You ever have a week where you are so tired that you just wanted to crawl up into a ball and sleep for 11 years? Yeah, me too. This week. Don't get me wrong, it's been a wonderful couple of weeks full of adventures, new knowledge and great friends. But it has also been the most exhausting two weeks of this journey so far. Last time I wrote, I had just gotten back from my trip to Ireland, and was beginning my two week course of the Reformation. If any of you have ever studied the life of Martin Luther, or the history of the reformation of the church- you know how interesting the subject is. But try actually walking in the steps of the Reformers, and seeing the places of history that you've only ever heard about.
The first week of class was spent in the classroom, and involved enough homework to make me cry from stress. But I suppose that is what happens when you cram 3 months of work into two weeks. The only thing that got me through last week was the thought of what is coming up next week... Spain! This week we started our Reformation Academic Tour around Germany. The 15 of us (13 students, one prof and our amazing director) piled in two vans and started our journey. Our first stop was Dresden, the Florence of Germany. Actually, I guess our first stop was a town outside of Dresden, where we went to a church that Kelley has connections with. Kelley translated the message for us, and then we got to have a nice lunch with some people from the church, including a former AMBEXer. They then gave us a presentation on something their church puts on every summer. English camp! They told us all about what they do every summer for kids all over Europe. They not only teach them English, but they also teach them about the love of Christ. I don't want to bore you with details, but long story short... I'm coming back to Europe next summer and teaching English. It's already decided and planned. Pretty great right? Our next stop was Berlin. It still doesn't even seem real that I was there. I can't believe all that I saw and learned- it was most definitely one of my favorite stops so far. We spent two days there, and you can bet we went and saw the Berlin wall. But even better than that- we spent the evening with Kelley's friends and learned about their experience with that very same wall. 25 years ago, they lived on the east side of Germany (literally, their house was backed up against the fence) and everyday looked out to the west side of Germany. It was so fascinating (and heartbreaking) to hear about their experience on the communist side of Germany, only being able to see the free side. There was such a separation between the two sides, even though they were only a wall apart. And to think that this only went on 25 years ago. Next stop was Wittenberg, "Luther City". We were also there for two days, and we got to see the home of Martin Luther, where a large portion of the Reformation began. We saw were Luther nailed his 95 theses, his church, his house, and so much more! Wittenberg was a very cute little town, emphasizing little. Other than study the amazing history that took place, there is not much to do there. But well worth a day trip if you are every interested. Next we stopped in Eisenach, where we toured the Wartburg Castle. This was where Martin Luther not only hid out when he was excommunicated, but more importantly, where he translated the Bible in German- for the common people to read. We then stopped at the home of the famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach. We got to see each of the different instruments that Bach played in his time, and listen to different selections of his. It was a pretty great experience. Also there are really cool chairs there... check out my pictures soon! The days are all mixing together, but I believe our next stop was Erfurt, the town where Martin Luther began his journey as a monk. We learned about being a monk, and let me just tell you- I could never do it. We also visited the Cathedral where Luther preformed his first mass. I'll post some pictures of that too- it looks like Hogwarts. We stopped in Mainz, and visited the Guttenberg Museum, where the printing press was invented. Then drove to Worms, where the Diet of Worms took place in 1521. After that we landed here in Heidelberg, only for one night. Because tomorrow I leave for Spain! Woo-hoo! Just in time, because I am beyond tired and in need of a relaxing week on the beach.
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My Name's ToriThis is a place for my thoughts, dreams, rants, experiences and more. Archives
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