Continued from Part I.
Thursday 9/27. Today’s program was relatively light. We were met at the Mainz town square by Peter, the
local guide. He first described the
town square, and the truncated column in the middle (probably planned, but not
used for the Cathedral,) and the meanings of the various bronze sculptures at
the column’s base. The Mainz Cathedral
was started in the 10th century, and is unusual in several aspects:
it has two presbyteriums (a German word that means “chancel”) dedicated to St.
Martin and St.Stephen; the main door faces south, instead of the traditional
west; being of Romanesque design, it was quite dark inside (not unusual for
that design, I suppose.) We didn’t have
time to explore the cathedral in detail.
The Mainz Cathedral is dedicated to St. Martin and St. Stephen. Construction started in 985.
Semi-circular arches identify the architecture as Romanesque. Later additions would include some Gothic design.
Our guide Peter explaining how unusual it was to have the artists names engraved on the doors back then.
One of the sculptures around the column in town square. Inside the helmet is a fox and three mice (not seen in this photo), symbols of some prominent families at the time.
I had known that Gutenberg invented the printing press
(not the specifics) since high school, so was a bit surprised when the guide
explained there was a lot of controversy surrounding the true inventor. In any case, there was no patent protection,
and Gutenberg eventually went bankrupt.
Peter also donned a printer’s apron and demonstrated how the process
worked. After lunch Anne and I went back
to the place to take a more detailed look.
I was surprised at how the Chinese had started printing books (by a
different method) since around the 6th century.
Statue of Gutenberg in the museum.
The museum gives due credit to others who also invented printing. Bi Sheng of China dates back to the 11th century.
Becky, a fellow tour member, helping Peter to demonstrate how the printing press worked.
Jurg suggested two types of food: schweinshaxe and
fish. We tried both, former at
Augustinos and latter at Fisch Jackob.
We also had coffee and cake at Dom Café, to boot.
Schweinshaxe at the Augustinakeller Restaurant.
I had fish soup and fried fish at Fisch Jackob.
Sharing a piece of cake and having coffee at the Dome Cafe. The houses around the square were destroyed during WWII, some of these rebuilt houses have facades to make them look medieval.
The other restaurant recommended by our tour director was the Holy Ghost.
Mainz is on the bank of the Rhine, we saw several cruise
ships docked there. Jurg, who also
worked cruises, said a 10-day cruise can range in price from around $1,500 to
$15,000, with the luxury lines offer a guest to crew ratio of 1:1.
Several cruise ships were docked in the Rhine.
For dinner, Anne and I walked to a McDonald’s that was
about 1 km away. It took around 25
minutes between order and food delivery, which was one of the slowest I have
experienced. I was so disappointed that
I went through Google Translate to send in my feedback.
Friday 9/28. It was a relatively short drive from
Russelsheim to Worms. Our guide Maria
turned our 1 ½ hour tour into one that was closer to 3 hours, which was great
value for the money. Worms was destroyed
completely by Louis XIV in the 17th century, and again by the allies
during World War II, thus much of the city was rebuilt. Outside the visitor center they have a film
depicting what the city looked like during Luther's visit in 1521, based on
records they could locate and – undoubtedly – a bit of poetic license. The significance of this place was that
Luther was given safe passage to come here from Wittenberg so he would be given
a chance to recant his beliefs. At the
end, he stood firm and concluded with his famous saying “I cannot and will not
recant anything … May God help me.
Amen.” The large Luther statue is
not located at where he stood before the Diet; the actual location is marked by
a small plaque; in 2016 someone added a pair of boots next to it.
The Trinity Church was built to honor Luther.
The interior was redone after it was destroyed during WWII.
The artwork in the balcony shows King Charles seated on high, Luther's accuser is on the left, and Luther is on the right (as indicated by the ray.)
A room in the church has on display various painting of Luther at the Diet of Worms. This has an Adventures of Tintin theme.
Martin Luther Monument is surrounded by sculptures of four men: Peter Waldo of France, John Wycliffe of England, Girolamo Savonarola of Italy, and Jan Hus of Bohemia.
Where Luther actually stood is marked by a plaque. The location is close to the Cathedral (Catholic) so a statue would probably be problematic.
In 2016 a pair of shoes was added. They are the same size as the one worn by the statue at the monument.
More detailed look at Luther's statement which ended with "May God help me. Amen."
Our guide spent a lot of time taking us through St.
Peter’s Cathedral – we suspect she is Catholic.
Since Luther is still banned from the Catholic church, it was a surprise when
she pointed out his presence. It was a
stained glass window depicting the history of worms. What was even more surprising was on that
pane we also found the phrases Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, and Sola Scriptura.
St. Peter's Cathedral. The two arches above the doorway have parallel Old and New Testament stories.
Inside the Cathedral.
How does a protestant find his way into a Catholic Church? Luther is acknowledged in one of the panes of this stained glass window describing the history of Worms.
