Shakespeare and Some Pictures

In Neuss, just across the river from Duesseldorf, there is a copy of the Globe Theatre. I got to see "Much Ado about Nothing" here this week, with actors from the real Globe. The theater is small and intimate, and the performance was excellent. It was quite a treat!

Here are a few pictures we've taken from our trips in the area.

Beautiful Art

Franz Marc: Horse in a Landscape, Image from Wikimedia

We saw this Franz Marc painting in the Museum Folkwang in Essen a few weeks ago. It is another example of the "der Blaue Reiter" art movement around the turn of the last century. I love this artist and this period--can't get enough of it here!

Big Storm in Duesseldorf

There was a huge storm in Duesseldorf Monday night--sort of a small hurricane actually. It happened around 9:30 in the evening, when we were home watching a movie. The buildings here are very solid and the windows are tight, so I didn't worry for our safety. When we ventured out on the balcony to see what was going on, it was a wild sight--it seemed as though a wall of trees was advancing on us. I couldn't stand there for more than a few seconds, so terrifying was it. The next day hardly any trams, busses or trains were running, due to all the downed trees and damage to electrical lines, and there still aren't many running today. The cleanup will take quite a while, and many people are still stranded.

Apparently, it's the worst storm of this sort in about 10 years. When the TV weather person was asked if such a fierce storm was proof that climate change is occurring, she answered without skipping a beat that it was indeed proof. I couldn't help but think about how they would have answered this question in the US...they would have probably hemmed and hawed and said no, that violent storms have always occured. But maybe that attitude is changing now in the US too.

Drachenfels...and a Translated Song

Before Greg left to return to Spokane in January, we took a day trip to "Drachenfels" near Bonn on the Rhine. We took the train to this little town

and then hiked a few kilometers up the hill

until we got to the top where we found this famous ruin from the 1100s called Drachenfels. I used to walk up this hill with my German grandparents when I would visit them in Bonn. There was a cafe at the top (there still is, but it's bigger now and not as quaint), and we would have refreshments while my grandmother recited poetry by Heinrich Heine, who wrote beautiful verses about many things, including the Rhine.

The day was gorgeous, no clouds in the sky, but there was haze below, so our picture is a bit fuzzy.

                                      

On the way down we enjoyed the view of this castle, Drachenburg, built in 1882.

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Here's a link to my translation of a song by Bettina Wegner that was published in an online journal called Ezra. The title and the tune of the song are taken from Buffy St. Marie, but Bettina Wegner wrote her own words. You'll have to scroll down a ways to get to it.

http://www.ezratranslation.com/Spring_2009.html

A Quick Merry Christmas from Ddorf

Yesterday, on Christmas, Greg and I walked from my apartment in the Wersten neighborhood in Duesseldorf all the way to the Rhine River. We walked through some areas of town we hadn't yet seen, and ended up in Althimmelgeist near the river. Here we happened upon a brass band playing Christmas songs, and we were given the words to the songs and encouraged to sing along. The band then walked to another street corner nearby and played some more songs; we went with them and sang along again. Finally, we broke away and continued to the Rhine.

Today we are headed to Berlin to spend a week with Chris and see what interesting things we can find to see and do there. We have some opera tickets lined up too.

Merry Christmas!!!