Today was a day to be joyful, and we were! Our Sunday began with a visit to the Augustinian Cloister where Martin Luther lived from 1505 to 1511 and lead his first worship ever. While many of us where tired yet excited by Saturday evening’s (well…early Sunday morning’s) game versus Duke, the worship we had with the small congregation at the cloister is one we shall never forget! The language barrier (which even stood tall and intimidating to me, one of the “German speakers”) was easily broken down by the welcoming atmosphere, hymns with familiar tunes and most movingly, the Lord’s Prayer. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that two tongues spoken simultaneously have never sounded so much like one. Thanks to Pastor Scott, a fellow American, we were all able to get through the service! We were also blessed with a little Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) from the active female pastor and a few congregation members as we got to hear how Pastor Scott came to be a pastor, married his German wife Claudia, and moved to Eisleben, then Erfurt. Pastor Scott also showed us a cool little museum of articles from the cloister’s past and set-ups of what life looked like during Luther’s time in the cloister.
The second activity of the day consisted of…a Karnival parade!! All around the world the time just before Lent begins is a huge deal, and this includes Germany. Thousands of people lined the roads winding through Erfurt for a 5(?) – hour– long parade consisting of many people dressed up in costume. Everybody, young and old, took part in the festivities by eating, dancing, drinking and walking around in some outrageous outfits. Many of the parade participants danced on floats or in the street as they tossed candy, flowers and other goodies to the crowds. I’ve never seen so much color, candy or…beer. Yes, beer. German culture is certainly different, and certainly entertaining. Many pictures to come! We all found that it’s not hard to be so filled with joy when everyone around you is having fun and loving life.
The day closed with dinner in different groups and coincidentally…everybody ended up getting delicious icecream at the same Eis shop! It’s about the third night they’ve seen a lot of us and they were sad to hear we are leaving for Eisleben tomorrow L Erfurt, you rock! But Eisleben, here we come!
-Katie Hill, sophomore
Yay for updates and icecream and Pr. Scott and Carolina Victory! So glad to hear that you guys are enjoying it thus far. I hope you are having as wonderful and meaningful a trip as we had four years ago. Stay safe, and know that I am (still) thinking of yall every day (and being jealous...)
ReplyDeleteLove always, Mama Trapp