Little Quilt and Germany, pt 1

The list of cards I owe is really long.  As you know, this has not been a very productive year for me, quilt-wise.  I dug through my card bin, and found this narrow piece.  It has lots of thread painting, echoing the trees of the batik.  It called for something to finish it off.  I looked through my treasure bin, and found this moose pin, that I'd purchased at an estate sale for $1.  Perfect!

 This image shows the accurate colors, though Mr. Moose and his enamel sure reflect the glare of the flash!  I'm not sure I can get a proper picture, with both accurate color AND no reflection.  This will have to do.  sorry.

Our next-to-last stop on the cruise was Germany.  We signed up for a tour of "Hanseatic League Cities."  This involved visiting two historic cities involved in an economic league centuries ago.  The first was Luebeck, the second was Wismar.  Today, I'll introduce you to Luebeck.  (It's actually spelled with an umlaut, but I can't find a tab to insert the character.)

Luebeck was the seat of the Hanseatic League.  We drove for about 90 minutes west, crossing over the now invisible border dividing East/West Germany.  The drive took us through miles of agriculture, primarily grain crops. 

 When we parked and disembarked the bus, this was on one side of the parking lot.

This was the view on the other side.

 The city gate still stands, though it is now flanked by busy roads.  I love the brickwork.  There are stripes, of black and green, that aren't apparent in this photo.  The colors were achieved with glaze.  It was a beautiful day.  Look at that sky!!

 The city is both modern and historic.  It was bombed during WWII, so relatively new structures stand next to Gothic cathedrals.  Beautiful!

Modern graffiti, historic buildings.  Such is life in the west, i.e., not newly freed from Soviet oppression.  (26 years is recent history in Europe)

 Look at this church, stretching to the heavens!

 Can you see the flying buttresses?  I'd studied them in several Art History classes, but this was the first time I actually saw some in person.  So THAT's a flying buttress!

 This was a walking tour, and walk we did.  We moved around the historic paths, with cobblestone walks and soaring brickwork.  This was a very dramatic change from the countries we'd visited earlier.  Those with Russian influence had palaces build from stone. Prussian influence?  Clay/brick seems to be the construction material of choice.

I know I tend to go on and on, so I'll leave you here.  Luebeck = lots of soaring brickwork.  Gorgeous!

Next stop:  Wismar, Germany