More for your listening pleasure

I haven't posted any Librivox links in awhile because I've mostly been listening to podcasts lately--though I recently finished listening to Dreams From My Father, which was terrific. Hearing President Obama read his own work more than makes up for the abridgment, and since I got the two-in-one edition from my grandparents for Christmas I still have The Audacity of Hope to look forward to!Anyway, my new favorite podcast is the Paranormal Podcast, which features a thirty-minute to hourlong interview with an author/ investigator/what-have-you in each episode. It's not nearly as kooky as you might think--there are lots of tidbits to interest even confirmed skeptics (how the CIA employs psychics--"remote viewers" --on intelligence-gathering missions; the scientific aspects of after-death experiences; and suchlike). One of the psychics interviewed on the show posited that twenty percent of our thoughts don't actually belong to us, which is something even a die-hard skeptic would find difficult to reject out of hand (though I do wonder how one can possibly quantify it!)And if you're interested in folklore, the episode on zombies is a must-listen. The guest author, Bob Curran, is from Northern Ireland, and he tells a wonderful, possibly-true story about a grandfather who comes back from the graveyard to visit his family. Well worth checking out on iTunes.

Plum Truffle weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I've only done the simplest of cables and lace, not so much because I was afraid to try them but because I don't normally gravitate towards sweaters with heavy cabling or intricate lace patterns. It's not really my style. But when I came across Megan Rogers' brilliant Truffle Cardigan Tutorial on Ravelry [ed.—as of September 2013, Megan's site was password protected, so I'm not sure that the tutorial is still available], I decided it would be a good project for learning how to do traveling and short-row cables. I was really drawn to the neo-Victorian silhouette, and on a more practical note, in the middle of winter I've often found myself wishing I were wearing a second scarf to better insulate my neck and chest. Turtlenecks are usually pretty unflattering, but a cabled turtleneck cardi is perfect!It's not a pattern, so you make your own calculations and adjustments as you go along; it sounds scary, but I definitely feel like I've become a better knitter because of it. This tutorial was published over a year ago now, and it was high up on my Ravelry queue for almost as long (giving it frequent glances of longing in between churning out Christmas gifts...)The yarn is discontinued Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran, which I picked up for less than half price on eBay two years ago. I was planning to make this, but fell out of love with it at some point. (I'm already thinking about making a Truffle #2, because I think it would look terrific in a lighter-color yarn.) This dark rich plum tweed (with fuschia, rust, bright purple, and emerald-green flecks) is nice too, though the wool is unevenly spun, which is irritating when the yarn gets as thin as a strand of sewing thread. I've found a knot in almost every ball, too. The cheek of Rowan, charging $16 a ball! I bet quality control issues were part of why the yarn was discontinued.I was anticipating a fair amount of frogging and re-knitting when it came to the yoke, which requires short rows to get the cabled panel to hug your collarbone area, but I whizzed through it in four days or so. The horseshoes tend to vary in size, but I decided not to drive myself crazy counting rows and half-rows or else I'd never finish the darn thing.

I'm using a cable pattern from Vogue Stitchionary for the yoke (Horseshoe #1, page 27) and this cable from Barbara Walker's Charted Knitting Designs for the front. I really enjoyed knitting the test swatch for the cable--this is going to sound really dorky, but watching the traveling cables emerge feels kind of magical.My grandparents recently gave me the pick of their button collection (every time a shirt got too worn out even to donate to Goodwill, they snipped off the buttons and dropped them in a rusty old candy tin). From all the buttons I picked up from them, I found plenty of clear plastic 1 1/8" buttons for the inside buttonband (meaning that the buttons don't all have to match, so long as they're the same size). Like I said, I've been trying to work with materials already on hand whenever possible. It feels so good to be thrifty, and of course I've benefited from my grandparents' thriftiness as well. (Though come to think of it, didn't I learn how to be thrifty from them in the first place?)

