In 17th century England and New England, it was believed that a so-called “witch’s cake” had the power to reveal whether witchcraft was afflicting a person with symptoms of illness. It was made with rye flour and the urine of the afflicted person, and the cake was then fed to a dog. If the dog […]
The “Witch Cake” – a 1600s forgotten recipe you probably won’t try
A witch’s ladder (also known as witch’s rope) is a practice in folk magic made from knotted cord or hair, that normally constitutes a spell, based on the magic of knots. The number of knots and nature of charms varies with the intended effect (or spell). In ancient times it was believed that this type […]
The curious story of Witch’s Ladder
Peter Ustinov said, “Love is an endless act of forgiveness.” For Mark and me, living the dream had become an endless act of problem solving. We had done our best. At the first hint that France was ‘bubbling with coronavirus’ and might lock down, we’d made a homeward dash from the Ukranian border. Now, in […]
Witches, Wurst & Walpurgisnacht, Harz, Germany
Although I’ll admit that I’ve never really been one to go mad for Halloween (although if I was in America where Halloween seems to be on steroids every year then I’d well and truly get involved – we really haven’t learned how to “do” Halloween in the UK, have we?), I do love a scary […]
66 Scary Movies To Watch on Netflix & Amazon Prime This Halloween
Here’s a quick guide this blogger has created if you are looking for the scariest movie this Halloween weekend. Click on the link and enjoy! 🎃💀
Ever since my first visit to Flensburg in May 2010, I have made at least a half dozen trips to the city where rum was born, where one in seven people are Danish and it has a handball powerhouse in SG Flensburg-Handewitt.
Everytime I was here, I would take my ritual photo of the cityscape, looking westward from the restaurant located on the east end of the harbor.
My first shot was from May 2010:
It was a golden sunset 🌇, with no activity at the harbor. There used to be an exclusive restaurant that offered nothing but seafood entree’s, located behind me. The shot was taken while the cooks we’re preparing my fish dinner. 🦞
Then came 2016, my visit to Flensburg’s Christmas market in the evening. If there was a theme to my visit during that time, it was nothing but punch. Not 👊 as in a black eye, but so ☕ in many flavors. 😉😜 Still, this shot was taken at the same spot. The difference could not have been more obvious with the light setting. At that time, a restaurant offering German entree’s entered the same location, but it was not the same as having a restaurant offering nothing but 🐠 and 🦀, so out went the 🥩
Then there’s the most recent shot taken this past August, 2021. While the weather was overcast that afternoon, we took an opportunity to appreciate the scenery. The difference now is that the restaurant chain Gosch has taken over and there has been a lot of expansion, as you can see in this picture. A large terrace with many Strandkorbs overlooking the skyline. Gosch offers a wide range of seafood including 🐟, 🦀, 🦐🍤, and other foods typical for the North and Baltic Seas. They’ve done a lot attracting the people, but also the seagulls. 🕊️
While Flensburg has changed little over the past decade, much of the landscape has remained the same. It’s the small things that have changed that make a difference. One has to visit the places familiar and observe them over time. Some of the changes are for the better, while others are better off being left alone. In either case what is important is knowing what the community stands for and what it offers to visitors and people wishing to move there.
Therefore we should ask ourselves about the communities we live in- what does our town or city stand for and what can we offer? What can we do to make it better but keep the community’s identity- its heritage, history and tradition?
While Flensburg has had its dark sides, it has kept its identity in tact, as the birthplace for rum, the powerhouse for handball, a place to try the traditional dishes of fish and seafood, and lastly, a great area to spend the summer. Little has changed but the town’s character has not changed, which makes it worth a visit. ❤️😊
.
🦞 THE FLENSBURG FILES
Federweißer or federweisse is a young white wine, or – to be more accurate – grape juice that just started fermenting. Its technical name is “ 886 more words
Fall Calls for Federweißer — More than Beer and Schnitzel
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about 60 km south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had about 82,000 inhabitants as of 2015. A pre-Roman foundation, Worms is one of the oldest cities in northern Europe.
Walking Tours: Worms – Western Germany (4K) — Boomers Daily
I had wanted to visit Mainz, Germany on a Frankfurt stopover for many years now. When we made it through, we discovered what a pleasant city and Alstat area it has. It would be a preferred choice for stopovers in the Frankfurt area thanks to its easy train connections to and from the airport. This […]
City Visit: Walking Through Mainz, Germany — World Traveller 73
.
