Christiansen Travels

Visit to Hamburg and "Fond Farewell to Hannover"

2007-11-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, October 27, we made a quick day trip to Hamburg. There was a great deal for week-end train passes. You could purchase a ticket good for up to 5 people, for 35 Euros (about $55) and travel anywhere over a 24 hour period. Hamburg was about 2 1/2 hours from Hannover. On the train, a young woman came up to us, asked us if we had a group pass and if she could travel along with us on our pass. She was headed to a protest rally in Hamburg. The protest was against the use of animal furs for clothing, etc. A cute train station along the way to Hamburg.

Tracy and Eric in Hamburg.
Many swans everywhere in Germany.

I liked the arches on this building in Hamburg. There was a cafe behind the arches and it was located along the canal where the swans were.
Another bombed out church in Hamburg.
Inside the courtyard of the Hamburg city building (Rathaus)

This very interesting building was built on somewhat of an angle. If you zoom in on the photo, you can see that the windows on the lower levels are not aligned evenly with each other.

Eric and Bev by the port in Hamburg.

Tracy by the port.

Tracy being drug away by a pirate!

Nana statues just across the river from our apartment in Hannover. This art, by a female French artist, Nikki de Saint Phalle, is quite popular around Germany and France.
A "Nana" standing on her head. A very buxom and colorful "Nana". The small round green thing on top is her head, in case you were wondering.

The back side of a "Nana" who is standing on one leg, with her arms in the air.
The Marktkirche just a block away from us. It kept us on track all day, every day with chimes that range every 15 minutes, beginning at 7:00 am and ending at 10:00 pm. We went to several choir, organ, harp, piano, oboe, etc. concerts in this old church. It had been bombed during the war and was slowly being renovated. It was beginning to look quite beautiful inside.
Another view of the Marktkirche.

Our LDS church in the middle of a city block in Hannover. We rode the train to church. It was about a 20 minute ride.
Part of the shopping area by us where we shopped almost every day.
The main train station in the distance, at the end of the shopping area. We lived only 10 minutes walking distance from the Hauptbanhoff (train station).
Our favorite ice cream stand. Their ice cream was about the smoothest, creamiest we have EVER had.
The Galeria Kaufhof was the department store where we did the most shopping. It was just two blocks from us. There was a grocery store in the basement. They also sold nice clothing, housewares, stationary and office supplies, electronics, tons of chocolate. They had everything like a Walmart but more Macy's quality.

The trail by the Masch See where we went running in the mornings. Our final stroll along our favorite path!

This face of a screaming witch in the trunk of a tree along the trail was completely formed by nature! Spooky, huh?!
Our view of the Rathaus from the running path. The Rathaus was between our house and the path along the lake. We would get in a pretty good run each morning!

Eric and Tracy sadly saying goodbye to the jogging path and the beautifu Weeping Willow tree.

Snuggling against one of our forest trees.
Tracy snuggling with the tree.
Farewell to our wonderful 3 months in Hannover, Germany. We will take many happy memories with us. And who knows, someday maybe we will return again.

Exciting additional photos from Southern Germany tour in September

2007-11-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

This is a very small portion of the beautiful and grand Dom Kirche in Koln (Cologne) Germany. We visited Koln our first week in Germany (the end of August).
Sunday, September 9, 2007. A view from the back of the little train engine that pulled us up a semi-steep hillside to visit the Wernigerode Castle at the beginning of our "Self-designed Southern Germany castle tour.
A ground level view of Wernigerode Castle.
Eric, Whitney and Bev preparing to enter the castle grounds. A view of the gorgeous valley below Wernigerode Castle!
Monday, September 10. Rheinstein Castle along the edge of the Rhine River. The castle had been purchased by an opera singer who currently resides there. The singer was in the process of slowly renovating the castle and grounds.
Rheinstein Castle and gardens behind the castle.

Tracy and Whitney at Rheinstein.
A partial front view of the inner court of Heidelberg Castle.
A storage tank for the years supply of wine to quench the thirst of the 6,000 inhabitants of the Heidelberg Castle and community inside the fortress walls.
A view overlooking the city of Heidelberg and the Rhine River from a courtyard balcony.
Terraces along the back of Heidelberg Castle. Bev and Eric at Heidelberg.

A beautiful home right next to Heidelberg Castle. I thought it looked like the house used in the filming of "The Sound of Music".
Ludwigsburg Palace, originally built to house the Mistress?! of a Duke. For some strange reason, the wife and the mistress BOTH had to have huge houses?! This palace is also known as the Versailles of Southern Germany.
Ancestral portrait gallery inside Ludwigsburg Palace
Gardens behind the palace.
Tracy on the inner grounds of Ludwigsburg Palace.

