Koln at Last

SUCCESS! I have no idea what happened with the other pictures so let me just move on. First picture here is of cousins Idchen and Martel with Erwin, Martel's husband who is quite ill. We had a lovely two days with them and then moved on to Oberhausen to visit Hanna's brother Erwin and wife, Gitta. We also met Ralf, a cousin who Ingrid had never met along with his wife. What a wonderful time!

Now we are in Koln with Willie, Ingrid's cousin whom you met in Napa a few months back. I have shared here some pictures of Koln at night. We are now off to church and a day tour of the city and I'll put up more pictures soon. You see mostly the Kolner Dom. Today we will climb the tower with it's 504 steps!!!!! I couldn't resist this picture of the two bottles of beer with a banana on top. Honestly, the beer is not ours, nor is the banana. It was just there!

You also see Ingrid and I in a Greek restaurant at the end of the evening. The picture with the locks is interesting. Couples come to the bridge and place an engraved lock on the fencing and throw the key into the river symbolizing a lasting love. Nice concept eh?

Got to run, but will catch up later. More pictures I hope!!!

I"m Trying

Hmmm, I can't get more pictures to upload right now. It keeps saying that it is a "Bad Request." I've even deleted the 50 oldest posts to make room, but it still won't accept them. So, I'm trying to just get this word out to you and we'll see what happens with that.

I left you in Buchenwald on Tuesday and it is now Sabbath morning in Koln. We did a tour of the city by night last evening and it was spectacular. We are going to try to find a church today and then to a day tour. All tours are done by our cousin Willie!

This evening we will go on to Aachen and we'll be heading home by next Thursday. I hope to get things figured out and get more pictures up for you so keep checking back.

All is well and the journey has been marvelous thus far.

Buchenwald & Goslar

Well, I'm having some success with internet today, but encountering some problems as well. I got five of the pictures to load, and the rest don't want to cooperate. So, let's see what happens.

Let me share these five and I'll try to find access tonight in Espelkamp. This first pictures shows a monument at the Buchenwald Memorial, which is a beautiful and moving tribute to the atrocities that were committed here. Some 50,000 men, women, and children died here under unbelievable conditions. The memorial monument tower itself strikes a beautiful pose in the second picture. Among the names listed in a mass grave I found one American, Philip Hammens, and can't help but wonder what his story was. We spent a lot more time here than we had planned, but no regrets.

We stopped for the evening in Goslar, which happens to be the town where our dear brother-in-law grew up until they left for America. I'll have more pictures soon in the daytime, but it is a gorgeous city by night as well. The next pictures shows one of the buildings on the Market Square and the last is our hotel, The Goldene Krone. We actually got about 9 hours sleep last night and it was precious!

Sorry for the lack of picture cooperation, but we'll get you caught up.

Eisleben and Halle

Welcome to Eisleben and Halle! We began the day by driving to Eisleben, which was only about 45 km from where we have been staying with Ingrid's cousin Ingrid (imagine two of them!) who lives in Halle. Eisleben is famous for being the birthplace and deathplace of Luther.

The first picture today shows the pulpit of St. Andrew's Church and it was from this pulpit that he preached his last sermon. Next we move to the house where he died. Here is an artist's depiction of the event. He was surrounded by friends, including Justus Jonas, first Protestant Pastor of the church in Halle and a close personal friend. The next picture is of the actual bed where he died and the next is of the house where he was born.

We had to move quickly in order to visit Ingrid's uncle and aunt on the way back to Halle. It was good to see them as Tante (aunt) Ruth is not well. Then we needed to get back to Halle by 2:00 in order to go on a walking tour of that beautiful city.

The next picture shows the baptistry in the Markt Kirche. Luther did preach here after Cardinal Albrecht, who did not like Luther or his reformation ideas, moved away in 1541. It was here that Justus Jonas became the first Protestant Pastor. this is the actual baptistry where George Frederick Handel was baptized and he was baptized by immersion! Next you see the small pipe organ that Handel learned to play on. That picture is followed by the larger pipe organ that he helped install and design, but he was never the church organist with that instrument. However, his son, Frederick Handel was the church organist there for 18 years.

