We'd wanted to have a weekend away for some time. It's only about 1 1/2 hours to Celle and I'd read about a convent near there - Wienhausen - where they have tapestries on display. And there's the city itself, full of old half-timbered buildings. And there are rivers - the Aller flows through the town - and then later merges into the Weser which flows right by our little house. So there were lots of reasons to head that way.
The St. George Hotel had one small double room left - great! We'll take it! Built in 1612, it's far from the oldest building in town, can you imagine? The inside is completely renovated of course, and best of all it's on a quiet residential street just minutes from the old city.
Time was in short supply, so we headed out to Wienhausen Convent right away! It's only 15K, but in the heat, we took our time and took in the scenery.
Once there, we were a bit confused - a wedding party was at the entrance to the grounds and we weren't sure about how to go in. I was VERY sure however that the dresses the women were wearing were a serious fail. And you can see they were REALLY blocking the entrance.
After manoeuvering around the party, we admired the exterior of the convent - the Brick Gothic style - and signed up for the next tour.
Then we went to see the tapestries.
Pretty impressive.
They were stitched between 1300 and 1480, in wool over linen backing. There are of course a lot of biblical stories, but also secular ones - Tristan and Isolde among them. Until fairly recently, they were pulled out of storage just once a year for public viewing, but now they're safely stored in glass cases, so always on display.
I found these pictures in the internet since of course the tapestries are so delicate they're in very low lighting and no pictures are allowed. Actually no pictures are allowed anywhere since it is still a functioning convent - I have to rely on my memory for the loveliness of it - red geraniums in every window, whitewashed walls between brick arches, beautiful patterns on old wooden beams, wild strawberries in the courtyard. And quiet.
The tapestry stitch they used is a couching stitch and there was a sample around to examine. Expect to see something like that as a future gift.
Then it was time for a beer! They have their own brewery in Wienhausen. Of course they do, It's Germany. Very cool.
Next day, Sunday, there was time for a quiet round of the old city. So many wonderful old buildings! First, there's a castle left from the old nobility and the grounds make a lovely park.
The City Hall is sophisticated - with a painted façade that imitates chiseled stone - but it's just as flat as a wall can be. Great fake.
Most others are half-timbered and colorfully painted.
There's an English Garden and a French Garden. Of course the French Garden has a wonderful allée, and on this hot day a welcome measure of shade.
And a short stop at the Sampler Museum. I just had to check out the shop and though I didn't buy anything (there are enough projects waiting) it was fun to look.
Then we headed to Lachendorf. I just had to see the place. Lachen in German means "to laugh" and somehow I thought there'd be little houses with funny faces or restaurants or bars with laughing faces all over. So not - such a DORF.
But we stopped for a beer and a group who'd been inside celebrating commented on Werner's hat.
- Hey, where can my husband get a hat like that?
- Easy, just take a trip to Rome!
- Ach - that's an expensive hat!
Such a hot day! The hottest of the year here and there were lots of folks using the river to cool off. I took this picture of some guys walking down the middle of the river. They yelled: Watch out - paparazzi!
How funny! I yelled back How's the river bottom ? Muddy ? No - they said - it's great - sandy!! Ah, we had to take their word for it - we weren't getting in the river.
A rest and then off to dinner, again by the river. Nice.
And the next day, it was off to home, but it's always a wiggly way, so we drove by Little Amerika. Really.
Of course we took a wrong road - we always do - that landed us in a farm's front yard - a farm established in 1503. Well, it is "Old Europe" here.
And it is heather season, so we looked for a stop along the way where we could walk in the heath. It's so pretty - and purple, our favorite color! But for all that, the soil is poor - only the sheep will eat the heather - but at the same time you can find wild blueberries and wild cranberries. Nature does try to balance it all out.
And one last thought. The old buildings often have sayings carved into the old beams, often biblical but not always. This one is good. It says: Do whatever you want. People will talk anyway. Truth doesn't change with time.
So much for the weekend. That was a quickie!
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