Luther's Wittenberg ~ the end of our Sabbatical Journey tracing the history of Christianity in Western Civilizations

We've wandered a long and winding road from the roads Paul walked and the amphitheater in Ephesus where Paul preached, to the room at Wartburg Castle (Eisennach) where Luther translated the New Testament into German, and the house where Luther lived and worked in Wittenberg, Germany.

We've been in at least one mosque, cathedral, chapel, or church every day for the last 28 days. I've swum outside (in Asian Turkey) and walked through the snow (in northern Germany); tasted delicious cultures and cuisines, drunk excellent coffee in every country visited and sampled fine wines in the cellar of treasured friends in Belgium.

We've visited castles, palaces, museums, parks, battle sites, forts and abbeys; we've flown five different airlines, stayed in 11 overnight locations, tried to speak a bit of three different languages (not counting English and unable to get a word out in Turkish), and ridden in taxis, trains, trams, rental cars, Bosphorous cruise boats, buses, the Paris Metro, the Roman underground rail, transport vans, and one funicular. We've been blessed with safe travel, the company of dear friends, the incredible kindness of strangers, and innumerable moments of insight and unexpected joy.

Tomorrow we journey home to Minnesota so today is our last full day of this sabbatical journey and we are sad to feel the adventure winding down. Wittenberg is our last stop before turning around to travel home.

Today we saw the church in Wittenberg where Martin Luther preached many times, and another church famous for Luther's having nailed the 95 Theses on the door there, the house where he and his Katarina (a former nun married to this former monk) lived and raised their family. The latter building houses a very fine Luther museum where we spent a couple hours browsing the artifacts and seeing Luther's study.

Katarina is a woman I can admire. She was strong, independent-minded, industrious and capable by all accounts. You see me pictured with a cut-out figure of her below.

The first thing I learned in my college German class at Saint Olaf was how to sing "A Mighty Fortress is our God" (Ein Feste Burg ist unsere Gott) in the original words Luther authored. You see below a hymnal open to this hymn (not 500 years old, however) in the church where Martin Luther preached hundreds of sermons (the pictured church with the two spires).

The story of Luther's life, learning and thinking, and courage when accused of heresy is compelling. The Wittenberg Luther House museum thoroughly presents his life story and the artifacts of his life here in the former monastery that was gifted to him and Katarina.

Snow is falling lightly in Wittenberg as we pull the curtains in our hotel room for the evening, as we pull the curtains closed on this marvelous journey.

Fahren Fahren Fahren auf der Autobahn

I drove on the autobahn yesterday and found it both exhilarating and nerve-wracking.

If you are in the fast lane (no speed limit) you'd best get out of the way when a Mercedes Benz sedan hurtling along at 140 or 150 KPH comes up behind you and flashes lights.

I got up to 157 at one point, but did not like going that fast, kept to speeds around 120 to 130.
How can there be no speed limit? It boggles the mind.

Mark drove today and despite our speeds of 130-140 KPH cars were speeding past us in the left lane like a blur. They would whoosh past, shaking our not tiny SUV, must have been going 160 plus!

P.S. If you do not know the 1975 pre-techno classic by Kraftwerk called "Autobahn", check if out on youtube. At the time the group dubbed this new musical style "machine music".

A la recherche du temps perdu

Here are some remembrances of things past or 'time lost' (as in the Proustian title quoted above) of final highlights in Paris with Deb and Gregg.

Our last full day in Paris included a trip to Montmartre and tour of Sacre Couer, a street performer (a virtual aerialist) who climbed a light pole on Montmartre while balancing soccer ball on his back and kicking and head-butting it into the air (really) and a magnifique final dinner at my favorite Parisien restaurant, L'ilot Wache (the island of cows) on the Ille San Louis.

Because it was late we took the Metro back to the flat rather than walking from Notre Dame which was resplendent with lights on her flying buttresses as we said 'au revoir'.

Vielleicht habe ich zu viel films gesehen

Maybe I have seen too many movies.

Since we crossed into former East Germany (just before arriving at Eisenach) Germany has felt slightly different in a way I cannot quite describe. This atmosphere is enhanced by very low grey skies, cold temps, lightly falling snow.

