Summer in the North!

What is the difference between summer and winter in northern Germany? Answer: the rain is warmer! Grey, grey yuck! We are drowning in rain and so plein air has been put on hold. Today we are taking a peek at my sketchbook! 

Churches are fascinating, the architecture, the art treasures and atmosphere always draw me in to admire them. On this sketchbook page you can see a couple of interesting ones I've visited. In the middle of the double page is the Ulm minster, we lived near to it and having the highest church spire in the world at nearly 170 metres, it is visible from a vast distance! You can also climb up the hundreds of steps to a viewing platform where you can look down on the town centre, believe me having done it you need to be fit and have a good head for heights! 

Due to the great hype of  Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code", Rosslyn chapel near my hometown of Edinburgh became a must see! It is truly amazing, started in 1456 the Collegiate Church of St Matthew as it is properly known, is like visiting a mini cathedral out in the countryside. Filled with mystical and intricate carvings it has been accredited to hiding the head of Jesus, the Holy Grail, the secrets of the Knight's Templar and the cradle of modern Freemasonry. Whatever the truth, as a visitor you will be gobsmacked by the wealth of carvings and imagery, I've been at least 4 times and am still agog! I'm also certain that there is some "mystery" in the chapel, waiting to be solved. The "Green Man" carving from Rosslyn (top left) is one of 110, although this pagan symbol is often seen in medieval cathedrals, the sheer number in this small chapel is overwhelming as are the plethora of unusual images, from the "two riders on one horse" associated with the Knight's Templar to the representation of "maize" not known in Europe as the chapel was erected. 

Here a view of the exterior, the roof area is covered by a canopy and you can get up to view the pinnacles, which are all highly decorated. On one visit my mum and I sat and had a full scale picnic (involving the use of china plates and teacups) before going in, the hordes of Italian and German visitors waiting in long queues to get in were drooling with envy at the sight of our Earl Grey, egg sandwiches and chocolate eclairs! 

Bamberg has lots of amazing churches, unfortunately my favourite, Michelsberg is closed at the moment. Starting out as a romanesque church from 1015, it has had a baroque facelift and has a stunning ceiling, featuring about 600 different plants, the locals call it "himmelsgarten", translated "heaven's garden"; including plants hardly known in Europe at the time it was painted, you can see a little part of it in my sketch! Another unusual feature of this church is the grave of St Otto, this has a hollowed out "tunnel" that you can creep under. Pilgrims who wanted to be near the relics of saints were able to crouch here and funnily enough it was supposed to help against back pain! Having done it I actually think it is more likely to do your back in, and nowadays the legend says you can make a wish while crouching in the cubby hole and it'll come true. Did my wish come true? That remains a secret between St Otto and me!