Amina Week

Our annual summer visit from Amina has come and gone.  Busy, it was!  If you want details, click on the link "Amina in Bremen" above.  But be warned, it's in German!

There were highlights a plenty.

One day we took Alica into town with us and visited the Bürger Park (City Park) and played mini golf as well as boating.  Mini golf is NOT Putt Putt - rather more primitive, but it  was fun nonetheless.  Even with a rain delay.

And boating?  We were pretty good.  I couldn't take any pictures of us landing in the bushes on the shore since I was trying to push us OUT of the bushes, but the girls had a lot of laughs and no one - or the boat ! - was injured.

Going to the movies is always a hit.  This time it was "Brave" (or "Merida" in the German version) and of course in 3D.  Actually, I can do without 3D, but .....

Opa and Amina painted an old planter of ours and I - tongue-in-cheek - suggested maybe Amina would like to give it to her mama.  Oh, yes!! Oh,can we???  I was not at all sure it was something Rima wanted in her yard, but it was way too late to say no.  But of course, Rima loved it!

And don't forget the ropes course - Kraxelmaxel.  Amina was a real little monkey and with Opa got through four of the courses.  I got through two parcours and have the bruises to prove it!

As luck would have it, the Fesitival Maritim was here last weekend - perhaps my favorite of all the many fairs and fests here in Vegesack.  Friday we were there with Amina, Saturday with the whole family, and Sunday they headed out to Holland for two weeks of vacation.  Bye-bye.

Then came our dear friends Peggy and Wolfgang for one more round at the Festival Maritim topped off with a fireworks display.

What a week!  Now Werner's got a full-fledged cold (mine, I am so sorry!) and we're just hoping the little kid escaped the germs.

Sunday Outing

I have a cold. Scratchy throat, cough, sneezing, drippy nose. It's been quite a while since I've had one of these. What to do?
 
Starve a cold and bike a fever.

The weather is somewhat better - less chance of rain and a teeny bit warmer during the day. We're still not quite celebrating SUMMER, but it's closer.

Since it's Sunday and in Germany you're not allowed to do anything outside that looks like work (gardening, hanging the wash, etc.) we looked for something to do. And there is always, always, something to do around here.  This weekend, among many other choices, was the Osterholz-Scharmbeck Familien Fest .

It's about 40k round trip, so not very challenging.

And there was some blue in the sky out there!  Really, it was such a welcome sight. 

Along the way we came across a farmer sheering his sheep on the dike.  Really, one at a time, by hand.

I had wondered why all the sheep were huddled at the far end of the pasture - now we knew - avoiding the shears!!

This small city was the site of one of the former US Army installations in north Germany.  The first time we went there - 1994 - there was still a little restaurant on the town square where you could get Buffalo wings or Bagels. That has since disappeared, but that's ok.

We had Brat and Beer. And ice cream.  Yum.

And best of all, a day rain-less.  What a treat.

I feel better already.

Easter Fires

I looked back at some earlier Easter posts and found I hadn't said anything about traditional Easter Fires or Osterfeuer.  Funny, since we have often gone to the fires - but then there's so much going on at Easter time.  And truth be told, we're not always here or at a fire.

The tradition predates dating, one of those primitive rituals that got folded into the Christian mythology.  The farmers collected old wood and trimmed limbs and in early spring made a bonfire.  And since fires are enticing, it seemed to lead to celebrations:   

Winter's gone, spring comes at last,

We'll send the cold spirits away with our fire

And nourish our fields with its ash. 

These days of course it has a lot more to do with partying the winter away and as you know, Germans love any excuse for a party.

Since the weather was dry - though cold! - we ventured to the old shipyard where there was a band, a Bratwurst stand and three or four beer stands.  And lots of people!  The fire attracts and loads of folks were always around the fire, soaking up the warmth.

No one could get dangerously close though because the firemen - the Feuerwehr - were there, hoses in hand to keep the fire in hand.

We went there by bus, checked out the music and the fire, had a Brat and a Bier, and took a leisurely walk home in the cool, cool of the night.

Nice.

