Rheine 9/2/10
OMG – We had another great day!!!
So we got into Rheine last night (yesterday afternoon) and got ourselves situated with a train schedule to Xanten and we had gotten directions to the Cloister and did a little walk about to see what the town has to offer. We had supper at the most amazing restaurant where we sampled the local cuisine. We are in Westphalia and if I had to claim a region of Germany as my own then this would be the one I’d choose. There is very little tourism here and the prices are reasonable to us and very few people speak English here but they all make the effort to make us feel welcome. It is a very nice place to be.
Today we got up and had breakfast. Breakfast had a lot more local flavor than the ones previous and I had a sandwich of purchudo with peppered Swiss cheese and those little tomatoes with cheese and oil. Tea of course and frosted mini-wheats rounded out the meal.
We set out for the Convent and mom decided we just must take the bus which was good because even after the bus ride we had to walk about a mile. It was a pleasant walk through the woods and then we arrived at the Convent Bentlage. We went in and asked the man at the desk to see the reliquary shrines and he said that yes they were there in the museum and pointed us in the right direction. Down the hall we got to another desk where we each paid 8 euros to enter and see the museum. Booklovers please note that they have a very fine collection of medieval texts on display. Anyway, we walked in and looked in a few rooms and then about the fourth one – there it was – I should say there they were – two very large and very fine shrines. Very wonderful! Very large. Very, very everything I came to Europe to see for myself.
I whipped out the binder and mom got out the tape measure and I grabbed the camera and I started taking pictures and mom started measuring things for me. Then a woman comes in and sets a flashlight down between the shrines and leaves. I played with the flashlight too – I think I figured out that it wasn’t for me (she spoke no English) but it was there so I used it. She came back about 15 minutes later with a tour group of about 15 people and gave them a very long explanation in German of the shrines and I caught bits and pieces but she used her flashlight as a pointer (yes – of course I had left it where I found it) and took it with her when she left. After she left I took a few more pictures until mom came and told me (yes – she still wanders off but she keeps checking doorways for lockable doors) I wasn’t to take pictures. She then went off to the bathroom and I went back to taking notes and comparing things.
And then she returns with the curator! She went to the bathroom, met the curator, asked if she was the curator and then said her daughter was studying these reliquaries and she was sure I had questions and so the curator and her assistant finished their inventory and came to the room with the shrines to answer my questions. She said she could talk about them all day and I said I could listen all day so she answered some of my questions right then and there and then we went down the hall to the cafeteria where we had beverages and she answered more questions. She was surprised that I knew of the Convent because they had not been around that long (she got there when they started the work restoring the shrines in 96) and they have only been open for a few (7?) years. But I knew of all the shrines and she added to my knowledge of some of them. She too is upset with Koln for being closed for renovations and she was surprised that I had not been to Ebstorf or Walsrode but there just is so little time left.
Dr. Mechthild Beilmann is a most awesome curator! She showed me the whole book on the restoration of the shrines and another on an exhibit they did at the convent to introduce the shrines. Beautiful books with lots of juicy good pictures (in German of course) that she gifted to me!!!! And I was given postcard close-ups of the shrines and wonderful information on the other shrines. It’s like heaven. I had some of my questions answered, everything she said jived with what I knew, we were conversing on my favorite geeky topic. I envy the people who got to spend two years restoring the shrines. It was blessed goodness oh yet again and still.
We, mom and I, finished seeing the museum and then walked back to the bus stop in a light rain. My binder fits in my purse along with my new books and I think that’s why I bought this purse in the first place – it doesn’t look that huge. We just caught the bus (a bit of running was involved) and made it back to town. Stopped at the train depot and got the schedule to Xanten for tomorrow morning. Did some shopping where I got the most excellent coat – I know I’m obsessed with coats but mom encouraged it and it’s “all the rage in Italy” so the guy said. I had looked at it last night and just came back for it. We found a Woolworth store! We had supper at the same place as last night but I had two glasses of wine (I’m getting luscious?) and the waitress was the same one as last night and was just as nice and brought us dessert after some more lovely meals. And then we came back to the lovely room (and it really is) at the Freye hotel.
It was a most excellent day. Again. I just wish I had another 6 weeks of vacation so I could get more done! I’ll make due though 🙂