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by GermanyTrip
4. November 2009 04:44
Our last day in Berlin looked a lot like this:  28 people and about that many umbrellas, ducking between the rain drops. Our tour guides kept apologizing for the rain; we told them it was simply preparing us to return to life in Seattle. Because of the weather (and the size of the city), we spent most of our Berlin tour on the bus. Above, you see us at the Berlin Cathedral, which was nearly destroyed during WWII but rebuilt over 25 years. We also visited Checkpoint Charlie, from which non-German citizens could enter and exit the American zone of Berlin during the time of the Wall:  (These aren't American soldiers; just guys you can take photos with. When it's not pouring rain.) And we walked through the Holocaust memorial in Berlin - 2,711 grey slabs not far from the Brandenburg Gate and the site where Hitler's bunker is buried. (As an aside, there is no memorial at the bunker site, other than a small sign, and no plans for one. The German government does not want to create a place where neo-Nazis might gather. In contrast, every German high school student must visit one of the concentration camps as part of the school curriculum.)  The creator of the Holocaust memorial intended as a place to wander, think, and find yourself a bit disoriented - which is exactly what happens. There is no significance to the number 2,711; that's simply the number of blocks which fit onto the site. Entering it, you do find yourself lost as the ground goes down and the grey columns get larger; it gives you a small sense of the enormity of this event.  We ended our guided tour at Kaiser Wilhelm Church, which was left in its ruined state, post-WWII, as a reminder never to fight war again. Next to the bombed ruins is a new bell tour and worship site, which is created from stained glass from Chartres, France.  The ruined tower  Inside the new worship space and bell tower Following a rainy afternoon on our own in Berlin, many of us headed to bed early, given our 4am wake-up call the next day. Now we're home, after safe travels, and a good night's rest - and grateful for the chance to travel, to have spent time together, and for the opportunity to learn more about the deep roots of our faith community and its history. Thanks for traveling with us!
by GermanyTrip
1. November 2009 08:46
For all the saints, who from their labors rest... We, too, like those at home, celebrated All Saints' Day this morning. We joined worship at the American Church in Berlin, where those of us from Holy Spirit Lutheran were shocked to find that - wait for it - not all churches limit their worship services to 60 minutes! The American Church of Berlin includes worshippers from all over the world, and just so happened today to be singing a liturgy from the old green Lutheran hymnal. We felt right at home.  After worship, we headed over to the local shopping mall's food court for lunch (most shops and restaurants are closed on Sundays in Germany) and then to a new center remembering the Berlin Wall. The wall came down almost exactly 20 years ago (November 9, 1989), and although few pieces of it remain, there is a very moving display in the former East Berlin, near the old Church of Reconciliation. The church itself was in the so-called 'death strip,' between East and West Berlin. Overnight, on August 13, 1961, the wall went up - and suddenly parishioners from the west side could no longer get to the sanctuary. Some years later, when the Soviet side wanted to increase security, the church's graveyard was dug up and old coffins were moved so that the strip of land between east and west Berlin could be enlarged and made more secure. It's hard to describe in words - a photo does it better.  Here a photo from the display shows the Church of Reconciliation, caught between East and West Berlin. The wall in front of the church is the actual border between east and west; the second wall, behind the church, was built by East Germany to add protection and make it harder to escape. The area between the two walls was filled with landmines, soldiers, and dogs. The church was blown up in 1985 in an effort to keep the area secure; after the wall came down, the congregation rebuilt the church in a modern style using the old bricks. Today we walked into that old 'death strip,' the area which used to be filled with landmines, to see one of the last standing pieces of the old Berlin Wall. Throughout the city you'll find a brick line which outlines where the wall used to be. It's hard to imagine now how utterly disruptive the wall once was.  Karolyn on both sides of the 'wall.' We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Pergamon Museum, seeing ruins from ancient Greece and Turkey. (A few of our group who were on last year's trip to Greece and Turkey got to see things which originally came from the places they visited on that trip!) And then, after checking into our last hotel, we headed to our last group dinner - where we got to thank our guide and our driver in style. Just ask Todd for his expertly written speech - in German - and you'll see what we mean. (The word "fahrvenugen" was used, which should give you an idea of how well Todd speaks German. Not well.) Tomorrow we'll go on a walking and driving tour of Berlin - it's a big city - in the morning, with an unscheduled afternoon and evening to follow. We're ready to come home - we miss you all - but we've had a wonderful time. Wundebar, as they say. We'll do our best to post a few more photos tomorrow night, but for now...Guten abend. (We've found out that 'guten abend,' 'good evening,' is a safe choice. If you say, 'guten nacht' with the wrong accent, you're accidentally wishing someone 'good naked' instead of 'good night.' And that's probably not good.)
