Canada 5 - Niagara, Tourist Tat v. Nature's Grandeur

September 3rd

Our last full day in Canada, and we were booked on an all day trip to Niagara Falls.  I had been there before during the time I lived in the country, but for Glenys it was a first and was also one of her long held travel ambitions.  As we travelled along the highway it brought back memories again for me, I remember being so excited at going off on my own for a while, I'd  visited Niagara and explored New York State.  I drove a Mini that the family I worked for had for me to use and in America everyone stared at it!  That  was in the days of massive cars there and being able just to drive over the border.

We had a great driver, Salim, who was very informative and funny.  He gave told us of a way to remember the five Great Lakes using their first letters = HOMES.  He heard a passenger sneeze at one point and said that means someone is missing you - I'd never heard of that saying before but thought it was rather sweet.

For most of the trip we skirted Lake Ontario which was huge yet it is the smallest of the Great Lakes, it makes you realise once more what a massive  country Canada is.  The area we passed through on the journey was mostly built up and not very scenic. 

Our first stop was at a place where you could take a helicopter trip over the Falls.  We debated whether to do it, it would be a fabulous experience, neither of us had been in a helicopter, but the cost was $115 for a ten minute flight and we decided it wasn't worth it.  



The rather fetching essential Maid of the
 Mist attire



We then went on to Niagara Falls and there's no doubt it is a magnificent sight.  The Niagara River is divided by Goat Island into the Horseshoe Falls in Canada and the American and small Bridal Veil Falls in the USA.   The Horseshoe Falls drop about 173 feet, and the height of the American Falls varies between 70–100 feet because of the presence of many giant boulders at its base. The larger Horseshoe Falls are about 2,600 feet wide, while the American Falls are 1,060 feet wide.  Both sets of Falls face Canada and therefore you get the best views by far from the Canadian side.

On arrival Salim immediately took us to the jetty to board The Maid of the Mist for our included boat trip to the Falls.  We collected the blue plastic macs and went onto the upper deck.

We first passed the American Falls, a curtain of powerful, frothing water.  Then it was on to the Horseshoe Falls, which are simply amazing, at one point it felt like we were totally surrounded by the water, we went in a lot further than I thought we would.  The "mist" at times blocked the falls from view.  We also got well soaked despite the macs - memories of our Icelandic boat trip came to mind, but at least the water wasn't quite as icy.  We always seem to get wet on boat trips!  The roar of the water was deafening and around us the water swirled and frothed like a witch's cauldron, whilst birds swooped all around.  It must take some skill to guide those small boats safely around  the Falls, it was an exhilarating experience.

                                                          

Leaving The Maid of the Mist we passed the queue for the next sailing then we found somewhere close to have lunch.  All around the Falls there are tourist shops full of the usual stuff.  I said to Glenys that it was a shame that Niagara Falls couldn't be more like Gulfoss in Iceland, left wild and almost untouched by the trappings of tourism.  But I realise that it's inevitable that tourism would be eveywhere considering the location of Niagara.  Thinking about it though, I think that nature's grandeur does manage to outdo the glaring materialism. 

 

And, being tourists ourselves, we went to some nearby shops. We were barely inside when a rain and wind storm suddenly came out of nowhere. I was close to a door and saw monsoon-like rain fall and a strong swirling wind followed, whipping through the trees and sending people scattering for shelter.  We were glad we were inside at the time. It was over quickly though and when we headed back to our bus the rain had stopped and it was calm.

 

We left Niagara behind and after a short stop at the nearby Whirlpool Gorge headed for Niagara on the Lake. This a picture-book beautiful town, full of flowers and beautiful homes and expenisve looking shops. We passed Cows ice cream parlour and shop "The best ice cream in Canada!" well, we just had to try it! The first thing I noticed was a life-sized statue of a cow with a label around its neck saying "Caution! Bessie may mooove unexpectedly".  Inside there was a shopful of cow memorabilia - never before have I seen a shop dedicated to cows!  I loved the humour of it.  And the ice cream indeed was wonderful! 



Bessie might mooove!



There were lovely shops, one had hundreds of wind chimes, I bought one.  Another had the most fabulous window display of homemade sweets/cakes looking too good to eat.  All around the streets were awash with the colours of the flowers.  We didn't have long there unfortunately, but it was nice to have a short visit to this lovely town.

In this part of Ontario there are lots of vineyards (we wondered how the vines actually survive the harsh Canadian winter, they must be special hardy species).  Our last stop on this trip was at the Pillitteri Winery for a wine tasting.  We had a very hurried lecture from a woman and had a tiny taste of white (nice) and  red (not so nice) wines.  It was all a whirlwind and a bit disappointing really, which was a shame as the winery has won awards. 

After that it was time to head back to Toronto after a very busy day in which we saw so much.  The trip had been reasonable in price too, definitely money well spent.  If you are heading to Toronto yourself and want to take some tours I'd recommend the company http://www.kingtours.ca/

That night, as we'd had a busy day and were tired we ate in our hotel.  We had a lovely meal and wine, the Novotel Centre is a great hotel for the price you pay.  Good location, reasonable price, lovely rooms, excellent service.  Relaxing in wiht our wine was a great way to end our last day in Canada.

September 4th



Me and a cuddly bear Mountie

Our last day, and as we were not flying until the early evening we used the time we had left to go to the C N Tower which was only a short walk from our hotel and right beside the Roger's Centre where we will be seeing U2 next year!  I'd visited the tower when I worked in Canada all those years ago - it hadn't been open all that long then!  And it is still an elegant landmark in the city.  It was cooler and very windy and because of that the outside observation platform was closed for safety reasons. 

It was expensive to go to the top of the tower and we had to queue for over an hour, but it does have fantastic views over the city and Lake Ontario so it's worth it.

