Week of November 25, 2019
Today was filled with lots of travel magic as my new friend Marc said. I met Marc in the hostel the morning of my departure. He was headed to the train station and I asked to join him since I had not traveled by train in Prague and wasn’t familiar with where it was located. He was a big help in identifying the international counter where I needed to buy my tickets to travel between countries. It turned out that we were on the same train as he was headed North to Berlin. After the train departed, I noticed that the train’s final destination was not mine. I assumed I would have to make a connection, but it was not printed on my ticket and the counter agent had not indicated that I would need to change trains. A very kind German man sitting a few rows behind me offered to help. He looked up the train schedule on his app in German and sure enough, I had to get off and make a connection in which I would hav 9 minutes to board! How grateful I was to this stranger for his help. I would have not known when to get off or which platform to head to. I totally would have blown right by the part of Germany I was headed to. After hearing more of my serendipitous adventures, Marc noticed that travel magic followed me everywhere. And certainly it does and for this blessing I am grateful!
I traveled by train North East from Prague through Dresden Germany, to the tiny town of Freiberg. The first thing I noticed when I got off the train was the number of bicycles in Germany. There were hundreds at the train station. I had not seen this yet in my travels. As it turned out, bicycles were the preferred form of transportation in the small towns. I saw so many men and women in their 70’s and 80’s on bikes. That was so surprising to me. I had instructions to catch the C bus but when I tried to board, the bus didn’t have the very convenient option of tapping my credit card like every other country has so far. Instead, I would need new currency which I had none of yet since I just arrived. I headed to nearby stores and shops asking for directions to the nearest ATM or bank. No luck. No one spoke any English at all. I silently prayed for help and had the idea to go to a hotel, thinking they might have an ATM in the lobby. There was not an ATM, but there was a woman at the reception who understood enough English (or my gestures) to direct me to a machine a few blocks away. It was were she said it was, but it was all in German! I could not read the prompts so I just assumed they were the same and entered my PIN number when I saw XXXX’s! Lol. It turned out that I received money – Whoo hoot! Now I had bus fare. Whew…. So much effort for the things we take for granted in a country were we speak the language.
When I got off the bus, I thought I might be in the wrong neighborhood. I was about a block away from the LDS temple but could not see it anywhere. Normally, it would sit high on a hill and the statue of Moroni would be highly visible. However, I would later learn that this particular temple is different from all other temples in the world. It is tucked discreetly into a quiet neighborhood and was THE ONLY religious building built during the years of communism in Germany. That is unbelievable – in a time when people were not allowed to even meet as small groups without being monitored. Apparently government officials were intrigued why so many of their population kept requesting papers to leave the country to travel to Switzerland (to attend the temple there). Since they could not guarantee re-entry, they allowed the construction of the building on German soil in order to keep their citizens at home. Today, the town of Freiberg is so proud of this beautiful building that it is found on local postcards with the inscription of “our temple”. I find that fascinating. Even though they are not members and will never participate in the ordinances, they still have great pride and affinity for the temple. How wonderful.
The accommodations at this temple were located directly next to the temple with an amazing underground tunnel leading from the rooms to the temple. Every temple complex should have this wonderful feature! It allowed me to get dressed in my room and not have to change after checking in. It also allowed me to go back and forth during the day for lunch or work and never have to change. That was a real benefit.
The rooms were very clean and welcoming. I loved being surrounded by the magnificent paintings of Christ and his ministry. It was a wonderful environment to work and serve. It was Czech week at the temple so there were lots of people from the Czech Republic and everything was catered to their language. Right away I noticed that no one spoke any English and I was very much alone with my thoughts. Communication was difficult and cumbersome at best. I stopped a woman on the street to ask where the grocery store was and she thought I was going to rob her! She was angry and defensive. I was shocked and sad and frustrated.
Once I found the grocery, I could not identify any of the food unless there was a picture of the item on the packaging. I was beginning to realize how dependent I was on English to get by. So many countries have it as their second language that up until this point, I had not had to work hard to communicate. It made me appreciate those who come to the US without family, friends or a job and have to make a way.
The neighborhoods in Freiberg were clean and well kept. The center of town was close and within walking distance. Many people were out on the streets. Everyone walked or rode their bicycles despite the freezing temperatures. There was very little vehicle traffic with the exception of public transportation which was frequent and safe.
The homes were all very unique, not one was similar to another. I liked that. It made for very interesting neighborhoods. The homes and apartments were colorful. I decided that was a good thing for a part of the world that got dark at 4pm in the Winter and was grey and without sunshine much of the season. The colors helped to brighten things up.
Once entering Germany, I was aware of the German influence that had been woven all through my childhood. I had not realized that these things were of German origin growing up, but as I walked these old streets and saw the curtains from my childhood, and the advent calendars and the pastries that I grew up with, I was aware of the strong influence my grandparent’s heritage had in my early years. It was wonderful and familiar and somehow comforting.
Freiberg was my first Christmas Market experience! Even without the snow that I had imagined would be present, it was a wonderful world of sights, smells and sounds unlike any other. In every direction I saw booths with succulent meats and sausage roasting over wood stoves, hot wine and cider, beer of every kind, handmade crafts, and vendor after vendor of hand carved ornaments, nativity scenes and fresh baked gingerbread – all the while, German Christmas music filled the air. It was absolutely wonderful and such a nice way to begin the Christmas season.
Living All In 