—

Vor einer Woche war noch alles anders. Das Leben, in das wir zurückgekehrt sind, ist irgendwie viel weiter von dem entfernt, das wir bis vor ein paar Tagen geführt haben, als die kurze zeitliche Distanz vermuten ließe. Vor gerade einmal sieben Tagen saßen wir gemütlich bei Maddy und James im Wohnzimmer vor dem knisternden Kaminfeuer und tranken Tee und Kaffee. Jetzt hat uns der Alltag wieder fest in seinen Klauen. Die Schule beginnt nicht mehr erst um neun, sondern schon halb acht. Ich stehe früh halb sechs auf, um noch vor der Schule etwas zu arbeiten. Emil und Theo haben mit dem typisch deutschen Frühaufstehwahn beinahe noch mehr Probleme als ich.

Ich muss mich ständig neu daran erinnern, dass ich mir fest vorgenommen hatte, die grundsätzlich entspanntere Einstellung, nach der wir in England gelebt haben, zu erhalten. Nur ein Beispiel, das mir in England nicht nur einmal geschah. Die Kassiererin im Supermarkt ist eine Bekannte der Kundin vor mir. Der Einkauf ist bezahlt und in Tüten verpackt aber offenbar ist noch nicht alles besprochen. Und so schwatzen die beiden weiter, egal wie lang die Schlange der Anstehenden wird. In England konnte ich solchen Gespräche amüsiert beiwohnen, vielleicht sogar mit der einen oder anderen passenden Bemerkung mitreden. Aber da hatte ich auch keine Termine. Wieder im Hamsterrad des normalen Alltags will ich diese Grundeinstellung beibehalten und mich nicht aufregen über die langsame Kassiererinnen. Heute hab ich gleich ganz gut damit angefangen: Zwei Freistunden habe ich nicht Arbeiten korrigierend in der Schule gesessen, sondern bin heim gefahren und habe mir einen kleinen Mittagsschlaf gegönnt. Gute Wahl.

Alexander is looking forward to driving us back to Chemnitz.

These past few days have been incredibly busy ones. Now we’re sitting on packed suitcases. It’s our last night in England and we’re anxiously listening to the storm ripping through the yard. The shipping forecast has issued a gale warning for Humber and Thames and Dover with rough or very rough seas. Hopefully it will spend all its force tonight so that we will have a nice and calm crossing tomorrow.

Christmas at the McGuinness’ was wonderful. We took a wonderful walk along the Monsal trail. It is a walking trail along a disused railway. And as of this year they have opened all the old railroad tunnels. It’s fun picturing old steam engines edging along the hillsides in the peak district. But beware, don’t touch the walls in the tunnels or you’ll be covered all over in soot. The kids loved it.

Just like they loved the Buckingham hotel where we stayed once again, after we had already spent a few nights there last summer. It’s just lovely with all its quirkyness, the clashing floral wallpapers, the movie star themed rooms, the wonderful breakfast. This time our room didn’t have a name, however. We didn’t mind so much because last year we stayed in “Damnation” which was opposite of “Crafty Shag”. I guess you get the idea of what a lovely place it is.

Back from Buxton we spent our days gradually getting our stuff in order and packing, unpacking and re-packing. Now we are ready to go back. There is much we didn’t write about: geocaching, the visit to York, new vocabulary we’ve learned, the boys’ Christmas party at school, British food, British television et cetera et cetera. and all the nice people we have met while we were here.

Thanks so much to Dan and Carl, Gráinne, Jochen and the kids, Barbara, the teachers and staff at Lincolnshire Montessori, Tracey, Bill, Ellie and Luke, Maddy, James, Sam and Katie and Claire. Thanks to Eleanor and Kevin our wonderful landlords and thanks to their sons for letting us use their Wii. Thanks also to the wonderful staff at the Caistor Arts and Heritage Centre Café on Plough Hill for serving us chocolate cake although we had already had one that week. All these guys made our stay here special with their helpful tips, the lovely pick-up time chats and their friendliness in general. Thank you all.

