Hamburg Rathaus

Completed in 1897, the vastly-impressive Neo-Renaissance Hamburg Rathaus, dominating the city center, is the prime symbol of Hamburg’s wealth and autonomy. The City Hall is the seat of Hamburg’s Senate, Hamburg’s Parliament and The Municipal Government Of The Free And Hanseatic City Of Hamburg.


The present Rathaus is the sixth erected on the spot. The longest-lasting Rathaus was erected in 1290 and stood for 552 years, finally succumbing to The Great Fire Of 1842. After its destruction, it took the Hamburg government over 40 years to agree on proposed designs for the current Rathaus.

The Rathaus’s elaborate and ornate 111-meter façade is dominated by a huge 112-meter clock tower. The sandstone exterior is decorated with 20 bronze statues of German Emperors, as well as other sculpture and artwork. Construction of the building required eleven years. Due to the weight of the building, 4,000 oak columns were driven into the ground before construction commenced, a necessity to support the massive weight of the building.

The interior contains 647 different rooms of different styles—Renaissance, Baroque, Classical—and many are of the utmost magnificence. The Burgersaal, the Kaisersaal and the Turmsaal are considered to be the most opulent. The fantastic Grosse Festsaal, with its bronze and marble décor, is still used for official celebrations. This grand banquet hall is 46 meters long, 18 meters wide and 15 meters high. The room is illuminated by three chandeliers, each weighing 1500 kilos and each requiring 278 bulbs. Five enormous paintings depicting the history of Hamburg from 800 to 1900 line the walls. Coats of arms from the 62 cities of the ancient Hanseatic League further adorn the walls.

Much of the interior is open to the public via a one-hour guided tour. The sheer opulence of the interior is astonishing.

To most citizens of Hamburg, this large building is the symbolic heart of the city. As a city-state—an independent city and simultaneously one of the 16 Federal States of modern Germany—Hamburg has both a city council and a state government, both of which have their administrative headquarters in the Rathaus. The building dictates political decorum in the city. To this day, the Mayor Of Hamburg never greets visiting VIP’s at the foot of the central staircase, but always awaits them at the very top, whether the visitor is the Chancellor Of Germany or the Queen Of England.

Above the main entrance door is the inscription, in Latin, “May the descendants seek to uphold the freedom won by our forefathers”.

The Rathaus was entirely restored from 1987 to 1997.

My mother, my brother, and Josh and I took an English-language tour of the interior of the Rathaus. It was pretty disappointing, because the tour guide rushed us through the interiors like the place was on fire. We had no time to absorb or enjoy what we were seeing. Our visit was akin to getting a fleeting glimpse of the Sistine Chapel while running the 400-yard dash. Alas, there is no way to explore the Rathaus interiors other than through official guided tours.

The front exterior of the Rathaus lies on Rathausmarkt, which may be seen in this view from the spire of nearby Saint-Petri-Kirche.


The market square, laid out after the 1842 fire, has been the center of the city since the current Rathaus opened. Its inspiration was Piazza San Marco in Venice.

On one side of Rathausmarkt is the Binnenalster, one of the Alster Lakes situated in the very center of Hamburg, on the other side of which are the picturesque Alster Arcades (“Alsterarkaden”). This 1930 postcard shows the Rathaus from the Alster Arcades.


Two gold-plated masts form the centerpiece of the square. There is a modern Heinrich Heine memorial in the square as well as the Ehrenmal, a memorial dedicated to soldiers who lost their lives in World War I. The Ehrenmal, a stele of the greatest simplicity and dignity, is at the very edge of the water.


The rear exterior of the Rathaus is connected, in part, to Hamburg’s Stock Exchange (“Borse”).

"Play And Make Good Cheer, For Christmas Comes But Once A Year"

The Christmas holidays were too short this year. Eight days were not enough for us.

It seemed as if our four days in Oklahoma were spent in a revolving door—we left as soon as we arrived, or so it seemed to us.

The household was filled with exactly the same family members as last year: Josh’s family, as well as his aunt and uncle from Dallas. On Christmas Day, we were joined by additional aunts and uncles, which made for a full household.

Josh’s family is doing very well.

Josh’s sister loves college, and she loves Vanderbilt. She likes the campus, she likes her professors, she likes her fellow students. She even likes Vanderbilt’s raised basketball court, which visiting teams detest with a vengeance. She wants to visit Josh and me in Boston soon.