By the time I finish this it will probably be too late in the winter to get much wear out of it, but it will make me happy just knowing it'll be ready to wear at the first October cold snap. And anyway, in Ireland you can wear a sweater any time of year--2008 was a pretty cold summer.Ravelry project link here.

Lolly Willowes

I've been fairly preoccupied with the subject of witchcraft (in all its forms and fakery) for this past year and a half or so. With that in mind, my friend Deirdre lent me her copy of Lolly Willowes, a novel by Sylvia Townsend Warner published in 1926.The novel is beautifully written, and I was completely engrossed for the first two chapters. The natural imagery is wonderfully vivid--a "thick roof of lime trees" in a churchyard, or

[She] only cried when alone in the potting shed, where a pair of old gardening gloves repeated to her the shape of her mother's hands.

At first, Lolly Willowes reminded me, in very general terms, of Kate Chopin's The Awakening, except our protagonist is a maiden aunt who finds satisfaction in nature (she fills her tiny bedroom with exotic flowers, gathers plants to make herbal remedies, and goes for all-day walks in the forest) rather than illicit romance. Laura--called Lolly by her nieces and nephew--doesn't break free of her stultifying London life under her brother's thumb until halfway through the book, but I'm not one of those readers who gets annoyed with the writer when "not much happens" (so long as the prose is good).I loved the way this novel began, and I wanted to love it all the way through. But...I'd better back up and read you a few lines off the back cover:

After twenty years of self-effacement as a maiden aunt, she decides to break free and moves to a small Bedfordshire village. Here, happy and unfettered, she enjoys her new existence nagged only by the sense of a secret she has yet to discover. That secret--and her vocation--is witchcraft, and with her cat and a pact with the Devil, Lolly Willowes is finally free.

Here's the problem. There's absolutely no hint of supernatural activity until page 165 (out of 247 pages)--so that when she finds a strange kitten inside her (previously locked) parlor, the kitten bites her, and she 'realizes' she's entered into a pact with the Devil, I had to wonder if the promise of witchcraft on the back cover was nothing more than a delusion on Laura's part. It would have made sense if her pact with the Devil were something she had imagined to make her life more interesting, but it's not. It's real, and most of the other villagers have made the same bargain. But for a few pages there, until she goes to a midnight Sabbath attended by all the rest of the village, I was convinced that Lolly is mentally ill.As a writer, I'm very conscious of this basic principle of consistency. The writer makes a sort of contract with the reader on the very first page, the very first line even. You might not have any idea yet where this story is going to go, but you ought to know what sort of world the characters inhabit. So to begin a story in an all-too-realistic situation and end it with a conversation with Satan (who is posing as an easygoing gardener) is, in a sense, pulling a fast one on the reader. It feels cheap. I'm not saying an imp should have jumped out of a hole and cried "tee hee, I'm the Devil's minion!" before the first paragraph was out; but however it's done, the reader should proceed with the distinct impression that there is a supernatural layer to this story, a dark secret to which she'll eventually be made privy.When I finished the novel, I googled in search of some discussion on Lolly Willowes that might validate my feelings of disappointment. The novel is considered, by feminist readers especially, to be an unjustly forgotten classic, but virtually none of the blogs or other websites I visited mentioned the inconsistency that had partially spoiled the story for me.I had lent the book to my mother to read while I finished Hogfather over the holidays, and I wasn't fazed when she told me she hadn't cared for it much--our literary tastes don't always overlap. But when I finished the novel, I realized she'd had the very same reaction that I had. "It just doesn't work," she said. So it wasn't only me.Despite the consistency issue, Lolly Willowes is still worth a read for all its fine descriptive passages and classic feminist message. I wish I could recommend it with a whole heart.

