Fall Break Part I

Kürbis Fest

The last day of school before Fall Break I joined the 5^th graders’ Kürbis Fest (Pumpkin Festival). Kürbis Fest is the German’s adaption of Halloween minus trick-or-treating.

Students who wanted to participate stayed after school, dressed up in scary costumes, and traveled around to different stations. Pumpkin carving was a favorite. Students brought their own pumpkins and carving tools, and several had very sophisticated kits. My heart beat quickly as my eyes followed the small hands of the fifth graders as they stabbed and carved their pumpkins. American students would never be permitted to use knives at school, yet no real harm came to anyone. Admittedly, one student did cut himself three times.

Students were also able to participate in spider races, wrap each other up like mummies, do riddles and crossword puzzles, have their faces painted, and of course eat snacks and candy! At the end several prizes were given for the best costume.

Wittenberg

After the excitement of the Kürbis Fest I went home to pack for almost two weeks of traveling.

Luther's house

My first day of break, I woke up even earlier than usual to catch a train. I bought a Sachsen Ticket for four since Hannah would join me on the train in Chemnitz, and we would meet up with Philip and Kitty at the Dresden Hauptbahnhof. The Sachsen Ticket is an amazingly cheap way to travel around Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, and Thüringen for the day. You can buy one ticket for up to five people, and the more people you have the cheaper the journey(s) become.

In Dresden Hannah and I reduced our burden by paying 5 Euros for a luggage locker at the train station. Then we hoped on another train with Philip and Kitty and headed for Wittenberg, or Luther’s City. Philip was our token Lutheran.

Looking at postcards.

Soon after our arrival my traveling companions were already collecting postcards. I leisurely looked around but wasn’t very impressed by the selection.

Taking pictures of beautiful things.

After the postcards were paid for we continued walking down the street, admiring the general surroundings when I said, “Hey guys, I think this might be important. I saw it on a lot of postcards.” Our small group stopped and admired the beautiful artwork above a doorway and snapped a few photographs before continuing our stroll to the Schloßkirche.

 

Enlightenment.

There Kitty read a plaque and realized that the door we walked passed only a few minutes earlier was, in fact, where Martin Luther had nailed the 95 Theses. “I should probably go back and take a picture of the door then. I only took a picture of the artwork!” I explained. “Me, too!” replied Kitty as we burst into laughter.

Returning admire the door.

We shared the news with the rest of our little group and diligently returned to take pictures of the actual door. We continued to laugh about the experience the rest of the day so we decided the story should be shared. (Note: pictures of Kitty reading and myself looking at postcards are reenactments.)

We continued to have a wonderful time in each other’s company. Another Fulbright ETA, Chelsea, who is also from Oklahoma, joined our group. Although we never successfully saw the inside of any church, we did manage to see Luther’s home and eat at the Kartoffelhaus (Potato House), everything on their menu centered on potatoes and was delicious.

The whole Wittenberg gang.

Zwinger and Supper

Guess who's a statue!

Kitty, Hannah, and I slept over at Philip’s palatial apartment Saturday and Sunday night. He has a giant bed, two couches, a bathroom with a heated towel rack, and a fully equipped kitchen. We were living the life, and I slept in till past 10! I can count the number of times that has happened to me on one hand. When we finally got up and moving, we headed into Dresden and slowly made our way to the Frauenkirche to meet Sofia. (By the way, I previously gave a literal translation for Frauenkirche but in English it is actually called The Church of Our Lady.) A stop at the bank and posing in front of statues slowed us down.

Sitting down to a homemade meal.

Once the group was complete we wandered over to the Zwinger Museum, a beautiful collection from artists such as Dürer, Vemeer, and Raphael. Before heading back to Philip’s we went grocery shopping so that we could cook dinner together. After I talked to Ryan I joined the others in the middle of a movie and enjoyed Philip’s chocolate collection. His stash is almost as extensive as the tower of Ritter Sport in the Dresden Hauptbahnhof.

Each color is a different flavor as Ritter Sport
and that isn't even close to all the flavors you can buy.