The buildings are a mixture of very old structures here and they're surrounded by buildings that clearly date from mid 20th Century. The emergency vehicles' sirens make the same sound as those in Italy and France, yet they resonate differently in this context.

Our hotel in Eisenach was connected to a golf resort (Mark was eating his heart out) and flight school. The dining room was in a separate building (pictured below) which our server explained was built in 1936 as a flight training facility. I think it wise to speculate no further in writing about this building's original purpose.

If it's Tuesday this must be Belgium

Pierre made a reference to this funny title from a 1969 romantic comedy about a whirlwind European tour (stars Suzanne Pleshette and Ian McShane). The title is actually "apropos" (another of the many French words, like "cliché" [wink] which enrich our English language) of our trip this week as we are moving fast to the finish line and staying in 6 different places in as many nights.

Following a lovely breakfast on Tuesday morning, Pierre and Lisbeth took us to see Wavre, a Battle of Waterloo sight that we had not had time to see when we trampled all over the Waterloo sights with them in 2005.

Wavre is not far from where our hosts live and is the site of a battle in which British General Wellington's Prussian ally Blucher fought and delayed Napolean's General Grouchy and prevented his joining Napolean's main force in the Battle of Waterloo. When Bluecher's forces arrived at Waterloo late in the day, Napolean realized the battle was lost and began retreating toward Paris.

We visited the sight on a blustery morning with temperatures around 30 F but enjoyed bringing our Battle of Waterloo visit full circle from our last time in Belgium!

Storming Wartburg Castle

Today we climbed the berg to Wartburg Castle where Martin Luther hid out for ten months when he was in trouble with the Catholic authorities. While in hiding here Luther translated the New Testament from the Greek into German. We enjoyed seeing the room where he worked and the fortification that protected him during this time.

It was very cold and windy walking from the car park to the castle on the hilltop and we had snow falling on us as we descended after our tour of the castle. Although we set out to storm the castle, in turned out the ends of German winter were storming on us.

Below you see some quant castle views and and Mark entering the room where Martin Luther worked on his Bible translation.

Don't Cry for me Cologne! Koln Cathedral Redux

When I traveled on the continent with several college friends at age 19, through a strange series of mishaps I ended up arriving alone in Cologne by train, late at night.

I walked from the Hauptbahnhof, in a cold rain and heavy darkness, past the great, dark hulk of Cologne Cathedral, across a formidable bridge that carries train, auto, and pedestrian traffic, to find the youth hostel, where I hoped to reconnect with some of the college friends.

My travel companion had been summarily removed from the train as we traveled from Heidelberg because she had left her passport at the last youth hostel where we had last stayed and I had continued because we were supposed to connect with these other girls in Cologne. No mobile phones in those days!

I'm a fairly brave and independent traveler but crossing that bridge in the weather and the darkness after being intimidated by the monstrous cathedral was too much. I was weeping as I worked my way through the wind and the rain across the bridge that seemed to last forever.

Here you see me posing next to the Rhine River near this same bridge - much happier on this visit.

Belgian Borders and what melts in between

Between Monday morning and Tuesday afternoon we drove from the western border of Belgium (with France) to the eastern border (with Germany) and enjoyed rich company and experiences between these two borders!

We were warmly received by friends Pierre and Lisbeth who live just outside of Brussels, in a neighborhood which has a border between Flemish speaking Belgians and Fresh speaking Belgians.

Just across the border in front of their home (the street) we saw the house where our dear daugher-in-law, Kate, lived for five years as a pre-schooler and early elementary school child.

We crossed the border into a heavenly realm when Pierre took us for a sparkling wine tasting in his custom-constructed wine cellar, lit only with candlelight.

Lisbeth served a delicious traditional Belgian dinner, thoughtfully prepared for we who have recently eaten so many restaurant meals. This meal melted in our mouths are we talked and laughed and sipped beautiful wines into the night.

We soon melted (someone had to!) the lovely Belgian chocolates waiting on our pillows in the comfy guest room.

The next morning I was able to drive to a boulangerie artisanale (artisanal bakery) with Pierre for breakfast items and to see along the way many residential neighborhoods where the Dutch and the French architectural styles can be seen melting into one another.

Between the borders of Belgium was a meltingly warm experience, despite the actual temperatures in the 30's F. Thank you Pierre and Lisbeth!

