Day 16

            It has been an interesting day, but not rushed.  We took our time this morning getting up and going to breakfast.  Then we walked to the WEM office and chatted with LeRoy about other places to visit besides Wittenberg, and just general chit-chat.  We walked to the grocery store again – I know, that’s really stretching the interesting part.  But it was!  We found the cookie outlet store again that we had visited a week ago, and this time they had some of the sandwich cookies with the Luther seal imprinted on the cookie.  We just had to pick up some of those to bring along.

             Then we stopped at Aldi’s, which many of you know is a German grocery chain that has recently come to the Midwest.  In there, we saw some “Trader Joe’s” things – I seem to recall that Trader Joe is a subsidiary of Aldi’s.  Got lots of snacks, etc.  Then the bottle shop again – I found some Freiberg bock (dark) beer that I have been looking for since 2002!  They are now cooling in the refrigerator in our room, waiting for my brother to arrive on Saturday.

            After siesta time and the noon snack, we went back to the Lutherhaus and had our picture taken by the door that Katie Luther had installed in the house.  It has whisper benches by the door, and above one side is a stonecut of Luther, and above the other side there is a stonecut of the Luther rose.  This is the place that Bob had told us where Martin and Katie used to sit and watch their kids play in the plaza.

            We headed back for the 4:30 devotions, but were early, so we went into the Stadtkirche.  Kirchenmeister Bernard Naumann was there this time, so I got to ask him a couple questions.  First, exactly where were Martin and Katie married.  He told me that the records are actually a bit sketchy, but the “real” wedding took place in the Luther haus on a Tuesday, since at that time, Tuesdays were considered a particularly auspicious day on which to get married.  Pastor Bugenhagen, who was the “real” pastor of the Stadtkirche and a good friend of Luther, did the wedding.  A few days later, Martin and Katie had another ceremony outside the front main door of the Stadtkirche, at which they think Justas Jonas, another colleague and friend of Luther, presided.  A few days later they entered the Stadtkirche for the first time as husband and wife, and Pastor Bugenhagen had a special ceremony to welcome them.  Of course, the records aren’t totally clear, but this is the best reconstruction that Herr Naumann could make, and he’s probably the most knowledgeable man about this in Wittenberg.

            I also asked about the printer Hans Lufft, who printed the first complete Bible in German as translated by Luther.  I have a page, as I mentioned in an earlier post, from a Lufft-printed Luther Bible hanging in my office, and was curious to find out where it was printed.  Herr Naumann directed us to the house where Hans Lufft lived (which doesn’t exist any  more, but recent archaeological excavations have found the foundation of his house, and in the basement they found some pieces of moveable type) and to the place where the actual print shop was – that’s only a block from our hotel.  I was very delighted to see both places.

            Finally, Herr Naumann arranged to let us into the balcony, where we could get a bit closer look at the organ.  The console is locked, of course, as is the German custom, but at least we got to look a bit closer and get some pictures.

            Herr Naumann himself was a bit busy and distracted.  At 5:00, they had a special service in the Stadtkirche to mark the end of the school year, at least for the protestant schools.  Dea thought she had it good to have taught in the USA, where school ended in early June, not mid-July.  The kids coming to the service were just as pumped about school being done as kids, for example, at RCLS.  Looked like a big deal – many were quite dressed up to attend.

         And then – 4:30 devotions.  Or not.  Nobody came for the second day in a row – just a bit discouraging, to say the least.

            We had a brat for supper from our favorite stand, and soon will head for the Stammtisch.  Hope someone shows up there!

            Tomorrow we are planning to drive to Eisleben – the town where Luther was born and died – and Halle, the birthplace of George Frederich Handel.    Should be interesting.

             Stammtisch was fun tonight.  There were 15-20 people there, and LeRoy, Dea, and I were the only Americans.  Of the others, some spoke quite fluent English, and others are still working on it.  Dea kind of got monopolized and isolated from the conversation, but LeRoy and I had a delightful time with Rosemarie, who has lived in Wittenberg for over 40 years (not sure where she lived before) and has lived through “the change” from East Germany to a unified Germany.  Extremely interesting opinions on that, believe me!  On the road tomorrow.