Steckeschlaaferklamm

A few weeks ago we took our kids to the Steckeschlääferklamm, just outside of Bingen. The kids call it 'the face forest'- much easier to pronounce and an accurate description.  This small gorge has dozens of faces (over 50, I think) carved and painted into the trees. The kids had great fun trying to find them all- some were quite small or well concealed- and it was a nice way to spend an hour.  After hiking through the gorge, we briefly explored further trails (it looks like you could do so for days), then came back up through the gorge to get back to the car.

Aachen

Recently I popped into Aachen for a quick look at its famous cathedral and treasury.

Town Hall
A cool building; it would be fun to see inside.

Cathedral
Aachen was Charlemagne's capital, and it had a suitably splendid cathedral, outside and in. The original building was started just before 800AD. I wanted to see the throne where centuries of German kings were crowned; regrettably, it was upstairs in the building and could be viewed only as part of a tour group.

Treasury
Near the cathedral is the treasury, housing a small collection of art. I was particularly interested in Charlemagne's reliquary. And his gilded right hand.

Conclusion
You can see these Aachen sights in an hour or two. If you're into history, I highly recommend that you do.

Orthodoxy (G.K. Chesterton)

Orthodoxy is a follow-up volume to Heretics. In the latter, G.K. Chesterton looked at the prevailing worldviews/philosophies of his day and why they are wrong; in the former, he put forward what he believed was right and why.  Or, rather, how he came to believe in the Christian faith.  At a high level, he discusses things like original sin, optimism vs pessimism, the beauty of the world (and art/story in it), and more.

I listened to the audiobook; I wish I had read it instead, so I could highlight numerous passages.  This is a work of (primarily) apologetics, though it seems somewhat autobiographical as well.  Chesterton has such a way with words- whether I agree or disagree with his statements, I marvel as his turns of phrase, simple but profound statements, and use of paradox. It's always fun to read his books, even if I don't always track what he's saying (he wrote over 100 years ago and can reference people or movements no longer familiar to most modern readers).  Recommended.

Rating: A-

Menschen- Deutsch als Fremdsprache Kursbuch (A1)

This coursebook, from Hueber, covers material found in the "A1" German language certificate test.  It's accompanied by a DVD, which you'll need to make sense of the book. As you'd expect, it covers the basics of the language.

I'm hoping to get a German certificate while I'm here. Though I know (or should know) the material covered in this book, I wanted to go through it to reinforce the lessons, identify gaps, and understand what I might see on the test. It's entirely in German- this is produced for all "German as a Second Language" students, so there are no explanations in your native language- and I found this different approach valuable.  I read through it, but didn't use the accompanying DVD, so I wasn't able to complete the exercises that required that. But it's a nice resource.  I'll stick with some other ones, though- I prefer having the English explanation handy.

Rating: B

The Lord of the Rings (1978 Animated Film)

Fresh on the heels of The Hobbit animated movie, we watched The Lord of the Rings- a 1978 film that combines the first two books of the trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers) into one two-hour experience (the second novel gets only 45 minutes of screentime). Here, Bilbo passes his ring to Frodo, who then sets off with it (and an increasingly large fellowship) to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom.

This set a very different tone from the previous animated movie. Rotoscoping was inconsistently used across a film that was a bizarre and dark experience.  That said, it did clearly influence Peter Jackson's live-action trilogy. Some shots seemed almost stolen verbatim by the latter, so I give this animated work credit for influence, if nothing else.

Rating: C

The Hobbit (1977 Animated Film)

Long before The Lord of the Rings films, before The Hobbit flicks, there was 1977's animated The Hobbit. the story of Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf the wizard, and the band of dwarves as they journey to reclaim their homeland from the dragon Smaug. I watched it today with the children.

The Hobbit follows the book closely, though at 75 minutes, it rushes through everything. The background paintings were excellent; the other art was okay. Plot development was nonexistent, and you could tell this was made in the '70s by the approach (including a recurring musical theme with a moral). My kids wanted to watch it because they're not yet allowed to see the live-action film (and they've been resisting my attempts to read the book to them). On the whole, it was decent, and apparently it did influence Peter Jackson's approach to the tale decades later.

Rating: B-

Agricola and Germany (Tacitus)

Tacitus was a Roman historian (among other things). In Germany, he provides an account of Rome's dangerous enemies: the Germans. Tremendously influential, his study is only 25 pages, but the Oxford edition supplements it with a 40-page introduction and 37-page notes section. Written around 100AD, this is "the only surviving specimen from the ancient world of an ethnographic study."

I enjoyed this book, as it was short, amusing, and a brief insight into what this region must have looked like almost two thousand years ago. Of course, the accuracy is unknown- some observations seemed impressively accurate, even today, while others were laughably ludicrous. But since it's so short, if you live in Germany, give it a go. The Oxford version, with its introduction and notes, is very helpful.

Rating: B+