Saturday, September 23
Marburg Castle
The next morning we drove up to the Marburg Castle north of Frankfurt. In 1529 Luther met at the castle with other Protestant reformers including Ulrich Zwinglii to hash out their differences. Then as now, they weren’t able to do it.
The castle, of course, is spectacular. It sits on a hill top overlooking a city filled with red tile roofs. After the castle, we drove down the narrow winding streets to the town square. It was market day and local merchants were selling everything from produce to clothing.
Our next stop was two hours to the west, deep in the heart of Luther country. Eisenach was the town where Luther grew up. While attending St. George’s boarding school he lived in a house than has been turned into a museum reflecting his life and work. Our hotel that night was 15 or 20 kilometers further west in the town Tabarz inside the former East Germany. Ten years ago, of course, it was off limits to westerners. The hotel formerly housed the Stazi, or East German police. During the communist regime, the Stazi were infamous for their spying tactics and habit of keeping dossiers on everyone. Today the lodge is a very innocent hotel. The only holdover is a local beer once favored by the Stazi. They still serve it in the restaurant.
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