Our Journey on the Luther Trail

Waking up in Wittenburg we were quite sure we were the only ones in our hotel that night.  And not meaning the only guests, meaning really no one was in the building but us all night long.  Definitely not something you would see in the U.S.  Given our early bed time the night before we were up, ready, and waiting for breakfast to start downstairs at 8:30am.  We had about 20 mins to kill while we were waiting so we decided to walk around the castle church and take a few pictures. The castle church is under renovation for the next 2 years in preparation for the 500th anniversary of the reformation.  They had a very nice large poster type picture of the most photographed doors in Germany set up out in front of the building because scaffolding was all around the castle church and the doors.  We couldn't go in the church either which was quite disappointing, it was closed for renovation for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. A lot of Luther sites are getting all gussied up for the big 500th.  It was still pretty amazing to be there and think of the events that happened here that long ago.

The Castle Church tower, across the cobble stone road from our hotel.

A picture of a picture of the most photographed doors in Germany.

The actual entry way and doors.  The had the doors open and were going in and out with equipment for the renovation project.

After our short walk around the castle church breakfast was ready and we didn't recognize a lot of it.  They had soft boiled eggs at each of our place settings, the only reason I even knew it was a soft boiled egg was because it was on a little stand with a tiny spoon and had seen it in the movie Ever After with Drew Berry Moore. So I gave it a whirl and it was not that good. The mix of hard white with runny yolk was not great for me but at least I tried it. Adam was eyeing up some soft cheese and when he grabbed it with his fork and took a bite and it ended up being butter. We had a good laugh at that. Shortly after he took a bite of bread and it was all good. After having a light breakfast, a lot due to the fact that we had no idea what we were eating, we headed out for the day to the Luther museum.  When we got there using the parking meter was again interesting. We had started to sort of understand what to do with it but we didn't have the exact change we thought we needed. So we asked this nice looking older gentleman to help us. Again when we asked Sprechen Sie English he said, little bit but that was about the only English phrase he knew.  So he walked over to the meter with us and helped us figure it out.  It turned out we did have enough money we just weren't putting in the right increment.  He reminded us of Adam's grandpa which was funny but also nice, felt a little bit like home even though we couldn't understand each other.

Another interesting continental breakfast.  

Once inside the Luther museum I recognized immediately a small 3 ft plastic Luther. So I asked the lady we just bought our tickets from if it was one of the mini Luther's that filled the town square I read about in my Travel Germany book. And sure enough it was one of the 800 that filled the town square as an art installation that was done while the statue was in Berlin for 6 weeks for maintenance  They were in red, black, green, and blue.  After the statue returned they sold each mini Martin Luther for 350€, about $450 USD.  We moved on threw the museum, it was so neat seeing all of it. I really liked all the artistry type things, old writings with colorful drawings, paintings, statues and the wax seals used back then were pretty neat as well. As we were walking threw Adam says God bless you to a woman that sneezed and she said thank you. Then it clicked, they speak English! So we started up conversation with them and found out they were from Louisiana and were Missouri synod Lutherans. It was so nice to chat a while with some people who really understood us.  After chatting a while we moved on and saw the rest of the museum and decided it was time for lunch.  We stopped at a cafe that had a cake and coffee sign out front. Pretty sad that, that was what drew us in but it worked. After we were in we saw a couple ladies eating sandwiches that looked very good so we also got the same, a salami sandwich each.  We wanted a change up from Coke, Fanta, and Sprite so we got shakes. Adam ventured out of the box and got an apple shake but I just wanted sckolate (chocolate, see I'm getting there) but they were not really shakes they were more like a flavored milk with a scoop of ice cream in them but it was still very good. Then it was time to get in the car for 2 1\2 hrs and head on to Wurtburg castle.

The Luther museum. 

A painting representing the nailing of the 95 theses, with state represented on the left with a fat monk's hand being kissed while the monk on the right makes off with a box of church goers money.   A beggar and her child in the middle representing the churches actual responsibility, and a group of students welcoming the theses and supporting the change.  

Beautiful writings.

