OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL AT HUEY'S IN MEBANE

Knowing our penchant for oysters on the half shell, we’ve been looking for a local spot.  We keep passing Huey’s Oyster Bar in Mebane, NC, but somehow this restaurant remained a to-go place until the other night, when Huey’s made the YES list.

For transplanted New Yorkers, a restaurant that opens its door at 4:00 PM is something new, but when we pulled into the parking lot, we were challenged to find an empty space.  Huey’s was filled up. People around like it.

The building is unpresupposing, a plain brick ranch structure with just a few windows facing the road.  There are two entrances to Huey’s.   One, toward the middle of the building is to the restaurant, a very big, quiet setting with booths and tables of all sizes, and take-out window in the vestibule before you enter the dining room. The other entrance leads to the sports bar and an entirely different atmosphere.  There’s music, big screen TV, and a bar, tables and booths.  Go with your mood at Huey’s because the menu works on both sides of this establishment. I like that idea.  I like that it’s a local place and not a chain.

By the time we left, things were slowing down.
No parking in front as the restaurant is right off the road.

Our waitress is friendly and speaks with that soft southern voice that is totally appealing.  Her uniform is a Huey’s tshirt and a Huey’s baseball cap.  Perfect.

She immediately brings a basket of warm hush puppies and some honey/butter spread.  They are excellent.  Hush puppies are unique to each establishment—different taste always, and often a different shape.  Huey’s’ gets thumbs up.

We look at the menu, decide to split a dozen oysters on the half shell, sip some vodka, and then order dinner.  When our waitress brings our waters, she is quick to suggest that we might order from the children’s menu.  A very generous suggestion.  We have basically the same choices and this means no boxes to take home.  I won't mention what it suggests about our ages.

Our waitress does not know the kinds of vodka available, but she quickly checks.  She also checks to see if they have olives.  Perhaps she is new.  At any rate, she is obliging, and for us, that’s most important.  We end up with Smirnoff, not our first choice but all right on the rocks.

The oysters are scrumptious.  I don’t even bother to ask what kind, but they are very sweet and slightly briny.  We may live in the Piedmont, but for a little while at Huey’s we are right at the shore with fresh oysters.  They are cold, though not iced (which would be better) but served with plenty of cocktail sauce and horseradish (which we added to the cocktail sauce), and melted butter which we did not use.  Plenty of crackers as well.  As far as we’ve been able to determine, Huey’s is the only restaurant in the area where we can get fresh oysters,

The fish choices for dinner are varied and either fried or broiled. Rob’s fried scallops are delicately breaded on the outside, plump and juicy on the inside.  Very tasty and seasoned nicely. They are accompanied by two sides of his choice: fried okra and black-eyed peas and corn, a new combination for him and one he enjoyed.  I’d say that’s Southern.

I, a lover of fried clams, enjoy the light coating and the fact that the clams are not dried out strips of jerky but light and delicious.  I, too, have the fried okra but I choose the traditional baked potato. 

On a side note—if you live where fried okra is not an option, think about finding some.  It is nice and crunchy, tasty, and a bit different.  Years ago on a road trip, we first tried fried okra at Cracker Barrel, a place where Southern is the norm.  The waitress suggested it, incredulous that we had never tasted it, and when she brought our plates, she asked if we wanted malt vinegar with it because that’s how her family ate it.  We tried it with the malt vinegar, tried it “straight,” and we tried some other suggested condiments.  Rob likes them with malt vinegar, but I tend toward just plain straight.  It’s a side in many restaurants in the South, almost always really good, and as Mikey used to say, “Try it.  You’ll like it.”

No room for dessert at Huey’s, even with the children’s menu’s platter, but we will be back when that urge for oysters on the half shell becomes intolerable.  Huey’s is down home, friendly, and a good place for an every-day kind of dinner.  Not expensive either.  And one very important addition--you will feel welcome.

