Some Münster Churches: Part 1

This part of our recent weekend in Münsterland, Germany, will be in two parts because...well...because there really are two parts.  Today's part is about the churches we saw while only with Philine.  Part 2 will be of churches with friend Mechtild, whose father was the artist of stained-glass windows and mosaics in other churches around Münster.

So, there really is rhyme and reason with this!

Between Friday and Saturday, here are the churches we saw while with Philine:

First of all, there were several churches we saw only from the outside:

top row:  Die Clemenskirche (1745).

center row:  Die Martini Kirche (1180) and Die Ludgeri-Kirche (1173).

bottom row:  Die Überwasserkirche (1460).

The first church we entered was, appropriately, Philine's church, Die Apostelkirche.

It's Münster's main protestant church, built in the second half of the 13th century.

I love how open and light it is.

The Euthymia Center honors the St. Clemens nun who was beatified in 2001.

A St. Clemens sister was delighted to tell us more about Euthymia, who lived from 1914-1955.

 This quaint Servatii Kirche is from 1230, one of the oldest churches in Münster.
It has a very cozy feel to it and was probably my favorite.

The St. Johannes Kapelle near Philine's home is also very cozy, from the 14th century.
It holds aprroximately 100 church-goers and is often used for weddings.

Then, of course, there's the Dom, Münster's cathedral from 1225.
When we entered this time there was a chapel service in session, so we didn't stay long.

All of the above churches were within walking distance from Philine's apartment in city center.
Late Saturday afternoon, while driving out-n-about, we drove 15 miles to Freckenhorst,
to see the Collegiate Church of St. Boniface.

The Collegiate Church was first a monastery founded in 854.

The open square at the church entrance includes a mammouth tree and a St. Boniface statue.
And lots of wonderful architecture!

We arrived in enough time before a service to take pictures inside.

The elements for Holy Communion were already set out.

The baptismal font in a side alcove is considered to be the most important baptismal
of the 12th century in Germany.

We left because of the service but could have stayed to see so much more.

What a charming town of circa 8K residents!
We were not disappointed.

 Moseying right along....(to be continued).

TRIER, Germany: Part 2

So, to carry on from my last post, here's what we saw the rest of our day in Germany's oldest city, Trier.

Besides the Porta Nigra and the Kaiserthermen Roman baths, it was the Dom, Trier's Church of Our Lady cathedral, where we spent our most time.  It is Germany's oldest cathedral, from the early 4th century, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.

Before we saw it up close and personal, we saw it from afar all day long.

 Later, when we stood in front of it, we couldn't get it all in one frame!  It's HUGE.

And as you'd guess, there's a lot going on all around it, no matter where you are.

Like a wedding, for example, when we passed by in the trolley car!

Inside, of course, is something else.

The nave, towards the altar, shows the Baroque chapel above,

supposedly holding the Seamless Robe of Jesus, from shortly before his crucifixion.
See all the people waiting in line to peek in!

Like all the other tourists, we climbed up behind the altar to the chapel but weren't allowed to go in.

We used the opportunity to look back to the opposite end of the nave, to the west-end choir.

Back down on the main floor, we were able to view the choir's Baroque 1196 stucco-work in the vault.

How many times have I told you that the museums we go to in Europe are these cathedrals!
What more could you possibly need?

It's true!  We're always short of eyes.

We briefly went outside the main nave to the cloisters, to get a different vantage point.

But it was this boy with his mom inside the nave who stole my heart that day!

I thought of grandson Nicholas, now 13, lighting a candle for someone...maybe for me?

 The rest of the day we wandered around and saw more churches, of course...

St. Paulus Church (left), St. Irminen Monastery (top-right), the New Synagogue from 1957 (bottom-center), and the former Clarisse convent of St. Mary Magdalene (bottom-right).
Just glimpses.

And since I'm on the subject, niches everywhere in Roman Catholic country....

...sacred and secular.

And gable stones...

...and other fun stuff.

Impressions.  Impressions.  Impressions.

