Hameln: Rats

Saturday we took the train to Hameln for the day. The town is known for the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, which the city milks in every way to draw the tourist crowd. Ironic that, while the Pied Piper got rid of the rats, rats are displayed all over, even to rat-shaped bread and rat-decorated tiles in the city square.

Rat-shaped Marzipan Pastries 

Nevertheless, it's a nice town to wander around looking at old half-timbered houses from the Weser Renaissance. So many wonderful architectural details.

Dragon & Griffin Carving 

We first stopped to watch the glockenspiel on the side of the  Hoschzeitshaus (Marriage House) in the main square. The bells ring and then the doors open for the pied piper figure leading the rats and then the children away when the townsfolk refused to pay him. Maybe our bill collectors aren't so bad after all.

St. Nicolai Church & Hochzeitshaus 

In Germany couples get  officially married in a city office. They can choose to have a church wedding also, but sometimes that's a different day. The office in Hannover is close by and we often see families waiting outside. One tradition here is that the couple need to saw through a log together, I think to symbolize that married couples need to work together and be persistent. We're lucky that we just have to feed each other a bite of cake.

Family & friends waiting in front of the door of the of the marriage office for the married couple to come out and saw through the logs  

We took a very pleasant boat ride on the Weser River, just 1 hour upstream and back, looking at kayakers, rowers, the cyclists on the bike path along the river, and the hills and fields.

View of Hameln from Weser River Boat

Stained Glass Window of R2D2 in St. Bonifatius Church

 

We keep seeing bocce ball (boules, lawn bowling) all over, from New Zealand to Salzburg. One universal is that there is always a discussion after each throw.

People arguing in German about bocce ball in the city park 

 

The kids have been enjoying the great German playgrounds. This interactive fountain is in the middle of the market square. I remember the kids playing with it when we came through here from Bielefeld. 

Fountain on Marktplatz





There were so many pretty doors that it's hard to pick just one to post.

Pretty Door

 

We had a nice day, marred only by buying the wrong sort of ticket from the ticket machine at the train station and hunger while trying to agree on a place to eat.