And that was it really.  After that it was off to the airport for the trip back home.  We'd done so much on this trip, it was a fabulous experience on all fronts.  Canada was as wonderful as I remembered it and I kind of regret not re-visiting it sooner. But I'm making up for that by going there two years in a row now!  And I do really appreciate that I'm lucky enough to be able to do that. 

Canada 4 - Sky Train and a Bar with a View

September 2nd

Time to leave the cottage and Dianne and Dan.  They drove us to the railway station in Kitchener/Waterloo for our journey to Toronto.  It's always sad to say goodbye to friends, but I knew I'd be seeing them both again next year as we'd be back in Canada to see U2.

Considering the twin cities of Kitchener/Waterloo have a population of approximately 320,000 the railway station was tiny!  It was the size you would find in a very small town in the UK, but apparently train travel in Canada isn't a popular means of transport.  We were early so had a bit of time to wait, I noticed the timetable of trains running from this station - three trains heading west and three heading east per day.  Even with just six trains per day, ours was three quarters of an hour late!

The train was quite full, comfortable and, rather curiously, had blue sky and clouds painted onto the ceiling, The train took an hour and a half to cover the 60 miles to Toronto. 

We stepped out of Union Station into the hurly burly, skyscrapers and speed of city life, a bit of a shock after the peace of the cottage!  We knew our hotel, the Novotel Toronto Centre, was close to the station but decided to take a taxi anyway.  Luckily, even though it was only noon we were able to check into our room.  The hotel was lovely and our room modern and spacious. 

I contacted a friend of mine, Catherine, who lives in Toronto and she said she would meet us at the hotel later that afternoon.  In the meantime Glenys and I went to nearby St Lawrence's Market.  A market has been on this site since around 1820 - old for the New World.  It was a vibrant, bustling place, a mixture of stalls selling almost every food under the sun and other stalls selling all kinds of non-food merchandise.  A place of smells, noise, atmosphere.



View of Toronto from the Park Hyatt bar

Later we met up with Catherine and she took us on the subway to Yorkville, the posh area of the city.  And indeed it was a lovely area.  We went to the rooftop bar on the 18th floor of the Park Hyatt Hotel where we had a fantastic view of the city in all directions, definitely a bar with a view.  It was a pricey bar though, the wine was $15 for a small glass - though I must say it was a very good wine.  It was a very hot day again and there was no shade, but thankfully a few clouds covered the sun and the heat lessened a bit.  It is definitely worth a visit for the panorama of Toronto you get.  I'd love to go on a nightime one day, maybe next year!

Catherine was someone I got to know through our mutual U2 interest many years ago, but we'd never actually met until this day.  She was much as I expected, out-going, chatty, funny and good company.  It was really lovely to hook up with her after all this time and I hope we'll get together again next year.

We headed back to the hotel on the subway, said our goodbyes to Catherine and went back to our room for a while.  We were tired and couldn't be bothered to look far for a place to eat, so we went to the handiest, The Old Spaghetti Factory opposite the hotel.  It was what I'd call cheap and cheerful, full of Tiffany lamps, carousels and streetcars - we got a table in the latter.  The meal was good value, (Glenys noted that our three course meal for two with a glass of wine was the same price as the bill for the three glasses of wine at the Park Hyatt earlier LOL!) and okay for the price.  Then it was back across the road to our room and an early night - we had a long and busy day ahead of us tomorrow.

U2 360 Brussels - Bad is Back!

Another interruption to my Canada write up by way of U2!  Below you'll find the stunning version of Bad they performed last night in Brussels.   Of course I wasn't there, but it feels like it was one of those special U2 moments you sometimes get at their gigs. The crowd were so into it even singing the song in the opening chords, so, so good to see this song re-appear in the set of the 360 Tour.  I just love how the band is approaching this leg of the tour, they seem to have found a whole new level in their lives shows and are proving they still have the balls to take risks.  Anyway, enjoy!

Canada 3 - The Tooth of Time and Rocky the Raccoon

We had another easy going morning of sitting outside our cottage soaking in the sun and view. I went for a walk through the cedar woods to the river, I really enjoyed the peace and beauty of the place. There is a beaver's dam on the river, I watched for a while from a distance, but the animals remained well hidden.

At noon we headed out to Elora, a small, pretty town about half an hour's drive from the cottages.  It was our last full day with Dianne and Dan and Glenys and I took them for a thank you lunch at the place of their choice.  We went to Shepherds, an Irish pub.  It was quite authentic inside, and the food (I had fish and chips) was delicious.  



The Tooth of Time and waterfall at Elora Gorge
(Photo by Glenys Newcombe)

After our meal we walked the short distance to the Elora Gorge.  Here the Grand River falls 25 feet into the Gorge.  Between the waterfall lies a small, angular rock islet known at the Tooth of Time (sometimes the falls are also known by this name) that just seems to hang precariously.  In fact it has been shored up a little to prevent it being swept away by the constant power of the water.  We had tea at The Mill right beside the waterfall  - we could hardly hear ourselves talk for the roar of the water.  We watched a group of six ducks swimming in the rapids, defying the swirling water and currents, nature is amazing. 
It was an extremely hot and humid day (temperatures were above normal for the time of year) and I was wilting - trying to stay out of the direct sunshine.  I love warm weather, but find it hard to deal with it when it is very hot.  Luckily we next went shopping and everywhere is air-conditioned.  Elora seems to have a strong artistic community as there were lots of interesting and unusual shops, often selling original works of art and merchandise, so there was plenty to browse round.

We left Elora and drove to another small town called Drayton to visit June, Dianne's sister-in-law who had invited us round for drinks.  Her home was a beautiful, large brick built home, fabulously decorated inside in a Victorian style with lots of her husband David's lovely handmade stained glass.  We sat  in a covered outside porch and had orange juice, what a lovely place to live!



