Final entry

Our final day began with a wonderful breakfast in our quaint hotel. Somehow we made it around the big bike race that had most of central Berlin blocked off and we found our way to the Berliner Dom church for their 10 a.m. service. We sat in a special section for international visitors who needed the English translation. We wore headsets and the translator sat behind us and translated the message and the announcements for us. We did attempt to sing the hymns in German though! We happened to be there on the 20th Anniversary of the renovations to the cathedral. It was a spectacular place. We were told by our translator that in the early 1970s, there was a hole where the dome should have been that went down into the ground and exposed the crypt below the sanctuary. 

Our little nook with the translation head phones gave us a great view of the worship space, including the spectacular dome above us.


Another bright sunny beautiful day in Berlin as we approached for worship.

The worship included a brass quartet, an impressive organist and a choir on tour from Ohio. As with all the well-designed cathedrals, the music just hung in the air after the musicians finished. This was the first stop on the choir tour by the group from Ohio. We think they made a great choice! 

After worship, Matt expertly got the group to the airport and onto the plane to Amsterdam then to Minneapolis then Fargo. It was a great tour of Germany and a great group of people to tour with. The memories and experiences of food, history and culture will stay with us always!

Back to Berlin

Since the wedding festival was cancelled in Wittenberg, we decided to come to Berlin this morning and spend the day here. We split into two groups for the day and then went to a wonderful supper at Boulevard Friedrichstrasse. From the cheese plate appetizers to the apfel struedel dessert, it was a great evening outside on the patio. It was a great way to end our time here.

(From Dee, Sherry and Joanne)
When we left Wittenberg it was sunny and warm, but the closer we got to Berlin, the wetter it got...but It didn't rain long. After a half hour long walk, we hopped on and off a tour bus. Along the way we saw 20 of Berlin's most popular sights, ranging from medieval times to modern architecture. In depth we toured the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, the Potsdamer Platz, with the highlight being the Sony Center. We also saw the Gendarmenmarkt, which included Deutscher Dom, Franzosischer Dom & the Konzerthause. We look forward to attending a concert there someday. Our final stop was the Berliner Dom....not too bad for a four hour tour!! We ended the evening together at The Boulevard Friedrichsterasse, for delicious German entries and fellowship.

(From Karl, Christian, Matt, Susan D, Susan Z and Sarah)
We decided that we could do one more museum, so we walked about 40 minutes to the Jewish Museum. We got a little distracted by the Bugatti store and the various Bentley's along the way. The museum gave a history of the Jews in Germany from their arrival in the time of the Romans to today. The stories from the victims of the Holocaust were haunting, but there was so much to learn and see. We could have spent many more hours there! On the way back from the museum (and after another stop at the Bugatti), Karl and Christian rented Segways and toured the central Berlin area. They will sleep with smiles on their faces tonight!

It has been a great adventure and so much fun to explore Germany together. Tomorrow we will go to church at the Berliner Cathedral (Dom Kirche) and then find our way to the airport for an afternoon departure. Auf weidersehen!

Wittenberg Day 2

The sky was bright blue and sun rays were shining upon us as we saw the individual personal gardens of Wittenbergers' where vegetables and flowers grew bountifully. 

We were then guided through town, starting at the City Church of St. Mary's where Luther preached thousands of sermons in German, much to the chagrin of the pope. Then like Luther, we headed to the Castle Church to see the door where the 95 Theses were posted. Anyone interested in a good debate? 

Today was also to be the start of the Luther Wedding Festival. However, due to the need of man- and woman-power to mount a fight against the rising raging water, the festival was cancelled, as well as the trains. The flood is to reach concerning levels, but all is well with us. 

One other fascinating stop today was the Hundertwasserschule. It is a building designed by famous architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser who believes that right angles go against nature. The city leaders went to him to design this school and he agreed. We thought it looked a little like a Dr. Seuss building!!

Tonight, we were serenaded by German minstrels and enjoyed evening organ music at St. Mary's. Food and friendship is great and miss you all.

(Written by Sherry Burg)

Wittenberg Day 1

Our day started out with a leisurely breakfast buffet at our hotel here in Wittenberg.  Our daily parking costs €3.  Off to Luther House Wittenberg @ 10 am. We know about the religious side of Martin Luther as theologian, philosopher, and professor, but now we get to learn about him as an ordinary man, husband, and father. As appropriate for digging deeper into Luther's life, we began our visit in the cellar.  

Unlike many figures in history, Luther died prosperous rather than poor.  We found out that his wife, who he referred to as "the boss" ran the household like a business.  It didn't free him from worldly concerns, but enabled him to delve into more spiritual matters.  We then proceeded upstairs.  Luther House exhibits display not only artifacts from Luther's life itself, but also from the period in which he lived.

Lunch was at a local restaurant across from Luther House. The chef suggested the goulash for our group, as it was ready to be served right away. Dr. Susan chose the spargel and schweineschnitzel instead on her quest for the perfect preparation of that local delicacy. At this point, Dr. Susan is "spargeled" out. 

