Day 15

            A bright, beautiful morning greeted us, but not one with a lot of plans.  After breakfast and a bit of computer checking, we headed out to find the Luther Oak.  After a bit of searching, we found it, a bit farther on the eastern end of the old city than we thought.  The story is that after Luther was condemned as a heretic by a “bull” from the Pope, Luther’s ultimate response was to publicly burn a copy of the condemnation.  He went to the edge of town where there was a hospital, and in a courtyard outside the hospital was a place where the authorities burned the clothes of people who had died in the hospital, in order to prevent the spread of disease.  This is where Luther went to burn the bull (there’s something about that term, bull, that brings a smile to my face.)  The day after, according to the story, someone planted an oak tree to mark the spot.  Apparently it didn’t survive, because according to the sign, a new oak tree was planted on the spot on the anniversary of the Augsburg confession in 1830, and that oak tree is still standing.  There’s a nice little garden around it.

            After that, we just walked the streets, looking for souveniers and watching the people.  Near the Information Center/WEM office, there was a guy with one of those real old bikes with the huge front wheel and tiny back wheel, about 5 ½ feet tall.  I really wanted to see him ride it.  So I sat on a bench in the sun and watched him try to strap all his luggage and gear to a little rack above the back wheel.  After 15-20 minutes, he finally got everything in place, and I sat up ready to take a picture of him riding away.  NOT.  He grabbed the bike and proceeded to walk it down the sidewalk until he was out of sight. 

            We went up to the WEM office and had a nice chat with LeRoy, than watched part of an English-language film about Wittenberg.

            I have been trying to find information about a Wittenberg printer named Hans Lufft, who printed the first complete Luther German bible in one volume.  I’m curious about him, because in 2002 I bought a page from a Lufft-printed Bible, and perhaps some of you have seen it hanging on the wall in my office.  I’d like to know where his printshop was.  After following the suggestion of others, we stopped at a little printshop in the courtyard of Lucas Cranach’s house/workshop.  The man working on the printing press there ignored us for a while, then noticed my name badge and recognized that he had printed the signs advertising the services I’m doing at the two churches.  We got a long lecture in somewhat broken English and a few German words. about how Cranach and Luther were friends, about all the portraits Cranach had painted, and how Cranach had printed the first German New Testament.

            He told/showed us an interesting story of how in Luther’s time, people would come and want to commission a portrait of the famous monk Luther to take back to their castles, churches, etc.  Rather than have Luther sit for thousands of portraits, they made  what I think is called a “cartoon” of a Cranach original, which was a board with pinhole outlines of the portrait.  Then an apprentice would apply the paint, and there you would have a Cranach portrait of Luther to take home!

            We’re going to do our siesta and snack, then head back to the chapel for devotions at 4:30.  An interesting story about the little chapel that I don’t think I mentioned before is that at one point, Luther appealed to the Pope to call a Church Council in order to settle the theological disputes, and that he issued that call publicly from inside the chapel where we have devotions.

            Well, I didn’t have to “work” very hard this afternoon.  Absolutely no one showed up for the devotions, so we sat and talked with LeRoy for 45 minutes or so.  Then we sat on the church grounds near the Stadtkirche and headed for the brat stand for supper.  We were too late – they were closing.  So we looked for a different place, and decided to try the “Asia” restaurant.  By the way, most of the restaurants have tables and chairs outside, as did Asia.  I had beef chop suey, and it was really very good.  Dea had chicken chop suey, and said it was OK.  It sure beat the blutwurst (blood sausage)  she ordered last night and couldn’t eat!

       Reading and relaxing for the rest of the evening.  Donner und blitzen!  Not the reindeer – a rather noisy thunderstorm just hit!