Some Highlights of Europe 2008, pt4

A great view of the Neckar, on my way out of Tübingen. It is really a pleasant town. Bye bye! It was great to visit with S and B, who were wonderful hosts. Lots of good company, amazing food and drink, rest, outdoors, and the nice landscapes and towns around the area, made for wonderfully pleasant trip. Now, here are some highlights.

Biking was a big part of my visit, and it was a great way to see things: from panoramic views of the Alps on Lake Constance, to recycling dumpsters, to the Mercedes Benz Museum (left) in Stuttgart.

I love the little biking signs like this one with the EU starred wheels, that guided us on our trip. It’s so darn cute. Needless to say, the trails are extremely well organized. You can pretty much go from one end of Western Europe to the other on bike trails.

I'm proud to say that the grand total for all the biking: 156 kilometers! (97 miles!). Nothing like the 200 miles B and S did recently, but, hey, still good for the leisurely pace we took.

One of the major bike rides was along the German side of Lake Constance (or The Bodensee, as they call it in Germany). Below is a view of the Alps and lake from the town of Landau.Above is one of the Ferraris from the Ferrari Club Germany party we ran into in Landau. Sweet. To the right is one of town's cute buildings.

Biking along Lake Constance we rode for a few minutes into Austria before turning back. I didn't even notice we had crossed over! The EU has made borders crossing easy. In 6 crossing, I was checked only once on my way back to Zurich.

Another big bike ride, along one of the Rhine River canals south of Strasbourg, France, on an absolutely perfect day. The only strange thing is that we couldn’t find a restaurant to eat lunch at in any of the small towns along the way. It seemed to us that a path that pleasant in Germany would be packed with beer gardens and restaurants. But it was nice to have the path almost to ourselves too. S and I ride away below.There was also some hiking in the woods around Tübingen, and then later I went to Freiburg and hiked through some vineyards and hills there.Above is the view of Freiburg, with the Black Forrest looming, from the vineyards I passed through before running into one of the workers who told me that it was private path. Ooops! But he was nice enough to direct me to the gate and told me I could jump over it, which I did.

I was bit starved for western art, so, besides looking at churches we also spend a day in Stuttgart and went to a museum. Among the expressionist I really can’t get enough of Max Beckmann. One of his paintings:The food we had in France was amazing, and we pretty much splurged for dinner, about which I have no regrets whatsoever. And I can’t forget the pastries! It was funny to see B and S basically gallop to their favorite bakery in town when it came into sight! I think I might have overdone it by eating a chocolate éclair for breakfast, but I just couldn’t stop myself. Now it's back to Thailand and back to work. Thanks S and B for such a good time.

Zürich and Strasbourg Churches, Europe 2008, pt3

Now here was my favorite stained glass work of the trip: Marc Chagall's windows in the Fraümuster, (Church of our Lady) in Zürich, Switzerland. I think I sat there for an hour without realizing it. There are five windows in total, with each a different primary color. The blue depiction of Jacob's dream, struggle with the angel and the stairway to heaven is brilliant, as is the green depiction of the virgin and the crucifixion.
The roman style Grossmünster above became the symbol of the reformation in Switzerland, spearheaded by Zwingli. It has some interesting history before that as well; legend has it that Charlemagne commissioned it in honor of the martyrs Felix and Regula's tombs.Door carvings at the Grossmünster, note four women at the bottom, Jesus' mother and foremothers: Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Maria. Don't you just love how all of them have such unconventional stories? Rahab, a former prostitute? Ruth, a gentile heroine, etc? I do.
The Limmat river and sunset in Zürich.
The Cathedral in Strasbourg, France above, was also interesting to see. As B put it, it feels like the church was made for giants it's so big. But the most interesting was the carvings below above the main entrance of different theological narratives.
These scenes start from creation and go right up to the apocalypse, and include themes like creation, prophecy, old testament stories and gospel scenes. It is one of the most thorough and complete statements I've seen in one place.
Inside the cathedral was another extremely fascinating item: the huge clock to the left. Not only did it tell you the state of the moon relative to the earth and gives all the astrological signs, but at the top of the hour 'Death' in person comes dancing out! I suppose to remind us that we will all die?
Speaking of clocks, um, there were so many clocks! everywhere! and bells! and at the top of the hour the all compete for your ear. I recorded a few minutes of the 7:00pm bells in Zürich. I miss not hearing them, actually.

[Listening may require Quicktime plug-in and settings]

Spiral in Ulm, Freiburg Cathedral, Bebenhausen, Germany, Europe 2008, pt2

Here are three memorable sacred spaces and art from Germany. One of my favorite churches from the trip was the the minster at Ulm, Germany. The spiral makes it the tallest church in the world! and it's pretty amazing:
Inside is also very nice, and the 14th century stained glass above is notorious for being some of the first to be so colorful, with scenes from creation to crucifixion. This was my second favorite stained glass I saw on the trip.
The Cathedral in Freiburg, Germany, and a piece by Cranach.
Bebenhausen is a great little former monastery near Tubingen.
The halls of Bebenhausen ...