Germany: How It Was and What It Meant to Me: an in-depth report and analysis (Chris Warner)

First off let me say that within the first five minutes of getting off the plane in Frankfurt, I knew that the entirety of this trip was going to be just one big loop of National Lampoon’s European Vacation for me; meaning that I would not be able to comprehend how anything works in Germany.  Here is just a short list of things that wasted little to no time in seeking to confuse and/or embarrass me:

-doors

-toilets

-paper towel dispensers

-bed sheets

-doors

-doors

-freaking doors!

Seriously, everyone had a problem with at least one door (if they deny it they’re lying).  Simply put, every push door looks like you should pull it and vice-versa and no you can’t just stand and think about it because that’s way too “touristy” and no matter how many times you use the door or how hard you think about it there’s still a 99% chance you’ll get it wrong and a small German child will laugh at you (this happened).  Coupling all this with a sleepless nine hour flight led more often to me just accepting my own American inability to work European devices than to any level of determination in proving my superiority over a toilet.

Anyhow, not being given a strict topic on which to write and completely refusing to choose a single day of which to write about, I thought it’d be far more fun to just give a “brief” (relative to anything longer) overview of the major parts of our trip as a whole:

A for Erfurt: to say that the trip started off on a high note would be a drastic understatement (there’s a music joke here but I’m not cultured enough to make it).  The Hotel Radisson where we stayed was absolutely spectacular, from the sauna to whatever tops a sauna.  Yes many of us indulged quite a bit in the use of the sauna, almost possibly-probably-definitely more than what is deemed a “healthy” amount of time but Europe uses the metric system so the time conversion is a little iffy.  Also we were fortunate to be in Erfurt during the Karneval festival which was completely insane.  A few of us gathered to watch upwards of forty floats go through the town in an enormous parade that included rather intoxicated individuals in hilarious costumes flinging candy and tissues at the crowd.  Also I think there may have been something about twelve or thirteen American tourists possibly maybe running out into the streets screaming at 4 AM when UNC BEAT DOOK after watching the game via Skype.

Bars and beer: not a lot to say here that hasn’t already really been addressed or assumed.  I can honestly say that I have enjoyed the “bar experience” more in Germany than the ones in America.  Whether it’s the actual drinks or just the general atmosphere has yet to be determined, but regardless it will be gravely missed.  The majority of the bars that I’ve been to so far haven’t been anything more than a standard bar, but last night we made it out to one called Flower Power (a bar that had to have been designed by German hippies obsessed with the Beatles) which was having a karaoke night coupled with a buy-one-get-one-free deal, plus they gave out free shots with every song you sang.  In America this would likely be described as “irresponsible amounts of fun” but in Wittenberg it’s called Wednesday nights.  Needless to say we did the reasonable thing and essentially took over the bar as well as the microphone and spent the night belting Shania Twain and Creed to the horror/amusement (hormusement?) of the other patrons.  Also, German beer >> American beer, not much more to say.

Christians cruising through churches and cathedrals: I’ve read a lot about and seen pictures of old Gothic cathedrals and churches, but not being much for old architecture, it was never really that big of a deal to me.  That is no longer true.  So far there has not been a single cathedral that I have not walked into and been completely speechless.  The designs, artwork, pipe organ, and just everything else about it are just impossible to put on paper or in pictures and appropriately sum it all up.  The only thing I regret is that no one has found a way to go back in time to introduce indoor heating a little earlier so it could be integrated into the designs (imagining extremely ornate heaters is a really funny idea to me).

Feasting: That really is the correct way to refer to eating in Germany; one does not “snack” or “sample”, you feast.  Every meal that we had in Germany was served in such proportions that, rather than thinking when the next meal was, it was often times more common to think if you would need another meal that day.  Even their salads and appetizers are served in such gargantuan amounts that they could be mistaken for the meal itself in America, but without the possibility of being a little hungry afterwards.  Of course this was not really an issue as every meal was absolutely incredible.  Even I, commonly described by family and friends alike as “insanely picky” (my idea of a perfect burger is meat between two buns, you be the judge) never had the slightest difficulty in finding something to eat.  On a related note, swearing off sweets or certain favorite foods for Lent while in Germany is clearly one of the most difficult things to do, as shown by my fellow LCMers.  I imagine that doing so is much like Augustus Gloop swearing off chocolate.  Many of these declarations were altered to include the phrase “after Germany” or “in America” to provide a nice loophole.  Even our residential vegetarians who swore veganism soon resorted to political wording tricks to allow them to enjoy whatever it is that vegetarians enjoy.

