der Igel (29.04.2008)

Did you know that hedgehogs live in the wild in Germany? Me either. They do. I saw one tonight on my way to pick up my laundry. I noticed a small shadow ambling across the driveway just as I was walking by. So when he stopped in front of the Mensa (cafeteria) I went over to get a closer look. From about two feet away, I thought he looked a lot like a hedgehog. (Not that I can tell the sex of a hedgehog at night; I'll continue to use the third person masculine singular pronoun just to be consistent.) But I had not idea they were German. As I bent over to get a good look he just stood there. I went to pick up my laundry and sure enough, he was still there when I came back two minutes later. I saw my neighbor's light on - Tino - and thought he might get a kick out of it. When I described what it was, he guessed that it might be an Igel (hedgehog). Of course he was gone when we got there, but Tino used the opportunity to take a smoke break. He said you usually see them in the Fall, but usually on the street... run over (übergefahren).

Würzburg (20.04.2008)

This morning, Michelle, Diane, Chuck and I drove to Würzburg, in the northwest corner of Bayern, about 90 minutes east of Frankfurt (at least from Oberursel). We got there in time for Mass at the Würzburg Cathedral. The service was nice. What was cool was that I actually understood about 95% of the homily - and it was pretty good. [The text was from John ... ] After the service, the priest encouraged visitors to stay for a tour. (What he didn't mention was that at the end, we would be charged Euro 2.50 at the very end - conveniently in a small side chapel with the tour guide standing in the only way in or out.) The tour was pretty good, but it was all in German, so I did my best to translate. The cathedral itself is nice, but it's a mixture of Romanesque and Baroque. (The interior was pretty heavily damaged during WWII. When they were renovating, the parish was split over whether to restore it to its 1701 Baroque finish, or to its original Romanesque style. They compromised.)



[The three figures at the base of the altar are St. Kilian (center) and the other two "Franken Apostles".]






[We ate lunch outside at the cafe on the far right.]

[Chuck, Diane, Michelle, me.]

[This statue of St. Kilian is on a bridge over the Main River.]


After lunch, we wandered back toward the car. I grabbed my backpack and walked to the train station. We were already half-way back to Amberg, where Michelle lives, so I took the train back. Chuck and Diane fly back to the great state of Minnesota tomorrow.

Peace to you.

Köln (19.04.2008)

This weekend, I got to hang out with my sister-in-law, Michelle, and two of her friends from back home (Minnesota), Diane and Chuck. Chuck is originally from Cologne, Minnesota, so he was excited to see the original. (The town in Minnesota has a population of just over 1,000 - this one is closer to a million.)

The cathedral in Köln is one of the coolest places I've ever been. As you drive into the city and cross the bridge, this incredible dark shape becomes visible - but you really can't get a feel for how ginormous it is until you are standing in front. The intricate stone carvings - well, the whole thing is one big elaborate stone carving. It was a dreary, cold day, but the Köln Cathedral is truly awe-inspiring.





[The interesting feature of this crucifix in one of the side chapels is its depiction of Christ. His eyes are closed and there is no wound in his side - "der Augenblick des Todes" as the tour guide explained to a group next to me - the "moment of death". (I had to zoom way in between some iron bars for this shot.)]

After spending a couple hours in the cathedral - it just went on and on, but it was all so ornate (and a bit difficult to soak it all in) - we wandered around the pedestrian zone looking for a place to eat. While we were trying to decide, we took pause to watch a street performer named "Theo Teabag" dazzle the crowd with his wit, a unicycle and some fire-juggling. Theo was as crazy as he looked - and his performance would likely have been rated PG (and you wouldn't have needed German to catch that) - which was crazy because there were a lot of kids watching, too.

[Theo Teabag]
After Theo's show - which was close to 30 minutes - we continued the search for lunch, which by now was becoming closer to dinner. But we were having a good time. What's ironic was how hard it was to find a German restaurant in the pedestrian zone. There were plenty of high-priced boutiques and a few small cafes, but no good hearty German fare. But then we found one...

[I think this helped make it truly authentic - the waitresses were chain-smoking while waiting to pick up orders right next to the kitchen. I covertly took this photo by pretending to take a picture of Diane.]

[I don't think the American Heart Association recommends this, either. But it tasted so good. We washed it down with a glass of Kölsch - the regional bier native to Köln.]

