Frau Bevin's Adventures in Germany: Corine and Volker Join the Adventures: Fischbeck, Hameln, Isenhagen, Walkenried, and Heiningen

Boy, have I got a lot of catching up to do!! It is hard to believe I haven’t written a new post since July – But I guess I’ve been pretty busy. Hopefully now I can get caught up a little, and share what all I have been up to these past couple of months.

Back around July 9 Corine and Volker came to Wolfenbüttel because Corine was invited to present a lecture at the library summer seminar titled “Art, Reformation, and the Cult of Martin Luther.” It was so fun having them back in Wolfenbüttel to visit and adventure some more!

I attended the morning portion of Corine’s lesson, and then took off with Volker, Beth, and Hanne to visit a monastery in Fischbeck. Since Corine and Volker came in the car, we picked some sites to visit that are a bit more off the beaten path, and therefore difficult for me to reach without a car. We had a super tour of Fischbeck! The monastery was founded around 955, and much of the architecture that remains is still from the 12th and 13th centuries. They even have a couple textiles—One is a 1583 woven tapestry that depicts the foundation of the monastery in six scenes. (Unfortunately, no photography allowed inside the church.) The grounds and garden were also beautiful, and we spent a lot of time exploring and taking photos before heading out.

Fischbeck Cloister

Fischbeck from the Garden

Fischbeck from the Cloister

Spidey-web at Fischbeck

Lichen at Fischbeck

Poof-ball flowers at the Fischbeck gardens

On the way home, we decided to stop by Hameln for dinner. Hameln (or Hamelin) is, of course, best known because of the Pied Piper of Hamelin! The Pied Piper is actually a story all the way back to the Middle Ages, popularized by the Brothers Grimm. When you really think about it, it’s an awful story, but the statues of the pied piper and little rat tchotchkes all over town are pretty adorable.

B&B at the Pied Piper House in Hamelin

Pied Piper!

These little rat cobblestones were all over Hamelin!

The next day, Corine, Volker, Beth, and I drove to Isenhagen to visit the monastery there—another one that is difficult to reach without wheels. We were given a super tour of the church and then had time to see the museum, which is full of medieval textiles! Isenhagen had been on my list for a long time, but I had been unable to visit because public transportation doesn’t really run out there. (No photography is allowed on the tours, but I was able to contact the Abbess afterward and make an appointment to return to Isenhagen and take photos in the museum—post to come.)

Isenhagen

Isenhagen cloister window

Exploring a funky tree in the Isenhagen cloister garden

Loom at Isenhagen!

Thanks to some conveniently-timed car trouble, Corine and Volker had to stay an extra day in Wolfenbüttel. We spent the time driving across the Harz Mountains to a Cistercian ruin and museum in Walkenried. So scenic! The 12th-century church ruins are beautiful, and the museum is extremely thoughtful and informative.

Walkenried ruins

Walkenried cloister

Walkenried cloister capitals and vaulting

Serious art historian/photographer Bevin

Corine and I at Walkenried

There were dress-up robes at the Walkenried museum!

I'm a monk.

On the way home from Walkenried, we took a slight detour through Heiningen. There aren’t any textiles left in Heiningen, but they produced high-quality embroideries during the Middle Ages so it was nice to see the church anyway. Heiningen is also home to a couple donor figures that Corine has researched, so I really enjoyed seeing those in person as well.