Shopping on the Glass Road

Snow covered Zwiesel, Germany
The building on the left is the Schott Zwiesel Kristallglas Factory

When we went to Passau, and visited the Glasmuseum, I expected to find all kinds of stores brimming with hand-blown glass, just waiting to be bought. This was not the case. We hiked all over the town and could not find an open glass store anywhere. We also did not see many (any? I can’t remember) open glass shops. So even though we were in the heart of Bohemian glass country, we went home empty handed.

To rectify this situation, I started on the Glasmuseum’s website, where I remembered they had a link to the “Glass-road” website http://www.die-glasstrasse.de/. This site details the cities along a 250km scenic route centered on glass. I then clicked on the shopping tab, and started running through the cities listed as selling lots and lots of glass.

I settled on Zwiesel (sssvy-sel) because it seemed (from online pictures) like it would be the cutest town to visit. It is also well known for its cross-country skiing trails and downhill ski resorts. I was hoping maybe we could find a place to ski, but there was nothing within walking distance of the train. Another perk of Zwiesel was its location, we could pay 29 euro to ride the train there and back. To get there, we rode a train to Plattling and changed trains to ride one into Zwiesel. The train into Zwiesel consisted of 2 engine cars, allowing the train to travel in both directions, but making the whole train not much larger than a city bus.

Regensburg has had relatively mild weather during our visit here. We’ve seen a few snow flurries, but nothing has stuck, and we’ve seen lots of rain. Zwiesel had OVER A FOOT of snow. The town’s webcam did not prepare me for this, and I am beginning to think it may not have been updated in awhile. Luckily, we had work our hats and boots, so we were not frozen solid.

As per usual, it was lunchtime when we arrived so our first priority was getting something to eat. We settled on the local brewery, Dampfbier Zwiesel, and I am so glad we did. The wait staff spoke English, which we did not expect in a town of 9,000 people. Furthermore, the guy was a joker–he had a fake bottle of ketchup he pretended to spray (I tried to dive out of the way before I realized it was fake) and a fake glass of beer, which he pretended to dump on Joe, causing a gasp of surprise from the old ladies sitting behind us. The food was delicious and the beer was unique. Dampfbier is steam beer, and method of brewing that is unique to Zwiesel. According to their website, http://www.dampfbier.de/_dampfbier.htm, they use malted barley because hops and wheat were a rare commodity in the Bavarian forest. It is a very tasty beer, and I always enjoy trying out new brews.

There were plentiful glass shops in Zwiesel, and I would love to go back on a weekday, when more are open (we did a lot of window shopping) but we were able to find hand-blown items to bring home, including some beautiful flowers and a carved bud-vase in which to display them. 

Nurnberger

Interior of St. Lorenz Church

Joe says Nurnberger a lot now, similar to the character in 30 Rock who repeatedly says his own last name, Hornberger. This show is funny and weird, if you haven’t seen it, get on it, because it routinely cracks me up. Alright moving on . . . . to Nurnberg, Germany. This is yet another city that English speakers decided to translate, you may know it as Nuremburg, and while this confusing, I checked, and they are in fact the same city.

(Joe’s) Work brought us to the city at 10am. To make it there at this time we had to wake up at 5:30am, leaving ample time to accomplish various preparatory steps before we left. When we arrived we were quite tired, a little hungry (since we breakfasted at 6), and VERY cold because it was -7 degrees Celsius outside. Our attitudes coupled with the fact that we had visited the city in December during the Christkindlmarkt made us reluctant to tour around the city. We agreed to have lunch and then go back to Regensburg.

Destruction from WWII Bombing at St. Sebaldus

En route to lunch we popped into the first of 3 churches we would visit that day, St. Lorenz. This was necessary as it was not even 11:30 yet, and most places were not yet open for lunch. Inside the church, we discovered that giant cathedrals built hundreds of years ago tend not to have heat. So being inside the building shaves maybe 2 degrees off the temperature, making it a balmy -5 degrees Celsius. After lunch, we visited 2 more churches, Frauenkirche Nurnberg and St. Sebaldus.

St. Sebaldus inside St. Sebaldus Church

Each of these churches has managed to rebuild their glory following the destruction of World War II. Nurnberg was a hotbed of Nazi activity and it is estimated that some 6,000 were killed during the air raids, which leveled parts of the city. St. Sebaldus has a series of photograph posters, detailing the how the church rose from the ashes. Also inside St. Sebaldus church is St. Sebaldus, inside a richly detailed reliquary. I love reliquaries and pilgrimage churches, and there are 2 high on my list; Canterbury and Santiago de Compostela. More fun facts, Johann Pachelbel, as in Pachelbel’s Canon, as in I walked down the aisle to that song, was an organist in St. Sebaldus for over a decade.

