Wittenberg and Berlin

Wittenburg/Lutherstadt  was a place with a wealth of historical content and meaning.  A heavy mosquito population added to our excitement there ;-)  Yesterday Fountainview filmed at the Lutherhaus, the Castle Church (where Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the door) and the town square with the church where Martin Luther preached visible in the background.  We helped transport equipment from place to place and I was able to use my rusty German to keep people from walking or biking through the “filming zone.”  Every venue drew a sizeable audience and several more CD’s were shared with those who asked questions and were interested.  People are very touched by the music and the genuine attitude of these kids!  It’s so awesome to witness that J  We were hungry after such a full day and so we decided to enjoy some authentic German food at the local Katofelhaus (potato house).  Potatoes are a very common food in Germany and they sure know how to serve them in tasty manners!  We had some nice fresh salads and the potatoes came in many varied forms—baked, fried, boiled and in salad.  Yum!

Today FV had a day off of filming and the main group went to Prague directly. We decided to take a detour and see Berlin since none of us had ever been there.  We visited the Berlin wall and spent some time at the memorial where they had quite a few interpretive exhibits that recreated the era of the division between east and west Berlin/Germany.  It occurred to me while there that the year I was born in West Germany was the year that the wall was finished.  I also have a vivid memory of it coming down just one year after Bryan and I were married.  Can’t believe that’s already been 22 years ago!!! Tiffany and Grant don’t even remember any of that.  It was necessary to explain to them the reason behind my desire to go there and see it.  When a person doesn’t live through a certain era, it is difficult for them to understand the thoughts and emotions that are behind a desire to connect with it.

After that memorial, we decided to take the subway over to the German parliament building (the German capital bldg.) that has a glass cupola (dome) on top.  The lines were very long for the free tickets so we ended up just taking pictures of the outside rather than going up to the dome as we had planned.  There was a holocaust memorial near there which was essentially concrete columns of all different sizes and heights with nothing written on them that covered a very large city block.  We walked among them contemplating the many precious souls who lost their lives in such a horrible way.  It made us long for heaven indeed!  One other site of interest was the Brandenburg gate.  It was built in 1791 as one of 18 city gates in a neoclassical style and became an east –west border crossing during the era of Berlin’s division.  There were people in the plaza who were posing in many extraordinary ways for pictures with the gate in the background.  We also noticed others who were posing as statues or clowns and for some Euros, you could take a picture of them.  We decided to save the Euros for more important things and take mental pictures only ;-)

Looking at our watches, we realized it was time to get on the autobahn and head to Prague, Czech Republic.  Tiffany has to be at the school where Fountainview is staying by 9pm.  They will begin fliming in the Old Town Square of Prague at 7pm tomorrow morning.  As I’ve been writing this we have just crossed over the border (with no checkpoint) into The Czech Republic.  We cannot read the signs and the Czech language is very foreign to us.  I guess we’ll be doing a lot of sign language and guessing along the way!  We’ll be here over the weekend until Sunday.  We’re taking this one step at a time.  It will be a new adventure to discover!  New culture, language and scenery.  Will keep you posted as I am able.  Stay tuned….

We did arrive at our campsite.  We have never seen anything quite like this.  It’s a fenced in area of the city with access to the public transport system.  It is bustling with people of all languages and cultures who share one thing in common—wanting to spend time in Prague seeing the sights.  It took a bit of intentional adaptation to be open to the idea of staying here.  It’s not exactly my idea of what camping should be like. But, at least they have WiFi, a shared kitchen, bathrooms and showers that are constantly busy.  Other “amenities” include a swimming pool, a bar/café to get snacks and drinks and a firepit and a laundry area—which I haven’t investigated yet as to it’s viability.  Thankful for a relatively quiet corner of the complex which will hopefully provide a place to sleep for 4 nights while FV does their last filming and a concert on Saturday night here. 

Here are a few pictures of yesterday in Wittenburg and today in Berlin.  Guten Nacht!