Another place I wanted to visit while in London was St. Paul’s Cathedral. We saw St. Paul’s from on high, from the Sky Garden. St. Paul’s Cathedral is one of the most famous sights in London. It has a long and rich history. The current cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, was built in the 1700’s, but there has been a church on this sight since 604. St. Paul’s is England’s national church. After leaving the Sky Garden we walked towards this majestic building.
Outside the front entrance of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Little did we know it would be closed to tourists that day, however, “if we wanted to participate in an Ash Wednesday service we were invited to enter and join in”. Of course, we would love to participate in a service there, especially for Ash Wednesday!
Inside St. Paul’s Cathedral.
It was a gift to worship in this magnificent cathedral. There were ongoing services held throughout the day with different leadership. Our sermon happened to be on The Light of the World, a painting by William Holman Hunt, which was hanging right in the cathedral so we were able to see it after the service.
“The Light of the World”, by William Holman Hunt.
There is a lot of symbolism in the painting, which was addressed in the sermon. And Rick Steves explains it this way: “In the dark of night, Jesus – with a lantern, halo, jeweled cape, and crown of thorns – approaches an out-of-the- way home in the woods, knocks on the door, and listens for an invitation to come in.”* It was inspired from Revelations 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…”
St. Paul’s Cathedral 365′ dome.
It was meaningful…and remarkable…and memorable to experience one of Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpieces, and most famous churches, in this way…an authentic worship service.
After two days of graduation activities we started exploring the different sights we wanted to see while we were in London.
The “Walkie Talkie” building and an iconic double decker bus.
One highlight for me was the Sky Garden on top of the skyscraper nicknamed the “Walkie Talkie” (because that is what the building looks like).
A view of the Sky Garden on the 35th floor of the”Walkie Talkie” building, which offers scenic overlooks of London.
The elevator quickly brought us to the 35th floor, to the viewing platform where you see terrific views of London from on high. There is also an indoor garden on top, which was very pleasant.
On a side note – I asked a question of a man standing next to me looking out over London, and after talking awhile I found out he grew up in Northfield! And the amazing thing is, the last time I was in London in 2013, when I was still working at St. Olaf, a student recognized me on a street corner in London, and came up to talk with me. It’s a small world.
Buckingham Palace.
Outside the gates of Buckingham Palace. The Queen was not in this day.
On this trip we also visited Borough Market, the oldest fruit-and-vegetable market serving the current community for over 800 years, but it started in a different location over 1,000 years ago*. There were many stalls with all different types of food offerings, in addition to fruits and vegetables. It was a great place to walk around and buy lunch before going to the Sky Garden.
We also walked to Buckingham Palace, toured Westminster Abbey, rode the London Eye and went to the Natural History Museum.
A partial view of the front of Westminster Abbey (north).
Inside the north door of Westminster Abbey.
The London Eye is a “revolving observation wheel.” The glass enclosed capsules move slowly and continuously. As a capsule reaches the bottom platform there are two sides: on one side people enter the capsule and on the other side people exit the capsule, without it stopping. It’s an interesting experience and offers more unique views of London. It is on the Thames River.
The London Eye.
A enclosed capsule on the London Eye.
The Natural History Museum is mammoth (it holds 50 million specimens) and is housed in a beautiful Victorian, Neo-Romanesque building that was built in the 1870’s specifically for the museum. Although it’s been awhile since I’ve toured a natural history museum, which I enjoy, seeing this magnificent building was the highlight of the museum for me. It was stunning.
The magnificent Natural History Museum building.
An interior door in the Natural History Museum.
The kids looking at a display in the Natural History Museum.
Additional Photos:
The changing of the Horse Guards, a daily ceremony before heading to Buckingham Palace.
In Covent Garden market.
A view of the Tower of London, along the River Thames, from the Sky Garden.
Last spring, we took a three week road trip to the east coast. One stop was in Washington DC to visit neighbors that used to live next door to us in Northfield. We happen to be in DC during Passover, and they happen to be Jewish, so they invited us to stay in their home and to partake in the Passover meal with them, along with five other people from their synagogue. We were delighted, and excited, to sit down and experience this Seder meal with our Jewish friends.
The cherry blossoms were in bloom in Washington DC.
