Room with a View

This poem was published in 2010 in the online magazine, Danse Macabre. It was inspired from a picture I took of Shakespeare’s childhood home. It’s a simple rhymed poem.  

Room with a View

Hark! who looks out yonder window with woe
A lover’s quarrel of footprints in snow
‘Tis lost thy source which aches within thy heart
Though world has warned by calling thee a tart
Ignored thy ignorant words spit out of spite
Found thee defending that grew into a fight
Is thou love really a harlot in disguise,
Or how thee praised with acts of idolized?
How shall thee find the answer to thy prayers
To silence forever along with thy tears?

Inspiration and Photography,

Bea

Ein Grossartiger Tag in Deutschland (A Great Day in Germany)

We have been working on our flat all day every day. One evening, I decided to have a nice little Italian dinner with some wine for us. It was a beautiful evening, so we sat out on our balcony.

Here’s a picture of the small anti-pasta Italian meal I put together of olives, fresh mozzarella, onion, tomato, fresh basil and drizzled with rosemary oil, and warm tomato breadsticks. The wine, Bardolino is from an area on Lake Garda in Italy. 

On Friday, after a long day of painting and running errands, we finally sat down with a nice cold brew of Grafenwalder Pils. Early this year, I bought one of the glasses so I could put in the freezer for my nice cold beers. At the time, my Love said he didn’t need one. After taking a sip from a previous beer we had, he picked up one for himself. I introduced him to a nice cold American brew. 

Yesterday, we had a full day. First we went to a flea market in the morning, and then went bike riding around by the Lake with my Love’s brother and his children. I thought I’d have some difficulties since I haven’t rode a bike in 3-years, but I did fine. We had a nice lunch at the Lake, and it was fun hanging out with his brother’s children. Below are a few pictures I snapped during my bike ride. 

 

From there, my Love and I went to Blankenstein to have some ice cream. Here are a few pictures of the area where we rested our aching bodies from biking. 

In the evening, we met up with my Love’s brother and went to a Knight’s Festival. The festival was setup around the Castle Burgaltendorf. It’s so cool experiencing a festival in another country. Below are a few pictures of the castle and festival.

Hope you had a nice weekend.

Bicycling and Adventure,

Bea

Railway, Castles, and Dragons!

Last weekend we went to Schloss Drachenburg to see the castle and the Drachenfels Mountain, and we wound up doing so many other things there, too. The foundation of the Schloss Drachenburg was laid in 1882. To read more about the castle’s history and take a look at other pictures (aside from my own), you can visit the Schloss Drachenburg site - http://bit.ly/yblQoE. Now relax, keep your hands by the keyboard, and enjoy the scenery.

When we first arrived in the town of Koenigswinter (King’s Winter), we parked in a free parking lot. Free People! A free parking lot is hard to come by in Germany. You drive, you pay, which includes high price gas and parking. While we were walking through the parking lot to get to the train, we came across a few washrooms and here is what it said above one of the doors (translation: urinal). What can I say, I’m childish and thought it was funny.

From there, we took the cog railway up to the Schloss Drachenburg. This railway opened in 1883, but it has been updated several times since. When we got up to the castle, we went inside the small museum and gift store. 

 I was in awe of the castle once I saw the full view. 

 

We went inside the castle, but they didn’t allow us to roam the entire castle. We only saw a small portion of it, so I took as many pictures as I could. Side note: While we were in the castle, there was a group of people having a good old time. My Love elbowed me and pointed out one of the men in the group. He is the President of the German Parliament (very interesting). 

In one room, there were two stained glass windows of writers. One is Uhland and the other Schiller. I also took a picture of their writings. The street we live on is named after Schiller—Schiller Strasse.

In the art room, there was a book where guests could sign their name. I wrote a little about my book, Net Switch, and left a bookmark. 

Here are a few pictures I took from the castle looking into the valley.

We had a small lunch in the restaurant on the left. The building on the right was built in 1661. 

Finally we arrived at the dragon’s cave. 

 

This lead to the reptile exhibit.

Again, we went on the cog railway up to the Drachenfels Mountain where the old castle remains are.

After we took our pictures on this gloomy day, we went back down the mountain into town where I took a few more pictures.

We passed one storefront and they had this cute Christmas display for sale. I loved it.

Hope your fingers didn’t get cramped at the keyboard.

Castles and dragons,

Bea