripe enough. We had some lovely tomato dishes of which I forgot to take any pictures. Pasta, garlic, cream and basil were involved. Those big dark tomatoes are Pink Berkeley Tie Dye, an organic heirloom tomato with a truly big flavor. Otherwise there is Early Girl and the cherry tomoato is Riesentraube, an old German heirloom. Its name means "giant bunch of grapes" and indeed, it has big clusters of flavorful cherry tomatoes. It works well with Rain's prompt for this week, "Harvest Dinner". Bon appétit.

 

Where France Meets Germany

 

Our last stop in Alsace was Colmar, a beautiful city of about 70,000 that considers itself to be the "capital of Alsatian wine". It has a well-preserved old town including an area that is crossed by canals of the river Lauch. It is picturesque and therefore attracts many tourists. We were there on a Sunday and it was crowded.

This is where France meets Germany which is a mere 23 km (14 miles) away from Colmar. This results in a unique mix of the two cultures.

While Colmar is a lovely city, it's a bit of a let down after having visited the picturesque towns and villages of Riquewihr, Ribeauvillé and Kaysersberg (and there are many more). It is probably much better to visit Colmar before going on to the other beautiful places. 

I was quite taken by this decoration across one of the small canals.

Colmar also has its share of unique signs and gateways to hidden courtyards.

Looking down, we noticed these plaques in the ground. Of course we had to research it right there and learned that Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was born in Colmar in 1834. He designed Liberty Enlightening the World, commonly known as the Statue of Liberty (its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel who is so famous for the tower of the same name).

After strolling along the Quai de la Poissonerie (fishmonger's district), we eventually arrived in the area that is known as La Petite Venise (Little Venice), probably the part of Colmar that draws the biggest crowds.

Tourists can take guided boat rides here which many of them do. It can get pretty busy on the canal. Look at the swan swimming in the water - I think it's already obvious that he is not too pleased.

 

And he sure wasn't! He started to attack the boats passing by - you couldn't really blame him. There were so many boats going down the canal, what was a swan to do? This is his territory.

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Why do people have to get into everything? Isn't it enough just to look at this beautiful scenery?

We left Petite Venise soon after. We strolled a few more of the streets and alleys, found an ice cream place where we had a short break while enjoying this delicious cold treat. 

All over the old town I noticed these big purple pots that were planted with olive trees. I wouldn't mind having one of those. Purple was quite a bold color for this place, but it was a good choice.

We then left Colmar and went back to Germany. We stayed in Freiburg, less than an hour to drive from Colmar. I will tell you about this university town next Tuesday - this place has a special meaning for me. For now, I only show you my drink that evening in a local restaurant - a rosé wine called Weißherbst, typical for this area. With this I salute Elizabeth and Bleubeard for their T Tuesday!