BERLIN--AN EMOTIONAL ENCOUNTER WITH HISTORY

Our first view of the Berlin Wall

Berlin has so much history, some of which happened in my lifetime, and some that recalls incredible horror.  Traveling there was very emotional.  I remember President Kennedy’s ich bin ein Berliner speech, given  in 1963 just a few months before his assassination, and I remember President Reagan telling Gorbachev to tear down this wall.  That speech was at the beautiful Brandenburg Gate, and that is one of the destinations on this trip. 

When the Berlin wall came down, a friend  from England sent me a piece of it, and I've seen blocks of it displayed in Washington DC’s Newseum where there is a Berlin Gallery in which one sees eight 12 foot high sections of the original wall and a German guard tower near Checkpoint Charlie.  Both the remainder of the Berlin Wall and the site of Checkpoint Charlie are important sites included in our tour of Berlin.  All I can say is that nothing compares to the real thing—up close and personal.  It's horrible.

The events occurring in Berlin, whether in my lifetime or not, are part of my psyche—education gained in and out of school.  And it is impossible for me to divorce Berlin as Hitler’s headquarters and all the unspeakable damage he inflicted to millions of people from the Berlin of today--at least not in the few hours afforded us on this tour.  That may be an impossible shortcoming.

Nevertheless, I wanted to see Berlin as a modern city far removed from its sad history.  But that was only partly possible.  Berlin purposefully keeps some of this history alive so we should learn from it.  But as we drove through and had some stops at the end of our tour, we caught brief glimpses of a different Berlin.

The Berlin Concert Hall.
What a grand building befitting grand music of the German masters.
It is located on the Gendarmenmarket square

This is the French Cathedral, built by French religious refugees,
the Hugenots, between 1701 and 1705. Bombed in 1944,
it was reconstructed and dedicated in 1987.
It sits on a beautiful square, Gendarmenmarket.

We took a train from the port to Berlin, so our time in the city was limited.  However, the tour aimed at showing us the history and some of the drama of the city.

I think everyone on our tour bus was most anxious to see the remains of the Berlin Wall.  Even being there, it was difficult to imagine the insatiable urge to escape government oppression and to live in freedom that motivated hundreds to risk their lives and many to lose theirs.  Even the graffiti on the walls tells a story.  On one side, there is order and art.  On the other side is bedlam and ugliness.  They want to keep it that way. Our guide tells us of all the building still occurring in what was East Berlin because in East Germany, workmanship was shoddy and ugly. Building replacements is going on everywhere. 

Parts of the wall are painted neatly and cleanly

The eastern side of the wall is left ugly and unrecovered.
It is a constant reminder of what was.

He said that apartment buildings, for instance, were basically concrete blocks manufactured elsewhere and stacked.  Those that remain are ugly and being replaced, but that seems like an almost never-ending process.  Berliners want a beautiful city, and they’re working on it.

Our stop at the Brandenburg Gate was another eye opener.  It is the only gate remaining of the 14 original gates in the wall around the entire city.  The wall was not for defense, and the gates simply made it easier to levy taxes on people entering the city.  The Brandenburg Gate is one of the most attractive because it was erected in an area where wealthier people lived.  It is merely a beautiful reminder of an earlier time. It became an important, decision-making setting when President Reagan delivered his address there telling Gorbachev to tear down the wall.

The spectacular setting of the Brandenburg Gate.
It's truly magnificent and stately.
The entire Pariser Platz is impressive but cold.

The Pariser Platz on which it stands is a big open space, filled, during our visit, with many people, probably tourists like us, standing on the site of history.  Along one side of the square is the U.S. Embassy with benches in front of grass and flower beds.  A little further away and around a corner is the British Embassy.  There are stanchions cordoning off that street from vehicular traffic, erected, according to our guide, because of threats.  Disturbing.  

The American Embassy in early spring.

The British Embassy, just off Pariser Platz

But all in all, it’s a beautiful area, very neat. But the atmosphere, with the grey buildings and blocks, is very cold.  That’s not the feeling we’ve gotten at all in different areas of Germany we've visited on other trips, so for us, this severity is almost uncomfortable.