[After some souvenir shopping, we headed to the car but spent a few minutes listening to the bells sound for Saturday evening Mass.]

Katastrophe

Just like the English word. As I was making lunch Friday - soup - disaster struck. I was wondering why my soup was taking so long to warm up. I turned the burner on. The wrong burner. My head was still stuffed up from being sick all week, or I might have noticed the burning plastic smell before I saw the coffee pot sitting on the stove. (In my defense - be it a weak defense - I don't have much counter space.) I drink a lot of coffee - this is a significant loss. So if any of you have any suggestions for removing plastic from a burner surface, I'd love to listen.


(Note: I probably shouldn't have tried this, but I need my coffee. It still works. All the guts inside are intact - except for that plastic piece on the bottom with the words, "WARNING: Do not remove. Electrocution Hazard".)

RIP MacBook (17 July 2007 - 13 April 2008)

Well, as English rock band Queen so elequently put it in their 1980 hit, "Another One Bites The Dust", "another one bites the dust". My MacBook started making funny noises this weekend - it sounded a bit like a wrench in a blender. She held on as long as she could, but her little hard drive went "kaputt" shortly before one o'clock this afternoon. I found the German number for Apple Care and they sent me to the nearest authorized Apple retailer in Frankfurt. We tried to start it up again to no avail so the guy working behind the counter took it upstairs to the technician. When he came back he said, "Der Techniker sagt dass deine Festplatte 'totally wasted' ist." Translation: "The technician said that your hard drive is totally wasted."

Last July, my laptop was stolen - along with two years of Seminary work - so I've been through this heartache before. But you'd think I'd have learned. Well, my external hard drive had already fried back home, so once again, I'm "that guy" - that guy who didn't back his stuff up. Fortunately, I didn't have much essential data on it - but except for those photos from Germany that I've posted here, I stand to lose almost 2,000 photos and probably a bunch of music, too.

So now I'm sitting in our library checking email. My frustration compounded by trying to use a German keyboard (most keys, except for the regular letters, are in different places, plus keys for the letters with umlauts - but the most annoying is that for some reason the 'y' and 'z' are reversed, which constantly vexes me; though they probably have some research to prove why that's the proper placement for the letter 'y'). Plus, I've grown quite fond of all the little desktop tricks and shortcuts on my MacBook, so it's a bit of a shock to the system trying to relearn how to use a PC.

Oh yeah, and I managed to bring my Apple Care CD and my Office for Mac CD to Germany, but not my System CD. So when I get my MacBook back from repair later this week, I'll probably have to wait until my System CD comes in the mail. But the good news in all of this is that it won't cost me anything because I did have Apple Care (unless I have to replace music).

So, the moral of the story is twofold: get the insurance and back your stuff up.

Peace to zou.

Untitled

[photo]

Dublin, Friday (11.04.2008)

Friday morning, after our complimentary continental breakfast - cornflakes and toast - at the hostel, we packed up and headed back out into the city. We were traveling light - only a carry-on - so that didn't take long. Again, our hostel was in a great location; right in the heart of downtown in the middle of everything we wanted to see. Our flight wasn't until 6 p.m., so we walked up toward St. Patrick's Cathedral, on our way to the Guinness brewery tour. Roland's best travel tip was that whenever you're visiting a city abroad, check the service times at the big churches or cathedrals. Again, it would have cost €6.50 to take the tour, but we got there about halfway through Matins, sung by a small boys choir. Again, it was a beautiful service.

We got to the famous "St. James Gate Brewery" at about 11 a.m. Let me say this - whoever designed this "tour" was a genius. It was the quintessential postmodern, experiential . . . experience. It wasn't the typical "guided tour" where you follow your tour guide from point to point in the factory while they point to stuff and spit out information. It was an experience. (Leonard Sweet would love it.) Sights. Smells. Tastes. Sounds.