by GermanyTrip
31. October 2009 06:04
It's every Lutheran's dream (isn't it?) - Reformation Day in Wittenberg. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to this door of the Castle Church:  (Okay, okay; it wasn't actually this door. The wooden door of the church was destroyed in the 1700's; this one is an iron replacement, with the 95 Theses engraved on it in Latin.) Thus began the Reformation. Our day, however, began not at this door, but inside the church, where we welcomed Reformation Day with a worship service. It is officially COLD in Wittenberg, so we bundled up for the walk - and stayed bundled up inside. (Handy European Tourist Tip #3: if you're attending worship in a stone cathedral, bring your gloves.) After worship, we headed out for a (cold) walking tour of Wittenberg, with our guide, Katja. Actually, we remembered Katja from last night, since she played Katie Luther at our dinner. Which reminds us - we promised photos! Dinner with the Luthers, our event last night, was a meal of authentic medieval food (brought to you with modern health codes, which is very good). We even had to nominate one of our group as the official 'pre-taster,' to make sure our dinners were not poisoned - unanimously, the group nominated Brian. He's still alive, by the way.  So Katie Luther took us around Wittenberg, to the former university where Luther taught, the house owned by Philip Melanchthon, the pharmacy where Katie Luther worked before her marriage, and the home of artist Lucas Cranach. (She told us a great story about Cranach: that after years of asking him to paint her, Cranach's wife finally convinced him to include her in one of his paintings. He promised to portray her from her 'best angle.' He painted the back of her head.) We ended at Luther's former house, which is now full of artifacts of his life and work. Here you'll find his home, dishes and pieces from daily life, one of the first editions of his German bible, an original indulgence letter, and the pulpit from which he preached. In his old living room is the table at which he spoke during the evenings to his students, who wrote down his words in the "Table Talks."  We had a free afternoon, which most of us spent at the Reformation Festival. Reformation Day (Reformationstag) is a holiday in Germany, and Wittenberg celebrates with a huge medieval festival - lots of vendors, music, food, and Martin Luther's face on just about anything you can buy. Confirmation students come from all over Germany to march down the main street of Wittenberg toward the Castle Church, where we saw them singing hymns outside.  Lots of us bought gloves, hats, and anything else to keep us warm. If they sold long underwear with Luther's image on it, you can be sure we would have snapped it up. We did eat Reformationsbrot (Reformation bread, so called because it is shaped like a Luther rose), and many of us bought socks which have Luther's famous words woven into them: "Here I stand; I can do no other." Tonight, some us attended the Hymnsing at the Castle Church; others went to the performance of Brahms' "German Requiem" at the Town Church; and others, being true music-lovers, went to both! Tomorrow morning we head to Berlin for worship at the American Lutheran Church on All Saints' Day, and then a day and a half in Berlin. It's hard to believe that our trip is nearing its end. For now, we'll go to bed with "A Mighty Fortress" ringing in our ears...
by GermanyTrip
30. October 2009 05:07
Although our tour has been focused primarily on history from the middle ages, today we also heard some more modern pieces of Germany's story. For one, we drove through a town (Jena) which had been a center of industry in East Germany, but is now deeply troubled by unemployment and some poverty. A factory which employed some 145,000 workers in Eastern bloc days now employs only 6,000; you can imagine the impact on the town. We saw the 'worker housing' put up quickly in the early '60's - it hasn't aged well.  We began our day back in the 18th century, with the life and significance of J.S. Bach. Born in 1685, he served as church musician at St. Thomas' Church in Leipzig for 27 years - as a part of his service, he wrote a new cantata for every Sunday, nearly 300 in all. One of our favorite stories of the day came from Bach's life: when he died, he was buried in a pauper's tomb, his legacy forgotten. Some 100 years later, Felix Mendelssohn revived his music, and authorities decided that Bach should be buried with greater honor, so they dug up the three bodies in the pauper's grave, measured the bones against a painting of Bach, and reburied him in St. Matthew's Church. But St. Matthew's was bombed and destroyed during WWII. In 1949, a worker digging through the ruins of St. Matthews discovered Bach's coffin and brought it to St. Thomas' Church with a note: "Here is Bach. I give him to you." And so, since 1949, Bach has been buried at the church where he served nearly 300 years ago. Here you see his tombstone, in front of the altar of the church.  Our guide, Bridget, who took us through the church and on a walking tour of the city, also told us some of her own story: how she refused to leave the church during the Eastern bloc days and so was not able to get a high-paying job; how she participated in the protests of October 1989 which eventually led to the fall of the Berlin wall; how she discovered that a close friend had been spying on her and reporting to the authorities about her friendship with an American student. Her story was echoed closely by our afternoon speaker, Pastor Ulrich Seidel, who served at St. Nicolai Church in Leipzig during the 1980's. The church began to hold "Peace Prayer" services, which were attended by many young people and which grew through the later 1980's into gatherings of 3,000 people. Because the church was still relatively independent from the state, it was one of the only places where people could gather and talk freely, or imagine a different future. The prayer services grew until, on October 9, 1989, 70,000 people began at the church and then walked through the streets of the city, chanting, "We are the people," and "no violence." Orders had been given for police to shoot, but they were not able to reach their superiors in Berlin, and so not a single shot was fired. It was never clear why the signals didn't work: "something was in the air," said Pastor Seidel. One month after the Peaceful Revolution in Leipzig, the Berlin Wall came down.  Our conversation with Pastor Seidel Tomorrow we'll be at the Reformation Festival in Wittenberg, celebrating 492 years since Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the Castle church. We start in the morning with a worship service at that church (thankfully in English), then a walking tour of the city, an afternoon at the festival, and several concerts to choose from in the evening...an abundance of riches. But for now - good night!
