The Wedding – part 1

I am not going apologise for leaping ahead without completing some of the earlier stories. I know I have yet to complete part 2 of the story about Germany, and I want to write about the trains, but I am temporarily ignoring all that to write about the first of the weddings. After all, one of the reasons we have made this trip is to attend the weddings.

I may not have mentioned before, but in Austria (and some other European countries) a church wedding is not recognised by the state as a legal marriage ceremony. All couples wishing to get married must have a civil ceremony, conducted by a marriage celebrant. This is where the couple are formally and legally married. If the couple wish to have a churvh wedding, then that is extra and separate. In NZ and Australia, the two functions are combined in the one ceremony.

Today we attended the civil ceremony where Lukas and Nani were legally married. This can be as elaborate as you like, or can be a matter of a couple presenting themselves to the officials, with their witnesses, and making the appropriate vows.

We drove some 70km south of Vienna to a town called Gloggnitz where we went to the Schloss Gloggnitz. Schloss means “palace” and this particular one started life in the 12th Century as a csstle, complete with battlements, fortified gateways and turrets. Inside we were ushered into a room set out with chairs and a table. Lukas and Nani were with us and they sat on chairs facing the celebrant who was on the other side of the table. The two friends, Lukas and Cornelia, who were the official witnesses sat alongside the bridal couple.

The celebrant then spoke at some length to all of us. (There were about 25 of us there). His talk was accompanied by an excerpt of a popular song (in English), and then he spoke again. During this time he asked Lukas and Nani if they wanted to get married and when they both said “yes” they exchanged rings and then we had some more music while the signing was done. Then the happy couple left and went next door, where we all joined them to congratulate them and drink their health.

We were moved on from there as the next couple were coming in. We went to the restaurant on site and shared a lovely three course meal and later in the afternon, we drove back to Vienna.

I have a number of photos. There are not many of the schloss as it rained almost all afternoon and restricted  what I could take. But here are some of the important ones:

 

You will be able to work out most of these. I’m sorry I didn’t get decent close up of Nani but you can see her in a coupleof the shots. There is a shot of Gay and Luki’s mother in similar outfits, together with Nani’s mother. There is also a shot of Gay and I with Leo and Ingrid, Luki’s parents.

Today, it was moving and the celebrant, despite speaking all in German, and it being a formal legal process, conveyed an air of dignity and individuality to the ceremony. Next week, we go to the church for the religious service. That will be special in a different way. Today, it is sufficient for me to say that our trip here was well worth it.

Alan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short finger nails!

This is a short message, mainly to let you know we are still in the land of the living!

We have had no internet access since we left Germany and the attempts to get access have been very frustrating to say the least. Each day we have been trying something, but finally today, with the help of Luki’s best man, we have achieved it.

I can now stop chewing my fingernails!

We have a small house to ourselves here. The Viennese say it is out in the country but that is like saying that Manurewa is in the country. We have a bus stop just 50m down the road and buses use that stop evert two hours – through the night as well. Just 10 minutes walk is a bus stop that sees a bus every 20 minutes! A 15 minute ride gets us to the underground train and from there Vienna is at the doorstep -a quick trip to anywhere.

The first wedding is on Saturday and that will be the short one. The church wedding is going to be nearly two hours long!

We have heard some live music – a string quartet (of five players!) playing Mozart, Strauss and the Beatles. Out in the real country on a farm, with bread, jam, wine and schnapps.

More to tell later – hopfully will be able to get back up to date soon.

Photo is taken in Schwabisch Hall, Germany, outside the Wurth Art Gallery, just before we were interviewed for the local paper!

Alan

 

Country life in Sth Germany part 1

We have been staying with Fabian and family for nearly a week now. We have been entertained in that time with five trips out and about, and each one to different places and very different experiences. There was the Open air museum and the Technik museum on Saturday and the following Tuesday. There was the art gallery and the stately home on Monday and Wednesday, and then last Sunday we went to the local wine festival.

I have already written about the Technik museum, but a couple of comments are warranted for the Open air museum. This is a place which has been in existence since about 1979. In it, someone has had a vision of bringing together significant old buildings from all around the region to reflect a history of the way of life in this part of Germany in previous years. The oldest building dates from about 1500 and the rest date from then to about the late 1700’s.