Martin Luther aka Saint George aka “Manlier Truth”: Of course the main reason that we traveled to Germany was to follow the life of a man who helped to reform the Christian way by being a rather large thorn in the side of Pope Leo X and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.  Not being raised Lutheran, my knowledge of Luther and his life was essentially limited to what I had learned in my history classes and the movie “Luther”, which mostly boiled down to: he was a man who made the pope look like a crazy guy who wore a funny hat.  Shortly before heading off on our trip, we all had a chance to learn more about the man behind the Reformation, and I took a few trips to the library to try and understand a little more who Luther was and what made him tick.  I found that this, however, was completely unnecessary, as the amount of information, landmarks, artifacts, and souvenirs that we found related to Martin Luther provided enough knowledge to begin a master’s thesis about him.  Luther not only permitted the lower class to develop their own ideas about Christian theology by translating the ENTIRE BIBLE into German from Latin (at the time only slightly less dead), but was eventually the catalyst that caused the birth of new Christian practices, which gave way to sects of Christians like Methodists, Protestants, and, the most obvious, Lutherans.  Luther continued to debate religious ideas for the rest of his life and settled down with the runaway, knife-wielding nun Katharina von Bora (seriously).  Luther has definitely earned his spot in the history books and Germany has made a point to pay tribute to him by doing all it can to put him into every nook and cranny of every city, even for the most exaggerated reasons, essentially making him to Germany what Coca-Cola is to America.

Scouring Schloss Mansfeld: Probably the most rewarding days of our trip were the ones spent at Mansfeld Castle.  Yes, an actual castle; bridge, towers, “moat” and all, be jealous.  Besides being able to cross off something from my 8-year-old bucket list, the stay in Mansfeld presented a much needed mini-retreat from the large cities that we had been in and would be returning to shortly.  As you could imagine, trying to relate or spend time with everyone in a group of fifty while in a country where you do not speak the language and cannot call or text across town is slightly on the darker side of difficult.  The stay in the castle presented a kind of “forced interaction” time for all of us, but in the best way.  I think we all enjoyed the opportunity to bond with people whom we normally did not have the opportunity, explore underground tunnels, and climb questionably stable walls at possibly dangerous heights supporting yourself on what *appears to be* deeply rooted vegetation.  Discussions of life and what you want to do with yours seem to come up rather commonly when intermittently discussing how to get off the wall you just climbed, which happens to be on the edge of a hundred foot drop that neither of you noticed.  It’s magical.  We had the chance to play games of tag and giant, exaggerated human chess with one another, giving us the chance to forget that we were in a foreign place and make Germany seem a bit more like home.  This is also where we had our service portion of our trip, primarily in the cleaning up of the castle both inside and out.  I spent the service day sorting rocks and deciding the line between “big” and “little”, which is as dull as it sounds but leave it to college kids to make it a game of finding state shaped rocks and collecting them to create a petrified United States.  I even found a heart shaped rock which I was very eager to present to my recently crippled-by-his-own-machoness roommate in a very cheesy, Kodak picturesque style.

I suppose I should write something a little deeper or more serious to avoid incurring any wrath from Pastor Mark.  Still being a bit of a new-comer to LCM, and this being my first Spring Break trip with the group, I guess I really was not sure what to expect.  I’ll admit, the thrill of going to Europe for the first time was my initial reason for thinking about applying, but it was the talks of last year’s trip to New Orleans that really got me set on going.  I know full well that if I had applied only on the thought of “Oh, Germany!” I never would have been accepted and I would’ve rather been spending one more break in the all-too-familiar comforts of my home in Charlotte.  The opportunity to learn more about the foundation of this organization that I’d joined essentially on a whim, also would not have guaranteed me a ticket on this trip.  For me it was the chance to form an even closer bond with my fellow LCMers, whether they are ones that I had known for years, or only a few short months.  It’s that time that I’ve spent with them that will be the most memorable to me, whether it was getting lost in the streets of Berlin, chatting in the saunas of Erfurt, or just laughing over a beer, all these experiences have made this the best Spring Break ever.