June came back with us to the cottages.  Glenys and I did our packing before joining the others for a light meal of crackers, cheese and tuna followed by a delicious Dutch apple pie.  Again we had a lovely evening chatting as the night fell. 

At one point there was a loud rustling by one of the bird tables, Dianne shone a torch in the direction of the noise and there was a raccoon holding onto the bird table with its front feet and anchored to the nearby tree with it's hind legs.  Rocky (as Glenys christened him) seemed unperturbed by the light being shone at him or our close presence and he continued to eat from the table.  Glenys and I were entranced, we had never seen a raccoon in the wild before and here was one just a few yards from us!  Rocky stayed around for about 20 minutes, munching happily on yesterdays leftovers, though he did leave the butternut squash!  

It was the perfect way to end our time at the cottages, it was like he was saying goodbye to us, and indeed Dianne and Dan who had another week at the cottage said they didn't see him again in that time.

Rocky the Raccoon (Photo by Glenys Newcombe)

I felt sad as we walked the short distance from one cottage to the other our way illuminated by torchlight.  We lit the oil lamps for the last time and chilled for a while before retiring to bed.  A place like this is not for everyone, but I (and Glenys too) had found it all a bit of an adventure, it was quite nice not having TV, the Internet, watching the time, or the noise of our modern world.  I coped fine with no electricity or running water, though I did miss a "proper" toilet a bit.  I enjoyed drawing water from the well, showering in the cute outdoor shower with apples on the roof.  It was good just to slow down and kind of be part of, or at least almost live alongside nature.  It's an experience I will never forget, and I'd like to thank Dianne and Dan for inviting us. 

Mercy Me!

Must butt into my Canada holiday write up to update on some U2 tour news.  Earlier in the week I was delighted to hear that U2 had been rehearsing Mercy.  I have loved this song from the first moment I heard it, it's a true U2 song, no one else could have written, played or sung it.  It was dark and raw and fabulous.  Then last night in Zurich they played it live for the first time.  I've watched it on Youtube and, though it was not as raw and dark, it was still amazing.  Some of the lyrics were changed, and forgotten by Bono. "You're gravity, searching for the sound"...(quickly notices mistake)..."ground" LOL.  

Personally I prefer the original purely for it's menace and rawness, but for a first performance this was pretty good!  Mercy has long been a favourite of U2 fans, seems like the band have finally listened to us and put this song where it deserves to be.   I'm so proud of the band for being brave enough to do things like this, they can be control freaks, but they are really experimenting on this tour, keep up the good work lads.

Canada 2 - A Great Lake, Creatures of the Night and Shopping

30th August

We had breakfast outside our cottage, at 8am it was already very warm, the chickadees were chirping all around, the cicadas lazy summer sound filling the air.  Below us the Conestoga River meandered through the valley, and I watched a blue heron flying low over the river, what a wonderful way to start the day!

Soon we were on our first trip away from this idyll, to Lake Huron. which was around an hour and a half drive north west.  The countryside we drove through was mainly flat farming land, corn seemed to be the main crop, it reminded me of the area where I used to live, which wasn't that far from here.  Occasionally, along the roadside were signs bearing religious quotes such as.  "Repent and ye shall be saved" and the suchlike.  There is a strong Mennonite community in this area, their homes and farms often distinguished from others by a star on the outside.  The Old Order of Mennonites still wear old fashioned clothing and drive horse and carts, we saw a few on our travels around the area.

We arrived at a small town called Southampton which was on the shores of Lake Huron.  The pure blue sky was reflected in the lake which stretched off in all directions to the horizon.  It was like a sea - in fact this lake is at least as big as our Irish Sea. Often it just hits you how massive a country Canada is and this was one of those moments.

Lake Huron

The only break on the horizon was Chantry Island, which is about a mile out in the lake, it's white lighthouse dazzlingly bright in the sunshine.  In the 1850's six lighthouses, called Imperial Towers,were built along this dangerous coastline to help settlers sail safely on the lake.  The Great Lakes can be as treacherous as any sea or ocean, there are 50 shipwrecks around Chantry Island alone.  The lighthouse was first operational in 1859 and is still in use today and you can go on tours there.  The island is now also a bird sanctuary.

The shoreline at Southampton had a lovely beach, it was a very hot day, but a cooling breeze came in off the lake which made it very pleasant.  Surprisingly there were few people on the beach, and we just wandered along it and paddled in the water.

Glenys and me outside the Little Barn shop

We had lunch outside in the shady rear terrace of the nearby Walker House Hotel before heading a short distance north to one of the Saugeen (a local river) First Nation Reservations.  The original people of Saugeen are Ojibway. They became known as Chippewa by people who could not pronounce Ojibway and this is the name the people are now known by.  It was noticeable how much smaller the houses were within the reservation.

We stopped at the Little Barn Craft Shop run by an elderly, chatty guy called Orlyn Solomon.  The shop sold native goods, some made on the local reserve.  We all bought something, I got a wooden horned owl cleverly carved using the natural contours and colours of the wood and bark to show the bird's details. 

After this we headed home and relaxed for a while at our cottage in the afternoon sun.  Where ever I am I always love the late afternoon/early evening, when the colours become rich and the mood mellow.

We later joined Dianne and Dan at their nearby cottage for our dinner.  We had a lovely evening eating, drinking wine and chatting as night fell.  The creatures of the night started to come out, we heard a rustle nearby and shone a torch (torches are a constant companion at the cottages due to having no electricity) in the direction of the sound just in time to see the black and white tail of a raccoon disappear into the night.

31st August

I woke at 5am with my legs and feet itching madly - unfortunately as well as creatures of the night coming out it also meant the flies of the night come out and I'd got a lot of now very itchy mossie bites.  I managed to get to sleep again and in fact ended up having a bit of a lie in.  Once up, I counted my scarlet bites, 23!  Glenys had a few too but not as many as me. 