All the buildings are accessible throughout and many have displays showing either the history of the building or of the former owners or inhabitants of it. We spent the whole day there and were really impressed by the vision and the devotion to carrying it out.  There are now nearly 70 buildings there, some of which have been shifted as a complete unit and others which have been taken apart in sections and reassembled on this site. This is deemed a working museum and there are places where people are carrying on the crafts of long gone years such as blacksmiths, millers, wheelwrights and such like. There are animals there and they are doing their part in making old breeds of cows and pigs are kept alive. The building that most impressed us – for it’s size – was one built as a farmhouse that we would like to ship home with us. Gay figured that all four Rowe boys and their families could live in it with us and we would still not see each other all day!

This place was clearly a complete contrast to the Technik museum. The other places were also a contrast, and I will write about them next.

Alan

Mishaps and mini crises.

One would think that in nearly 70 days of travel we could have had a lot of issues and troubles, but we have been truly blessed and looked after.  In our nearly 10 weeks away there are three things that have caused us any concern.

The first was when we arrived in Perpignan, we discovered that one of our backpacks (the new one I had bought for the camino) had sustained some damage. At first we thought it was accidental and perhaps had been caused when we were putting the pack into a luggage area on one of the trains. We saw two tears or cuts of similar length and roughly parallel to each other. But then we found the third tear which was at right angles to the other two, and near them. Now it looks as though someone deliberately tried to open the pack with a knife. The long cut has penetrated the bag and cut into our first aid kit. But nothing is missing.

We can only assume that this occured while the bags were in the luggage areas on one of trains. These luggage areas are located at the ends of the carriages and are not large, and so bags get pushed and pulled into and out of them – hence the thought about accidental damage. We did try wherever possble to put the bags in the racks above our heads, but we were carrying as many as seven bags at one stage, and fitting them all above the heads was not always possible. At all other times, the bags never left our sight.

Gay has carried out repairs to all of the tears and we are okay for now.

Our second mishap was when we went to travel from Lourdes to Niedernhall. Our tickets said the train was leaving at 0723. We arrived at the station at 0700 to find that the train had already gone. The French Railways had changed the time and any announcements were made in French – not the we there to hear them! The ticket office could only give us replacement tickets for the first part of the journry and so we had to find replacenents for each other section of our trip as we got to the appropriate station. Fortunately we were successful in that and didn’t have to psy any extra for the travel.

Our third mishap was also on a train. When went to leave Jena to return to Niedernhall, there was an announcement to the effect that our train was cancelled. A replacement had been substituted, but we didn’t know if the connections would be the same. Again all announcements were in German, but with the help of an obilging passenger we were able to work out that we would be fine.

A subsequent blog will cover the train trips!

Alan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Technical marvels

Gay and I had the chance yesterday to visit a special museum. It is called the Technik Museum and is located at Sinsheim, Germany. There is another just like it at Speyer, not that far from Sinsheim.

The major attraction (for me) was the fact that they had on display the only two supersonic pasenger planes to have been produced, the Russian TU144 and the British/French Concord. The TU 144 is the only one on display outside the former Soviet Union and although I have seen Concord before, I have never been up close, let alone inside it.

We did manage to get inside both, to find that they are very similar. Both are delta winged, both have a drop nose and both are long and narrow. There was not much room to move in either one and both had two seats either side of the narrow aisle.

Apart from these planes, there were many others there, along with trains, cars and motorbikes aplenty. There was a large military history display and like all places we have been to date, there was not enough time to see everything.

I will try to add a couple of photos from our day.

You will note that the sun was shining!

Alan

Niedernhall – an attractive town with a long history.

We are currently staying with Fabian and his family in Niedernhall, a town in southern Germany. The town has perhaps 5000 to 7000 inhabitants and was estsblished in 1356. It is in a vineyard area of Germany and vines are in evidence everywhere. Wine festivals are being held right now and we went to one in Criesbach yesterday. That is neighbouring village. More about that in a later blog.

I want to share some photos with you of the town and the area. Gay is helping to collect fallen plums from the family trees, and the wall around the ancient town is still very much in evidence in places. Gay, Fabian and Ulrike (Fabian”s mother) are on the wall which is about 5 metres high at this point.

Alan

 

Buchenwald

Much has been written about the Holocaust and the treatment of people deemed undesirable  during the 1930’s and 1940’s and anything I write cannot add to the horrors of that time. Nevertheless, when the opportunity arose for us to visit one of the concentration camps of WW2, we took it and came away grateful for the opportunity.

As with many of our ventures we allowed time to see everything but came away after spending more time and having to leave some parts “for next time.” 

