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Augsburg Using the Spatz family's directions we made our way via bike path into the center of Augsburg. In Augsburg it was not sunny. You just couldn't trust military intelligence. Augsburg had a colorful market with flower sellers hawking orange and yellow blooms. A wrinkled man with a sunny disposition waved bunches of gladiolas. Vegetable sellers sold carrots, potatoes and other vegetables that I wasn't sure what they were. The old women had kerchiefs on their heads and struck up lively conversations with customers. One of the most enjoyable things in Europe was the proliferation of small markets selling flowers and fresh produce. It was a treat to the senses to wander the market. In Augsburg, Germany, this colourful market had, among others, flower sellers hawking bouquets of orange and yellow blooms. A small wrinkled man with a sunny disposition waved bunches of gladiolus at passersby, while elderly vegetable sellers hawked carrots, potatoes, and an assortment of other garden produce. The old women, kerchiefs on their head, struck up lively conversations with potential customers. We spent most of the day in Augsburg, managing only to leave town at around 3:00 p.m. We had spent our time visiting two churches; the "Hall of Gold" in the town hall; the market place; Maximilianstrasse-where a pan pipe band from Peru gave a demonstration of their talents and hawked cd's; and Fuggerei Quarter: a social settlement for impoverished citizens founded by Jacob Fugger, a very rich man with a guilty conscience and more money than time to make amends for the injustices he had committed during his lifetime. The Hall of Gold was impressive with its golden ceiling and mural paintings. There was a unique artist's exhibition in a room adjacent to the hall. I loved the artist's work-landscape scenes made from a combination of embroidery, fabrics, painting and color selection. The texture gave the scenes a three dimensional aspect. The price tags for her works were as extravagant as the Golden Hall itself. One composition was $20,000. Her larger pieces weren't even for sale. Our host family, Martin and Karen, were glad to see us. They had two elementary aged sons, David and Matthew, who were budding Ping Pong champions. Martin was a professional puppeteer who did performances for adults and children. His puppets were all fantastic handmade characters. All of his performances were choreographed to live music. We wished we could see our talented hosts perform. It was rather humbling being around such artistic folks. |
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