Winterstammtisch in Hamburg-Harburg

On December 20th (yes, we're going back in time a little but then that's normal for re-enactors), we went to Hamburg-Harburg for the annual Winterstammtisch. This time, 'we' was not just Schatz and I but also Kees, Danny, Marion and Janneke from Holland who drove up here for a long weekend. See also Kees' blog entry of December 23rd.

do they have cheese in Harburg?

As I mentioned before, history or rather re-enactment enthousiasts meet in Hamburg-Harburg once a month on a Friday evening for a meal, a drink and some merry-making.

Wall of rememberance in the FZ Nöldekestraße pub

And in December, around the Yul weekend, we meet for a lavish banquet.

Everybody shows up dressed in their finest garb - except for me, I still need a real party dress. I tried to bluff my way through with two dresses atop each other but it wasn't quite as grand as I had hoped. Maybe I'll do better next year.

As people entered, they put plates and bowls on the table, as well as some cutlery and drinking vessels, and slowly the table was set.

getting ready

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Michi was keeping an eye on things.

in the eye of the storm

Birgitt was lighting candles and providing everyone with drinks.

"there's a light, over at the FZ place..."

And we - well, we were milling about, admiring each others' dresses and discussing fashion throughout the millenia, and taking pictures.

milling and mixing and admiring

women across time

suffering from gout?
or just conspicuosly inconspicous checking out her camera's TFT screen?

Whereas in past years most participants 'came from' the Early and High Middle Ages, there were hardly any late Middle Agers around this year. Instead, we had a lady from the first century AD and a couple of folks from Napoleonic times. Most fascinating indeed!

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Michi was still keeping an eye on things.

Michi developing the menu on the go

Slowly but surely we sat down and then the first course arrived, announced by the Chef himself.
Instead of going through all the details, with a picture for each dish, here's the menu.

the masterplan in runic inscriptions

For those of you who by now are totally confused, check out the Trutzhavener Feldküche website (for that's who Michi and Birgitt are) for the original menu in German, or read on for the menu in English.

- First Course

• melon and apple on a bed of rocket lettuce with a honey-ginger dressing spiced with parsley and mint
• small omelettes with salmon and dates
• pastries with a goat cheese, onion, parmesan and gingerbread filling, served on a bed of red beets with red wine and thyme
• slices of pork fillet, pickled with sugar, pepper and salt
• moretum
• whole rye-dinkel bread, wheat bread

- Second Course

• pork shoulder butt ragout with slices of cooked and raw pears
• fish fillet rolls with gingerbread and dille
• parsnip and pumpkin mousse
• sugarcrusted herbed curds (quark) with almond splinters

- Third Course

• smoked trout, filled with goat cheese, walnuts and honey
• veal saddle, marinated with gooseberries and poppyseeds and cooked at low temperature
• slices of eggs and orange in a peppery orange sauce
• grilled garlic gambas on a bed of roasted pork belly
• goat cheese baked in honey with an almond splinter crust

- Fourth Course

• small pancakes with apples and amarettini
• fruit bread with a sauce of spiced wine and marzipan

If you think you have gained weight by just reading this, try taking a look at the collage that Schatz put together:

Chef and his evil creations

We tried to eat slowly, we tried to enjoy every morsel, and we tried to talk to keep our thoughts from our slowly but surely filling stomachs while coveting our neighbour's bowl.

gimme gimme gimme!

No, I am not yet stuffed!

it's only a teensie weensie bit, honestly!

he: if I eat any more they will have to alter my tunic again! or:
she: if he eats any more, I will have to alter his tunic again!

I still am somewhat at a loss of words to describe this feast but our faces should say more than enough.

uhhhummm! fingerlickin' good!

purrrrr...

it's a ... food! a twin!
or: we may be able to eat again next year...

But all good things come to an end. Birgitt did some fast cleaning in the kitchen...

the gods be thanked for industrialization!

...and the rest of us cleared the tables.

all gone...

