Off the Beaten Path

The congregation

Dad and Pastor Kallensee

The church where we worshipped

Bach served as an organist at a church in Muhlhausen

Where Luther was kidnapped

We worshipped at the SELK church in Muhlhausen a year ago today.  It was wonderful to be able to worship with fellow Lutherans in Germany, even if we are separated by language.  Pastor Kallensee graciously translated a summary of his sermon into English for us.  We were able to recognize many of the hymns and parts of the liturgy by the tunes which are shared both by German Lutherans and by American Lutherans.  Afterwards, Pastor Kallensee showed us around Muhlhausen.  We got to see the church where Bach was an organist and the city wall that is still standing today.  Muhlhausen is not really a tourist attraction and it was wonderful to see a city that most American tourists skip over.  Later that day we headed out into the woods to find the spot where Luther was kidnapped.  The drive was twisty curvy up and down and just generally not pleasant.  We almost missed the turn, but eventually we did find it.  Dad parked the van and off we walked.  After a hike into the woods we found the stone marker that is set at the spot where Luther was kidnapped. And that was all that was there.  In other words, a lot of stressful driving for not too spectacular of results.  But it makes for a good story.  We ended the day back in the lovely town of Erfurt with a stop at our favorite ice cream shop.  You really can't have too much German ice cream.