"What a gush of euphony voluminously wells!" - Edgar Allan Poe

I keep meaning to share these three silly videos for months. Since it was getting a little dusty in this here blog, I figured now was a great time! :)

I took these one day last September in Frankfurt, Germany. First one was taken walking down a little street, next was a couple hours later on a floating barge/biergarten, and the last an hour or so after that from my hotel room. (Don't mind the zoom-in on the Haribo Gummy Bears on my pillow instead of chocolate. I was a little giddy.)

They're each just a few seconds long and every time I hear them, my heart swells. The sound in person was almost overwhelming - I was totally overstimulated and didn't know where to look. If I could ever get back, I'd love to go during one of the 4 times a year they coordinate every church's bells to play together. (Große Stadtgeläut - "Great Peal of Bells") And in reading up on this, I discovered they are SERIOUS about their bells:

"Today, the sound characteristics of all bells present themselves as follows:
* Dom: nine bells (1877): E°, A°, C#', e', F#', G#', A', B', C#"
* Katharinenkirche (1954): four bells: B°, D', E', F#'
* Paulskirche: six bells (three: 1987): F#°, B°, C#', E', (G'), (B')
* Liebfrauenkirche (1954): five bells: E', G', A', C", D"
* Nikolaikirche: four bells (1956): G#', B', C#", E"
* Leonhardskirche: six bells (1956): F#', A', B', C#", E", F#"
* Dreikönigskirche: five bells (1956): E', F#', G', A', B'
* Peterskirche: four bells (1964): C#', E', F#', G#'
* Heiliggeistkirche: three bells (1958): A', B', C#"
* Karmeliterkloster5 : four bells (1995): (C'''), (D'''), (F'''), (G''')"

My favorite is the second video... could have been the apfelwein, too. :) Make sure your sound is on, because the videos are boring as sin.








Hear the mellow wedding bells,
Golden bells!
What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!
Through the balmy air of night
How they ring out their delight!
From the molten-golden notes,
And an in tune,
What a liquid ditty floats
To the turtle-dove that listens, while she gloats
On the moon!
Oh, from out the sounding cells,
What a gush of euphony voluminously wells!
How it swells!
How it dwells
On the Future! how it tells
Of the rapture that impels
To the swinging and the ringing
Of the bells, bells, bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells,bells,
Bells, bells, bells-
To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!
-Edgar Allan Poe

Part VIII ::: The end of the onslaught of German photos!

OK, well, I might have a couple more things up my sleeves, but this is the offical last giant post. =)

Before I arrived, I had read up on Frankfurt's Apfelwein. I couldn't wait to try it. It's always served in a "Geripptes", a glass with a lozenge cut that refracts light. According to Wikipedia, "the serration of the Apfelwein glasses is common not only for the pleasing refraction of incident light but also because in former times one often ate without cutlery—and smooth glasses slide from greasy hands rather more easily than serrated ones." Each place had their own glasses, with adorable designs... and I learned on our little bus tour that if a biergarten/bar/pub had a green wreath hanging over its sign, it meant they had their own apple press on site and make their own apple wine!

Now, as my coworker will attest, it was not enjoyable. It almost tasted like dirty feet at first. But we were glad we did! Then we went on our bus tour, where the recording told us that everyone who tries it hates it at first... and that you have to have a second to appreciate it. It grows on you. =)


For the record, it went very well with a giant pretzel with butter. (Random but phenomenally delish! Apparently a Bavarian treat!)


So, because it was Saturday, there was an ENORMOUS market!!!!!! Heaven!!!! Vegetarians might want to scroll quickly...






Bratwurst, bockwurst, rindswurst as far as the eye can see!


Some fruit for good measure.


Honey...


They love their schwein!




Oooh! Another non-meat product!


Oh wait, that was short lived. More sausages.


Nothing that says "Germany" about this pic, but I liked it anyway!


Do we have these ketchup/mustard devices over here? I've never seen them before. They're so efficient! Like giant condiment udders.


Old vs. new!


Skyscrapers!


This one even in the diamond print of the apfelwein glasses... =)


Speaking of which, we retired to one of the biergarten barges later in the afternoon ... and yes, I gave it a second shot! And the tour was totally right. =)






Where else but Germany would they put Haribo Gummy Bears on your pillow instead of chocolates?! Yum!


Doors and windows!










And the best for last, the pub pooch.




And that's all she wrote! Danke schön! =)

Part VII ::: Frankfurt!

It's not over yet! =)

My last day in Germany was spent exploring Frankfurt. Since it was an entirely free day, with no actual work involved, I of course went a little snap happy.

Frankfurt is a really interesting city, a complex mish-mash of old and new. It is the financial center of Germany and there are many modern buildings nad skyscrapers contrary to what you might think.

Crossing over the River Main.






Pub barges!!!!


Awesome.


Love all these random guys...



(Look! Grapes!)

Tavern below street level, in the basement of city hall. =)


The main plaza, Romer.










Doors!




Amazing organ inside one of the churches...


And really cool stained glass.


This shop made me smile...


Especially when I saw this in the window. Grover would have loved it. It really is a dog toy!


Just some shots from around the market










Perfect example of the juxtaposition of old vs. new. The Old Opera House (Alte Oper) was completely destroyed when it was bombed in WWII in 1944. Thankfully it was restored in 1981, after 40 years of living as "Germany's Most Beautiful Ruin."




Inside...


=) I loved finding random English all over the place.


More old vs. new...







Looks like I have to break it up into two posts. Hehehe.