I will leave you with my two favourite pictures, one by Schatz:

seems to be fun to get your head chopped off by Robespierre

And the other one by Kees, from his set of photographs on Flickr (and his blog):

just before the breaking of bread

PS: if you have any complaints about pictures, those must be Schatzes! My pictures do not offend...

PPS: some may wonder what melons or oranges are doing at a 'medieval' banquet - but then nobody said it was an authentic copy but rather a mix of ingredients from various times and various parts of Europe.

Little Dubai

I had interrupted my earlier entry about our visit to Bremerhaven as I wanted to add some pictures Schatz took with one of his various cameras. Unfortunately, that very camera had a faulty light baffle, as he found out - some rubbery thingie in that old camera let light into the camera body where and when it wasn't supposed to come inside and ruin the picture.

Anyway, I ended the first part of the Christmas 2008 Bremerhaven story with a picture of Schatz leaning against the side of the house, taking pictures of the 'new harbour' in the late afternoon. He photographed something like this:

more Christmas trees

Walking further south along the River, I caught sight of yet another illuminated object, the so-called radar tower.

radar tower

It's much like the tower for air traffic controllers, only in this case it is for sea traffic controllers... looking after ships on the River Weser north of Bremen to the island of Wangerooge. It also houses all sorts of equipment and facilities for maritime radio.

Like the globe at the Auswandererhaus, the radar tower is illuminated. And it changes colours. And it will continue to do so!

They started the light show a few years ago but as something rather temporary. It was continued year after year, but the city council thought the cost was too high, and so they only renewd the budget post year after year. Mind you, we are talking about the mindblowing sum of €15,000 a year! Most of this actually has not been for electricity expenses but for buying new light bulbs...

It seems they have now decided to make the illumination a more permanent feature and so maybe they will look for a more long-term and less bulb-consuming solution.

Looking the other way, you see this fancy new development:

not changing lights at night.

And looking great in the daytime too.

The Bremerhaven Burj al Arab

No, this hotel was not built by Atkins, a British design company, and it is not located on Jumeirah Beach. The 'Fischtowners', however, do call it Little Dubai.

hotel, conference center and offices

To be honest, the 'sail' looks better in this location than a 15 floor square highrise would but one wonders about the conferences that will take place in this small town. Not that I would mind working there, of course.

But back to Christmas Day late afternoon. We had by now walked past the Fischtown Burj, on to the terrain of the Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum where Schatz enjoyed some more special photographic moments.

Schatz adoring a whaleboat

Rau IX, a former whaleboat, as adored by Schatz

In the meantime, I took another shot over Schatz' back.

former lightship from the Elbe 3 position

And looking in the opposite direction, I spotted yet another Christmas tree high up in a mast.

tug boat Stier at night...

...and the next day.

And, especially for Kees, here's a picture of the Wilhelm Bauer, also moored in the museum harbour:

Wilhelm Bauer - closed to visitors until end of March

That's basically all from Bremerhaven this time, although maybe I should mention that Schatz talked me into playing some snooker. Oh my...

Books

I have just realized that I am starting to organize things a bit like I did on my very first - and only - homepage. Only that one I modeled after a Federation Starship, with its various sections from Sickbay to the Holodeck, and from the Bridge to Ten Forward.

I guess the books would have been in the Ship's Computer, to be accessed through one's own PADD or by direct language communication with the Main Computer.

These day's, I have my PDA (close enough) which actually makes it possible to read books on an airplane wedged in between two overweight Scottish engineers, but I still prefer the printed kind, the one, as Kees puts it, you sit in an angulo to read...

Hence a section on books on the sidebar. Slightly out of the ordinary, and not just in English. Or simply what I have read recently and feel like raving about.

Why me

or rather: why of all people should I write a blog too? Do I have anything pertinent to say?

Not really. But it might be a great way to let friends and family share in my life instead of trying to bring everyone up-to-date via phone calls or emails. Something I never manage anyway, at least not on a regular basis.

Anyway, once again, it is really Kees' fault. He got me onto the internet when only geeks knew about its existence, he talked me into going a-Vikinging over a decade ago, and now his own blog gave me the idea to try my hand at this, too.

Right now, I am still trying to work out all the neat layout stuff.