Walk the Walk

 

Favorite playground.

Bansky at Langenhorn Markt?

Recycling 101.

Passing by this bench always reminds me of Betsy.

Fugitive Found

 

Peacock Butterfly

Fugitive Found in Safe Harbor Basement. Its big eyes on the wings could fool predators.

Heiligabend in Hamburg

 

Setting up for the Christmas Eve Heiligabend  (Christmas Eve) open-air services. This is the same location where the Tuesday and Saturday open-air markets take place.

In Germany, reservations were required to attend this year's Christmas Eve church services. Masks, Christmas music, language barrier, and a minister looking rather like Martin Luther. No reservation? No problem. There was an ideal spot for me on the sidelines.

Practicing for the Christmas Eve service.

Actually, the clerical collar is maybe more like Queen Elizabeth I. 

Darnley Portrait of Elizabeth 1575

After digging deeper I have learned that style collar is called a ruff. These pieces of cloth could be changed and laundered separately so they might be considered a practical piece of clothing for the times. Well, maybe not so practical since they were made of fine linen, trimmed with lace, cutwork, or embroidery, then shaped into crisp, precise folds with starch and heated irons. But, the entire garment did not need to be washed, right?

It appears that the ruffs slowly fell from fashion in the 1600's. So why does the Lutheran clergy wear ruffs today in Hamburg?

If when presents are opened is the qualifier, Christmas Eve is the main holiday in Germany.  

Shops close around midday on Christmas Eve (Weihnachten). Many offices allow workers to leave early to go home and enjoy a traditional meal of potato salad and sausages with their families.

O Tannenbaum. Traditionally Christmas trees aren't set up and decorated until Christmas Eve. The use of evergreens became a Christmas symbol of everlasting life may go back much further than even the 1550s, but still with a Germanic connection. In an effort to Christianize the Germanic tribes in the 8th century, St. Boniface is said to have introduced the use of evergreens. Saint Boniface found a group of pagans worshipping an oak tree and became angry. He proceeded to cut down the oak tree and immediately a small fir tree is said to have sprouted from the middle of the oak stump and reached to the sky. Displacing the pagan oak tree of Odin, he then dedicated the fir tree (Tannenbaum) to the Christ Child.

 Saint Boniface deemed the evergreen tree to now be their holy tree because it was a symbol of everlasting life.

Forget Santa kids, meet the Christkind (Christ Child). Christkind is depicted as an angelic figure with blond hair and wings.  Christkind is a Christmas gift-bringer. Much like its more famous counterpart, Santa Claus, Christkind is said to leave presents for children under the Christmas tree on the night of Christmas Eve. The Christkind is not meant to be seen. Parents distract their little ones, then miraculously when the children return to the Christmas tree the Christkind has left special gifts for them.

Überraschung

 

Surprise, my driver ended the "no day trips" edict. His acceptance of the government mandate did not last very long. Blame it on itchy feet and only an hour from home. This morning we quickly made the last-minute decision to hop on the bus Gus and head to Brunsbuttel. It is an easy one-hour trip to the locks on the Kiel Canal plus a favorite grocery store. 

Kaiser Wilhelm again. 

The Kiel Canal, the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal was formerly the Kaiser-Wilhelm- Kanal, connecting the North Sea at Brunsbüttel to the Baltic Sea at Kiel. It is 61 miles long and is the busiest man-made canal in the world.  Over 9,000 workers spent eight years building it. In 1895, the canal was officially opened by Emperor William II. He sort of liked his name on everything. Similar to the current American king with a T here - a T there - everywhere a T T on it in you can't miss them big gold letters.

Recently opened new open-air style sound barrier tunnel in Hamburg.

There are still traditional tunnels. 

Perfect timing, on our arrival there was a huge ship plus a smaller one ready for us to watch as they make their way through the locks. The canal makes it possible for huge ocean-going container ships to pass by providing entertainment for shipophile Peter.

A windmill reminder for our times today.

Driving back to Hamburg a functioning windmill caught our attention. Many others around the countryside exist but appear to be standing still waiting for Don Quixote. Now there is a Don in the white house just like Don Quixote unable to separate reality from fiction. Stunning similarity!

Moo, moo must be calling our attention to the nearby little hut.

Take a look inside. Reminder: when you click on a photo it will increase in size.

Inside the hut is today's vending machine find. A vending machine offering fresh milk! Almost right from the cow.

The one-liter glass bottles are located on the shelves to the right. Fill em up for one euro each.

Cruise 2020

At least we made it on to the water. Our front row ferry ride is now our cruise the year.

Along the county roads, there were long stretches of fabric-covered piles of potatoes. Well, to me they looked like potatoes but after a correction, I learned they are turnips. 

Chalk this excursion up to the "shortest day of the year" day trip.

Holiday Cheer at Casa de Tasha

 

Holiday Cheer or Have Chef Malcolm Will Travel.

