Category Archives: Germany

Martin Luther Sightseeing in Germany 

Before we go anywhere, we read books and watch movies so that the boys are already learning before we get there. They really enjoyed learning all of the history about Martin Luther and the Reformation. We went to Wartburg Castle first, on our way to Berlin. And on our way back, we stopped in Wittenberg. martin luther sightseeing photos 027P I N this to pinterestWartburg Castle is where Martin Luther hid when he was considered an outlaw and a heretic. While he was there, he translated the Bible into German. This castle was very, very old and built in 1067. Goethe also stayed in this castle for a little while, and it is an UNESCO world heritage site.

martin luther sightseeing photos 028P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 029P I N this to pinterestThe view was just so pretty!martin luther sightseeing photos 030P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 031P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 032P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 033P I N this to pinterestSt. Elizabeth’s Chapel martin luther sightseeing photos 035P I N this to pinterestMartin Luther’s roommartin luther sightseeing photos 036P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 037P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 038P I N this to pinterestThe Castle Church where Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the church doors. The University Wittenberg used these doors to put up important announcements. Martin Luther is also buried in this church. It is also connected to Schloss Wittenberg.martin luther sightseeing photos 039P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 040P I N this to pinterestYou can see the top of St. Mary’s church, which was where Martin Luther preached. They also had the first mass in German and communion was given to everyone in this church. This town also has the densest concentration of World Heritage sites in one area.

martin luther sightseeing photos 041P I N this to pinterestThe first Protestant church service was held at St. Mary’s church in 1521. martin luther sightseeing photos 042P I N this to pinterestOld Market Square in Wittenberg with a statue of Luther.martin luther sightseeing photos 043P I N this to pinterestThis little town also had canals. The other image is the front of St. Mary’s church.martin luther sightseeing photos 044P I N this to pinterestAltarpiece in St. Mary’s church.martin luther sightseeing photos 045P I N this to pinterestStudents scratched their names on the back of the alterpiece, depending on whether they thought they were going to – the river of knowledge, if they were good at their studies, or Hell, if they were not. Luther’s son Johannes scratched his name on the right, but ended up doing better in school later.martin luther sightseeing photos 046P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 048P I N this to pinterestThis is Lutherhaus, which was an amazing museum of his life. It was pretty incredible.martin luther sightseeing photos 049P I N this to pinterestThis was his pulpit, and he also established the first community chest.martin luther sightseeing photos 050P I N this to pinterestThis tree marks the spot where Luther burned the Papal Bull and Extermination in December of 1520.martin luther sightseeing photos 051P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 052P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 053P I N this to pinterestmartin luther sightseeing photos 054P I N this to pinterestAnother view of the Castle Church.martin luther sightseeing photos 055P I N this to pinterest

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Our Trip to Berlin

Berlin was our first overnight trip since London in February, so we were really excited for this trip. We planned some Martin Luther sights along the way and on the way back, which I’ll share those when I get them edited:)I cannot even imagine the grand number of photos I have taken since moving to Europe. We planned a walking tour in Berlin since we would not be there long. I really like to research, read reviews, and always, look in my guide books for recommendations when planning trips. Another travel tip is to use google maps. When I’m planning a trip, I like to save a list in google maps that includes our hotel and all of the places we want to see and then maybe want to see if there’s time. We can organize our days by location and then also if you have extra time, you can bring up your list and see what’s nearby. With all the researching I do, we ended up booking Nick Jackson for a walking tour of Berlin, and it was the best use of our time. It was such a great tour, and the kids loved that Nick is a real archaeologist. We ended up recommending this tour to friends who just went recently and they also loved this tour so much. Of course, there is so much history in Berlin and no way to do it all in one trip, but we thoroughly enjoyed what we got to see and the added bonus of so much yummy food. It was also a neat time to visit because we were surprised at what a ghost town Berlin was. The sidewalks were empty and we really didn’t see many people. Another highlight of our trip was our brief stop into the Bonhoeffer house. Owen really loved learning about Dietrich Bonhoeffer after reading this book, and it was truly memorable for him to visit the Bonhoeffer house.

