Go East, Young Man!
Sunday was a riding day to be forgotten. The temperature was about 90 Fahrenheit, and there was no moving air. Read: tailwind nonexistent. We plugged along, still marveling at the ease of navigating Holland by bike, but otherwise uneventfully. I was told by Bob at the end of the day that I had kept a rather "gentle pace," his way of saying that I was being a slacker. When we rolled into our hotel that evening, we were almost too tired to eat.
Monday was almost as hot, but not quite as humid. Several towns we passed through offered a way to cool off in the form of fountains that we leaned back into, wetting our heads and then dunking our feet. It really helped to refresh us, and our last night in Holland was a tad more energetic than Sunday had been. We had a pleasant and huge hotel room at a reasonable price, and had energy left over to walk down the street to a Greek restaurant where we shared an enormous platter for two of Greek meat and salad, etc.
That night we called Joe and Karin to finalize plans for our arrival on Tuesday evening. Once we crossed the border into Germany, we noticed two definite changes: it became harder to navigate, since we had gotten used to the Dutch system. The signage wasn't there, there aren't as many concessions to bikes and our map was not specifically for bikes. The second thing was that prices dropped dramatically. We still lose on the dollar-to-euro exchange, but things cost significantly less here.
Because of the signage problem, we found ourselves getting turned around in every town we came to. At one point after lunch, Bob spotted a bike shop and though the owner did not speak English, she did manage to communicate to us that a canal we'd spotted on the map that led right into Hannover had a bike path along it. She assured us that it would be about four "stunde" to Hannover. We left the shop and said to each other: What the heck is a stunde? I dug our German dictionary out of my bag and we were pleased to discover that it means "hour." After doing the ride, we would like to see this woman cycle. If she does that path in four hours, she is Tour de France material!
We reached Hannover about 7, called Joe and Karin and they cycled to meet us at an intersection. Following them to their apartment, we realized the advantage they had in not having come all the way across the canal carrying our loads! They both are able to cycle to work most days, so they are very fit.
Joe has taken off work for three days to show us around. This morning, after Karin left for work, the three of us set off for the old city. Hannover has a system called the Red Thread, similar to the Freedom Trail in Boston. You follow a line along the sidewalk and there are numbers painted at various places that explain the particular sight you are viewing. We had to look things up once we returned to the house, since we forgot to take the book with us.
Hannover is a city that was particularly devastated during the bombing of World War II. About 60% of the overall area was destroyed and even a larger percentage of the interior. It is amazing that so many buildings were able to be salvaged, since there is a large number of the traditional half-timbered buildings in the old section. We visited the town hall where there is a display of scale models of the city throughout the years, including 1939 and then the post-bombing version in 1945 where you can see the results. It's incredible to think that a city can recover from such widespread devastation.
After that, we climbed to the dome of the building where it's possible to get a 360° view of the city. The elevator shaft that ascends the dome actually curves along with the curve of the dome. The elevator (lift, for our English friends) has a window in the ceiling so that you can observe this. It actually tilts back and forth as it climbs.
We had lunch in the marketplace where we were able to sample several kinds of food from different stalls, and shared some portions of things. Fresh vegetables and fruits were quite appealing and cousin Joe and I bought some things for dinner. We did find out, though, that a kilo of spinach is really a lot. The poor girl tried her best to pack it into a bag, and when we realized the quantity we all had a good laugh and had her stop at .6 kilo.
It's good to be in a house again. Joe and Karin's apartment is spacious. It's in a building that was put up in 1905 and the kitchen still has the original terazzo floor. The ceilings are 12 feet high and the rooms large. It's decorated quite in the style we like, and is very homey. We are glad that their home here is so pleasant. The best part of being in a home: we were able to do laundry!
Joe has sightseeing plans for us that may involve day riding on the bikes, but without carrying anything but the lock, it will seem like a treat.
Monday was almost as hot, but not quite as humid. Several towns we passed through offered a way to cool off in the form of fountains that we leaned back into, wetting our heads and then dunking our feet. It really helped to refresh us, and our last night in Holland was a tad more energetic than Sunday had been. We had a pleasant and huge hotel room at a reasonable price, and had energy left over to walk down the street to a Greek restaurant where we shared an enormous platter for two of Greek meat and salad, etc.
That night we called Joe and Karin to finalize plans for our arrival on Tuesday evening. Once we crossed the border into Germany, we noticed two definite changes: it became harder to navigate, since we had gotten used to the Dutch system. The signage wasn't there, there aren't as many concessions to bikes and our map was not specifically for bikes. The second thing was that prices dropped dramatically. We still lose on the dollar-to-euro exchange, but things cost significantly less here.
Because of the signage problem, we found ourselves getting turned around in every town we came to. At one point after lunch, Bob spotted a bike shop and though the owner did not speak English, she did manage to communicate to us that a canal we'd spotted on the map that led right into Hannover had a bike path along it. She assured us that it would be about four "stunde" to Hannover. We left the shop and said to each other: What the heck is a stunde? I dug our German dictionary out of my bag and we were pleased to discover that it means "hour." After doing the ride, we would like to see this woman cycle. If she does that path in four hours, she is Tour de France material!
We reached Hannover about 7, called Joe and Karin and they cycled to meet us at an intersection. Following them to their apartment, we realized the advantage they had in not having come all the way across the canal carrying our loads! They both are able to cycle to work most days, so they are very fit.
Joe has taken off work for three days to show us around. This morning, after Karin left for work, the three of us set off for the old city. Hannover has a system called the Red Thread, similar to the Freedom Trail in Boston. You follow a line along the sidewalk and there are numbers painted at various places that explain the particular sight you are viewing. We had to look things up once we returned to the house, since we forgot to take the book with us.
Hannover is a city that was particularly devastated during the bombing of World War II. About 60% of the overall area was destroyed and even a larger percentage of the interior. It is amazing that so many buildings were able to be salvaged, since there is a large number of the traditional half-timbered buildings in the old section. We visited the town hall where there is a display of scale models of the city throughout the years, including 1939 and then the post-bombing version in 1945 where you can see the results. It's incredible to think that a city can recover from such widespread devastation.
After that, we climbed to the dome of the building where it's possible to get a 360° view of the city. The elevator shaft that ascends the dome actually curves along with the curve of the dome. The elevator (lift, for our English friends) has a window in the ceiling so that you can observe this. It actually tilts back and forth as it climbs.
We had lunch in the marketplace where we were able to sample several kinds of food from different stalls, and shared some portions of things. Fresh vegetables and fruits were quite appealing and cousin Joe and I bought some things for dinner. We did find out, though, that a kilo of spinach is really a lot. The poor girl tried her best to pack it into a bag, and when we realized the quantity we all had a good laugh and had her stop at .6 kilo.
It's good to be in a house again. Joe and Karin's apartment is spacious. It's in a building that was put up in 1905 and the kitchen still has the original terazzo floor. The ceilings are 12 feet high and the rooms large. It's decorated quite in the style we like, and is very homey. We are glad that their home here is so pleasant. The best part of being in a home: we were able to do laundry!
Joe has sightseeing plans for us that may involve day riding on the bikes, but without carrying anything but the lock, it will seem like a treat.
posted by Maggie and Bob @ 9:31 AM
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