The First Real Day in Braunschweig.

Giant Easter Eggs in the Mall.



Queen Matilda from England.

 On Tuesday I ventured into the city on the  Strassenbahn from Weserstrasse just outside Timmerlah.  It's a 20 minute walk to the tram stop, but it was a lovely stroll the warm sunshine, long may it last.  The bus and tram fares have risen slightly, but it is still fairly cheap to travel around,  especially if you go from one side of the city out into the suburbs.  It all seems so familiar, as if I had never left nine months ago.  I did some food shopping in and was served by the same young lady from last year!  The tram drivers are as unhelpful as ever, although my first trip was with a very nice young male driver who answered my questions in good English.

I spent some time in the Cathedral, a lovely vaulted space and with the Apse and High Altar undamaged during the war.  The Nave  and Aisles are rebuild but it is still a wonderful place to spend time.  I said "Hallo Matilda" to our dear first member of the England/Brunswick Twinning Association.   She was the daughter of Edward 11 and Eleanor of Aquitane and sister of Richard Lionheart, and married Henry the Lion of Brunswick in 1168.  She died in 1189 and is interred with Henry in the Cathedral crypt. 

I left the Cathedral by the Bath Portal, where a plaque and rambling rose bush commemorate 836 years of association between England and Brunswick Cathedral. The rose was planted by the Bishop of Bath and the Dean of Brunswick on "English Day" on June 4th 2000.  Rather touching I think, and the rose continues to climb healthly up the Cathedral wall.