The self-guided "tour" was through a seven-story visitors center shaped, appropriately, like a giant pint glass. You began on the bottom where you got a taste (literally; we got to eat roasted barley) of the ingredients that go into Guinness' distinctive brew. There was a huge pit of barley - had I still been a child, you couldn't have kept me from jumping in - and you could pick some up, run it through your fingers or throw it at your friends. There was a life-size (but plastic) 15-foot tall hops plant. Running over and past the display where they talked about water, there was a huge waterfall running overhead and down into a small reflecting pool. There were monitors everywhere running looped videos describing the brewing process and how it all comes together from the brewing process to an old black and white film showing how a master cooper used to make the wooden casks. The middle floor had a coffee bar (when we walked in at 11, I told Roland, "I could sure go for a cup of coffee"). [Another excursus: the barista - she sounded Italian or Spanish maybe - when I ordered an expresso and a cup of coffee responded: "you know an espresso is little, right?" She should have just said, "I assume you're American and don't know anything about coffee." I furrowed my brow and just said, "yes".] It was also at this point in the tour where - I thought this was pretty cool - you could "interact" with the master brewer on a series of flat screens up against one wall. Eventually, he asks, "do you mind if I take a photo?" and pulls out a digital camera. You press "yes" on the screen and then it takes a picture and he asks if you'd like to share it with anyone. Then you can punch in your email address and two friends' addresses you'd like to send it to (though, as of last night, our friends still hadn't gotten the photo). Technology is cool. The high point of the tour - literally - is the complimentary pint of Guinness on top of the building. It's the tallest building on the 60-acre brewery and the bar is a round glass area offering an incredible 360-degree view of Dublin. The perfect place to enjoy a delicious pint. And, again, the weather was amazing - the sun was shining, we could see out into the harbor on one side and the Wicklow Mountains on the other. The sky was full of fluffy white clouds. It was really neat. The perfect end to a great three-day visit to Dublin.

As we walked back toward downtown to catch our bus we swung through Trinity College - the oldest university in Ireland. Ironically, according to Mallis (our tour guide from Thursday), it was founded as an Anglican university and only recently started admitting Catholics unrestricted - previously, it required a waiver from the bishop for a Catholic to attend. [Excursus: I just learned that Roland and I could have downloaded an audio tour podcast from Trinity College all the way to the top of the Guinness brewery tour. Amazing.]

We caught the city bus back to the airport that afternoon - our "tour" had lasted over three hours. As we were boarding the bus, it started to hail (perfect timing). Funny thing, too, when we got to the airport, they confiscated my deodorant ("Deo" auf Deutsch) - it was 150 ml; you're only allowed 100 ml for any one item containing liquid. It was funny - they were more uptight than the Germans. Again we were chastised at check-in for trying to do online check-in when we didn't have EU passports (we were told to "read a bit more carefully next time" but weren't charged; when we left Germany, we had to pay an extra €4). Our flight got back about ten minutes late and we missed a bus from Frankfurt Hahn airport (it's called Frankfurt Hahn, but it's 130 km from Frankfurt). This was the first and only logistical hiccough on our trip. So we had to wait about an hour for the next bus. We got back to downtown Frankfurt at about 1 a.m. and caught the "Night Bus" back to Oberursel as the trains were no longer running in our direction; to our delight, it dropped us closer to the Hochschule than the train would have anyway.

A good trip. Dublin is a good time.

NB: if you hadn't already noticed, I finally realized I could put hyperlinks in my blog text. Be prepared to see more of those. And, I realized by looking at the "Labels" tally on the right-hand side, that with this third Dublin installment, I have as many posts related to Dublin as I do to Martin Luther.

Dublin, Thursday (10.04.2008)

Thursday in Dublin was a good day. We were blessed the whole trip with beautiful weather. Partly cloudy; quite a bit of sun. Beautiful!

Roland had suggested taking a tour of the countryside before we left, so when we got there he talked to the hostel attendant, and we got set up on a pretty cool excursion with Over the Top Tours. For only €25, we took a day trip into the Wicklow "mountains" outside Dublin. Again, the weather was spectacular - I love to watch clouds, anyway, and this was exceptional. We drove past some of the areas used to film Braveheart (apparently 75% of my favorite movie was filmed in Ireland - most of it north of where we were - and I was caught without the soundtrack on my iPod). Our guide was a crusty old Irish dude named, Mallis. (I forgot to ask him how he spells it; I hope that's right!) [OK, excursus time: I've turned into a coffee snob. The tour advertised a stop for a complimentary cup of coffee. It was instant. Blech!] We stopped to snap photos at several small lakes surrounded by low hills covered in winter brown heather. After we stopped for lunch at a pub in the small village of Laragh, we visited the ruins of a monastery at Glendalough. Mallis' commentary included what I perceived to be the perfect Irish, dry wit; stuff like (you'll have to imagine your own Irish accent): "this next village is so small, it hasn't even got a pub. Ha. That's pretty small."

