Visiting the Stotzs in Hamburg

One fact that most of you probably didn't know is that not only did I have good friends also studying in Germany (see my post about Herford), but I also have (close) relatives living here. Richard Stotz is my dad's cousin (so that would make him my cousin once removed, I think); he came here about twenty years ago on a three year international business partnership through his work, met a young woman (Leila) in his second year there, got married, and settled down in Hamburg. They have three children: Philipp, Oliver, and Anne. I had met Oliver when he came to Michigan to study for a semester, but while he wasn't home this weekend, it was nevertheless good to see the family.

 

I also welcomed a guide around the city; some of my best city trips have been with people who know where to go and what to see, as well as the history of the city. In the case of Hamburg, it was also helpful to know where not to go. But I get ahead of myself.

 

I left Oberursel after my morning class on Friday and got into Hamburg about 3:30. My mind was pretty clear during the trip, or at least clearer than before, so I wrote two blog posts for you, one of which has already been posted. That evening Richard took me around Ahrensburg where they live; the small castle had been built by the Danes who had held the land at that time. They also built the city church, which one could tell by the architecture that it wasn't built by Germans. Otherwise the town was a cute, small, typical German "Dorf."

 

The next day we began with seeing the city where Richard works: Lübeck. When he told me that on Friday, my brain started nagging me and wouldn't let me rest until I looked up the reason that I had heard of the city. There's a word that my generation uses to describe what I felt: "facepalm." It's the city that Bach as a growing organist and composer visited to hear Buxtehude! So I was in fact pretty lucky that Richard took me there, because I probably wouldn't have made the trip to Lübeck on my own.

 

Lübeck has three main attractions: the Marienkirche, the City Hall, and the old city gate (Hostentor). We first walked through the city hall area ("Platz") where the Church also is. Here are pictures of all three.

 

 

 

 

I'm not exactly sure how old the church is, but its main attraction is the tomb of Buxtehude. The church itself had been bombed during WWII, so much of what you see has been rebuilt, trying to keep with the old style.

 

 

 

 

What especially caught our attention was an astronomical clock. It gave the day of the week, the phases of the moon, and the day of Easter. Each day had its own saint that would be celebrated. If you want to figure it out, I took this picture on January 19th, 2013.

 

Also, at noon little figurines would mechanically come out, bow before Jesus, and exit. I got a nice little picture of it. Even if you don't understand German, you can probably figure out what the lady in the background is saying. It's not too hard. "Japanerin" means a Japanese woman, etc.

 

Another interesting part of the church are the church bells, which fell when the church burned during WWII. The British bombed Lübeck primarily in return for the bombing of one of their cities. There's a cross of nails that has been given as a peace symbol from the English city.

 

 

 

We also visited the cathedral of Lübeck, which was smaller than the Marienkirche (much to the bishop's chagrin). Inside there was a very large crucifix over the entrance, with various people standing around, including the bishop. This church got partially burned, but didn't suffer major damage.

And, if you want to figure out who everyone is, I took a picture from a nearby book.

 

Also in this church was a large clock (no doubt to make sure the preacher didn't exceed his allotted time). Above the clock where five women symbolizing the five senses. I'll let you figure out who is which. In the middle is death holding a lantern, and I can't remember the person to his left.

 

Finally, there was the "Reproaching Jesus of the Unthankful World"- or at least I think that's what he's called. Let me see if I can figure out this German script. "I am the light, man does not see me. I am the way, you don't walk. The truth, you don't believe me. The life, man doesn't desire me. I am rich, man doesn't pray to me. I am noble, man doesn't serve me. The most beautiful, man doesn't love me. I am merciful, man doesn't trust me. I am almighty, man doesn't fear me. I am a teacher, man doesn't follow me. You will be condemned, blame me not." At least, I think that's what it says. Add a comment if you think it can be improved. It's pretty strong law, but it's a good reminder of our sinful condition and our desire to flee from God and his mercy. And yet we are brought back to faith by the preaching of the Gospel, and we recognize Jesus correctly.

 

So, after that we went to Hamburg and toured the city. The first church we stopped by was St. Katherine's, but I was quite disappointed in it. It was white-washed and very dull. It really doesn't deserve pictures on this blog. Afterwards we walked a bit through the main shopping stretch of Hamburg, which has...many kinds of shopping. At this point I was very thankful that I was visiting Hamburg when it was about 15 degrees Fahrenheit, with a blustery cold wind. Because while it was obviously cold for those of us bundled up, it also was also too cold for the scantily clad "Ladies of the night." If you're still in doubt, yes, I'm talking about prostitutes who normally are around this area. Prostitution is legal in Hamburg (no doubt due to its shipping industry), but it's also heavily regulated and usually kept to a small area. The red light district was just an alley not too far from where we were walking. The only thing I partook of in my visit to this area was currywurst from a popular stand. It was quite delicious, but probably not worth visiting in the summer due to the company.

After that, we went to something called the Hamburg Dungeons. It's basically a horror house (no, Tom, not a whore house), and it was themed around the city of Hamburg. It's based on a "Dungeons" in London, the original one. It was very well done and very enjoyable. It ended with our hanging, or at least, we were put into a "demon drop" rollercoaster. They took our picture- you can tell that I was expecting it.

 

Then we returned to his house, where we had something small to eat before a group of people came over. There were to adults first who came over, and it was good to talk with them in German and tell about my studies. We ate pita bread with hummus, and had some drinks. Richard was surprised that I, a theology student, would drink vodka mixed with Coca-cola, but indeed, I assured him that God allowed us to enjoy all the fruits of this earth, but not to indulge too heavily, which I didn't. Later that evening some youth came over, so it was interesting to see the styles of high schooler here. Their hair was the weirdest- the sides and back are close-cut, but the top is so long that it hung down over their eyes. Oh well. They stayed up a long time, but I went to bed pretty early, because Richard and I went to the fish market really early in the morning.

Normally the fish market is quite full during the summers, but the cold also kept the crowds and vendors away. Richard was pretty disappointed, and he apologized for the small crowds, but I didn't mind. After that we went to St. Michaelis- the largest church in Hamburg. It was very beautiful on the inside, and reminded me of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies. Everything was curved, and it felt like one was on the inside of a ship. The pulpit was the most impressive.

 

 

 

We had a bit of time before the service was supposed to start, so we went below and saw the tombs- I didn't expect to see Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's tomb, but we did! It was quite by accident that decided to go down there, not knowing what we'd find, but you can be sure that we're glad that we went down there. Just to let you know, C.P.E. Bach is the son of J.S. Bach.

 

Other notable musicians at this church were Telemann and Brahms, who had been baptized here.

 

The service and sermon weren't very good; it was a typical State Church service. Nonetheless, the organ playing was very well done, and I thoroughly enjoyed the music. There was a short Bach concert afterwards; maybe fifteen minutes long. And obviously I had to get my picture taken with Luther.

 

Finally, we went up to the tower and had a nice view of the city. In the picture below, you can see the industrial part of Frankfurt- centered around the docks that load and unload cargo ships. In the next photo is a picture of the Flackturm, an ugly, huge building that had anti-aircraft guns on it. It was built not to come down, and indeed, the German government has decided that it's too expensive to blow up, so they've turned it into a party hall for the youth. Maybe they'll find a way to tear down the house...

 

 

Posted with Blogsy