Travel

We made it to Mainz!

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We had a bit of misadventure on the way to our final destination for this trip this morning. We were supposed to change trains in Ludwigshafen, but somehow missed our stop. We were the only passengers to get off at the next stop, a small deserted station with no one on duty to provide assistance. Thankfully, a kind gentleman who spoke perfect English (a rare thing in this part of Germany) happened to be passing by and stopped to ask if we needed help. Since we knew that we’d be too late getting back to Ludwigshafen to make our connection to Mainz, he suggested that we go back two more stops to Mannheim, a much bigger centre where we’d have a better chance of catching a different train to Mainz. That worked perfectly and we were only about an hour later arriving than originally planned. In the words of Shakespeare, “all’s well that ends well!”

Our hotel here in Mainz is directly across from the train station. After checking in, we walked about 15 minutes to the riverfront promenade. On the way, we passed Christuskirche (Christ Church), a prominent Protestant landmark. Built between 1897 and 1903, it was destroyed during World War II, and rebuilt between 1952 and 1954.

After walking the riverfront promenade and dipping our feet in the Rhine River, we headed for the Gutenberg Museum.

We haven’t spent a lot of time in museums on this trip, but one that is devoted to the history of books, printing, and writing captured my interest and I was particularly interested in seeing the Gutenberg Bibles. The Gutenberg Bible was the first European book published on a printing press using moveable metal type. Only 49 of the approximately 180 that were printed right here in Mainz in the mid 1400s have survived and the museum owns two of them. Well, technically, one and a half. The huge Bibles were printed in two volumes, Old Testament and New Testament. Previously owned by the British Baronet Shuckburgh, the complete two-volume Bible was added to the museum’s collection in 1978. The second Bible, which was previously owned by the Solms-Laubach family, is incomplete, with only the second volume surviving.

The Bibles were only printed in black ink as two or more colours would have been too expensive and time-consuming. Spaces for coloured ornamentation were left empty and the books handed over to an illumination workshop. As a result, each surviving edition is different in its ornamentation.

Heidelberg Castle and the Philosopher’s Walk

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Every year, the ruins of Heidelberg Castle attract approximately one million visitors from around the world making it by far the most visited site in the area. This morning, we caught a bus in front of our hotel and then rode the funicular up the north side of Königstuhl hill to the imposing structure that overlooks the city’s Old Town. An hour long English tour with a delightful and extremely knowledgeable guide was an excellent way to begin exploring the site. He managed to fit hundreds of years of history into a very short time!

The earliest castle structure dated back to the 13th century, but in the 1600s when it became home to Prince-Elector Friedrich V and his wife, Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James I of England, it underwent major expansion and became one of the grandest palaces of the Renaissance period. In the late 17th century, it was repeatedly attacked and severely damaged by the French. Later, the local populace began to rebuild it, but in 1794, two devastating lightning strikes caused further damage and the once majestic residence was almost completely burned out. Citizens of Heidelberg used stones from the ruins to build their homes until Count Charles de Graimberg began an effort in 1800 to conserve what remained. Had he not done that, there might not be much left for visitors to enjoy today!  

In addition to all that he added to the castle, Friedrich V commissioned a great garden to be built on the hillside above the castle. Gunpowder was used to carve out terraces to accommodate ornamental flower beds, labyrinths, pergolas, and water features. While the gardens were never completed, the area provides visitors today with amazing views of the castle and the town below. 

A walk on the once fortified wall in front of the castle also offers spectacular views of the Old Town. The prominent building in the top left quadrant of the second photo is the Church of the Holy Spirit. Constructed between 1398 and 1441, it’s still in use today over 600 years later!

After exploring the castle and its grounds, we took the funicular back down the hill and walked through town to the Old Bridge. Hubby wasn’t too keen about climbing the steep hillside on the other side of the river to the Philosopher’s Walk, given that name during the 18th century because of the many Heidelberg professors and philosophers who enjoyed the path for its solitude, natural beauty, and great views. Perhaps I should have listened to him, but it was on my list of things to do in Heidelberg and I didn’t want to miss it. Although I’d been warned, the climb was longer and steeper than I had imagined! Once we reached the path, we only walked a fairly short segment of it, but the views of the river and the town below were worth it. 

Exploring Old Heidelberg

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My first impression of Heidelberg was that it’s cleaner and quieter than Frankfurt. It’s also much smaller. There’s less English on signs, maps, and menus which makes me wish I’d managed to keep up my high school German! It’s also much more historically authentic because, unlike Frankfurt, it was almost completely spared during World War II. Since it wasn’t an industrial centre or a transport hub, it wasn’t a target for Allied bombing.

We arrived by train shortly before noon yesterday, dropped our suitcases at our hotel, and headed for the Altstadt (Old Town) where we enjoyed wandering the narrow streets.