Later, as is often the case, I was awake in the night, this time just before 5AM.  It was still dark but the bells of at least 4, maybe 5, churches in our area began to peal.  I guess I'd not been awake at 5AM on an Easter morning before, because I certainly do not remember the bells.  The songs continued for 10 minutes.

How lovely.  Welcome spring.

POST SCRIPT 9 April

We read in the local section today that the police had to come in later and help the firemen douse the fire earlier than planned and send all the revelers home since some of them - who had probably had a beer or two too many - thought it'd be fun to have a fight.  Too bad. 

Pre-Christmas Doings

Between busy-ness and my unforgivable lazy-ness, entries on the blog have suffered.  Here, an offering that might suffice.

Rima, René and Amina were here overnight for the ritual Weihnachtsmarkt visit.  Since Amina's first ride on the "Snow Train" several years ago, she thinks the Christmas season is incomplete without it.  OK, we can do that!  (Actually, Werner and René can do that;  Rima and I enjoy watching.)

The little family arrived late afternoon and after a quick tea and cookie we were on the train to the city!  This year was quite different from the last - NO snow!  Thankfully, also no rain.  The days before had been just awful - cold and lots of rain with some snow mixed in;  the right clothes for that kind of weather do not exist in my universe.

The Bremen Weihnachtsmarkt is a real draw for not only the towns all around but the countries all around.  Busloads come from The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, as well as lots of towns in Germany.  Since Bremen is so poor, we don't complain, except of course when it's so full you can hardly walk around, much less get a mug of mulled wine.

But once again we were lucky and hit it at just the right time - enough folks to make it lively but not so many that we felt squeezed.

The Nativity scene was set up.

There were Bratwurst to eat, of course. Ketchup for the little kid.

Lots to look at.

And - finally - the Snow Train.

We went back home to feast on coq au vin and then drag ourselves to bed.  All in all, a quite satisfying day!!

Festival Maritim

It's the 13th year for this Vegesack festival and we're sorry when we miss it.  Groups from all over Europe and sometimes a bit further away come and entertain the masses on five open-air stages for three days.

Hard to believe, but the weather was pretty nice all weekend!  Not hot mind you, but with only a light shower and more than enough sunshine in between, lots of people found their way here.

Along with our usual crew.

Before the music, we had some fish and some bubbly to get us in the mood though I am always in the mood for music.

 
Later we wandered back to our house to finish our conversations and then our friends wandered back to their own nests.  Nice evening.

One Germany

Sunday October 3,  was the 20. Tag der Deutschen Einheit (German Unity Day) - the celebration of the 20th year of German reunification.  And this year, the official national celebration was in Bremen.  Hey, let's have a party!

The local officials have been getting ready for this for forever, of course - special events with all the government bigwigs, extra police and lots of extra security, extra buses and trams, all the entertainment and tents and so on.  Really, I don't often think about what goes on behind the scenes when such an event takes place, but since it was here and since I was here, I paid attention this time. 

We'd sorta planned to watch the fireworks Saturday evening, but the weather was so yuckkkkkky, we opted out but committed to go Sunday.  So, up before 8AM to the sounds of sunshine - you know, r a i n beating on the windows.  We had breakfast and debated taking the train or the bikes and at the last minute opted for bikes since the forecasters PROMISED better.  They were so right! We were so happy! 

In town, they were handing out free flags and we got a couple to hang on the bikes.

There was an invitation-only event at the cathedral, but our first event was the music parade - ensembles from each of the German states.  Some traditonal, some very NOT.  I think I liked the board beaters the best! But the jazzy group from Berlin was great, too.



And then to the Überseestadt (the former port that served international ships coming into Bremen) where each of the German states had set up tents with all kinds of tourist materials and little give-aways as well as  regional wines, beers and food specialities.  We could have eaten our way through Germany! 

The big music draw of the day was David Garrett who is not only talented but really cute and there were a few squeals from the females in the audience when he came on stage.  We could only watch him on the big screen, but you have an idea how big the crowd was.

Even the buses and trams were in on the fun with flags and special signs.

Of course on Monday the post-game analyses began - the speech by the President was parsed and the cost of the celebration was criticized, but frankly, if you asked all those there, it was worth it. 