Josh’s brother is doing very well. Now that football season has come to an end, he has more free time on his hands (he decided not to play basketball his senior year, much to his father’s regret). He is using that free time to do some reading until track and field season starts. He chose Southern Methodist University over other schools because he liked the SMU campus, because he liked the SMU environment, and because he likes Dallas. He is thinking about a career as a veterinarian.

Josh’s mother is lost with her only daughter away at school. She says she still does not know how to cope, and that it has been good that her work has kept her so busy the last few months that she has not had time to mope.

Josh’s father is fine, but I worry what he will do next year when his youngest heads off to college, leaving yet another gap in the household. It is very hard for a parent to see the offspring leave home, one by one, leaving an empty household behind.

Josh’s aunts and uncles believe that Josh and I are exceedingly boring, as the following Christmas conversation, repeated over and over, demonstrates.

Question: What do you guys do all day?

Answer: Well, Josh goes to class and I go to work. At night, Josh studies and I read.

Question: Doesn’t that get old?

Answer: Well, we gotta do what we gotta do.

Question: How can you stand it?

Answer: Well, we know it will all be over in three years.

Question: I hear you guys live in a really tiny apartment?

Answer: Yes, it is pretty small.

Question: But I hear you guys put up a Christmas tree?

Answer: Yes, we did, but we barely have room for it.

Question: That’s what I hear. How can you stand it?

Answer: We know it will only be temporary.

Question: How much is your rent?

Answer: Way too much.

Question: It must be awful to have to pay a fortune to live in a place you can’t stand. How do you do it?

Answer: Well, we fixed it up as much as could so we could stand the place. We get by. It will do for three years—it will HAVE to.

Question: Is there anything to do in Boston?

Answer: Yes, quite a bit, but we don’t have much time to do things, and we always have to schedule things around Josh’s study load.

Question: Have you been to a Celtics game?

Answer: No, not yet.

Question: Patriots?

Answer: No, not yet.

Question: Red Sox?

Answer: No, not yet.

Question: Boy, you really HAVEN’T done anything, have you?

Answer: Not really.

Question: But you’ve been to the Boston Pops, I hear?

Answer: Well, we’ve been to the Boston Symphony, which uses many of the same musicians as the Boston Pops.

Question: Who is the conductor?

Answer: James Levine.

Question: Oh, God! The fat guy who used to be on PBS? The one with the big hair and big glasses?

Answer: Yes, that James Levine.

Question: Do you LIKE James Levine?

Answer: No, I do not like James Levine at all.

Question: Me, neither. Then why do you go to the Boston Symphony?

Answer: Well, to hear the music—and we have only gone to hear one James Levine concert. Otherwise, we wait and catch guest conductors we want to hear.

Question: Isn’t there something you can do for fun?

Answer: Well, we get by. And that’s pretty much all we were hoping for. In fact, things are going better than I expected.

Question: How so?

Answer: Well, we’ve got our apartment arranged just the way we like it, and we are happy there now. It is home to us now—at least for three years. It will do. It’s peaceful. It’s quiet. It’s our refuge from school and work. It suits our needs for a brief interval.

Question: I hear you don’t have a television?

Answer: No, we do not.

Question: I could not live without a television. How do you do it?

Answer: For now, it would only be a distraction, and we’re probably better off NOT having a television.

Question: Where do you get your news?

Answer: I read the papers at work, and Josh reads the papers at school. And we can read more papers online at night if we want to.

Question: Well, there’s nothing on television worth watching, so you’re not missing out on anything. However, I could not live without a television. How do you guys do it?

Answer: Well, if we break down and get one, it will be because of sports. That’s the one thing we both miss. However, the danger is that we would spend every Saturday watching games all day, the entire afternoon and into the evening, and that is the very thing we are intent on avoiding.

Question: I couldn’t live without ESPN during the hoops season. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays: I’m parked in front of the tube, for both games, all night. Don't you miss not being able to watch the games?

Answer: That’s precisely the danger for us if we had a television.

Question: Then how can you follow the Sooners?

Answer: We always read the game synopses online.

Question: And they’re having such a great season, too! Still unbeaten, and ranked number four. Will you be able to see the national title game in football?

Answer: No. That arrives during Josh’s exams. Nothing we can do about it.

Question: A shame. Do you think the Sooners will win?

Answer: They’re the underdog, I believe. I hate Florida, but my instinct tells me that Florida will win.

Question: You’re killing me! Don’t say that! Are you serious?