We saw several ancient churches including St. Peter’s, the oldest church in the city. Parts of the tower date back to the 12th century.

The Alstadt is also home to Heidelberg University, the oldest university in Germany. The building on the right in the next photo is the University Museum.

One building of particular interest is the former student prison, used to detain unruly students from 1778 to 1914! Part of the stone interior is now a shop selling university t-shirts, hats, and other memorabilia.

The imposing Rathaus, or City Hall, with the fountain of Hercules in front, overlooks Market Square and has appeared as it does today since 1701.

A short walk from the Market Square took us to the Old Bridge across the Neckar River.

The bridge offers a great view of Heidelberg Castle on the hillside above town. We’ll be exploring that today!

Walking  back along the river toward our hotel, we discovered a bit of serendipity. Looking over the balustrade, we spotted a short stretch of white sand complete with beach chairs and a kiosk selling beverages. Our tired feet took us down the stairs to investigate further and we ended up taking a wonderful and unexpected break there!

I can’t begin to imagine how many miles we’ve put on these feet over the past few days, but they were very happy to take a break! We’ve always said that walking is the best way to see a city and it’s moments like this one that we’d miss if we always depended on transit to get around.

We are going to take a bus to the castle this morning though as it would involve retracing a lot of the steps that we took yesterday and our legs could use the rest!

Frankfurt Am Main

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Although we commonly refer to it as Frankfurt, the city’s full name is Frankfurt Am Main which means “Frankfurt on the Main” (pronounced mine). The Main River, the longest tributary of the Rhine, figured prominently in our day today.

We love the way that the city has preserved green spaces along both sides of the river and we’ve spent some time walking by the water each day since our arrival.

This morning, we walked about a kilometre from our hotel to Hobeinsteg, a suspension bridge built in 1990 that is one of two footbridges that span the river.

After crossing, we enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the south side of the river eventually crossing back over on Eiserner Steg, the other much older pedestrian bridge that is famous for the thousands of locks of love that adorn its iron rails.

We had hoped to spend some time in Kleinmarkthalle, a huge indoor market featuring more than 60 stalls selling fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, cheese, baked goods, and international delicacies, but when we arrived, we discovered that it was closed. That’s when we realized that today is a holiday in Germany! It wasn’t until we returned to the hotel and I checked online that we learned that it’s Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday which is celebrated the day after Pentecost.

Since we couldn’t visit the market, we took a look at our tourist information to find out what else of interest might be in the area and discovered that Hauptwache was less than half a kilometre away. Built in 1730 as Frankfurt’s main guardhouse or police station, the baroque-style building is now a popular café where we enjoyed lunch at an outdoor table in the sun.

Walking just a little further, we spotted something that absolutely had to be checked out. I almost expected to see Rapunzel at one of the tower windows!

Upon investingating, we discovered that the 47 metre (154 feet) high Eschenheimer Turm, erected in the early 1400s, was the northern tower of the wall that surrounded the then fortified town of Frankfurt Am Main.

Returning to the river, we embarked on a 100 minute cruise with the Primus Line. After all the walking we’ve been doing, it was very nice to sit and watch the city glide by.

Exploring Frankfurt

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Our time in ministry came to an end late Friday night and we headed for the nearest airport almost immediately afterward. Saying goodbye was hard, but flights in and out of that part of the world all seem to go at bizarre hours of the night. We arrived in Frankfurt, Germany early Saturday morning tired in mind and body, but buoyed in spirit by all that we had been experiencing.

Since we had to fly through Frankfurt, it only made sense to the wanderer in me to spend some time exploring a bit of Germany before we head for home. After making our way through passport control, grabbing a quick breakfast at the airport, and figuring out how to catch the train into the city, we located our hotel just around the corner from the central station. As it was several hours before our room would be ready, we left our two little suitcases (yes, we’re traveling carry-on only again) in a locker in the lobby and set off on foot to explore our surroundings.

Approximately 25% of Frankfurt’s population are immigrants who don’t hold a German passport and another 10% are naturalized German citizens. Along with recent refugees from Ukraine, the city is home to a vast number of Syrian asylum seekers as well as expats from many other locations around the world. The multi-cultural nature of the city was clearly evident as we explored the area near our hotel. In fact, we had a hard time finding a traditional German meal!

Later, we walked some more to see the Old Opera House which was constructed during the 19th century, destroyed during World War II, and rebuilt in 1981.

After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast in a restaurant in the corner of the train station, our feet hit the pavement again and we headed for historic Alstadt (Old Town) about 1.6 km (1 mile) from our hotel. It was a cool, cloudy day with occasional light showers, so my photos aren’t as clear and bright as they might otherwise have been, but I took almost 100 and will share just a few of them here.

We entered the area through the arched bridge that connects the north and south buildings that make up the Altes Rathaus or Old Town Hall.

