People Watching, Dogs, Bikes and Street Musicians

Fussen, Germany Boy in Lederhosen

Fussen, Germany Medieval Band

Nothing like getting out on foot to explore a city. Central Europe with its old medieval town squares is a perfect place to do just that. Along with some fantastic people watching, a little dog watching and plenty of street performers to throw in a little ambiance. 

One of my favorite pictures from our trip was this one of a young boy fully decked out in Lederhosen complete with suspenders. The pants are long, heavy leather (not the traditional shorts). You can see by how he stands that he was feeling quite proud of his outfit. I love how Dad is left holding the pack back because it just didn't go with the assemble. 

Fussen, German Bike Scene

So what was the boy and the rest of the crowd so intensely watching? Why a German medieval band of course. They were really rocking out with a very rhythmic beat getting lots of people in the crowd clapping along. In every city we walked there was music. Whether traditional, medieval, classical or otherwise. It was lively and festive and I so enjoyed it as we explored the streets of Europe. 

Accordion Player in Fussen

Notice all the bikes piled up there off to the side of the band? That was a curiosity as well. It would seem that Germans really, really (I could probably throw in another 'really' here) like their bikes. We saw groups on bikes, families on bikes, vacationers on bikes and well pretty much everyone seemed to have them packed on top or in back of their cars. I suppose with all the narrow streets it probably makes sense. 

Harp Player in Bratislava, Slovakia

At one point in our trip we were traveling from the Rhine River Valley up through a pass to the other side to the Moselle Valley on our way to Castle Burg Eltz (blog post on Burg Eltz). As we were cresting the pass and coming down into the Mosselle Valley an older German man was biking toward us and promptly jumped off his bike and starting to wave his hands at us up over his head. A universal sign for STOP. Which we did. Only to find out that he spoke only German, understandably since we were in fact in Germany. But he was speaking quickly and very loudly. Apparently he believed if he increased the volume it would help us understand him better. It didn't. After roughly 15 minutes of this we decided to roll up the window and continue on. As we started the steep decline into the Moselle Valley we realized that the road was completely washed out. Oh! That is what he was screaming about. However the road had narrowed to slightly more than a single lane of switchbacks with absolutely no shoulder to speak of. That makes for an impossible situation to 'K Turn' to head back the way we came. So what do you do? We put it into low drive and slowly, slowly back your way up through switchbacks backwards. The look of satisfaction on the German man's face as we passed him again spoke volumes.

Violins in Vienna, Austria

Fussen, Germany Dog Scene

We thought we were being very smart to bring our own GPS with us to Europe downloaded ahead of time with all the local maps. And it was incredibly helpful to have directions given to us (in English) along our drive. But it failed us when it came to all the local construction on the German roads. We lost several hours on this back tracking, but it was a beautiful place to get stuck!

One other thing we noticed was that dogs are very prevalent everywhere we went. People bring them out to pubs, to walk the city even in to restaurants. We would see waiters slip water bowls under the table for the dog curled up at the owners feet. That is one thing we always found difficult traveling around the US is that it is very hard to bring your loved dog with you on a family vacation. Not the case in Europe!

Behind the Lens :: Hidden Architecture

Church of St. Joseph

I just could not get enough of the architecture on our trip. The buildings are magnificent. Big or small they all have so much craftsmanship packed into their design. While we spent much of our day in Prague around the main town square of the old town, we managed to wander off down some side streets and stumble upon a few hidden treasures. 

A few posts back I showed you a picture of the amazing metal door of the Church of St. Joseph decorated with filigree. This is the front of that church. Just another church, down just another side road. 

Church of St. Joseph Skylight

It was hot while we were there. Really hot. Mid to high 90s and no A/C. 

But the second I pushed open the door to the church I felt a waft of cool air rush across my face that just drew me in. 

It was a small chapel. Nothing special, no ornate alter or huge crucifix hanging from the wall. Just a simple place to find some reprieve and quiet solitude. I sat in a pew and cooled off. Looking up all I could see was this beam of soft light coming in from the narrow sky light at the top of the dome. I was truly lost in my own space and time that I didn't notice the small face a few rows up intensely staring at me. I was a complete curiosity to the young girl. I guess just as much as this old church was to me. Funny how that happens sometimes when you are so intent on things going on in your own little world that you forget to notice the effect you have on the world around you.

Wire weaving with a friend

The last time my bead buddy Christine and I got together we tried our hand at doing some wire weaving. As is often the case when I'm trying something new, I walked away stabbed and bleeding. Truly. I'm such a klutz sometimes. I managed to run a piece of the wire up under one of my finger nails. ouch!

