A Woman Scorned

Oh group travel. Thou art.... special.

I'm currently skipping the evening lecture and compline. I need some Alison time. ;)

Carolyn and I grabbing some coffee and cake. Amaretto Machiatto.... and apple pie. 

Silvio over Luther's tomb in the rebuilt Castle Church.

Silvio over the font at the city church. HE was baptized here... as well as Luther's kids and tons of other awesome figures of Reformation history.

In the Luther House (former monastery and Luther's personal home with Katie and kids), this is the table where theology was formed. Table talk, ftw.

"When a coin in the copper rings, a soul from purgatory springs." OR "When the money goes in the chest, a soul rises to its heavenly rest."  Luther hated indulgences.)

Martin Luther is my LOVE

I am in Wittenberg.

I am actually IN Wittenberg.

Luther was in Wittenberg.

Actually IN Wittenberg.

I squealed like a little girl getting off the bus. We see the city tomorrow. Tonight was check in, supper, lecture, and compline. The seminarians (former seminarians as all 7 of us graduated) went for a beer at a beer garden to watch Germany kick some Netherlands ass. GO GOMEZ!

Ahem....

The East Side Gallery. Something like 100 artists from around the world came to paint a portion of the original wall. It is approx. a mile long. The panels are... amazing. And to see where the Berlin Wall stood... is powerful. This was one of my favorites.

The wall.

And speaking of the wall. This is at Checkpoint Charlie. 

The gorgeous, gorgeous blue glass and interior of the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church.

And once again, I am in Wittenberg. Watched the game. Drank a beer. HELLO!

Things I've Learned

-"To-Go Coffee" has to be advertised as it is still unique. The understanding that all coffee shops carry paper cups so you can take your coffee on the go is totally American.

-Cobblestone streets are hard to walk on all day. But beautiful.

-Breakfast here is savory. Typically. But there are many, many delicious pastries and bakeries on every corner for the rest of the day. The best is a cinnamon pastry called Franzbrötchen.

-I love St. Pauli. This is the red light district of Hamburg where Corinna used to live and where her friends that we stayed with live. Being there in the middle of the German soccer game was hilarious. I have also nicknamed the two drag queens who like to have loud, long conversations beneath our window: Elmo and Thunder.

-Large coffees are 12oz if you are lucky. Again, Americans supersize EVERYTHING whether we realize it or not. The idea of drinking 20 oz of coffee in one sitting is silly. (Please, no commentary about taking a 20oz coffee with you to consume over the course of your day - which is what I do. That idea has yet to reach here.)

-Everyone wears scarves. There are, perhaps, 8 people who do not. I have not met them. Everyone wears scarves. Men, older women, babies...

-There is a strange obsession with wearing the flag of the US. Pants. Leggins. Shorts. Scarves. T-shirts. It really creeps me out.... 

-You must have a local show you the sites. It's the best way to see a country.

That's How We Roll

Today, I slept. And packed. A did more genealogical research on the family. Tomorrow, Corinna and I head out on our adventure!

Last night, we went out to Stuttgart's "downtown" parts. Got some more Euro cash cash, got to see the sites, and had yummy dinner. Something about Schwäbisch food?? Maultaschen was fantastic. So was the beir!

Yumm......

Corinna says, "Everything comes with a castle."

Lina, Lina, Lina

More on Lina!

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=westendorf%2Dmv&id=I7834

ID: I7834

Name: Lina Wilhelmine Friedericke Hoepner

Surname: Hoepner

Given Name: Lina Wilhelmine Friedericke

Sex: F

Birth: 17 Feb 1902 in DuPage Co., Illinois, USA

Death: 3 Aug 1926 in Elgin, Illinois, USA

_UID: 30D79CED3DF80F42831FE2135232802EDF3E

Baptism: 9 Mar 1902

Change Date: 3 Feb 2012 at 18:11:15

Father: Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hermann Höpner b: 13 Nov 1860 in Arendsee
Mother: Wilhelmine Christine Ihssen b: 13 Mar 1875 in York Twp., DuPage Co., Illinois, USA

Marriage 1 Herman Wilhelm Bernhard Schmidt b: 15 Mar 1897 in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, USA

• Married: 9 May 1923

Children

1.  Living Schmidt
2.  Living Schmidt

Genealogy

Corinna told me after first meeting her that everyone immediately declares how German they are or what ancestors they have that are German. I'm sure that mine went something like this, "Oh! My grandma is German! I'm at least a quarter German."

And it's true. My grandma Elaine Schmidt married a Bradley and had, among others, my mother who married a Williams and that's how you get me, Alison Williams.

Grandma's mother was Lina Wilhelmine Friedericke HOEPNER and I found a link for her on this crazy German website that is tracing ancestry! She married Hermann Wilhelm Bernhard SCHMIDT. Her father was Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hermann HOEPPNER and her mother, Wilhelmine Christine IHSSEN. So cool.... And even cooler, my big brother is Christopher. Who knew it was a family name?