We were offered Kippahs (caps) to wear, and spent the next five hours at the dinner table with our friends and five wonderful folks we had never met. We ate large amounts of food – most with symbolism attached. We read through prayers and texts, and sang songs that go along with the story of Passover in the Torah (and Old Testament). We enjoyed sweet fellowship while participating in a completely different religious experience than our own. It was wonderful.
Two friends participating in the Passover meal.
So, when the newsletter for FiftyNorth (previously Northfield Retirement Center) came out with its November offerings, one class in particular caught my attention: Jewish Holidays: Backgrounds and Traditions. Stacy Beckwith, a Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, and the Director of the Judaic Studies Program at Carleton College presented it. The class filled, with 25 people attending. The course was a general overview, and well done.
One of the slides from presentation… a picture of a Haggadah from the 14th century. Haggadah is the text book for the Seder meal.
This is the Haggadah we used at our friend’s house.
Another slide from her presentation showing a Seder plate for six symbolic foods.
Our hostess compiled a Seder plate – 6 symbolic foods which include shank bone of lamb, egg, vegetables, two types of bitter herbs and a sweet paste called haroset.
I have attended classes at FiftyNorth but was surprised when I drove into the parking lot for my class on a weekday afternoon, that the main parking lot was full. When I entered the FiftyNorth lobby it, too, was full of people, and there was a rather long line to check-in for all the different activities going on in the center.
A glimpse in the lobby of FiftyNorth.
FiftyNorth is a very vibrant place for Northfield seniors (seniors defined as age 50 and older, and North as in north – or in, higher than, age 50). It has a lot to offer including informational and fitness classes, a pool, workout equipment, rooms for bridge players or ping pong tournaments etc. In the lobby coffee is always available and tables are set up for puzzles, reading the newspaper, or just visiting. It is stimulating and invigorating place and a real gem for our small town, Northfield.
I was pleased to be in the bustling center this week, learning about Jewish traditions. I was among many others…there for so many different reasons. And that is a good thing.
Hand-crafted broom and broom corn on my front porch.
While helping a friend clean up from the tornadoes that went through our area a few weeks ago I decided I’d like to sweep off the long driveway. Although it was cleared of trees, there was a lot of debris that made the driveway look messy and unwelcoming. I wanted the driveway to look tidy and welcoming once again (as it always had been in the past).
As I was sweeping (using broom first, then a blower) I thought back to our first trip to Africa in 2009, to visit our son who was living in a small village in northern Mozambique.
Tim met us at the airport in Malawi and we traveled a few days in that country before heading to Mozambique. We were excited to see his house, his work place and the village where he lived.
From my photo album…we drove from Malawi to Mozambique. It was a beautiful drive. We first spent a few days in Malawi, at a National Park, and at a resort along Lake Malawi.
Tim was living in a rented, small four-room house. He chose to live among the people of the village instead of at the compound that his work provided. His yard was dirt, and in his front there was a well (no running water in the house) and a banana tree.
Tim sitting in front of his house. His neighbor told us how much he and his family enjoyed having Tim as a neighbor.
Towards evening, as we approached Tim’s house, the front light was on and the yard had been swept…not raked… swept.
A young man, a native and friend of Tim’s from the village, knew the day we were arriving so he swept Tim’s yard and turned on the front light – he wanted Tim’s house to look welcoming for us. It brings tears to my eyes when I think of it (and as I write this), this small act of kindness seared in my mind. Maybe it’s a mother’s heart that makes me get emotional about that seemingly small act of kindness towards one of her children, but it is one I will not forget. It indeed made us feel welcomed.
Lucas
So as I swept my friend’s driveway maybe I was paying it forward…subconsciously I knew how it made me feel that day when Lucas made his friend’s house look welcoming for his family and I wanted to pass it on.
As my excitement builds for our upcoming trip to a cabin on Lake Superior another stay on a beautiful lake in Hallstatt, Austria comes to mind.
Hallstatt is a small town but big on character! It is one of those beautiful, picturesque, mountain villages on an inland lake, and we stayed at a B&B overlooking the water.
The view from our balcony.
Bräu Gasthof is the name of the B&B where we stayed in Hallstatt. It is a quaint, 15th century building (that’s 700 years old!) that used to be a brewery back in the day.
The flowers boxes hang off the balcony rail of our B&B on the top floor where our room was located.
The arched door, low ceilings, spiral staircase (no elevator) and squeaky floors all added to the uniqueness of this B&B. Our rooms were next door to our friends and we had adjoining balconies overlooking the lake (complete with swans). The views were fantastic.