Walking across a field in the Peak District

Waiting for the train that won't come at an old disused train station on the Monsal trail

Entrance to an old railway tunnel on the Monsal trail

Old railway bridge, now open to walkers and cyclists

the highly recommendable Buckingham Hotel in Buxton

we were quite lucky to keep our being from Germany a secret

before we left we filled our empty water bottles with the magnificent Buxton water straight from the well

Why build streets wider than one car? The further north you go in the UK the more of these single lane roads you get with passing places every few hundred metres.

Depending on the length and speed of your vehicle you have to ring the authorities before crossing a rail track.

...and this is the phone you have to use.

For pedestrians it is much easier, just stop, look and listen, then get run over by a train.

One of the best features in the UK. Public footpaths are thorougly marked. That makes for fantastic walking because you always know where you are allowed to walk, even if you don't always know where you are.

a very interesting signs to come across after wandering the woods for a few hours without meeting another soul

WE know the way!

and every couple of months lost children who haven't been collected are auctioned off

outside the Ministry of Funny Walks

for more interesting signs click here

Surveillance cameras are everywhere. Big Brother has arrived in the UK. They are at a point where it would be less expensive to put up signs in the places without surveillance: "There is no cctv surveillance here."

House owners looking at you sideways as they cut their hedges, curtains askew with people watching you from their windows, cars slowing down to give you the once over as you walk peacefully through a neighbourhood. All signs of neighbourhood watch. If you want to know more about it, watch the film "Hot Fuzz" starring Nick Frost and Simon Pegg.

Our home for eight weeks: North Kelsey.

It comes off then eats through your skin and makes your bones brittle, also it makes you go sterile. But the main thing is you don't try to climb the fence. By the way, this is the fence of an ordinary playground.

Don't explode on this street?

There is never much traffic on this lane in Louth.

I am sure there is a lot going on on this lane, maybe only at certain times of the year or at night?

for more interesting signs click here

Die Fahrt nach Cambridge dauert für uns rund zweieinhalb Stunden. Trotzdem ist es ein rundum lohnenswerter Tagesausflug. Einmal durch diese Stadt spaziert, fühlen wir uns gleich ein bißchen klüger. Schließlich sind durch diese Straßen und Gassen vor uns schon Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Bertrand Russell und Ludwig Wittgenstein, John Maynard Keynes, Francis Bacon, Karl Popper und viele andere große Denker gewandelt. Nicht zu reden von Größen ganz anderen Kalibers wie John Cleese, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Sacha Baron Cohen.

Im 13. Jahrhundert wurden hier die ersten Colleges gegründet. Heute gibt es deren 31, die in der Cambridge University zusammengeschlossen sind. Trotzdem haben die Colleges ihre Eigenständigkeit weitgehend bewahrt und können autonom über Zulassung von Studenten oder Einstellung von Personal entscheiden. Ein Student in Cambridge identifiziert sich zuerst mit seinem College und erst in zweiter Linie mit der Universität.

Die Altstadt von Cambridge wird von den Gebäuden der Colleges dominiert. Zu jedem der Colleges gehören in der Regel ein Hörsaal, eine Kapelle, Büros, Wohn- und Schlafräume für Studenten und Lehrer, eine Bibliothek und Aufenthaltsräume. Traditionell sind diese Einrichtungen alle zusammen um einen Hof, den College Courtyard, angeordnet. Entsprechend ist jedes College wie eine kleine Universität für sich, wo alles dicht beisammen ist. Diese aus Tradition gewachsene Struktur sorgt für eine ungemein gelehrte Atmosphäre. Dieses Flair zu erhalten liegt auch so manchem Neubau als Motiv zugrunde. So beherbergt beispielsweise auch das neuste Gebäude des Magdalene College sowohl Unterrichtsräume als auch Büros und Studentenzimmer.

Da unser Freund Carl Watkins am Magdalene College mittelalterliche Geschichte lehrt, bekommen wir Zutritt, der sonst nur Studierenden und anderen Collegeangehörigen gewährt ist. Der Collegeeingang ist ein recht unscheinbarer Torbogen. Dort befindet sich die porter’s lodge, das Pförtnerhäuschen, wo für jeden der im College wohnt oder dort ein Büro innehat ein pigeon hole (Postfach) zu finden ist. Durch den Torbogen gelangt man in den Innenhof, von wo sich alle Gebäude über kleine Wege zwischen gepflegten Rasen erschließen.