Three Cathedral Sunday

We left our Paris flat at 8:30 Sunday morning, taxiing together with Deb and Gregg to Charles de Gaul where they were staying on Sunday until their return flight to MN on Monday and where we were picking up a rental car for our drive from Paris to Berlin.

We drove through Chantilly, where there is a spectacular Chateau, to Beauvais, where there is an unusually shaped cathedral because during construction 800 years or so ago the building collapsed and was only partially completed as a result. Amiens Cathedral was next, where rainbows of lights played along the walls as sun poured through the windows.

Last we arrived in charming Laon, a medieval city perched on a hilltop with the airy, light-filled cathedral sitting on the very crown of the hill. We enjoyed a traditional, provincial, French dinner and hotel. Below you see the view from our enchanting and ancient hotel room, that was all slanty floors and creaky doors. This was a transition day starting from the rushing boulevards of Paris ending in the quiet, single car lanes of this medieval cathedral town.

Each cathedral had its beauty and distinction although they are all the same age within 150 years or so. Each stop provided an excellent opportunity for prayer in a well-used house of worship. Blessings flow out of every day of this journey!

à chacun son gout

My mother often spoke bits of French while we were growing up (she was raised in a house where French was spoken some of the time) and she would often say, à chacun son gout. This means 'to each his taste'.

While Mark spent his first of two planned sessions in the Louvre (just six hours for him this session; I will join him for the Da Vincis and Vermeers today) several of us walked the boulevards, lanes, bridges, and stores of central Paris. Mark returned with photos of Mesopotamian sculptures and early Christian paintings, while we brought home some Parisien wares for the kitchen.

The Melands and Deb and I stopped for lunch at a great restaurant in the Les Halles ("lay all") district (former site of the massive central food market of the 19th century) The restaurant recommendation came to us from a clerk in the famous kitchen supply store E. Dehillerin who clearly knows Paris cuisine.

Lovely Louvre

As Mark and I took in beautiful and interesting paintings and sculptures at the Louvre, where there are over 380,000 objects in the collection and over 35,000 on display, I was struck by the splendor of the palace that is home to this collection.

We enjoyed the Italian Renaissance paintings and the extensive collection of Dutch, Flemish, and German paintings, but at each turn in the buildings I was taken with the grace, proportion, and design of the museum building itself.

The Grand Gallery where the Da Vincis may be seen is a crush of humanity with school groups and tour groups jostling to see the Mona Lisa and Da Vinci's Virgin of the Rocks. I had a whole room of Rembrandt's to myself in the Richelieu Wing where the Northern School is housed.

It was a grand experience: the Louvre is gracious with beauty but constraint where the Vatican Museum is so opulent as to overshadow the art works.

Some people's fashion sense has been adjusted by spending time in Paris

Greg Meland goes native. (Linda does not look so happy with these choice.)

Cliche is a French Word Too

Paris...a city for lovers...city of romance...yes, cliche as these phrases are, Paris is infused with romantic atmosphere.

The River Seine, the Tour Eiffel, the two islands where gargoyled Notre Dame towers soar, shining white Sacre Coeur up on the hill...this constellation of magnificent presences creates a magic and romantic ambience.

Mark and I crossed a Seine bridge today where on a previous trip we (during warmer temperatures) we had sat on a bench for a long time watching Paris. In the currently brisk weather we stopped for a photo by the many lovers' locks.

Later we strolled the Island of the City and shopped the market for gifts stopping by a Metro entrance as you see.

A Special Day in the House of Quasi Modo

As we wandered over the Seine towards Notre Dame I heard the sound of scared choral music. We happened upon a jumbotron just in front of the cathedral streaming the "Angelus" of the new Pope Francis.

Inside Notre Dame there was another jumbotron playing on the high altar and about 40 flat screens around the cathedral showing live the ceremony for and Mass being said by Pope Francis. There were Parisian worshippers in the seating area in Notre Dame joining the service via satellite. Sadly, the number of tourists swarming through the cathedral outnumbered the worshippers about 5 to 1.

The machine you see pictured below with pictures of commemorative coins for sale and the stadium beside which I am standing are present for the 850 year anniversary of the Cathedral Notre Dame.