random thoughts from the day
by Rachael
Guess where!
- When Rob put some rubbish in a public bin tonight, it talked to him. When he added more it said something else!! I was tempted to go and try it out, just to discover what it said.
- When I used an autobahn toilet this morning (one of the fancy ones where you have to pay and are issued a ticket and can then proceed through turnstiles), it almost talked to me. After flushing, an automatic sprayer popped out and sanitised the bowl, then a little brush emerged, the entire seat raised, and a squirter started strutting its stuff as the whole seat rotated a full circle. A far cry from the open drains we have squatted over!
- We drove through the Black Forest. When we drove past the south part it was far away, over to the right, but today it reached us right at the road.
- We saw more trucks than we have ever seen in one day. In China it seemed goods were moved about the country mostly by train – the massive roads were filled with busses (and hardly any cars). Even across to the Baltic there were more busses than cars. In Vietnam, every other vehicle was a motorbike. And then we hit Germany. Cars cars cars. There are cars everywhere. To be fair, there are also a lot of bicycles. And on the autobahns, there are trucks, trucks and more trucks, all of them incredibly polite, pulling over to allow our old machines space to pick up speed, not for one moment complaining.
- Grandpa actually fell sleep while I was driving ~ no more white knuckles.
- For the first time in three days we actually ended up where we intended….having taken only one wrong turning and gone on only one intentional detour (after enduring a seemingly never-ending traffic jam on the autobahn).
- The front of the other van was bogged. Magic miracle!
- The town we reached has an almost thousand year old cathedral, and in stark contrast to yesterday’s ornate one, this was most utilitarian. It might be plain, but it’s big – to this day it remains the largest Romanesque church. Inside are beautiful paintings high up on the walls, and as we entered the organ let loose a deep resonating rumble, which built into a tune. Simple, but majestic nonetheless.
- This town is an oldie. Twenty years ago it celebrated its 2000th anniversary. Two thousand years!!! Do you know which one it is?
Hint 1: In 10BC a Roman military camp was established here, right where we walked today…through Roman times, through the Middle Ages, through rise and fall, the city has continued.
Hint 2: It’s the place from which the Second Crusade set out at Christmas 1141
Hint 3: In January 1349 the populace killed Jews here thinking them responsible for the Black Death. Their bodies were encased in wine casks and rolled into the Rhein River.
Hint 4: it’s the birthplace of Protestantism. It’s the place where a bunch of people way back in 1529 were outraged that Martin Luther and his followers should be banned and so they made protest in the form of a letter written to the Imperial Diet, and when rejected by them, delivered to Emperor Charles V. This protest sealed the schism of the Christian church, and from this point on, from this place, the adherents of the reformation movement were called Protestants.
Time on the road: 4 1/2 hours (she was one slow traffic jam!)
Distance covered: 146km
Tags: God, history, postcard: Germany, postcard: Rhein Road Trip, toilet, transport
rayres
All these photos are bringing back memories of reading all those Reformation novels…….ahhhhhh, to see it all in person!