Neuschwanstein Castle overlooking the town of Fussen.
Whitney and Tracy on the grounds of Neuschwanstein Castle.

A view from inside Neuschwanstein Castle.

Neuschwanstein from a distance.
The Alps by Fussen.
An interesting old church in Fussen.
We stayed in Steigmuhle Pension in Weisensee, about 10 miles from Fussen. It was very cosy, clean and had an amazing huge and delicious breakfast buffet.

A balcony view of the lake by Steigmuhle Pension. This is the morning just before the sun came up.

Lake right after the sun came up.

We briefly drove across the border into Austria.
Lichtenstein Castle

Could this Castle be positioned any more precariously?!!

Enchanted Forest - October 20, 2007

2007-10-21T08:25:00.001-06:00

On our Saturday outing we visited a pristine forest right in the heart of this city of 500,000 people. The forest seemed to go on and on with no evidence that there was a city surrounding it.

Concrete evidence that Fairies have definitely been here! (There are little fairy dolls and statues all over Germany and Paris.)

We found the "little house in the big woods."

Tracy took this picture. Doesn't it look like it came right out of Fern Gully? Aren't the many colors amazing? We knew there had to be fairies everywhere; they were just hiding very well!

**Check out Sept. 8 and 17 for new updates to the previous posts.

October in Paris

2007-10-09T15:07:00.001-06:00

This is the first actual blog post by Bev (me, myself). Tracy and Eric have been teaching me how, so here goes!

Tuesday, October 2, 2007. Our first stop was the Notre Dame Cathedral. It may look small from the front, but it extends back very far. It is glorious to behold on the inside, elaborate and elegant.

We arrived at almost exactly noon. A ceremony was just beginning on the inside. Even though there were thousands of people milling around, the ceremony seemed to proceed normally. The priest read passages and there were monks off to the side singing or chanting at various intervals.There were people participating in the worship service sitting in the front of the cathedral. The congregation joined in singing with a couple of songs also. It was a thrilling atmosphere.

Beautiful stained glass windows extended almost the full height of the walls in several places.

Seated on a bench in front of the cathedral was a man feeding sparrows bread from his hand. He would hold the piece of bread in his fingers, then several sparrows would land on his hand to eat the bread. It was perfect entertainment for the occasion. (Notice the girl to the right watching him.)

This is a smaller chapel area tucked right behind the main huge chapel area. People could light candles here and sit to say a prayer.
These two photos may give you a better idea of how high the ceilings are vaulted and the vastness of the room.

We climbed the bell tower, 380 stairs one way!! This is a view of the city from the top of Notre Dame. You can see the Eiffel tower in the distance. It is very hard to see, but Napoleon's tomb is under the gold dome behind the steeple on the left side of the picture.

One of the many charming gargoyles atop the cathedral. We learned that "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was actually written to try and raise funds for a renovation of the cathedral which had fallen into sad disrepair. Of course, the book successfully raised the much needed funds and then some. The gargoyles were added to hide the many drain spouts needed around the building. Creative ingenuity, no? (Zoom in on the photo and you will see the Basilique de Sacre Coeur on the hilltop in the background.)

We made it to the bell tower!! And, we are even smiling. Now we just have 380 narrow stairs back down again! We looked for signs of Quasimoto and Esmerelda but didn't see any. If you ever do this, beware of the metal handrail along the stairs. We couldn't tell if it was from years of grimy hands grabbing onto it or oxidation on the metal,(or gargoyle droppings) but the railing had a THICK orange sticky grime all along it which stuck to our hands disgustingly and was HARD to get off. Yech! Luckily, Lindsey had hand sanitizer in her purse and we had some kleenex.

After our grueling walk up and down the stairs, we had to have a little relaxation and do some shopping on the famous Champs Elysees street .
We stepped into the Louis Vuitton store which was an experience! There were huge muscular security guards every ten feet watching people like hawks. I may be a little strange, and unfashionable, but really, how could a PURSE possibly be worth $500-$2000?!! I'll take one from Shopko for $20 and not have to worry about getting it scratched up or dirty. (Me 'n Minnie Pearl would have been great friends!)