Four panels with phrases "Solus Christus" and others on them.
We stopped at City Doner for lunch. Anne lost her small money bag, luckily she
only had a few euros in it.
Heidelberg is located on the banks of Neckar, and is
quite busy with tourists. There is also
some Reformation connection, but that isn’t on this tour’s program. We had some time before dinner, so decided to
take the funicular up the hill. Time
constraints made it impossible to go all the way to the top.
Heidelberg Castle is a short climb from town.
Group dinner was in Heidelberg. We stayed until around 9 pm.
Our hotel for the night.
Accommodations: ISG Heidelberg (1 night.)
Saturday
9/29. Our wake up call was at 7 am,
a bit later than usual, and we departed at 9 am for Konstanz, Germany. The legendary German Autobahn was more like a
parking lot today, with accidents and roadwork causing quite a bit of delay for
our journey. It was close to 1:30 pm
when we got to Konstanz; without traffic or rest stops it would take at least 1
½ less. By the time we got organized
outside the Jan Hus Museum it was past 2 pm.
Jan Hus was a Bohemian (today’s Czech Republic) who was burned at the
stake in 1415 after being condemned by the Council of Konstanz. The display also talked about how his student
Jerome first supported him, then renounced him, but finally was also burned at
the stake because he reasserted his beliefs.
One complaint with the tour was that little consideration was given to rest breaks. This was an unscheduled stop on our way to Zurich.
Jan Hus Museum in Konstanz. It gives a detailed story on Hus's life.
The word "schmuck" in German means jewelry.
The other attraction was the Imperia statue, erected
clandestinely in 1993 to commemorate (more like make fun) of the Council, with a woman holding a naked pope and emperor in her hands.
The Imperia is a harsh satire of the power structure during Hus's time.
On the way to Zurich, Gibson talked a bit about the four
reformers around the Luther statue we saw in Worms: Petrus Waldus of France,
John Wyclif of England, Jan Hus of Bohemia, and Girolamo Savonarola of Italy.
We checked into the hotel a little before 5 pm, and were
on our way to town by about 5:15 pm. We
managed to get to the Zurich Opera House a little after 6, and I bought a couple of
tickets for La Boheme while Anne picked up food at the nearby McDonalds. We had a bit of problem with finding the
trams at the Flughafen interchange on the way back, but got back to the hotel
at around 10:30 pm.
Listening to an opera inside the Zurich Opera House is always an enjoyable experience.
Conclusion of La Boheme.
Accommodations: Movenpick Hotel Zurich Airport (2
nights.)
Sunday 9/30. We got to Lake Zurich at 8:30 am and
walked around a bit before the local tour guides showed up. Regula led our subgroup of 12 and conducted a
mostly “Zwingli” reformation tour. The
dark side of the reformation was its intolerance towards the Anabaptists, with
many executed for their “heretical” beliefs such as adult baptism. On the other hand, Zwingli’s influence was
wider than in religion, he promoted - among other things - work (evidently at that time people thought
only common people worked,) education, and government-supported welfare. We had seen many of the sights on our prior
visits to Zurich, but for this trip got a deeper understanding of the
significance of the churches, the role Zwingli and Bollinger played during the
Swiss Reformation, and the above-mentioned persecution of Anabaptists.
Fraumunster is closed on Sundays, so we didn't get to go in for a visit.
Nor to walk around in this nicely laid out garden.
Zwingli was a key figure in the Zurich Reformation movement. Here is the house he lived in, right next to Grossmunster.
Statue of Zwingli along the Limmat River.
Zwingli's "office apartment," now part of Kulturhaus Helferei.
Froschau was a printer during Zwingli's days. His printing presses greatly helped the spread of the ideas of Reformation.
Zwingli set up the first "soup kitchen" outside of this church (Predigerkirche.)
A dark side of the Reformation was the zeal the "main liners" had persecuting those they didn't agree with. The Anabaptist Felix Manz would be drowned at this location along the Limmat.
During lunch break Anne and I climbed up the tower in
Grossmunster with a great view of the city.
For seniors the cost to go up the tower is 2 euros. It involves a climb of close to 200 steps.
The initial 100 or so steps is this narrow spiral staircase.
Panoramic view of Zurich from the tower.
The group proceeded to visit a monastery in Eisendeln, I
dropped off to attend a second opera, Vivaldi’s La verita in cimento. After which I hanged around the city and
rejoined the bus on its return trip to the hotel.
Curtain call, Vivaldi's La verita in cimento.
The same curry wurst cost 2 euros in Konstanz.
Dragon boat in Switzerland?
A mesmerizing display of soap bubbles.
The hotel offers frequent shuttle buses to the airport (less
than 10 minutes away), and we used it to have dinner (I at Nordsee, Anne at an
Asian outfit) and Migros shopping (mostly chocolates.)