Tips for a Happier Irish Holiday

At this time of year folks are trying to distract themselves from the winter doldrums by planning their summer vacations, so what better time to offer a bit of advice if you happen to be coming to Ireland? (I'm writing this in the hope that I might snag a few random Googlers, so if that's you, you can read more about my guidebook here. The second edition doesn't come out until next year, I'm afraid. More on that later.)1. Look beyond Dublin! So many visitors spend their entire holiday in the capital. You'll have to travel outside the city to see the real Ireland. I'm not saying you've got to spend a full day on the bus to Donegal--even just a day trip south into the Wicklow Mountains will add a whole new dimension to your visit.2. Don't try to see too much. I hear people talking about renting a car and driving from Dublin to Galway to the Cliffs of Moher to Killarney and the Ring of Kerry to Cork to Waterford to Glendalough and back to Dublin...all in the span of a week! I say it's better to focus on two or three places in that week--relax, take your time, see it properly and leave yourself a couple hours to savor a pint at a cozy old-fashioned pub. You can always see the rest of those places on your next holiday.3. Get off the beaten track, or visit popular attractions in the off season. The times I've most enjoyed traveling around Ireland have been the times I've stumbled upon a wonderful place it seems like nobody else in the world knows about. I try to encourage people to seek out the more wild and remote places (County Mayo, anyone?), rather than just going to the Cliffs of Moher or Killarney like everybody else does. That's not to say the most popular tourist attractions aren't deservedly so, but crowds can sometimes detract from your enjoyment of a place. Try spending a week in Donegal instead of Kerry for a more relaxing (but just as scenic) vacation. (Can you tell I really like Donegal?)4. Buy handmade. If you're looking for an Aran jumper, it's worth investing €100 or more in a handknit garment. (I heard a rumor once about machine-knit sweaters in one of the larger, more commercial shops actually being manufactured in Guatemala. It might not be true, but when so many sweaters don't have a "made in Ireland" label it leaves room for doubt, doesn't it?) For a gorgeous handknit sweater you can wear for the rest of your life, I recommend O'Maille's on Quay Street in Galway or Sarah Flaherty at Dun Aengus on Inis Mór (the largest of the three Aran Islands).5. Don't complain about the weather. You know it rains a lot in Ireland--that's why the grass is so green! When tourists complain about the rain, it just comes off sounding really ungracious. If you don't like the prospect of putting on a slicker and stout shoes and going for a walk in inclement weather, go to Greece or the Bahamas instead.And a corollary, 5A: Don't let the weather dictate your itinerary. Put on your raingear and get to it!And a further corollary, 5B: In my experience, April and May are the sunniest months. (The last couple of summers have been really wet!) Also, Wexford and the other south-eastern counties get less rainfall than elsewhere in the country (which is why the tourist board touts the region as the "Sunny Southeast.")The weather here is sometimes gorgeous. Honest! I took this pic of a cloudless sky on 31 May 2006 in Ardmore, County Waterford.Enjoy!And P.S.--please feel free to add your own advice in the comments section. You can also give me a recommendation (a pub, B&B, or what have you), and if I go there and like it I'll thank you on my second-edition acknowledgments page. Go raibh maith agaibh!

Edwardian Crochet

Here are those scans of the crochet books my uncle gave me. I'd love to see this yoke on a sun dress:Isn't it lovely? I really have to learn how to crochet properly. And sew, for that matter.

Connemara National Park

For Brendan's birthday we took the bus out to Connemara National Park for a night, and everything about our mini-holiday was perfect. The weather was crisp and clear, we had nice meals in the Letterfrack pubs (Veldon's and the Bard's Den; the latter has a slightly more gourmet menu, but the staff is friendlier at Veldon's), and we went for the most exhilarating walk up Diamond Hill, a.k.a. Bengoora, the smallest of the Twelve Bens. (You can see the rest of them in the background in the photo above.)We stayed at a wonderful hostel, The Old Monastery, which hasn't changed at all since I was there with my sister back in 2003. As Brendan said, it's everything a hostel should be, but seldom is: very bohemian (antiques and taxidermies, animal bones hanging on a wall strung with red Christmas lights, a cozy common room with an open fire), clean enough (it's the kind of place that will always have a few cobwebs in the corner), with a friendly welcome and meals included. (A breakfast of porridge and scones is always complimentary, though the hot-pot at dinnertime might have been a one-off--delicious meat-and-potato stew, Brendan's dinner #1.)Here he is showing off the gloves I made him for his birthday (I didn't make the hat, he got it at O'Maille's):The scarf was his birthday gift last year. Here's a shot taken on the way down Diamond Hill:And here's the waterfall on the Ellis Wood nature trail, which is only half a kilometer long:There weren't many people around (I think half the people we did see were locals), which is all the more reason to come. As you can see, Connemara is just as beautiful in winter--so long as the sun's shining!