St. Paul’s Church, consecrated in 1833, was the seat of the first freely elected German parliament and is now used by the City of Frankfurt as a special events venue.

A two minute walk took us to colourful Römerberg Square, a post war reconstruction of the old city plaza that was used for hundreds of years to hold markets, fairs, tournaments, festivals, and even executions.

The Fountain of Justice stands at the centre of the square.

With its three gabled roof, the 15th century Town Hall or Römer dominates one side of the square.

Römerberg Square is also home to a monument that might be easily overlooked by many visitors as they focus on the colourful historic buildings surrounding them. Set into the pavement, the large memorial plaque reads “At this place on May 10, 1933 National Socialist students burnt books by authors, scientists and publicists.” Records show that these Nazi sympathizers burned more than 25,000 books that were deemed to be “un-German.” A quote by German-Jewish writer Heinrich Heine stating, “That was just the beginning. Where one burns books, in the end, people are burnt as well.” encircles the memorial.

Nearby, the gothic style Frankfurt Cathedral, dedicated to St. Bartholomew, is the largest religious building in the city. It’s so big, in fact, that I couldn’t find a good vantage point to fit it all in a photo!

The 95 metre (312 feet) tall cathedral tower is by far the most magnificent part of the structure.

328 stairs took us to the top for some spectacular views of the city! Is it any wonder that our legs are telling us that they’ve been overworked?

Now I’d best get some sleep as we intend to put on many more miles tomorrow!

Geghard Monastery

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Geghard Monastery, declared a World Heritage Site in 2000, is nestled into the dramatic Azat River Gorge, approximately 35 km (22 miles) east of Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia. Can you spot it in this photo taken from the open air restaurant where we stopped for a delicious lunch.

Here’s a closer look.

Views of the gorge from the restaurant were absolutely spectacular. We could hear the river in the bottom of the canyon, but lush growth obscured our view of it.

One of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world, Geghard is one of the country’s most visited tourist destinations. It is believed to have been founded in the 4th century by Saint Gregory the Illuminator, following Armenia’s adoption of Christianity in 301 AD. Until the 13th century, the monastery consisted of churches, chapels, and chambers cut into the rock. 

The main cathedral was built during the 13th century and is an exceptionally well-preserved example of medieval Armenian architecture. The entire complex blends seamlessly into the surrounding mountainous terrain.  

Geghard Monastery was an important spiritual and cultural hub during the Middle Ages housing numerous monks and scholars. It also became a destination for pilgrimages because it was believed that the spear that pierced the side of Christ during His crucifixion was stored there for a period of time. Geghard means “spear” or “spearhead” in Armenian. 

A unique feature of monastery is a spring flowing from the rock inside the church. Believed to be holy water, it has worn a groove into the rocky floor over many hundreds of years. Outside, a very short walk from the main church takes one to a stream tumbling down the rocky mountainside. 

Tomorrow we depart for an undisclosed location where we will engage in the ministry that is the main reason for this trip. The blog will continue when we complete that work and resume travelling as tourists. 

Khor Virap: The Birthplace of Armenian Christianity

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Although I’m not sleeping particularly well yet, I think I’ve sufficiently recovered from jet lag to begin sharing some of the things we’ve seen since arriving in Armenia.

In 301 AD, Armenia became the first country in the world to officially adopt Christianity and it all started here at Khor Virap, one of the country’s most sacred and visited sites. During the reign of Tiridates III, Saint Gregory the Illuminator (originally known as Grigor Lusavorich) angered the king by refusing to participate in pagan rituals and instead preaching Christianity. The king had him imprisoned in Khor Virap which literally means “deep pit” or “dungeon” in Armenian. There in the depths of the earth, he languished for 13 years, surviving only because of the kindness of a local woman who provided him with food and water. Eventually, when Tiridates fell ill with a form of madness, his sister is said to have had a dream that the imprisoned Gregory could heal him. Pulled from the dark pit, Gregory was washed, dressed and taken to the king where he prayed urgently for his healing. When Tiridates recovered, he became a loyal and dedicated supporter of Christianity and officially declared it the state religion.

A chapel was initially built at Khor Virap in the 5th century and the present St. Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God) church was constructed in 1662. The 6 metre (19.7 feet) deep pit where Gregory was held is still present at Khor Virap and tourists can descend into the dungeon on a narrow ladder. While hubby was brave enough to do that, I declined!

Images of Saint Gregory are found both in and outside the church.   

 

Khor Virap is located on the Ararat plain about a 45 minute drive from Yarevan, the capital city of Armenia. While the monastery was well worth the visit, part of the excitement of being there was looking out across the border between Armenia and Turkey at Mount Ararat where Noah’s ark is said to have come to rest! There are actually two volcanic cones, Greater Ararat on the right and Little Ararat on the left. Greater Ararat, known as the “Holy Mountain” of the Armenian people was actually in Armenia until the 1921 Treaty of Moscow and Kars officially made it part of Turkey following the Turkish-Armenian war of 1920. If you look closely at the photo, you can see the fence that marks the border between the two countries.  