Congratulations Germany.  Here's to the next 20 years. 

Date Day

I thought we needed a Date day and so Tuesday will be our Date Day this winter; Werner's taking just one class at the university and I have nothing scheduled on Tuesdays. 

So for our inaugural Date Day yesterday, we met at the main station and then headed to the Städtische Galerie Bremen (The Municipal Gallery).  It was 
c l e a r -  is that a blue sky or what ? - but a cold wind was blowing; we stayed away from the river and walked the sunny side of the street.  The Galerie building is a former brewery and the interior is interesting, too, in addition to the art.  

The title of the current exhibit is "entartet" (loosely interpreted as Degenerate Art) and displays works from Bremen artists who happened to be Jewish or whose creations didn't meet the standards of the government and/or were  NOT approved by the National Socialists (Nazis) because they were avant garde or ugly or modern or whatever reason they decided..  Some landed in private hands, some works were burned by the Berlin fire department and some simply disappeared.  Here's the entry from MoMA about the whole Nazi program which confiscated thousands of works and then put them on a traveling display - it was wildly successful and people stood in lines for hours to see the art - before removing them from view.  If you don't tell people what to hate, how will they know?

Here  is an example from Emil Nolde called "Wildly Dancing."  Isn't it wonderful?  Such bright colors and the brush work is just as wild as the dancers.  I'd put this in my living room in an instant!  Those Nazis didn't know from anything, much less art.

Then we went back into town to do some necessary shopping but of course stumbled upon signs of the Freimarkt there on the main square.  Our Roland is wearing a decorated gingerbread heart that announces the fair. 

And on the square there's an antique carousel with lovely carved horses and elephants and camels and carriages and garlands.  Makes you want to be a kid again.

Art for Art's Sake

As part of the annual Vegesack Fair last week, there was little painting action going on - local community activitists got color and brushes together and asked passers-by to paint anything they'd like on the window of the vacant shop (anything's better than an empty shop window).

So, Werner painted a pelican and I put a flower it its hand. The next week, we went by to look at it and someone had misinterpreted Mr. Pelican and thought he was a stork and put a blanket in his bill! Silly north Germans, don't know a pelican when they see one.

Still the Weekend ...

We decided on the spur of the moment to catch some of LaStrada, and I'm glad we did.

After Sunday breakfast and cleaning up and reading the paper and packing the bikes, we took the train to town to catch the fun. Well, the papers were right - THOUSANDS of people there, and actually maybe too many to really enjoy it fully. The performers were mostly on the street or on steps or on slightly raided stages or just walking around, so it was hard to see at times.

There was the magician we saw when Hunter and Hannah were here ..



... and some weird folks dressed like they were from the Wild West, but on stilts ...


... and the Café des Artistes that Julia and I remember so well from New York (but this was not there, it was here!)

It was a bit of an accident that I chose Pete Sweet's picture for yesterday's entry, but perhaps serindipity since he was the one we really got to see today. If you want to see more of him, click here. That's the professional site; below is my unprofessional take of his performance. It was fun and always a bit of a mind twister to look at these performers against the background of Renaissance buildings in town squares that are hundreds and hundreds of years old. We watch performers in the fall who are here for the Medieval fair, and they do much the same thing - without the electronic accompaniament.



After the show, after a snack, we biked back from town on the other side of the Weser. It's a more pleasant trip than through town, though a little wet. It didn't really RAIN, but there were more than a few drops that fell and we had to stop and put on our rain jackets. Thank goodness Werner is always prepared - and grateful too that it was over 70° today!!

More Weekends !

Well, it is still summer and still pretty much off-time as far as classes are concerned. So, yet another week / weekend adventure with the Wichmanns.


There was so much to choose from:


The 16th Annual Lemwerder International Kite Festival.

We've gone every year since we moved here - when little high school volunteers would walk around asking for donations. Now the whole area is fenced off and you pay to enter! It is a great outing for families and kids and lots of fun for us too WHEN THERE'S WIND so the kites are up. No wind. No kites. No go.

