Landstuhl & Worms

On Saturday, I bought an all-Germany pass and headed west. My destination was the town of Landstuhl, which claims very little of interest other than a particularly big U.S. Military base and hospital, and a castle. In fact, when I informed my lab mates of my travel intentions, they were flabbergasted. “Who would want to go to Landstuhl?” the Reigning Coffee Boss asked me. “It's small. It's a village.”

I don't know what it takes for a German to define something as a village, but he was right, it is the smallest town I've been to here. I thought this would make it charming; small-town vibe and all that. But it's not. It is cramped in its smallness, with an excessive amount of traffic that dwarfs its size. Blame the Americans if you want, or theorize that it's a West Germany thing, but Landstuhl has none of the historical or classically beautiful aura that dominates Würzburg and Nürnberg {and Worms}.

view from the hill I climbed.

Even so, I found a hill to climb and was very happy. I'd been looking at these hills—so much bigger than anything I think I've ever seen in the States—as the train brought me nearer to Landstuhl, and I'd been dying to get lost in them and live out a fairy-tale fantasy. Having at least a drop of sensibility, I did not get myself lost. But I found a steep path that sufficed while making sure I return to the States without becoming baked in an oven or pricked with a spinning wheel or various other disasters that can occur in German forests.

I did not visit the castle. Apparently, the best place to put a castle is on the tallest and steepest hill available. If the goal is to dissuade visitors, it succeeds. But I took pictures.

Surely, by now, you are asking why on earth I decided to visit this not-quaint little town.

It is because it is my homeland. At least, that is what my dad always says. He was born there because his military dad was based in Landstuhl at the time. And so I returned and walked the same streets and wondered which of the houses I passed had been his house at one time {I neglected to inquire about an address before going}. Of course, I now remember more of the town than he does, given the fact that he was quite young when they returned to the States. :)

After Landstuhl, I was tired and ready to simply get on the train and head back to Würzburg. But I didn't buy the all-day, all-Germany pass for nothing! Before heading out, I'd looked at what cities might be between Würzburg and Landstuhl, in order to optimize my day. I discovered that the city of Worms {remember, W's make 'v' sounds here} was not too far out of the way. A quick skimming of Wikipedia {less than 5 minutes} reminded me where I'd heard the name before: the Diet of Worms 1521.

This was the city where Martin Luther, Catholic rebel and catalyst of the Reformation, stood before the Diet {a debate or discussion of new ideas in the Church} and said, “Hier stehe ich, ich kann nicht anders. Gott hilfe mir. Amen.” {Translation: “Here stand I; I can do nothing else. God help me. Amen.”} Yes, it was quite a moment when I approached the statue, read the plaque {simple words, these}, and realized that these famous words were originally said in German.

If you haven't noticed, Martin Luther is a serious hero of mine.

There is a statue dedicated to the Reformation in the center of Worms—I had no idea how cool it was until I got there. The standing figures on the corners are political and scholarly leaders that promoted the Reformation, the figures beneath Martin are forerunners in the Protestant movement, and the women in the middle of the sides represent certain cities that were particularly influential in the Reformation. And yes, I found all this out while sitting on a park bench and using up my precious 3G data.

After soaking that in, I went walking around a very old church, St. Peter's Cathedral {or Dom St. Peter}. It is undergoing its own reformation, though, and there are lots of places you can't go—and lots of Bond-type security agents to make sure you don't go there. So I just walked around and craned my neck up and wondered why on earth they needed such a big building, and was this the place where the Diet of Worms took place? I was not sure. The internet said there would be a plaque, but I never saw one.

Also occurring that day was the second Germany game in the World Cup {vs. Ghana}. While walking around Worms and taking in both huge churches and people decked in rot, schwarz, und gold, I heard the sound of a sports announcer. {Sports announcers sound the same in all languages, if you didn't know.} Soon I saw the source; they had blocked off a certain section of the city and set up a giant screen. You could hear the announcing a block away from an Italy game {I think}. The more I'm in this sea of World Cup mania, the more I appreciate it.