Mischief Makers

The day we went to Speyer was absolutely gorgeous -- the sun was shining, blue skies without a single cloud, and the perfect temperature... something we'd been missing in Germany. 

Besides showing us the beautiful cathedral of Speyer, Annette and Jo had some business to do for the Gothic cathedral near their home in Königslutter.  As tour guides of the newly renovated cathedral there, Annette and Jo were trying to establish relationships with larger cathedrals in Germany and get ideas of how to better publicize the historic landmark.  They had a happen-stance appointment with one of Speyer Cathedral's main public relations personnel which ended up being very beneficial to them.  As a result, there was plenty of time for Mike, Benjamin, and me to ramble about the cathedral grounds. 

Mike, Annette, and Benjamin enjoying some coffee and ice cream before the fun.

And they're off!
(Mike and Benjamin racing around the church - Benjamin was victorious)

Rock soccer.

BFFs.

PP
(pretty plants?!?!?!?)

Silly random boy stuff.  Sometimes they're very easily amused.

Thing 1 and Thing 2.

Unfortunately, the picture of two of these beetles who were "married" (as Benjamin explained to us) didn't turn out.  This one will have to suffice.

As we said, lots of cool things to play on, like this rope Spinne.

Spider attack!

One of them seems to have won, again.

Beautiful picture by the fountain.

Until next time...

Everything in Germany is Ill – a.k.a. Adventures in Universal Health Care

V and I have been sick recently and yesterday afternoon we decided it was time to see a doctor.  After calling one doctor and finding out that they weren’t able to take on any new patients (often they have patient quotas) we found one with open hours where you can stop in for an appointment.  It was too late to make it during yesterday’s hours, so we went in this morning instead. 

We arrived there shortly after they opened and, after having our insurance cards taken, were escorted to the waiting room.  Unlike in the US, we didn’t have to fill out any forms when we arrived.  The only information they needed was our telephone number.  After a 5-10 minute wait (there was one patient with an appointment before us), we both made it into the doctors office.  No, we didn’t wait weeks upon months for an appointment; no, we didn’t stand hours upon days in lines.  Quite the contrary, we found it relatively easy to see a doctor in this socialist, communist loving universal health care society.

The appointment was very normal and we both were prescribed some antibiotics.  The only real differences were that 1) it was in German, 2) we have to mail a form they gave us to our insurance company, and 3) we had to get a doctor’s note.  As we may have mentioned before, teachers and students at our school have often been ill for long periods of time.  This is perfectly acceptable, provided you have a doctor’s note verifying that, yes, you are indeed ill.  We called the teacher who organizes substitutes this morning and after we saw the doctor we brought our ‘Krankenmeldungen’ note to the office to excuse ourselves for the day.

We were told to take today off of work and if we didn’t feel healthy enough on Monday to come in for a note to stay home until next Thursday (7 day medication).  Our inclination is to be back in school on Monday barring anything serious.  However, one nice difference is that we have an appointment next Thursday after we’ve had the full run of medication to make sure everything is working.  How about that for service!

Some of you may be wondering about how all of this is paid for.  Similar to the states, a portion of our monthly compensation goes toward our insurance.  Being that we are employed, no worries.  When we arrived last October Annette shuttled us around from city hall to department store to insurance agent, making sure we had all our bases covered and were willing (and legally able) to teach.  We did have to pay a (one time per year) copay of 10 euros to see the doctor, but we feel that was offset when we went to the pharmacy to get the antibiotics and were told that they are free. 

After having to change buses when one refused to keep its engine running (hey, I did say everything in Germany is ill) we made it home and began our quiet, relaxing, recuperating day with lots of rest and vitamin C.  Gute Besserung!

Speyer and Worms

There are only three Romanesque imperial cathedrals in the world that have survived and are still intact today.  Having checked the Kaiserdom in Mainz off the list, we picked up Benjamin the next morning and headed about an hour and a half south towards Speyer, where the imperial parliament in of this former free city of the Holy Roman Empire protested against the decisions of the Catholic majority in 1529 (thus the "Protestants" came into being). 

The main attraction, Speyer's Kaiserdom, is impressive in its size and its simplistic beauty.  Built between the years 1025 and 1061, it is one of the largest monumental Romanesque buildings in Europe.  These pictures really can't do justice to the enormity of this church.  It was simply astounding.