On a low broad hill as  the traveller approaches the city of Weimar stands a tall and substantial monument, visible for many miles. This is the Burchenwald Memorial, dedictated to all those who suffered and died in this place. It seems fitting that the memorial stands so prominently displayed, in huge contrast to what for some years had been hidden on the other side of the hill. The site of Burchenwald has been preserved as a park with some parts still as they were, others recreated and many parts demolished. Of the barracks for the prisoners, none remain, removed in the 1950’s by the Soviets as this area was part of GDR, or East Germany. The location of the barracks is now marked by simple wooden bollards bearing the number, and by large rectangles of black stone showing the extent of each building. Parts of the fence remain and a section has been restored, as has the main gate and a section of the administration area of the camp. The crematorium remains, with the medical examination rooms and pathological areas. An extensive museum now occupies the building that had been the storage depot. Also retained are 5 of the three storey buildings that were quarters for the guards, of which there were several thousand. These buildings are in stark contrast to the images we see of the barracks of the prisoners.

The overall impressions I came away with were a revisiting of the feelings of horror and revulsion as felt before at the Holocaust museum in Tampa, Florida, and after reading accounts and seeing films and images of these places. But there was also a broadening of understanding. While what happened to the Jews cannot be denied and must not be forgotten, what also must be not be forgotten is the treatment meted out to others who were deemed as dissidents or undesirable. This camp opened in 1937 and amongst the first inmates were political prisoners – German nationals who were opposed to the regime. In 1939, several thousand Polish prisoners were interred here and in 1942, 8000 Soviet prisoners of war were murdered here while being assured of care. Similarly, gypsies, Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses and homosexual men were held here, along with some Allied POW’s. Tellingly, there were also the German nationals who had been caught helping Jews and others escape the tentacles of the regime. There are fitting tributes to these people in the grounds of this place as befits the purpose it holds today. We do well to honour all these folk who suffered terribly.

The question remains, and will continue to be asked, is how this massive place could remain so hidden from others in the years before liberation. The clock on the gatetower is ever a  poignant reminder for us all -set permanently at 3:15 – the time of liberation on the afternoon of Aprl 11, 1945.

Miracles and mixed feelings – part 2.

In addition to doing the tourist thing during the afternoon, Gay and I had attended a service in the mid level church. We hadvseen that there are services (masses) held throughout tge day and in different languages and in different places.  At the time we were there, there was nothing on the schedule, and so we were a bit surprised to be in the church and find a procession of clergy, and people clearly expecting something to take place.

We stayed on and it appearedvto be a service of thanksgiving for a healing or something similar. We think it was being conducted in Italian. We felt moved even though we didn’t really understand what was happening.

We reurned to the park at about 8pm. Every evening there is a candle light procession and we thought this would good to see.  Gradually people gathered and then promptly at 9pm a large statue of Mary, carried on the shoulders of four young men and surrounded by lit lamps, was led by a crucifer carrying an illuminated processional cross. This leading group set off from an area near the grotto and headed down the avenue towards the gates, a distance of perhaps 400 to 500 metres, or maybe a little more. People carrying lit candles followed. Especially present was a large number (about 200) of people in wheelchairs. Each was being assisted by a person (mainly women) in a uniform that looked like a nurse’s uniform from the ’50s – all in white including shoes, stockings, apron and veil. All this time there was a service being conducted from the steps in front of the churches building.

By the time we had started on the walk down the avenue towards the gates, the head of the procession (the crucifer and the statue) were near the square in front of the church, having been down to the gates and back! The service was clearly heard through the extensive sound system and there were parts of it in diferent languages. We heard French, Spanish, German, English, Italian and at least one of the Scandinavian languages. There was a choir singing responses, and all around us people were saying the responses at tge appropriate times. The clearest and easiest response was to sing “Ave, ave, ave Maria.” This line was sung twice, and was used in a sort of litany or a psalm and so was sung several times during the psalm or prayer.  There were two occasions when this was used during the procession. As we came to that line, everyone lifted up their candles and as it was now quite dark, the effect was amazing. It took nearly an hour for us to move from the starting point, down the avenue and back to the square in front of the church. In the square, those in wheelchairs were arranged  at the front, those with banners were on the long ramps or steps above the square and the rest of the procession was assembled in the square after moving into position by entering the square and then parading backwards and forwards much like a queue at the airport check in desks. The effect of this, with all the candles and the darkness, was quite dramatic.