We made it back into the city in time to catch Evensong again at Christ Church Cathedral. Again, it was amazing. Afterwards, we walked back toward our hostel, cleaned up a little and walked half a block to the Brazen Head - Ireland's oldest pub (built in the late 12th century) - for some chips (fries) and a pint. Again, it was mostly tourists, and again, mostly American. It was pretty full. Roland and I had our own table, and when I saw a family (three generations, with an adult son) walk in and stand in the middle of the room looking for an open table - there were none, I did the European thing and invited them to join us. (They were from Oregon - though the father was originally from Wausau, Wisconsin. They were a little unsure at first, but they got a kick out of it when I explained that it was the "European thing, they do this all the time".) [Excursus: the first time I met Dr. Salzmann, the rector - basically president - of the seminary here in Germany, was this past summer in St. Louis. We went to church together one Sunday morning and went out for coffee afterwards. Similar situation; no open tables. A couple walked in and he invited them to share our table. They did sit down, but they looked pretty confused by the offer.] Again, very friendly people and some good conversation! And, of course, the Guinness tasted exceptional. It really does taste even better in Ireland!

[Dublin]


[Vans. Our group included eight Spaniards and a chain-smoking Danish couple.]

[One of the Guinness family owns the estate down there (off frame to the right).]

[Mallis]

[Glendalough]

[Roland is by the door to St. Kevins at Glendalough. I haven't any idea who that other guy is.]

[Roland]

[Christ Church Cathedral]

[I didn't know that either.]

[The Brazen Head]

That was Thursday . . . again, more to follow!

Dublin, Wednesday (08.04.2008)

I wasn't quite sure what to expect - or even what to think when we first hit the ground - but I really enjoyed Dublin. It was sort of "spur of the moment". My friend, Roland, and I found cheap tickets through Ryanair and reasonably-priced accommodations at a hostel. With my semester break coming to a close (classes start again on Tuesday), I knew I needed to take advantage of being in Europe lest I forever regret spending most of the last two months in my little corner of Germany. A couple weeks before, I had suggested to Roland that he should come with me to Wien (Vienna) (a city I still want to see before I leave Europe). Wien would have meant flying into Bratislava - in Slovakia, but only about 90 minutes west. Roland is South African, and unfortunately would have needed a visa to get into Slovakia. So he suggested Dublin. Well, we didn't do anything about it, even though I did check ticket prices. But the next week the urge to travel struck hard and without any arm-twisting, Roland and I decided to go to Dublin. My indecision cost us about 40 Euros each, but we were still able to get away with spending less than 150 Euros for the flight and hostel.

With so many Americans claiming Irish heritage, it's a hugely popular tourist destination. But honestly, when I first arrived, I didn't know what to make of it. Dublin is kind of dirty and many of the buildings are drab. But later that evening, I was won over. Dublin may not be the prettiest city in Europe, but it's got personality.

We landed in Dublin just before 11 local time, Wednesday morning. We caught a "double-decker" city bus into downtown - about a 40-minute trip. Our hostel - the Four Courts Hostel - was located right on the River Liffey. It was quite the place - clean and well run. And, I found it a bit ironic that the first time I stayed in a "youth" hostel was at age 32. Though, I was surprised at how many "older" guests like me were staying in hostels. The eclectic decor was matched by the colorful characters who worked and were staying there. I'd definitely recommend the Four Courts if you ever find yourself in Dublin.

Our first tourist stop after we checked into the hostel and dropped off our bags was the Chester Beatty Library. Being aspiring pastors, we really got a lot out of seeing the ancient manuscripts in this collection. It was funny, too, that the only exhibit that is open at the moment is the collection of ancient manuscripts that we went there to see! One of the treats of living in Europe is their insistence on good coffee. And, the café inside the museum served one of the best cups of coffee I've had since I've been here.