A mini Martin Luther, they also had the red, and blue, they might have had a black one but I didn't see it.

This is a photo I found online of the art installation in the town square, where their would be a very large statue of Matin Luther and Philp Melanchthon.

After our 2 1/2 hour drive getting in some quality time with the auto bahn and driving up the winding hairpin turns to get up the mountain, we arrived at Wartburg castle.   After parking, there was a 20 walk up a decent hill yet to get to the actual castle.  We got up to the top just in time to catch the last tour of the day at the castle.  You can only see the inside with a guided tour, the only problem was we did happen to miss the only English tour of the day which was at 1pm.  But we wanted to see the castle so we went on a German tour.  They gave us an English hand out that explained each room as we were going threw.  It was so beautiful, it is hard to imagine what it would have been like to live there in Luther's time.  

Road sign on our way to Wartburg Castle.

After our walk up we finally reached the entrance.

This is a picture of one of the outside walls of the inner area of the castle.

Elisabeth's bower, probably used as the women's quarters in medieval times.  The mosaic tiles depict the life of Elisabeth of Hungary, the most remarkable woman in the history of Wartburg.

Banquet hall with approximately 350 square meters, which is about 3,767 square feet and had 3 chimneys.

Fun use of the timer on my camera for a picture at the top of Wartburg.

After we left the castle we wanted to grab a bite to eat on the go so we stopped at a local Mc Donalds where again we had a bit of a communication problem.  Thank goodness for being able to point at pictures on the menu board.  Adam got a big and tasty that ended up being slightly larger then the U.S. version, it was about the size of his head.  I got a chicken sandwich, we also decided to try the curry wurst, which is a local favorite that I am sure Mc Donalds had to adopt given the location.  It was okay, I imagine it's like the Mc Rib in the states, sort of like ribs, so the curry wurst was probably sort of like the real thing.  So we ate on the go and started our 2 1/2 hour drive on to finally meet the Martins!  We arrived at their house at 9 pm ish, chatted for a bit and then settled in for the night.

Auf Wiedersehen Berlin, Guten Tag Wittenburg

Waking up today we were a little slow moving but we managed to get ready and head down for breakfast.  There was lots to choose from but some was a bit strange for breakfast or we thought. There was some cold cuts and shrimp and some cold pasta and veggie salads that seem more like a lunch or dinner food for us. But there was some of the usual too. Adam had eggs bacon and sausage that sort. I had some of that as well and also a waffle and hard boiled egg. We both had a pastry or 2 and some juice.  Then it was off out of Berlin to Sachsenhausen Concentration camp.   I wish we could have seen more in Berlin but we really just would needed another day there.  It was rough at first getting used to driving and street signs, some things just took a bit longer then they probably would if we were back in the states. So we punched the address in the GPS and we were on our way.  Adam got his first taste of the Autobahn and we saw some beautiful wide open space much different then the streets and buildings of Berlin.  When we arrived in Orienburg we stopped at the information center because our GPS didn't recognize the address I punched in, so we got a map and a little direction and then were able to find it. 

Out on the open road of the Auto Bahn and Adam loving it.

The town of Oranienburg where the camp was.

When we arrived we both were thirsty so we walked into a cafe and asked for bottled water. He asked in return, with gas or without gas. I strange question to us. And the the light went on, I said to Adam,  carbonated or not. Just when we thought we were getting the hang of things. Although it is funny and interesting  to hear the differences in the language. After getting our bottles of water (without gas) we walked into the building to get a audio guide for the camp and started our walk. We saw everything bone chilling and more from the gates of tower A and the death strip (where if a prisoner stepped foot in this 2 feet of ground before the electric fence they would be shot and killed without warning and the shooters would be given pay raises and bonuses for doing so) to the toilet and wash room and the crematorium. The camp seems very wide open space today but they have these metal rectangles in the ground that are filled with ''tinker'' larger gravel, and each one is labeled, barrack 22, barrack 36, barrack 11, they represent all the prisoner barracks that used to stand there.  Probably the saddest place (if you can even pick one) was the mass murder trench and the crematorium. Something that I noticed were rocks placed on memorials all over the camp. Like at the end of Schindler's List how the surviving Jews came and put rocks on Schindler's grave. I was curious about the stones so I looked it up and it is a symbol of respect and I sign showing that the grave is visited and cared for.  And also there were flowers and roses placed all around.  It's hard for me to imagine having family that lost there life in that place.  But seeing those flowers reminds me that even though this is a place of history and the past. it is still like a fresh wound for others. I can't imagine knowing that in this horrible place my great great grandfather or grandmother or uncle or aunt endured the suffering of this place and lost their life there.