Checkpoint Charlie. This iconic site draws crowds, but anyone with historical knowledge knows that this is the best known crossing point of three between East and West Berlin.  A sturdy building was never constructed on this site because our president felt it was a symbol that the Berlin Wall, constructed in 1961, was temporary.  

Checkpoint Charlie is that little shed-like building in the middle of the street.
The picture is of a United States soldier, Jeff Harper.
On the other side is a photo of a Russian soldier, but to be honest, I never looked
up at it.  I went straight to the Checkpoint Charlie.

Checkpoint Charlie, maintained by the U.S. military, was the only way military personnel, diplomats, and foreign tourists were allowed to enter East Berlin.  The original guardhouse is now in the Allied Museum.  Would you believe that this spot is one of Berlin’s most popular tourist attractions with over 900,000 visitors a year.  (https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-should-know-about-checkpoint-charlie)

Our last major stop was another eye opener—the Allied Museum.  In this rush visit to Berlin, we really didn’t have much time at this museum, and that’s a shame because it chronicled the Allied involvement in Berlin between 1945 and 1994.  There is information on how America created a “little America” so servicepeople and their families would have a taste of home.  

It also houses the original East Germany guard tower that loomed over Check Point Charlie. 

A plane on exhibit is one used for the German Airlift—from June 26, 1948 until May 12, 1949—when the Soviets blocked all land and rail traffic into West Berlin, an island sitting in the Soviet Bloc of Germany and inhabited by two million people who needed food, water, medical supplies, clothing and other necessities of life.  This was President Harry Truman’s brilliant and peaceful answer to the Soviet demand to have more say in the future of Germany.

There is so much to see at the museum and so much to learn.  But time was short.

I’m probably not being fair to Berlin in this post.  So let me leave you with a few pictures of another side of the city that we did not really have enough time to see and enjoy.

Restaurants and sidewalk cafes abound

Plenty of people out enjoying early spring weather

OSLO--WISH WE HAD MORE TIME PT. II

Just loved this!

Our next stop is the Viking Ship Museum.  No, there’s nothing like Kirk Douglas here, but it is an incredibly interesting and intriguing place that triggers your imagination and makes you picture how these people lived.  These brave sea-faring warriors roamed the world in wooden boats that look small and fragile in today’s mind, but many diverse places felt their influence.  I remember when visiting Ireland that the Vikings were there too.

Just follow those lines.  They certainly got around!

This grand museum houses more than just tales and maps.  The Vikings, brave beyond my comprehension, also were religious, and because the afterlife was a voyage to Valhalla, they wanted to be prepared.  Buried with them was the ship to carry them to Valhalla, filled with the afterlife’s necessities, decoratively intricate wood carvings, and practical items like wagons.  Archeologists discovered this as they researched sites in Norway.

Just beautiful.  So intricate.  

Beautiful designs. 
Wouldn't it be wonderful to learn if some of those patterns had
special meaning?

Two of those original Viking ships are on display at the museum.  They are long and graceful, but the thought of crossing oceans in them seems almost beyond belief.  Once again, it is one thing to read about these voyages throughout the ages, but quite another actually to see a ship. 

Overall an incredible experience.

As if the Viking Museum weren’t enough, we moved on to the FRAM museum.  The Norwegians were very active in polar exploration, and Roald Amendsen was chief among them.  He was the first explorer to reach the South Pole, a feat he achieved in 1911.  His ship, the Fram, is on display in the museum.  It is the strongest wooden ship ever built and still holds the record from sailing farthest north and farthest south. (https://www.visitoslo.com/en/product/?TLp=181473)

The ORIGINAL ship!  Imagine!

Once again, the fact that it was THIS SHIP that made THAT TRIP puts your mind in a different place and time.  I walk the deck with a fevered imagination trying to conjure up what it must have been like to sail.  Not that I can imagine myself ever really going.  Haha

Amendsen was determined to reach the North Pole as well, and in 1918 while sailing parts of the Arctic Ocean, his ship spent two years frozen in the ice.  Eventually, in 1926, he did fly over the North Pole.

In 1928, while flying a rescue mission over the Arctic, his plane disappeared.  He and the crew were lost. Nothing was ever found.