Magdalene College trägt diesen Namen seit 1542. Sein berühmntester Alumnus ist Samuel Pepys. Entsprechend ist das repräsentativste Gebäude die Pepys Library. Dort werden die original Tagebücher des Marinebeamten aufbewahrt, für die er so berühmt ist, da sie uns einen weitgehend ungeschminkten Einblick in das Leben im London in der Mitte des 17. Jahrhunderts verschaffen. Leider sind die Manuskripte unter Verschluss und nicht ohne Weiteres einsehbar.

Magdalene College ist außerdem berühmt-berüchtigt dafür, dass es das letzte College in Cambridge war, das Studentinnen zuließ. Erst seit 1988 dürfen hier Frauen studieren. Dieser scheinbar reaktionäre Fakt wird relativiert, wenn man weiß, dass Gleichberechtigung der Geschlechter in Cambridge noch immer nicht hergestellt ist, denn es gibt noch drei Colleges, an denen sich ausschließlich Frauen einschreiben dürfen (Newnham, Murray Edwards, Lucy Cavendish).

Carl Watkins’ Büro befindet sich in einem der ältesten Gebäude von Magdalene. Auch an diesem Sonntag, dem 11. Dezember, arbeitet Carl dort. Wir gehen durch enge Gänge und viele Brandschutztüren, bis wir in seinem Büro stehen. Das erste was einem auffällt: Bücher. Die linke Wand wird komplett von einem Bücherregal eingenommen. Davor steht ein bequemes dunkelrotes Sofa, dem gegenüber vor der großen doppelflügligen Verandatür zwei Schreibtische stehen, die flankiert sind von zwei zum Sofa passenden Sesseln. Dazwischen ein Couchtisch und gegenüber der Eingangstür der große Kamin. Und überall stapelweise Bücher. Ich fühle mich an das Büro von Donald Trefusis erinnert, einer Figur aus Stephen Frys Roman The Liar. Auch er hat überall Bücherstapel. Eine Sitzgelegenheit in Trefusis’ Büro lässt sich nur nach langer Suche in diesem “librarinth” finden. Ganz so schlimm ist es bei Carl nicht. Schon nach wenigen Minuten ist für jeden eine Sitzgelegenheit freigeräumt. Bei einer Tasse Tee quatschen wir eine Weile bevor wir wieder gen Heimat aufbrechen.

Vieles in Cambridge ist im wahrsten Sinne altehrwürdig. Dennoch wird aus keinem der Colleges ein Museum gemacht. Die größte Ehre, die man dem Alten hier angedeihen lässt, ist, dass es genutzt wird. Historisch wertvoll und dennoch nicht museal zu sein macht den Reiz dieser Stadt aus.

The drive to Cambridge takes us about two and a half hours. Still, it is thoroughly worthwhile. After walking through this town we already feel a bit more intelligent. After all, the likes of Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Bertrand Russel and Ludwig Wittgenstein, John Maynard Keynes, Francis Bacon, Karl Popper and countless other great thinkers have walked these streets before us, not to mention other famous Cambridge alumni like John Cleese, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Sacha Baron Cohen and the like.

The first colleges were founded here in the thirteenth century. Today there are thirty-one of them, all incorporated into Cambridge University. However, the colleges have largely maintained their autonomy over matters such as hiring staff or admitting students. A Cambridge student usually identifies with his college first.

The old town centre of Cambridge is dominated by the colleges’ buildings. Each of the colleges usually has a hall, a chapel, offices, living quarters for students and teachers, a common room and a small library that mainly serves as a study. Traditionally all these facilities are grouped around the college courtyard. Accordingly each college is like a small university in itself, everything you need close by. This traditional structure makes for the famously scholarly atmosphere and new buildings often follow tradition. For example, the latest addition to Magdalene College comprises a lecture hall as well as student accommodation and staff offices.

We are lucky to have a friend working as a lecturer for medieval history at Magdalene College. Carl Watkins grants us access to where normally only students and other college members can go. The college entrance is an inconspicuous archway housing the porter’s lodge where every college member’s pigeon hole is located. Through the archway you reach the courtyard where a number of paths criss cross the neat lawns and give you access to all the college’s facilities.