This is my second attempt at using this technique and I think it is going to take a few hundred more before this is comfortable to my hands.

That said, I do like how this second one turned out. I pulled out a large coin-shaped jasper bead I had in my stash and treated it like a cab. I glued it to some lacy stiff stuff and then added a leather backing that I stitched along the back edge of the cab into the wire weave casing. The results are a framing of the bead in a cab-like setting. 

It isn't perfect and it has too many imperfections to put this one in my shop, but I like the technique enough to try it again. If any of you are interested in learning how to do this, I highly recommend picking up Lisa Barth's Timeless Wire Weaving book. Great instruction that is easy to follow. Hey, if I can do it anyone can!

A Float Down the Rhine River

Liebfrauenk Church, Oberwesel

Rhine from above Bacharach

We started our European adventure just North of Frankfurt in the Rhine River Valley. And it is gorgeous. Seriously. 

We stayed in Bacharach and took a ferry along the Rhine up to the town of St Goar. A short 'float' along the river by about 90 minutes from where we were staying. We sat on the upper deck, which was open to the wind and weather. It was sort of a grey day when we started the trip, which turned to a mist then a rain by the time we were cruising along the river. We toughed it out for quite awhile, and then finally threw in the towel and retreated to one of the lower decks. 

Wernerkapelle Chapel

But by the time we arrived at our destination, the skies cleared and the sun came out. It was a glorious along the banks of the Rhine. I just could not get enough of these old medieval towns with churches and castles in every direction. 

The streets of St Goar

We toured the streets of St. Goar, our destination for our river cruise. And ended in a pub just next to the river as we waited for our return ferry back to Bacharach. Once back in Bacharach we went out for one of the most memorable dinners of the trip. I had a stew of venison with lingonberries that was simply to die for. Truly. The place was run by this sweet older couple who were celebrating their anniversary. Funny thing was that they looked like it might have been their 40th or 50th anniversary, but was actually their first. Which made the story that much sweeter. They had clearly found love later in life and were inseparable. They were side-by-side and snuggled in a corner booth working on the books and reservations and clearly just happy to be with each other. If you are ever in the neighborhood you have to try their old-style German food at a place called Rusticana.

St Peter's Church Bacharach

There is an old history to the area. Bacharach itself dates back to the 7th century and has had plenty of warring local families fighting for control. The Rhine region was the central trade route to transport goods, and by 1356 Bacharach was finally granted town rights and able to control and tariff transport down the Rhine. 

We hiked the back side of town up to an abandoned chapel call the Wernerkapelle which is known in connection to a ritual called a Christian blood libel. The accusation is that Jews kidnapped and murdered children of Christians to use their blood as part of religious rituals during Jewish holidays. In this case, a 16-year-old boy named Werner of Oberwesel was mysteriously murdered in 1287 on Maundy Thursday (holy Thursday before Easter). It is alleged that the local Jewish community killed him and used his blood for Passover observances. The allegations created an anti-Semitic mob who wiped out the Jewish community through the middle and lower Rhine and Moselle regions. The unfinished Wernerkapelle was left as a remembrance to the boy. 

So much old history to learn about through our travels. Some is dark and disturbing, but not all of it.  There was plenty of good and bad to research and explore. I think what is so fascinating to me is that while the history is old, the people continue to live along side it. It isn't locked up in a museum somewhere to be studied and scrutinized. But instead it is discussed and debated openly with much less cautious 'political correctness' to filter everything that is said. I found it truly fascinating. 

The Old Towns of Germany

Dinkelsbuhl, Germany

Rothenburg City Wall Framing the Village

Germany. We loved our time traveling in this lovely country. Especially once off the autobahn. Just South of Frankfurt is the old road that weaves its way through the countryside going from one old medieval town to the next (28 towns in total). 

I can see why it is called the Romantische Strasse (Romantic Road) as the towns are ridiculously cute. All I wanted to do was park the car and stroll from shop window to shop window. 

Rothenburg City Gate

The towns are of course full of history. The concept of the Romantic Road was actually coined in the 1950s as a public-relations piece to encourage a return to tourism after WWII. But the history of the area dates way, way back to a road built by the Romans some 2,000 years ago. The road crosses centuries-old battlefields. In fact, the 30-years' War in the 17th Century destroyed the economic base and depleted the resources of the people in the area. As devastating as that is, today it gives us a look into medieval German. That is because the people lacked the economic means to modernize the area. Lucky us that we can now take a beautiful walk through history as you explore these time-capsule towns. They are a living museum. People still live in the houses, run local shops and the restaurants serve classic German dishes.