We then visited the home of Philipp Melanchthon, a friend and colleague of Martin Luther.  While presenting historically important facts, the displays were more hands-on than most museum-type settings.  There were costumes to try on, puzzles to solve, and other interactive displays.

We then had a very moving and meaningful communion service in the nearby Corpus Cristi chapel. 

We then were on our own for dinner, meeting up afterwards with a group of locals who get together each Thursday evening to practice their English.  Some of us ordered the same juice we had been served at lunch--again a local favorite.  It turned out to be Quince juice.  We shared a very pleasant evening under beautiful skies, just visiting.  One topic that came up was the flooding along the Elbe River, and we understand about flooding because of our experiences back home.  One of the people we visited with was an American working with the Lutheran church here, and she had spent time in Israel. She had spent time at Augustana Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem, and knew Pastor Mark Brown, who we had met on our visit there.

The local Luther festival scheduled to begin tomorrow has been cancelled due to the flooding.  The manpower required to put it on is being used elsewhere in the floodfight. (Written by Matt and Susan Degner)

Buchenwald

Wittenberg and Erfurt

Absolutely beautiful day and drive from Nuremburg to Eisenach and the magnificent Wartburg Castle.  The journey to the top was challenging, but the view was breathtaking!  

We spent several hours touring the grounds, which included a guided tour of the inside rooms.  

Part of the experience included music from Wagner's Tannhauser, a visit to Martin Luther's living quarters during his stay there, a delicious German lunch of dumplings and goulash gravy and kuchen, and a climb to the top of the courtyard tower.  

From there we drove to Erfurt, the oldest town in the region, where some visited Augustinerkirche, built at the end of the 13th century for Augustinian Monks; some visited the soccer stadium, and others just toured the marketplace.  

A delightful day for sure!! (Written by Dee Larson)

Nurnberg

Our Monday was very busy. We spent the day with our guide Ruth Hapke. She's from Minnesota and has lived in Nurenburg for the past 40 years. We used several forms of public transportation.... tram, bus, and subway. Today was the day for visiting churches. We saw St. Lorenz church, the Glockenspiel at noon, St Maria, which was a convent for a time. We also saw the St. Sebold church.

We then spent a lot of time at the Dokumentation center, where Hitler's troops did their parading and the yearly reich gatherings were held for several years. When the museum was built, a space was left between the floor and the building and also between the pictures and the wall to signify separation from the Nazi regime.

Next was the Hall of Justice, Room 600, where the Nurenburg trial was held.

We also had some of the local food, like bratwurst, schnitzel, and of course beer. (Written by Joanne Fritz)

Spaghetti Ice Cream

Susan, Joanne, Dee and Sherry discovered Spaghetti Ice Cream in Rothenburg. The shop owner puts ice cream through a ricer and then adds toppings as desired. Even though it was quite chilly, the ice cream was a fun discovery.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Today we travelled to Rothenburg ob de Tauber. This was a day filled with medieval sights, a walk along the town wall, museums, shopping and great food. We spent our time in small groups so that we could all hit the highlights we wanted to see.

St. Jakob's church was a highlight enjoyed by some. A huge organ, 56 foot stained glass windows and beautiful carvings adorn this worship space.

The town has structures that remain from medieval times and some which have been restored to medieval form. The walk on top of the town wall gave a great view of the sights and scenery as well as giving us some much needed exercise so we could eat more great food.

For lunch today, we came back together and had a selection of German foods. This time of year is the perfect time to enjoy spargel asparagus. This is a white, delicate asparagus grown under the ground and harvested just as it comes out from cover. It was delicious. Also enjoyed were bratwurst and schnitzel.

Some of us also visited museums including a medieval criminal museum and Christmas museum. The criminal museum showcases torture devices and punishment methods as well as giving details on the history of the very beginnings of the criminal justice system in the region. Very informative and made many of us feel blessed to be living in these days and times.

Shopping began for most of us at the biggest Christmas store any of us have ever seen. The store includes the Christmas museum and has anything you could ever imagine related to Christmas. Additional stops included shopping for traditional German items such as steins, holiday decorations called pyramids, and cow bells.

We finished the day by attending a tour of the city lead by the night watchman. An hour of information about the city along with a good dose of humor was enjoyed by all.

Hooray, today was finally sunny and we started heading back to Nuremberg in the lights of a beautiful sunset.

Tomorrow we will be seeing sights in Nuremberg with our tour guide Ruth. (Written by Susan Zelewski)

Leipzig

We had a long trip to Nurnberg today, but we had a great stop along the way. Leipzig was the home of the famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach. So we toured the Bach Museum and went up into the tower of Thomaskirche (Thomas Church) where Bach played. The view from the top was spectacular! 

And did you know that they discovered a piece in 2004 that was composed by Bach? It was found in a collection of works that were sent for restoration. Lunch was at Pepper House where we loved the sausage and the salmon spaghetti and the potato soup! 

The Autobahn was pretty wild, but Matt Degner has done a fabulous job of driving us around!!!

It is still raining here, but it hasn't dampened our explorer spirits. Tomorrow we visit the medieval village of Rothenberg ob der Tauber. We hear there is a fun Christmas Store there.