Magdalene College has been going by that name ever since 1542. Its most famous alumnus is Samuel Pepys and accordingly the Pepys Library is the most representative building. It houses the original manuscripts of Pepys famous diary in which the high ranking naval officer allows us an unadorned glimpse of life in mid-seventeenth century London. Unfortunately the manuscripts are firmly under lock and key and cannot be viewed without much ado.

Magdalene is also famous for being the last college in Cambridge to allow women to enrol. Only since 1988 female students have been allowed to apply. However, this seemingly reactionary fact is put into perspective when you learn that there are still three colleges which to this day allow no male students (Newnham, Murray Edwards and Lucy Cavendish).

Carl Watkins’ office is located in one of Magdalene’s oldest buildings. Carl is at work even on this third Sunday of advent. We pass through narrow corridors and countless fireproof doors to get to his study. The first impression is: books everywhere. The left hand wall is taken up completely by a fitted bookshelf in front of which there is a dark red sofa. If you sit on the sofa you can look across the desk out the french doors into the college garden. To the left of the desk there is a comfortable armchair to match the sofa and the far wall is dominated by a large fireplace. And books are stacked everywhere. I am reminded of Donald Trefusis‘ office in Stephen Fry’s novel The Liar. He also has books everywhere and only after a navigating Trefusis’ “librarinth” thoroughly for a while you can find a place to sit if you are lucky. It’s not quite as bad in Carl’s office. After only a few minutes there is a chair cleared for everyone and we can all enjoy a lovely cup of tea together before we go back home.

Much of Cambridge is time-honoured, buildings, customs and traditions. Still, the colleges are not memorials. The greatest honour these time-worn buildings are afforded is that they are put to use. Being historically soaked and valuable but not museums, that’s what makes Cambridge so appealing.

The drive to Cambridge takes us about two and a half hours. Still, it is thoroughly worthwhile. After walking through this town we already feel a bit more intelligent. After all, the likes of Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Bertrand Russel and Ludwig Wittgenstein, John Maynard Keynes, Francis Bacon, Karl Popper and countless other great thinkers have walked these streets before us, not to mention other famous Cambridge alumni like John Cleese, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Sacha Baron Cohen and the like.

The first colleges were founded here in the thirteenth century. Today there are thirty-one of them, all incorporated into Cambridge University. However, the colleges have largely maintained their autonomy over matters such as hiring staff or admitting students. A Cambridge student usually identifies with his college first.

The old town centre of Cambridge is dominated by the colleges’ buildings. Each of the colleges usually has a hall, a chapel, offices, living quarters for students and teachers, a common room and a small library that mainly serves as a study. Traditionally all these facilities are grouped around the college courtyard. Accordingly each college is like a small university in itself, everything you need close by. This traditional structure makes for the famously scholarly atmosphere and new buildings often follow tradition. For example, the latest addition to Magdalene College comprises a lecture hall as well as student accommodation and staff offices.

We are lucky to have a friend working as a lecturer for medieval history at Magdalene College. Carl Watkins grants us access to where normally only students and other college members can go. The college entrance is an inconspicuous archway housing the porter’s lodge where every college member’s pigeon hole is located. Through the archway you reach the courtyard where a number of paths criss cross the neat lawns and give you access to all the college’s facilities.

Magdalene College has been going by that name ever since 1542. Its most famous alumnus is Samuel Pepys and accordingly the Pepys Library is the most representative building. It houses the original manuscripts of Pepys famous diary in which the high ranking naval officer allows us an unadorned glimpse of life in mid-seventeenth century London. Unfortunately the manuscripts are firmly under lock and key and cannot be viewed without much ado.

Magdalene is also famous for being the last college in Cambridge to allow women to enrol. Only since 1988 female students have been allowed to apply. However, this seemingly reactionary fact is put into perspective when you learn that there are still three colleges which to this day allow no male students (Newnham, Murray Edwards and Lucy Cavendish).