Our next stop was another WOW moment in a day of Oslo WOWS.  We drove to the ski jump built for the 1952 Olympics and which is still used today.  If you’ve ever been to the top of Lake Placid’s or Germany’s Garmisch-Partenkirchen, built in 1923 and used in the 1936 Olympics, you know breathtaking amazement at the real-time sight of what ski jumpers actually face.  You gasp, and if you are like me, you make sure you’re on terra firma.  My imagination is ablaze, but I would no sooner get into that sport than….

Our guide was very proud of Norway’s Olympians, particularly of  a famous figure skater, Sonja Henie, a three-time Olympic Gold Medal winner in women’s singles, a ten-time World Champion, and a six-time European Champion.  She became a movie star, and as an old-movie-fan, I have seen her in the movies.  She lived in the United States, but when she was dying, our guide told us, she longed to return to Norway.  Sadly, she passed away on the plane home.

I wish we had more time in Norway.  It would be wonderful to return. No time for sorrow. As we are on a cruise, the WOW moments of Oslo get me well prepared for an evening in Bellinis bar on the Regal Princess and some comforting cocktails.  Next stop—Berlin.

FRIDAY'S FOTO--Kitty Hawk NC

Spent a lovely week on North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Here's the view from where we sat in Kitty Hawk.
So much to do and so much to see and
so much delicious, fresh seafood.

Oslo--Wish We Had More Time Part I

The Regal Princess passing huddled homes along the coast
as we sail into Oslo, Norway

Our next stop is Oslo, and it is a wonderful drive through the city as our guide explains that much of Norway’s history involves learning how to deal with the extremely harsh climate. 

When Norway began to modernize, it looked to German design for insight, and we can see that influence along our route.  

However, as time passed and the Norwegians developed their own style, we can see the changes as Norway came into its own.

 

Colorful and attractive.  It was a pretty ride through the city.

The trouble with cruising as opposed to a land journey is there is limited time in each port, and we would have loved to spend more time in Norway.  Nevertheless, Princess’ “The Best of Oslo” tour was jam packed with goodies.

On this lovely Spring day, the highlight for me was the Vigeland Sculpture Park, an amazing collection of 212 bronze and granite sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland over a period of 30 years, depicting the life of man and set in the gorgeous natural setting of a park. 

The theme of the sculptures is the circle of life, and all stages are represented by single groups of sculptures, a wheel of life, fountains, and a monolith.  It is Norway’s most visited tourist attraction, and it does not disappoint.  Most of the sculptures are set along a long axis, and you just have to look at the WOW expressions on visitors’ faces to see how impressive the park is. I really enjoyed the family sculptures the most.  The joy in them was almost palpable.

We could have spent the day at Vigland, but our next stop was also amazing--the Cultural Museum of Norway.  I love this type of museum, particularly when they have some of the original buildings.  I recently posted on the cultural museum we visited and then joined here in North Carolina, Old Salem, and Rob and I have visited others that are memorable, particularly one in Ireland.  At any rate, this was quite an eye-opening experience. https://thirdagetraveler.blogspot.com/search?q=old+salem

Once again, Norway’s harsh climate made the number one challenge that of survival. Buildings were clustered, and animals were carefully sheltered in the severe winter months, often right with the family, Our guide explained that some misinterpret the living arrangements as primitive, but it was necessary. Animals must be kept alive. The sauna was important too, and in this museum, there is one built as it was in those early times. 

Houses were sturdy, close together, and the barns and animals were kept close by.

 The Norwegians also used grass on their rooves as an insulator as well as a sustainable fixture.  Once the roof was completed, the grass grew but was of a type that did not need cutting.  It also offered food for birds and climbing animals.  Our guide explains that a roof as we see demonstrated might last 50 years.  In fact, as we drive through Norway’s countryside, we see that these rooves are still in existence.  They’re quite beautiful.

This is actually a schoolhouse for the village.
Notice the grass roof.

There was a schoolhouse in the village as well. 

The most stunning building was the church.  No seats inside.  No windows.  Quite dark.  The building is beautiful.