by GermanyTrip
30. October 2009 04:43
Right now, it is 6:45pm and we have arrived in Wittenberg, where we are waiting for our 7:30pm dinner with Martin and Katie Luther. (No doubt there will be photos from that appearing on the blog tomorrow!) It turns out that there are two reasons to love Wittenberg: one, it's the birthplace of the Reformation; and two, the Best Western here has free internet access. (Wittenberg: helping Lutherans self-publish since 1517.) Which means that we can fill you in on the last two days. Yesterday, after spending the night in Eisenach, we awoke to see Martin Luther statue #2 right across the square from our hotel.  Seemed appropriate, since we were heading to Wartburg Castle, where Luther spent 10 months in seclusion, from 1521-1522, hiding from authorities and translating the New Testament into German. The weather has changed to much more of a wintry feel; thankfully no rain, but a cold bite in the air. Fortunately, unlike Luther, we drove to the castle in the comfort of a heated bus. It's a hike to the top, however. We started the hike imagining Luther, kidnapped by his friends under the cover of darkness, being brought to the castle to protect him from enemies; but we ended the hike imagining someplace to sit down. And a free bathroom. Fortunately, we found both.  (Yes, that's scaffolding; castles are a big remodeling project.) Our guide took us through the castle, and we ended up in the LutherStube, the small room where Luther lived while translating the bible. He stayed undercover, as "Knight George," having been cut off from the protection of the empire after his excommunication.  After heading back down the mountain, we headed back into Eisenach for a walking tour of the town. In addition to its Luther connections, Eisenach is also known as the birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach - so we were treated to a concert of Bach pieces, on instruments dating from his day. The musicians in our group were especially excited! We had a free evening for dinner, so we scattered around the city and found various places to eat. One group ended up at the Schloss Keller, where the menu included a "Luthertopf" - a meal particularly designed for Luther fanatics (and American Lutheran tourists). Our consensus was that Luther would have made a terrible vegetarian. But it was a tasty meal.
by GermanyTrip
28. October 2009 08:44
Our afternoon on Wednesday deserved a post of its own, if only because it was so different from anything we had seen until now. We left Dresden and stopped for lunch along the way, where we re-learned European Tourist Tip #2: remember that you need to pay to use the restrooms in Europe. Save your Euro. You might really need them. But our next stop taught us other, more difficult, lessons. This afternoon we visited Buchenwald, one of the concentration camps built during World War II. Although not an extermination camp like Auschwitz, Buchenwald was the site of a camp which housed over 250,000 prisoners during the war. Some 56,000 died here. Elie Wiesel and Dietrich Bonhoeffer were both imprisoned here at some point during the war. Our tour guide told us the facts, with care and honesty. We share these photos with you, and with them we offer our prayers for peace, justice, and the end of senseless violence in our world.  The clock on the camp's main entrance is frozen at the time of its liberation: 3:15pm, on April 11, 1945.  Prisoners looked daily at the words in the camp's gate: "Jedem Das Seine," meaning, "you get what you deserve."  Our guide shows us the memorial for those who died at the camp. Engraved in the center are the names of all the nations whose people died as prisoners here. If you place your hand on those names, you can feel the warmth of this metal plaque: it is kept at 98.6 degrees, the warmth of a human body. "We remember here," he said, "the humanity of those who died."