Carl Watkins’ office is located in one of Magdalene’s oldest buildings. Carl is at work even on this third Sunday of advent. We pass through narrow corridors and countless fireproof doors to get to his study. The first impression is: books everywhere. The left hand wall is taken up completely by a fitted bookshelf in front of which there is a dark red sofa. If you sit on the sofa you can look across the desk out the french doors into the college garden. To the left of the desk there is a comfortable armchair to match the sofa and the far wall is dominated by a large fireplace. And books are stacked everywhere. I am reminded of Donald Trefusis’ office in Stephen Fry’s novel The Liar. He also has books everywhere and only after a navigating Trefusis’ “librarinth” thoroughly for a while you can find a place to sit if you are lucky. It’s not quite as bad in Carl’s office. After only a few minutes there is a chair cleared for everyone and we can all enjoy a lovely cup of tea together before we go back home.

Much of Cambridge is time-honoured, buildings, customs and traditions. Still, the colleges are not memorials. The greatest honour these time-worn buildings are afforded is that they are put to use. Being historically soaked and valuable but not museums, that’s what makes Cambridge so appealing.

PS: If ever you are applying for a place at Magdalene and you face Dr Watkins in the interview, don’t mention you’re only there for the sports.

Unglaublich, wie die Zeit vergeht. Die erste Hälfte unseres Englandaufenthalts ist nun um. Für diesen Tag hatten wir uns einen besonderen Ausflug vorgenommen. Wir besuchten das Bombenabwurfgelände der Royal Air Force bei Donna Nook. Glücklicherweise blieben wir von tieffliegenden Kampfflugzeugen weitgehend unbehelligt. Weit draußen auf dem Wasser waren lediglich die Zielscheiben für die Maschinengewehre der Jets auszumachen. Wir waren gekommen, um die Wattlandschaft in Augenschein zu nehmen.

Hier kommen jedes Jahr im Oktober und November Robben an Land um ihre Jungen zu gebären. Nach der etwa dreiwöchigen Stillzeit sind die Weibchen auch schon wieder bereit, sich mit den echten Kerlen unter den Bullen zu paaren. Im Januar ist der Spaß dann vorbei und die Tiere verabschieden sich bis zum nächsten Herbst.

Zurzeit aber bieten sie den Besuchern ein außergewöhnliches Naturschauspiel. In dieser Woche wurden in Donna Nook rund 2500 Robben gezählt. Diese Saison sind hier schon knapp 900 Robbenbabys zur Welt gekommen. Nirgendwo sonst lassen sich die Tiere so bequem und in so großer Zahl beobachten. Und es gibt einiges zu sehen.

—

Unbelievable, how quickly time passes. The first half of our England stay over today, we decided to go on a rather special excursion. We went to visit the Royal Air Force bombing range at Donna Nook. Fortunately we were largely untroubled by low flying fighters. In the distance we could make out the gunnery targets for the jets’ machine guns. However, we were far more interested in what was happening in the salt marshes and mud flats on the coast.

It is a truly remarkable stretch of coast for every October and November Grey Seal inhabit the beach in order to give birth to their offspring. After a nursing period of about three weeks the females are ready to mate again, provided they find the right kind of guy – the strong and dominant bulls are preferred. All the fun and frolic is over in January as the seals leave Donna Nook not to return until the autumn.

Currently, however, the visitors can witness an extraordinary natural spectacle. This week 2,500 seals were counted at Donna Nook and almost 900 baby seals were born this year, so far. Nowhere else can you so easily watch these extraordinary animals in such large numbers. And there is a lot o see.

Eigenartige Partnerschaft zwischen Royal Air Force und Naturschützern | Strange partnership of RAF and Wildlife Trust

Den Robben scheint der Fluglärm nichts auszumachen. | The seals seem undisturbed by the airplanes' noise.

Sie fühlen sich hier richtig wohl. | They feel quite at home here.

Wie wenn nicht als Wohlbefinden soll man solches Verhalten deuten? | Contentment.

Jedes Jahr kommen mehr Robben hier her zum Werfen und Paaren. Keiner weiß warum. | Every year more and more seals come here to give birth and to mate. Noone knows why.

Aber wir freuen uns natürlich über den Besuch. | But they are welcome visitors, to be sure.

Diese junge Robbe ist schon ein paar Wochen alt. Sie nehmen schnell zu. | This young seal is already a few weeks old. They gain a lot of weight quite quickly.

Dieser kleine ist erst ein paar Stunden alt. | This little one is only a few hours old.

