Hameln - in the rain

It's raining.  Pretty much all day.  Top temp around 14.  Went out for breakfast and found a Bäckerei (bakery), where I had a hot chocolate, yoghurt and peaches for brekky.

Pfirsichenjoghurttorte - yoghurt and peaches

And my view whilst eating (notice the lack of pedestrian traffic)

Taken later in the day, the little Bäckerei is the one with umbrellas out front

Having discovered that my new rain jacket is not actually waterproof (have you discovered that yet, Kiri?), I went looking for something indoors, so made my way to the Pulverturm, which houses the Glasbläserei - the glass-blowers.  I sat through a demonstration where the chap made a footed glass (which took ages), then he made a penguin (which took 5 minutes).  He spoke in German, but his German is not much better than mine, so I understood 90% of his talk. Then it was my turn.

Der Pulverturm (1300s) is the only remaining part of the old city walls

The fire is at 1500 Celsius, and he is holding a rod with some very hot glass on the end

You have to blow whilst continuously rotating the pipe.  He reheats it and you do it again

After the 4th time, it's ready.  It cools overnight at 400 C.  I pick it up tomorrow

The rain was pretty light after almost two hours in the Glasbläserei, so I wandered.

These little rats are all through the main streets, guiding tourists to the best sights

The Pied Piper is here, too, with rats crawling all over what he's standing on

I visited Münster St Bonifatius, the oldest part of which dates back to 1120.  

At certain times of the day, the bells on the Hochzeitshaus (Wedding House) ring, and/or the Pied Piper clockwork character comes out.  Bit like Melbourne Central, really.

Yep - leading the rats towards the Weser

The Pied Piper is actually quite small, but the bells are nice

Built in 1610 as a banquet hall

I paid for a walking tour of Hameln.  One hour, EU 5, Deutsch only.  I thought, oh, well, I'll tag along and whatever I understand will be a bonus.  As it turned out, however, I was the only one on the tour.  And the guide didn't speak much English - she did the whole spiel in German.  I didn't understand very much at all, but she was pretty patient and I tried very hard.  I picked up bits and pieces, like the more decorated and/or colourful the house, the richer the owner, and the Weser-Renaissance style for which Hameln is noted has large doorways with Utluchte (like bay windows but rectangular) generally on the left.  Following is a (large) selection of some of the beautiful houses and streetscapes in Der Hamelner Altstadt.

This house is a couple of doors from my apartment

And this one is in need of some TLC, but somehow it makes it look older and more real

Das Leisthaus (1589)

Das Rattenfängerhaus (1602)

Das Bürgerhus (1560)

Das Lückingscheshaus (1638) is absolutely stunning.  The photo doesn't do it justice

Das Lückingscheshaus (1638)

Das Bürgerhus (1560)

The flowers in the window boxes are just lovely

And guess who else is here?  Der Rattenfänger!!