Praha: A Whirlwind Arrival

Monday Hannah and I made our way back to the Dresden Hauptbahnhof and traveled to Prague. It was only a two-hour train ride but we took turns napping and looking out the window. The reds, oranges, and yellows popped out from the surrounding green trees.

We were both considering jumping on a train back to Germany when we finally arrived in Prague. Neither of us understands a word of Czech. Looking at signs and hearing announcements in a language we couldn’t begin to understand, without even the hope of cognates, overwhelmed us. But I quickly concentrated on the task at hand (exchanging money so we could buy metro tickets to get to our hostel) and largely forgot about our challenges. Did you know that there are no cents in Czech koruna? There are coins but they are worth whole units. I had to buy some water and then some postcards so that we would have enough change to purchase our tickets. I couldn’t even say please or thank you, which just made me feel ignorant, which I am.

Fortunately the directions to our hostel worked seamlessly, and we were able to check right into our room. Tom, Cathy, David, and Alex soon arrived back at the hostel, and we went out to dinner with one of Cathy’s friends, Victor who is a native of Prague. He took us to a restaurant/pub where tables and various pub locations compete to see who has consumed the most alcohol. You can just help yourself from the taps at your table. To keep your bill separate from the others, you just push a number of the screen before filling up your mug. Our table briefly held second place within our restaurant/pub.

And the Sightseeing Begins

Tuesday we all took a day trip to Kutna Hora, a UNESCO World Heritage sight. The first stop on the tour was the infamous bone chapel. Yes, it is in fact a church decorated with the remains of over 30,000 different human skeletons. It was not my favorite part of the day. I can appreciate the craftsmanship of the artist’s life work, but its still creepy. I much preferred the simple and bright chapel above it. Saint Barbara’s Church was even better. I have never been to such a naturally bright church in Europe before. They are usually very dark places, but this one was intentionally built to be bright. Perhaps the miners who funded it had a greater appreciation for the light than your average patrons.

In the entrance of Kutna Hora.

The center of the room. Yes, that is a chandelier made of human bones.

The family crest of the owners of Kutna Hora also made of bones.

St. Barbara's Church

St. Barbara's Church

Wednesday we went on the “free” tour of the old town of Prague (generous tips are expected) in the forenoon and the Castle tour in the afternoon. On the free tour we saw the Astronomical Clock, Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, the Jewish Quarter, Wenceslas Square, the theater where Mozart debut Don Giovanni (also the only theater still standing in which Mozart actually was), and a few more. It was by far the best tour we went on.

The castle tour was a little disappointing. We didn’t actually get to see inside very many buildings. Even at St. Vitus Cathedral, we could only look around from the entrance. It was, however, far enough to see the stain glass window that Mucha painted.

We didn’t have time to eat a proper meal in between the tours so we feasted that night at a local restaurant recommended by our tour guide. Unfortunately, I could not eat the local delicacies. There are no traditional Czech dishes without diary, pork, red meat, or lots of fat. One traditional dish is fried cheese. Seriously. That sounds amazing.

A view of Prague with the Prague Castle on the left.

We saved the Mucha and Kafka Museums for Thursday, our final day in Prague, since it was supposed to rain. It turned out to be a beautiful day. Although I enjoyed the Mucha museum, the Kafka Museum was strange and creepy. Fitting, I suppose. Interestingly, Kafka was largely unknown to the Czech people until quite recently despite being a native of Prague and living a considerable part of his life there. He wrote in German at a time when the Czech people were trying to break free from the Germans and reclaim their own culture. Then, his writings were banned during Communism.

Cobblestones

By my second day in Prague, I started photographing the ground. I have always loved the ancient looking stones that carry me back in time, and so many beautiful patterns kept catching my eye. Towards the end of our last tour, our guide explained that in order to maintain its status at a UNESCO World Heritage City and the receive the associated funding, Prague cannot change the appearance of historic buildings and must keep its cobblestone streets. It is one of the only places in the world where cement and asphalt roads are being replaced with cobblestones. Thus, my odd fascination seemed to have a small purpose. Enjoy a few of the many patterns I encountered, and remember the possibilities are endless.

  

Notice the cockroach around Kafka's statue.