Tower A, where the clock remains stopped at the time of liberation, 11:07 am April 22,  1945

Gate entering the camp through tower A, first letter in the alphabet and the first stop in a prisoners journey.  The German, Arbeit Macht Frei means, Work Is Liberating.  

The prisoner barracks no longer remain standing, but the out line of each filled with rock remains as a reminder of all the buildings that held prisoners.

Monument to the people killed at the camp.

This was a stone memorial placed where there was a mass grave found with ashes, and the stones loved ones placed on it to tell their loved ones they were there.

A rose placed on the memorial stone for the victims.

Memorial in the crematorium for all who lost there life there.

The crematorium cynically names station Z, the last letter of the alphabet and the last stop in a prisoners life at the camp.

When we were finished we put the next address in the GPS and headed back through town. We were getting hungry for lunch so we said if we see something we'll stop. We wanted to go food like MC Donald's, which they do have here as well as KFC, Burger King and Subway that we have seen so far.  Well as luck would have it for us we didn't pass any such place before we were back on the Autobahn and decided so wait and have a good dinner in Wittenburg when we got there. One wrong turn, one traffic jam, a boost of speed to 175 km/ hour and threw beautiful country side we arrived in Wittenburg where once again our GPS failed us and having the name of the hotel written down came in handy.  We found our hotel but it was like a ghost town. There was no one around. The door for the reception desk had a note posted that the restaurant staff would check us in.  We were told by her that we needed to park somewhere else then where we told her we were parked, so before we got dinner which we were very hungry for, we had to figure out how to move our car.  No easy task when your talking about having to move around the old downtown shops that have cobble stone roads and several streets with no outlet.  But we finally managed to move it behind the hotel and we were in search of dinner.

Road signs on our way to Wittenburg.

Almost there...

As we walked threw this old downtown there was only a few people and a few shops and restaurants open. We found one that looked friendly and went in to find a very nice waiter that "of course" spoke English.  He helped us read the menu and we both ordered schnitzel, Adams was with ham, cheese and pineapple and mine was with an over easy egg. It was delicious.  I had decided going in that I wanted dessert. I was trying to get Adam to ask the waiter but he was being stubborn so we bantered back and fourth a while about it and then I finally asked.  We got crepes with wild berries. It was also very good.  We talked with our waiter more when he came to get the dessert plate and he asked why we would vacation here? That we were so close to Paris and Proge and Brazil that he would go to those places.  We asked if he has ever been to America and he had not been. He said it is a lot of money to spend but maybe someday. He said we was from Portugal, so he speaks Portuguese, German, and English. I just can't wrap my mind around that.  We also asked him why it was so quite in town and he said it was because it was Sunday and that tomorrow would be a whole different thing.  After dinner we came back to our hotel where there was no wifi and not one English channel. So we went to bed early, and were looking forward to Wartburg castle and moving on to seeing the Martins the next day.

Our hotel in Wittenburg.

Adventures in Berlin

When we arrived in Berlin it was technically already our second day on vacation, after a short nap we took quick showers and went down to the concierge to ask about getting euros and getting to the Friedrichstadt Palast for the show we had tickets for that night.  After talking with him we decided to try out the public transportation system to get to the theater. It was very close to the hotel so it really wasn't worth the headache of driving threw the city and parking 'n such. We got off the tram at a market and got ourselves some sweet bread and a Wurst to eat.  Every time we would ask, Sprechen Sie Englisch (Do you speak English) we would get what seemed like the German tag line, "a little bit", which we concluded to really mean I may or may not but I'll try.  We got varying degrees, some who did not at all know what we were saying and likewise for us. Also some that could help us when purchasing food from their shop and others who said, "a little bit" but did just fine.  We had time to kill so we walked around the market and saw some interesting shops and food.  There were these men who would be comparable to a hot dog street vendor in Milwaukee that had their mini grill attached around the waist like a fanny pack or something.  