Aber mit Mamas gehaltvoller Milch (52% Fett) geht es schnell aufwärts. Ganz im Gegensatz zu Mama, die während der Wochen an Land keine Nahrung aufnimmt.| But feeding on Mama's 52% fat milk he won't stay little for long. Poor Mama, though. During the weeks on land she does not feed at all.

Und so kann man schon mal eine kleine Exkursion weg von Mama wagen. | At their age they can already go on little adventure trips away from Mama.

Manche ziehen sich auch zurück ins hohe Dünengras. | Some look for a bit of peace and quiet in the dunes.

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Kate Fox, Watching the English. The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour, 2005. My number one on the reading list. Kate Fox writes about her own research largely conducted by herself as her own guinea pig. Hilarious when she describes her attempts at working up the courage to jump a queue for the umpthieth time in one day; very informative when she takes the visitor by the hand and guides him through the intricacies of the behavioural protocol in pubs; slightly discouraging whenever she hints at the subtleties and thin lines along which the English sense of humour expresses itself. Of course it is an indispensible volume on the path to an understanding of Englishness. For example, it helped me understand why I find English movies and tv-shows  so much more amusing than their American counterparts. However, as I said above, for a continental heading to England for a longer period of time it can be quite discouraging to find out about all the booby traps hidden in the web of social interaction with the English.

Meine Nummer eins auf der Leseliste. Kate Fox schreibt über ihre eigene Forschung, bei der sie selbst normalerweise sowohl die Wissenschaftlerin als auch das Versuchskaninchen gibt. Urkomisch, wenn sie beschreibt, wie sie sich Mut zuredet, zum x-ten Mal am gleichen Tag sich bei einer Menschenschlange vorzudrängeln; sehr informativ, wenn sie den Englandbesucher bei der Hand nimmt und ihm die Unwägbarkeiten der Benimmregeln in englischen Pubs erklärt; leicht entmutigend, wo immer sie auf die feinen Unterschiede und schmalen Grate hinweist, auf denen sich der englische Sinn für Humor Ausdruck verschafft. Fox’ Band half mir verstehen, warum ich englische Filme und Fernsehshows so viel lustiger finde als ihre amerikanischen Gegenstücke. Dennoch, wie oben angedeutet, für einen vom Kontinent, der sich für längere Zeit nach England aufmacht, kann es schon leicht entmutigend sein, von all den Fallstricken zu lesen, aus denen das Netz der sozialen Interaktion mit den Engländern gewebt ist.

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Stuart Maconie, Adventures on the High Teas. In Search of Middle England, 2009. Maconie does not claim to be scientific. He is just a travel writer. But he is so much more than that. Travelling his own country he clearly has a lot more insight into what makes the English English than someone from abroad ever could attain. Starting from Englands topographical centre he moves on to its musical and literature centres. Just like Kate Fox, Stuart Maconie is in a double role. But unlike the author of Watching the English, Maconie does not explicitly analyse his troubles with being at participant and observer of Englishness at the same time. Instead the reader witnesses his constand struggle with love for and aversion to the adventures he finds. Although his book is no traditional guide book, it can be a good companion for travelling England. For example, it enriched our stay in Buxton last year (18. Juli und 19. Juli 2010) to no small extend.

Maconie hat keinen wissenschaftlichen Anspruch. Er ist Reiseschriftsteller. Aber auch so viel mehr als das. Auf seinen Reisen durch das eigene Land hat er viel mehr Einblick in die Seele Englands als ein Fremder je zu erreichen vermag. Maconie beginnt seine Reisen an Englands geografischem Mittelpunkt und besucht danach andere thematische Zentren, so das der Musik und das der Literatur. Wie Kate Fox hat auch Stuart Maconie eine Doppelrolle. Aber anders als die Autorin von Watching the English versucht Maconie nicht, seine Rolle als Subjekt und Objekt der eigenen Beobachtungen zu analysieren. Stattdessen wird der Leser Zeuge seines ständigen Kampfes mit der Liebe und Abneigung, die er auf seinen Erlebnissen immer wieder erfährt. Obwohl es eigentlich kein klassischer Reiseführer ist, gibt Adventures on the High Teas einen hervorragenden Begleiter ab. So hat Maconie’s Kapitel über Buxton unseren eigenen Besuch dort (18. Juli und 19. Juli 2010) in nicht geringem Maß bereichert.

