Travelog for: Henrietta Hippo

I finally got to see the Biggesee, the reservoir near Attendorn. It is one of the many dams that were built in order to supply the Ruhr Area and its 7 million people with drinking water. Construction started in 1956.

This morning we took a walk along the lake. The weather is lousy: -1°C (30°F) and grey, but it feels like freezing -10°C at least. I'm sure that it's so much nicer in summer when the trees are green. You probably can hardly see it, but on the little hill on the left side there's the ruin of the Waldenburg castle, the origins of which go back one thousand years. This is what it must have looked like.

In order to keep warm, I dabbled in free climbing. I was very tired afterwards and relaxed close to the water. Have a nice Sunday!

A few impressions form the Listertalsperre. The way along the lake is very nice for inline-skating. We found some beautiful rocks, too. I hope the weather will improve soon. We had some snow this weeks, but it didn't stay.

Kalliope said that next weekend we'll celebrate carnival - similar to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. All the eople along the Rhine, especially in Düsseldorf, Cologne and Mainz, dress up and do crazy things during the "fifth season" as they call it. Attendorn is one of the carnival strongholds in southern Westphalia. A little hansel: 'Weiberfastnacht' in Cologne.

Klusenstein, a knight's castle built in 1353, sits high on the rocks of the Hönnetal (Hönne valley). It's famous for its picturesque rocks from lime-stone and the caves. The area has been inhabited by man since the Old Stone Age at least and you may find traces of it in the caves.

Until the 1970s or 80s the Hönnetal used to be a paradise for climbers, but nowadays the rocks are protected. You may go for a hike and enjoy many romantic views. You can also traverse the valley by canoe on the river Hönne, if it carries enough water.

Good morning, this is the season of beautiful sun rises. Enjoy the view and have a nice weekend!

At Carnival the bakeries offer loads of special treats. Typical pastries of the season are "Berliners", balls from yeast dough baked in oil, filled with jam and covered with sugar.

I especially love the Confetti Berliners - the ones with frosting and  the colored chocolate lentils - and "Beschwipste Krebbelchen", pastries filled with a mixture of custard and eggnog and covered with sugar. Yummy!

The ones covered with cocoa and sprinkles from white chocolate are called Cappuccino Berliners. They're filled with coffee cream.

Spring is in the air!

Hellau and Alaaf from Germany! It's carnival and everyone seems to have dressed up in goofy costumes and gone bananas. The days have got special names, too: Today is "Tulip Sunday" (Tulpensonntag) followed by "Rose Monday" (Rosenmontag) and "Violet Tuesday" (Veilchendienstag) - or Mardi Gras as it's called in New Orleans.

Here are a few impressions from the carnival procession in Menden. By the way, the sweet girls in the red and white dresses are called "Tanzmariechen" (little dancing Mary's). Oooh... oops!  It's raining candy down on me...

Sorry, I haven't updated my travelog for more than a month. I can't believe how times flies. Nothing special has happened in the meantime. We had some fun at home, cooked gnocchi with tomatoes and leek, which taste great with some Parmesan cheese, and I helped Kalliope with a jigsaw, an artwork by Rosina Wachtmeister, which she intends to put up on the wall when it's finished.

Springlike greetings from sunny Attendorn! Kalliope's garden is so beautiful now and I'd like to share a few impressions with you. There's a a nice and warm weekend ahead of us with temperatures up to 20°C. On Sunday I'll go on vacation to Cuxhaven on the North Sea with Kalliope's family and I'm very much looking forward to that.

After a trip of about three and a half hours by car we arrived in our holiday destination Cuxhaven on the North Sea. The weather was great and the sky blue, but as we approached the coast it got darker and darker and the temperatures fell to lousy 10°C (50°F). FOG!

The sandy beach with its yellow roofed wicker chairs was deserted. I think these chairs are typically German. Kalliope said that you can find them everywhere at the beaches of the North and Baltic Sea.

It was low tide and you could see the mud flats. The little waves of sand are created by the water. I didn't dare to go for a walk because the visibility was less than 100 meters (110 yards) and wafts of mist billowed around like ghosts. It was a bit eerie! Instead I decided to test what sunbathing in the sand would be like. 

Sunshine - yay! We took a walk along the dyke to the famous "Kugelbake", one of Cuxhaven's emblembs. This is where the North Sea and the river Elbe, which has its source in the Czech Republic, meet. The river Elbe is 1,094 km (680 miles) long and on its way through Germany passes the cities of Dresden, Magdeburg and Hamburg. At the estuary it's 15 km (9.32 miles) wide and when the weather is good you can see the wind power stations at the opposite shore.

Of course, "Kugelbake" has nothing to do with 'baking', but the wooden tower is a signal for the ships. Similar towers have stood there since the early 1700s. Allegedly approximately 40,000 ships pass it each year. They are so close, you can almost touch them.

At this time of the year the 8-meter-high dyke, which is to protect the land, is covered by dandelions. It's SO beautiful! The little red train goes all along the coast connecting the beach and the harbour.

~~~ Ships ~~~~ Ships~~~ Ships ~~~~~~~

I didn't feel bored a minute just watching all the ships passing by: huge container ships from all over the world, the cute fishing cutters and shrimp boats. I was particularly impressed by the huge coast guard ship - the one with the yellow crane and a mini submarine on board.

On the last photo you can see the historic fire boat "Elbe 1". Construction at the Meyer dockyards in Papenburg started in 1942. Nowadays it's a museum and you can also get married on board. Ship ahoy!

Today I took a walk on the sea floor. You wonder how that is possible? When it's low tide large areas are free from water.

Imagine, there are little piles of spaghetti everywhere on the ground! Kalliope explained that they are produced by the lugworms that live in a U-shaped burrow in the sand. They dig their way through it similar to a mole throwing up little hills of sand everywhere. And the little hole that you can also see on the picture is the "front door" of their home so to speak. Awesome!

During a visit to the Cuxhaven city centre I found this picturesque "Alte Deichhaus" (old dykehouse) inbetween all the modern ones.

The "Hamburg Lighthouse" is very nice, too. The lighthouse has got four floors and its walls are more than one metre/yard thick. The Latin inscription above the entrance from sandstone says:  „Nautis signum / sibi monumentum erexit / respublica hamburgensis / Ao MDCCCIII (A sign to the seafarers this monument was erected by the state of Hamburg in the year 1803).

Isn't the cat cute?

It's our last day in Cuxhaven. I enjoy another gorgeous view at the ships (no, the big one from the China Shipping Line is not stranded!) and take one last sunbath.  Can you see the kite-surfers? I counted more than 40 out there. And now: Bye-bye Cuxhaven!