Diva-scovery: Rugen Island

to 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/TDnXrsx7XhI/AAAAAAAAE-s/s_U7ps6epWI/s400/Sellin+Sea+Bridge.JPG” border=”0″ />Dear Diva Readers,

top:2px;padding-right:5px;font-family:times;”>For my husband’s birthday in May we decided we needed to “get away from it all” but unfortunately we were both swamped with work at the time, barely having time to breath, and we simply couldn’t manage more than a weekend away. Looking for someplace nearby our home in Germany we googled the phrase “2 ½ hours from Berlin” and were intrigued by Rugen Island! Friday evening we hopped in the car and began driving north to our destination and by the time we returned home Sunday we felt we’d been gone a week. Two days on Rugen Island was just what the doctor ordered!

to 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/TDnVnuGbcGI/AAAAAAAAE-U/bHzjXwD30Ks/s400/The+Wine+Guy.JPG” border=”0″ />to 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/TDnVn81oOwI/AAAAAAAAE-c/8BCAt2jGcZU/s400/Toma+Haines.JPG” border=”0″ />I must confess that though I’ve visited the beaches in Poland, Latvia and Estonia and been pleasantly surprised by the Baltic Beaches, I still had low expectations of the German Islands. Somehow Germany doesn’t make one think of Caribbean getaways, but we were swept away by a gorgeous weekend away in what is now our favorite place in Germany outside of Berlin! And with the sand in our toes we decided we actually liked Rugen better than the Caribbean because their boardwalks bore European shopping!

to 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/TDnVLGN5GNI/AAAAAAAAE9U/IeY1SFxUkuY/s400/132.JPG” border=”0″ />Naturally, with my nose for scouting out antique shops, I found a little shop not far from the beach!

In Germany, the beaches are beautifully maintained. Part of local beach culture involves renting not a lawn-chair and umbrella nor simply bringing your own towel to lay on, but instead renting a seat for the day in a “Strandkorb” – a roofed wicker beach chair.

to 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/TDnVL4dz4pI/AAAAAAAAE9k/E8YQR1TAxMs/s400/Rugen+Island.JPG” border=”0″ />The Strandkorbs were gorgeous as they lined the beach and I’ve started trying to determine if I could fit one of these on my balcony! At the very least, I think I must buy one as my souvenir before we move from Germany to our next home abroad!

to 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/TDnVnM_4hUI/AAAAAAAAE-E/dXdX06zcaHI/s400/Rugen+Island+Antiques+Diva.JPG” border=”0″ />In addition to the German beach chairs, I loved the Life Guard Stands which looked like something out of a science fiction movie!

to 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/TDnVMQqtI0I/AAAAAAAAE90/48JX1LBXxeM/s400/Rugen+Island+4.JPG” border=”0″ />to 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/TDnVLrQeQWI/AAAAAAAAE9c/0dXzscssnDY/s400/176.JPG” border=”0″ />Dining in Rugen Island was a fish revelation! We walked to the port and bought our lunch straight from the boat.

to 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/TDnVMGhNSmI/AAAAAAAAE9s/3Exa8UdlsvQ/s400/Rugen+Island+3.JPG” border=”0″ />In addition to a sensational beach, the architecture was intriguing.

to 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/TDnVnHo771I/AAAAAAAAE-M/S3weWSRKASE/s400/Rugen+Island+Germany.JPG” border=”0″ />This building reminded me of the German-equivalent to South Beach, but most of the architecture had a more German feel.

to 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/TDnVmUtEVWI/AAAAAAAAE98/Hf8TKZ3bAjU/s400/Rugen+Island+(2).JPG” border=”0″ />All in all, it was the perfect weekend away, warranting this secluded spot in the Baltics as my Diva-scovery de Jour!

Until Next Time, Happy Reading!

