Monday 20 July 2009

I'm off on holiday, again!


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Having just returned from a two-week trip to Rome (OK, the first week was "work," but when you're writing a doctorate in a subject you love I'm not sure the boundaries are clear as they could be) I'm off again, this time to East Germany. I've often wanted to visit this spot of Deutschland, but it isn't a place one normally associates with summer holidays, especially when one lives within driving distance of numerous coasts (Baltic Sea, North Sea, English Channel, Mediterranean, the Bit Between-Italy-and-Croatia ...). East German, however, does happen to be the home of that firebrand of the Early Modern Era: Martin Luther. And for a couple of Protestant "theologians" living in Germany like my wife and myself, it is simply unthinkable to have lived here and not followed, at least once, in his footsteps.

So, we'll be taking off tomorrow and returning, probably, on the 30th of July (after a brief visit to the in-laws in Berlin, my favourite city after Tel Aviv; the route has been embedded above). The dearth of posting from the last two weeks, will have to continue, I'm afraid, but once I get back I hope to get back to my earlier output.

P.S. For those who speak (and read) German, you can do the route yourself with the help of the guide book: Mit Martin Luther Unterwegs: Ein biografischer Reiseführer.

2 comments:

David Reimer said...

Ahh, Erfurt! I spent a very special two weeks there one January a few years back. The days were mostly cold, crisp, and clear (in memory!), but what made it special was being there with my daughter. She spent her days at the Evangelisches Ratsgymnasium, and I pretended to work. :)

I have a good friend at the university there to thank for our stay. Hope you enjoy your summer visit as much as we enjoyed our winter visit!

Phil Sumpter said...

Glad you have positive memories. Erfurt is the only place where we'll be spending two nights as we want to cram Buchenwald and Weimar into one day (!). Not sure if it's possible, but where there's a will there's a way!