Answer: I hope Stoops manages to pull it off—but his game plans did not work the last couple of bowl games. Like last year.

Question: Wasn’t that awful?

Answer: So I hope Oklahoma wins, but the offenses are even and Florida has a better defense, and I think that favors Florida.

Question: But you will not go watch the game somewhere? Just that one night?

Answer: We can’t. That night is probably the single most important study night for Josh during his entire exam period.

Question: How long is the exam period?

Answer: Ten days.

Question: Sounds awful. It sounds like you guys live priestly existences. How can you stand it?

Answer: We gotta do what we gotta do.

Question: Boring. Boring. Boring. I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes. How do you do it?

Answer: We gotta do what we gotta do.

Our four days in Minnesota were primarily all about the baby. Josh and I were completely captivated by her, and for those four days we were always granted first claim to hold her and rock her and feed her.

I fear that the baby, too, believes that Josh and I are boring. No matter what we talked to her about, she yawned over and over and over. Apparently she found nothing we said to her to be stimulating in the least.

I don’t know when we shall see her again, because I do not think we will be able to go home for Easter this year. We may not be able to see her again until sometime this summer, and that pains me very much. She will be six months old by early summer, and we will have missed out on six very precious months.

It is sad even to think about it.

Hamburg Fischmarkt

Early one Sunday morning, my brother and Josh and I visited Hamburg’s Fish Market (“Fischmarkt”). It is located directly on The River Elbe, about one mile from Landungsbrucken.

A genuine institution in Hamburg, the Fish Market has taken place every Sunday morning since 1703. It is one of Hamburg’s most beloved institutions.

For over 300 years, it has opened every Sunday very, very early—the market opens at 5:00 a.m. in summer months, at 7:00 a.m. in winter months—and has closed very, very early, always shutting its doors at 9:30 a.m. in order to allow everyone at the market to make it to 10:00 a.m. Sunday Service (still the main service time for all Hamburg churches, Protestant and Catholic).

Nowadays, market-goers may purchase much more than just fish at the Fish Market. Wares of virtually every type are on offer. Fruits, vegetables, cheeses, flowers, souvenirs, bric-a-brac, exotic plants and even livestock are among the items sold by the cheery and fairly aggressive stallholders.

The market is, naturally, a great place for a fish breakfast. All-night partygoers and early risers mingle, side by side, to mark the ends of or the beginnings of their respective days. Everyone is in a carefree mood, and the noise level can become deafening.


There is live music in the hall, which adds to the uproar. Live bands perform what passes for jazz in Germany, as well as country and western music (which was very, very popular in Germany in 2006).

The whole affair was just a bit too rambunctious for the three of us, especially on an early Sunday morning. The place was noisy, crowded, and full of drunks, and we did not stay long. We made a complete swing through the building, buying some fish and sausage to eat as we walked. On our round, we took a quick look at the different vendors, and quickly departed.

The Fish Auction Hall, 100 years old, is a handsome Beaux Arts structure. It was fully restored within the last decade.


In summer months, the Fish Market expands into adjoining streets, and becomes a virtual street fair.

Back To The Grind

Joshua is studying, and I am being quiet and boring, making as little noise as possible and, in odd moments of conversation, uttering mostly forgettable pleasantries in order to avoid starting any interesting conversations that will take Josh away from his books.

We took down our Christmas tree today, and otherwise Josh has studied and I have done some serious cooking for the week ahead and taken care of some household tasks.

After his exam period, Josh will have a ten-day break before classes for the second term begin. My brother will take advantage of Josh’s break, as well as the January holiday weekend, by visiting us from Friday night, January 16, through early Wednesday morning, January 21. I am busy trying to come up with interesting things for us to do in Boston during that period, and I am not having great success.

Since Boston College now plays in the ACC conference, I had hoped there might be a Boston College home game during my brother’s visit. There is not—Boston College is on the road that weekend. I checked the Harvard schedule, too, thinking that Harvard might be a viable alternative to Boston College, but Harvard does not play any games that weekend, home or away. I did not bother to check the schedules of Northeastern or Boston University or any of the other colleges in Boston, because I know my brother has no interest in those programs. Further, none of us has the slightest interest in professional sports, so I did not even trouble myself with looking into the schedules of the Celtics or the Bruins.

All afternoon and evening, I have been sending my brother stuff to look at concerning possible things to do that weekend. I think his interest has been piqued by two things thus far: the New England Aquarium; and the Salem Essex Museum. He is also looking through some things I sent him about historic walks through various parts of the city.