Christmas gifts, belatedly

I come from a crafty family. My aunt Kathy used to paint the most fantastic ceramic Christmas ornaments--I'm talking four-foot-tall classical Santas, and Christmas trees with real working lights--and my aunt Debbie has a whole room dedicated to all her various crafts (scrapbooking, sewing, soap- and card- and candle-making, etc.)As a kid I dabbled in counted cross-stitch under their guidance, and I made a quilt and a few other things in high school. You know how it is when you've got plans for all the cool things you want to make--more quilts, and sun-dresses, and throw pillows, and rag dolls. You start to develop quite a big stash of fabrics. And then life gets in the way, of course, so you never really do find the time to make (or finish) that quilt with the matching throw-pillows, or the dress, or the rag doll, and all that fabric sits in big boxes in your closet.With each new holiday season I become increasingly set on handmade over store-bought, using materials already on hand whenever possible. In June 2007, while Kate and Elliot and I were on Hvar Island in Croatia, we picked up sachets for souvenirs that were made from lavender grown on the island. So when I saw a big bin of dried lavender at the Mediterranean stand at the Saturday market, I decided I would make my own sachets out of all that unused calico sitting in my closet.Easy sewing (4" squares, with half the fourth side left open for stuffing), quick assembly, looks so nice with a ribbon and a matching soap or vial of essential oil. So that's what I did.I also knit quite a few Christmas gifts this past year, but I still haven't gotten decent photographs of most of them!

Adventures in Berlin: the Liquidrom

There are a few places in Germany I never got around to blogging about. I went to the ruins of Anhalter station on my own, and later with the Fat Tire bike tour, and both times I wondered what the heck this building was:I asked our tour guide, and he said that among other things (offices and a movie theater), this futuristic building contained the Liquidrom, the coolest spa he'd ever been to. There were hot and cold baths, a bar, and a chamber where you could listen to music underwater. Kelly and I resolved to go there before she left, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. We went along with two Aussies we'd met in our travels, Hinn and Brie, and it was so much fun chatting with them while we kicked back in the outdoor pool.Needless to say, I didn't take any photographs on the inside, but man, this place was amazing. Everything was modern and immaculate, and aside from a few Australian guys at the bar we were the only tourists there. The locals didn't seem at all disdainful of us, either--most people were just chilling (in the buff, or near to it) on beach chairs reading books or the newspaper (which seemed kind of strange to me, considering the entrance price, but I suppose they had seasonal membership).You pay about €18 (plus €3 for towel rental, if you need one) for two hours, and I think it's a couple euros more for every half hour you spend thereafter. The whole place smelled wonderful--I can't recall which scent, it might have been eucalyptus, but it was really soothing. There was a courtyard with a wooden deck and a warm pool, the sound chamber our tour guide mentioned (it was fairly small, and being hogged by the same couple every time we tried to use it), a steam room so steamy you couldn't see your nose if you crossed your eyes, and freezing-cold pools you could hop into after the sauna (if you were feeling brave enough).The sauna was the best part. It had three tiers of wooden benches, so if you sat at the top you'd practically burn your skin off. At the top of the hour the spa dude would come in and pour fragrant essential oil (sandalwood or whatnot) on the red-hot coals, then flap the heat around with a towel. He was very gracious, repeating the instructions for us in English, and making jokes as the air got hotter and hotter. It was the most intense heat I've ever experienced--I had to remove my gold necklace quickly to avoid burning myself--but I was determined to stay sitting on the top tier. The lovely man came up to me afterwards and told me he was impressed that I'd stayed put!Later on we ordered smoothies at the bar, and the same guy who ran the sauna served us. You were given a key-fob at the beginning for your locker, and this also served as a credit card of sorts (so you could leave your wallet in the locker). I was so tickled at how futuristic this seemed!So to anyone paying a visit to Berlin in the future (this means you, Kate and Elliot--you'll love it), be sure to spend an evening at the Liquidrom. Top it off with a good meal and you have the perfect last night of vacation.(One more thing: the entrance is a bit tricky. When you come up the subway steps, you'll see the building to your left, and the entrance to the movie theater and a restaurant is on that side. Walk past that side of the building, make a right, and walk down the block until you see the door to the Liquidrom on your right.)And with that, my Germany blogging has come to an end. Over the next few months I'll be doing research for the second edition of Moon Ireland, so there'll still be plenty of new photos to share!