We were short of well water so I went to the hand operated pump and drew some water, quite hard work! Then we went over to the other cottage and had a brunch of peameal bacon (a bit like gammon, very nice) and waffles with syrup, though I skipped the syrup, too sweet for me.

Then Dianne and Dan took us to Conestoga Mall in the city of Waterloo about a 40 minute drive for our shopping fix.  We agreed that they would come back for us in three hours.  We wandered around the mall which was really nice, not too big so not tiring to look around.  I bought a bag and some shoes, unfortunately prices in Canada are not as cheap as the USA compared with UK prices, so neither of us bought a lot, still it was fun.  I also got some cream for my itchy bites!

We had a snack,  and used the toilets - which were gorgeous, you really get to appreciate proper toilets when you are using porta potties and a privy LOL!

We were picked up at the agreed time and just had an easy rest of the day.  We watched birds in the valley with our binoculars.  We saw a flash of scarlet - a red cardinal and we also saw a red tailed kite in a tree by the river. If you,love nature and wildlife, as both Glenys and I do, this is a wonderful place to be.

ianne and Dan and again had a lovely evening.  Glenys hadn't known either of them before but now they were like old friends and of course they have been good friends of mine for years now.

We went back to our, Russell's, cottage following the beam of the torch, and something scurried away as we got near the building, maybe a raccoon?  The sky was pitch black and stars very bright, there was no sound except for the cicadas.  We got into the cottage and lit the oil lamps (I loved the smell of the oil) and switched on the battery lights.  It created a gentle light, and I found it nice to have no TV, I liked this simple life.

Canada 1 - Memories, Apples on the Shower Roof and Peace

On August 27th my cousin Glenys and I was flew to Canada. As we descended into Toronto airport I saw the azure blue of Lake Ontario glimmering below, then plane then banked sharply and I saw downtown Toronto, dominated still by the elegant CN Tower. In that moment I suddenly went back in time to when I was arriving in the same city, 22 years old, young, adventurous and somewhat scared. After having worked in offices since leaving school and being bored out of my mind, I knew I needed to rethink my future career, I was in arriving in Canada to work as a mother's help for a year and to give me time to work out where my life was going to go. It turned out that the woman I was going to work for was a psychiatrist, I read her books and realised that was the way ahead for me - two weeks after returning home I started my training as a psychiatric nurse, and, as they say, the rest is history! I was surprised how strongly that arrival all those years ago hit me, this was the first time I had been back to Canada since.

Immigration was surprisingly easy and soon we were on a shuttle bus to Waterloo, Ontario. My friend Dianne and her husband Dan were there to meet us, it was great to see them again. It was about a half an hours drive to the cottages where we were going to stay. Dianne had inherited the two buildings from her parents, they were in the country north of Drayton by the Conestoga River. By time we arrived it was dark and we had to walk down the step incline to the cottages by torchlight! We got to Russell's Cottage (named after Dianne's father, Dianne and Dan were in the other cottage, named Edna's after her mother, nearby) which was to be our home for the next six days.   It was cosy and homely, full of character, lots of pictures on the walls and ornaments.

Russell's Cottage

You have to be flexible, willing to rough it a little and easy going to stay at the cottage. There is no electricity or running water. You get your water from a well, use a porta potty at night and an outdoor privy (in a wooden building) during the day. Lighting is by oil lamps, and solar/battery lights, torches become your constant companion at night. No TV or phone. There is an ingenious shower inbetween the two cottages, rain water is piped by gravity to the wooden shower building, water is heated up by propane gas and you end up with a lovely refreshing shower!  The plastic roof of the shower was covered in tiny apples that had fallen from a nearby tree.

We were exhausted and went to bed soon after arriving and I was asleep within minutes.

Next morning we woke up to blue skies, sunshine and a wonderland! Our cottage looked out over a hill that flattened out to create what Dianne and Dan call The flats, running through this area is the Conestoga River. Bird feeders were everywhere and the cheeky Chickadees were as numerous as our sparrows. To the left around Edna's Cottage were cedar woods, to our right more woods.  It was beautiful, relaxing and peaceful, Glenys and I both love nature and we spent ages watching birds we had never seen before.

Conestoga River

We had breakfast in Edna's cottage with Dan and Dianne.  It was dark in there as it was surrounded by trees (which gave it shelter from the sun) so for the first time in my life I had breakfast by candlelight! 

We had a lazy day just admiring the view and chilling out.  That evening, Dianne and Dan had a barbecue, Dianne's brother and his wife came, along with their daughter Shelley who looked 20 but to our astonishment was 34!  Also there was a friend called Shirley.  All were very nice and we had a lovely fun evening.  It's lovely having barbecues, something we do rarely in the UK due to the weather.

Sunday too was spent just relaxing and getting over jetlag.  I loved this life, no rush, no looking at the time, no computer or TV.  The only sounds are from the wildlife, including the loudiest cicadas I've heard - they sounded like an electric saw!  It was simple but wonderful, for years Dianne has told me how much she loves this place and now I can see why, it's a paradise.

Germany 6 - Friends, Lights on the River and the Home of Jagermeister

August 14th

Time to go our separate ways, Julie left at crack of dawn so we said our goodbyes the previous night.  Debbi and I walked to the station and said our goodbyes there, she was heading for the airport, I was going to Braunschweig to spend my last few days with friends Chris and Andy. 

A teenage girl with a huge Rottweiler dog (that was bigger than her) sat beside me.  I love dogs, but am a little wary of those kind of breeds, but this young dog was amazing.  He was so well trained and obeyed every command the girl gave him immediately. It was fascinating to watch.

