Wanderings

Hello Everyone,

I know that I just wrote a long letter, but I want to finish writing about my pre-term travels before I forget them and so that next time, I can move on to life here in Lacoste because it is pretty wonderful.

In my last letter, I was talking about the difference between being a pilgrim and a nomad and I described my recent pilgrimage to Werther, Germany. I don’t know if it’s just me or it’s a wider cultural trend, but I tend to be rather dualistic when it comes to different options. If someone tells me, “You can have cereal or toast,” or “You visit the mountains or the ocean,” or “You can like Ernie or Bert,” my first reaction is, “Well, which one is better?” This mentality characterized my initial thinking about nomads and pilgrims. Surely, I reasoned, being a pilgrim is preferable. You have a specific goal. You can feel like you’re making progress. And what was perhaps most important to me, you have a permanent home to return to. But then I wondered if I was thinking too much like a Westerner. The past two weeks have shown me that if anyone ever tells me, “You can be a pilgrim or a nomad,” I can say, “Thanks! I’ll be both.”

The best part about wandering around without a specific agenda is that you are free to be much more spontaneous than when you are a pilgrim. When I was on the way to Werther, I couldn’t afford to stop in the towns along the way and see what they had to offer. When I was just “bumming” around Germany and France (a strange verb, in my opinion -- I took my entire body with me, not just my bum), I was able to discover many sites I never would have found otherwise. Being a nomad is much more conducive to exploration, which as you know, is something I value very much. When I left Savannah two weeks ago, I had no other goals other than to visit my friends in Wiesbaden and Marseilles and then to make it to Werther. Here are some of the other things I’ve come across as I’ve been wandering, along with a few pictures for each place.

-- In Nuremberg, famous for the post WWII trials that were held there, there is a museum dedicated to understanding the rise of the Nazi party and the influence they had over German people, architecture, politics and history.

The museum, formerly the unfinished Nazi Congress Hall

I was struck by how quickly the Nazis came to power and how completely they controlled people’s opinions of them. Ever since I can remember, Nazis have been associated with evil, but it was fascinating to hear from ordinary German people for whom that was not always the case. One older woman who had been interviewed said that she’d heard a rumor about Jewish people being killed but she refused to believe it because “our Führer” would never have allowed that. I learned for the first time about the massive Nazi rallies that were held in Nuremberg and how they generated a carnival-like atmosphere. Standing on the platform looking out over Zeppelin Stadium where Hitler gave many of his speeches was particularly eerie. But then my friends and I went to downtown Nuremberg where we wandered through quaint winding streets of the older area where the renowned painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer lived. In many ways, this jarring juxtaposition between tragedy and nostalgia was representative of my time in Germany.

The organ in the cathedral in Nuremberg

-- I was expecting to treat Leipzig as merely a place to sleep while I made my way to Werther. It turns out that my hostel was right near the Saint Thomas Church, where Bach was the choir master for 27 years and where the composer Felix Mendelssohn was based. I’m not enough of a classical music aficionado to have sought this place out, but it was exciting to stumble upon it.

A statue of Bach in front of Saint Thomas Church

-- Wittenberg was a strange place. I was interested in visiting the town where Martin Luther famously nailed his 95 theses to the church door.

The bronze doors with Luther's Theses on them
(the original wooden doors were burned down in a church fire)

Inside the church

It was rather disconcerting, though, to see how much the town idolized Luther. I’m as grateful for his bravery and integrity as the next protestant, but I wasn’t sure if the church was more invested in him or in Jesus. [Alanis Morisette, in case you are reading, this is ironic.]

"Are you SURE you want to protest, Martin?"

Another unexpected highlight from Wittenberg was getting locked by myself in the church tower. A lady let me out soon afterwards, but not before I’d rehearsed the plot of Rapunzel in my head. I also came across an exhibit of 20th century art dealing with Christian themes. It was arranged chronologically and it was fascinating to see how the treatment of Christianity was influenced by events like the World Wars or the outbreak of AIDS.

-- I found Berlin absolutely fascinating. I went on a three and a half hour walking tour each day and learned how little I knew about the Cold War in Germany and the division of the country and of the city. We saw what remains of the Wall, one of the former watch towers and part of the Death Strip. We went to the Stasi Museum, where we learned about the extreme measures the East German government went to in order to censor and spy on its citizens. One of my favorite parts of Berlin was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe which was brilliantly designed. There’s not enough space here for me to describe it, but I’d be happy to tell you about it if you’re interested.

The memorial

I also loved going up in the dome on the Reichstag which is made of glass and lets you look not only out over the city but also down into the room where their parliament debates, representing the supposed transparency of the post-reunification government.

The dome on top of the Reichstag

-- Mainz was a total treat. I not only got to visit the Gutenberg Museum, where there were a number of exhibits relating to printmaking and bookbinding (and a few of the original Bibles that Gutenberg printed), but I also happened upon Saint Steven’s Cathedral. The windows in this place had been destroyed many times before, so in the 70s, the artist Marc Chagall designed the current ones. They are all made with deep royal blue glass with bright colored accents. You walk in the cathedral and it feels like you’re underwater; even the air is blue. It was one of the most peaceful and rich buildings I’ve ever been in. I want to live there.




-- My favorite thing about Strasbourg was the company I kept. My friend Leslie (who had kindly shared her and her husband’s apartment with me in Wiesbaden) decided to come with me and I’m so glad she did! It was great to catch up with her and to spend time chatting about things both profound and silly while wandering downtown through the streets lined with gorgeous half-timber houses.

Inside the cathedral in Strasbourg


The "Petite France" area of the city


Too gosh darn cute

Probably the touristic highlight was a boat tour we did of the city. Somehow the only audio guide channel in English we could find was the children’s one which featured two smart alec kids and an Australian Captain who was a closet pirate and had a parrot named Cocoa. Somehow, he had been present during several centuries of Strasbourg’s history which was convenient if not entirely plausible. We hoped this wasn’t the peak of their acting careers.

This is the building where the European Parliament meets.
I love how European cities often have such varying styles of architecture.

-- In Marseilles, I stayed with another friend, Annie, who was kind enough to host me overnight and then take me the next morning to the school where she teaches English. I talked with her students and they practiced asking questions. They came up with some good ones like, “Who are you?” “Do you like Americans or French people better?” and “Are you Chinese?” After lunch, I went to the Marseilles airport where I met up with the rest of the SCAD group and headed to Lacoste.

The last two weeks have been a good mixture of things. I was able to rest from the crazy end of the term but also to learn as much as I reasonably could about the places I visited. I had alone time but also time to reconnect with old friends. I was able to be both a pilgrim and a nomad.

I promise to stop inundating you soon and that next time at least, the letter will be shorter. Probably because it will be in Chinese.

Have a good week,
Sarah/Mouse