Daily Archives: August 13, 2005
Day 8 – Train Travel & the Dünenhof
Today was not the most exciting day of the trip. We caught an early morning train out of
I had heard plenty of stories and even saw photos and videos of this place but it was all so different than what I imagined. I didn’t really understand what the purpose of the place was. There were students working there, they were all Christians but I got the impression that it wasn’t a religious getaway for families. It just seemed to be a resort where all the workers were Christians. I think the two things that really left an impression on me right away was that the staff members (who were all my age or younger) were just walking around drinking beer and hanging out. I found this kind of interesting because most Christian organizations are kind of strict about those kind of things. The other thing that struck me was that there weren’t any adults around in charge of these people, no managers who were constantly watching over the workings of the facility. I was impressed that all these young people were responsible enough to take care of things themselves and that the adults who ran things trusted them enough to leave them alone to do their work.
After people finished preparing, serving, and cleaning up from the meal they served to the visitors, I got a chance to meet some of them. I ate some leftover lasagna while chatting with some of the folks here. I quickly made a connection with the ones who spoke English. As it got dark I followed the group to a field just a short walk behind the facility. A large tent stood in the center of the field with a soft glow of light and music floating through the open door. Outside were a few game booths. I took a hand at a shooting game and didn’t win anything. And I made sure to give a taste of the local bratwurst. I peeked into the tent (you had to pay an admission to enter and drink beer) I saw people sitting around tables drinking beer and enjoying themselves. It was the cutest little festival that I have ever seen. They crowned the local “Flower Queen” and then we walked back to the Dünenhof.
I started talked with some of the guys there who spoke English, Giving Dirk a break and allowing him to talk in German to some folks. We finished out the night by smoking a Shisha in one of the guys rooms. I enjoyed that everyone there was still speaking English mostly for my benefit. After that, Dirk and I went to bed, prayed together, and fell asleep.
Google Earth Placemarks for Day 5: 
Open this map
What a View!
Today was just right in termperature, and visuals. We went back to the small streets and castle that we traveled through last night, but this time it was daytime so people were about and the buldings were lit up. I still can’t get over some of the buildings here in Marburg. They are the style that have the big pieces of wood that criss-cross through the exterior, windowboxes full of flowers, and alleyways with stairs that are incredibly narrow. When I walk through the streets I can’t help but think what kind of people have walked these streets before me. What kinds of clothes did they wear? What were their lives like?
I have to say that the hilight of the day was the big payoff after a big hike uphill. When you are in the city or marburg, in the valley, you see two buildings on the top of the hills. One is the castle that we were at last night, and the other is a stone tower on the opposite side of the valley. We decided to make our way over there this afternoon. We stopped by the oldest gothic church in Germany and then headed uphill walking our bikes in the direction of the tower. The road ended, so we ditched our bikes and began the long hike uphill through the woods (there were trails) so we hiked and hiked legs getting sore. We arrived at the top of the hill and found a restaurant that probably has one of the best views in Germany, asked where the tower was and then made our way in that direction. The base of the tower is a nice little cafe that seems like a really cool place that would be on the top of my list if I lived here. it cost one Euro to take the stairs up to the top of the tower. We took many spiraled stairs until we arrived at the top. The view from this tower was amazing. You could see over the hills surrounding the valley. Every part of marburg was visible from there, including the smaller vilages on the outskirts. The giant castle on the other side of the valley was below us and yellow and green fields in the distance were cloaked in fog. We headed home on our bikes and it began to rain, but after such a great surprise, nothing could make it a bad day, not cold weather, rain or wet jeans.
Lesson Learned today: The great things in life are worth the work. (like a breathtaking view after a LONG hike uphill)
p.s. Germans eat rolls way too often, breakfast (with jam or cheese and meat) and dinner (meat and cheese, including liverwurst, gross)…I am starting to hate rolls…However, Döner is the best food that I have ever had! (it’s kinda like a gyro)