The train pulled into Braunschweig station.  I looked around for Chris and Andy but couldn't see them so headed for the exit, then I heard a familiar voice calling my name, it was Chris with Andy close behind.  It was so good to see them again.  I'd seen Chris briefly when U2 played at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin last year, but hadn't seen Andy for a few years, so it was really good to be able to spend a couple of days with them.

We drove to Wolfenbuettel where they live.  Their home is spacious, yet homely and full of interesting items from their travels.   It is decorated with an artistic flair, including wonderful photos they had taken themselves and fascinating U2 memorabilia.

That afternoon we went back to Braunschweig to visit Chris's parents to celebrate her mother's birthday.  Their home was large and a very unusual, modern design.  Chris's parents were lovely and made me very welcome, her mother was looking after everyone.  We spent a few hours there chatting and having a delicious meal.  Chris's mother paid me a really great complement (for me anyway) saying my German pronunciation was very good, I was well chuffed, though really, I didn't speak that much as everyone spoke good English.

That night at 9pm we all went down to see the Lichtparcours 2010, which consists of a series of art installations along, on and nea the River Oker in Braunschweig.  After a chaotic time getting on board the boat we eventually got sat down and set off into the dark.  There was a guide, who I listened to for a while, but it was quite tiring to try to follow the language so in the end I just let the installations speak for themselves, after all that's what art is all about anyway.

The first one I really liked was called Braunschweiger gipfel.  On the photo to the right it doesn't look that exciting, but it was much more interesting in real life because as well as the blue lights there were also various strange electronic sounds, almost like it was talking to us and quite hypnotic.

The next one we saw was my favourite, it was situated in a pool close to, but separate from, the River Oker (we had got off the boat for a while). It was called 8,33% (which I guessed was the amount of an iceberg that is visible above the surface of water).  It was a very beautiful iceberg-like creation.  It slowly turned in the water the light bouncing off it's mirrors and reflecting the water and making it's own art as it sparkled in leaves of surrounding trees.  The iceberg itself was also perfectly reflected in the still water.  You could walk all around the pool it was in, and it looked so different as the angle of view changed.  I thought it was stunning, there was no noise, it was very peaceful and very beautiful.

The next installation nearby was called Appearing Rooms.  This consisted of fountains that had "rooms" that people could enter as the fountains moved.  It seemed was a lot of fun, there was a lot of laughing as people tried to avoid getting soaked, it was art that people could really interact with.  I was struck by the difference between Appearing Rooms and 8,33%.  One was fun, full of laughter and noise, the other was serene and peaceful, yet both were fascinating.

We headed back to the boat and continued along the Oker past some of the most expensive, and exquisite houses in Braunschweig.  We passed more exhibits in the Lichtparcours, but my favourites were those I have already mentioned, but it was still interesting and pleasant quietly floating along the river.

Eventually we came back to the boarding point, half an hour late as the river was flowing faster than usual and it took longer than normal to get back to t was really where we started out.  I really enjoyed the trip it was something really unusual and different.

(All photos in the above post are taken from the Lichtparcours website here)

August 15th

The weather wasn't too good today, the first bad weather day since I'd been in Germany.  But we went out to look around the historical area of Wolfenbuettel.  As it was Sunday it was quiet, Germany still has a day of rest on Sundays only bars and eating places are open.

The old town area of Wolfenbuettel was picture-book pretty, gorgeous timbered buildings, a baroque-style palace, even a house where Casanova stayed for a while!  And everywhere was so clean, we really could learn a lot from the Germans regarding things like that.

We stopped off and had a lovely crepe and drink in a cafe before heading back home.  Chris and I spent a while watching the amazing film she has made of their recent trip to India, she really is very talented and has put together a very professional film that captures the sights and sounds of that country. 

That evening we went back into the town centre where we saw the Jagermeister shop, Apparently Jagermeister (a liqueur) was invented in Wolfenbuettel and its headquarters are still there.  I remember my mother who hardly ever drank alcohol used to love an occasional Jagermeister.

We went on to a Thai restaurant, Yiet Thai, for our meal.  The window we sat out looked out at the large house where the Mast family, who created Jagermeister lived.  The meal was very nice, but we had to wait ages for our main course.  Both Andy and I were getting impatient, (I hate waiting for my food in a restaurant) but Chris as ever was her usual calm, patient self, not allowing hersef to get wound up by waiting.  The meal was worth the wait though, it was delicious.

Back at home we spent our last evening together chatting and drinking wine, it's so good to spend time with good friends and try to to put the world to rights!  Chris and Andy had made me so welcome in their home and spoiled me, thanks guys!

So, that was it the end of a hectic tour of Germany.  It's been a ball, with lots of fantastic experiences.  And as I sat in the plane on the way home I realised that Debbi, Julie, Chris and Andy were all people I first got to know through a mutual love of U2.  We are proper friends now, beyond U2, but without that initial love in common we would never have had the chance to get to know each other.  That's pretty special isn't it?

 

Germany 5 - Bad Oeynhausen, Westfalia, Memories ......

Another lie in after a late night post U2!  At noon we walked to the Haupt  Bahnhof, a short distance from our hotel and got the train to Bad Oeynhausen.  This is the town where my mother was born and lived until she met my English father, married and moved to England.  Last time I was there was a very sad time for me, it was shortly after my mother died in 2002 and I went there to scatter her ashes in her favourite place in the Kurpark.  I had to be very surreptitious whilst doing it as I was told it was illegal to scatter ashes in Germany, but I knew that she would have wanted to go back to the place she loved more than any other, even after 50 years in the UK.  Seeing Hannover was close to Bad Oeynhausen I felt I wanted to visit to remember the good times there years ago.  Debbi and Julie wanted to come with me which I really appreciated.

