Friday, May 14, 2010

Arrived today in Frankfurt. It was a long night in a short seat (no leg room) and thus made for a long flight. Of the 7 hours, I only slept for 2, and other than a short nap on the bus this afternoon, I haven't slept since. As soon as dinner is over, I am heading to bed for the night!

We went to Mainz today. Beautiful city. It was all but destroyed in WWII, so many parts are "new," compared to the older structures that were built in the 1400's and managed to survive the brutal bombings of the war.

We went tot St. Martin's Cathedral and visited crypts and catacombs of famous bishops and saints. There was a boys choir practicing in the nave, which I managed to video tape 1 song of their performance. Hearing 4-part harmonies in that cavernous cathedral was just glorious. The audio is pretty decent, so I look forward to sharing that with you when I return.

We also went to the Gutenberg Museum. As you probably know, Gutenberg invented the Printing Press (with movable type) in 1450. If not for this invention, Martin Luther would not have stood a chance in his quest to reform the church. No one would have known about his ideas if not for that. This invention and contribution makes Gutenberg a key player (if not an accidental one) to the success of the Reformation.

I took 95 pictures today, but none that I can really post so you can tell what they are or where I am. I did take a few at the Guternberg museum of a "live" demonstration of using the printing press. That particular docent was really wonderful - she spoke very slowly and deliberately so I could keep up with the German. I am the only one in our group who speaks and understands the language here (other than the native leader, of course), so they were kind of bummed. But they were really happy when I told them afterwards what was going on. The docent made a copy of John 1, and the fellow who volunteered to help her got to keep it. Lucky Duck!

One thing I did not know until I arrived is that access to the Internet is quite expensive. I was told by other US travelers that it was free, but that is not the case, at least where I have been so far (2 airports and now the 1st hotel). So I will be in touch as I am able...but because of the high cost, it may not be every day. It just depends on where we are and if I can access the Net affordably.