I like being in Germany. It is inspirational.... I also want to learn to speak German now, too. 


Ay yi yi! 


(LINKS: Lina is #612. http://www.ende-genealogy.de/bliefernicht/pafg24.htm#53503)

Koburg Goodness

A trip on the Autobahn to Koburg! 90 Euro in gas to get there and back. Corinna says we are not allowed to complain about gas prices in the US!

At the church in Koburg where Luther preached several times. This is the beautiful baptismal font that had cherubs around the bottom and the phrase "Let the little children come to me." Awesome.

Corinna posing with Luther's bust in the church.

In Koburg town center.... Gotta love on Prince Albert if you are in Koburg!

But you know my love is for this man.... here's Martin in the balcony area of Luther's Chapel at Veste (Castle) Koburg where he chilled for a time.

And on the wall of the room he slept in. This is where he translated psalms and wrote letters to the people hanging out in Augsburg where he wasn't allowed to go. So sad.

Cranach art of Martin and Katie. Woot!

I found out C's mom's mom was also a Schmidt! My mom's mom is formerly a Schmitty as well. ;) 

C's family is in Koburg - our main reason for going up to Koburg today! 

Bad to Good

Bad night of coughing and dry throat that could not be quenched. So I took some meds upon waking. And.... then I didn't eat soon enough and ended up throwing up on the train to Tubingen. Grand!

By one or so I felt better and the relaxing nature of Tubingen set in. A small town with lots of charm. This is the site of the major university and a center for theological study. Lots of famous faces graced the university's halls. Kepler, Ratzinger, Hegel... and my boy Melanchthon.

We did a boat tour first which was lovely. Lots of cute frat boys around as well which never hurts. One had a gorgeous tattoo of the world on his right shoulder blade. Gorgeous ink! We dined at a beer garden which was chock full of cyclists. Shopped around Tubingen with C's friend Sara who spent a year there and knew her way around. Got a few gifts and a brilliant blue scarf for me to where European-style (lol). 

Corinna and Sara on the train to Tubingen. Not sure if this is first or second time around....

This is the kind of boat we took. You can see the ones on the left have their planks locked and the ones on the right are all set up for passengers.

Corinna looked contemplative while we drift past a cool house built in 1870's.

Frat boat. They are all gondola style, pushed by the long stick against the water. These guys all took turns.

Well hello my new fantastic 3 Euro scarf...

This picture captures spaghetti ice cream. Sauce is strawberry. "Cheese" is shaved white chocolate! Vanilla ice cream has been churned through a grinder giving it pasta quality. Cute!

Difficult to decide which picture of the church to include. So you get this one because everyone can appreciate some stained class while not everyone gets a bunch of aristocratic tombs, Moses with horns, or an amazing pulpit on high. ;)

Last view of Tubingen as we leave. Sara told me these flowers are chosen by a city council of sorts every year. Also, they'll be a big race on these waters this week. 53 boats!

A Day in Life of the Lazy Vacationer

Day Two: Still in Stuttgart. Woke up around 7am this morning after a fairly decent nights sleep! So proud of my body's ability to sleep. Aww.... Corinna had a crazy day at work so we took it easy today. Tomorrow we will adventure to Tubingen! Something about a boat ride tour and good food?

Yes, I'll start the day with a glass of Orange juice. Oh wait, BLOOD ORANGE juice? Yes, please. 

(I know we can get this in the US but c'mon!)

Salz and Pfeffer sound like characters in a Dr. Seuss book! 

Corinna's living room and my sleeping area while I'm here. See my feet? Cuddly.

I have this thing with going to Chinese food restaurants in other countries. This General Tso's chicken was way different, not fried, and packed with lots of veggies and served with white rice. Yum.... no crab rangoons though. Tragic.

Stuttgart Hello!

I have arrived and spent my first day in Germany! Thought I would attempt to reflect daily here for those curious. ;)

I arrived around 9am Germany time. Corinna picked me up at the airport and we took the train to her place. A stop over in an awesome Italian bakery on the corner and then for some breakfast. Then... I napped. I'm sorry. I know the way to get over jet lag is to NOT do that. But I did. I slept. For like, 5 hours. It was glorious. Then we went to the grocery store after C got off work, made supper, and invited a friend over. Had German wine and my favorite C meal (gnocchi, tomatoes, mozzarella in a honey mustard dressing - YUM). Now the real test comes - will I sleep tonight?

Corinna and I!!! Right after I got off the plane... and got coffee of course. 

Folks, this is a PRETZEL croissant. Did you hear that? Yeah... heaven.

Oh and an apricot cookie that was also heavenly.

Community recycling. Three big bins just across the street for clear, brown, and green glass. And we took the plastic bottles to grocery store for $5 back! Woot.

Just another cool community thing. Germans are so cool.