The inviting front door of our B&B in Hallstatt.
Morning coffee on the balcony.
Swans are a usual site on the lakes.
Our first day we took a boat ride and toured the beautiful mountain lake.
Lake Hallstatt.
View of Hallstatt from the boat.
The next day we took a funicular up the mountain, continued up a glass elevator to the skywalk that led to an old building perched about 1,200 feet above the town. Many years ago this building was a defensive tower built in the 13th century to protect the salt mine which is behind it, in the mountain.
The funicular tracks.
Overall view of the skywalk, glass elevator, restaurant and viewing platform.
The old defensive tower (now restaurant) and viewing platform.
Today the old defense tower serves as a restaurant and is adjacent to a cantilevered viewing platform, which juts out 40 feet to provide spectacular views of Hallstatt, the lake, and the surrounding mountains. This area is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) world heritage site.
The cantilevered viewing platform overlooking Lake Hallstatt.
Another view of the cantilevered viewing platform from the skywalk.
Hallstatt claims it has the oldest known salt mine in the world. Objects found in the mine have been dated to 5,000 BC and a wooden staircase was discovered in 2003 which has been dated to 1,400 BC. To this day it is still an active mine producing over one million tons of salt per year, mostly used for road and industrial applications.
Looking down on the town of Hallstatt from the viewing platform.
Our wonderful B&B, Bräu Gasthof, also operated a restaurant right on the water outside its doors and we enjoyed a long, leisurely dinner there one evening.
A fun row of boathouses on Lake Hallstatt.
Our table was along the water’s edge and next to an old boathouse used for storage. As we were visiting, an older woman walked out of the boathouse and started talking to us, asking us about our trip and where we were from, where we were going next.
Our leisurely dinner with a lovely visitor (not pictured).
Picturesque boat houses near the B&B.
Her name was Verena and she was the previous manager of the B&B…it was her grandfather who started the B&B. She managed it for years and now her daughter (also named Verena) manages it. She talked about the town of Hallstatt and the days when she was in charge of the B&B. It sounded like she enjoyed her work and did some musical entertaining too. We noticed old pictures in the menu of what looked like to be her younger self. She told us she lives on the 3rd floor in the B&B. She walks up the spiral staircase several times a day. She said she chose 3rd floor for her apartment because there are a few more minutes of sunlight each day at the higher level.
The B&B restaurant on the water.
As she talked I wondered what it would be like to live in this small, remote, tourist town for a whole lifetime. Verena seemed content. I also kept thinking, as we conversed with this local woman, talking to locals when traveling always adds richness to the experience. It was a delightful visit.
Another fun tidbit about the Bräu Gasthof was their check-in system.
The check-in chalk board with names of guests and keys hanging under room number on top.
A young woman was there to help us check-in the day we arrived, but if no one is available there is a sign telling guests to find their key, find their room and breakfast is at 8! The guest names, room numbers and keys were hanging on a chalkboard near the desk.
Instructions for self check-in.
Some people visit the town for a couple hours or one day…we felt luxurious staying two days and two nights enjoying the spectacular scenery and ideal weather in this wonderful place called Hallstatt.
The view from our balcony of an early morning sunrise over the mountain.
One evening in Vienna, Austria we bought tickets to the famous Vienna State Opera…a Wiener Staatsoper (Wien is Vienna in Austria). We didn’t see an opera but went to an orchestra concert, Vienna Mozart Orchestra. It was delightful. We had wonderful center seats facing the stage and members of the Vienna orchestra entertained us with Mozart and Haydn for a couple of hours.
The Vienna Opera House, officially called the Vienna State Opera.
The inside stairway in the opera house.
Inside the opera house was elegant. We were excited as we walked into the elaborate setting with the gold gilt trim, paintings on the ceiling, and statues on the grand staircases. It was fun to dress up a little and participate in something we don’t do very often.
My friend and I were entertained by looking all around.
Looking towards the ceiling in the opera house.
Many statues and paintings adorn the interior of the Vienna State Opera.
The stage.
The curved wall of seats overlooking the stage.
Recently, back in Minnesota, my husband and I attended a different kind of concert with four fabulous musicians playing gypsy jazz. Gypsy jazz is a style that began in France in the 30’s. A guitarist name “Django” Reinhardt made it popular. It is also called gypsy swing, a kind of classy jazz. This quartet had one guitar, a standing bass (they called it that), one violin and one drummer. No brass instruments; no saxophones, no trumpets.