The Arc de Triomphe is at the end of the Champs Elysees shopping street. It is encircled by a huge roundabout which has twelve streets feeding into it. You have to take a tunnel under the street to get to it. They were having a special memorial service that day. There were veterans decorated with many medals but I wasn't able to get a picture of any of them.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007. This is a photo (in front of the Louvre) of me with our dear, sweet friend Chrystelle Jain, who we met in Germany just 3 days before we left for Paris. Chrystelle lives in a suburb of Paris, was just visiting family in Germany and returned to Paris the same day we did. She very generously offered to guide us around Paris and interpret for us. We had so much fun together! The girls and I loved shopping with her, we ate yummy food together (including Tiramisu (sp?), Creme Broule and bagettes) and just had a great time visiting. This photo has the underside of the large glass pyramid in front of the Louvre.

And now we have the top of the glass pyramid. The building itself is U shaped and huge. If you spent just 3 seconds in front of each exhibit, it would take you three months to see the entire museum!

Tracy in front of the Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa has one entire wall to herself and is encased in glass for safety. She still can't quite compare to my daughter though - Ha!

There were several painters set up around the museum painting copies of the originals.

Chrystelle in front of ? (I don't remember, sorry)

The Basilique de Sacre Coeur which sits atop the highest hill in Paris. It was built with contributions from Parisian catholics after the humiliation of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. It is breathtaking inside and out.

Fountains at the bottom of the Sacre Coeur.

A young man performing on the steps leading up to the Sacre Coeur. He sang American pop songs and was quite good. We loved it. There are street performers EVERYWHERE around Paris earning money.

Thursday, October 4. We visited the Luxembourg Palace, now used to house the senate but formerly used by royalty. It was a favorite summer home for Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI. It is surrounded by spacious gardens with beautiful sculptures and fountains.

Fountain in Luxembourg Palace Gardens.

Here we are, jumping for joy in front of the EIFFEL TOWER!! Now what will we do with the rest of our lives - we have finally visited the Eiffel tower?!

Friday, October 5. Versailles - the grandest and most famous palace in France. It was built in the 1600's to house a court of 6,000 (yes, six thousand) people! This is from where Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were dragged by revolutionaries and eventually executed.

Ornate chapel in Louis' palace. Commoners below on main floor and royalty above in the balcony.
Marie Antoinette's bedroom
Bust of Marie Antoinette which may be purchased for about 1,000 euros (about $1,400). Do you think we could fit it in our luggage?

A small portion of the vast and gorgeous gardens surrounding the palace. You could spend hours just touring the gardens, lakes, fountains, grottos, and sculptures!
Lindsey, Bev and Chrystelle.

Chrystelle took us shopping in the afternoon, we kept her busy guiding us to the right shops, interpreting and asking questions. she is an angel! After dark, we took a final boat cruise down the Seine River to see the lights of Paris at night. Breathtaking!

Our parting photos overlooking the Seine River.

Lindsey's visit to Hannover - Sept. 17, 2007

2007-10-09T14:19:00.000-06:00

The market place right next to us has many street performers. This "Marble Statue" is a man who can stand as still as this picture and really does look like a statue. If someone drops money into his cup, he begins to move, makes gestures, shakes your hand, then once again becomes very stiff. Even with all of the people milling about him or staring at him, he remains composed and stiff. Very intriguing to watch!
The day after Lindsey arrived, we went by train to Burgdorf to visit Karen Schultze. She used to be a travel agent. She invited us to her home 20 minutes from Hannover so that she could give us some travel tips for Paris. She drove us to the small, quaint town of Celle which was 30 miles from Burgdorf, to show their fun shopping area. This is one of the buildings in Celle.

We took Lindsey on a walk around Hannover to explore new sights. We saw this church covered with beautiful fall ivy.
All dressed up for our big night at the Opera. We went to see Peter Grimes. DON'T ever go see it. It was the most bleak, depressing, story and music ever! We left at intermission.
"The Girls" went to the "Masch See" (manmade lake in the center of the city) and went paddleboating. Our legs got a good workout!

Tracy and Lindsey in sync with one of the modern art sculptures in the Herrenhauser Gartens.
These sculptures were in a small building in the corner of the Herrenhauser Gartens. This artist is quite popular in this area. There are statues in various places around the city like these.

Tracy, on a typical misty day here.

New "Home Away from Home" - September 8, 2007

2007-09-08T13:05:00.001-06:00

We moved into this second apartment on August 30, 2007. It is an IKEA wonder. The entire apartement is only about 600 sq. feet but the way it is arranged, it seems larger.

Nice separate entry and nice oak laminate floors.
You can't see the tub, opposite the sink and toilet, but the swiveling shower head is attached to the wall above the tub and there is no shower curtain. You had better never turn sideways and let your elbows drip over the edge of the tub!!

Master Bedroom (with two twin beds).

Luxurious window seat with reading chair.