As the train approached the town I began to see place names I knew, Buckeburg, Minden, Porta Westfalica.  Then I saw the Wiehengebirge, a forest-clad low mountain range, with the Kaiser Wilhelm Denkmal,  a large stone monument, two thirds up the slopes.  I've many memories of that place, the main one running down through the forest with my mum getting soaked during the mother of all storms .  Not the most sensible thing to do LOL!

We passed over the River Weser, where my grandfather used to fish and the family had picnics, I have loads of photos taken on the river's banks, luckily my family were avid photographers who catalogued life in Bad Oeynhausen and the surrounding area from the late 1800's. 

We pulled in the south railway station, and I quickly got my bearings and we went along Bahnhofstrasse towards the pig fountain.  That probably sounds odd to non-Germans, but pigs are a symbol of good luck in Germany.  The fountain represents the pig farmer who first discovered the healing waters of this spa town in the mid 1800's.  I couldn't resist posing for a photo pulling one of the pigs' tails!  LOL.  The centre of Bad Oeynhausen was much as I remembered it which was good to see in this fast changing world.

Portastrasse, where my mother grew up led off from the pig fountain.  The large Victorian house is now gone, sold in the 1970's to make way for a bank's car park.  But the street otherwise was the same, large Victorian houses, tree lined, with a fan-shaped cobbles in the road.  My grandfather was a dentist who held his clinics in the house and even today I noticed that there were still medical practices there. 

We then walked to the nearby Kurpark, a beautiful park with the old bathing houses where people used to go for their "cures".  Bad Oeynhausen still has many clinics where people come to get all kinds of medical teatment. 

It was a beautiful day (as they say ) and it was pleasant walking through the park.  We nearly got caught by fountains that weren't obvious coming out of the paving - a few seconds more and we would have been soaked!  The Jordans sprudel, world's highest carbonated, thermal saltwater fountain is in the Kurpark, but unfortunately was not on when we were there, I can well remember being fascinated it when I was a little girl though, it can reach 40 metres high.

We sat on a seat close to the fountains just relaxing in the sun.  I had scattered my mum's ashes in this park, and I felt close to her there, something I have not felt  anywhere else,  it wasn't a sad feeling it was a good feeling.

We then went back into the town centre for something to eat and found a nice place (the name of which I can't remember) and sat outside.  We had a lovely meal, the cake Julie and I had was absolutely delicious and it went down very well.  We took our time, just watching the quiet life of the town pass by, very relaxing.

I'm really glad I went to Bad Oeynhausen.  My last visit in 2002 was overshadowed by a cloud of grief, now I've moved on emotionally, and like Bono so eloquently put it a few years after his father's death, the pain doesn't go away, but the temperature goes down.  That's very, very true and I was able to enjoy this visit, relive fond memories and feel close to my mother.  I have no relatives in the town now, and I don't know if I'll ever go back, if that's the case I'm pleased my last memory of the place will be a good one.

This evening was our last night together, Debbi and Julie were going home the next day and I was going to visit friends in Wolfenbuettel.  We went out for a meal in Hannover at a steakhouse called Maredo opposite the gorgeous opera house.  We had a lovely steak meal and delicious wine, it was a lovely way end our holiday together.

Germany 4 - Hannover, The Aliens Have Landed

All photos in this post are (c) Christine Moeller.  Thanks again Chris for letting me use them.

August 12th pm.

We treated ourselves to a taxi to get to the stadium, it actually turned out to be cheaper than if we had gone on the train and it was so much easier.

We waited where we thought the band would enter the stadium once more.  Again they arrived with a police escort, this time with sirens blasting!  I counted the luxury car convoy and got 14, but I'm sure I missed a few as I was also trying to see through the blacked out windows.  So no meetings again, during the 360 Tour U2 have definitely been
more distant which is a shame, but then again a meeting is a bonus, they don't have to meet and greet fans.


We had good seats 11 rows up the lower tier on Edge's side (we always seem to end up on his side).  We got talking to a girl who was sitting beside us, she had come by herself from Berlin and this was her first U2 concert. 

They opened the same way with Stingray and Bono doing a circuit of the catwalk doing his funny, clumsy "dance".  I just love it, such fun!  Still don't know what Bono shouts out every now and then, but he did finish with, "Achtung baby!" though. 

The show followed the same set as Frankfurt, but the atmosphere was very up, Bono was in one of his jokey, fun moods.  At one point he started talking in an alien-like voice saying that they come from a "Little green planet called Ireland".  Then went on saying they had crash landed their space ship and needed to be re-built by German doctors and nurses.  He kept laughing and saying sorry but he couldn't stop himself, still speaking in alien tones he told us one of the nurses was at the concert and it was her who stamped made in Germany on his arse.  He introduced Edge as R2D2, Adam as Princess Leia and Larry as Darth Vader.  I've never seen Larry laugh so much as when he heard that!  Bono introduced himself as "The big hairy one". 

It was just so funny, I've never laughed so much at a U2 concert.  Some of the general concert goers there must have thought what a strange accent he has!  Maybe he's on too many painkillers?? 

Glastonbury seemed more defined and it was easier to hear the lyrics as the sound was clear than at Frankfurt.  The ending to me sounded rather Vertigo-like.  "It's getting better," Bono said, "You don't mind us experimenting on you?" By now he'd dropped the alien accent .  The song didn't get as good a reception here as it had in Frankfurt.

The original video to The Unforgettable Fire was there again I was pleased to see, it just works so well.  What an amazing song that is and the band were just very young men when they created it.  Bono said something in German before the song, and even to me it sounded terrible - my German friends confirmed that Bono's German is lousy and they found it very hard to understand.