Reflections on a Week Spent in the Best Dressed Country in Europe (Michael Dickson)

My sole regret about our trip to Germany is that we saw no more than *zero* Germans wearing lederhosen.  I was sorely disappointed, so the "Best Dressed" might have been meant sarcastically. Probably.  Although Germans do have an impeccable sense of fashion.

Now that may’ve been a little disappointing, but the rest of our time in the marvelous land of bratwurst was anything but.  Not only did I have an amazing time exploring Eastern Germany with 49 close friends, learning about Martin Luther, seeing all kinds of historical monuments and beautiful cathedrals, climbing all over the walls of an old castle, and celebrating my 19^th birthday with a 4:00 AM win against Duke, but I also learned a lot about Lutheranism, as well as my own personal faith.  

We toured nearly all of the historic sites from Martin Luther's life, and we gained a lot of insight into Luther's perspective and his ideas about Christianity.  What I got the most out of, however, was not learning about Lutherans in the 16th century, but seeing Lutherans today.  On our first Sunday there, we worshiped at the Augustinian Cloister in Erfurt, where Luther had first become a monk.  Barely any of them spoke more than a few words of English, but I instantly felt a sense of community and kinship with the other worshippers around us.  Even though we came from completely different cultures and didn’t speak the same language, we were all there for the same purpose, and that was more than enough.  This was only one of several times that we got to meet and worship with other Lutherans.

Strangely enough, some of the strongest memories of the week that I have were made in a place not directly related to Lutheranism at all.  This place was the Buchenwald concentration camp, which we visited for an afternoon on our first Saturday in Germany.  There's no way I can adequately describe this experience and what it meant to me in this limited space, but I will do my best.

We arrived at Buchenwald in the early afternoon, after eating lunch in Weimar. Soon after arriving, we watched a short film about the events that occurred there, and then split up into small groups to wander the remains of the camp.  There were only a few buildings still standing, including the gatehouse and its fence, the disinfection facility, the crematorium, and a few other random barracks.  Most of this area, however, consists solely of rows and rows of rubble.  The remains of the many buildings that housed prisoners so many years ago.

Now for a while, I took care to walk around these tall piles of old building materials, but eventually I began to question my reasons for this.  Why walk around these monuments to memory when I can just as easily walk all over them?  I began to do just this, walking directly on top of the rubble.  I didn't try to stop myself from thinking about what these buildings represented as I worked my way through and over them, but instead I made sure to recognize this.  With every step I took, I acknowledged the reality -- the brutal reality -- of all the pain, death, and hate built up beneath my feet.  This was immensely gratifying and thought provoking for me.  I wasn't carefully walking around these memorials, quietly paying my respects; I was taking care to walk on and above them, and I could see much farther and clearer because of that. 

Another powerful experience from our time there occurred at the very end.  Right before we left, the 50 of us gathered near the entrance of the camp, in a circle around a special plaque.  This is a famous plaque, adorned with the names of the many different ethnicities and nationalities of the people who died here, and kept at a constant temperature of 98.6 degrees.  After each of us had knelt down to touch this living memorial to so much death, we crowded together, tightly gathered around the plaque.  Then we all put our arms around each other and said a prayer over it. This was an incredibly powerful and moving experience for me.  I don’t know if it was the sanctity of that spot, the power of the memorial and what it stood for, or the fact that we were a community from far across the sea, coming together closer than ever before to mourn the lives of these people we had never met.  What I do know is that I don’t want to forget that moment, and I don’t think I will.