Street food guy with his fanny pack mini grill, man that looks hard on your back.

Market where we stopped to grab a bite to eat and people watch.

After staying and people watching for a while we moved on to the next train we needed for the theater. When we got to the station we asked the service desk, Sprechen Sie Englisch?  And he flat out told us no.  So we kept walking around observing what everyone else was doing.  On our second lap there was a new young guy at the service desk who pointed us in the right direction. Of course we went to buy a ticket it was another communication barrier.  We told a gal that she could go before us because we were confused and she walked away after pushing some buttons and set up a ticket for us. So we added one more and were off.   Of course once we had tickets in hand there was no one collecting tickets for the train on platform 4 so we hopped on the train anyhow, after 2 stops we got off and started walking to find the theater.

There was lots of graffiti all over Berlin, some was quite good and interesting.

Walking around the city before the show we saw this fun little beer cart.

This time before we left we wrote down the name and address of the theater so if we needed to ask the locals we didn't have to try to pronounce the name we could show them and it worked out quite well. After one block we decided to ask someone because we didn't want to walk to far in the wrong direction.  I asked a gal in a local shop and showed her, and in fact we were going in the wrong direction. We thanked her and started heading towards the theater. On the way we crossed over a bridge with all these locks on it. I had read about it in my travel book it was to signify your relationship and all the locks had names and dates and hearts on them. It was pretty neat.  Over the bridge we found the theater. We went in to pick up our tickets at the box office but had a couple hours before the show started yet. We decided to walk around the city streets and see some of the local way of life.  After walking around for a while we still had time to kill so we went back to the train station to a gelato shop. We each tried two flavors, Adam tried hazelnut and cookie and I tried tiramisu and mango. It was very good!  After the treat we walked back to the theater.

Weidendammer Bridge, couples put locks on to symbolize their relationship however from time to time authorities have to cut off locks when it gets to be too many.

MMMmmmm, Gelato!

The amazing dancers of "Show Me"

Our tickets were upstairs after we found where we were to go in we grabbed a couple of drinks and when ordering our drinks the bar tender had been to the states and had actually been to Minneapolis and Milwaukee! It was nice to find a local who knew what we were saying and that we could chat with for a little while. When it was time to go into the theater we found our seats easily and sat down. The show started and it was beautiful.  It was a cirque du soleil type show. The first half was a little slower, slower music more pretty dancing and such. Adam and were sort of barley holding on staying awake, how terrible right? But they were practically singing us a lullaby. Just before the intermission there was an act with lighted up almost motorcycle suits and helmets on the dancers that was fun and got us back on track.  When the intermission was over the rest of the acts were more up beat and just amazing to watch. That was more like it for us.  The center of the stage dropped out and was replaced with a circle of water. After that there were a series of acts that used the water. One was sort of synchronized swimming another was a male group dancing in shallow water sort of stomping and slapping the water as they danced. The act we liked best was a couple who did a trapeze type act from the very top middle of the stage. It was crazy good. It's hard to describe the way he swung her and caught her again but a lot of that type of thing that makes you pray he catches her.  The show was a fun thing to do at night in Berlin we were happy we got to do it. After the show we headed back to the train station and caught the connecting tram and were on our way back to the hotel.  We were glad to kick off our shoes and eat a snack and go to bed.  We also heard another phrase by the locals that night when asking,  Sprechen Sie Englisch.  Their reply was "of course" which was funny and quite opposite of the other reply, "a little bit". It was weird that these people that say, of course, say it like well yes everyone can.

The Friedrichstadt Palast at night.

8 hour flight, 1 hour flight, and a rental car later.

