England 2016: Wells Cathedral and Bishop's Palace

You thought I had finished the England trip from last September, didn't you!  HA!

Well, I did finish the Cornwall part of the trip and the Bristol walk the weekend before, but I still have two big posts from after Cornwall when Lisl and I went off on our own, while Astrid was off with "big brother" Chris.

This is the big post on Wells, so strap on your seat belt and enjoy the ride.

Wells is only 31 km from Bath, where Lisl and Michael live, so Lisl drove us there.

It is said to be England's smallest city.

So how did it end up with such a huge cathedral????

Entrance into the Wells Cathedral, built between 1176-1490, is from the cloisters.

(That alone already made my day!)

And then you enter the nave with the immediate view of the "scissor arches."

They may look modern but they're "a medieval solution (1338-48) to sinking tower foundations."

Can you imagine "working" there!

I don't even know where to begin!

But since we started paying attention to the details right away, let's start with these carvings.

How is it, I wonder, that these carvings ended up in this cathedral!

Surely someone knows (probably even Lisl).

Did you know that the salamander (top-left) represents Eternal Life?
And did you see the guy with the toothache?

I suppose you can memorize, after awhile, where everything is situated.

The tombs, especially, and the chantry (top-left).

The stone pulpit is center-left.

I am always drawn to the side chapels off the nave.

But it's the quire that grabs me every time.

Was that because I sang in my church choir growing up and into my married years?

Can you imagine sitting (let alone singing) in such a "choir loft?!"

The embroideries are so delicate no flash photography is allowed.

From the quire you enter the...I'm not sure what?  (Lisl...help!)

But it appears to be where the clergy sit?

You know me by now:  impressions, impressions, impressions.

And more impressions.

Oh, and don't forget the clock, installed c. 1390.

It's one of the oldest medieval clock faces in the world.

Every quarter hour you can watch jousting knights go round in tournament.

Not in this order but at one point we went to the Chapter House, completed in 1306.

It's where the clergy met to conduct their cathedral business and is still used on formal occasions.

Man alive!  What an entrance.

It's an octagonal chamber "full of nothing" but incredible architecture.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

We purchased tickets for the adjacent Bishop's Palace, so off we went to take in the second part of our tour.

It actually has the feel of a castle, if you want to know the truth!

But it's been the home of the Bishops of the Diocese of Bath and Wells for 800 years.

We had walked around the moat earlier in the morning, to get the lay of the land.

You can see how close the cathedral is.

Once you cross the moat and through the gatehouse, you enter the massive lawn in front of the chapel.

The ruined arches of the Great Hall invite you inside.

Everything is manicured to perfection.

And before you get to the boundary wall, the area feels spacious.

The bishop's palace and house inside the walls did feel like a castle to me,

maybe even a monastery...

especially with views of the cathedral in the background.

We went inside, of course...

where I had the feeling of something akin to the cathedral's quire.

Can't you see all the bishops having a chinwag here!  (No singing allowed, I'm sure.)

I'm not sure which was the palace and which the house but you get the idea.

Can't forget the green men, of course.

And one of those other important details...

our lunch and tea at two different spots in the day.

How's that for doing it up right...for such an awe-inspiring place on God's earth!

Castle Het Nijenhuis in Heino, NL

If I told you this is a post whose images have languished in my archives since 29 June 2014, would you believe me?  Let's just say I never found my Round Tuit!  HA!

But, yes, we started using our annual Museum Cards on any and every museum we could find, just because.  And this one was a doozy.

This is Castle Het Nijenhuis, located between Wijhe and Heino, 138 km NE of us.

It's one of those castles with a moat, around and in which you can walk.

Throughout the course of the day, we did just that.

First, we turned left at the entrance and entered the gardens.

What a great time of the year to visit!

You know by now that the Dutch love their statues and art sculptures.

Sometimes the wackier the better?

Of course, I was most interested in Mother Nature's "sculptures."