At the western end of the cathedral is the Domnapf, a gigantic stone bowl that dates back to 1490.  The newly anointed bishops would order it to be filled to the brim with wine for the towns people as a means to "win the hearts of his flock".

Again, this cathedral just stunned us with its quiet and simplistic beauty.

There is such a huge contrast between the extremely ornate and Gothic influenced Mainz Kaiserdom and this cathedral.  Unlike the one in Mainz, the focus of Speyer was clearly on worship of God.  Beautiful frescoes of important biblical stories painted by Johann Schraudolph line the central nave.

These frescoes expand outside of the life of Jesus.  Here is Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden.

Moses and the burning bush.

The cathedral is also famous for its triple-nave crypt, equal in magnificence and beauty.  The crypt houses the burial place of the Salian dynasty of the Holy Roman Emperors and German kings.

The cathedral also contains some interesting relics.  Here is a saint's leg bone.

Mike says there's a real skull/head in here.  I'm choosing not to believe him.  Too creepy.

Just behind the cathedral you can find remnants of fortifications from the medieval town of Speyer.  The remaining wall and tower, called the Heidentürmchen, make for a picturesque sight.

A possible "engagement" photo?

We found another part of the medieval fortifications further into the town called the Altpörtel.

As you can see, it was an absolutely gorgeous day in a gorgeous city.  After roaming the grounds around the cathedral (pictures to come in another post because there are too many good ones), we meandered down the main streets taking in the lively atmosphere of a perfect spring day.  We found ourselves a good lunch and of course we had to get ice cream cones as we wended our way back to the cathedral.  Before leaving, Annette wanted to check out the witch exhibit at a nearby museum, so we poked around there for a while.  We also took a few more pictures around the Dom.

This interesting statue, called the "The Ferryman's Dream," is based off of an old saying/legend of Speyer.

By the time we left, it was very late into the afternoon.  Nevertheless, we decided to finish off "the big three" by making a stop at Worms' Cathedral of St. Peter on the way back to our home base.

One of the oldest German towns, Worms was home to the Holy Roman Empire's parliament and therefore was the site of many important historical events (e.g. Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms in 1521).  The Cathedral of St. Peter was built in 1171 - 1230.

We arrived in front of the cathedral at 5:15.  When we got up to the main doors, we saw that the cathedral closed at 5 pm.  Although we were a bit disappointed, we were also already exhausted enough that we were perfectly happy just taking pictures from the outside.

We also inspected the model on the front steps.

Everyone slept on the way home (poor Jo).  After dropping off Benjamin at his aunt's, we headed back to our apartment and spent a few hours relaxing and napping before driving down to Bad Kreuznach, a city nearby where Annette spent a lot of her time growing up, going to university, and working as a nurse.

The restaurant we went to is a favorite of the Herths right on the Nahe River called Wolpertinger.  The name comes from a German mythological creature.  Put simply, the Wolpertinger, has the body of a small mammal (usually a rabbit or squirrel), wings, antlers, and fangs.  Anyway, this restaurant was full of strange things like carvings of fictitious animals and whatnot.

Strange creature No. 1.

Examples of what a Wolpertinger might look like.

The restaurant also had interesting seating arrangements.  There was one set of tables that was made out of a giant bed and another of a bunch of park benches on a raised platform.  We sat at a giant sleigh that used to haul goods through the snow.  

The food was ample and delicious.  Mike had a steak with peppercorn sauce while I had traditional Käsespätzle, what some may call the German version of mac and cheese (don't tell Annette we said that).  Späzle is a special kind of German egg noodle that is dumpling-like and cut into slivers or forced into a sieve or Spätzle maker. 

Mike's peppercorn steak with pommes (i.e. french - a.k.a. freedom - fries).

Käsespäztle with fried onions and a typical German salad.

Something noteworthy about this restaurant:  this could be considered the place where our German adventures started.  It was in this exact restaurant in June 2009 where Annette and Jo had dinner with the Blue Lake Southern Winds International Tour personnel.  It was here where Mike mentioned to Annette that he was "in-between employment".  "Let me know if you hear of anything," Mike had said.  And here we are.

Mainz

Bright and early Monday monring, we left for Mainz, our first destination in the Rhine Valley.  Mainz, the capitol of the state Rhineland-Palatinate, is a rather metropolitan city with a large university.  After a traditional Herth breakfast of musli (kind of a fruit "oatmeal"), we picked up Benjamin and headed down the autobahn.  Mainz is about an hour's drive from where Biebelsheim.

