Fasnet

Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras), the day before the beginning of the penitential season of Lent, is celebrated throughout the Catholic regions of southern Germany and Switzerland. After having experienced the Carnevale parade in Rome (see previous blog entry), we drove to the small town of Villingen in the Black Forest in order to experience their local Carnival traditions. In High German, the day before Ash Wednesday is called "Fastnacht" or "Fasching," but in Alemannic dialect it is known as "Fasnet."

In Villingen, the day is celebrated with a massive parade featuring numerous guilds from towns and villages around the vicinity. Some of the groups dress in traditional costumes. Some are marching bands. Some are fools that provide the topsy-turvy no-holds-barred comedy typical of the season. There are clowns, horses, witches, birds, and mice. The "Putzesel" (Sweeping Donkey) is whipped through through the streets dragging a pine bough behind him, and is rewarded with a ring sausage placed upon his ears at every butcher shop that he passes.

Many of the groups throw treats (candy or a tiny bottle of schnapps) to bystanders who participate in the appropriate call-and-response. When the fools shout "Narri," we reply "Narro." If you chant the following poem, you might get a treat: "Giezig, giezig, giezig -- Greedy, greedy, greedy / greedy is the old woman / if she weren't so greedy / she would give us a little treat." We shout "meow" to the cats. For some reason, when the "Babies" shout "Rebaba," we reply "Ahoy!" It is all very strange and weird and lots of fun!
https://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/Fastnet#

Freiburg im Breisgau: Augustinermuseum

The Augustinermuseum in Freiburg is devoted mainly to works of medieval and early modern art in all media: wood and stone carvings, painted panels, tapestry, jewel work, etc. It is housed in a recently renovated building dating from the 13th century that was originally the home of the Augustinians in Freiburg. Most of the works on display come from Freiburg or the surrounding region.
https://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/Augustiner#

Freiburg im Breisgau: The Minster

The Minster is the cathedral church of Freiburg and its most famous landmark. Although it has been the seat of the archbishop since 1827, the building has never been owned by the Church. It belongs to the people of Freiburg.

The present structure was begun by Berthold V, the Duke of Zaehringen, around the year 1200, being erected upon the foundation of an older 12th-century building. It is especially famous for its wealth of beautiful stained glass, its carvings, an altarpiece by Hans Baldung-Grien, and its amazing open-work spire completed around 1330. The late-Gothic choir was completed in the early 1500s.

During the night of 27 November 1944, the city was fire-bombed by more 441 RAF aircraft. Large sections of the old central city were destroyed by fire, more than 3000 civilians were killed and 10,000 injured, but the church was miraculously left intact.

Here are a few pictures (exterior and interior) of one of our favorite places on earth:
https://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/Minster#

Freiburg im Breisgau: Street Scenes

During our Spring Break, we took a trip to two of our most beloved places in Germany: Freiburg im Breisgau (where we were graduate students in 1972-73 and took our sabbatical in 2004) and Lauterbach in Hessen (where Steve was an exchange student in 1967-68). Freiburg is a beautiful town nestled between the Rhine River and the Black Forest. The town was established in a rich silver-mining area by the Dukes of Zaehringen in 1120. It is the home of Albert-Ludwigs-University (founded in 1457) and the medieval Minster (begun around 1200). It also lies at the heart of a fantastic wine-growing region on and around the volcanic peak known as the Kaiserstuhl (Emperor's Throne). Here are a few pictures taken during our strolls around town. (More pictures of the Minster and the Augustiner Museum will follow in a separate entry).
https://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/FreiburgStreetScenes#

Carnival in Rome

The weekend of March 5-6 was the culmination of Carnival festivities in Rome. The word comes from "carne vale," that is to say "farewell to meat," and takes place in the days just before the time of Lent. For the past several weeks, there have been parties for costumed children. This weekend, there were horse shows and various other events at the Piazza del Popolo, about 10 minutes walk from our flat. On Sunday morning, there was a parade in the city featuring several large floats dedicated to political satire. On Sunday night, there was an equestrian extravaganza at the Piazza del Popolo. The events in the arena were projected onto the huge arch at the entrance to the square. Our weekend also included a long Sunday walk through the city where we saw all sorts of random things. Here are some pictures from that weekend.
https://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/RomeCarnival#

Return to Ostia and San Clemente

On Thursday, 24 February, Tom, Mary Kay, and I went back to Ostia Antica. For the first trip, scroll down below the picture of this charming fellow to the left and see the link to our blog entry of February 14:

http://livingwright2.blogspot.com/2011/02/ostia-antica-buried-roman-city.html

Thursday was cool and breezy, but perfect weather for hours of exploring the excavated ruins of this ancient abandoned seaport that once was home to 100,000 people. Here are a few more pictures to add to the album that we posted with the previous entry:

https://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/ReturnToOstia#

On Friday, we went to the church of San Clemente, one of our all-time favorite spots in Rome. The site consists of three separate buildings, each one having been built on top of the others over the course of the centuries. At street level is a lovely 12th-century basilica that features beautiful medieval mozaics in the apse and a 5th-century marble choir stall. This church was built above the back-filled sanctuary of the original 4th-century church which has now been excavated. This church has frescos dating from the 9th and 10th centuries and the tomb of St Cyril, the 9th-century "apostle to the Slavs." Climbing down yet another flight of stairs that lead one far below today's street level, one comes to a set of 1st-century Roman buildings along a brick-paved alleyway that includes a temple and altar of Mithras, god of the eastern religious cult that flourished in early imperial Rome. There is also a Mithraic schoolroom and a Roman home where springs of cool, fresh water still flow as they did centuries ago.

No photos are allowed at San Clemente, but they have a good web site that includes a virtual tour of all three levels.

Video: http://www.basilicasanclemente.com/video/basilica-video.htm

Photo tour of all three levels: http://www.basilicasanclemente.com/tour/3levels.htm

Vatican Museums

We took a long, slow walk through the Vatican Museums on Monday, 21 February. It would be absolutely impossible to see everything, much less even to begin appreciating everything one sees. Sculpture, painting, Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities, ivory, mosaics, cuneiform tablets, jewels, tapestries, maps . . . not to mention the spectacular architecture and decoration of the rooms of the palace itself. The highlights are the private rooms painted for Pope Julius II by Raphael (pictures allowed) and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ("Silence! No photo!").

https://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/Vatican#