July5
This is one of the more interesting entrances to the old city. It curves inside the wall and is more like a tunnel. You can see the curve in the middle photo. The third photo shows the exit into the city, but it also gives a feel of how dark it would have been without lights.
Most of the old German cities have only a small section of their old wall remaining, due to the horrific bombing of World War II. Some tore down remaining walls because the openings were too small to allow fire trucks into the old section, or they felt they needed to widen the streets for modern traffic. I'm so glad that Nürnberg did not do this; being enclosed within a city wall is the only way you can get a feel for the size both of the city and the thickness and height of the wall. It emphasizes the fact that everything is within walking distance, and helps give a feel to life "back then."
I was awed to think that both Albrecht Dürer and Maria Sylabilla Merian walked this town and through this entrance.
July4
Shown here is one style of what we would call an old washstand. These were used in Germany in the 1600's for washing your fingers before eating. Yes, I did say fingers instead of hands. You didn't wash both hands, instead you washed only the first two fingers and thumb of each hand. No housewife wanted to waste water, and the first two fingers and thumb is all you use when eating. (Notice next time you eat…this is true!) And, I'm sure that if you are the one who has to go outside with a bucket, draw the water from a well, and then lug it inside to use, you don't want to be making a lot of trips to the well.
June29
These photos are from inside St. Sebaldus Church in Nürnberg, Germany. Besides being another lovely old church, this one has special meaning for me. This is the church Maria Sybilla Merian attended, and where her second daughter, Dorothea, was baptised.
When I learned that the statue of St. Sebaldus is easy to recognize because he is holding a church, I had to photograph it!
I was also interested in the very old baptismal font in the church. It is the original one, made around 1430, and is the one used when Dorothea was baptised. How awesome is that! When our country is less than 300 years old, I just find it incredible to see something still in existence and over 550 years old–something older than the US. (And as luck would have it, on this particular day, a baby had just been baptised when I entered the church. You can see the photographer snapping pictures of the family.
May20
The sole reason I toured Albrecht Dürer's house in Nürnberg, Germany, was because I had read there was a display of his paint and where it came from. Now Dürer lived 170 years before Maria Sybilla Merian did, but things were slow to change back in those days; I figured the source of paints would still be the same. I had already spent two and a half years researching the old paint recipes to find a few which would be usable in the classroom during the study of art in the Middle Ages. (I was bored with the time period and needed a way to "liven it up" 'cause it's a sure bet that if the teacher's already bored, the students will be triply bored, and the last thing we need is bored kids in the classroom.)
I was delighted to see that what I had read was confirmed here.
The blue pigment in the picture on the left is azurite; the powdered form was kept on the half shell, it's source is the azurite rock behind. The red pigment was new to me–it is called Drachenblut, or Dragon's Blood. It comes from a red resin from the fruit of a palm tree found in Asia.
The center picture shows a pigment made from roots of the Rubia plant–also new to me–on the left. On the right is a dish of cochineal bugs which, when crushed, make a purply-red pigment. (And, yes, the dried bugs do stink if you get your nose too close to them!)
The picture on the right shows the beautiful bright red pigment derived from Cinnabar rocks from Spain.
One added note: most rocks lose their color when crushed and cannot be used to make paint. Those that do retain their color make very lovely paint, indeed.
May15
I’m getting very tired of all the rain, storms, high winds, and, of course, tornadoes! It has rained so much I haven’t been able to get my rain barrel made; isn’t that ironic! I’m sure that when I finally get it all done…well, we’ll probably have a drought and there will be no rain to catch. Seems to be the way things often go around here.
I did become aware during this last dash to the basement as the tornado sirens screamed that what I take to the basement with me differs vastly from one time to the next. When we have a bit more warning and I have time, I do a good job of packing and making sure I have flashlights and candles and matches; shoes and jacket just in case; other items of value which seem to vary quite a lot. Sometimes its family information, photos, artwork–often my current project. This last time all I took was the manuscript I’m working on and the backup flashdrive and my cell phone. And this time we took not only our dog and her car seat, but also the visiting neighborhood cat. Ya just never know.