After the Chester Beatty Library, we went to Christ Church Cathedral, one of two Anglican cathedrals in Dublin. (They're actually located about two blocks from each other, too.) Christ Church is the cathedral where the Bishop of Dublin sits; St. Patrick's Cathedral at one time sat outside the city walls and is the seat of the Archbishop of Ireland. During "business hours", a tour of the cathedral will set you back€6.50. However, Roland had read online that both Wednesday and Thursday evening the cathedral was offering Evensong, an Anglican evening service featuring a couple readings of the Word, some prayer, and song. Evensong at Christ Church was one of the highlights of the trip. The chamber choir came from the Irish Royal Academy of Church Music, which sits at the Cathedral.

When the service ended, we took a walk through the Temple Bar area of Dublin, the historic - and expensive - pub district. We crossed the river to an area where the attendant at the hostel told us we could find cheaper shopping and dining. The sun was setting and the light on the streets and over the river was incredible. That was, I think the moment that I became really attracted to the city. The pub we chose featured the "James Joyce Lounge" (Dublin was the home of this famous Irish writer). We arrived just in time for the Champions League soccer match between Manchester United and Roma. (Ironically, while the Irish were not afraid to express their dislike for the Irish, they were all rooting for Man U.) At this pub we met Alan, an extremely intoxicated local. When he wasn't about to get into a fight with someone he knew, he ambushed me into a discussion of politics. I tried my best to dodge it, but he insisted on explaining why he though Bill Clinton was the best president the U.S. ever had. During half time, a group of almost 30 Americans - they were pretty easy to spot - from upstate New York arrived, making another stop on their "pub crawl". Most were middle aged and clearly enjoying their trip. While we Americans are easy to spot, and you can usually hear us before you see us, Roland observed that Americans (especially while traveling, I will add) are generally pretty friendly and make an honest effort to converse with the people they meet.

[It had been a while since I'd been in a country where they drive on the opposite side of the road; or, the correct side, as Roland would contend (they drive on the wrong side of the road in South Africa, too).]

[Christ Church Cathedral]


Sunset in Dublin:


[Under the clock in the background is the Latin, "Tempus Fugit" - "Time Flies"]

[The River Liffey]

Well, that was Wednesday . . . more to follow!

The Living One

"(Jesus said) ... I died, and behold I am alive forevermore..." Revelation 1.18

Altkönig V (07.04.2008)

"Thwack!" As soon as I stepped out onto my stoop, Mathias, my friend and neighbor who lives over my apartment, caught me square on top of the head with a snowball. It's snowing again. Yesterday and again today. Any sign of spring we've had so far this year was a tease.

"Where are you going?" he called down from the balcony as I headed out into the falling snow. "Altkönig," I said as I stuck my ear buds into my ears.

"You're crazy," Mathias insisted.

"Stimmt." ("certainly") I said.

Today I hiked Altkönig in a snowstorm. Which was cool because hardly anyone was out - until I neared the trailhead upon return, I had only seen one person - on top. Where two days earlier were beautiful shades of green from the moss and the pines was now covered in a pristine layer of snow. On the way up I listened to Bach's "Mass in B Minor" (what's been called one of humanity's crowning artistic achievements - and part of my friend Roland's attempt to culture me). Hiking uphill in 3-7 inches of snow, it took a little longer to make it up (and was a great calf workout). It was great because some parts of the trail hadn't yet been walked through. Once on top, a low ceiling and near white-out conditions meant no view. But it was kinda cool.

By the time I got back to the bottom, the temp had climbed up above freezing, so the snow was dropping from the trees and had turned to slush on the trails - but it was still fun. Better than an afternoon indoors - well, depending on what you're doing, I guess.




Peace to you.

Altkönig IV

Cold. Wet. Chance of rain. Perfect day for a hike? I thought so. I went to the grocery store around noon and thought it'd be the perfect time to take a quick trip back up Altkönig - the "Berg" that sits up above Oberursel (it's about a 15-17 km round trip; 500 meter elevation gain). The weather was just bad enough to keep people off the trails. I only saw a scattering of bikers and walkers on the trail up Altkönig. As I was about to "summit", an Englishman happily told me there was no one else there. And I wouldn't see another person until I had already begun to head home. On top, I soaked in the view - a panoramic view of the Taunus forest; and it was just clear enough to see Krönberg - the next village over. I enjoyed an apple and half a liter of green tea that I had brewed just before I left. After about 100 minutes it was still warm and tasted great - even if it tasted a bit like my water bottle. As I headed down it finally started to rain. The temperature started to drop and it rained pretty good most of the way down - but a little precip never hurt anyone (with a good rain coat).