So, a lot of random thoughts today. First, an afterthought from yesterday. I finished reading Alex Cross’s Trial by James Patterson. It was amazing, and it was actually a very fitting book to read in light of Dachau. Without revealing too much about the book, it just saddens me that humanity never learns. We can’t be nice to one another. We can’t stop thinking we are better than someone else. We can’t stop believing that our life has more value than theirs. It doesn’t matter if its the Jews or Catholics or anyone else who was taken into Dachau, if its the Blacks in the South (or anywhere else), or if its the poor person in the country or inner city. We have so many problems to fix in our world. I just wish I knew how we could fix them. I think that’s been my goal as a teacher and as a campus minister. I just hope more people see that we can’t treat each other like this…we all just need to pay it forward.
So, it’s interesting to go somewhere where beauty is everywhere and money is no object the day after going to the small plot of land in Dachau that was the home and final resting place for so many people. Our first stop on the way to Neuschwanstein was a small store that specialized in selling all sorts of things made from wood. I bought a beautiful little box. I could have easily bought more there.
I think the second stop was almost as amazing as our final destination of the day. We went to this small church off Romantic Road. The church was created because people were making pilgrimages because of a statue. The church couldn’t afford a statue, so they created their own out of pieces from broken statues. They finally raised enough money to buy a statue, so some parishoner just took the old one and put it in his basement. Years later, he and his wife were cleaning out the basement and she found it and wanted to put it up. So they put the statue, and one day they were praying to it and it started crying. People started making pilgrimages to their house to see this statue, and they couldn’t hold everyone in their home so they built the small chapel, but that quickly was not big enough. Eight years later, they completed the church. The side of the altar has a huge thank you wall where people had notes of thanks and messages of being cured because of their pilgrimages. The church was beautiful and had so much detail. You could take a month-long class on the history of each painting and detail in it. And Erin made an interesting observation. The Church we went to in Austria was pretty, but a more negative view of God. This Church was beautiful and definitely a place where you could feel God’s love. I said the prayer I say so many times each day: I asked that my fertility surgery goes well on September 15 and that I get pregnant and that the baby implants this fall. Maybe saying the prayer in this place will help it get answered.
After going to this amazing church, we went to Neuschwanstein. We hiked a a very steep incline up to the bridge and walked over to the castle. I have to admit this: I felt pretty proud of myself. I was able to get up with very little trouble. The working out has made me strong even if I don’t look like the most in-shape person. I had less trouble than all of the active duty people. And I was proud of Erin for keeping up with me. We discussed yet again how she’s joining a gym or the Y with me if she moves back to St. Louis.
The views around the castle were just breath-taking. It was like looking at a postcard again and then again. I know that it’s a newer castle, but I’m still amazed at what people could do without the technology of today. I can’t imagine hiking up those mountains with supplies to build that thing. So many gorgeous details. It was hard to believe Ludwig only lived there for 170 days of a year and it took 17 years to build it and it’s not even finished.
One more interesting thing…Erin and I were doing the math. On a busy summer day like today, they make approximately $180,000 a day before concessions and souvenirs. Isn’t that amazing? It’s a money sucker. Beautiful, but wow.
We drove home through Austria, took a trip to the army base behind the hotel, and then got our massages. I had a Swedish massage with hot stones. It was amazing. Apparently the right side of my body was SUPER tight. I can’t imagine why…after everything that’s gone on in the last year, I’m surprised I was only stressed on one side! Just think…it was a year ago that we found out that Mark was going to be deployed. I came home from my first day at school to find out that he received the no-notice deployment and that our lives for the next two years would be changed dramatically.
If you told me last August 26 that I’d be traveling with Erin in Germany, I’d never believed it. And yet here I am. So tomorrow is low key: we’re hanging out around Garmisch, shopping, biking to a lake hopefully, and the Griesbrau Brewery Tour.
Oh, and one more important lesson that I learned today. I did a lot of watching parents. We saw some awful parenting and some amazing parenting. I’m just taking note of each, and I’m hoping by being observant, I’ll end up on the amazing side one day.
So with that thought, I’m off to talk to Mark and then bed for the night. Auf Wiedersen!