COLOGNE/ BERLIN- If there is a thematic that is going around within the Christian Democrats in Germany, it would be the changing of the generational guard. While it was no secret that Chancellor Angela Merkel is retiring from politics as soon as the new government is in place, many of her constituents are also making their ways to the exit after many years in the parliament- Peter Altmaier (finance minister), Annagret Kampf-Karrenbauer (defense minister) and Wolfgang Schäuble (speaker of parlialemt (Bundestag)) are only a few members of the current cabinet that have served Merkel for much of her 16-years as Chancellor but have decided to step aside to allow the next generation to take the reigns and move the party and Germany forward into the future.
Enter another CDU colleague who was one of the candidates that wanted to succeed Merkel as Chancellor. Armin Laschet was one of three candidates that vied for the post as the next chancellor. As of today, Laschet is calling it quits. On Sunday, the 61-year old officially resigned from his post as not only the chair of the CDU for his state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) but also as prime minister of the state. He had led the former for nine years and was in charge for the latter for four years. His successor will be 46-year old Hendrik Wüst, another unknown who had once considered calling it a career in politics as early as 2018. Now he will have a chance to take both posts from Laschet. The formalities will take place on Wednesday.
Laschet’s resignation came in response to the elections on September 26th, which his party, the CDU, finished with the worst performance in over two decades, with only 24.1% of the votes, losing to the eventual winner, the Social Democrats with Olaf Scholz as the probable candidate for Chancellorship with 25.7%. The Greens came in third with 14.8%, the FDP with 11.5%, the far-right Alternatives with 10.3% and the far left with 4.9%. The FDP and Greens agreed to form a coalition with the SPD to create a “Traffic Light” consortium, though the parties are currently creating a contract which includes delegating positions to members within the coalition. Analysts predict that the government could be in place by mid-December.
Laschet had previously stated he would step down from all political functions including the state prime minister job should he lose the elections. He has taken full responsibility to a series of debacles even during the election campaign that contributed to the poor showing. Yet looking at the history books, the downfall of the CDU also had much to do with the need to change the guard as much of the population was dissatisfied with Merkel’s government within the last six years. This included the refugee crisis in Europe, the Covid-19 policies, climate change and the fall of the NATO-alliance in Afghanistan, as the Taliban regime took power in August for the first time since its downfall 20 years ago. A similar pattern was seen with the fall of Helmut Kohl (CDU) in 1998 after 16 years in power, largely because of the hangover that came from German Reunification, including high unemployment and inflation. Gerhard Schröder (SPD) took over as Chancellor and his Christmas coalition with the Social Democrats and Greens ruled Germany until his downfall and early elections in 2005, which put Merkel into power for the first time.
Apart from his roles on the state level, Laschet has announced that he will also allow someone else to take over his post as the chair of the CDU on the federal level. When the proceedings will begin remains open, but there have been interests within the members of his own party. He has held this post since January 22nd of this year. He will not go away completely, though. He will stay on as representative of his party in Bundestag, as his party will join the two extremists parties of the Alternatives and the Lefts in the opposition for the first time since 2005.
.
.
Mainz is a German city on the Rhine River. It’s known for its old town, with half-timbered houses and medieval market squares. In the center, the Marktbrunnen is a Renaissance fountain with red columns. Nearby, a distinctive octagonal tower tops the Romanesque Mainz Cathedral, built of deep red sandstone. The Gutenberg Museum honors the inventor […]
Walking Tour: Mainz – Western Germany (4K) — Boomers Daily
A travel and lifestyle blog
Retired couple traveling the world
with Anastasia M.
Photography: Every story has a picture and every picture has a story.
Noir, crime, and mystery short stories, scholarship, and so much more
A visual remix of the American Dream as pictured in Mid Century Media
Come and join us!
Just another WordPress.com weblog
Come Along And Join Us
Hot-shot lawyer turned hitchhiking hobo.
Current events through a historical lens
Seeing the World One Trip at a Time
Explore. Publish. Inspire.
Travels and Photography
Living abroad in Frankfurt
A German Expat's Life in Fredericksburg/Texas
Make traveling more meaningful
THE FLENSBURG FILES 