Germany - Day 3

Today, we left Heidelberg.  The weather was as beautiful as the day we arrived.  We will miss this fascinating city.  Our destination was Erfurt, which is located in former East Germany.  Along the way, we stopped at Eisenach, which is the location of the Lutherhaus, where Martin Lutheran lived as a boy.  At the time, he was a singer in a youth choir that would go door to door singing for money.  Eisenach is also the home of Bach.  In the city, you can still feel the impact of the Cold War.  Though Germany is united, there is still a disparity in wealth between the east and the west that is evident.  We enjoyed our stay and had a quick lunch.  We introduced the local restaurants the American habit of paying for the bill before the meal is over.  No feathers were ruffled and we were back on schedule.

From Eisenbach, we made our way to the Wartburg Castle, which is very impressive sitting on top of a hill.  The castle is a true treasure for Germany.  Of course, Martin Luther spent time in the castle hiding after the Diet of Worms.  It was during this time that he translated the Bible into German.  Amazingly, he translated the whole New Testament in 10 weeks.  The translation is significant in the fact that it made the Bible accessible to all people, but it also standardized the German language.  The castle goes back to the 1200's.   The sense of history was almost palpable.

On a lighter note, I got lost with another member from the congregation on the way back from the Wartburg Castle.  We decided to climb down rather than take the shuttle bus.  It sounded good on paper.  However, we should have turned left rather right when we hit the road.  Our excuse was that we were following the crowd.  However, we have no one to blame but ourselves.  Fortunately, we were rescued by our tour bus.  The group will not let us forget.  There's nothing like the shepherd getting lost.

We are now safely in our hotel in Erfurt.  I'm so glad they have free wifi.  The sun is setting in the west and the fields are bathed in gold.  This is truly the heart of Germany with rolling hills, farm lands, and small town.  Tomorrow, we will explore Erfurt and I will continue the story.  The trip has already been amazing and we still have so much to do and see.

Peace,
Pastor Summer