Frauenkirche Nurnberg

Frauenkirche Nurnberg had a contentious history long before parts of it were destroyed by the Allies. It was built on the site of a Jewish synagogue following a pogrom in 1349. This parallels further treatment of Jews, during the Nazi regime, as Nurnberg was where all their rights as German citizens were revoked in 1935. To make amends for this treatment, the first of many war trials were held in Nurnberg (The Nuremberg Trials). I digress, back to Fraunkirche  . . . . It was designed to be the holding place of the Holy Roman Emperor’s crown and scepter, and was designed to appear as a giant case. Inside, it is small, further evidence indicating it wasn’t designed to be a large parish church, but a place for housing the symbols of the Holy Roman Emperor’s power.

Moving away from churches, Nurnberg has other tourist attractions. The city is famous for their Nurnberger Rostbrautwurst, which can only be produced in the city of Nurnberg (to earn the name). Joe ordered his to go in a bun, like a sandwich.

Nurnberg Castle

Nurnberg is a medieval city, still surrounded by the old fortifications. The wall is open to the public, with many places to walk along or through it. On top of a hill stands the old medieval castle, still protected by the walls. It is very quaint looking, and has a pleasant panoramic view of the city. The castle is now a museum and for a moderate price you can spend a couple hours following a guide around the castle tour.

And finally, Nurnberg is the home of Albrecht Durer. Unless your name is Megan Fox, you may be wondering who this guy is, and the answer is complicated. I knew of him from his prints, made by applying ink to wood or metal carvings and making copies. However, if you judge him only on these works, you will be missing huge facets of his other works. He painted and made altar pieces, and made star charts, and wrote treatises on mathematics and anatomy. Truly, a renaissance man, though I guess that is only funny if you know he is from the renaissance. Regardless, check it out for yourself, here is a link to a complete collection of his work http://www.albrecht-durer.org/

Passau

After all the travelling we did both before and after Christmas, we were craving a little continuity, and stayed in Regensburg for our 1^st weekend back in Germany. Since we arrived on a Monday though, this worked out to two weeks chilling with no travels. If we don’t travel, I don’t have too much to write about, hence the lack of blog posts. However, we’ve got some big plans coming up so expect some more posts in the near future. This past weekend we went to a city called Passau. We knew we wanted to travel somewhere, and after a quick weather check settled on Passau because the forecast predicted sunshine. Another bonus: it was about an hour away on the train, making for a nice easy day. The city is located at the conflux of 3 rivers, the Danube, the Inn, and the Ilz, with Old town on a peninsula between the Danube and the Inn. The Ilz is much small than the other two and makes less of an impact, but it too is visible on the peninsula.

The point of the peninsula of Passau, DE where 3 rivers become 1. The river on the left is the Inn, the river on the right is the Danube, and on the right side coming between buildings on the far right shore, is the Ilz river. 

Passau drew us in because of its cathedral–one picture in the guidebook was enough to convince me we needed to go there. Dom St. Stephan is located in Old Town and from the outside has all the appearances of being like Frauenkirche in Munich. The inside though, is breathtaking. The cathedral was rebuilt from 1668-1677 after the Great Fire of 1662. It was rebuilt in the Italian Baroque style and the largest and best example of this architecture north of the Alps. It is also home to the largest cathedral pipe organ in the world. When we walked inside, all we could do was stare dumbfounded at the artwork above us.

High Altar of Dom St. Stephan in Passau, DE

St. Stephan Cathedral in Passau, Germany
Baroque Architecture

Dom St. Stephan in Passau, Germany

The largest cathedral organ in the world, located in the baroque Dom St. Stephan cathedral in Passau, Germany

Back outside the cathedral is a remnant of the Great Fire of 1662, a stone head with a silly grin on its face, called the laughing fool. Passauers assume that this head fell off the original cathedral during the fire. The body has disappeared but the head survives, and is memorialized nearby its former home.

There are many other sites in Passau worthy of attention, but to be honest, we came to see the cathedral. When we had our fill of Baroque architecture, our plan was to wander around and check out whatever seemed interesting at the time. Our next stop became the Passauer Glasmuseum in the Wilder Mann Hotel. Approximately ⅔ of the historic hotel has been turned into a glass museum and the other ⅓ is still used as a hotel. The hotel has historic rooms, and if you are interested, you can stay in the wedding bed of King Ludwig II and his wife Duchess Sophie Charlotte. Personally, I don’t like to know who has been “sleeping” in beds before me, even if they are famous. When I stay in hotels, I pretend I am the first person in the bed and try not to think about other people who have already been in it, but to each his own I guess. http://www.wilder-mann.com/index.php?id=1152

The glass museum is pretty cool (at first) but it is A LOT of glass, and gets boring (unless you are a glass enthusiast) by the 2^nd floor. 2^nd floor you ask? Yes, this museum is 4 twisty floors full of cases of glass from the last several centuries. I was happy to go, because I like the concept of preserving the glass. In small sections, the collection has a lot of information to offer, but I think housed all together like that, it loses some of its novelty and its audience.

