Can't See Everything

We left Erfurt on Tuesday morning. We had planned to stop in Weimar to see the famous Lucas Cranach altar painting, and then a stop in Eisleben to see Luther's birth house, death house, and baptismal church before finally arriving in Leipzig for our overnight stay.

When we got to Weimar and parked we walked to St. Thomas. We noticed much construction on the outside, found the door to go inside, and saw this:

 

 

Yes, it was totally under construction. They were doing archeological digging leading to restoration. The organ was covered, the walls were covered, even the famous altar piece was covered.

 

I'm sure it will look marvelous when it is all done, but it was a bit disappointing to come see in person one of our very favorite paintings and not be able to. Ah, such is the nature of travel.

We drove on to Eisleben and did see the churches and the birth house, but not the death house as it too was under construction. I guess this means we will just have to come back another time eh?

Churchly Ideas

German churches have been a fertile ground for David to gather new ideas for his church back home in America.

First, at St. Peter's Cathedral in Vatican City, he discovered outfits that would help everyone identify the on-duty elders and ushers.

What do you think elders and ushers? Do you want to dress like the prestigious Swiss Guard?

Second, while at the Museum of Crime and Punishment in Rothenburg aub der Tauber, he learned a technique to insure better attendance and attentiveness at church.

 

Finally, while being shown around our sister church in Gotha, he noticed that Pr. Kallensee has figured out how to get his parishioners to sit close enough that they can actually be identified from the pulpit. Here are the back rows in his church:

Don't you think those are good ideas?

Sunday Afternoon

After our wonderful morning worshipping in Mühlhausen and having a brief tour of the city we went for a Sunday afternoon drive through the German countryside. That sounds pleasant doesn't it?

Our goal was to find the place where Luther was kidnapped and taken to the Wartburg castle. Rachel, David's cousin's wife, had told us it was a neat spot to see if we had a car and gave us these directions to find this out of the way spot:

"It's not far off of the L 1027 (the name of a road) from (the town of) Steinbach in the direction of (the town of) Ruhla, where after a curve on the right side of the road, a sign is posted on a small forest path."


But we were now coming from the north, so we pulled out the map we purchased the second day we had the van and looked at the map. We saw where we needed to go and headed south towards Eisenach using our GPS.

Our intent was to find a place to eat soon as everyone was a bit hungry but found no place until Eisenach. And finding a place to eat was no easy feat because we didn't have a clue where we were going or an idea of a place to eat and tensions rose with the heat.

Finally after much driving this way and that through the city of Eisenach, we found a Thuringian Bratwurst Stand at the side of the road. We gladly paid the parking fee, ordered brats, cappuccinos, waters, and sat in the hot sun. Don't try this at home. Instead save your tasty brats for when you can wash them down with a good dunkleweiss beer or save your cappuccino for a nice afternoon sitting in the rocking chair on the front porch. But please don't have your brat with your cappuccino while sitting in the hot sun. Save that for the clueless Americans driving through the German countryside on a Sunday afternoon.

Now that we were refreshed, ahem, we climbed back into the van and proceeded south. This time we put the GPS destination as Steinbach and followed along. We were now driving through the Thuringian Forest and the road was perfect for a Porsce 911. However David was driving a nine passenger VW Caravelle and it just wasn't the same experience.

It was a winding road, proceeding up and down and all around through the hills. Here's a picture from google maps:

 

And here is one I tried to snap out the front windshield:

 

And to get a better picture, think of how little children like to scribble on a piece of paper. Have that image? Good, that is what the road was like. And all the sporty cars and motorcycles behind did not appreciate David's cautiousness.

But we did eventually find the spot. And it was just a sign by a curve (having driven that road, that now makes us laugh). After pulling off and parking, we hiked a bit down the path.

 

 

There we found the monument marking the spot of Luther's kidnapping.

We stayed for a short time and headed back to the van. We were all ready to be back at the hostel and David was more than ready to be off that winding road with all its many, many double backs.

But no, we still had more of that road to go because we took a wrong turn and drove through part of the town of Steinbach. It is located on the valley and hill below the spot of Luther's kidnapping. A quaint, pretty town, but with roads that get narrower and still are supposed to be wide enough for two vehicles. We quickly turned around when we realized our wrong direction and took that winding road once again.

Finally after about ten kilometers of that winding road and about ten more kilometers of country roads, relief came in the form of the autobahn. It is definitely a day we will not forget.

 

Mühlhausen

Here are some of the pictures we saw on our quick walk around the city of Mühlhausen on Sunday after church. It is not on the list of cities that tourists visit in Germany, but it is just as full of history and beautiful streets as the more popular tourist cities. It will be on our list to explore more deeply on a future visit.

The old city wall from medieval times.

 

One of the many pretty streets:

A gargoyle on one of the churches we saw. Many of these churches are now museums.

 

 

 

On the side of one building there were several of these figures. They amused me.

 

 

What would you think of having this type of downspout on your home?

 

The man who was the architect for the Brooklyn Bridge was born in this house in Mühlhausen.

 

 

Exaudi Sunday

When we planned our trip, we picked Erfurt as our place to stay over a weekend so that we would have an opportunity to worship once again at Christ Lutheran where we had attended in 2007. But they were not there that day, instead worshipping elsewhere at a Kirchetage in Hannover.

Instead, we drove an hour to Mühlhausen and worshipped at the Kantatekirche where Pastor Kallensee serves.

 

The service began with a confessional service. Pr. Kallensee read the Ten Commandments, the Close of the Commandments, and a confessional address. Then we were absolved individually as we knelt at the altar.

There were only two readings, the appointed Epistle and Gospel. Despite the fact that there were only ten adults, three children, and us seven in attendance, the congregation spoke and sang boldly.