The paintings that you see next are behind the altar and were painted by Lucas Cranach, Luther's friend and primary illustrator. This is unique in that the pictures can be alternated with other hinged paintings into four different scenes for the four quadrants of the liturgical year. We obtained a model of that.

The crucifix is not old, but is highly significant. It shows Christ secured to the cross not with nails, but with wire symbolic of those kept in concentration camps, and He has freed one arm and is reaching down to help them. It is a very moving piece of art.

The final picture today shows the orginal death mask of Luther's face and hands. You will notice as you look at the hands that he had some significant arthritis.

When Luther died in Eisleben he was moved by carriage to Wittenberg, but as he came through Halle they could hardly proceed because of the weeping throngs. Luther did so much for the people by putting them in touch with a personal, loving God and also by providing a common language and access to God's word, thereby freeing them from the Catholic dominance. We also have so much to thank this great man of God for.

Tomorrow we move north to visit more family by Wednesday, but we will stop in Buchenwald, which is well known for a brutal concentration camp, and then to just have some time for the two of us to enjoy some of the smaller towns along the route. I don't know about internet connections for the next few days so it may not be until Friday that I get a new post up. I'll do my best.

Dresden, Part 2

So, I had a little more time and thought I would finish up with Dresden. These pictures were taken on Sunday. The first shows an interesting way of dealing with steamstacks on paddle wheel boats that are too tall for the bridge. The stacks lower to go under and then are hoisted back into position. In a section of downtown they have done some excavation to explore an earlier section of the city. This is not really all that ancient (probably from 300-400 years ago, but interesting none the less.

The next picture is in the day time back at the Zwinger, where so many night shots were taken. In the daytime as well it is an interesting place. Today we visited the art gallery of the old masters, which was fantastic and then the museum with precious items from the 15th - 18th century. This was a great way to end the visit.

Another mural is shown next from the time of the Russian occupation and control of E. Germany. What was really fascinating was having Erika describe the propaganda that was portrayed. She did it with great emotion!

The final picture just sums up for me what we saw in this gorgeous city. The old is often reflected in the new! If you ever get a chance to visit Dresden do so. We were so tempted to go on to Prague as it was only 100 miles away, but alas, no time. We'll be back!

Dresden

I did not have access to the internet last night, so I'll catch you up tonight and a bit more of Dresden tomorrow, as well as Eisleben. Dresden is a marvelous city that rivals Prague in its beauty. The big difference is that Dresden was horribly bombed on Feb. 13, 14, 1945 and most of the city was burned. Many, if not most, of the historical structures were in ruins, but most

of them have been restored.

The first picture tonight shows the doorway entry to the address listed for the SDA Church in Dresden. I was thankful to find that they no longer meet there, but I had no new address. So, I didn't get to go to an Adventist Church, but we did get to go to church on Sabbath. We attended the service at the Evangelical Church (Lutheran). This is called the Frauenkirche and it is a marvelous church that was also destroyed in the bombing, but restored in exact detail. Standing room only for Sabbath church! We were with the last ones in, stood the whole time, and many were turned away!

Next you see a panorama of a tile mural depicting the various rulers. They said there were more than 25,000 tiles and the mural is over 100 meters long. I didn't count the tiles. I'll take their word for it. Next is a picture of Ingrid flanked by her cousin Ingrid and a good friend, Erika. It was just me with three ladies for the weekend. I won't make any further comment on that at this time.

Next you see a wonderful wood carving done by six prisoners who refused to give up their faith toward the end of WWII. These six young men, ages 19 - 32 were all beheaded. It was a moving experience to witness their work. This is on display in the Augustus Dom, a new Catholic Church.