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Presently I am reading Maconie’s next travel book on England: Stuart Maconie, Hope and Glory. The Days That Made Britain, 2011. Personally I find this volume even  more enjoyable. The author chose one day in each decade from the twentieth century. In each case it is a day that has thoroughly shaped Britain and British identity. He then visits the places in Britain where these historic events took place. Why are things in Britain the way they are? This question is leitmotif in both books but the answers become much more palplable here because they are connected to historic events that still overshadow present day Britain, or in case of positive events still shine their light today. It is both a travel and a history book full of humour, and compassion.

Im Moment lese ich gerade Maconies nächstes Reisebuch über England, Hope and Glory. The Days That Made Britain. Persönlich gefällt mir dieser Band sogar besser als der andere. Der Autor hat sich aus jedem Jahrzehnt des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts einen Tag ausgesucht. Jedesmal handelt es sich um einen Tag, der Großbritannien und die britische Identität nachhaltig geformt hat. Maconie macht sich dann auf den Weg zu den Orten in Großbritannien, wo die historischen Ereignisse stattgefunden haben. Warum ist Großbritannien so wie es ist? Diese Frage ist Leitmotiv beider Bücher. Aber in Hope and Glory werden die Antworten sehr viel greifbarer, da sie mit tatsächlichen geschichtlichen Ereignissen verknüpft sind, die noch heute ihren Schatten bzw. ihr Licht auf das heutige Vereinigte Königreich werfen. Es ist ein durch und durch mitfühlendes und humorvolles Reise- und Geschichtsbuch.

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Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights, 1847. On to one of the undisputed classics of English Romantic lit. It sets out with an unsuspecting visitor – Mr Lockwood of neighbouring Thrushcross Grange – finding shelter at Wuthering Heights, home of Heathcliff. He is put up in a room cannot find sleep. Amidst the howling of the storm outside he hears the voice of Cathy Earnshaw’s ghost who is roaming the moors and is scratching her nails across the window pane demanding to be let in. This haunting scene – immortalised in Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights – prompts Lockwood to ask Nelly, his housekeeper and former employee at Wuthering Heights as to the history of his neighbour. Cathy is Heathcliff’s true and only love. It was disturbingly destructive kind of love that drove Cathy to her death and Heathcliff to bitterness. No guidebook could ever convey a more fitting image of rural England – Yorkshire in this case – and its people, than Brontë’s novel.

Einer der unangefochtenen Klassiker der Englischen Romantischen Literatur. Der Roman beginnt mit einem ahnungslosen Besucher – Mr Lockwood vom Nachbargut Thrushcross Grange – der auf Wuthering Heights Schutz und Unterschlupf vor einem Scheesturm sucht. Dort wohnt Heathcliff. Lockwood wird in einem Zimmer untergebracht, in dem er keinen Schlaf findet. Im Heulen des Sturms draußen hört er die Stimme von Cathy Earnshaws Geist, der über die Heide wandert und mit den Nägeln über die Fensterscheibe von Lockwoods Schlafgemach kratzt. Cathy will eingelassen werden. Diese packende Szene – von Kate Bush in ihrem Wuthering Heights unsterblich gemacht – veranlasst Lockwood dazu, seine Haushälterin Nelly, die früher auf Wuthering Heights angestellt war, über die Vergangenheit des Anwesens zu befragen. Cathy is Heathcliffs wahre und einzige Liebe. Eine beunruhigend zerstörerische Liebe, die Cathy in den Tod und Heathcliff in die Bitterkeit trieb. Kein Reiseführer könnte je ein passenderes Bild der englischen Landschaft und ihrer Bewohner zeichnen als Emily Brontë’s Roman.

Also highly recommended | Ebenfalls hochgradig lesenswert

Stephen Fry, The Liar, 1991.
everything you need to know about English public schools (which are private schools); very funny
alles, was man über englische Privatschulen wissen muss; urkomisch

Stephen Fry, The Hippopotamus, 1994.
everything you need to know about life in a noble English country estate; hilarious
alles was man über das Leben in einem noblen englischen Landhaus wissen muss; zum totlachen

Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes Stories, from 1887.
everything you need to know about “London, that great cesspool into which all the loungers and idlers of the Empire are irresistibly drained.” (A Study in Scarlet, ch. 1)
alles was man über London wissen muss, die “Kloake, in der früher oder später alle Bummler und Faulpelze des Reiches landen.” (Studie in Scharlachrot, 1. Kap.)