A beautiful and impressive building.
It sits on the top of a hill and can be seen almost anywhere in the village.

Once again, I am going to post an Oslo Part II because the rest of the day was excitingly compelling and fascinating.  So much to share with you.

A RIDE THROUGH TIVOLI GARDENS

Nighttime in Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens, the second oldest amusement park in the world,entertaining folks of all ages since 1843, was an absolute delight.  Located smack dab in the middle of the city, there are always bicycles lining the busy boulevard, locked haphazardly or not at all.  The city's tourist center is diagonally across the street, and there are restaurants everywhere.  

Inside Tivoli Gardens, which you can go as a season or day or partial day passholder including or excluding the rides themselves, are rides, restaurants, serpentine pathways that make the most of this relatively small area, and all kinds of seating to just enjoy the lake, the happy people or the atmosphere that somehow makes the entire setting a little magic.

To us, Tivoli Gardens was more like a comfortable, old-time amusement park with bumper cars and games alongside a loopy roller-coaster and some pretty awesome and fast whips.

We were a few days too early in the season to catch the regular fireworks show, but we were treated to a super, colorful, music accompanied laser light show that was delightful and original.  

We left after the light show, but the place was still filled with people.  It must be the place to spend weekend evenings if you want a good time.

Make sure you click on the video to get full-screen.  Don't miss the charm of this iconic park.

FRIDAY'S FOTO

These are the three sisters of Glencoe Valley
Does it remind you, somewhat, of Brigadoon?

EATING AND DRINKING IN COPENHAGEN

Copenhagen is a cosmopolitan city.  Everyone speaks English.  Most visitors do too although they are not all from English-speaking countries.  Signage is in English more than it is in Danish.  On the one hand, any English speaker can feel comfortable, but on the other hand, if you are trying to get a feel for all things Danish, you might have a tough time--especially when it comes to food, once a sure way to get a taste of another culture.

For advice, we head to the hotel concierge.  We are lucky that our concierge is honest with us even though his honesty brings sadness.  Most heartbreaking to me is the fact that Hans Christian Anderson is not the beloved figure in his native land that he is in the United States.  We do take a photo with him right outside the Town Hall, there is a ride for him in Tivoli Gardens, and the Little Mermaid watches over the harbor, but, alas, that is all except for a skipped something or other in the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.

Anyway,  the concierge tells us that trying to find traditional Danish food is tough.  He knows of only one restaurant, Axelborg Bodega.  This restaurant becomes our destination.  Danish food here we come, and Axelborg Bodega is just a short walk from our hotel, Raddison Blu.

It is still too chilly to sit outside, but the restaurant's interior is perfect.  Wood-paneled walls, heavy tables and chairs, and a wonderfully warm staff, who,despite the descriptive Danish/English menu, wants to help us make the right choices.

Axelborg Bodega is not very crowded, but judging that Danish is the language of choice and people are meeting each other in small groups, the other patrons did not appear to be tourists.  We are on the right track.

What is Danish cuisine?  It's heavy on pork, fish, and vegetables.  Rob, always more adventurous than I, orders two home-breaded filets of plaice served with a remoulade.  Little did he know until the platter arrived that there was a lot more--two kinds of shrimp, vegetables, and other pieces of fish.  It is essentially a fish sampler to which he gives two thumbs up.

I order roast pork with home pickled red cabbage (delish) and cucumber salad (delish) and rye bread.  When that arrives, there are scrumptious potatoes too.  There is enough pork to split three ways.  Incredibly ample serving.  Absolutely perfectly done, and the vegetables are exceptional.  The edges of the pork are crackling, but the interior is soft enough to forego using a knife.

And Danish beer, of course.

We leave Axelborg Bodega with renewed hopes for more exploration of Danish cuisine. 

The next day we are up and early to explore Copenhagen.  Breakfast in the hotel is delicious with a buffet offering all kinds of cheeses and fish, fruits, different yogurt combinations, eggs, etc.  There are quite a few Asian guests, and there are many offerings to satisfy that palate.  That is an unexpected treat.