Wittenberg to Berlin: Defending Your Faith (Sam Smotherman)

Today we left the Colleg of Wittenberg and headed for the big, beautiful city of Berlin. Wittenberg provided us an opportunity to truly see how Martin Luther had such a large effect on this town. It was where he and Katharina von Bora had their family and also where Luther worked so diligently on praising and defending the word of the Lord. He did so with his famous posting of the ninety-five theses. This indeed shows someone who was ready to stand for his faith and speak out against the Holy Roman Empire.  We must realize that although Luther was ready to place his fate in God’s hands, the outcome could have just as easily swung the other way and ended in a tragedy. And if that was so, we might not even be speaking his name today or calling ourselves Lutherans. I think that makes evident just how much he was willing to give up for God and and to stick to what he believed in. I believe that God calls for us to test our faith and see how much control we are willing to place in his hands. It does not mean you have to take on the whole Roman Empire or the Pope himself; but it does question when the situation arises, what would you do for your faith? Would you stand up for it? Would you trust it? Would you be willing to die for it? These are tough questions to think about.  And in the moment, many of us are unsure of what we would do. It is a measuring stick of our devotion to God; it varies and we will always struggle to find where we fit with our faith in God.  Luckily, Martin Luther was able to find those who gave his belief a chance. They were pivotal in helping him shed light on a genuine interpretation of the Bible. This also went along with highlighting how the bureaucracy of the Catholic Church misused their positions by abusing the view of God through his children’s eyes, making them pay worthless indulgences. You cannot pay your way to heaven.

On another note, Berlin is the large capital of Germany that does not have so much to do with Luther, but is very historic as a place where faith was also tested. Fast forward a few hundred years and Jews are being persecuted for their faith at the head of Adolf Hitler and his regime. Fortunately while viewing the many places to see in Berlin, I had a chance to visit the, “Topographie Des Terrors” which is still being constructed, but had an amazing photo gallery with captions and unbelievable stories. It had in-depth descriptions of the Nazi SS force which committed horrible, unbearable crimes against innocent persons. It was very disheartening and humbling to wind my way around the exhibit, to read about those who were in charge of carrying out these violent actions. It included their photos as well as those of the persons they were executing just because of ethnicity, citizenship, faith, or sexuality. This place was definitely the most informative of the ones we have been to thus far because you could read how each country of Europe was affected by Nazi authority. It was mind-blowing how Hitler was able to brainwash the German people into believing what he was doing had merit and was in their best interest.  Right outside of the museum is what remained of the Berlin Wall that divided East and West Berlin. Just to see a physical boundary that separated families and the lives of the German people was pretty powerful.

After seeing and empathizing with so much humiliation and suffering, I realize how difficult it can be to stay strong for your faith. But I am truly thankful God has blessed me and led me to a great group such as LCM. If they had not found me during my first year at Carolina, I am not sure how much of a presence God would have for me, if any at all. Sadly enough, this is true, but I look back and see this, as Katie Hill calls it, my “God Heat Flash.” This trip has allowed me to strengthen my relationship with God and feel his greatness. I hope he continues to let me see his love whether it be in Germany or back home.

Wednesday March 8th, 2011 (Kelsey Gustaveson)

Wednesday Part 1-Leipzig:
Did you know that Bach was buried in Leipzig? Well, I saw his grave there in St. Thomas Lutheran Church today! Leipzig was an awesome city filled with much history, music, interesting food (not that all of the food isn't interesting here), and a beer that got many mixed reactions-

Feelings towards Gose (beer only found in Germany):
-It tasted like olives mixed with cabbage mixed with salt water (Hannah Peterson)
-It tasted like blood! (Kristen Long)
-I liked it. It tasted kind of like citrus. (Veronica)
-Potatoes and B.O. (Matt Clark)
-Sour Patch Kids mixed with Bud Light (Zach Boggs)

I personally didn't try Gose so I can't tell you for sure which of these reactions is accurate.

Leipzig played a major role in 1989 democratic revolution when its residents organized in protests. My tour group- Boy Sam, Sam Deal, Katie Weinel, Adam, and Allison- visited a museum which discussed the protests and the revolution. However, this museum was in German making it very difficult for us to understand much. Yet, another personal motivation for learning another language. This trip has been so great but I feel like I have missed out on so much simply by not being able to communicate with people.

