Adventure in Thuringia!

Greetings family and friends...well, let's be honest....Mom and Dad!

Our friends, Stephen and Barbara Emmel were out of town once again, so we had use of their car to travel. We took the kids out of school - not without a few strange looks....I don't think that that's 'done' here! Anyway, we left Monday before Thanksgiving and came back Thanksgiving evening. Only four days - but so much seen.

Our location centered on the forest of Thuringia - (Turingen in German) - where Germans have hiked for centuries. There is a famous path used by Goethe and other famous people called the Rennsteig that we passed a time or two - but our primary motivation was to 'walk where Luther walked.' So we focused our attention on Eisenach - where he went to school from the age or 15 - 18, and the famous castle, Wartburg, where he holed up for a year and wrote the German version of the New Testament. So our first stop was the castle - a huge medieval fortress on the hillside looking over the city. Its first claim to fame was not Luthers vigil, but rather home to Saint Elisabeth. She lived there most of her short life, having been married to the Landgrave there. She had three kids before the age of 20, helped the poor and sick against the wishes of her husband and family, was widowed when the 'master' went on the Crusades, and died at the ripe old age of 24. But her legacy is a huge one - I'll have to google her.

So - Luther was hidden here from 1521-22 (March to March or so) after the famous Diet of Worms. Sound like he was trying to lose some weight with a questionable regime? Not so. A Diet was the name for a meeting of rulers - in Germany's case, princes and bishops, and usually but not necessarily, the 'holy Roman Emperor' - a left-over sort of caesar who ruled with the pope's support...usually. And Worms is the name of a German town, pronounced 'forms' here. It was at this meeting that Luther was tried and asked to recant his teachings and books. He said 'no' and was excommunicated. The danger of burning at the stake was a real one, so his prince (Frederick the Wise) hid him at one of his lessor known and not much used castles, Wartburg. Luther went under the name of "Knight George" for the year and grew an enormous beard. He wrote and wrote. His study is still there, unchanged...or at least done up the way he had it. (see picture)

Then down in town we went to the 'Luther House' - one of many in Germany. Here it was thought that he lived with a wealthy family during his school years (age 15-18). Apparently he earned his keep with other boys of his station, by touring through town, door to door, and serenading folks for money. (the earliest mention of his musical nature!) Anyway, they have turned the house into a very nice museum about Luther - not really comprehensive, but interesting. There was a new exhibition on the history of the Lutheran parish house - beginning of course with the Luther household. Fascinating stuff, even if it was mostly in German and Steve had to translate much of it for me. Turns out that I can use a good deal of it for my research.

Our final stop that day before finding our little inn an hour or so away, was to visit the Bach house. Just like Luther, he has many museums dedicated to his memory throughout Germany. He grew up on Eisenach. The museum had a well done (in English too - BONUS) account of his life and accomplishments. And at the end of the tour, a professional gave a little Bach concert on two ancient instruments that Bach would have played upon.

Well - we'd had a busy day - getting up at 5:30 to beat the traffic and all that touring and walking and reading. So we left Eisenach to the tiny hamlet where we were scheduled to stay for three nights. But that account will wait until tomorrow. Bis balt!