At the end of City of Blinding Lights Bono got a girl out of the audience and they walked, arms around each other, along the catwalk.   He took so long about it that he was late getting ready for Vertigo!  The band kept repeating the opening music and eventually Bono got in place saying, "Sorry, I was just giving her Spanish lessons  -  uno, dos, tres, catorce!"  This is the first 360 show that I have been at wher he hs got someone out of the audience.  I'd missed that because for me and most fans it is part of a U2 show, when Bono gets someone on stage we all feel like we are up there.

Crazy was more "evil" in Hannover, I think that was what I was missing in Frankfurt, the menace and rawness and that was there tonight.  Loved him yelling out "RRRRRRRiot!"

We had bought cheap binoculars at the stadium and they were great.  Now I can't remember the song but there's a point where Bono is on the bridge on our side and turns to walk back to the stage, well in complete unison Debbi and I raised our binoculars to view a tasty back view of Bono.  We looked at each other and laughed out loud!  Great minds.

Streets was a uplifting as ever it's always mind-blowing to look round the crowd when this song is being performed, so many people singing, clapping, dancing in unison, it's certainly a special tune.  At the end of the song when they were preparing to leave the stage before the encore, Edge playfully threw a punch at Bono, who jumped back and laughed.

After the encore Bono mentioned that Paul McGuinness was born in Hannover "About 125 years ago."  He then went on to lead the audience in a rendition of Happy Birthday  for the band's "Friend and mentor" Wim Wenders who was going to turn 55 in a couple of days.

Then Bono continued, "I would like to...to" we could tell that he was distracted by something, he continued, "Just fix that speaker."  He then gave the speaker three hefty kicks before saying, "There it is!" with some satisfaction.

He then went on to dedicate Moment of Surrender to Robert Enke, a Hannover footballer who committed suicide last year.  The lights went onto Larry, he stood up and was wearing the local football team's jersey, this really seemed to strike a chord with the crowd and I actually found the song very moving that night. 

So that marked the end of 360 2010 for my friends and me. The girl from Berlin was radiant, smiling from ear to ear, she'd loved the concert.  I thought I'd be feeling sad that it was all over, but it had been such a fun, uplifting concert that we all left feeling animated and happy!

Frankfurt and Hannover had exactly the same set lists yet the shows felt very different.  The crowd were more receptive and enthusiastic in Frankfurt.  Bono was more ebullient and downright funny in Hannover and his mood transferred onto the crowd it was a real party gig. 

During the Frankfurt gig I kept thinking Bono's even smaller than usual and couldn't work out why he looked different.  Then at Hannover I noticed that he had relatively normal shoes on, quite high heels, but fairly normal soles.  Maybe he had to wear those very thick soled shoes for his back problems rather than vanity.

Bono seemed back to his old self fitness wise, though Deb and I both noticed that once he winced and froze for a second when he was taking a big step up.  He also didn't run at all or get his leg over the bridge as he used to do.  He must have worked very hard to get well enough to do the tour, bless him.

 

We got the train back to the centre of Hannover and once back at our hotel opened the wine and nibbles and chatted about the gig.  We had our now traditional after the last show U2 quiz, it was close but Julie won.  It took us ages to come back down too earth after the gig!

Now we are already tentatively planning our next leg of  U2 360, 2011 in Canada.  I think that we will see a very different show next year (but I hope Bono keep wearing those trousers ).  

Wish I'd Been at This Gig!

Just HAD to interrupt my German adventures for this:

Helsinki 360 night 2 -  Another new song played Every Breaking Wave, fabulous!

No Line on the Horizon re-appears in a semi acoustic version, even more fabulous!

Listen to them here

Germany 3 - Hannover, Lakes and History

August 11th

We chose our beds over breakfast this morning - we'd stayed up until 3am celebrating seeing our first U2 gig of 2010 in our now traditional way - with champagne, wine and nibbles.  So next morning Debbi and I were feeling worse for wear, though Julie as usual was fine, she must have hollow legs!

We checked out and got a taxi to the main station where we would get our train to our next destination - Hannover.  Frankfurt had surprised me, I really like the place.  I don't know why, but I didn't expect it to be so green, have skyscrapers and lovely river walks.

We had treated ourselves to first class tickets for the trip so were able to use the Deutsches Bahn lounge, a good strong German coffee helped Deb and I feel human again.  Our train left on time, it was one of the older trains so the first class wasn't that special, but it had been cheap so we didn't mind, at least I got my coffee in a proper mug rather than a cardboard one!  

Our hotel was smack in the centre of the city, an ideal base.  After settling in we headed to the AWD Arena where the gig was being held the next day.  It turned out to be another lovely location for a stadium, lots of greenery and beside the Maschsee, a large lake.  We laughed at the amount of posters advertising the gig, hundreds and hundreds adorning almost everything standing!  A few hardy fans again were staked out by the entry gates, I didn't envy them.

We walked the short distance to the Maschsee and found an area at the head of the lake full of restaurants, cafes, bars, stalls, musicians.  Boats glided on the lake and huge fish snapped at the surface of the water hoping to find a tasty morsel.

Writing of tasty morsels we were peckish by now and thought it would be nice to eat here.  So we went into nearby Julian's Bar, sat in the outside eating area (it's such a treat eating outside for the English as we can rarely do that mback home) and had a lovely meal there.  It was a warm evening and we relaxed and chilled out as we looked out over the lake and watched the people passing by, a great way to end our first day in Hannover.


August 12th - Morning

I woke up to the sound of church bells, something I love about being in countries like Germany.  This was our only chance to see a bit of Hannover so we walked the short distance to the old town.  It was a lovely area where I felt as if I'd stepped back in time.  Timbered buildings, cobbled roads, fountains, ornate stonework. 

We went into the Marktkirche (market church) which was quite plain in design, but there was an amazing triptych behind the altar.  In one corner it showed how the church had been pre-war, more ornate with decorated ceilings.  Only the shell and some of the thick supporting columns were all that was left after the war.  During the restoration they incorporated parts of the old building into the new walls. 