...even if I do show an image more than once in 2 different collages.  HA!
It's true:  I often don't know if I'm coming or going.  :)

By now it was time to go back to the car, but first, we wanted to see the Moselle river
with its Römerbrücke Roman bridge from the 2nd century AD--Germany's oldest bridge.
The bridge itself, of course, is much newer but the pillars beneath are O.L.D.
Nearby, a railing along the river bank sported a few love padlocks...something I now "collect."

 And then walking a bit further down the river, we found one of 2 old treadwheel cranes
for loading and unloading river cargo, this one from 1413.
Doesn't it remind you of a windmill, kinda sorta?



And as we say in Dutch, Dat was het.  That was it.  Trier.

We got in our car and drove into Luxembourg for the rest of our trip...

Good-bye, Trier.  Hello Luxembourg!

And now the Luxembourg Trip is done!  In case you missed the other posts (in order of posting but not in order of when we saw them on our trip), nine posts altogether from our 4 days, including this one :

Eschfeld, Germany: the St. Luzia Parish Church
Clervaux, Luxembourg: the Church and the CastleBELGIUM: Bastogne and La Roche-en-ardenne
The Luxembourg-Trip Picnics
LUXEMBOURG: Echternach
Germany and Luxembourg Border Skirmish
Luxembourg City
TRIER, Germany: Part 1

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

As an FYI, Astrid and I fly to America on Saturday for our annual trip to see family and friends.  (Now you know why I wanted to finish this Luxembourg trip!)  We'll be gone for almost 3 weeks, back on October 23rd.  And if I'm lucky,  I may even post something before we return, but if not...you'll know why!

Viking's Grand European River Cruise: Cologne, Germany

Viking River Cruise, Day 3:  Cologne, Germany (Facebook collage)

(click any collage to enlarge)

After Kinderdijk, NL, in the morning of Day 2, we sailed all day and into the night before arriving in Cologne, Germany, the next morning...now on the Rhine River.

As we ate breakfast, it was clear we were starting out on a gorgeous, sunny day!

The fun of a river cruise, of course, is what you get to see along the way...

even if you don't know where or what it is!

Now, remember this from last December?

This is what we saw across the river of the Cologne skyline after visiting the Christmas markets.

 And this is what we saw from the boat as we sailed into the city on March 18, 2013.

Every place has its own unique docking set-up, of course.  This was Cologne's.

While other passengers were off to see the Cathedral with their tour guides,

Astrid and I opted to go off on our own, since we had already been to the Dom.

We wanted to see as much as possible along the river front.

What immediately caught our eye was how everyone was out enjoying the sun!

It's been a looooong winter in Europe.  We've all needed the sun.

How is it that I keep attracting groups of guys who want me to take their picture?

HA!  Must be that obscene lens I carry.

(Don't get started on the guy who wanted to sell Astrid a rose!)

 After all was said and done, we suddenly found ourselves at the cathedral/Dom.

On a sunny day, it was larger than life.

And since the light was on the door, beckoning...

...we totally changed our minds and decided to go in.

Maybe the sun would make the place look different from our visit in December?

Oh my, YES!

We are SO glad we decided to go in.

Look how the sun danced with Gerhard Richter's "Symphony of Light" window!

  And as they say, the devil is in the details...

...even midst the hubbub!

That was the morning and it was now time for lunch.  While walking back to the ship, we passed Alex, our Program Director, who mentioned we should check out the hotel across the river that has an observation deck, if we wanted great views of the city.  HELLO!

We had already been enamored with the Deutz Abbey across from our boat.

I would have loved to visit it but...not this time...

...in order to get a broader view of the city.

To get to the tower, we walked across the Hohenzollern Bridge near the cathedral.

And if that didn't stop us dead in our tracks!

THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of love padlocks!

OMG!  You could write a book with all the stories you made up!

My understanding is they weigh so much, the city has to pay attention to how it's affecting the bridge,

to say nothing of all the keys that are washing ashore along the banks of the Rhine River.  :)

Believe it or not, we did eventualluy make it to the observation deck.

We did NOT climb the cathedral tower, which had been an option.

Instead, we took the elevator and looked back on it, saving our knees.

(No one ever said we were dumb, right?)

Later that evening, after a wonderful dinner onboard,

Astrid went out on her own to take some night shots of the familiar landmarks.

What a day.  What a night.  What a place.