Details II... Alpine style

After noticing so many elegant details in Delft, it was fun to see a completely different way of adorning the building in La Punt - Chamues-ch, where we stayed in Switzerland (Thanks Oom Kees!)  The buildings, made with concrete or stucco, would be rather grey against the landscape, except for the many colorful carvings as frescoes along the sides... They have a very different feel in this melting pot corner of Switzerland with German, Italian, and Reto-Romanic roots.

It starts out simply enough at the train station...

Rams are ubiquitous in this region (though we did not see any...)

This ram sculpture guards two lovely evergreens decorated with wooden stars...

Unlike rams, I don't think bears still inhabit this area, but perhaps they did at the time this bear was painted...

This building had many impressive creatures adorning it...

& of course, we didn't see any of these mythical creatures, but aren't they cool?

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Before heading back to Hanover (NH not Germany), we had the amazing good fortune to sneak in a week in Switzerland, where the snow was as plentiful as the spectacular scenery.  The only thing missing were crowds and hassle as we skied in conditions none of us have experienced before (and perhaps never again).  The blue skies, stunning mountains, and relatively mild temperatures were a treat for this family of New England skiers used to frigid air, ice, and exposed rocks along the trail.

Frans and Rose, high above Celerina, Switzerland

Ellen and Erzo near Piz Nair, in the Swiss Alps

Frans x-country skiing in Engadin

Erzo, Rose, & Ellen x-country skiing in the Engadin Valley near La Punt, Switzerland

Bright Lights, Small City

OK, OK, I admit it.  I’ve complained enough about dark skies and short days.  There are upsides to the long December nights, though.  Dark communities have ways of overcoming those somber times with beautiful, light-filled traditions.  On my last dark bicycle commute home from my office at the Hague one December Tuesday, I arrived in Delft to find all its stately buildings on the Oude Delft street lit up in a rainbow of colors.

Rainbow lights along the Oude Delft street.

After dinner, we all ventured out to find a huge street festival with music, food, crafts, and more lights everywhere we turned.  This wasn’t like a Hanover festival, where all activities take place on the Green with a single venue for music or other entertainment.  Even in Delft, a city of under 100,000 people, this festival had the scale of something much bigger.  Every time we turned a corner we came upon another stage.  Modern music? Check.  Choral groups? Check.  Traditional English carols? Check.  A Gospel choir in the Old Church? It all was there.  Ice skating on one of the town squares?  Also possible.  Bonfires along the canal?  This was precariously but beautifully executed.  And snow in this rainy, moderate climate?  Magically, yes. We were covered with snow showers as we walked through the streets enjoying the season.  As much as we all were longing to return home, I felt a pang of nostalgia for Delft, before we even packed a bag.

Look at the snow on the caps of those carolers!

 

We weren't the only ones enjoying this seasonal treat.  The streets were packed!

Details

On a beautiful December day, I walked through Delft with Ans to photograph a few of the city's charming details.  Of course, all Dutch cities have a personality, and most of them have quite a bit of charm coming from the US where anything before 1940 seems historic.  The Hague adorns nearly everything with storks, and on my bicycle commutes I made a sort of game of finding new storks.  Amsterdam has its ubiquitous city symbol, "xxx" engraved, flashing, or painted in its title.  Note that this isn't a sign indicating the Red Light District, an adult book store, or a tourist shop selling only extra large clothes.  It is simply the symbol chosen in 1507, St. Andrew's crosses.  Since we lived in Delft, I wanted to share a few of my daily wanderings, and thanks to Ans, a few new discoveries too.

Of course, many people know Delft because of its blue and white tiles.  The tiles are a fixture in many homes, shops, and along the way.  I like the modern use of blue and white tiles on the lamp posts near the Prinsenhof museum.  As you can see, these are very new (2009)...

The man shown below, Pieter van Foreest, was once the Doctor of Delft.  His former home (above) is the smallest in Delft.  In his later years, I think he became spokesman for Fisherman's Friend ;)

What caught my eye on an elegant, 1800s era house was the juxtaposition of "golden" and "herring" in its name.

When Ans pointed out the sign below, I gained new appreciation for the Golden Herring..

The animal theme continues with poultry...

And there are lions too!

These felines mark the front and back of the Leger (or Army) Museum.  I wouldn't have guessed that this museum, across from our apartment, would become a favorite for our family in Delft.  But the modern day Dutch are, of course, pacifists.  Thus, this museum has hundreds of teachable moments, and both beautiful (intricately carved hunting rifles) and provocative exhibits.  Sadly, the museum will close in December, another casualty of budget cutting during the financial crisis.

Sometimes, though, one doesn't even have to enter a building to learn something about its history.

This tells  quite dramatically about Maria Duyst, who gave money to create a center of liberal arts study that would seek "the marrow of science"

The girls' house (orphanage)

This building was first used to make blankets as shown in the relief, but later it was a gymnasium ( high school), inscribed just above the door.

I could live here for a year and still notice (and enjoy) a new detail above a doorway, on a weathervane, or in the cornice of some building.  I wonder what we'll all notice as we pack our bags and prepare to return to Hanover.

Perfect Paris

I know you're thinking that we should have taken more pictures of the tasteful Parisian holiday lights (though they were not as noteworthy as the Marmite display in London, I must admit) and the lovely streets filled with Parisians.   We have visited Paris twice during August, when Parisians flee the city, so in December, everything feels different.  However, the highlight and the reason for this trip, was seeing old friends.  We did take the kids to the Louvre (closed during our last attempt to visit).  Though they are weary of museums at this point, Frans and Rose enjoyed the Mona Lisa's roaming eyes (so did I) and we enjoyed a beautiful new exhibit of Islamic art with amazing mosaics and beautiful wood carvings.