We have a walking map and feel sure that when lunchtime comes, we will be able to find a second restaurant specializing in Danish cuisine.

We are so wrong!  The plazas are full of people picnicking on take-out acquired from one of the many shops along the plaza or sitting at outdoor tables eating hamburgers.  Hero sandwiches, salads, hamburgers and other fast foods familiar at home. As far as restaurants--if you are interested in Italian, Chinese, or Indian, your wish would be granted.  We pass an English pub, a Scottish pub, and several French restaurants.  Among the restaurants listed in our guide book, none in our area seems to specialize in native Danish cuisine.  We find it quite sad, and while we sit in one of the large plazas enjoying the spring weather with the other people, literally surrounded by eateries of all kinds, there isn't one that satisfies our quest.

Know what we do?

We walk back to Axelborg Bodega, stopping along the way to investigate other restaurants but coming up empty.  We enter Axelborg Bodega for a second, but different, delicious Danish food experience.  And it is just as good as the first.

This time I order smoked salmon served with home-baked bread, asparagus and a creamy, scrumptious herb sauce. It is a platter big enough for three, and every delicious bite is a reward for our return.

Rob, knowing it is now or never, tries a sampler--traditional open face sandwiches (smorrebord), chef's choice, each one presented beautifully and touching every tastebud in his mouth.

In no way do we feel we've missed anything by not going to another restaurant.  Each visit is unique and special on its merit.  My advice is that if you're looking for Danish cuisine in central Copenhagen, visit asap.

SKAL

FRIDAY'S FOTO--KILAUEA CALDERA

With Kilauea on a rampage these days, I keep going back to look at our photos of a more peaceful time in this part of the world.  We helicoptered over the area, and this is the amazing, steaming caldera.  
Kilauea is between 300,000 to 600,000 years old.
In my blog's search box, type in Hawaii to see other photos of this extraordinary place.

LIVING HISTORY IN NORTH CAROLINA --PART II

The Tavern Museum was the original Tavern in Salem.
So much to learn inside!

Visiting Old Salem is stepping back in time, but as we walk the main thoroughfare, many of the houses are not open to visitors.  These are private residences, and the people who live there maintain their homes according to the rules of an historic district.  That’s not always easy, but it is necessary.  Most of the homes, however, have plaques giving the name of the original owner as well as the date.  Later in the afternoon, a docent told us that probably no more than two of these houses are owned by Moravians.  Rather, they are owned by people who want to live in the city of Winston-Salem but without the hustle and bustle of city life.

We walked up the main street to the Tavern area. The Tavern seems to be a dividing line between the earliest homes and the later development of the community.  Originally it was set on the outskirts of the town, a location that would prevent mingling with “Strangers” from outside the community.  No town residents other than the carefully vetted tavern keeper were allowed inside.  As Salem grew, the Tavern found its way toward the middle of town when buildings on the other side were erected.

 Today the complex includes a huge wooden barn, dating back to 1835 and  relocated in 1961 from Bethania, North Carolina where another Moravian community existed.

Pretty big barn

 

Inside we get a view of the construction as well as the hay in the loft.

Next door is the Tavern Museum where much is original including the floorboards on which we walk.  This building, actually, was the original Tavern.  The sign below includes a diary excerpt that is disturbing but authentic and a saddening lesson in history.

Difficult as this is to internalize, I applaud that there is no attempt to hide or to erase history.
Rather, there is an attempt to reveal and to learn from it.

George Washington, in 1791, spoke to the residents from the front porch.  While possible, it was not believed that he actually slept here, not because he was a Stranger but because the best bedroom was on the first floor.  Other bedrooms were upstairs, and his six bodyguards would have been forced to be upstairs, unable to do their jobs should that be necessary.  In 1791, there were still Loyalists around.  It is not known where the President slept that night.

Residents’ diary entries say Washington addressed the people from the front porch.  The people were in a field.  Today there are buildings dating from the 1800s across the street, further evidence that as the town grew, the Tavern became part of the center.