Pr. Kallensee graciously summarized his sermon for us in English prior to preaching in German. Pastor and congregation chanted the liturgy and the Sacrament was celebrated with great reverence. Only the chalice is offered and the people knelt around the altar without a railing.

Our opening hymn was On Christ's Ascension I Now Build, which the saints at Trinity, Waterville also sang on Sunday morning. After the service all the people greeted us warmly in their broken English. Before the service everyone had shaken our hands and greeted us as is their custom.

After pictures were taken (just as many by them as by us),

Pr. Kallensee invited us on a tour of Mühlhausen. He showed us the church J.S. Bach served as organist for one year and also where Luther preached.

 

We also saw the old city wall and other historic buildings. This city, like so many in Germany, is more than a thousand years old, full of history, joys, and sorrows. We will save those pictures for a future post.

Pr. Kallensee serves this congregation of forty as well as a congregation of sixty in Arnstadt, and a congregation of one hundred and twenty in Gotha. All were much bigger before the 1950's but Communist East Germany took its toll.

It was a joy to worship with the saints gathered in Mühlhausen. We speak different languages but we share the same love of Jesus Christ and the Lutheran faith.

 

Erfurt

You remember how I said this vacation could only go downhill? Well, it began falling right after I finished the strawberries because we went to the Crime and Punishment museum. Basically there was nothing in it that didn't disturb me, discounting the shame masks which were just mean, not horribly cruel. If you are wanting to go somewhere were you can see instruments of torture worthy of Sauron, than that's the place to go. 

But despite the museum, Rothenburg was a wonderful city and I was sad that we only got to spend one day there. We arrived in Erfurt on the evening of the 18th and spent the next day walking around the city. We took a tour auf Deutsch of the Augustinian monestary, which is were Luther was a monk for 6 years. So although it was cool to see, we didn't exactly get much out of it. There was a lady who translated the most important parts for us.

A bad picture of the cloister

Luther's cell

The monks would eat on the same side of the table because they were not allowed to talk and if they sat opposite each other they might try to comunicate with each other through their expressions. The monks carried their spoon with them all day, all the time and it was only taken away from them when they died. So having your spoon taken away was another way of saying you were dead.

I would tell you other interesting facts except, as I said before, the tour was in German so that was really about all I actually understood from the tour.

We also saw some of the churches in town that day, including the one with mom's favorite crucifix outside:

Abby, mom, Nate, and Ellie in front of the town square

 

Hannah

Ascension Day, Souvenirs, Walls, and a Night Watchman

On Thursday morning we left Reutte, Austria and drove to Oberammergau, Germany. As we left town, we noticed how no one seemed to be out and about. No cars, no walkers, no bicycle riders, not even the stores seemed to be opened. It then dawned on us that it was Ascension day and therefore a holiday. We were then concerned that all the shops in Oberammergau would also be closed and prepared Sam for the news.

When David and I came to Germany in 2007, we bought Samuel a walking stick in Oberammergau. He loved it and played with it all the time until it broke. His hopes were set on buying a new one to replace the broken one. We told him we hoped that the stores would be open, but that they might be closed and he might not be able to buy his new walking stick. He took the news better than we feared.

When we arrived, the town was quiet but we began walking to see. We heard music from the church and walked there to find that had we been just half an hour earlier we could have attended the service which featured a full choir and orchestra. Instead we stood outside and listened and chatted with a man who also was standing outside the door. After the service, there was a parade of the men dressed in full lederhosen and carrying rifles through the town. We watched and followed along with the other residents.

This is part of the cemetery surrounding the church:

 

Now that the service was done, most of the shops and restaurants were now open so we began looking around. David and I bought a crucifix as did Hannah, and yes Samuel found a walking stick. He was thrilled, and still is.

After lunch we climbed back into the Caravelle and travelled onto Rothenburg ob der Tauber with a stop at the Weiskirche. When we arrived there, it was packed and we didn't understand why. Apparently we are not the brightest bulbs in the socket, because there were so many there to attend the Ascencion service.

We waited about ten minutes for the people to exit and noticed how many of them were hikers or bikers. We were able to finally go in and see the church in the valley.

The left and right pages of the altar book:

 

The altar:

Part of the ceiling:

The organ:

 

We checked into our room in the little village of Detwang, located in the valley below Rothenburg, and then spent the evening exploring Rothenburg.

We walked around part of the wall.

 

Saw the clock tower from 1466 and watched the Meistertrunk (Master Draught) story:

 

 

These are a Few of my Favorite Things

On Thursday we left Reutte and the alps for Germany. All day Wednesday it has snowed, and everything was covered in a blanket of snow. On the way we stopped at Plansee, a gorgeous teal lake surrounded by the mountains. After a quick photoshoot, we got back in the car and continued our descent. 

This is what I love. The trees and moutains dusted with snow, the grass peaking up from under its blanket, the snow so white that it hurts to look at, but you can't tear your eyes away; your breath curling around you, the cold nipping at your fingers making you feel wide awake. It was so beautiful outside that dad pulled over and let me take a few pictures.

But no matter how much I wished it, we couldn't stay and I had to say goodbye to the mountains and the snow. The day when all the snow disappears is always a sorry day for me, but to have that day come because you left the cold?

We went on to Rothenburg, a medieval walled city that was built in the fourteenth century. It was very, very cool but the best parts?

Yes, that is indeed Narsil, sword of Elendil. It was in a store full of medieval weapons. There was also Excaliber, but I didn't take a picture. :)

 

And dad bought us two of these. All I can say is, this trip can only go downhill from here.

 

:)

Hannah