Usually I am on top of checking our itinerary and knowing what to expect of the day, but last Wednesday I was not as prepared. I knew that we’d be taking a train to Wittenberg, but it didn’t occur to me that where we were going meant that we would be learning about Martin Luther and walking around the area he lived in. Despite my lack of preparedness, I am so glad that we got to go on a walking tour and listen to our guide talk to us about Wittenberg, as well as the influential people that lived here. About a year and a half ago I took a class called Lutheran Traditions back at PLU, so I was familiar with most of the information that was being explained to me by the guide. However, because I hadn’t actually thought about the class in a while, I’d forgotten a lot of the info. because of this, it was really cool and refreshing to be reminded of the things I’d already learned about Luther and his colleagues, and gain some more detailed info him and Wittenberg that I did not already know.
It was definitely amazing to be in a place that Luther had lived and worked in. Even though I am not Lutheran or focusing on the religion or Luther in my education, I still really appreciated being there. Learning about a person that has had such a great influence, and such a positive (and negative, he was not the biggest fan of Jewish people because they would not convert to his beliefs) affect on so many people, does not quite compare to being able to learn about them (again) in a place that that influential person had actually been for a period of their lifetime. We ended up going to the church that Luther has been said to have nailed his 95 theses to the door of, and is now buried under with his friend and working partner, Phillip Melanchthon, which was amazing to see. Wittenberg overall was extremely charming and beautiful to look at as well.
Because we traveled to Wittenberg by train, we did our best to catch the one back to Berlin on time. Sadly, the train we needed to take was an hour later than expected, so the 24 of us patiently (and after a while not so patiently) waited at the platform. Even though I really wanted to be on a train back to our hostel at the time, I also felt some joy in waiting and appreciating the awesome (and at times interesting) group I have now been traveling with for about 3 weeks, and appreciating the place I am in and the places I have been in on this trip. It’s the little things that really make something, like silly conversations, or conversations about music, or exploring small shops in new places. I’ve really enjoyed those aspects about this trip.
Phillip Melanchthon's home
Cranach family home (a statue of Lucas Cranach the Elder, who painted many portraits of Luther, is on the right hand side of this picture)
All Saint's Church/Schlosskirche (Castle Church)/Reformation Memorial Church
(Martin Luther)
(Phillip Melanchthon)
Bike racks
Train Station
No comments:
Post a Comment