Their venue was Urness Hall on the St. Olaf College campus. It may not be on the grandeur scale of the famous Vienna State Opera but it is acoustically sound and a wonderful space to attend musical events.
As I sat there I looked around at the simple yet seasoned space with a wall of windows to the outside. The sky was getting darker as the concert continued on, and the lights of the hall were reflecting in the windows which looked stunning. It’s an intimate space that I have come to really enjoy. (Unfortunately I left my phone at home to be electronic free, forgetting that I am then, camera free!)
The concerts were as different as the venues, but both were easy listening and in special spaces, and wonderful experiences. I’m grateful for talented musicians using their gifts to make beautiful music all over the world.
When we checked into our wonderful B&B in the farming community near Söll, Austria we were visiting with the friendly woman at the front desk and asking her about hikes in the area. She suggested hiking to Alpengasthaus Stallhäusl which would take about an hour. That sounded good to us…
Near the beginning of our hike.
She gave us directions and told us the signs to follow so, after lunch, off we went. Fortunately we wore our hats and we brought some water because it was sunny and hot.
Gary
The hike started on the lane behind the B&B. We walked passed a riding stable and a barn where Haflinger horses are bred. We walked past cows with bells clanging around their necks grazing in the fields, and past chickens cackling near their cute coop with flowers blooming in it’s own little flower box. Then we started our ascent…we kept climbing and climbing and climbing, for a hour and 30 minutes, climbing up the mountain.
Haflinger horses.
Cows with their cow bells.
Even this chicken coop had flower boxes!
We did not expect this – the woman forgot to tell us this part – but the vistas were amazing, and we were hiking in the alps! We knew we were on the right trail by the signs.
A view as we were climbing up.
The signs didn’t use distance for a gauge but used the number of minutes to the each destination…35 minutes to here, 5 minutes to there…it’s an interesting way of letting one know where you are.
Looking down on a tractor mowing hay.
Looking down on the town.
Finally we made it to the top after stopping several times along the way to look out at the amazing views (and to catch our breath). We passed beautiful chapel tucked into the hillside (who goes there???)
A beautiful little chapel on the hill.
We were hot and tired and thirsty when we arrived at our destination, the Alpengasthaus Stallhäusl. We sat outside on their sun terrace and ordered something cool to drink and said “Prost” (Cheers!) to toast our accomplishment, and cool down before hiking back to our B&B.
At the top.
We decided to walk back on the road, complete with hairpin turns (that we wanted to roll down to make our journey shorter). Going down is not always so easy…but walking on pavement makes a big difference. It took less time to walk back to the B&B.
It was probably good we didn’t know ahead of time what kind of hike we were embarking on or we may not have chosen to do it…but we’re really glad we did!
Belvedere Palace, the Upper Palace from the back. There are two buildings to form this complex. The Upper Palace and the Lower Palace. There is artwork in both places.
The Belvedere Art Museum was the fabulous palace of a great Austrian military hero who had no heirs, therefore the state received his property and the Belvedere Palace became a wonderful art gallery.
Belvedere Palace, Upper Palace, from the front.
Not only was the Belvedere Palace filled with amazing artwork to admire, it was an enchanting palace to wander about and observe its lavish great rooms and staircases.
A room in Belvedere Palace, Lower Palace.
There were paintings from different artists including Van Gogh (1853-1890) and Monet (1840-1926) but the Belvedere features many Austrian artists including Gustav Klimt (1862-1918). There were several original paintings of Klimt’s on display, including his famous The Kiss.
The Kiss, 1909 Gustav Klimt
Farmhouse in Buchberg, 1911 Gustav Klimt
Farm Garden with Sunflowers, 1907 Gustav Klimt
I learned Klimt has another famous painting called Portrait d’Adele Bloch-Bauer I, also known as The Woman In Gold, but that painting is hanging in a New York City art gallery. A movie was made about this painting titled Woman in Gold. During WWII thousands of pieces of artwork were confiscated by the Nazi’s and many pieces never were returned. The movie Woman In Gold tells the true story of this particular portrait and its story of reclamation to the original family.