P.G. Wodehouse, Jeeves and Wooster Stories, from 1915.
everything you need to know about the upper classes’ idleness and about valeting; also as a tv series starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie
alles was man über Müßiggang in der Oberklasse und über Kammerdiener wissen muss; auch als Fernsehserie mit Stephen Fry und Hugh Laurie

After several visits to Lincoln this is a small best of series. We never had exceptional foto weather. That’s mainly because we use the beautiful days for hiking and geocaching in the countryside. Towns are the bad weather alternative. But I guess in black and white the pictures still work.

On the other side of the bridge it reads "Where have you been?" I was walking Alexander in his pushchair so he would find some sleep. So I had enough time to think about the two questions. Personally I am more interested in the past. But I wonder what the homeless man under the bridge would have said if I had asked him "Where are you now?"

Empowerment. That is the name of the sculpture spanning the river Witham in Lincolns city centre. A few hundred metres on, the river spreads into Brayford Pool, a lake around which the settlement of what is now Lincoln began in the first century BC. Later the adjacent hills were settled by the Normans who built the Cathedral and the castle. Brayford Pool served as an importand inland port until the railways and road traffic took over goods transports.

Lincoln's High Bridge was built around 1160. The buildings on it date from about 1550. It is the oldest bridge in the UK with buildings still on it. Awkwardly, the low and narrow passage underneath it is being called "The Glory Hole" by the locals.

The streets between the city centre down by the river and the Cathedral up on the hill are very picturesque, small shops in old houses, quirky used book shops along with cozy tea rooms and cafés next to the butcher's and fine leather hand bag boutiques.

Ina, Katja with Alexander, and Peter descending the Steep Hill that connects the Cathedral quarter with the city centre down by the river.

For me Cathedrals like this have something a bit eerie about them. I cannot help but think that all the resources that went into building and maintaining these structures over the centuries, could have been put to much better use. However, that doesn't stop me from admiring the feats of architecture.

After entering the Cathedral you cannot but be overwhelmed. It actually looks much bigger from the inside than from the outside, a sensation that can hardly be conveyed in photographs.

Besides being cramped places, typical English houses have lots of chimneys.

Lovely, especially with the vintage beetle.

Traditional butcher's shop. We watched the delivery van unload sides of pork to be made into delicious pies or the famous Lincolnshire pork sausages.

Had to leave a bit of colour in this picture. I find this phone box in a way symbolic for what we have seen on our visit so far. Quite often we get the impression that things are a bit threadbare and time-worn, albeit in a rather charming way. And the telephone works.

Kate Fox writes in her Watching the English that there is nothing worse than taking yourself too seriously. Why not put the proverbial English sense of humour to the test?

Many of the people we’ve met, mostly parents of Emil and Theo’s class mates, ask how it came to be that we can come over here for eight weeks. Of course they would never be so blunt. Most of the time they use wording like “Is it your work or your wife’s work that takes you over here?” My standard answer, “Erm uh, I’m afraid it’s neither. We’re not working at all while we’re here.” And then I have to go on explaining the German concept of Elternzeit (maternity/paternity leave) to them: twelve months paid leave, under certain conditions fourteen, so much for the mum, so much for the dad, one after another, together… lots of questions. And yes, we do feel very lucky. It gets tedious.

When next this topic comes up I am resolved to go a different path: “I used to work as an undercover agent for the German police, spying on Nazi groups in East Germany. But I was made and now I’m in witness protection. Well, at least I see more of my boys now.”

Or maybe this: “Well, actually, I’m a drug dealer from East Germany and there were threats from a Russian competitor and now my family and I need to lie low for a while until it has all blown over. You know, two months here, then two months in Scotland, after that somewhere in Mediterranean area. Oh my, now I have told you. Guess that means I’ll have to kill you.”

I’ll come back to you on how it went.