Lutherstadt-Eisleben
14 May 2007
I really have been wanting to keep a list of specific examples of when I think to myself “America is the best country in the world.” I can guarantee you that I have had that thought at least 100 times in the past five weeks. Today was just another perfect example.
The national German rail service is DB (Die Bahn). The trains go everywhere and at almost every station you can find some sort of information desk with an agent, or two, or three, or four who is there to serve your needs and get you to your destination. Some of the times they have been helpful; some of the times they have been frustrating; and some of the times they just don’t speak English at all, so I have to look somewhere else. Mind you, I don’t expect everyone to speak English, nor do I think everyone should, but it certainly is inconvenient when they don’t. Often times I have gone to one of these railway information desks and asked how to catch a particular train to a particular city around a particular time. Almost always, the agent working has printed off some sort of information sheet for me to take which tells me the train number, the time, the platform the train leaves from, and how much it costs, and the arrival and departure time for the train. Very useful.
Saturday I went to the information desk at Erfurt station and asked the employee how to get to Eisenach and Weimar. She didn’t speak excellent English, but was very helpful. She printed off a couple useful sheets and then told me that I could buy a Thuringa ticket that was good for all day on the rails and buses. Thuringa (I may be spelling it wrong) is one of the many “states” which make up the country of Germany. She said that it would cost me 20 Euro to buy the ticket from her desk, but only 18 Euro if I bought it from the machine outside of the office. I thanked her for the help and purchased my ticket out of the machine.
Today I strolled into the same information office and spoke with a similar lady. Her English was no better, but we made the best of our situation. After asking her how to get to Eisleben and Leipzig, she printed out material and showed me what to do, only this time she left out the part about me buying a ticket from a machine for 2 Euro cheaper.
She asked me “So do you want to buy the ticket?”
I say “Yes. But I’ll just buy it from the machine.”
“No. You have to buy ticket here. We give information, you buy ticket here.”
I am starting to get confused. “It’s 2 Euro cheaper to buy it from the machine, I’ll just buy it there.”
“You must buy the ticket here! You ask for information for Lutherstadt-Eisleben. I help you. You buy ticket here.”
Now I realize what is going on. It is the same across Europe, I don’t care where you are; people are trying to scam you. Before this I have tried to just play the ignorant card and get by just claiming that I didn’t know or something. Now its time to turn on my offensive game.
“Ma’m, I was just here yesterday and got information from this counter. They printed out material for me and told me I could buy my ticket from the machine. You are saying that I must buy my ticket here, but they never said I had to do anything. In fact, they told me that it was cheaper to buy from the machine.”
“We give you information. You buy ticket here. It is the cost for the information.”
Europeans think on single track mind.
“I’m not buying the ticket here for information I got free yesterday. It’s cheaper to buy the ticket at the machine. I bought it there yesterday after someone here told me it was cheaper to buy it there after they gave me information.”
She brushed me along and I was happy to go.
My advice to all those thinking of traveling: Start your travels off right by never giving into something you have the slightest inclination is a scam. If you think you are being cheated, take your money and walk away.
Sorry for the rant.
I got to Eisleben okay. The town is small, smaller than Eisenach. First on the list was Geburtshaus Martin Luther, the birth house of Martin Luther. The building has been renovated many times, none of the original furniture exists, it is kind of just all made up, BUT there is an extraordinarily large museum about Luther connected with the home. Methinks it was one of the best museums my eyes have ever laid eyes on. I really loved it. It wasn’t all just broken pottery from ancient Sumer and Babylon, or broken ruins from a temple in ancient Rome. It was interesting information (in Deutsch and English!) about Luther, his life, family, and legacy. They had little quotes of Luther all along the way. I love reading Luther and hearing some of his more familiar phrases. Where Calvin is long and thorough, Luther is short and cuts to the heart of the issue.
I liked the museum a lot now that I reflect some more. I wouldn’t mind returning again.
The next stop was St. Petri-Pauli-Kirche, the church of St. Peter and Paul. This was where Luther was baptized as an infant and it is only about a block away form his birthplace.
I walked northwest up one of the main roads into the city square where there stands a giant statue of Luther with his back to St. Andreaskirche, St. Andreas church, where Luther preached his last sermon.
Right next to St. Andreas is Martin Luther’s Sterbehaus, the house in which he died. If I can remember correctly, he was called to Eisleben in his old age by two magistrates who were in a conflict and needed someone to help settle the dispute. Luther had every right not to come because of his ill health, but he came anyway. He mended the relationship of the two parties and days later passed away.
I hope to reflect more on Luther after one of my final stops in Germany, Wittenberg, but I will say that I am loving this little Luther tour I am making. I wouldn’t trade it for any other visit, except maybe to Geneva, but maybe not even Geneva. There is something about Luther which is admiring, which gets one’s blood pumping. Anyway, I don’t want to ruin my future blog about it, so I’ll stop.
My last stop was St. Annenkirche, St. Anne’s Church. This was the church dedicated to St. Anne who was the patron saint of miners. It was this saint to whom Luther called out in that Providential thunderstorm to save him which brought him eventually to Erfurt to the Augustinian monastery. The church supposedly claims to be the first church in the state to switch from Catholicism to Protestantism, and even to be the first Protestant church to come into existence. I can’t verify that, but if its true, then I am happy I went.
I had a burger and fries at a little mom and pops stand near the center of town and made my way back to Erfurt. I had plans to go to Leipzig, but Eisleben took a good part of the day, and by the end of it, I didn’t think Leipzig would make that big of difference.