The Moravians are not teetotalers, and there was the public room within the tavern where drinks were served.  The “bar” as we know it today did not exist back then, but it’s interesting to learn that the word “bar” originated because the liquors and beer were kept in a room with bars to prevent theft.  The word became associated with drinking, and it was kept.

In the Tavern Museum, you can see how liquor was locked up behind the bar.
Is that costumed docent standing guard?

 The dining room of the Tavern was on the second floor.  Food was laid out buffet style and remained on the table for several hours.  The second floor location meant people could not just run in off the street, grab some food, and run out again.  The location was meant to prevent thievery.

The kitchen, however, was down some stairs and out the back.  It seems very well stocked.

Perhaps the most astonishing building we visit this day is the Single Brothers’ House.  Single Sisters had their own house.  Residents in the Single Brothers’ House ranged from about age 14 into the 70s.  Whites and African Americans lived together, and as the docent informed us, that did not change until segregation became the law.

Notice the two sections of the Single Brothers' House.
The first was built in 1769.
As the town grew, the addition was built in 1789.
The entire building was restored in 1969.

Among the Moravians, marriage was arranged by lot.  Should a man want to marry, he would present his case, and lots were picked.  There were three lots:  yes, no, and neutral.  Yes, he was allowed to marry but the prospective bride had the right to refuse. No, he was not allowed to marry.  If the neutral lot was chosen, it was interpreted as a “not sure” (so no) or “not at the right time” (so no).  Seems to me, the odds were not in the man’s favor.

Music was a great part of the Moravian life and religion, and the people were divided into choirs.  Choirs were the social divisions in the community, and people basically lived and died within their choirs. In the cemetery, God’s Acre, which we will visit when we return, the people were even buried according to their choirs.  http://home.earthlink.net/~dbuzzitch/Gold_Family/gold_family_014.htm

The docent in the Single Brothers’ House who also masterfully played the organ for us, explained the lot system and the choir system to us.

Don’t underestimate the importance of music in their ministry.  The Moravian Music Foundation has 10,000 early manuscripts, sacred and secular. http://www.oldsalem.org/learn/research/history-of-music-and-moravians/

The organs are spectacular.  The organ crafted in 1799-1800 by David Tannenberg for the Home Moravian Church has been fully restored and has been lent to Old Salem.  It resides in the Visitor Center and there are free recitals, last year in December.  PBS even did a documentary of the restoration. 

I'd love to come back for an organ recital in this hall.
What a magnificent , and huge, organ!

The organ in the Single Brothers’ House has also been restored, in 2007, but it dates back to 1798.  For more incredible information, take this link: http://davidtannenberg.com/Tannenberg_1798_Old_Salem.htm

This beautiful organ, played by the informative docent in the Single Brothers' House, dates back to 1798.
It was totally restored.
Originally, someone had to pump the bellows to allow it to work.  Not easy work.

I’ll talk about our lunch at the Tavern in a separate post, but before I get to the last stop of the day, I want to post an example of what the organization is trying to do.  In several places on the street and in buildings were signs similar to this one but about various subjects.  It will be interesting, now that we are members, to come back and learn more about the Hidden town within the town.

This aspect of Salem is something that should interest everyone.
It's good that in recreating another era and bringing it to light that the bad is recognized as well as the good.
In the years to come, I think there will be even more to learn here.

 Our last stop of the day was, as you would have guessed, C, Winkler Bakery built in 1800 with an addition in 1818.  Moravian sugar cookies are sold here, and they are available all over North Carolina.  Wafer thin and delicious.  There are artisan breads, pastries, etc., and there are demonstrations of the old ways of baking, the way Mr. C. Winkler did it.  I would love to end with a picture of what we bought, but….uh oh, it somehow disappeared shortly after we left the shop.  So I will leave you with a photo of the handle of the front door to the Single Brothers’ House. 

Nothing was plain and simple in the artistry of Salem.  

There’s so much more in Old Salem, but time just didn’t allow.  As I said, we became members, and we will be back, I guarantee that you will hear more about this remarkable place.  If you get an opportunity, please visit.