Bingen and Bad Kreuznach

After a few days of intensive travel we all needed a break.  We decided to spend this next day close by the Bad Kreuznach area and take a more leisurely pace to our sightseeing.  First on our to-do list was breakfast.  The very first day we arrived in the area Annette pointed out a particular restaurant that Jo would most definitely fit into our schedule.  True to form, Jo mentioned this place the first night we saw him.  This restaurant is actually a large cafe that serves all forms of breakfasts (Jo's favorite meal).  Since our usual breakfasts consisted of fruit musli and tea, we decided to go all out and get some of the fancier platters.

The one in front that Mike and I shared was called "The New Yorker Breakfast" and included bacon, eggs, potatoes, and various kinds of bread (maybe the bacon is what made it "New York" style?).  We also got an omelet made with Maultasche, a German (Swabian, to be specific) filled dumpling.  It's normally in served a soup, but this dish was absolutely delicious.  If I remember correctly, this particular Maultasche was vegetarian (spinach, actually -M).  Our entire table was covered with food – truly, everything barely fit.

The other noteworthy item about this restaurant is that the man who conceived it was inspired by, and a large part of his enterprise’s success was due to an American concept – refillable coffee. According to Jo, this was the first place (and still only one of the few places) that offers such a thing as refillable coffee.  Remember, more often than not, you have to pay for water when you go out in Europe (and refills -M). 

After our hearty breakfast, we went back down to the juncture of the Nahe and Rhine rivers.  Along the banks of the Rhine is a building that houses Bingen's historical museum.  One of its main exhibits is about Hildegard von Bingen, a name that anyone who took the survey of western music history course with David Crook would know. 

Basically, Hildegard is one of the first noteworthy female composers in western music history.  She was also made a saint and wrote books on spirituality, visions (specifically her own), medicine, and nature. 

 

This is an artistic representation of Hildegard von Bingen.  Her relics were elsewhere in the museum.

One of the other exhibits in the museum is a collection of surgical instruments that belonged to a Roman doctor from the second century.  They were very interesting to look at -- as Annette pointed out, not a significant amount of tools like scalpels have changed over the centuries.  At the same time, the instruments were a little creepy looking.

When we finished with the museum, Annette took us back down to Bad Kreuznach while Jo headed back to the apartment for some afternoon rest and a nap.  A close friend of theirs was having a birthday dinner that night at a Chinese restaurant in BK, so Jo would meet us later.  We bought a cake made of gummies for the occasion.

We spent the afternoon wandering the streets of Annette's old stomping grounds.  The city is beautiful with its old architecture, the Nahe River rolling by, and its hilly terrain. We had gorgeous weather again, so ice cream was a must.  Eventually Annette led us to a park along the river.  There was much loveliness to be seen.

Toward the end of the garden were some museums including one of Roman remains found in the area.  Out of doors lies the foundations of the villa.  Inside the museum were various artifacts including old tools, pottery, columns, statues, and tile mosaic floors that have been meticulously pieced together. 

A roman column.

Here is one of the mosaic floors the museum owns.  It is a scene of gladiators in the fighting games at the circus.

Every imagine is made of little 1 cm by 1 cm ceramic tiles.

 

This is the other mosaic, an ocean scene dominated by the god Oceanus.

Various fish and other forms of sea life decorate the borders.

The Romans also had a system for heated floors.  The picture below is of what it would have looked like beneath the mosaic floor of the gladiators.  Brick pillars hold the floor up from ground level so that slaves and servants could shovel hot coals underneath to keep the villa floors warm.

After perusing the museum, Mike was drawn to one of the activities put out for those with youthful souls -- giant jigsaw puzzles of the mosaic floors!  It was a good opportunity to rest from all of the walking and standing.

Completing the border first is a good technique for finishing any sized jigsaw puzzle.

Ta-da!

Then we did another one together.  Little did Annette know that she actually took on two more children when she took us in. 

Eventually we wandered back towards the main part of town and had ourselves a coffee before we met up with Annette's friends and their children (who are about our age).  Before heading to dinner, we all took a walk down the river -- in the opposite direction we had gone earlier.  Along the way, we came across a very strange scene.  

There were about eight of these vehicles lined up along the pathway.

It was a race for these Flintstone (Feuerstein auf Deutsch -M) inspired cars.  Instead of  yelling "On your mark, get ready, GO!" to start the race, we heard them shout "Yabba - Dabba - DOO!"  Oh, the random things we see in Germany.

We reached a nice place along the river where ducks and swans had gathered.  The "adults" stopped there to continue talking and catching up, so Mike and I sat and watched the birds.  There were quite a few ducks, but also a surprising number of swans.  Large swans, at that.  Initially, most of them were in the river, but after a while the swans started slowly wandering their way onto land and towards our group.  Then two adorable little girls showed up with their grandmother and a bag full of bread crumbs.  That really got the swans coming.

As you can see, the swans were huge -- especially in comparison to the girls. 

At first the girls were having a fine time throwing bread crumbs into the water and onto the ground for their fowl friends.  Then the swans started getting braver and approached the girls giving them tasty treats.  Eventually, one of the girls was a little too slow at throwing the bread on the ground.  A swan tried to eat the bread from her outreached fingers, scaring her and possibly biting her.  The girls were not so fond of the big white birds after that.

The little ducks were never brave enough to come out of the water.  They did, however, compete with the swans and with each other for what was thrown into the river.  The girls eventually took preference over the female ducks and would shout encouragement for them to be faster than the bigger birds and their male counterparts.  The very last of the bread was specifically for these female ducks.  Unfortunately, the girl's aim was a bit off and a swan swooped in for treat.  After her initial anger at the swan, she went close to the shore, stooped down and said, "Excuse me little duckies, but I have something to explain to you.  I wanted to give the last of the bread to you, but the swan stole it.  I am sorry."  Adorable.

From there we met up with Jo and the rest of the dinner party at the Chinese restaurant and had an enjoyable evening.  Chinese food in Germany is nothing like what you find in the United States -- real or fake.  The sauces are completely different and even the way the meat is prepared and cooked is different.  Of course, Chinese cuisine is altered to fit the taste buds of the whatever the culture the restaurant happens to be located in -- the differences just really surprised us.  

The most hilarious part of the night was towards the end of dinner when the waiter brought out dessert with a sparkling candle. (That and a translation of a German enthusiastic expression that may not be appropriate - directly translated or summarized - for this blog.  Suffice it to say, the expression means you really like something. -M)

In addition to the dessert, they turned on a CD of the birthday song -- the most ridiculous and obnoxious rendition you could think of -- and had it on repeat for the next half hour or so.  The CD played the birthday song in about three or four different languages.

It was a hilarious ending to our nice, relaxed day down in the Rhine Valley.  Now we were all rested up for more traveling!

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.