A Soviet graveyard in Eisleben
Church of St. Peter and Paul
Luther's birth house
wedding ring of Catherina Von Bora
Luther's herbie hancock
Town Square
Luther monument
St. Anne's
The house where Luther died
I really have been wanting to keep a list of specific examples of when I think to myself “America is the best country in the world.” I can guarantee you that I have had that thought at least 100 times in the past five weeks. Today was just another perfect example.
The national German rail service is DB (Die Bahn). The trains go everywhere and at almost every station you can find some sort of information desk with an agent, or two, or three, or four who is there to serve your needs and get you to your destination. Some of the times they have been helpful; some of the times they have been frustrating; and some of the times they just don’t speak English at all, so I have to look somewhere else. Mind you, I don’t expect everyone to speak English, nor do I think everyone should, but it certainly is inconvenient when they don’t. Often times I have gone to one of these railway information desks and asked how to catch a particular train to a particular city around a particular time. Almost always, the agent working has printed off some sort of information sheet for me to take which tells me the train number, the time, the platform the train leaves from, and how much it costs, and the arrival and departure time for the train. Very useful.
Saturday I went to the information desk at Erfurt station and asked the employee how to get to Eisenach and Weimar. She didn’t speak excellent English, but was very helpful. She printed off a couple useful sheets and then told me that I could buy a Thuringa ticket that was good for all day on the rails and buses. Thuringa (I may be spelling it wrong) is one of the many “states” which make up the country of Germany. She said that it would cost me 20 Euro to buy the ticket from her desk, but only 18 Euro if I bought it from the machine outside of the office. I thanked her for the help and purchased my ticket out of the machine.
Today I strolled into the same information office and spoke with a similar lady. Her English was no better, but we made the best of our situation. After asking her how to get to Eisleben and Leipzig, she printed out material and showed me what to do, only this time she left out the part about me buying a ticket from a machine for 2 Euro cheaper.
She asked me “So do you want to buy the ticket?”
I say “Yes. But I’ll just buy it from the machine.”
“No. You have to buy ticket here. We give information, you buy ticket here.”
I am starting to get confused. “It’s 2 Euro cheaper to buy it from the machine, I’ll just buy it there.”
“You must buy the ticket here! You ask for information for Lutherstadt-Eisleben. I help you. You buy ticket here.”
Now I realize what is going on. It is the same across Europe, I don’t care where you are; people are trying to scam you. Before this I have tried to just play the ignorant card and get by just claiming that I didn’t know or something. Now its time to turn on my offensive game.
“Ma’m, I was just here yesterday and got information from this counter. They printed out material for me and told me I could buy my ticket from the machine. You are saying that I must buy my ticket here, but they never said I had to do anything. In fact, they told me that it was cheaper to buy from the machine.”
“We give you information. You buy ticket here. It is the cost for the information.”
Europeans think on single track mind.
“I’m not buying the ticket here for information I got free yesterday. It’s cheaper to buy the ticket at the machine. I bought it there yesterday after someone here told me it was cheaper to buy it there after they gave me information.”
She brushed me along and I was happy to go.
My advice to all those thinking of traveling: Start your travels off right by never giving into something you have the slightest inclination is a scam. If you think you are being cheated, take your money and walk away.
Sorry for the rant.
I got to Eisleben okay. The town is small, smaller than Eisenach. First on the list was Geburtshaus Martin Luther, the birth house of Martin Luther. The building has been renovated many times, none of the original furniture exists, it is kind of just all made up, BUT there is an extraordinarily large museum about Luther connected with the home. Methinks it was one of the best museums my eyes have ever laid eyes on. I really loved it. It wasn’t all just broken pottery from ancient Sumer and Babylon, or broken ruins from a temple in ancient Rome. It was interesting information (in Deutsch and English!) about Luther, his life, family, and legacy. They had little quotes of Luther all along the way. I love reading Luther and hearing some of his more familiar phrases. Where Calvin is long and thorough, Luther is short and cuts to the heart of the issue.
I liked the museum a lot now that I reflect some more. I wouldn’t mind returning again.
The next stop was St. Petri-Pauli-Kirche, the church of St. Peter and Paul. This was where Luther was baptized as an infant and it is only about a block away form his birthplace.
I walked northwest up one of the main roads into the city square where there stands a giant statue of Luther with his back to St. Andreaskirche, St. Andreas church, where Luther preached his last sermon.
Right next to St. Andreas is Martin Luther’s Sterbehaus, the house in which he died. If I can remember correctly, he was called to Eisleben in his old age by two magistrates who were in a conflict and needed someone to help settle the dispute. Luther had every right not to come because of his ill health, but he came anyway. He mended the relationship of the two parties and days later passed away.
I hope to reflect more on Luther after one of my final stops in Germany, Wittenberg, but I will say that I am loving this little Luther tour I am making. I wouldn’t trade it for any other visit, except maybe to Geneva, but maybe not even Geneva. There is something about Luther which is admiring, which gets one’s blood pumping. Anyway, I don’t want to ruin my future blog about it, so I’ll stop.
My last stop was St. Annenkirche, St. Anne’s Church. This was the church dedicated to St. Anne who was the patron saint of miners. It was this saint to whom Luther called out in that Providential thunderstorm to save him which brought him eventually to Erfurt to the Augustinian monastery. The church supposedly claims to be the first church in the state to switch from Catholicism to Protestantism, and even to be the first Protestant church to come into existence. I can’t verify that, but if its true, then I am happy I went.
I had a burger and fries at a little mom and pops stand near the center of town and made my way back to Erfurt. I had plans to go to Leipzig, but Eisleben took a good part of the day, and by the end of it, I didn’t think Leipzig would make that big of difference.
A Soviet graveyard in Eisleben
Church of St. Peter and Paul
Luther's birth house
wedding ring of Catherina Von Bora
Luther's herbie hancock
Town Square
Luther monument
St. Anne's
The house where Luther died
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home