Our first class trip was great! I was a bit worried about how it would work out, thinking that maybe it would end up being hectic. But I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected! This trip specifically was designed for our Theology/History course that focuses on Martin Luther and Johann Sebastian Bach (I know, a strange combination). It was a lot of fun. A lot of walking, but still fun!
Our week started off in Leipzig in eastern German state Sachsen. Meaning on the other side of the country… meaning a long train ride, a long train ride that started off with Mary-Ann and I running to the bus stop to catch the bus so we could catch that train. All that matters though is that we made it! And I was able to sleep the entire way there, so that’s good too.
This is the boys choir that preforms for the Thomaskirche. This would be the kind of choir the Bach was incharge of during his employment!
By the time we arrive to Leipzig the sun has already set. And we’re greeted with the lovely spray-painted sign of “SWABIANS GO HOME” (Reutlingen = The middle of Swabia). But that’s alright! Good thing we aren’t actual Swabians! And our hotel/pension is only a short walk away from the train station so we start our way over. To get there we cross over a popular street car stop, in which Dr. Jennings alerts us to watch out for said street cars before crossing. And what do I do? Walk in front of a street car. (It was not my day as you could tell…) Luckily I just needed to quicken my pace to get by.
But to any of you who doubt my competence, I’ll have you know that everything went great afterwards. Our main reason for visiting Leipzig was the Thomaskirche, the church that Bach use to be employed at. It’s a beautiful gothic church and has a huge statue of Bach by the side of it! Lucky for us we were even able to listen to the boy choir while we were there. After spending the whole day exploring Leipzig, it was nice to sit down and relax.
This is where Luther lived in Wittenberg!
The next day we took a day trip to Wittenberg. As many of you should know, this is where Martin Luther used to live, teach at, and most of all, this is where he posted his 95 Theses, starting the Protestant Reformation. Everything in this town was very old and quaint. It was so cool to be able to see everything that we learned in class! We visited his old house and the Schlosskirche where he posted the 95 Theses. The church was under construction, but luckily we visited at the right time to see the church mid-renovation! It was really cool to see the church empty, and we were even able to go into places we normally wouldn’t be allowed to.
So basically, the first half of our trip went great! I had a lot of fun and I would love to visit Leipzig and Wittenberg again!
