How Alive You Are

It doesn't matter how far you go...
The important thing is how alive you are.
(Pico Iyer)


We have discovered that it rains in Germany...and rains some more. And then when it is finished...there is a bit more rain. Though...as I write this on Friday morning at the hotel in the mountains with a view of Wartburg Castle, the sun is coming up on the castle and the day looks bright.

                  

Thursday was a long travel day. On the train early and then finally arriving in the rain at Eisenahch.
Hometown of Bach and where Luther went to school and then to the castle where Luther was "imprisoned" for his own safety...more of benign house arrest so that the Pope or the Emperor could not burn him at the stake.
If those two were after me, I would be inclined to take a year off in Wartburg Castle too.


Oh, by the way....we made the local Unna, Germany newspaper. Here's a clip.


Trains in Europe are so civilized. If you stop at a station then have a coffee and sandwich and get back on the train.


Here we are walking through Eisenach in the rain. No matter, it was fun to be a part of this former East German town which is doing quite well, especially with tourists for Luther's 500th Reformation celebration this year.

I am also aware that what many of you want are photos and more photos of your kids. Well yesterday was a bit wet and long and I don't have quite what I want for you. But, I can take you on a bit of a German Mountain hike and see the castle.

              

Off the train, check the wifi signals!

           
Line up for luggage transport as we walk to the hotel in the mountains.

                     

Bach was baptized here and Luther attended or preached here also.

        

Once again, the beauty of European pulpits.


                  

A top view of the baptismal fount.

                       

Just outside the town we passed our hotel and then walked the forest to Wartburg Castle.


                         
The rain had become just a mist and I quite enjoyed the half mile walk through this area, though around the bend was a bus stop and taxi stand...so it's perhaps not as isolated as the photos show.

                    

Our destination for the day....Wartburg Castle....where Luther translated the New Testament from Greek into the German language (while hiding out from the Pope). Finally the people of the German states had the Bible in their own language and they were electrified to have the Word of God at their disposal and not just the clergy reading it to them. The Pope was not pleased.

      
The castle was quite extensive with the major Luther 500th exhibition (not allowing photos). It took about an hour and a half to wander the exhibits and learn of the era of Luther.
Also, I might ask you to look up Elizabeth of Thuringia. She lived and died in this area and became a saint when her husband went off to fight the infidels in a 12 Century Crusade. Alas, the husband died in Italy of the fever...never even got close to those hated Infidels...Elizabeth poured her energy into helping the poor.

              

Wartburg Castle street.

                           
Leaving the castle with the town of Eisenach below.


No matter where where you will find us endoctrinating the locals...O-H!

                  
The hotel chapel.

         
A quiet moment after dinner at the hotel aChristie is sitting beneath the picture of Luther's wife, Katharina Von Bora, who left the nunnery to marry Luther...who left the priesthood.

            

                           

Peace,  Bob

                    
       



   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Pause to Learn and Remember, in Berlin

Image
It's not our experiences that form us But the ways in which we respond to them. (Pico Iyer) How do we respond when the guide of our morning tour says...                       "This is the memorial to the Murdered Jews in Europe." I'm not certain how many of our group heard her, because she was a quiet speaker, and the traffic noise was all around us since the Memorial is outside, as a park. But, I think that most heard and did not note what she said. And....I imagine that the line which I just quoted was exactly what she was supposed to say and was the official designation of this memorial. I understand it to mean that Germany is facing head on, that Jews were murdered. It is a stark introduction but one that I appreciated. The memorial to the victims of the Holocaust is set on several acres of prime Berlin real estate just a couple blocks from the Brandenburg Gate and the US and British embassies. And it should be noted that in the...
Read more

Dome of the Dom

Image
Travel is not really about leaving our homes, But leaving our habits. (Pick Iyer)                This mornings destination was the Reichstag....German parliament building.  (Above is the top of the dome of the Reichstag)            The building itself is an old one and in the 1930's Hitler had his men set fire to it to prove that only he could protect the nation from thugs who would burn this symbol of democratic values.                  After WWII and then after the unification of East and West Germany it was the plan to renovate the Reichstag and that proved controversial because of it's link to the Nazi's. But they voted and by a slim margin the government gutted the inside and redesigned it.                    This striking and beautiful dome is on the top. It symbolizes an open government with complete transparency...
Read more

Ich bin ein Berliner

Image
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many people need it sorely on these accounts. (Mark Twain) The day begins early at the hotel in Eisenach and we walk downhill and downhill some more into the town and train station.  Our destination is Berlin.                       Christie             Gracie            Amber & Maike                     Sleeping               Michael & Chad We gather at the train station.                   Andreas and Frank took us to the Wall. For me, this was THE touchstone of the Cold War and all that I remembered. Sharon, Andreas, Frank and I watched TV and saw the Wall crumble. I even recall when the Berlin section of the wall was sealed off in 1961. All the kids knew of the wall ...
Read more