Thursday, 24 May 2018: Wittenberg, Germany

Today we sailed from Torgau to Wittenberg in the morning. We saw cattle, sheep, and horses along the way, and we could hear cuckoos in the woods. In Wittenberg, we visited the Castle Church, where we heard a brass ensemble playing.

Brass ensemble playing at Castle Church, Wittenberg, when we arrived

Next we visited the Town Church, where in 1517,  Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door, setting off the Protestant Reformation. 

The "95 Theses Door" of Town Church, Wittenberg

We stopped in front of the workshops of Lucas Cranach (the elder and younger). Lucas Cranach was a painter and printmaker, and did many woodcuts and engravings to illustrate the new German-language Bible, which Martin Luther had translated into German.  He translated directly from Hebrew and Ancient Greek, rather than from the Latin Vulgate version.  Gutenberg's Printing Press and Lucas Cranach's illustrations brought the Bible into the homes of the common man.

Lucas Cranach's Workshop in Wittenberg

Lucas Cranach's painting of Martin Luther and his wife, Katharina

The Ten Commandments, by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Finally, we toured the Luther home, an apartment in an old monastery, which had become vacant  when the monasteries closed during the Reformation period.  Martin Luther and his wife and six children lived in a few small rooms in the empty monastery.

Tiled stove in Martin Luther family apartment

Back on board ship that evening, we saw a short play featuring Katherina Luther and her friend, as they discussed customs of their day. They were accompanied by a viola da gamba, harp, and alto recorder.

Wednesday 23 May 2018 Meissen/Torgau, Germany

Today we 'played hookie' and skipped the Meissenware factory tour. Instead we had a leisurely breakfast of birchermuesli, fruit, and herb tea. Then we walked into Meissen and up through the town to the church. We stopped in a couple bookstores and picked up some picture books for Cora. Then we stopped at a Konditorei for some coffee and Streusel cake. We are now back on board ship and are underway to Torgau for the night.

Cafe in Meissen

Town well outside church in Meissen

Fruit market on square in Meissen

Cruising along the Elbe

We keep hearing cuckoos in the mornings as we cruise along the Elbe.  At first I thought there was a cuckoo clock on board ship!  If you turn the volume up on your computer, you can hear them in the first four seconds of this video that Dan took:

Cuckoos calling along the Elbe (Turn volume up. First 4 seconds)

Later in the evening, we took a walk in Torgau and visited Schloss Hartenfels, which was built in 1485. Hartenfels means "Hard Rock." So...is the cafe there the first Hard Rock Cafe?

Schloss Hartenfels in Torgau

Monument to the first meeting of Soviet and US Troops at the end of World War II. Torgau

Torgau is also the site where Soviet and US Troops first met after the end of World War II. This is a photo of the Soviet monument on the East side of the Elbe.

Tuesday 22 May 2018 Dresden, Germany

After sailing along the Elbe past larger and larger  villas (some with vineyards), we arrived in Dresden, where we spent the day.

Elbe approach to Dresden, past villas and vineyard

We went to the Old Masters gallery in the Zwinger Palace and we saw many paintings by Rubens, Rembrandt, Titian and others.   Rembrandt's painting, The Prodigal Son in the Tavern, is actually a self-portrait with his wife.

Rembrandt's The Prodigal Son in the Tavern. Old Master's Gallery. Zwinger Palace, Dresden

Abraham Bloemaert, The Miserly old woman, 1625. Zwinger Palace, Dresden

Claude Lorrain, Landscape with the Rest on Flight into Egypt, 1647. Zwinger Palace, Dresden

In the evening, we walked back to town along the river and had dinner at the Old Masters Cafe, where we sat outside under the watchful eye of Carl Maria von Weber near the Semper Opera.

Carl Maria von Weber, Classical composer

At 9pm in the ship's lounge, we heard a concert performed by a Dresden Opera trio (flute, bassoon, and violin). They played Mozart, Haydn, and Scott Joplin.

Dresden Opera Trio

Monday 21 May 2018, The Elbe and Bad Schandau, Germany

Cruising along the Elbe River in Saxony, Germany

Today we sailed along the Elbe River from the Czech Republic into Germany, arriving at Bad Schandau, just below the Bastei Rock Formation in the Sandstone Mountains. We hiked to the Bastei, and here is our view of the Elbe. The name Elbe means "white and shining". Nearly 800 km north is Hamburg and Cuxhaven, where the Elbe flows into the North Sea, and where we will end our trip in about a month.

View of the Elbe from the Bastei, a fort above Bad Schandau, Germany

View from The Bastei

Climbers at the Bastei

Picnickers along the Elbe

Cruising on the Elbe, under the Bastei

Sunday, 20 May 2018: Prague, Czech Republic

Today we are in Prague in the Czech Republic, and we are about to embark on a river cruise along the Elbe, followed by a three-week driving tour of Germany.  Yesterday we took a short city bus tour of Prague, and then spent the rest of yesterday and today walking along the Vltava (Moldau) in Prague, sampling the local food, and trying to recover from a missed night of sleep and jetlag.