All packed and ready to go!

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We’re packed and ready to set off on our next big adventure, but I don’t remember ever having so much trouble deciding what to put in a suitcase! I pondered for a long time and even tried on several different combinations before finally settling on what I would take. Looking back at my packing review from our 2019 trip to Europe helped. Interestingly, a few of the same pieces are going with me again this time! I also thought about what would be culturally appropriate and, of course, I considered the weather. 

Due to the sensitive nature of the area and the ministry that we’ll be involved in, I’ll only be able to share the tourist parts of our trip on the blog, but according to weather forecasts for the various locations that we’ll be travelling to, it looks like daytime temperatures will mostly be in the mid to high 20s C (75 to 85ºF). I suspect that some, but not all, of the facilities that we’ll spend time in will be air conditioned, so we need to be prepared for that as well.  

Although we’re leaving home today, we don’t actually fly out until Monday. Over the weekend, hubby and I will be attending a national neuroendocrine cancer patient conference in Calgary where I’ll be sharing my patient story tomorrow afternoon. That complicated the packing process somewhat because we’ll be wearing things at the conference that we won’t be taking overseas with us. When the conference is over, we’ll spend Sunday night at our daughter’s and then leave our vehicle with her. That meant that I could also pack a separate tote bag to leave there while we’re gone. I just have to make sure that everything is in the right place when we leave for the airport!  

I expect to have internet access most of the time that we’re away and hope to squeeze in time to update the blog from time to time, so come along and travel with us! 

Three trips in one

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As a lover of words and written language, I’ve long been a collector of quotes. Three years ago, when I read Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by cancer survivor, Suleika Jaouad, I jotted this one down: 

“When we travel, we actually take three trips. There’s the first trip of preparation and anticipation, packing and daydreaming. There’s the trip you’re actually on. And then, there’s the trip you remember. The key is to be present wherever you are right now.”

The concept of three trips in one really resonated with me because in my experience it’s so true! We seldom go on organized tours or use a travel agent because I prefer to do all our travel planning myself. For me, that’s part of the fun of travelling. It’s the trip before the trip. Thankfully, hubby is a great travel companion and he’s almost always happy to go along with whatever I plan.

Here’s another quote that definitely describes us:

While our departure is still a little over a month away, I’m definitely into trip one of our next big travel adventure. Our flights are booked and paid for, accommodations arranged, and necessary visas received. Now, that those essentials have been taken care of, I’m into the fun part which is researching our destinations and planning the things we’ll see and do while we’re there. I’m also starting to think about what I’ll pack.

Where are we going, you ask? I’m not ready to reveal that just yet, but I will tell you that this adventure is part mission trip and part tourist travel. When the time for trip two, the real trip, arrives, I’m sure I’ll have lots to share with you!

Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes

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We’re home from Mexico now, but we’re living in the middle of a construction zone while renovations continue in our house. Considering how much trouble I had just finding a pair of pants to wear our first morning home, I’m nowhere near ready to consider writing a fashion post just yet. I do have one more travel post to share with you though.

After checking into our hotel in Mexico City’s Centro Historico, we made our way to Francisco I. Madero Street, the busy pedestrian street that we have enjoyed on previous visits. Always busy, it was even more crowded than usual on a sunny Sunday afternoon!

Our destination, the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts), was at the far end of the street. Two years ago, we enjoyed this spectacular view of the prominent cultural centre from the balcony of the 8th floor coffee shop in the Sears department store directly across the street.

Unfortunately, on that occasion, the Palacio de Bellas Artes was closed, but this time I was determined to see the inside. It definitely didn’t disappoint. While I enjoyed seeing some of the art work on display, it was the building itself that amazed me!

This photo was taken from the centre of the main floor looking up into the domes.

As far as the art work was concerned, it was the murals by famed Mexican artist, Diego Rivera, that I liked best. The first two panels shown here are part of his Carnival of Mexican Life series.

This one, painted in 1933 is called Russian Revolution or Third International.

I wasn’t able to get a photo of his entire The Man Who Controls The Universe mural partly because of the large tour group standing in front of it, but also because of the sheer magnitude of the piece which was painted specifically for the Palacio de Bellas Artes. It’s actually a replica of the original work which was painted in the lobby of the Rockefeller Center in New York City. The inclusion of Lenin’s face led to the destruction of the controversial piece.

Back outside, we also enjoyed the art on the exterior of the beautiful building.

In addition to the art museum housed in the front portion of the enormous marble structure, the Palacio is also home to Mexico’s largest concert hall. Unfortunately, that part wasn’t open while we were there.