Today Hans-Ulrich Erbsloeh and I took the train to downtown Hamburg, about a 35-minute ride away. It’s super convenient to take the train from his house—only two houses away from the station! By taking the train, we won’t have to hassle with trying to find a parking space, which is always a challenge. Our first… Read More An organ to love
I don’t want you to think that all we saw in Lübeck was just churches and organs! When you first arrive in Lübeck your first sight is a massive entry gate, which has become the symbol of the city. Apparently at one point the city wanted to tear it down because it was not being… Read More More than just organs
Today Hans-Ulrich Erbsloeh and I traveled to Lübeck, about 80 km from Hamburg. Our first stop was at a music conservatory (Musikhochschule) which has a Beckerath organ in a see-through case. That is to say that there is plexiglass everywhere so you can see inside—even plexiglass swell shades! This, I assume, is for teaching purposes—what… Read More Plexiglass in the organ!
Today Hans took me on a tour of pipe organs and churches in Hamburg. We call it an “organ crawl” which can refer to our climbing through the organ chambers to more closely examine the insides of the pipe organ. Our first stop was in Blankenese, where Hans and Christiane attend at the Blankeneser Kirche… Read More Hamburg organ crawl
I made the decision to leave for the Brussels airport along with the rest of my group, even though my flight was scheduled for 6:00 pm and their flights were all in the morning. I figured I’d rather not hassle with my luggage on the train and a taxi was going to be too expensive.… Read More A new appreciation
Last night was our farewell dinner in Brussels, a last chance to visit with new friends before we took off for parts unknown. We were at La Porteuse d’Eau restaurant, decorated in an Art Deco style, spread out among five tables. It was so noisy with laughter and conversation, and got louder and louder as… Read More Hugs all around
It’s been a scorcher of a day, especially as we were often walking in the hot sun here in Ghent, about an hour away from Brussels. No wind to speak of! We happened to visit during the ten-day Ghent Festivities, when the city center transformed into one giant festival. There was music in 18 different… Read More A day in Ghent
For about four hours today, I did not know where I was or how to get back to my hotel. You’re not supposed to get lost if you’re on a tour, right? Well, I decided to explore Brussels on my own, away from my tour group. Four hours later, 9.1 miles and 20,687 steps later,… Read More Getting lost … what’s new?
As we entered the driveway to the Bastogne War Museum, everyone on our bus was wowed by the sight of the giant statue, the famous V-J Day photo of a sailor kissing a nurse at the end of World War II which was taken by Life magazine photographer, Alfred Eisenstaedt on Aug. 14, 1945. “The iconic shot of… Read More Bastogne and Bocq
In Luxembourg City there is a definite contrast between the historic and the ultra-modern. Our hotel, the Novotel, is located in the super-modern section where there is a lot of new construction. After being in the Netherlands and not being able to read the signs I am feeling a lot more comfortable here in Luxembourg… Read More Luxembourg City and Trier