berlin photos367P I N this to pinterestCheckpoint Charlie – crossing point between West and East Berlinberlin photos368P I N this to pinterestOn one side there is an American soldier (you can read about him here) and on the other is a Soviet soldier.berlin photos369P I N this to pinterestYou gotta love that there is a KFC here.berlin photos370P I N this to pinterestberlin photos371P I N this to pinterestberlin photos372P I N this to pinterestWe have to take a photo when we see Keller somewhere. Also, in front of the Reichstag. berlin photos373P I N this to pinterestBrandenburg Gate – so much history here and Napoleon was the first to use the gate for a triumphant procession.berlin photos374P I N this to pinterestberlin photos375P I N this to pinterestThis was a powerful memorial to the Sinit and Roma – you can see the Reichstag right behind it. berlin photos376P I N this to pinterestberlin photos377P I N this to pinterestThe East Berlin Rabbits 

berlin photos378P I N this to pinterestberlin photos379P I N this to pinterestSoviet memorial to the 2,000 soldiers that died when fighting to liberate Berlin in 1945. The marble is from Hitler’s Chancellery and you can see the bullet holes.berlin photos380P I N this to pinterestberlin photos381P I N this to pinterestThe Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe was just so powerful. berlin photos382P I N this to pinterestUnderneath this parking lot was where the Fuhrerbunker was where Hitler killed himself. Our tour guide helped write the information and was listed on this sign.berlin photos383P I N this to pinterestThis profile is a tribute to George Elser who planted a bomb to try to kill Hitler. This is one of the remaining buildings with Nazi architecture in Berlin – it was the Ministry of Aviation and is now the German Finance Ministry.berlin photos384P I N this to pinterestWe learned so many daring stories of those who crossed the Berlin Wall.berlin photos385P I N this to pinterestberlin photos386P I N this to pinterestberlin photos387P I N this to pinterestberlin photos388P I N this to pinterestberlin photos389P I N this to pinterestberlin photos390P I N this to pinterestNo summer day in Germany is complete without ice cream.berlin photos391P I N this to pinterestberlin photos392P I N this to pinterestberlin photos393P I N this to pinterestberlin photos394P I N this to pinterestberlin photos395P I N this to pinterestberlin photos396P I N this to pinterestberlin photos397P I N this to pinterestberlin photos398P I N this to pinterestThe top of this building had one of the remaining Nazi eagles. We also had some tasty cinnamon rolls in Berlin.berlin photos399P I N this to pinterestTrip to the Bonhoeffer House.berlin photos400P I N this to pinterestberlin photos401P I N this to pinterestberlin photos402P I N this to pinterestberlin photos403P I N this to pinterestberlin photos404P I N this to pinterestThis was Dietrich’s room – where he wrote part of Ethics and they also found a Resistance manuscript he was working on. Dietrich was arrested by the Gestapo in this house.


 

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Heidelberg University Student Prison

    Heidelberg University is the oldest university in Germany, and the Heidelberg University Student Prison was such an interesting place to visit. It was actually something that students tried to get in trouble so they could get thrown into jail. There was a door that led to the building where they had classes so they could still go to class and come back while in student prison. There are pictures of some of the students and then there’s the graffiti they drew all over the walls. The student prison was open from 1823-1914 and ended when WWI started. Love that there was some Perkeo graffiti – Perkeo was the keeper of the Heidelberg Castle wine barrel.

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Our Trip to Freiburg, Germany

Freiburg is a super cute town in the Black Forest, that we just LOVED. One thing that has been fun about traveling in Germany is just seeing how unique and special each town is. Freiburg is known as Germany’s sunniest city and also the capital of the Black Forest. We just did a car day trip from Heidelberg and also explored parts of the Black Forest, but some friends recently rented a tree house and stayed in the Black Forest for the weekend, which also sounded really fun. Where we parked, we just happened to walk right up to the St. Martin Tower or the Martinstor, which I just LOVED. My kids celebrated St. Martin’s Day with some sweet friends in North Carolina before we moved to Germany, so they loved celebrating it in Heidelberg, too. (You can read more about St. Martin’s Day here) If you’ve been following my instagram stories, you probably know that I’ve been collecting a little German village, which my kids just love. We walked into a little shop in Freiburg by the church that happened to be selling some of the village, and so we got the St. Martin’s Tower, just so special. When we are in smaller towns, we love following the Rick Steve’s city walks. It’s perfect for this town (you can get the Rick Steve’s Germany book here) I like having the kindle versions because it’s easier to highlight, smaller to carry around with you out in cities, but sometimes you can’t get every book in the Kindle version.