We splurged and bought a rug for the hallway (6 euros at IKEA). The kitchen (to the right of the hallway) is quite nice, fully stocked with dishes, pans, utensils.

Notice the huge(?) fridge. We shop almost every day because we can't fit a weeks worth of food in the fridge. Fortunately, there is a grocery store 2 blocks away. We need the exercise.

Tracy's bedroom, on the left of the hallway. It does have very ample storage space!

The living room is bright and comfy, complete with couches, bookshelves, a desk and tables.

And that is a complete tour of our temporary "home away from home."

2007-09-07T09:11:00.000-06:00

We visited these gardens today, they were beautiful. It happens to be the largest gardens in Germany, including the largest fountain. We throughly enjoyed it.

The Rathause. (government building)
We run by this everymorning, about a half mile away from our house.

Our apartment, soon to be old apartment.

2007-08-31T02:31:00.000-06:00

ok so first there's our apartment. tiny right? (tracy speaking) i don't even have a bedroom! but we're moving into a bigger place today!! and it has a bigger fridge and everything. it will be great, and i have my own bedroom! then after our apartment pictures, there is me and mom, who have no full length mirror so we have resorted to taking pictures. and the last two are of us getting lost, trying to find an ikea to buy a full length mirror at. yes that was an adventure, stranded in the middle of who knows where in germany! we rode the train for like a half hour away from our house, and wound up at some random office buildings out in the middle of nowhere, come to find out ikea really was there, just about a mile away from where we were, so we are going to try to find it today. Mom "needs" a full length mirror. but it would be pretty good to have one. but we're getting excited for Whit to come out! and then we're off to Denmark! yes! ok, come visit! hurry!!!

Return to Hannover

2007-08-29T11:51:00.000-06:00

We returned to Hannover at 1:30 am Sunday morning. We really enjoyed Cologne but it is great to be a little more stable now back in an apartment that is more ours. We got up Sunday morning and rode the underground railway to Church. It is very fast, efficient and kinda fun (the railway I mean). Since we were only in Hannover for 3 days before we left for Cologne, Tracy and I have spent the last 3 afternoons trying to get better acquainted with the neighborhood we are living in. We have a huge shopping district to the Northeast of us (department stores, clothing stores, food markets, restaurants, the main train station for traveling either in or out of the the city and the streets are always crowded with thousands of people as if it were always a holiday. (There are at least 500,000 people who live here, besides a lot of tourists and students.)

To the northwest of us is the University of Hannover. Eric is going to be melting rock samples in very small, high temperature ovens to see how they change under volcanic conditions. The rocks get liquified then turn to glasslike stones when they cool. (Neato huh?)

To the southeast of us is a large park, sports stadium, lake with sail boats, bike path for running. Tracy and I go running there in the mornings for her home study P.E.

To the west and southwest of us is more city, similar to where we are with a lot of shopping but not quite on the same scale we have here. We really are pretty much in the heart of the city, the middle of everything.

Tracy has started working on her online classes and they seem to be going quite well. We will try to post more photos later this week.

Chooss! (Bye)

Rhine River

2007-08-23T10:48:00.000-06:00

Our trip down the river! and more....

Houses, churches, castles, and vinyards along the river.

along with the cute little town we stopped in, and walked around.

It was a good trip.

We listened to American pop music on the boat from the 70's all day long!

Tracy really enjoyed that.

Don't these germans ever listen to any of their own music?

More adventure

2007-08-21T08:48:00.000-06:00

Dom Kirche in Koln. we're going to an organ recital there tonight. should be exciting!

inside the building, or cathedral. words can not do it justice, or photos for that matter. it was spectacular.

Lindt chocolate museum below the cathedral photos.

bombed out church from world war II. did you know that 80% of hannover was completely destroyed from the war. proably mostly america's bombing.

hannover city government building. far right>>> parlimentary building.

Day 1

2007-08-17T12:09:00.000-06:00

Plane ride from Salt Lake to Chicago. Long flight, good food. Well on the Swiss Airlines. That flight was all european, all the flight attendants spoke different languages. We had good seats though.

The Wishing Ring in front out our house on a huge water fountain statue. Come make a wish. This is the place where all your dreams come true, not Disneyland.

Main building at the University of Hannover.
Eric will be working there, in a seperate building.

Buildings across the street from out apartment.
cool eh?

Ground level view of the front of our apartment building. ha :)

Heading for Germany

2007-08-13T20:59:00.001-06:00

Eric, Bev and Tracy Christiansen will be heading for Germany of Wednesday, August 15, 2007. Our flight leaves the Salt Lake City Airport and 12:59 pm. Watch for more news later!