The Vltava River, also known as The Moldau

Svickova: Beef in vegetable cream sauce, with bread dumplings at The Gate

On one of our walks, we found a wonderful concert to go to: The Josef Suk Piano Quartet at the Rudolfinum.  The quartet is named after Josef Suk, the great-grandson of Antonín Dvořák.  The quartet consists of piano, violin, viola and cello, and they played pieces by Mozart, Bach, Dvořák, and Suk. The venue and the performance were perfect!

Josef Suk Quartet Concert at the Rudolfinum in Prague, Saturday, 19 May 2018.

After our cruise, we are going to visit the towns rom which our ancestors emigrated. Dan's mother's family, the Buchners, came from Schmidühlen in Bavaria in 1885.  My father's mother's family, the Schmidts, came from Elmshorn in Schleswig-Holstein) in 1872.

We will also attend the 2018 Bach-Fest in Leipzig in mid-June and visit significant places in Johann Sebastian Bach's life along the way:

• Eisenach (1685-1695) where he was born on March 31st. He lived here until he was orphaned at age 10.
• Ohrdruf (1695-1700) He lived here with his oldest brother and learned to play the organ.
• Lüneberg (1700-1703) He attended the Michaelis choir school here from age 15 to 18.
• Arnstadt (1703-1706) His first post as church organist. He composed many organ works here.
• Mühlausen (1707) Another post as organist. He married his first wife, Marie Barbara, here.
• Weimar (1708-1717) A major post as organist and concertmaster at the courts of Dukes Wilhelm Ernst and Ernst August. He composed organ works and his first cantatas here.
• Köthen (1717-1722) Kapellmeister to Prince Leopold. He composed the Brandenburg Concertos here. His first wife died here in 1721. He married Anna Magdalena in 1722.
• Leipzig (1723-1750) Cantor at the Thomaskirche from 1723-1750. He composed his greatest works here: the Passions, the B-Minor Mass, Well-Tempered Clavier,  Goldberg Variations, The Art of the Fugue, the Orchestral Suites, and my two favorite Cantatas, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (BWV 147) and Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott (BWV 80). He died in Leipzig on the 28th of July 1750. He is buried in the Thomaskirche.  Anna Magdalena died ten years later, in 1760.

Finally, we'll take a seaside break in Timmendorfer Strand.  Along the way we'll visit friends in Berlin, Rosenheim, and Hamburg.

Relief map of Germany, with a political map overlay

Here is a link to an Interactive map I made, which shows places we will visit, plus significant places in JS Bach's life.

May 18 Map: Walks around Prague

May 19 Map: City bus tour around Prague

May 20 Map: Bus to Děčín, Czech Republic. River cruise toward Dresden.

Waiting for spring....

Based on a tutorial at http://www.letspaintnature.com

Fried Egg, Colored Pencil

Fried Egg. Colored pencil on toned paper by jmb, based on a tutorial on arttutor.com. 

Bug by Tiffany's?

Spotted at the gas station. He looked like he was made of stained glass!

The Cheshire Raccoon

I was walking in Quail Hollow the other day, when a rather large raccoon lumbered across the path in front of me.  I saw him climb a tree, and then perch up where the trunk split. He sat for a long time, keeping a sharp eye on me. I fumbled for my camera, only to find its battery was dead! (If only I had taken a few less photos of woodland flowers that day!)  He looked so like Lewis Carroll's Cheshire Cat--like a disembodied face up in a tree!

Sun lingering in the sky this evening...

29 December 2016: Fungus spotted in Quail Hollow

Fungus spotted in Quail Hollow, December 2016

Every Day in May 2016 #3: A Hammer - Piano hammers

Every Day in May Facebook Group #3: A Hammer, in this case piano hammers.

Every Day in May 2016 #2: Something Folded - A Paper Fan

Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch: Something Folded - A Paper Fan.  When I was little, my grandmother used to fold our church bulletin into a fan, and we would fan each other during the Sunday service in the summer. A game of tic tac toe also helped to keep me still.

Every Day in May 2016 #1: A Toy - Catnip Bubbles

Every Day in May is a Facebook Group of over 1,000 artists who share a sketch of the same subject each day in May.  Day 1's assignment was to draw a toy.  I'm not sure who has more fun with this toy: Bojangles the Cat or my daughters.

Sunrise at Deerfield Beach, Florida

Sparrows in our room

Two sparrows flew into our hotel room while I was writing a card to my mother. They didn't stay long enough for a photo, so here's a quick sketch instead.

Wild Parrots

Nap among the Hibiscus

Gecko

He was very cooperative about being photographed, unlike Sailor the Cat.

Sailor the Yacht Club Cat

Sailor says "Hey!" to Sonny, Cher, Bojangles, Lili, Lulu, and even Bosco the Dog!  Any other cool cats or dogs out there that want a hello from Sailor the Yacht Club Cat?