The Antiques Diva™

Parlez-vous brocante?

to 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/Spp6fAaJ14I/AAAAAAAADf8/tmggqXqZiyU/s400/086.JPG” border=”0″ />top:2px;padding-right:5px;font-family:times;”>Parlez-vous brocante? Do you speak French flea market? While the “Armoire” is the best known piece of French furniture, did you know that if an armoire only has one door then it is not an “Armoire”? Instead, it is a “Bonnetiere” deriving its name from the rounded top which looks like the shape of a bonnet worn by “Breton” ladies ( women from a region in northern France called Brittany). Sometimes you’ll see this bell-shaped armoire top referred to as a “Chapeau de Gendarme” or a police man’s hat. But if that “Bonnetiere” is divided by a drawer then this piece becomes an “Homme Debout” (or “Standing Man”).

to 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/Spp6mNwXP8I/AAAAAAAADgk/a66CoW5KcNY/s400/hommedebout.jpg” border=”0″ />This Beautifully Carved Walnut Homme Debout can be yours from 1st Dibs Garden Court Antiques

As Anglophones, when we hear “Commode” we think of a toilet, but in France a “Commode” is a chest of drawers and is considered the finest piece of furniture made for a house! While Anglophones tend to use “chest of drawers” for storing clothes, the French would use a “Coffre”. We might be familiar with the term “buffet” used as a side table in the dining room, but did you know a true buffet is higher than a commode with 2 doors on the bottom and 2 drawers at the top? Meanwhile, a “Buffet a Deux Corps” is literally a cabinet with 2 bodies. The bottom is usually traditional, but then a 2nd upper body is placed on top. However, if the top part has a plate rack, instead of doors, then it becomes a “Vaisselier”.

to 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/Spp6glS0G4I/AAAAAAAADgU/mKyuFnIyseo/s400/commode.jpg” border=”0″ />This Louis XV Style Commode in Kingwood & Tulipwood, c. 1850 is similar to the one I have at home! Shop like The Diva at 1st Dibs – William Word Fine Antiques

to 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/Spp6fy7NqiI/AAAAAAAADgM/PfqwhYPvUkE/s400/buffetadeauxcorps.jpg” border=”0″ />This Louis XV Cherry Buffet a Deux Corps, Circa 1760 is from
Richard Norton Antiques at 1st Dibs

A shelf (or even a floor in an apartment) is called an “Etage” but if a piece which sole purpose is shelving, then it is called an “Tagre”. However, if you’re storing books on that “tagre” and it has enclosed sides, then it is called a “Bibliotheque” which happens to be the same word for library in France. Wouldn’t it be confusing to ask how many bookshelves a certain library has?

All this thinking in a foreign language probably leaves you tired. You might as well take a “Siege”!! No, don’t attack a foreign city, instead take a seat – in fact, any seat, this is a general term for “Canapes, Fauteuils or Chaise”. You might know chair is “chaise” in French, but are you familiar with “Fauteuils”? This is nothing more than an armchair from any period. But if that armchair is upholstered, has an exposed wood frame and enclosed sides, then it is considered a “Bergere”. While you might be hungry don’t assume you’ll get an hors-d’oeuvre when you hear canapé mentioned – for a French man is probably asking you to sit on an antique wood-framed couch or love seat!

to 10px; WIDTH: 399px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/Spp6fhWjpEI/AAAAAAAADgE/yZ7Tg4XzBB8/s400/bergers.jpg” border=”0″ />Another item you’ll find chez moi, this Pair of French Louis XVI Style Painted Bergeres are from the late 19th Century. From Alhambra Antiques – 1st Dibs

If you want to kick back and relax, you won’t find a Lazy Boy in France, but you will find a “Chaise Longue”, a chair long enough to support your legs! But if the “Chaise Longue” has a back rest at both ends it is known as a “Recamier”. Meanwhile a grand chair with matching ottoman would be called a “Duchess Brise”. If a chair has a footstool but it doesn’t match, that’s “un pouf”! Of course, if you’re looking for a chair that looks like a stool to sit at the side of a chair but not sit your feet on, then that’s a “Tabouret”!

to 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/Spp6g791xxI/AAAAAAAADgc/7VsHQ7myuzg/s400/Duchesse+Brisee.jpg” border=”0″ />I’ll be looking for something like this for my bedroom at Diva Tours French Flea Market Fall Extravaganza. ThisThree-piece Louis XV style Duchesse Brisee was made in 1870 and is available on line from, you guessed it, 1st Dibs.com
Vendor: Alhambra Antiques

Last but not least, you might need a “Lumire” to read by! While chandelier sure sounds like a French word to me, the French do not use this term – they call them “Lustre”. Finally, we come to something simple – a lamp is just “une Lampe”, but that’s where simple stops! If I were to say “Appliques” what would you think it means? Me? I think of an embroidery or iron-on patch, but in French this is the word for a sconce! That’s it!!! I’ve had enough French furniture vocabulary for one day! I’m going to bed, which in French is “Lit” pronounced “lee”!

“Bonne Nuit!” Good Night!

The Antiques Diva™

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