By far my favorite town was Rothenburg. It is full of history and charm and surrounded by the original city wall. You still need to enter the city through one of the original stone gates complete with a look out tower. Seriously cool. We spent 2 nights here, and could easily have spent a week getting lost along the side streets, little shops and beer houses in every direction. We took lots of pictures of the Romantic Road, so if you want to see more just click over to our collection of photos over on Pinterest.

Beer or Wine?

Beer for two in Munich

A Liter at the famous Hofbauhaus

Anyone who hangs out with me knows that I prefer wine, and by wine I mean Chardonnay. I know that sounds crazy boring, but hey when you find what you like ...it is what it is. It isn't that I haven't tried many varieties of wine because I have. My husband and I lived in San Francisco when we were dating, and as I like to say 'we dated our way though wine country.' 

But here's the thing about wine in central Europe. First off, white wine is served only slightly chilled. And secondly, California style wine doesn't exist. The wine tends to be either quite sweet, or Rhine style from the Rhine River Valley, or it's crisp as in French style wine. To me, crisp is sharp and grassy, which I just do not prefer.  

So what's a girl to do when on the road in Europe? In a word; beer. Beer in central Europe is fantastic. It comes in so many flavors and styles, and all on tap. It is rich, deep and many are somewhat creamy in flavor. YUM! It is beyond recognition from the bottled varieties in the store at home. My favorite was the Bavarian style dunkle lager (or dark lager) which we had while in Munich. And the best part of beer is it comes stone cold, and on a hot day what is better than that? I think the least amount of photos we took at any location along our trip was Munich (our photos over on Pinterest). Not sure why exactly. Perhaps too busy sampling beer? Could be.

Stone Cabochon Series :: #5

It's been awhile since I posted designs from my stone cabochon series. I have continued to bead and create new designs, but just haven't had time to post.

I was gifted all these beautiful stones from Melinda Orr over a year ago. And I've been working my way through my stash. They don't match exactly, but that has been all the fun. I have enjoyed mixing and matching and beading around them. I have half beaded sets, and quite a few sets still patiently awaiting a strap design. I don't know why I get so stumped on straps?

This particular set sat on the bead table for months until one day I noticed that it was sitting next to another necklace with a hand made chain that really worked with the pattern. So I did what any designer does when hit with beader's block, you steal from another piece! Oh yes I did. I would rather figure out what to do with the other necklace than sit and stare at this one half finished.

For this set, I decided to try something a little different. I beaded around one, but left the second au naturel. I have absolutely no idea what either one of these stones are, but I love how the bottom one plays off the negative space in the one above. 

I have been having so much trouble lately with catching the light in a way to bring out the colors in the jewelry. But I find the pieces photograph so much better on a model. You can see my dilemma here in the picture off to the right. I must have screwed up the settings on my camera, and now can't seem to figure out what I had it on when the pictures were working. Which is really frustrating me.

I did do a little photo shoot with the Bead Girl to make sure I took pictures of the pieces piling up on the bead table to ensure I can show you what other beaded stone sets I've been working on. She was very patient with me pulling necklaces on and off, positioning then this way and that. I've neglected my blog lately, and I'm trying to carve out some time to make it over here to share some of the recent work. I do have more to come.   

My Obsession with Doors

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague Church of St. Joseph

I was really captured by all the architecture throughout our trip this last August. I keep taking random pictures of doors, statues and ceilings. Thankfully the hubby was pretty patient through most of it. But by the time we hit our last town, he was just starting to walk away. 

For me, it was just and endless smorgasbord of old world beauty to photograph. And I was happily snapping away lost in the moment. It seemed like every time we turned a corner there was a row of new doors, arches, columns and statues to explore. I forget just how new our country is until I visit some other place. Honestly, pretty much anywhere in Europe or Asia is much, much older than the US. And I fall in love with the detail, the tooling, the weathering of the ages and the patina left behind. I have an extensive collection of doors from around the world over on Pinterest. Yes, I am obsessed. If you want proof, just click the link. I can't help it. I love to wonder about the stories of who lived behind the doors. 

At the end of our trip, my husband and I were going through our photos and Dave said "our pictures are so different from each other." He has a tendency to want to pull back and get the full landscape shot, where I want to get up close and study the character of a building. I do just love the detail. The nicks and stories of who was there before me. 

I am still trying to get all our photos uploaded over on Pinterest. Combined we have a pretty nice collection of our whirlwind trek through central Europe. But I will spare you all reading the blog of the massive amount of pictures we took. If you want more doors, just click over to Pinterest.