Review - City Hotel, Limburgstrasse, Hannover

Name and Address
City Hotel, Limburgstrasse, Hannover, Germany

Location
This hotel is located in the city centre, within minutes walking distance from S and U-Bahns,  and the main railway station.  There is a taxi rank two  minutes down the road.  Shops, restaurants and bars are all close by.  The hotel is also five minutes walk from the lovely Old Town area of Hannover.

Amenities
The hotel has a small reception area with a few seats, there are machines where you can buy coffee, tea, soft drinks, beer.  There is also a large dining room that is only open for breakfast.

Rooms
Again we had single rooms, they were larger than at the previous hotel, each of our three rooms was different in size.  They were clean and had everything we needed.

General
You can get a ticket that entitles you to free public transport from the hotel.  We were not told about this when we checked in and only found this out two days into our stay.  Also at check in Debbi asked if the room she had was a smoking one (as we had booked) but she was told it was not.  We noticed a seating area on our floor that had an ashtray so we asked if that was a smoking area  and it was.  I think the young lady who checked us in needs to give guests more information! 

NASA's Space Rock Song Contest

Click the link and vote for Beautiful Day!

NASA's Space Rock Song Contest

Germany 2 - Frankfurt, Showtime!

All photos in this post are (c) Christine Moeller.  Thanks Chris or letting me use some of your amazing photos!

10th August

Show day, we were all excited and headed off to the stadium in the afternoon.  We waited for the band to arrive, it was a very hot day but luckily where we were in the shade of the forest and even had log seat to rest on.  We got talking to other fans which helped pass the time.  One of the security people told one of the German fans that U2 would arrive at the airport at 4.30pm and then come to the stadium.  That seemed to be true as at around 5.40pm security was increased, we were told to stay where we were and if Bono wound down the car window we could go across.  A convoy of cars headed by two police outriders arrived, and sped into the stadium.  I've never seen U2 arrive in such a convoy, it was impossible to see into the cars and no one wound down a window and anyway it would have been difficult to stop a the convoy would have been backed up the road. Of course it was too soon to have a band sound check which was a shame, I always enjoy listening to them.  Ahh well, c'est la vie!

We went into the stadium and had something to eat sitting in the lovely sunshine.  We went to our seats, great ones at the front on a small tier inbetween the upper and power tiers on Edge's side.  Kasabian were the support, they were ok.

The Claw and stage all looked the same to me, though I've heard some people saying they thought the catwalk was smaller.  It must have been difficult to erect as there was a kind of capsule suspended high up in the middle of the stadium which was held in place by horizontal cables.  One of the Claw legs was very close to the capsule and the "spike" had to be placed between the cables, it must have been a logistic nightmare, no wonder it was already nearly built on the Saturday that we arrived in Frankfurt.

I'm not going to review the concert song by song, I'll just write about aspects of it that stood out for me.

As before, Space Oddity opened the gig, but the band's entry was different, they all walked on together from behind the stage and then went straight into Return of the Stingray Guitar (typical long-winded U2 song title LOL!)  I really liked the tune, which was mainly instrumental.  Bono was doing a circuit of the catwalk during it, throwing funny Zoo-like poses.  It was humourous and yet also very touching as it was almost like Bono was showing us he was all better after his operation and we, the audience, were celebrating that with him and sending him our love.  It felt very powerful and I felt very emotional myself, we nearly lost him as a performer and I was so glad to see Bono cavorting around the catwalk in his own inimitable way .

The next song was Beautiful Day, followed by a generally very "up" rockin' set.  I really missed No Line on the Horizon, don't know why they dropped it, it was well received live last year.  I had purposely not listened to Glastonbury on the Net so this was my first experience of it, and boy did I like it, a real rocker!  I'm so glad U2 were brave enough to play new music live, it was a new U2 experience for me and a very good one.  It was very well received by the crowd too.

Bono thanked the German doctors and nurses who treated him recently and said he now had "Made in Germany" stamped on his arse!  He likened U2 to German cars, Edge was a Mercedes Benz, Adam a BMW and Larry a Trabant.

Miss Sarajevo was brilliant, I am still stunned by how Bono can sing opera like that!  The audience clapped and cheered as he gave everything he had,  a spine tingling moment.

The video for The Unforgettable Fire had been changed.  It was more colourful and very pretty, but it didn't have the same link with the music.  The Crazy remix seemed a bit different, the chorus was more upfront, it seemed more refined, and though I liked it, I preferred last year's version.

Walk On and the masks are gone!  Yay!  Instead the people carried lanterns with the Amnesty International symbol on the front to highlight their Free Burma Campaign.  In my opinion this worked well and it touched me much more than the creepy masks.

Hold Me, Touch Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me replaced Ultraviolet in the encore.  The steering wheel was now lit up in red, which was much better.  Now I'd been disappointed to hear Ultraviolet had been dropped, but I loved HMTMKMKM!   It was performed in a very theatrical way, Bono looked menacing, the red of the steering wheel reflected in his glasses added to the overall effect. I'd forgotten that I really liked this song live much more than on CD.  Loved when Bono sat on the wheel and swung on it, he'll be on a trapeze next!

With Or Without You was simply stunning.  The show finished, as last year, with Moment of Surrender, (dedicated to those who lot their lives in the terrible crush at the recent Love Parade in Germany) and I still feel it doesn't work well as a closing song.  I felt that night if the show had finished with With or Without You it would have been perfect.

General comments - Frankfurt had a great audience, very responsive, there were times when the whole field and much of the stands was leaping about, wonderful atmosphere.  There were a couple of minor technical hitches and the sound wasn't the best I've heard.  And finally, I must say that those tight leather trousers of Bono's make me glad that I'm a woman and can appreciate how they cling to his delightful arse, thighs and other bits, fabulous!