Our last stop before hopping on a train back to Regensburg was the Veste Oberhaus across the Danube from Old Town, and up a mountain. The goal being to see the Old Town from the mountain and get some great panoramic views, and after a serious uphill hike we were rewarded with the beauty of all that is Passau. 

View of Passau, DE from Veste Oberhaus on the banks of the Danube River

[Great Fire of 1662] This fire is mentioned a lot on the landmarks of Passau. Apparently, it consumed much of the city. I’ve googled it, and nothing historical has come up, so I can’t say what caused it or how much of the city was destroyed, I can only speculate due to the frequent references. 

Atypical Airline Rants

Everyone complains about the action of the airlines, and rightly so. In what other industry can you buy a product, be charged a fee if you decide to can't use it, or buy someone else's castoffs for more than full price? The airline can charge you a fee for changing the dates on your tickets and then charge you the difference in price between the old ticket and the new ticket. They will then turn around and sell your old ticket, often at a higher price. Complete racket. Don't even get me started on the new baggage fees. I heard a United employee telling a fellow traveler that his extra 9lbs would cost him an extra $200. That's more than $20 per pound.

But these are common, and even expected complaints. What of those you don't hear about? What about passenger etiquette? I'm proposing a set of guidelines for travelers that will make flying more enjoyable for everyone.

1. Shower before you fly. No one wants to sit next to you and politely pretend not to be choking on your oppressive body odor. And an hour into the flight, the rest of the plane doesn't want to smell the recirculated version either.
          1b. Crucial next step: after showering, put on deodorant

2. Do not wear your favorite perfume or lather on your favorite scented body lotion mid-flight. I used to work in Bath & Body Works, and even I can barely stomach the scent cloud this creates around you. Wait, or buy unscented lotion.

3. If you have checked a pet other people may be allergic to (ie. cat(s) or dog(s)), maybe ask the airline to alert your fellow passengers so they have the opportunity to obtain some benadryl preflight. This way, they won't arrive at their destination with a stuffy nose and puffy, bloodshot eyes; it's never good to show up to a business meeting looking like you have a coke addiction.

4. Please stop feeding your babies food or formula that gives them gas. Baby farts smell awful, like rotten milk in powdered form (if you can imagine what that smells like), and they linger. Once your nose has managed to move on the baby farts again. Poor things have the relieve the pain somehow. It is really just better for everyone if you just switch Jr's formula.

5. Since airline food is heavy on the dairy, fellow lactards should remember to bring lactaid until the airlines start using soy cheese (never).

6. On most flights, you have an assigned seat, and assigned boarding order. When they say first class can enter the plane and you crowd the terminal, even though you aren't first class, you make it very difficult for everyone ahead of you to board in an orderly fashion. Get out of the way, and let others onto the plane so it can leave on time. Pay attention, wait your turn, and if you want to get on the plane earlier, buy a pricier ticket, or injure yourself in some way that necessitates a wheelchair and earlier access.

Returning to the Vaterland (Fatherland)

Happy New Year readers! We spent our time "on holiday in America" with both our families-continuing our habit of always being on the road.

This trip was far less stressful than last time; I would even call it easy. Our bags were not stuffed to capacity and therefore no stressing about them being overweight-one was only 25lbs. I recommend buying a handheld luggage scale if there is a remote chance you are close to weight; it is not worth the stress.

With each trip, we get more savvy; instead of bringing dresses I have no shoes to wear with (oops!) I left the dresses in the closet. Instead of bringing every collared shirt he owns, Joe left behind 5 that I have never seen him wear.

Due to yet unresolved paperwork issues, this will be only a quick 1-month jaunt. I have not yet made any decisions as to how we will be spending our free time. 

Transitions

We've spent the last several weeks on the move, bopping around like nomads. I'm not sure I can count how many times I've packed and unpacked my suitcases. Transitions are hard, and they are stressful. My biggest issue lately has been memory, it feels like I'm losing it sometimes. I can't remember where I set anything down (because nothing has a place) and then I have to turn the whole house upside down looking for my items. It is not fun feeling like you are losing your mind. Last night I tore apart the entire bedroom looking for my computer charge cord which had been in my hand mere hours earlier. The importance of organization has never been so clear to me as it is now.

If my hairbrush has a "home" such as on top of the dresser, and I make it a habit to put it back on the dresser, then when I want my hairbrush, I know where to go first. The problem is, when visiting transient locations, my hairbrush can't have a home, and I forget where I last used it. Was it on the bathroom counter in Belgium? The dresser at my parents' place? Or the side table in our bedroom at Joe's parents' house? My hairbrush has seen as many places as I have lately, and its very hard to keep track of where it is currently.

I think I need to devise a method of organization for keeping track of my things in places where we only stay temporarily. Now all I need is an idea of how to do that.