Friday, September 4, 2009--Wulkau, Germany

Today was a long day, and one in which I learned a lesson—a humbling lesson. First, the ride. While we have no set destination, as each day unfolds Brian and I just see how far we want to go, and act on what we see. Today it looked like a very interesting town in former East Germany would be the best destination. It would have been around 115 km (68 miles)—a stretch with a strong headwind most of the time, but doable if there were decent weather. The problem was that every room in Havelsburg was full. A horse show was on the books for the weekend, and every hotel, pension and guest house was full up. The man at the tourist information office, who spoke no English, seemed to be despairing when we asked for a room, but after consulting various books and after making several phone he found us a room just 10 miles down the road. So, at the end of the day our mileage worked out to 78. Not bad for a couple of old men…

Unusual, but effective, road sign


The room we have settled in to is fine, but there is no place to eat in this small town. The town itself feels empty, like many of the towns we have pedaled through, there is nothing open but this guest house. The good news, though, is that the bartender/hotelier will boil wurst, so dinner was two of them, two sausages. Not very satisfying after a hard day riding, but better than nothing.

Now the humbling lesson. On the route today I noted that we would be passing through the town of Wittenberge. Knowing a bit about church history I thought that this was the place Martin Luther studied and the site of his famous posting of his 95 theses, that is things he wanted to discuss with other church leaders. So I insisted that we stop at the town and look at the church. But as I rode around I saw no signs indicating its location. Finally I found an information office, and went in to ask. When I did I was informed that Martin Luther had done his work in Wittenberg, a completely different town from Wittenberge. So I was knocked down a notch, realizing that while church history is one thing church geography is another…

Oh, and by the way, the Germany I am traveling through now, former East Germany is different from former West Germany. My observations remind me a bit of Ukraine or Slovenia, where things in both countries, parts of the former USSR, just seem a bit more tired and worn. We passed one park that never would have been as poorly maintained in the western side of Germany, and many buildings that needed paint or repair that would have been done years earlier on the other side. East and West are now one country, but the impact of Soviet rule and philosophy still hangs around, and it is not a good impact. While the reasons for this are extremely complex, I believe that one is that when you try to remove the Christian faith from a culture, it will inevitably decline, losing some of the beauty and joy that is meant to be such a part of the God-given human experience and expression.

Compare this city street from former East Germany with yesterday's photo of Hitzacker, former West Germany.