Inauguration video #2

Inauguration video #1

And my friend Diarmuid sent me this link, asking me if I could spot myself. (I haven't--yet.) Cool, huh?

Mealey's Christmas Blouse

I like to tell people that the beginning of the year is Selfish Knitting Season. Here's my version of Elaine's Blouse (from Interweave Knits Winter 2008), which I fell totally in love with as soon as I saw the magazine preview.(I'm wearing a flesh-colored tank top underneath. Really, I am.)When the Stash and Burn girls did their magazine review, Nicole said she didn't think the design and the yarn worked well together at all, but I think the rustic yarn keeps it from being too girly. The finished object isn't perfect--the ribbing doesn't line up on the back (I mustn't have picked up the stitches for the buttonband or buttonhole band evenly enough), and if I could knit it over I'd make the peplum two or so inches longer. But I love the color (my sister keeps telling me to buy/make clothes that aren't black, purple, or green), it felt good to get a deal on the yarn (ggh Silky Tweed, purchased in Munich--it's a lot pricier in the States), and it's surprisingly toasty! I'll go back and reknit the buttonband and collar (so the ribbing lines up right) sometime when it's too warm to wear it.Thanks to Brendan for taking such nice pictures! We lucked out with the weather today.I want to do more 'selfish knitting' this year, but I also want to knit at least one item for charity per month. That's part of the reason I started knitting in the first place! I was working at Jo-Ann between getting my M.A. and going back to Ireland for Moon Handbooks, and I rang up this really nice lady who was buying bright red yarn to knit a receiving blanket for Project Linus. She inspired me to learn to knit--for the third time--but once I'd finally gotten the hang of it I just started making stuff for myself and my family. In three years of knitting, I've only made one object for charity, and I'm ashamed of that. I think I'll try to make a few things for both Dulaan and the Knitters for Obama service project, which will benefit the Mattaponi Native American tribe in Virginia.

Knitting Patterns from 1939

Neat, huh? I found this pattern book (dated 1939) at Vintage Knits, which offers an incredibly wide range of knitting, crochet, and other needlework patterns as well as great customer service and really reasonable prices. I bought this one based on the cover alone, and I definitely think I'll eventually make a couple things out of it. Many of the patterns are dresses or suits, but among the suits there are several tops that would make adorable short-sleeved cardigans or blouses on their own. Here's a scan of one of the more eye-catching outfits in the collection:I think the cardi is really cute, but I don't know about the trim--it's a bit...furry.And alas--hat pattern not included.

Mealey D. Goes to Washington

I got up just after 3AM on Inauguration Day and walked to the Mall with my sister and a bunch of friends. We stood for over eight hours in a tight crowd, and braved even tighter crowds on the long walk home. But man, it was so worth it!I also took a couple videos, which I'll try to upload to YouTube.