 

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Outside the Town hall buildings, you can find the coat of arms from Freiburg’s sister cities.black forest freiburg germany039P I N this to pinterestblack forest freiburg germany040P I N this to pinterestGoiters were so common in the Middle ages that they were included in the gargoyles. This house also has a little plaque to show that Erasmus visited there.black forest freiburg germany041P I N this to pinterestblack forest freiburg germany042P I N this to pinterestblack forest freiburg germany043P I N this to pinterestOn the church, you can see the different sizes that bread should be so customers weren’t cheated when buying bread at the market. You can also see how the sizes changed during different years.black forest freiburg germany044P I N this to pinterestThe church has a very special gargoyle which the boys, of course, thought was hysterical. (You can read about it here.)black forest freiburg germany045P I N this to pinterestblack forest freiburg germany046P I N this to pinterestThey finally found the gargoyle. Notice the beautiful Historical Merchant’s Hall behind them.black forest freiburg germany047P I N this to pinterestAnother thing we loved about Freiburg are these! So beautiful and made out of Rhine River Stones. They match their building. (knife shop)black forest freiburg germany048P I N this to pinterestThe Swabian Gate – It has pictures of salt mining and also a reminder to stay on the right path (picture of a person pulling a thorn out of their foot) as they exit Freiburg. black forest freiburg germany049P I N this to pinterestThe little canals were just so cute. I was worried I was going to end up falling before we left Freiburg, because I kept forgetting about them when going in and out of the two shops we went in. They are called Bachle and were built to stop fires – they could flood the streets and also a source of water.black forest freiburg germany050P I N this to pinterestThis part of the city was my favorite! So beautiful.black forest freiburg germany051P I N this to pinterestblack forest freiburg germany052P I N this to pinterestblack forest freiburg germany053P I N this to pinterestblack forest freiburg germany054P I N this to pinterestThey also sell adorable little boats for the kids that they can sail in the little canals. It is a legend that if you fall in, you have to marry a Freiburger which we still joke with the kids about. black forest freiburg germany056P I N this to pinterestblack forest freiburg germany057P I N this to pinterestWe loved just how unique Freiburg is, and it’s perfect little spot to explore the Black Forest from. Also, across from Starbucks is a super cute bakery worth a stop. When we were there, they had white chocolate asparagus! (White asparagus is big in Germany this time of year.

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Day Trip to Bad Wimpfen, Germany

I haven’t blogged since we moved here last July, but I figured today might be a good day to get started. We have really loved living in Germany and exploring so many new places. This little town is not far from us, and we just loved it. It was settled around 450 B.C., and is on the Neckar River, just like Heidelberg. It was one of the biggest Roman towns in our state and also had a Roman wall around the city. It has one of the largest Roman buildings in Germany, too. There are so many neat historical parts of this town – it was a big part of the Reformation and it also has it’s own mineral springs. (That’s why it has Bad as the first part of it’s name, because of the therapeutic baths) It was spared from WWII bombing so a lot of the history has been preserved. The eagle is the Bad Wimpfen coat of arms which meant it’s a free imperial city. You can read more on the town’s website here.

The boys have enjoyed exploring and this day was spent with seeing a lot of new things, which they loved. Highly recommend this sweet town. bad wimpfen germany - 4. jpgP I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (2)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (1)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (3)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (4)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (5)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (6)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (7)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (8)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (9)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (10)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (11)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (12)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (13)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (14)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (15)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (16)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (17)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (18)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (19)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (20)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (21)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (22)P I N this to pinterestThis is the narrowest building in the city.bad wimpfen germany (23)P I N this to pinterestbad wimpfen germany (24)P I N this to pinterest