My brother is not interested in attending concerts, but he will go to the theater if someone else initiates the outing. Josh and I have not yet been to the theater in Boston, but I sent my brother some information about performances here during the time of his visit by what appear to be professional companies. I think I got back a modicum of interest on his part for “The Year Of Magical Thinking”, “The Corn Is Green” and the musical “Cabaret”, but I also think I got back a polite “no thank you” for Chekhov’s “The Seagull”.

We will be certain to give him an enjoyable weekend, no matter what we come up with for a program, and we will be certain to keep him comfortable and well-fed.

We’ll take very good care of him.

Alter Elbtunnel

Beneath Landungsbrucken is the famous duo tunnel under The River Elbe, one of the great engineering marvels of the early 20th Century.

Built from 1907 to 1911, The Old Elbe Tunnel (”Alter Elbtunnel”) links the Hamburg district of Saint Pauli with the island of Steinwerder on the opposite bank of The River Elbe. After almost a century of use, the tunnel still serves its original purpose.

Each twin tunnel is 426 meters long, 4.70 meters wide, 4.50 meters high and runs just 6 meters below the bottom of the riverbed. Built for automobile traffic, cyclists and pedestrians, the tunnel may only be reached by lift or by staircase.


The main purpose of The Old Elbe Tunnel was to provide Hamburg’s port workers and shipyard workers with better and faster access to their workplaces on the Elbe island of Steinwerder. The River Elbe bridges, which had been put into service in 1889, lay in the East, too far away from the city to be viable alternatives. Hence, the dockworkers had long since had to be ferried to and from their work in an assortment of river barges.

However, the transport capacity of these conventional ferry services was not able to cope with the incessantly-rising passenger traffic between Hamburg and Steinwerder Island. Therefore, in 1902, Hamburg authorities decided to build an underground passage below The River Elbe. The decision was made in favor of a tunnel because its total cost of 11 million marks was far less than the cost of building a high, river-spanning bridge, which would have required an investment of 25 million marks.

The tunnel was constructed by the shield-tunneling method. Construction was done under hydraulic pressure and, like the construction of the towers of Brooklyn Bridge, diver’s disease was a major problem, killing three workers and causing 74 severe and more than 600 light cases among the 4,400 workers. There were, in addition, two other casualties caused by accidents during construction.

After the completion of The Old Elbe Tunnel, an underground rail line, completed in 1912, brought workers from all districts of Hamburg to Landungsbrucken station. From Landungsbrucken, the trek by foot through the tunnel to the Steinwerder work sites was only one kilometer long. The tunnel has its own entrance building near Landungsbrucken station, part of the Landungsbrucken complex of buildings lining The River Elbe.


When The Old Elbe Tunnel opened in 1911, it was a technological sensation. At a depth of 24 meters beneath the surface, two tubes five meters in diameter connected central Hamburg with the docks and shipyards on the South side of The River Elbe. This meant a substantial improvement in commute time for tens of thousands of workers in one of the busiest harbors in the world.

Four huge lifts on either side of the tunnel carry pedestrians and motor vehicles 24 meters to the bottom. The original lifts are still in operation.


On one descent and on both ascents, we took the elevators. However, on our second descent, we took the very narrow and very winding stairwell that hugs the outer wall, which afforded excellent (but rather frightening) views of the elevator system.


The tunnel is decorated with ornaments and tiles of glazed terra cotta. The ceramic ornaments display items related to The River Elbe and other maritime motifs. Most are fish or crabs or mussels or seals, but a few show unusual items like waste and rats.

Due to increasing amounts of traffic, other bridges and tunnels have been built since 1911 to cross The River Elbe, and these more recent avenues of transportation now accommodate most of the cross-river traffic. The Old Elbe Tunnel today serves primarily as a tourist attraction.

From Steinwerder Island, visitors may obtain an unmatched view of Hamburg and the distant reaches of the port.

It was a dark, dreary, cold, rainy, windy day when my mother, my brother, and Josh and I traversed the tunnel and emerged on Steinwerder Island and took in the views of Hamburg across the river. The views were sensational. The dark, almost menacing, Baltic sky contributed mightily to the beauty of the Hamburg skyline, lending a measure of drama to an already-sublime panorama. It was one of the greatest views I have ever experienced. We remained out in the cold and wind and rain for over half an hour, marveling at the vast riverscape and cityscape laid out before our eyes, before we made our return journey back through the tunnel.

