T. Storm & the dykes

Today I visited Theodor Storm's house, the highlights of which were his cool desk and his Biedermeier sofa (with a mahogany backing, described in one of his pieces, have forgotten which at the moment). I also learned a few things; I'd had no idea of his Briefweschel with Turgenev, not to mention with Moreike and Gottfried Keller (grüne Heinrich discussion inklusiv) as well as a few others I hadn't heard of before: some Kuh guy from Austria and a few female poets and writers. I guess he was influenced by Goethe & Eichendorff, though he didn't like Eichendorff later on. Hmph.
The most troubling parts of the exhibit were these small dolls, in small cradles, covered with glass, which were distributed in different rooms. They looked like open coffins with mannequins inside. The other troubling part was that all of the furniture seemed to match and the rooms were painted nicely (his library, originall 4,000 books, but now fewer because of private collections elsewhere) was cherokee red. It was difficult to tell what was original and what the Storm Gesellschaft had actually put there just because it looked authentic, and the exhibit didn't do much to differentiate beyond the sofa, his desk, and both wives' desk. I have also now broadened my postcard collection; I usually only get postcards when I travel because they're small and light. Of course his poems and ones by others were hung about, pictures too..... I took some pictures while in the area, but I'm not up to uploading and posting just now.

Then walked along the harbor out to where the sea is, and there were dykes made of grass to be had everywhere. They looked like good, strong dykes. I couldn't imagine any sort of normal flood being able to overtake the biceps of mounded earth which enclosed the green pasture areas leading up to the town. I could barely want for masterful dykes under those circumstances. The sea was also good to see, and the fresh sea air was good for me, as well as the long walk alongside nature (though in retrospect I would have rented a bike; bikes on dykes, or would that be dyke on bike on dyke. The tidal plane was covered with green fields and grazing sheep; the snow had melted over the week I spent in the area and by then end I could see the purple crocuses which had sprung back to life in places. This was all lovely, as I was in a bad mood in the morning and after that, it evaporated. Such sweet baby sheep with their moms prancing about. I also think that these wind turbines which are scattered about are good for people: just watching them for awhile can have the same effect as EMDR, I think. Maybe that's why the Germans are in better moods than I remember; they've all had turbine therapy.

After this I passed by the castle and then caught my train. By then, or rather, by 7am this morning, everyone else in my course had left, and I had some solitude in the town without invitations to do stuff during every free moment. My pants had started falling down and I'd forgotten my belt, so I got one of those, and I also could not find my EC card before leaving the U.S., so have been wrangling with my bank in MS to try to get some of the money I stored there, a thing which demands dealing with bureaucracy, faxes, id, and lots of papers. It's been a hassle, but hopefully can be clarified next week. The thing I love about the concept of the business trip is the 'flights and hotel paid' and the 'per diem allowance' parts. That has certainly been a new and delightful thing.

Also got to visit Luneburg (the Luneburg of the Luneberger Heide song) with my Hamburg relatives on Easter, a lovely medieval city with some interesting pieces of architecture. What was interesting was that the houses were so old, that the earth had moved and the full weight of the house succumbed to gravity throughout the centuries, and there were large bulges of bricks and windows, making for seemingly misshapen brick structures everywhere. There was also of course a moat and a mill to be had. Next week is more time in Hamburg doing business things before flying back. These days, am esconced in another big city which I've pulled on this evening like a warm woolen sweater and get for 3 more days.