Rose creates the optical illusion of swimming in the fountain in front of the Louvre pyramid.

Frans looking like a teen as he snacks in front of the Louvre.

Funny to include a picture of Katia and I from the back, I know, but there is something about walking and enjoying the company of a dear friend, someplace special, with the sun beaming down.  Nice...

Andrei, Katia and Sergei's 8 year old son, was our tour guide for the afternoon when the rest of the family was busy elsewhere.  Andrei took us to the botanic gardens and then we peeked at this beautiful Mosque nearby.  This picture doesn't quite capture the stunning detailed moasaics and carving in the courtyard behind us.  I love the way Andrei, who is extremely polite and patient, is standing there as if he's thinking "no really, I am not responsible for these Dutch-American tourists.  I am a Parisien."  Though Andrei had only been to this part of town once on a class trip, he easily led us by subway across town and back home, where he offered us coffee as we came in the door - apparently he's a trilingual tour guide & a barista!

Erzo & Ellen in front of the mosque (proof that Erzo was on this trip too)...

In front of Katia & Sergei's place with Andre & Sergei.  Winter is coming, and it's chilly even in Paris, but the sunshine was heavenly.  Back in Delft, I'm still drying off from today's slushy commute...

Dutch + English = Denglish???

Now that Frans and Rose have spent several months in Dutch schools, their Dutch is better than ever.  One of the great things about learning another language, though, is learning and using words and expressions that have no exact English translation.  The kids have started to incorporate these words into daily use (sometimes without even knowing it!)

The Dutch word, gezellig, is one such word.  Its closest translation is “cozy,” but somehow it captures togetherness, feeling welcome, and much more. When we are together as a family, in a warm dry house, on a cold wet evening, enjoying good company and good food, the kids will describe such an evening saying, That was “gezellig”!

Rose with Bauke, Han's newest grandchild, during a gezellig evening with Han's kids and their families.

There is something to learn about a language in which there seems to be only one way to describe something as beautiful, pretty, elegant etc., mooi, but many ways to describe something as ridiculous!  With the guttural g’s and the Dutch intonation, the onomatopeia of the many Dutch words used to express when something is outrageously unacceptable is perfect in Dutch.  I find myself, in a moment of frustration with a ridiculous situation or an exasperating rule I cannot change, wanting to say Dat is belachelijk! Or Dat is flauwekul!  There are others, of course, but not all are fit to print…

Belachelijk! - Ellen holding a bag of lint, taped to an angry unsigned note from a neighbor in Oom Kees' apartment building in Switzerland. Why? Ellen ran out of the shared laundry room (to throw up) before cleaning the lint from the dryer during a bout of altitude sickness.  Poor Oom Kees had to hear about this from the neighbor in person - I'm happy I got the unsigned note with lint attached!

The other uniquely Dutch linguistic twist is the ubiquitous use of lekker, literally tasty.  You can of course, describe a cake as lekker, but you also hear parents describe kids playing wildly in the park, the school, or the living room as “lekker spelen” for having fun.  

Frans, lekker trommelen...

 ….  Or sometimes when an elderly person enters the train and someone offers his/her seat, the typically hearty Dutch reply with “Blijf lekker zitten” or literally, “Stay tasty sitting”… for “ No, don’t get up.”  

How could anyone keep from smiling when someone tells you to “stay tasty sitting”?

Loving London

This weekend was all about London - perhaps the most popular destination yet during our time in Europe in terms of crowd appeal.  We also lucked out with some mild fall weather, a bonus since the daily Dutch rainy mornings continue.  We wandered through popular sites like the British Museum and the Tower Bridge, took in a performance of Scrooge at the Palladium Theater, feasted on everything from spicy Indian food to wonderfully cozy afternoon tea, and just enjoyed the amazing diversity of sights, sounds, and the juxtaposition of new and old in this amazingly diverse city.  Here are a few postcards below...

Big Ben & Houses of Parliament across the Thames River

Skating next to the Tower of London - it rained just before we skated, so if you look closely, you'll see the wake Frans' skates left.  Falling was a very wet proposition, but our winter loving kids enjoyed the first skate of the season.

One of the many spectacular views from the giant ferris wheel, the London Eye.

Rose stands at the foot of the London Eye.

Ellen & Erzo with the Tower Bridge in the background.  Before it was built in the late 1800s, London bridge was the ONLY way to cross the Thames in London.  And of course, it kept falling down...

Standing on Regents Street with the ubiquitous double decker bus in the background.

Holiday lights were up around town.  This display on Oxford Street was one of the oddest Christmas displays we've ever seen.  The lights are sponsored by Marmite Gold (maker of the yeasty smelling, strong flavored Marmite).  Thus, the displays featured pictures of Santa and Elves either "loving" marmite and eating it up or "hating" it and spitting it out.  Vomiting elves & green Santa?  Hmmmmm...

Rose & Frans in front of an impressive 60 foot tall totem pole from British Columbia, now standing in the British Museum.. In the section on ancient civilizations, we saw a beautiful marble statue of Venus that once stood in Ostia Antica where we visited just a few weeks ago when in Rome.  So that's where all those missing statues ended up....  The sculptures and displays from ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt are as stunning as they are controversial.