On our first walk through the tunnel, we encountered a single cyclist On our second walk through the tunnel, we encountered two persons on foot, one walking in each direction. We encountered no other persons or vehicles on our traversals.

Landungsbrucken

The impressive Landungsbrucken (“Landing Bridges”), among Hamburg’s most popular picture-postcard motifs, are the most tourist-frequented portions of Hamburg Harbor. The photo below is from a 1930 postcard of Landungsbrucken.


Built from 1906 to 1910, the 420-meter-long Landungsbrucken building features two towers of differing heights, as well as a number of bridge-shaped passageways and copper domes. Several piers lead out to floating pontoons in the middle of The River Elbe. These were once used as mooring points for the steamers that frequented the city, and later by HAPAG liners, but they are now used primarily by sightseeing boats. Large ships now dock elsewhere in Hamburg Harbor.


Hamburg’s famed pier runs parallel to The River Elbe along a 700-meter stretch. It was initially erected in 1839 but has since seen many renovations due to fire and war. Today, restaurants, souvenir shops and kiosks line the pier.

The photo below shows Landungsbrucken from The River Elbe.


The larger tower at Landungsbrucken indicates the water level as well as the time, and its ship’s bell tolls every half hour.

Landungsbrucken and its surroundings were heavily damaged during the war, and rebuilt from 1953 to 1955.

A complete modernization of Landungsbrucken was undertaken in 1999.

Bismarck Denkmal

Joshua is studying for his exams, so I shall make use of the enforced “quiet time” to write about some of the attractions we visited in Hamburg in 2006. Josh and I want to complete writing about our Hamburg experiences while our memories are still fresh.


Hamburg’s largest and highest monument is the Bismarck Denkmal, depicting former Chancellor Of The German Reich, Count Otto Von Bismarck (1815-1898), the force behind the unification of Germany and the man known as the “Iron Chancellor”. The Bismarck Denkmal is the most well-known image of Bismarck in Germany.

At a total height of 111 feet, the monument is located in the Alter Elbpark, a park situated near The River Elbe, and seems to keep a guarding eye over nearby Landungsbrucken and Hamburg Harbor. Due to its location atop the highest hill in the center of Hamburg, erected on a former bastion of ancient city walls, the Bismarck Denkmal is visible from afar within central Hamburg environs.


The stylized statue of Bismarck, leaning on a mighty sword and clad in a Medieval suit of armor, looking to the West, in the direction of the North Sea, was created by sculptor Hugo Lederer and architect Emil Schaudt and erected between 1903 and 1906. The statue was intended to call to mind Roland, the famous warrior of The Middle Ages, and to suggest the German Reich’s protection of Hamburg’s international trade. The figure is approximately 50 feet tall, and rests on a base of similar height.


Two eagles perch at Bismarck’s feet. The plinth features bas-reliefs of various Germanic tribes—athletic male figures, visible on the staircase that forms the base of the statue.

The monument is constructed of 100 massive blocks of granite, imported from the Black Forest, and weighs 625 tons.


The interior of the monument is no longer open. There is a painting gallery inside, with frescoes that can only be called “Prussian”, and sun wheels, and swastikas. Militaristic quotes by Bismarck adorn the walls (“not by speeches and majority resolutions are the large questions of the time decided, but by iron and blood”).

There are also extensive catacombs under the statue. These were expanded in 1939 and 1940—a 95-meter by 37-meter underground room was created, with two entrances—and used as an air raid shelter during the war years, for the use of ship passengers, harbor visitors and nearby residents. The catacombs offered protection for 650 persons.

My brother and Josh and I searched for and located one of the entrances to the air raid shelter. It was situated at the bottom of the hill on which the monuments rests, at the point nearest the Hamburg Harbor, and had been sealed with cement and skillfully concealed through landscaping, trees and shrubbery. Casual passersby would never know the entrance had existed—only a thorough inspection of the base of the hill revealed the shelter entrance.

At the time of its planning, the Bismarck monument was widely welcomed by Hamburg’s middle and upper classes, but fiercely opposed by Hamburg’s working classes, since the latter regarded Bismarck as a symbol of Wilhelmine imperialism. Today no one pays any attention to the Bismarck Denkmal in the least. Contemporary Hamburgers may view the monument as an acute embarrassment. We observed no one other than ourselves ascend the hill to observe the monument up close, even though the view from the hill was a prime spot to look out over Hamburg.