The morning started with cinnamon rolls, a tradition in our house for eventful mornings, Christmas is the big one. Today seemed like it called for cinnamon rolls. It was the last family breakfast for quite a few days, and it was perfect. The four of us huddled around our living room coffee table eating cinnamon rolls, and us laughing at the kids and how they devoured their breakfast treat.  Then it was time to start frantically loading the car to drop the kids off for the longest time we have ever left them. Even with all the excitement behind traveling to Germany, we left our hearts in WI with our little crazy head, Levi and sweet Avery pie.  With big squeezes and lots of kisses it was time for us to start our journey.  The first of many steps was a drive to somewhere familiar, Milwaukee, but that's were anything familiar ends.

Hoping on the bus to Chicago we took in part of a Luther movie, very appropriate considering many towns in the movie we will be visiting on our own little trip to Luther Land.  The ride went very quickly, we didn't even finish the movie and we were at O'hare.  After a couple scans of our passports, our shoes, our bags, our bodies, and a retina scan (okay,kidding about the last one) we were through security and ready to wait. We grabbed some hot dogs for lunch, what else would you get in Chicago right, and boarded the plane. First we finished up our Luther movie and then we each watched our own choice of movie on the screens on the chair backs in front of us. An in-flight meal was served and we tried to get some rest.  Unfortunately for us, more myself then Adam, we were seated next to a man that had very horrible breath. He also had the isle seat so we were trapped. Somehow we survived the 8 hour flight and arrived in Frankfurt.  As we were walking around we were not used to seeing English as the language second, listed below the main language. Adam used a kiosk to scan our boarding pass for our connection to Berlin and had to push the English flag button it just felt weird.

After a short 1 hour flight we landed in Berlin where again it was weird to hear German being spoken first over the PA and then English.  The strangest thing was that we didn't have to go threw customs at our final destination. Although we did go through a little "customs" of our own when we arrived at the Hertz counter.  Really everything at the counter went okay it was when we got to our vehicle that it started to sink in for Adam that he was driving that thing through the country and had no idea what he was doing.  So we quickly downloaded a road signs cheat sheet and off we went for a crash course, hopefully not literally, driving through Germany 101.  We really did almost have our own Chevy Chase round about scene.  After a few missed turns, turning down a closed road and having to ask directions from a local we made it to our hotel in one piece.  Now getting down the parking garage was a whole other tight space experience but we made it threw that also, and now I sit writing this from our room, where if we were back in the states right now it would be 4am. Whew, crazy day but so far so good.

Adam in our renal looking up the rules of the road in Germany.

A huge round about with about 6 different exits around this monument, that we almost had to go around again and  again.

Our room at the Andel's hotel in Berlin.

Can you say OZ SUPER FAN?!?!

A have been waiting for a while for Disney's

OZ The Great & Powerful

to hit the theaters!

And of course the anticipation got my Oz gears turning.

Have you ever seen inspired looks before?  Where people take regular cloths and mix and match them to resemble a character.  I have seen a lot of them for Disney characters and they are so darn adorable, a way to look like your favorite character but also look like an adult, not a 5 year old in your princess costume. Although if I could get away with it I just might do that too!

When the movie night started coming closer I was thinking of creating an inspired look for Oz!  I starting doing a little research and found the new Oz collection from HSN.  

Which is seriously amazing but a little to rich for my blood. ;)

So I took the ideas of the HSN Oz collection and starting searching for similar pieces on Amazon and Khol's.  I found some really cute look a like stuff but I was feeling kinda guilty spending money on a movie premier outfit, I mean who am I, certainly not Michelle Williams or Mila Kunis!  So while it was fun to window shop I decided to give it up.  

Of course with the movie release it just got my Oz geek side going and I was looking at Oz stuff all over the web.  Then I came across something seriously awesome!

I mean only seriouse Oz fans would have 'em.

And only the crafty Oz fan's would make 'em instead of buy 'em for $85 from an Esty shop.

Well, I happen to be both!

So here is my stand out piece that I can wear to the movie tonight, it's not a whole inspired outfit but I happen to think it is better then all that, not to mention cheaper. 

And by cheaper I mean FREE!

I had all the supplies on hand and got to work!