Then there was La Strada, the theatrical street festival in the city. Jugglers, acrobats, street theater and of course Brat und Bier. Tens of thousands of people show up to watch.

And then there was a Werder Bremen game - against our arch-rivals Bayern. Of course, tickets were not to be had for the event, and it's just as well since we were totally and completely out-classed and beat up 0-4. How embarrassing!

And then there was an avant garde exhibit in Delmenhorst, and another modern art exhibit in town. Like I said, lots to do.

What did we do? We took a bike ride. It seemed the right thing to do.

We were already on the other side of the river, so we just kept going and make a big circle to get back home. Along the way we passed a stone mason - they ususally set up shop near a cemetery and have a display of stones and other things they sculpt. This one had a good-sized Bremen Town Musicians ! I wonder if anyone wants it for a gravestone?

Along the way there were bushes heavy with Elderberry and it reminded me how much Hunter liked the Elderberry jelly when he was here. When they're really ripe, I'll go pick some and make some jam but I'll watch out for the stinging nettles there in the bottom of the picture!

The fall wild flowers were worth a stop - we picked some goldenrod, Queen Anne's Lace, wild grasss and some little yellow daisies. How pretty!

Summer Returns

That was the headline in the paper earlier this week, and news it is. The last 5 weeks have NOT been very summery - we've had the heat on at least twice - so a return to seasonable temperatures was more than welcome and just in time for yet another festival here in Vegesack.



This event is one of our favorites - Festival Maritim - though we haven't been able to go the last few years because we've been visiting in the U.S. when it was being held. Performing groups come from all over the world to sing and play and of course there are the usual beer, Bratwurst, fish, pretzel and other stands to cater to the public. And only steps from our door! This is the old harbor and one of the posters that hung on the railing there, done by Kindergarten groups in the area. Cute!

The music is all related to the sea and sailors, but that's not just "a pirate's life for me" but some great Cajun music, Scottish ditties, Dutch dancing tunes. It's better every time we go.



And this time Werner got to meet Capt'n Säblezahn (Capt'n Sabertooth) who's always around at these events to entertain us oldsters - little kids, too. Wouldn't Hunter have liked to meet him! And don't you think Werner could make a good pirate, too ?? (That's Fisch Meyer just behind them.)



And if you were here, we could have all had a Brat - here's mine with decorative mustard.

All around the park area there are decorations in the trees, lit with color, and at night they are a little magical.



Saturday we (should I say "I" ?) wanted to go to Oldenburg, a town nearby, where there was the annual Töpfermarkt - Ceramic Market.



Over 200 stands, artists from all over Europe, and - again - the weather made it even nicer. I thought it was a great excuse to get out and bike. Werner didn't disagree, so after the weekend marketing we boarded the train with our bikes and headed into Bremen to get the train to Oldenburg. Dumb. We didn't consider the fact that our football team was playing a preseason game and it was Saturday and holiday for the schools --- it was PACKED and we couldn't even get on the train we planned to take!

Not a disaster. The next train we could take was just 20 minutes later.

It was definitely worth the wait. There were lovely things to look at and covet and wish to have - and we did get a couple of small things for gifts, but of course they had to be small because we were biking back the 40+ kilometers to Bremen.

On the way back, we had to go under the Autobahn - a much higher overpass than the one we have in Bremen that we went under going to our picnic with Hunter and Hannah. In Bremen we could whistle and whoop because it was like a tunnel - not here!



It's awfully flat here and the landscape isn't always that varied, but there were some lovely allees we biked through and, since the weather was so nice, we just meandered and enjoyed.



But one does get hungry, biking so ... hard. So at Kaffee und Kuchen time we just happened onto a little place that had tables outside and a wonderful selection of cakes -- Werner had already eaten the tip of his wild berry cream cheese cake before I could get the camera out - my piece of raspberry cake was even bigger! The dear server asked Wasn't the cake good ? when she came to take our unfinished plates!!! It was delisch - simply too much.



The added attraction was in the side yard - talking mules. What a hee-haw.


And then on Sunday one more visit to the music festival and a look at the fireworks over the Weser. What a great weekend. Hope you all had a great one, too.