The last five pictures all just show some of the architectural beauty that surrounds you in Dresden. The final four were all taken on the grounds of Zwinger, which is a cultural garden and exhibition area that has been the focal point of culture for centuries. I had so much fun walking around there for a couple of hours last night. I have many, many more wonderful pictures and it was hard to choose just a few to share.

Tomorrow we visit an uncle nearby and then the city of Eisleben for some further Luther sites and back to our host, Ingrid, for a tour of Halle. It's been a long weekend and our hearts have been with our home church family as they remembered our dear friend, Karl Yared. May Jesus come soon and show us beauty that we cannot even imagine.

Lutherhaus inWittenberg

OK, let's get caught up. Today it was an easy drive back to Wittenberg to meet with cousins Irwin and Brigitte once again. They have been such super tour guides for Wednesday and today. The first picture is of Martin Luther's tomb in the Castle Church. Philipp Melancthon, Luther's contemporary and great supporter, as well as distinguished scholar, is also buried there in a similar tomb. Then we went into the print shop used by Lucas Cranach, who was the chief illustrator and printer for most of Luther's work. The worker there took time to give us a great demonstration and a wealth of information. What a super guy!

Next we went into the Lutherhaus, which we could have spent days, but did stay for over three hours. The next picture shows Cranach's depiction of the ten commandments, which was fascinating. The wood carving was particularly striking and the next picture is a portion of the debate platform and shows a Cranach depiction of Luther's concept of salvation by "faith alone."

Next you will see the table and some of the seating area in the room where Luther always gathered with his students and from which the "Table Talks" originate. Another Cranach work shows the contrast between law (on the left) and grace (on the right) Click on the picture to enlarge it and see the differences. Next I took a picture of an original signature of Philipp Melancthon just for interest.

Finally you'll see a shot of the streets of Wittenberg which also were so much fun and so many shops of interest. Of course we finished the day with coffee and kuchen at Tante Talchen's home. She is Hanna's sister and it was wonderful to visit in her home nearby. In the middle you see Irwin and Brigitte. Tante Talchen is next to Ingrid and the others, on the left are Christal and Renate, both cousins. Keep in mind that Ingrid has more than 40 cousins and spouses. I can't keep up with them all.

Tomorrow we're off to Dresden for the weekend and will be attending church there. Have a wonderful Sabbath.

Wartburg and Erfurt

I'm sorry for the delay, but last night I was way too tired and this morning the internet connection was not available probably due to more people being online. So I'll try to get yesterday's and today's posts both up tonight.

Yesterday began with a long drive to Eisenach to see the Wartburg Castle where Luther was secretly hidden under the

disguise of "Knight George." While there for only ten months he translated the entire New Testament from Greek to German.

The first picture shows a stained glass portrayal of the Wartburg Castle, which is very beautiful. The second picture is of his writing room there and you can see the ink stain to the left of the ceramic stove where he threw an ink well at the

devil, whom he was certain was interfering with his work.

As we walked around the castle grounds we found that love was in the air as the doves were definitely in a courting mood as you can see from the next picture. Next I took advantage of the elevation to get a picture of a distant church and next just a fun picture of a group of mushrooms that caught my eye.

Later that afternoon we drove to Erfurt where Luther spent some time, but our main purpose was to see the Dom St. Mariene. This is a gorgeous cathedral which is particularly noted for its striking stained glass windows. It was truly an inspiring place to be as you can see from the following three pictures.

The next picture shows just one of the beautiful street scenes that we enjoyed as we walked back to our car. We would love to have had more time just to look around Erfurt. It was late when we got Ingrid's cousins (yes more of them) back to their home and they insisted on preparing dinner even though is was 8:00. So out came the goulash, dumplings, and cooked red cabbage. I must say is was wonderfully delicious, but we didn't get home until nearly 11:00.

So that concludes another day and now I'll download pictures and stories from today's return to Wittenberg to see the Lutherhaus.