Turning right from the gardens (we're moving clockwise around the castle),

we found two fun interactive displays.  This one gives you pause, as you see.

And to the right of it, we had fun playing together with this monstrosity.

Who thinks these things up?

When we passed this bower, I wondered where the bridge led,

but it wasn't where our path around the castle took us.  Hmmm.

Instead, we followed behind the castle through the woods...with art still everywhere.

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses...."  HA!  I couldn't resist.

By now we were ready to cross the moat to the eastern side of the castle where,

yes, more sculptures/artwork were to be seen.

At this point, we're really talking crazy and wacky...and H U G E.

(Look at the size of those women top-center!)

The piece I loved the most was this "conglomeration" in miniature.

Look at all the detail.  I'm sure there's a link about it somewhere (Astrid???).

Other artwork around the castle was a bit more austere.

But as we rounded the corner back to the entrance, it was wacky again.

Still, gotta love the color!

By then, we were ready to walk inside, ready for...whatever.

The "whatever" was an exhibition of "subsidized art" midst the castle furnishings.

Can you imagine someone doing this in your home?

Of course, your own valued pieces are still on display.

But...then there's that wacky piece again, almost like a desecration?

Or maybe more like a laugh?!  If you can't take a joke?

Back outside, at the moat, Mother Nature calmed me down....

...as did a bit of respite from the castles café.

As some of you know, Astrid and I aren't real museum people, but with our annual cards,

we are getting our education in places we might not otherwise see.

When you get to throw in a castle, why not!

Münsterland Castles

That weekend when we drove to Münster, Germany, back on February 7th, was the opening night of the Winter Olympics in Sochi.  Two weeks of that and then the Oscars....and you can see that a lot of water has gone under the bridge!

This is my 4th and last post of that trip, appropriately ending up with two castles as the crowning glory, so to speak.

But first, as we drove to castle #1, 'M' had us stop at this wee precious church....

It's the catholic Parish of St. Johannes der Täufer in Venne, from 1249.

After the Crusades, this church was built especially for those with contagious diseases, like leprousy.

And thus it's called the Leper's Church.

What a special and cozy space for worship!

Our hearts were warmed knowing about it's history. 

Even today you can take a a rolled prayer/scripture verse for your journey (center image).

 And on a sunny Sunday, it made such a great start to our day.

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Then we were on our way to the first castle of the day:  Schloss Nordkirchen.

 Look at her from a distance, surrounded by a great moat.

It was built in 1703 as one of the residences of the Prince-Bishops of Münster.

Today it's a state-run college specializing in the training of future tax inspectors.

Can you imagine being a student there?!

Coming or going, look at all that pomp and circumstance!

Nothing was open to go into but the clock and sundial were enough....

...before driving around to the back side!

'M' stopped for us to see the bowing trees.  How did THAT happen?  Namaste.

And again, on such a sunny day, it was our next good start to the day.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

But it was the second and last castle of the day that took our breath away, less than half an hour away...and where we spent our time:  Burg Vischering from 1271.  Philine knows us well!

 With the castle in the background, we passed this wee chapel on our way in.

It's the most typical and one of the largest moated castles in Münsterland, according to Wiki.

It didn't take long for it to become our favorite thus far, even after our river cruise a year ago.

What is it about castles, especially for those of us from America??

Is it that they're like fairy tales to us?

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.

See what I mean?!

You can actually cross the moat bridge....

...and enter the castle courtyard, just to see what yesteryear looked like.  

Our imaginations were able to run wild there.

Back across the moat, the baker was in his shoppe, doing his thing.

Did we buy anything????  Do bears poop in the woods???

See.  Even Philine knows a good onion roll when she sees one.  Mmmmm.

Btw, the café was in the former horse stables.  :)

Philine isn't the only one who knows how to fool around, of course.

It was a day for being short of eyes.

What is it about castles and archways and pillars and, and, and...

...roadside shrines, statues and weathervanes.

Oh, and don't forget the churches!