Nov 122018
 

Wismar was one of nearly 200 medieval towns and guilds of 16 Northern European countries that joined the defense and trading league. I learned that Hansa or Hanse means league or company. The Hanse dominated trading from the mid-thirteenth century for nearly four hundred years. Although most participants bordered the Baltic or North Seas, The Hanse included towns in countries as far away as France and Iceland.

Today the Wismar town center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is comprised of over 1700 buildings with over 1600 owners. Wismar is located on the Baltic Sea. Many of the town buildings have been restored to their medieval splendor. One couple who restored their building faced years of approvals through seven committees and invested over one million Euros.

A cast-bronze relief sculpture with Braille gives the sighted and unsighted an overview of the medieval city

St. Marien Church was destoyed in WWII. The tower has been rebuilt with some of the original cast bricks

Wasserkunst is a 16th c. spring-fed well located at the market place

St. George’s was a medieval Gothic red brick church and now a performace hall

The cast bricks allow the architects to form decorative elements

A detail of St. George’s Church

The pristinely restored medieval town has not escaped graffiti

Is that a blue-green cat jumping out of the building?

Maidens in relief sculpture guard this building

This medieval structure spans the canal. Bikes are a popular way to get around Wismar

Brauhaus am Lohberg has been brewing beer since 1452!

Dried hops decorate the brewery

Das Gemutliche Havenhaus, The Cozy Havenhouse, with sailboats in the windows rents rooms

This cracked me up. Even though the words look suspicious, they mean jewelry and watches.

The well, St Marian’s Church tower and the main square

Nov 042018
 

My first photo of Norway. It reminded me of Maine

Great place to sail to explore all the islands

Contemporary and traditional architecture

Akershus Fortress and Castle, built in the 1290s, is located right on the harbor

The Norwgian National Opera and Ballet: A contemporary way to enjoy the city on the water

Holmen Kollern National Ski Arena: Olympic Ski Jump–terrifying!

The park is filled with Gustav Vigeland’s lifework of sculpture

All Gustav Vigeland’s sculptures that fill this city park are without clothes. He thought it would date the figures to wear clothes.

The interaction of people with the trees and the water feels universal.

It is said that to touch the foot brings good luck, so it is polished from all the touching.

The girls look natural and innocent. Families visit the city park and enjoy the humanity.

Edvard Munch’s “Hans Jaeger” 1889 at the National Gallery. Munch had an entire gallery there and yes we saw “The Scream.” Munch said he did not paint people, but rather emotions.

Nov 012018
 

Concert house on right and French domed Evangelical church

French domed Evangelical Church

French Dome Church with man with BAD VIBES tattoo

The Reichstag from the Marshall Bridge over the Spree River

The Reichstag built in 1888, burned during Hitler’s rise to power, and against seated the Bundestag in 1999

Charlottenburg Palace built in the late 17 c. and expanded in the 18th c., Baroque and Roccoco

This statue at the Charlottenburg Palace appears to be fighting against an approaching storm

The goddess, Fortuna, tops the Charlottenburg Palace dome. The foreground sculpture of Fredrick William, Elector of Brandenburg and Prussia, was created by Andreas Schluter in 1703

A relief sculpture on the wall of the zoo

Architectural waves

Contemporary architecture

Embassy row–the Pan Nordic complex

Austrian Embassy

Egyptian Embassy