Monday 10/1. Our first stop was a cave where Anabaptists
were hiding out from persecution during the time of persecution in the
1520s. It is difficult for me to understand why they
were persecuted to such lengths by people who themselves were persecuted not
too long ago. I also found out that Manz
was betrayed by a friend. Next on the
itinerary was Gruyere of cheese fame.
Somewhere along the route the signs turned from German into French, and
we will be in French-speaking Switzerland the rest of the trip. Gruyere is a tourist town dominated by the
Chateau. We didn’t have enough time to
visit the Chateau, but did have a simple lunch in the HR Giger Restaurant. The meringue and gruyere double cream was a
nice dessert. We had a bonus stop at the
Caillers chocolate factory. It started at around 1900, but has since been owned
by Nestle since the 1930s. A tour of
about 20 minutes tells the story of chocolate and the company, and at the end
of the tour there were free samples of chocolate. Too bad I had to limit how much I could
eat. Nonetheless we bought a couple of
bars to bring home.
Felix Manz was hiding out in this cave. He was betrayed by a "friend" and handed over to the Zurich government, and was eventually executed by drowning.
Group photo near the cave.
H. R. Giger was a Swiss artist involved with the movie "The Alien." There is a museum and a cafe named after him in Gruyere. The cafe has an "Alien" theme.
The Meringue and Gruyere Double Cream was a nice dessert.
The streets were quiet on this drizzly day.
Chateau Gruyere dominates the village. We didn't have time to go in for a visit, though.
An Alien standing guard outside the museum.
One of the oldest names in chocolate, Caillers has been owned by Nestle since the 1930s.
Traffic in Geneva was particularly congested, and our
driver scraped the side of the bus against some traffic barriers (leaving a
long streak along the side of the bus.)
Dinner was at a food court in the shopping center next doors; we had
Chinese this time. Folks working there
didn’t understand English, but spoke Chinese fine.
Accommodations: Ramada Encore Geneva (2 nights.)
Tuesday 10/2. We waited by the Reformation Wall for about
30 minutes before our guide showed up.
An unfortunate aspect of this trip was the hours we spent waiting for
groups to get together, go to the restroom, or to decide on what to do. A more tightly run trip would have left a lot
more time for sightseeing, rest, or more visits.
We didn’t learn as much about Calvin today as we did
about Zwingli in Zurich. By most measures
Calvin was more influential to today’s evangelical protestant movement than
Zwingli. One factor could be not too
many sites from Calvin’s days are extant today, the other could well be a
less-informed tour guide.
In any case, we visited the church where Calvin preached,
St. Peter’s Cathedral which was converted to a protestant church, and the
school he established for education of boys aged 16 – 18. We also saw a Lutheran church which looks
like a regular building from the outside; reason being Lutherans may not be
accepted by the more zealous Calvinists.
Promenade des Bastions.
An interesting display outside the park, I wonder what all the cigarette butts signify.
Central portion of the Reformation Wall showing William Farel, John Calvin, Theodore Beza, and John Knox.
Front of St. Peter's Cathedral in Geneva.
The two towers of the cathedral with a central spire.
This chapel is part of the cathedral, not sure where exactly it is located.
Cantor's seat. During Calvin's days organs were not allowed inside the church, so the cantor would give the pitch for the congregation.
Maccabees Chapel.
The outside of the Lutheran Church looks like a regular house. The Calvinists advised that they didn't "advertise" themselves.
Inside the Lutheran Church.
Calvin established this school for boys aged 16 - 18.
An old street lamp.
The best I could tell is that this is a ramp for parking.
After the two hour tour Anne and I went down to lakeside
to have lunch (pizza and sandwich), and walked around the waterfront a
bit. A multi-ticket allowed us to visit
the Reformation Museum, the tower of the Cathedral (about 150 steps), and the
Archaelogical Museum (Geneva dates back to BC times.) The tour bus too us back to the hotel.
We left the hotel at 6 pm for our farewell dinner in
town. It was about 10 pm when we got
back.
Wednesday
10/3. Alarm was set for 5:30 am this
morning. The restaurant at the hotel
opens at 6:30 am in the morning, so we decided (more like I decided over Anne’s
objections) to have a quick breakfast before we left for the airport. There were no taxis when we checked out at
the hotel, so we took the bus option instead.
Evidently hotel guests are given public transportation vouchers for
their stay. True for Ramada, probably
true for other hotels as well. We got on
the 7:22 am bus, and got to the airport at around 8 am.
It was somewhat of a surprise that we had to show our
passport four times (luggage check, before security, passport control, and before boarding) before we boarded the plane, but it was still a rather
efficient process. The plane is quite
full in economy, but there are a few empty seats in economy plus. Anne and I have the A and B seats in this
767, though. So far the meal service has
been better than what is typically offered on the Newark – Hong Kong flights.
Arrival at Newark.
Flight was uneventful, immigration and customs was straightforward, and we took an Uber home.
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