the Little March Hare jumper

Have I mentioned lately how obsessed I am with Ravelry? A couple months ago I came across this lovely sweater......and knew I had to make it. Short-sleeved sweaters are perfect for Galway summers, since it doesn't often get warm enough for tank tops or t-shirts. Chris (littlemarchhare on Ravelry) is making this jumper in Rowan 4-Ply Cotton, and she very generously offered to email me a scan of the original pattern. The pamphlet isn't dated, but it looks to be from the '40s, wouldn't you say? The button placement and sloped neckline seem so modern. Here's my swatch (I'm using Rowan Cashcotton 4-ply in chartreuse):The twist stitch felt pretty awkward at first, but now I'm whizzing along. (Mind you, it'll still be awhile before I finish this thing--I've got a few other projects to finish up before it gets my full attention.) And I spotted some awesome pale green iridescent shell buttons at Hickey's (at the Eyre Square Shopping Centre) awhile back. They'll be perfect.I want to scan one of my vintage patterns to email Chris to thank her--I just received the most incredible stash of crochet booklets from the late teens (!!!), which my uncle came across while moving his mom into assisted living. (Thanks, Uncle John!) So far the only thing I've crocheted is the Babette blanket, so my skills are still totally basic, but looking at all those intricate hankie and yoke edgings (to put on the collar of a nightshirt or dress or what have you) gets me eager to improve!

Adventures in Germany: Munich

I really liked Munich--it has such a pleasant, genteel vibe to it. Berlin is much grittier, which is also cool in its own way of course. Munich was pretty much my free day; I wanted to amble around the Altstadt, check out a few yarn shops, and do a good bit of writing (fortunately, the hostel I was staying at had a pleasant sitting area with working power points and €2/24-hour wireless internet). I found another Christkindlesmarkt here, though not nearly as extensive as Nuremberg's. The merchandise sometimes varied too--I saw stalls selling (handcarved?) Nativity sets and figures in Munich, and can't recall seeing any in Nuremberg. Food and drink (Glühwein, Lebkuchen, etc.) were the same though.Unfortunately, pretty much all the museums are closed on Monday--the very day I was there--but I managed to squeeze in a visit to the Alte Pinakothek late on Sunday. Best time to visit, as it happened: admission is only a euro on Sunday afternoons! While in Munich, you must visit this museum to see Rubens' stunning two-story painting of the Last Judgment, as well as Albrecht Dürer's famous self portrait. It was painted when he was my age, 28, so seeing it in person had a certain poignancy I couldn't have felt had I viewed it earlier.Another highlight was seeing the Glockenspiel at the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) at noon. The figures were fantastic: musicians, dancers, flag-bearers, royalty...even the pope slides out and takes a few bows. The coolest part comes toward the end, when two knights on horseback go for a joust. Utterly delightful, and of course the Christkindlesmarkt spread out over the plaza below added to the magic of it. You can just make out the figures in the tower below:And of course, I had done my homework on Munich yarn shops, and picked up eight skeins of ggh Silky Tweed from Lanaiolo to make Elaine's Blouse. The yarn is made in Italy, but it's a German label, so I saved a fair bit of cash buying it there (€4.50/ball, compared with $10.50 U.S. retail). Huzzah! (By the way, I finished the blouse over the holidays--photos in a future post.)Anyway, here's one more cool shot (inside the Temple of Diana, at the Hofgarten):

Happy New Year!

I haven't posted in awhile because Brendan was here in New Jersey meeting the folks. We had a lot of fun in Philly, New York, and D.C.(That's the Hans Christian Andersen statue in Central Park.)I'll try to finish up my Germany pics over the weekend!

Adventures in Germany: Nuremberg

While in Nuremberg I got to the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus, which is on the opposite side of this square (the entrance to the Kaiserburg is to the left of this shot--I didn't get there this time, but I figure I'll be back!) I've loved Dürer's etchings since art history class in high school, and it was such a thrill to walk through the rooms he lived and worked in five hundred years ago.I also visited the Nazi party rally grounds, which I may blog about later. But for now, a couple more shots of the Christkindlesmarkt (a view of the Lorenzkirche, and the awesome hard candy stall where I picked up some chili chocolate candies for Brendan).

