Thursday, October 28, 2010

Kirmis

A few weeks back, we had Kirmis in Herford.  Sounds religious, doesn’t it??  It’s actually something like a county fair, with rides, cotton candy, shooting galleries, arts and crafts…

One photo I like is this:

Offeneinkauf Sonntag and Kirmis 2010 249

The building in the background is the old postoffice (now a restaurant) and the fellow standing on the roof is Wittekind (or Widukind) who frequently destroyed Charlemagne’s troops until his miraculous conversion to Christianity….

As he stands high above the Rathausplatz,we can wonder if he really is a Jumper.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

And a little more about vacation…

It’s not every day that someone from Steinstrasse goes on vacation.  It’s more like every other day.  One of the guys just got back from Gran Canaria and is off again to Turkey.  Another just returned from Greece, where he had his wallet lifted in Athens and returned to Herford to find it in his mailbox (without the money, but with all of his papers intact, a savings of weeks of bureaucracy). 

Not being a beach bum, I find my solace in train rides to places of historical interest.  I limit myself to one or two days and if I need more, I take it, or them, as in photos and notes.  If I were thirty years younger, you might say I’m trying to find myself, but since I always know where I am, that can’t be it.

It’s more fun to travel with a companion, so the ad is up again:

WANTED: travelling companion, female, between the ages of 35 and 50.  Must be beautiful, intelligent, and witty.  Apllicants apply to ME.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft agley…

Robert Burns

better not to plan today.  I’ve made three today, and missed two trains and a bus because I found something interesting to think about in between.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Golden October

It’s a cold, rainy morning on Steinstrasse. Golden October was here for a bit, I got in a few very nice photowanderings and enjoyed sitting outside drinking coffee. This weather is a preview of the long Nordrhein-Westfalen winter.  Winter here is a lot harder on the soul than it is on the body.  Shovelling snow is a snap (no, I don’t have to do it myself) and most of it is gone by the time the sun gets to the twelve o’clock position.  With the right angle and the right light, rain can be interesting.  Cold is a matter for good shoes and clothing.  Golden October is a matter for the imagination……

Tonight is TextArt night at the Schiller Café.  Readings from poets and other writers of their works.  My German ear is being tuned by listening to the radio and reading Thomas Mann’s “Der Zauberberg” (The Magic Mountain).  It is a great book in any language, but reading it in the original is a joy of discovery.  There are nuances and descriptive phrases that don’t always translate. If you haven’t read it,do so, there are several good English translations.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Promises, promises....

I've been telling you about it for awhile, so on the day that I've received papers to appear in a courtroom in Pennsylvania, USA, on the 14th of this month, I give you more of The Yellow House....

http://www.zavacki.com/contentsstories.html

Künstlertreffing

Tuesdays, Mona Lisa is closed, but the Künstlertreff (artists meeting for you who are deprived of the joy of German) is on.  There was a special session last night at Cafe Schiller with Ida Long, a Swedish singer and perfomance artist of much talent.  Local talent preceded and followed, and, as usual, was good.  Herford is a good place to be...other happenings to be found on the city's site.

Künstlertreff is normally held on the second Tuesday of the month in Cafe Schiller, Herford.  HotClub Jazz in the same place on the 4th Tuesday, and TextArt (writers reading) on the 1st Tuesday.  Tuesdays are better in Herford.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

not according to plan: September Song

I wrote in September, made fotos in September, fell in love a thousand times-with trees and rocks, with women, with words, with ideas, with dogs on the street and birds on the balcony.  I missed something. Perhaps it was the rain, perhaps it was my heart, but a hesitancy hung over me the entire month.  I did not go to Wewelsburg or Usedom.

October is here, a pivotal month in my thinking, in my heart.  I will discover, I will learn, I will share.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Here’s That Rainy Day, Week, Month…

Surprise, surprise.  It’s raining.  I’m tempted to put the Nikon in the water-proof sack, don my Gore-Tex and Quick Dry and just keep walking until I’ve a hundred grey, wet photos.  I haven’t done a rainy day walk for a while now.