This is a photo of a postcard featuring the painting Portrait d’Adele Bloch-Bauer I (Woman in Gold), 1907 Gustav Klimt
It was fun to watch the movie soon after we had returned home from our trip and recognize many places in the movie where we had just visited. I highly recommend the movie.
A Girl Reading, 1850 Franz Eybl
And then… as I turned in to another room I stopped in my tracks when I saw this painting, A Girl Reading. The artist’s name is Franz Eybl (1806-1880) and the painting is titled Lesendes Mädchen (A Girl Reading – 1850). It was as though I was looking at this girl through a window frame. The detail is amazing and the lighting – incredible. I was captivated by the highlights in the young girl’s hair, the fine details of the book, the placement of her hand on her chest and her facial expression…and that she is reading spoke to me too because I love to read. I stood in awe for a long time as I absorbed the details of this stunning painting.
Our time at Belvedere Palace was inspirational…
and I assume that is what art museums hope to achieve.
We woke up to a beautiful sunny day with blue skies, a great morning for our three-hour boat cruise down the Danube River. It took us awhile to coordinate boat and bus schedules but we did it and it was nice to be relaxing on the boat, enjoying the Danube River. We arrived down river, in Durnstein, about 1 p.m. We had parked our car in Durnstein so we were able to get on the road right away. We ate cheese and fruit in the car while driving towards the Mauthausen Memorial, a couple hours away. However, we came to detour within miles of the memorial that took us another forty-five minutes to navigate…but we made it to the camp in time to walk around before closing. By now clouds were forming and it felt they were setting the mood.
Mauthausen Memorial is the site of the Mauthausen Concentration Camp, which began as a work camp in 1938 and stayed in operation until the end of the war in 1945.
The barracks are on the right. I quickly snapped this photo. It didn’t feel right taking photos in the camp.
The choice of location for Mauthausen (and many satellite camps near by) was primarily the proximity of granite quarries.
From the brochure: “Mauthausen and Gusen (a satellite camp) were for some time the only category III camps with the harshest conditions of confinement within the concentration camp system and one of the highest death rates in all concentration camps in the German Reich.”
“The majority of inmates succumbed through mistreatment by being ruthlessly worked to death, while at the same time receiving scant food rations, clothing and medical treatment.”
“The “Stairs of Death”, which were rebuilt in 1942, were the scene of many deaths, particularly of the inmates from the punishment detail. Inmate commandos were forced to carry heavy granite blocks up the stairs from the quarry to the camp.” Many couldn’t make it and were shot.
The “Stairs of Death”.
It was very sobering to walk around this place that holds such sadness…such violence…such hatred.
“Not to be forgotten” is the hope of opening these camp memorials to the public. This memorial was free of charge to take away any hindrances of visiting.
In one walled area of the camp, where people are buried, we stood at the gate to take a look. Interestingly, there was a large rabbit inside at the opposite end of the gate. The rabbit couldn’t find his way out. He kept hopping back and forth along the back wall and every once in a while he tried to jump over the tall (8’?) stonewall. It was sad and I thought in some way it was a representation of what had gone on in this camp years ago…people trapped in this horrible space, desperate to get out.
Looking out over the old granite quarry…”Stairs of death” on the right.
I’m grateful for the chance to see this camp and to remember and honor all the innocent people who were killed there.
On of the most unusual sites we visited in Prague was an old Jewish Cemetery in the Jewish Quarter in Old Town.
The land is only the size of one or two large city blocks, concealed behind a wall, but there are 12,000 tombstones crammed into this cemetery.
The oldest gravestone recorded dates from 1439 and the final gravestone is dated 1787, with many dates unknown. The inscriptions are mostly eroded and written in Hebrew. During this time the cemetery was the only place where the Jewish people of Prague were allowed to be buried. Because of this, it struggled with lack of space so they would add another layer of soil to add another burial…it is said there are as many as twelve layers in some areas and 85,000 people are buried in this small radius. The land inside actually became higher than the land outside of the enclosed cemetery because of adding layers of dirt. (Graves were never relocated because of Jewish belief that once buried a body should not be moved.)
The tombstones are described as a “dense forest” of stones. They are crooked, leaning this way and that, and are piled right next to each other designating several people buried in several layers below.
It’s hard to describe the feeling as we walked through the Old Jewish Cemetery. It was an impressive sight, yet melancholic as we reflected on the people buried in this cemetery, and those burying loved ones, layering one on top of one another.
Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the Lordis the death of his faithful ones.”
