Freiburg - Sunday Adventure

Another rainy day...our friends Anne-Marie and Uli Grundmeier drove us to a nearby village, Faustadt Staufen, known for its vineyards and cherry water.

The city hall clock was chiming while we roamed around.

The castle ruins are surrounded by vineyards and overlooks the village below.  We walked to the top - beautiful views.

The castle was built in 1100 - but is now deserted, of course!

Faudstadt Staufen is the home of the famous Cafe Decker.  There were so many desserts on display it was hard to choose.  Richard enjoyed an apple tart with whipped cream.  I had cafe au lait - too many sweets for me on this trip - so I just lusted after his  rather than have a piece of my own.

In the evening, we took the tram to the old city (Freiburg) and attended a concert at St. Martin Church.  The Oratorio by Carl Loewe was outstanding and it was its premier performance.  The acoustics were absolutely wonderful - the guest soloists had beautiful voices.  The performance lasted 2 hours without an intermission - thank goodness - because the hardwood seats and the chill of the church was a bit uncomfortable.  The wondrous music more than made up for our minor discomfort!

Freiburg - Market Day

Raining on Saturday.  We started out the day at the market in the square outside the Munster (cathedral). We bought some groceries from a local market in anticipation of the stores being closed Sunday.

So many beautiful flowers, fruits, vegetables and housewares for sale!

shoes made out of hay!

I loved the assortment of brooms and brushes too

There was a free organ concert inside the cathedral.  It was a good excuse to get out of the rain.  On the program were two works: Priere op. 20 by Cesar Franck and Toccata by Theodore Dubois.  After the half hour concert, we ate bratwurst sandwiches from one of the market vendors - lots of mustard and grilled onions.  Messy to eat while holding an umbrella, but well worth the effort.

The Munster was built in three stages, the first beginning in the year 1120, the second in 1210 and the third in 1230.  Of the original building, only the foundations still exist.  The church was officially recognized as a cathedral in 1827.

Visiting art museums is another good thing to do on a rainy day.  We visited two.  I especially enjoyed the joint venture of artists (mother and daughter) Barbara and Katarina Grosse at the Austinermuseum.

Artwork by Katarina Grosse

Etchings by Barbara Grosse

The top three floors of the Augustinermuseum exhibited stained glass windows, statuary and other artifacts once part of the Munster.  

We also visited the museum fur neue kunst (modern art).  Unfortunately, there was only one exhibit on view.

One last stop before going back to the apartment.  Karl Etoffe and Max Tessuti's shop.  Fabulous fabrics and trim!

Freiburg - Opening Night and...

We started out the day taking the train to Hinterzarten, a delightful village in the Black Forest.

The weather is quite chilly for us Floridians.  We haven't seen much of the sun since we've been here.  It hasn't rained, so we are not complaining about the weather.  Actually, the cold climate is a nice change after the long hot season in Naples.  The altitude is 850-1400 m.

There are numerous trails for hiking here

a little local wildlife 

all kinds of creatures roaming the Black Forest!

We bought Black Forest cake at the bakery and wolfed it down before even thinking about taking a picture of it!

The opening reception was a great success.  Lots of people attended.  ((I was told by the staff of Carl Schurz Haus that people who were unable to attend the evening reception were waiting in line when it opened its doors in the morning.)  Members of the Freiburg Quilt Club made wonderful food for the guests to enjoy.

The whole evening was a wonderful experience.  I'll never forget it.

Freiburg - Getting Settled

We had a great flight out of Miami to Zurich - everything on time.  Getting our luggage and buying train tickets was easy enough too.  We had to make 3 transfers on the train which was a little stressful carrying large suitcases and running from track to track, but we managed to find our way to Freiburg without mishap!

The first thing we noticed at the Freiburg main train station was bicycles.  Evidently this is the bicycle capitol of Germany - everyone rides one.

We hung my quilts (15) at Carl Schurz Haus yesterday with the help of CSH interns and ladies of the Freiburg Quilt Club.

From left to right, interns Sabina, Patrick, me, Uta Schroeder, Freiburg Quilt Club members Olma and Patricia.  (A few other quilt club ladies helped but had already left before this picture was taken.)  The help of many hands made the hanging almost effortless for me.

After the quilts were hung, my husband Richard, Sabina, Patrick and I went to lunch - our first German meal - oh so good.  I had a delicious cream of pumpkin soup and winter salad.

I had problems with my computer - Safari wasn't working for me.  Mr. Haupt from the computer department here at the University of Education did his magic and now has me up and running.  

We are staying in a very comfortable 2 bedroom apartment on the University of Education's campus - more about that later.

Tonight is the opening reception for the exhibit.  This is going to be fun!

It's in the Bag!

I know I'll do some shopping in Germany - who am I kidding - I'll do lots of shopping!  I need an extra carry-on bag.  I have a large purse for my laptop, I-pad, camera, etc.  I looked at a few stores for a tote and then I thought to myself, why am I buying one - make it instead.  18x8x3 seemed like a good size - not too large - just right.

 The process:

canvas with layer of gesso and acrylic paints

additional acrylic paint added with hand carved stamp

painted canvas strip to be used for handle straps

 In the same manner as the thank you card made last week, a shape for the face was roughly painted in.

finished face

2" on the sides folded; top stitched to add definition to the tote

handles (lined with my hand dyed fabric), turned right side out

handles basted in position; side and bottom seams sewn together.  A lining (my hand dyed fabric) for the bag was made, stitched to the top seam of bag (right sides together) leaving an opening in the bottom seam of lining to turn the bag right side out.  The top seam was then top stitched.

Finished bag (side A)

Finished bag (side B) 

The bag has two sides, of course!  

Valcro was sewn inside the bag as a finishing touch.  This was fun to make.  It was necessary to use a leather needle to sew through this heavy weight canvas and pima cotton lining.   I know I'll use this bag a lot on my trip to Germany.

Please visit Pink Saturday for more inspiration.  

Giving Thanks

Hand made gifts are the best way (IMO) to say thank you.  I recently made this thank you card for a friend.

The process:

canvas with layer of gesso and dry brushed green acrylic paint

more dry brushed acrylic paints in blue, gray, lavender

painted in area for face and hair; lightly penciled features

adding detail with acrylic paint

creating depth with Prismacolor pencils

canvas squared up, adhered to Dritz InnerFuse, free motion machine quilted.  Lastly a piece of my hand dyed cotton was adhered to the back; zigzag finished edges; personal message written on back.

Visit Pink Saturday to see more interesting things!