The service ended right on 10pm with the invitation to pass a sign of peace with your neighbours. This too was dramatic as all around and with us, people turned to each other, shook hands and spoke those familiar words, but each in their own language.

There must have been at least 3000 people there. To be part of that crowd was great.

Gay and I returned to our hotel feeling elated. If we had felt moved in the afternoon, that was nothing compared to the feelings we had as we walked away. It had been a deeply spiritual experience and we were delighted to have been there.

Alan.

Miracles and mixed feelings – part 1.

Once again, I am leaping forward in terms of the chronology of our trip, but I just had to write something about our visit to Lourdes while it was fresh in my mind.

We arrived in the town by train from Spain in the middle of the afternoon and once we had left our gear at the hotel, we walked up to the park area which is the focus of the activity of the town. This is a large park with the river running through it, and a church built on a high rocky outcrop. Leading to the church from the gate is a wide pedesrian avenue and set back from that, especially on the river side are buildings which seem to be used as a hospital and at least two chapels. Closer to the church, there is the information centre, library, bookshop and a building that seems to be focussing on group pilgrimages.

The church is an imposing structure and really dominates the park, as you would expect. It is in fact three churches – or at least a building that contains three churches, one above the other. In front of the building there is a wide set of steps and to each side there are long curved ramps leading to the upper church. The rocky outcrop on which this building sits is the location of the grotto in which Bernadette received her visions.  Next to the grotto are a number of taps from which people are encouraged to take water. Down the side of the outcrop, between that and the river, there is a wide flat area which takes the visitor to a bridge – one of two over the river. This area is used for shelters in which candles are placed by anyone who wants to do so, and underneath these shelters, which look a little like chook sheds, there are large vat like containers to collect the melted wax. It does appear as though the wax is recycled.

Across the river is a large park area which is quite open until the land starts to rise from the valley floor. Then there is a road and the houses of the town. At the top of the park, opposite the church there is an open air worship space with a raised dias on which there is an altar. This area has a large tent like shelter over it. This whole park area from front gates to the bottom of the park over the river is covered by a sound system which gives excellent coverage with quality sound.

The focus is of course on Bernadette and the visions she had and also on the Virgin Mary. This is apparent in the dedication of the churches, the statues and in the gift shops which are very common all along the road leading to the park. These gift shops all stock very similar merchandise – statues of all sizes, candles, bottles and plastic containers for water,  and anything that will take an image of Mary or Bernadette.  These shops are all packed with goods to sell.  Then there are the jewellery places with chains, bangles, necklaces, rosary beads etc etc etc. That commercial side is very apparent in the town outside the park. It is less obvious in the park, but is there none-the-less.

This is long enough now and I will continue in my next message.

Sent from Fabian’s place in Germany.

 

 

 

 

A new Europe.

This blog title is a bit of a misnomer as the Europe we are talking about has been in existence now for a number of years. The Berlin Wall came down many years ago now, the square we stood in on the border of Italy and Slovenia commemorated the demolishing of their border – a green fence – in 2002. Freedom of travel and the common currency have both been around for years now. However, these changes are relatively easy to make on paper, but much harder to make the customs and cultures of the people on the ground.

In Spain and France therr are issues involving the cost of alcohol and cigarettes in each others countries. As a result there is a sort of underground trade going on with the purchase of goods in quantity in one country for resale in a neighbouring country at inflated prices.

In England there is a considerable degree of concern about the number of East European people who now have freer access to Brtain as a place to live and work.

We were talking with a young man in a supermarket in Zurich who told us that he travelled from his native Germany to work in Zurich because the pay was much better, but he travelled to his home in Gerrmany to do his shopping as the price of goods there was cheaper. He acknowledged that many people did that, and we heard that from others as well. Clearly, that works best provided you are close to the border. The small city of Gorizia in Italy, the one that I was promoting in the last blog as a model for present day European co-operation, is suffering a loss of population. Some estimates put it as high as 12000 to 15000 people having left since the borders came down in 2002. As we walked around the city, the number of empty shops were plain to see, along with the clear effects of that loss of income for the city authorities.

The united Europe is a reality but the particality still produces issues which need to be solved.

On a personal note, we are in Bilbao, enjoying a brief time with Adrian and his parents. We are going to leave some of our gear here when we leave tomorrow and return to do another swap before we start the camino. Bilbao is on the northern route of the camino (as opposed to the Route Frances which we will be following) and we have been excited to see some pilgrims and other signs of the camino as we walk around this city. Tomorrow we head to Lourdes and then on to Germany.