Wednesday Part 2- Wittenberg:
We were greeted in Wittenberg by an adorable little German lady. She and two other East Berliners shared their stories of life in East Germany. These stories really put things into perspective for me and made it all more real. It seems crazy to me that just 20 years ago, Germany was divided and part of it was under Communist rule.
One of the things I have enjoyed the most about this trip has been getting to see and worship in German churches with the local people. Today we went to the Ash Wednesday Service in the church where Martin Luther preached over 2,000 times! This too was mostly in German but it was fun singing the German songs, having no clue of pronunciation or meaning of the words, and finding commonalities throughout the service-familiar tunes, the tradition of putting ashes on the forehead, and, my favorite part, communion. For communion we all got in big circle near the alter. Germans were giving communion to Americans in German while Americans were giving communion to Germans in English. This was a very moving thing to see and experience.

Wednesday Part 3- Karaoke!:
We're staying with students studying at Wittenberg college that know all of the cool night hang out placed and they recommended Flower Power to us. We discover that Flower Power is a bar straight out of the 70s- velvet on the walls, flowers everywhere, rainbow tables, Beatles and Led Zeplin posters. But wait...it gets better. Wednesday is Karaoke night at Flower Power! For some reason since day one we have all been wanting to do Karaoke so this was perfect! The locals laughed at us as the girls sang Shania Twain and Faith Hill and the boys screamed Creed. Carolina in my Mind by James Taylor was on the playlist (how perfect?!) so of course the group swayed and sang it together.

Ash Wednesday Day (by Ash Stemke)

Sooo...Today is Ash Wednesday -- in GERMANY.  In addition to it just being a day that I share a name with, it's also the beginning of the season of Lent, a time of remberance.  Religiously speaking, we remember our baptisms, when God chose us to be his children.  We remember communion, where we are week after week refreshed from our sins.  But most of all, we remember God's gift to us in the death of Jesus, His Son, Who died on a cross to forgive all of our sins.

In light of all this rememberance, I figured I would mention a few highlights of today/this week that I am certain I will remember for years to come:

I remember...
...the anticipation of coming to GERMANY.  Of traveling to Europe for the first time.  Of riding on the largest airplane I've ever ridden on.  The loooooooooooooooong flight.

I remember...
...getting delicious ice cream three days in a row from a wonderful, little, surprisingly-Spanish-speaking shop in Erfurt.

I remember...
...watching the UNC vs. Duke basketball game (beginning at 2 am because of the time difference) off of the slow, expensive hotel internet on several different bootleg websites (which one by one got shut down) and eventually just the the CBS Sports cartoon-animated "game tracker" online.

I remember...
...living, working, and eating at a CASTLE with a REAL MOAT (although it had no water).

I remember...
...worshiping in two different German Churches.  While it is quite easy to doze off during a sermon in a foreign language, the services followed similar structures to the ones we were used to in America.  Singing hymns in German is fun too!  However, large stone churches in Europe are rarely heated (as was the case with the City Church in Wittenberg that we did Ash Wednesday worship at today).  I'm not used to sitting in church wearing two jackets and a pair of gloves!

I remember...
...the wonderful cathedrals all over GERMANY!  I'm pretty sure that out of the 453 pictures I have taken so far, over 100 of them were taken inside churches.  Part of this is probably due to the fact that I (along with Larura, Max, and others) are very passionate about music and have been fascinated by the MASSIVE ORGANS in every church we've visited.

A (not-so) quick aside --- Today has been one of the best days on the trip so far for me, which is ironic (or whatever the opposite of "ironic" is) because it is Ash Wednesday.  In addition to being the day named after me (okay, maybe me after the day) (okay okay, maybe neither), I led the group in morning devotion before leaving for Leipzig this morning.  In Leipzig, my musical-nerdyness was allowed to run wild beacuse of our visit to St. Thomas Church, which is the church that Johann Sebastian Bach was music director at for seventeen years (he wrote most of his music while working there).  There is a statue and a museum in his honor and his remains remain (haha...okay bad joke) buried in the church's altar.

And last but definitely not least, I will remember my brothers and sisters in LCM that I have spent so many wonderful hours with on this trip. 

Happy Ash Wednesday!
Love, Ash

P.S. My middle name is Wednesday.

