Sommergewinn (Summer will win!)

We left the chill of Berlin behind and headed south for a few days with Ken’s cousin Lee, who has lived on and off in Frankfort for over 20 years. Lee was going to tour us through the Luther sites before we needed to meet up with Ken’s students in Munich, so we had lots to pack in just a few days. We travelled by train to Eisenach, where Lee picked us up in his sporty new Mercedes. What a treat to have our own chauffeur and translator for the week!

We visited Wartburg, the castle where Luther spent ten months in hiding under the protection of his Prince, Fredrick the Wise after being excommunicated by the pope–and outlawed by the emperor—at his trial at the Diet of Worms. Here, he ditched his monk’s robe, grew his hair and beard, and assumed an alias, Junker Jörg, to be sure that no one would ever mistake him for the outlaw Martin Luther.

The name “Wartburg” means “Waiting Castle,” and here, Luther used his “season of waiting” with remarkable productivity. During our visit, it was easy to imagine the young Luther finding his muse here. Situated high above Eisenach, overlooking beautiful countryside, it was a perfectly peaceful, romantic place, infused with the goodness of Saint Elizabeth (a Hungarian Princess, married to Ludwig IV in the early 13^th century) who, during her short time in Germany (she died at the very young age of 24), modeled her life after St. Francis of Assisi, living a life of asceticism and caring for the poor. Often, she was seen carrying bread to feed to the poor outside of the castle.

Luther thought very highly of St. Elizabeth, and I’m sure her connection to the castle made his stay even more meaningful for him. During his stay, he spent his days writing several of his famous reformation works and translating the New Testament from Greek into German (a translation that formalized the German language—a feat that makes him as popular in German with non-Lutherans as Lutherans!). Sometimes it is the unexpected blessing of solitude that enables us to do our best work! Would that we all could have our own “wart-burgs!”

Though Luther could travel about the country in his disguise, he must have spent a good deal in his “stube” or room, and in the castle chapel.

  

Our stay in Eisenach just happened to coincide with Sommergewinn a Spring Festival in which Herr Winter battles it out with Frau Summer (Winter actually gets burned by the heat of summer in a big bonfire at night in this “Summer Wins” celebration!). Lucky for us. It was a trill to see a small village come to life with a carnival atmosphere and an enormous parade with horse-drawn floats. The entire history of the city was on parade—The Vikings, St. Elizabeth, and even Martin Luther (in chains and holding a Bible!), passed through town, along with Mr. and Mrs. Winter and Mrs. Summer—and her entourage of flowers, sheep, bees, and beer (we are in Germany, after all!).

The parade was so wonderful that we weren’t even sorry to have missed seeing the Luther House. It—along with many other Luther sites on our agenda—was under renovation, getting ready for the big 500^th anniversary of the reformation celebrations coming in 2017.

No Luther House visit, but we did manage to see the St. George’s School where Luther had been a young student 1498-1501. There we saw the first of dozens of Luther statues spread throughout the central region of Germany. We also glimpsed the Bach House, but alas, didn’t have time to stop in for a visit.

Lee was surprised at how lovely Eisenach was since his last visit. Cities in former East Germany have been slowly transforming from the bleak, unadorned, unpainted cities of Soviet Occupation (when construction materials were simply not available) to charming cities again. As they continue to reclaim their past glory, getting the attention and funding they need for renovation and refurbishment (from a hefty German surtax citizens have been paying since the fall of the DDR), these former eastern cities are wonderful places to visit . . . and food and lodging costs are very reasonable.

There are only small signs of the former soviet occupation, like this remnant of the wall out in the idyllic countryside, shown to us by Lee’s friend, Gudron Kranz, who joined us for a couple of days of sight-seeing in Eisenach and Weimar (where her daughter Helge entertained us at her beautiful home).

Gudon also took us to an enchanting place called Die Drachenschlucht (Dragon’s Canyon—or “gullet”). After having been in cities for two months straight, our day in the country was a wonderful treat!

It’s truly amazing how pleasant a journey can become when it’s shared with people who so enjoy sharing the best of their homeland with you!