Royal with his natural abundance of enthusiasm.

North Stars Practice

Go Team!

 Thanks to the live-in Zamboni the team is out under blue skies once again sharpening their hockey skills.

Gone with the Wind

 

Today we have gone with the wind to the Baltic Sea Island of Fehmarn. Even though it is another coldish cloudy day, Tim is still kitesurfing in this weather. He joined many other diehards and gave us a destination for a day trip. I believe it is the dependable strong steady winds that call the kiters to zip across the shallow waters off Fehmarn.

The willing photographer captures Tim on video demonstrating his new tricks.

Someday there will be sunshine again to enhance my drab gray photos. Too bad the lighting conditions dulled the otherwise colorful kites.

If I had kitesurfing skills it would be tempting not to let the wind take me over Denmark. Fehmarn is a ferry port and a few years back we did return from Denmark via ferry. Thanks to Covid Americans are not currently welcome in Denmark so no ferry.

Walking in Sunshine

Some folks walk -  others work.

After one month finally there is enough sunshine to waterproof the popup tent.

My favorite tree on a normal Hamburg walk without sunshine.

Today - tree with sunshine.

As we travel around Northern Germany houses and barns with thatched roofs dot the landscape. 

Today, as for hundreds of years before, water reed used for thatching roofs grows along the salt marshes close to the North Sea. The not so obvious benefits of the thatched roof are the ideal waterproofing and soundproofing. Eco friendly as it provides natural insulation thanks to air pockets within the thatch which insulates providing cooler shade in summer and retaining heat in winter.  In most of rural Europe, thatch was the only roofing material used by people until the late 1800s.

Dependable mystery man thinks he is hiding in the park but I find him every time.

As I pass the Turkish market the fruit and vegetables look much more appealing today.

SMALL BOX BIG SMILE

Today's slightly off the main street vending machine find. Love toys for only 5 euro. I would not be surprised if this was in Tokyo but Hamburg?

First moon sighting after at least a month of its absence. 

Another Rainout

 

Another Day Another Grey Sky

 

Live Roof on a She Shed Betsy

Christmas Tree Sales at Langenhorn Markt

Cows at the park

Lucky Day Trip

HARD LOCKDOWN

  Tomorrow, on Wednesday will begin the Hard Lockdown. 

Our last day trip for a while will be visiting Gluckstadt. We have not been able to go anywhere overnight but there are many wonderful towns to visit within a couple of hour's drive time. Translation of Gluckstadt = Luck City. It will be our last day lucky city.

Stadtkirche

The rain did not stop us but the never-ending cloudy weather has dulled my photos for weeks. now.

Between 1618 and 1623 the Stadtkiche was the first protestant church built after the reformation in Holstein, it surely is one of Glückstadt’s most significant buildings. The steeple features the Danish crown and the monogram C4 of King Christian IV. A rather unusual feature for a Christian church is the lightly veiled pagan goddess Fortuna.

Think pink, the house, and matching roses.

Roses are still blooming everywhere. Never have enough time to stop and smell them.

Orders for take-away only

This where we could NOT eat.

No dining inside but they did offer take-away. Inside the hotel is more of the Art Nouveau of the Wilhelminia style. Over 100 years of serving northern German cuisine. Zeitgeist movement was referred to which I will need to learn more about.

Today's offering at the ANNO Hotel restaurant was mustard eggs with spinach. Hmm, a new dish for me but a favorite for Peter. 

Another "bus picnic".

Maybe when we return they will have something else on the menu.

In non-Covid times there would be a festive Christmas Market right here. The good King Christian in the year 1624 granted privilege to Gluckstadt for a twice-weekly butter market. Yet today this tradition is upheld every Tuesday and Friday. You can be assured in today's world much more than butter will be sold there.

Many of the towns and villages have a fantastic Stadtbäckerei (city bakery). Gluckstadt has a bakery with a long history of baking dating back to 1632. They must know what they are doing. Bakeries are allowed to remain open even under the Hard Lockdown mandate. 

Everywhere we go there are Christmas trees for sale.

Through the city tunnel gate.

Another street to walk down.

Glückstadt is the only town in Schleswig-Holstein founded by a king. The town’s layout was designed on the drawing board which bears no resemblance to other cities in Germany. Inspired by Italian Renaissance cities it is polygonal with radial streets projecting outward.

In 1617 Christian IV, King of Denmark, and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein had the town built in an attempt to draw Elbe commerce away from Hamburg. His clever move to populate his new town was to invite wealthy business-minded folks to create a swift and strong economic growth. Incentives were offered to Portuguese Jews and Dutch Protestants. Glückstadt strongly benefitted from their capital, ships, and their global trade connections. This also explains the prominent gables of Dutch architecture.

Christmas trees line the streets. Also too many construction workers today. 

Today's vending machine sighting - cigarettes sold right on a city street.