P.P.S. Not really.

Today I Helped Rebuild A Castle… (Emily Keefer)

…sort of. The vast majority of my day was comprised of sorting the rocks in a giant rock pile into other rock piles based on size. We were sitting through what used to be one of the walls of the castle (yes, CASTLE!) where we’re currently staying. It was physically intense and absolutely magical. The rocks we put in the “big rock” pile (we chose to define “big” as larger than a football) will be used again to rebuild some wall somewhere in this castle.

Castle! I’m spending part of my spring break in a castle. A castle! I threw my firsbee in a castle! It’s awesome. And magical things like this are making this trip absolutely fantastic. The German people are generally extremely nice, even though they usually speak very little English and I speak very little German. This can lead to awkward moments (trust me, I’m an awkward magnet), but really it only makes me want to learn German.

The parts of my day that weren’t spent rebuilding a CASTLE were spent eating, walking to the town of Mansfeld and wandering around for a while in an attempt to locate a grocery store, shopping at said grocery store, walking/skipping back, and bandaging wounds.

“Wounds!” you say. “Bandaging wounds?!” Yes. I have used the skills I gained in becoming an EMT more here in Germany than ever before. First it was the random passenger that passed out on the plane ride here. That time I was the highest-level currently certified emergency responder present. Then there was today. Caitlyn jammed her finger and I wrapped it. Taylor sliced her finger on a rock? glass? Something sharp while helping rebuild the castle (yes, it was dangerous work). But what took the cake? Zach Martin dropped an 80+ lb rock on his left big toe, which has thus far required dressing three times, and has resulted in what I usually try to avoid: a lot of blood on me. Did I mention that rebuilding the castle was dangerous work? But it’s all right because you know what they say: pain is weakness leaving the body. And when I wrap Zach’s toe, I’m approximately 100% sure he feels pain.

I think I’m falling in love with Germany. It hit me today when I was standing at the top of the scaffolding surrounding part of the castle. I was looking out at the countryside, soaking in the view and the evening sun. I could see someone in the distance, with a dog running by their side. I could see the grocery store where I bought an interesting assortment of things I won’t mention here because my father is a dentist (hi Dad!). I could even look down and creep on Caitlyn and Sam having an animated conversation way down on the castle wall. This country is

[I just realized that Zach has bled through his bandage YET AGAIN. I was sitting here with him, writing this in my notebook, and his gauze is bloody again. At first I was irritated but then Adam Bostian kissed it and it was so adorable that everything was all right.]

gorgeous. I’m having a fantastic time and I’m going to be sad when we leave. Not that I’m planning an elaborate scheme to escape and live here forever or anything. I would never do something like that. Certainly not. That will definitely not be happening in several days.

-Emily Keefer

*note: on the page on which this entry was originally written, there was a small smudge of blood and an arrow pointing to it with the label "Zach's blood!"

Day 6: Mansfeld (Shelby Allen)

It’s hard to believe that we are half-way through our trip to Germany, which is my fourth and final spring break with LCM.  Every day so far has been unique, and today was no different.  Since last night, we have been staying at Schloss Mansfeld, which is an old castle on top of a hill overlooking the town of Mansfeld.  I have to admit it’s pretty awesome to be able to stay in a castle in Germany.  My understanding is that the castle is being restored and is used as a youth retreat center.

Today was our work day for the trip.  There were several different jobs, so we all had different experiences and got to share them with each other in the evening.  My group painted a ceiling, others worked on cleaning, and other people got to sort rocks (to be used to rebuild a ruin).  I have always liked that service work is always incorporated into LCM spring breaks.  It reminds us that even though we’re taking a break from the hectic college lifestyle, it’s so rewarding to give some of that time to others.

After we finished working, we walked into Mansfeld to explore.  It’s a very small and quiet place, but we were able to see Martin Luther’s childhood home.  We also went into a restaurant/bar and had a drink. Like most other places we’ve been to so far, the bartender spoke very little English.  I don’t speak any German, so to order food I just point to things on the menu.  Sometimes the language barrier is frustrating, but the people here have all been friendly and understanding.

Germany has been amazing so far, and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the trip!