Cardamom gingersnaps

Merry Day After Christmas! I meant to post this beforehand, but you know how it is. This is my absolute favorite cookie recipe, spicy and festive but delicious at any time of year. (I baked a couple of batches for my launch party in July '07 and they went over very well.)

Slightly modified from a recipe in Sara Perry's Great Gingerbread:

1½ cups flour1 teaspoon baking soda4 teaspoons ground cardamom½ teaspoon ground ginger¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg¼ teaspoon salt½ cup Earth Balance butter, melted½ cup Earth Balance shortening¾ cup organic sugar½ cup turbinado sugar½ teaspoon vanilla¼ cup molasses

Sift the flour, baking soda, 3 teaspoons cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat butter, shortening, and organic sugar (using an electric mixer if available), until mixture is creamy. Beat in vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients alternately with the molasses until fully blended.Lay out two pieces of plastic wrap, spoon half the dough onto each piece, roll into logs, and refrigerate for two hours. Pour raw sugar and last teaspoon of cardamom onto a plate and mix evenly. With oven preheated to 350ºF, pull off spoonfuls of chilled dough, form into slightly flattened balls, and roll edge along sugar/cardamom mixture on the plate. Place balls 1½" apart on greased cookie trays and bake for 12 minutes.Yields approximately four dozen cookies.(Note: this recipe was veganized on August 19, 2013. An updated photo is forthcoming.)

Where My Books Go

All the words that I utter,And all the words that I write,Must spread out their wings untiring,And never rest in their flight,Till they come where your sad, sad heart is,And sing to you in the night,Beyond where the waters are moving,Storm-darken'd or starry bright.

--William Butler Yeats

Adventures in Germany: Ottobeuren

My first stop in Bavaria was a little town called Ottobeuren, known for its huge Benedictine monastery. Here's an early-morning view of the basilica from my hotel window:

There are a couple reasons why I came here. I first heard about Ottobeuren while listening to A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich: the most valuable Allied spy of World War II, Fritz Kolbe, stayed here for a few days and was able to photograph his documents in the perfect privacy of the monastery library. (The narrator pronounced it Ott-oh-byur-in, but the bus driver didn't understand me when I pronounced it that way. Apparently it's Ott-oh-bway-rin.)Anyway, I was intrigued by the monastery's description in the book, and when I googled it, I found another item of interest in the basilica: the complete skeletons of four obscure saints reclining in glass coffins, plus a lot of skulls and other bones in smaller glass cases (the skull of Saint Apollonia, for instance, is crowned with a wreath of jewels). Check out what's left of Saint Maurus below:I know, it's not a very detailed photograph, but I couldn't bring myself to take any pictures at close range. These glass coffins were horrifying and wonderful all at once. It made me wonder who had exhumed these early saints, wired their bones together, and dressed them in velvet so they could be displayed like this.According to the website, the monastery library and museum should have been open, but the door was locked and I was too timid to ask the lady at the gift shop if she spoke English. The sign said both gift shop and museum were closed for lunch, but lunchtime was over by the time I visited. I really should have asked, so that at least I would have known for sure that the museum was closed for the winter (or perhaps because of the construction). This is something I struggle with when I travel--this ridiculous timidity. I've come all this way...why not stick out my neck just a little bit further?Otherwise, Ottobeuren is a quiet, pleasant little town with a few spa-hotels. I was a bit taken aback when I checked my credit card bill to find my stay at the Hotel St. Ulrich was listed as "SANATORIUM OTTOBEUREN"! My room was adorable and cozy, and because I only really came to check out the church and monastery (and there wasn't much else to do anyway), I ended up spending quite a bit of time curled up with my laptop. It was a very productive trip.Here's a little shrine to St. Ulrich on the path from the church to the hotel:And here's Ottobeuren's Marketplatz by night:My time here was wonderfully relaxing, and it was really neat to be able to walk the halls Fritz Kolbe walked sixty-odd years ago. I'm not sure yet how the visit will inform my fiction, but it certainly will somehow.Next post: Nuremberg and more pictures of the Christkindlesmarkt!