Ninth Posting from Germany Trip

The casket of King Wenceslaus,who the Christmas hymn mentions.

Not a good photo but this is the 3rd largest church in the world. It is in Prague.

Town square in Munich-municipal building.

Eighth Posting from Germany Trip

Even though we took the "long way around" because of the flooding, we made it to Prague on Tuesday morning. Some parts of the city closest River Vitava are underwater but the old part of the city is dry and we had a walking tour of it this afternoon. A gorgeous city with beautiful churches that go back to the 9th century.

On the photo of the river, perhaps you can see the restaurant cafe (the umbrellas and tables) which are almost under water. Also notice the no parking signs almost completely submerged.

A statue of John Huss on the square in Prague. The men in the photo are Brooks Schramm, seminary professor and co-leader of the tour and seminary student James Smith.

Town square--Prague

Theater in Prague where Mozart played.

Lois at the river. The castle Hradschin, where we tour on Wednesday is in the background.

Jewish cemetery in Prague. The oldest tombstone is dated 1439. Today it contains almost 12,000 tombstones but there are over 100,000 Jewish people buried there.

Seventh Posting from Germany Trip

This is Dresden's famous Frauenkirche or Church of our Lady. The only Lutheran Church in the world that retained it's Roman name. This church has been the home for plays written by Wagner. It was devastated by Allied bombing in February 1945, but has been rebuilt for the cost of 118 million, 100 million coming from contributions. It is a fabulous structure. My few photos do not begin to do it justice.

Dresden is a gorgeous city, often called, Florence on the Elbe.

It has been raining every day since last Tuesday and there is flooding around us; we are fine but our day in Prague tomorrow may not happen.

Inside Frauenkirche in Dresden

More Frauenkirche

More Frauenkirche

Sixth Posting from Germany Trip

Just came back from worship at the Castle Church. All In German but had a bulletin printed (like ours) so we could follow. The photo is Luther's grave. It is directly under the pulpit, but there is much construction going on in preparation for 2017 celebration, so the church is in disarray.

Hearing the Word and taking Communion so close to the bones of the one God so mightily used was a humbling experience.

Also, Melanchthon's grave is about 15 feet away from Luther's.

Luther's grave

Castle Church door (95) theses from the inside.

We have left Lutherland (that was by far my favorite part of the trip) and we are now in Dresden--south Germany. Dresden is the cultural center of southern Germany, and was totally leveled by allied bombing raids in 1945. The city has been rebuilt, actually they are still doing it 68 years later. Visited a rebuilt church earlier and now hope to go to a museum.

It has been raining for days here and there is major flooding. As we traveled to Dresden today we saw many flooded fields. We are scheduled to leave Germany tomorrow and head for Prague in Czechoslavakia but Prague is experiencing even worse flooding and many of the roads into Prague are closed. We're not sure yet what we will do. If we can't make it into Prague we may stay here in Dresden. Anyway we are fine--safe and dry and enjoying seeing so many new places.

Fifth Posting from Germany Trip

The entrance to Luther's and Katie's house.

Luther's house.

The very pulpit Luther preached from over 2000 times.

The "table talk" table in Luther's very living room.

Visited Leipzig today. It's the place where Luther debated Eck in 1519. It's also the place where Luther, Melanchthon, Bugenhagen and Justus Jonus had that pre-Augsburg conference. Today we visited St Thomas in Leipzig where Bach was the choir master for 27 years. Heard a concert of Bach organ music and the Leipzig boys choir. It was amazing to think how Bach heard the same sounds of music (boys choir) in exactly the same space.

The organ I saw and heard today was played by Mozart and Mendelssohn. That very organ was not yet created when Bach lived.

Tomorrow we worship at the Castle church (95 theses) and will see Luther's tomb. Again this trip is amazing. Thanks for sending us.

Fourth Posting from Germany Trip

This is Wartburg Castle in Eisenach. It was built in the 13th century. Besides Luther making it famous, it was also the home of St. Elizabeth of Hungary.

This is the Luther Haus in Eisenach. He moved there with his family when he was a boy. He attended high school in Eisenach.

Notice the wood and plaster off the wall? Legend has it that Luther saw the devil while he was translating the Bible and threw his ink bottle at the devil. The ink hit the wall.  People for the next generation picked off pieces of the inked wall as souvenirs.

Third Posting from Germany Trip

Here is where Luther translated the New Testament into German.

Here is where Luther translated the New Testament into German.

This is the room in Wartburg Castle, where Luther stayed in hiding for 10 months as he was declared an outlaw.  While there, he translated the New Testament into German. Wow, what an experience.

Note the whale bone on the floor. Supposedly it was in the room with Luther when he was there. I guess it was a decoration; maybe Luther used it as a stool!

Toured Luther and Katie's house this morning. A great experience. This afternoon we head to Torgau to visit where Katie lived after Luther 's death. Her grave is also there.  Such fun to be here.