Oct. 13, 2010

We made a stop today on our way to Eisenach. We stopped in Erfurt (Germany’s “Rome”) at the Monastery where Luther became a monk. It was very interesting to see the place where Luther lived and studied. However it was an authentic remake due to the Monastery’s destruction in WWII. We spent a large portion of our time in the Church there at the Monastery. The stain glass windows, which were under repair, were the oldest in Erfurt. They dated back to when the church was built, which was the year 1340. Even though we could not see the actual windows, there were large banners that displayed pictures of what they looked like. Then we were able to see the size of them and we could also study them in great detail. I thought it was very interesting how much detail and meaning there was in the windows. I knew there was meaning in them of course, but I had no notion of to which extent. We paid particular attention to the left window displaying the lions, roses, birds and lilies. The lions were representations of Christ. A rose was considered the queen of the flowers, therefore they were a representation of Mary. Curiously enough the design of the rose was quite significant. We noticed that it was very much like the design of Luther’s Rose. It is possible that Luther did design his rose after the roses that are in this stained glass, but then there is no way of knowing. The birds (which looked like parrots, but weren’t) and the lilies both were representations of purity. In a monastery purity a main idea. Monks are to be celibate. However Luther went against this when eh married his run-away-nun.   

Going to the Bach house was an awesome experience. One of the things that I enjoyed most was being able to hear some of the instruments from his collection. I actually got to take part in one demonstration of a house organ. There were these leather straps, rather like the size and length of a belt you would loop through your pants, and you were to tug on them in alternating motions to pump the air into the organ. The sound was soft, and it made sense that it was called a “house” organ. It was smaller than that of a church organ and it was not as grand sounding, because it was for practicing in your home. The room where we all were had many instruments. Just a few of what were in Bach’s musical collection. Bach’s collection consists of over 500 instruments. Some of which are not made anymore or are rare, such as the violin trumpet, the 7 stringed cello, mediaeval flutes, and bassoons the shape of a slithering snake. Another instrument that was in the museum was created by Benjamin Franklin. It was called the “Glass Harmonica.” I thought that this was one of the coolest things I had seen in a longtime. Have you ever filled up wine glasses and wetted the tip of your finger then ran it around the rim of the glass? You know that sound? That is what this instrument sounded like. That was actually how you played it was well. It was so clever, but that’s Franklin for you. My favorite instrument in the entire museum, however, would have to have been the double bass. It was so beautiful! I play the bass, so naturally I really wanted to take this home with me. I noticed that the strings weren’t how they are made today (which is copper cords with a silver metal wrapped around them). These strings were made of what seemed to be hide, or possibly intestines. Then wrapped around the two lower strings was some sort of metal. I wonder how it would have sounded, had I played it.