The monument is very much of its time and place. Today’s American visitor must find the monument undeniably imposing, and even quite fascinating, but also somewhat repugnant.

The Bismarck Denkmal reached a peak of popularity in Hamburg during the period of National Socialism, when Bismarck’s instrumental role in unifying Germany in the 19th Century became a rallying point for German nationalism of the 1930’s. The memorial became the site of an annual wreath-laying ("Kranzniederlegung") ceremony during that decade. The photo below reveals the monument during a Kranzniederlegung ceremony.


The statue may soon be closed off from public viewing—it has a 9-centimeter list.

Before we traveled to Hamburg, we researched the city extensively through books and the internet, and came across a particularly amusing description of the Bismarck Denkmal from an American who claims to have lived in Germany for the past twenty years. On this person’s website, alongside a photograph of the Bismarck Denkmal, he wrote that the monument is a memorial to Hamburg’s industrial workers, as personified by an inscription at its base to one Josef Leberer!

We laughed ourselves silly.

"To Make An End Is To Make A Beginning"

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.

T. S. Eliot

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Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665)
A Dance To The Music Of Time
1638
The Wallace Collection, London

Oil On Canvas
32 3/4 Inches By 41 5/8 Inches

"A Baby Is God's Opinion That Life Should Go On"

Joshua and I arrived in Minnesota this afternoon from Oklahoma.

My middle brother retrieved us at the airport, and promptly brought us home.

Of course, we were extremely eager to see my new niece.

She was not napping when we arrived. She was awake, being rocked in a rocking chair by her Granddad, when we walked into the kitchen.

She is so very beautiful I almost cried.

Josh and I had to hold her and rock her at once, naturally, and we immediately laid claim to feeding her her next bottle.

While I held her, she moved her arms and hands and fingers, as newborns are wont to do, and she appeared to be looking at me the whole time.

It was one of the great moments of my life, and I shall never forget it.

I have not forgotten the first time I held my nephew. I remember exactly how he looked that night. I remember his eyes and the expression on his face and the shape of his mouth whenever he yawned. I remember how proud my brother was, and how my brother could not help himself smiling. I remember how I had to lean down and kiss my nephew’s forehead over and over.

I had to do the same thing to my niece. It was a purely involuntary gesture on my part.

She didn’t seem to mind in the least.

My brother beams with pride, anew, over his daughter. Just like three years ago, when my nephew was an infant, my brother cannot help himself smiling.

He has great reason to smile.

Of course, everyone else was smiling, too, and with justification, since a baby is a miraculous thing.

My sister-in-law, relaxed and happy, is in glowing form. To look at her, one would never know she had given birth within the last three weeks.

She and my brother are perfectly fine. They do not look tired or wan in the least, apparently because they have been taking turns getting up in the middle of the night and giving my niece her bottle. Further, my parents have been handling the 6:00 a.m. bottle each morning, which must help a little, too.

My nephew was in high spirits today. He was delighted to see Josh and me. The dog was in high spirits, too, and delighted to see Josh and me as well.

In fact, everyone was pleased to see us—and we certainly were pleased to see everyone.

My parents are very thankful that everyone in the family is now home for the rest of the holidays. They very much missed not having Josh and me at home on Christmas Day for the second year in a row.

Tonight we all celebrated a second Christmas, because Josh and I exchanged our gifts with everyone. My mother had a grand dinner—half Norwegian, half English—prepared for us: Chicken Consomme; a cold Norwegian fish salad; Beef Wellington served with garlic potatoes, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce and an orange-cranberry-nut salad; and an English Christmas Pudding. After we opened our gifts, we ate Norwegian Christmas fruit cookies.

It’s good to be home.

The next four days will pass all too quickly.

"No, We Must Not Sleep This Holy Night"

No, we must not sleep
This holy night;
We must not sleep.
The Virgin, all alone, is thinking
What will she do
When she gives birth
To the King of Immeasurable Light;
If, before His Divine Essence,
She will tremble.
O, what will she say to Him?
No, we must not sleep
This holy night;
We must not sleep.

Fra Ambrosio De Montesino (1444-1514)
From Cancionero De Diversas De Nuevo Trobadas
1508

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Andrea Della Robbia (1435-1525)
Madonna And Child With Cherubim
1485
National Gallery Of Art, Washington

Glazed Terracotta
37 1/2 inches by 34 3/4 inches
Tondo: 21 9/16 inches diameter