We parked a bit away from the city center, so we had a short walk to get to the main attraction of the city -- the Kaiserdom.  On the way we happened to pass a large bookstore, which Jo just couldn't resist (there aren't very good bookstores in Wolfsburg).  When Jo gets lured into a bookstore, well, that's just it.  In the meantime, the rest of us went to get coffee.  Just down the street was a French-themed cafe.  They had little mosaics of angel scenes painted all over.  Not knowing much of the French language (I can only do so much), I was confused by some of the decor.  Why would a nice cafe have baskets of "pain" in their shelving?

Yes, French-speakers,  I now know that "pain" is French for "bread".  Here's Mike and me not sitting in front of the baskets for pain.

A short while later Jo joined us for coffee, and soon enough we were back on track to see the Kasierdom.  This cathedral, along with the cathedrals of Speyer and Worms (scheduled for the next day), is one of the only three Romanesque imperial cathedrals to have survived nearly intact to present day. 

The cathedral's basic framework was laid out in 1081, but its oldest parts date back to the 10th century.  There are stained glass windows that commemorate its past archbishops, going all the way back to Archbishop Willigis in 975.  In medieval times German kings and queens were crowned here. 

Although this is a Romanesque cathedral, many of the altars and side chapels inside are actually Gothic in style.  It was a bit shocking to us to see such ornamentation inside.  As Mike put it, the focus is not so much on worshiping God or telling the story of Jesus, but is instead focused on celebrating and memorializing former archbishops and patrons of the church.

The cloister, or the open space and covered walkways inside cathedrals, was much more simplistic and peaceful.  

After the cathedral, we spent some time in Gutenberg Platz, named after the Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the printing press.  There was a museum honoring the city's most famous citizen, but being a Monday it was closed.  

The plaza itself was nice and picturesque.

Jo found himself another bookstore, so we hung around and window shopped until it was time to find a place for lunch.  We wandered towards the Rhine River in search of a restaurant that struck our fancy.  Along the way we came upon this structure.  

This is St. Christoph Parish Church, the church that Gutenberg was supposedly baptized in.  Dating back to the 9th century, the church was bombed and severely damaged during World War II.  It was rebuilt as one of Mainz's war memorials.  

The sculptor Heinz Hemrich designed the new buttresses that were meant to represent the city's history.

Gutenberg's statue stands near the church.

Just to the left of the statue was an Italian restaurant with "Cuban flair".  We had ourselves a nice lunch and coffee before leisurely heading towards the Altstadt for some more window shopping and random wandering.  

Along the way, we posed with some famous German cartoon character in the street.

This photo of the Altstadt is just behind the Dom.  You can still see the cathedral in the background.

In our wanderings, we came upon this church squeezed in between a bunch of other random buildings.

When we walked inside, it was like walking into a Disney Princess world.  Everything was pastel colored and covered with angels.  Don't get me wrong -- it was beautiful!  But, wow... I don't think I've ever seen so much pink stone/marble in one place before.  It doesn't look it from the outside, but the high frescoed ceiling, and huge marble pillars make the interior seem very spacious. 

Our last run-in during our wanderings in Mainz was with a statue of Till Eulenspiegel -- an infamous trickster in German folklore.

Seeing the statue just reminded me of the fantastic tone poem of the same name by Richard Strauss (who can forget that horn solo after living in the practice room halls of humanities for four -- or more -- years?).

After visiting one more bookstore (that actually makes a grand total of four bookstores in one day because I didn't mention one other stop...), we headed back to headquarters in Biebelsheim.  All of us were exhausted from the day's excursions.

Our last treat for the day was when Mike and I grabbed a late light dinner with Jo at a lovely restaurant along the Rhine back in Bingen.  Jo wanted to treat us to a traditional French/German Alsacian fare called Flammkuchen.  This traditional German "pizza" is made of very, very thin crust and topped with Crème Frâiche, onions, and Speck or bacon.  All of this is thrown into an intensely hot oven to be quickly cooked.  The dough is so thin that, as Jo put it, it is meant to be ordered one after another and shared so that it doesn't go cold.

This restaurant had two kinds of Flammkuchen, a traditional one and a vegetarian one.  Unfortunately, they were out of Speck when we were there, but the ham that replaced it was still good.  We all agreed the traditional Flammkuchen was better --- and so delicious.  A perfect way to end the night and prepare for the next day's adventures.