by GermanyTrip
28. October 2009 08:24
Today we spent the morning in Dresden, where we got a brief walking tour of the city with our local guide, Karina, before we got back on the bus for the trip to - well, lunch. First things first, after all. We first visited the Frauenkirche ("The Church of Our Lady"), which was built as a Lutheran church in the 1700's and destroyed during the bombing of Dresden in 1945. After nearly 50 years of neglect, the church was finally reconstructed, beginning in 1994 and finishing in 2005. Although it looks very different from most Lutheran churches we know, this building was constructed by the people of Dresden and built with Lutheran theology in mind. The large dome - which was based on the dome of St. Peter's in Rome - is in the center of the building, where it rests over the people instead of over the altar and the priest. After reconstruction, the basement has also become a worship space, with a striking altar of its own. The church is now a foundation, not an active congregation, but it is part of the ministry of reconciliation based at Coventry Cathedral in England - a church which was also destroyed during World War II. Many of us were struck by the story of the cathedral's bells, which were being completed in 2001 as part of the reconstruction. There are seven bells, each with an image calling for peace. One of the architects was visiting New York, thinking about what image to put on the bells, on September 11th. The next day he spoke with the church, and shortly afterward, they engraved on one of the bells an image of the World Trade Center as it was struck by a plane. Some people objected, saying, "how can you put an image of Americans on the bells of a church they helped destroy in 1945?" But the church foundation insisted, saying that the church would call for peace among all people, in the whole world.  The Frauenkirche in Dresden. The darker bricks are originals from the church as it existed before 1945; the lighter bricks were part of the reconstruction. Sandstone, from which the bricks are made, is so porous that it absorbs dirt from the rain and air. In the next decade or so, the whole building will be as dark as the original bricks.  Good looking group, don't you think? Here we are, in front of Martin Luther statue #1. We're keeping a running tally of Luther statues.  The only original wall left standing after the bombing of Dresden is now joined with the new reconstructed church.  The castle grounds in Dresden.  Our bus driver, Guido, who deserves a gold medal for Bus Driving Skills. Seriously.
by GermanyTrip
28. October 2009 08:08
Our second day in Prague went quickly. We spent the morning at Prague Castle and the surrounding grounds, then piled into the bus for the trip to Dresden. Even the world travelers among us had to admit that the hotel we stayed at in Dresden was hard to beat - even including a glass elevator, and a fantastic breakfast buffet. Today's Handy European Tourist Tip comes to you from the approximately 80% of our group who failed to remember the advice given us by our tour guide: in Europe, the first floor of a building is referred to as "0." (Not "1.") (If you forget this and hit "1" on the elevator, you will end up either a.) among a bunch of rooms, or b.) in the basement, because you accidentally hit "-1". Neither of these options will get you to the restaurant for dinner.)  A view of the city from Prague Castle and its vineyards.  Fred reminds us to get on the right bus.  Entering Prague Castle.  St. Vitus Cathedral  The cathedral's rose window.  Celebrating Tammie and Todd's 25th wedding anniversary at dinner!
by GermanyTrip
28. October 2009 07:56
The truth is, we're in Eisenach now. But there was no internet access available yesterday, so we'll do our best to catch you up on the last few days in the next few posts. First, a few more photos and details from Prague. After our official Prague tour finished on Monday at lunch, we had free time the rest of the afternoon. Some of us caught the first shuttle back to the bus, about 2:30pm; some of us stayed until the second shuttle, at 5:00pm; and some of us managed to find our way back to the hotel...well, later on.  The astronomical clock in Prague, from the 1400's.  Figures on the Charles Bridge, which crosses the Vlatava (Moldau) River in the city.  A (rather blurry) photo of Prague at night.
by GermanyTrip
26. October 2009 18:43
Some internet trouble at the hotel last night kept us from posting earlier - but it seems to be up and running now (famous last words), so we'll try again. Yesterday was our walking tour of Prague, as led by our local tour guide, Alexandra. We started in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, then continued through the city to the Charles Bridge, and then into Town Square. Words can't quite do the city justice, so we'll go with pictures instead - but one thing we have noticed is that Prague, unlike many major European cities, has survived very intact through world wars.  Our guides: bus driver Guido, tour guide Christian, and local Prague guide Alexandra.  The Jewish Quarter, including a synagogue from the 12th century and a clock (notice anything different about it? A clue: it was 10:10 am when we took the photo).  Tombstones from the 1700's at the Jewish Cemetery: 12 layers of tombs below date back to the 1200's.  A view of the city from the top of the Astronomical Clock Tower. It's time to get on the bus and head to Dresden, so in spite of the fact that we have MANY more photos we could show you, we'll take a break for now and post more later. (Not all the photos we took. We promise.) Guten tag! Germany, here we come....
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