 by Frau Easy Hiker We really should start putting out posts about food because one of the many pleasures I get when we go hiking anywhere is the anticipation of trying a local delicacy. And I’ve tried some unforgettable ones. In Spain, we stumbled upon a local Madrilenian churreria away from the tourist scrum for a taste of authentic Churros y chocolate Jabuguitos and fried eggs for breakfast in Madrid (This one was a regular on the breakfast menu of the hotel we stayed in.) Seafood tapas in Barcelona And from our Paris hikes, I still dream of the day I’ll have another one of these: Brioche Compiegnoise Mouth-watering selection of meats we had at a . . . → More Easy Hiking: Food Glorious Food  This is somewhat of a scoop. Perhaps this is the first time you will have read about this (in English anyway) and seen pictures of it. You’ve seen it first in Easy Hiker! The Women of the Lake in Schwerin This was another pleasant discovery we made during our hike around Schwerin, along the last lake we passed by, Ostorfer Ufer, before heading back to our hotel. The story goes that three trees had to be felled for whatever reason (danger to the public?) and rather than just felling them and leaving it at that, two local associations campaigned for an alternative action: turn the stumps into statues. The commission was given to a local artist named Nando Kallweit. The Women of the Lake An admirer of the statues aptly named it Frauenherrschaft. Translation? Women Rule! . . . → More Easy Hiking: The Women Of The Lake  We like bringing you scenes not only of the forests and fields of the hiking trails we’ve walked, but also fun discoveries we’ve made in the towns we visited. Meet the little Piggies of the Schweinsbrücke in Wismar Our recent hiking trip brought us to Schwerin in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. (Read about that hike here.) As is usual, we did a day trip to a nearby town, Wismar, a UNESCO World Heritage site. And these little piggies gave us some moments of amusement seeing them watch over each of the four corners of a canal bridge. These little piggies of the Schweinsbrücke (Pig Bridge) are the works of a local artist, Christian Wetzel. This is the week’s contribution to Nancie’s Travel Photo Thursday. Check out other contributors on her . . . → More Easy Hiking: These Little Piggies  Remember when I took you on an unexpectedly adventurous journey from Pontoise to the outskirts of Auvers sur Oise? And I promised you: no more bad surprises? Today, I am going to keep that promise. Auvers sur Oise, in fact, has only positive surprises to offer. The first thing you will notice when crossing the bridge into Auvers sur Oise is that it looks like the kind of French village that, deep in your heart, you have always felt a French village should look like. It feels as though nothing had changed since, say, 1890. I am not pulling that year out of my hat. 1890 was the year when a penniless and mentally unstable Dutch painter arrived here, stayed for a couple of months and then killed himself. It’s a safe bet that his arrival went . . . → More Easy Hiking: The Auvers Sur Oise Van Gogh Knew  Churches – Europe is so full of them because, for centuries, they were the focal points of community life, much like football and baseball stadiums are in the modern world. If you go hiking a lot in Europe, pay attention to the architecture of churches of Europe and see if you can you pick out the different styles. A medieval ruin of a church in Goslar One style you get to see rather rarely is the “Romanesque” (thick walls, round arches) because it went out of fashion so long (about a 1000 years) ago. This building here (in the North German city of Goslar) once had a mighty cathedral behind it, but now is all that remains. For most people, a church is a “real” church only if it is a Gothic church: pointed arches, stained glass windows, high steeples – but careful: . . . → More Easy Hiking: The Churches Of Europe | |
