Monday, October 31, 2016

Reformation Day - October 31, 2016

(source:  askideas.com)

This year is the 499th anniversary of the day Martin Luther was supposed to have nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the All Saints Church in Wittenburg, Germany - or at least have sent them in letter form to Albert, the Archbishop of Mainz, under whose authority indulgences were being sold,  It was a bold stand against the abuse of indulgences and against the Catholic church.  The Catholic church at the time demanded that its members not only repent of sin to avoid eternal hell, but also, they had buy indulgences to lessen temporal punishment, which culminated in having to spend time in purgatory.  Around 1514, Martin Luther began preaching that indulgences cheapened grace because this practise did not require true repentance.  Depending on the territory and the Pope's wishes for its local economy and church, an indulgence could potentially cover a myriad of sins from adultery to theft.  A kind of "jingle" of the day may have been,

 "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs."


What do the 95 These really say?  You can read them all here (<<click link to uncommon-travel-germany.com)

(source:  reasonsforhopejesus.com)

Many say that the posting of the 95 Theses began the Protestant Reformation, which is why October 31, is known as Reformation Day. Originally, Luther's purpose may have just been to begin an academic debate; however, God used his bold stand to spark a revolution.

Archbishop Albert, along with theologians at the University of Mainz, labeled Martin Luther as a threat to the Catholic church.  This began the Reformation that would touch all of Europe and ground an entirely new denomination.  Blood was spilled, and Luther and his followers were pursued and persecuted.  In the end, the Germans received a Bible written in their own language, translated by Luther from the Latin, while he was in exile at the Wartburg Castle in Eisenach, Germany.  He also wrote tracts, catechisms, and hymns.  And Martin Luther actually actually ended up living until age 62 when he died of ill health to include heart problems.

This is just a very briefest of explanations of Reformation Day.  There is so much more detail to be learned.

TRAVEL:

(Luther statue at the city center)

Wittenberg, Germany - officially called Lutherstadt (Luther-city) Wittenberg) - is in the Saxony-Anhalt region of Eastern Germany.
My husband and I were privileged to visit here in October of 1997.  Wittenberg is located about 60 miles southwest of Berlin.

(door of All Saints church, now a bronze memorial to the 95 Theses)


RESOURCES:

2003 movie LUTHER, starring Joseph Fiennes (rated PG-13):

(source:  amazon)

Called historically accurate, the 1953 movie LUTHER is also one I recommend and enjoy.

(source:  amazon)

Of course, there are MANY books and websites with much more in depth information about the life of Martin Luther.  I am excited that one of my favorite authors Eric Metaxas is writing a biography of Martin Luther, due out in early 2017 (in honor of the 500th anniversary of the 95 Theses).  

Some of my information was taken from wikepedia.com

As a Christian, I am thankful that I do not rely on indulgences to pay my sin debt - Jesus already did that on the Cross - COMPLETELY.  And His gift of eternal life is mine - by faith through grace.  Alone. 








Sunday, October 30, 2016

Das Wort zum Sonntag / A Word for Sunday 30.10.2016

(photo credit:  twistedsifter)


Psalm 16:11 (KJV)
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: 
in thy presence is fulness of joy; 
at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.





Saturday, October 29, 2016

LECKERBISSEN: Apfelkuchen


Leckerbissen is a German word meaning treat, tidbit, or delicacy.  
Lecker means yummy or delicious; ein Bissen is a bite.  
Here is a recipe that will provide you with a YUMMY BITE (or two or more):

Apfelkuchen
Apple Cake
(this is one of many, many variations of a German-style apple cake)
Many, maybe most, German Kuchen are simple cakes, usually made of a basic flour/egg/sweetener dough - often with fruit exposed on top - and sometimes glazed.  Kuchen are not usually too sweet.
Not to be confused with what is called a Torte, which is not to be compared to an English tart!
A Torte will usually be cream or jam-filled/topped, often layered, and sometimes are soaked with simple syrups (or liqueur).  
Although there are ALWAYS exceptions!
I once heard that "All Torten are Kuchen - but not all Kuchen are a Torte."


2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup butter/margarine, at room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds (optional)
2 Granny Smith (or Golden Delicious) apples, peeled, cored, and cut in wedges
1/2 cup apple jelly
1/2 cup sliced almonds
FOR GARNISH: powdered/confectioner’s sugar
Place oven rack at lowest position; heat oven to 325-350 degree. Grease a 9 inch spring-form pan. Mix flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In another (large) bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add lemon juice and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture and chopped almonds (optional) until blended. Measure out 2/3 cup batter; set aside. Spread remaining batter in bottom of prepared pan.
Starting 1/4 inch from edge of pan, arrange about 1 1/2 cups of the apples in a circle, slightly overlapping. Form another circle on top with remaining apples, starting 1/2 inch from center of pan.
Meanwhile, melt 1/4 cup jelly and brush over apples. Drop teaspoonfuls of the reserved batter around outside edge and spread with back of spoon to make a 1/2 inch border. Fill center of cake with remaining batter. Arrange some sliced almonds in center; sprinkle remainder over border.
Bake 1 hour or until golden. Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove sides of pan – melt remaining 1/4 cup of jelly and brush apples again. Cool completely on rack. Sprinkle border and center with confectioners sugar.
I prefer to eat my Apfelkuchen topped with real whipped cream (add a little sugar to the heavy cream to sweeten!).  
Have a great weekend!  Alles Gute zum Wochenende!


Thursday, October 27, 2016

Who is The Frau?


This blog is my attempt to remember and share a little bit (= ein kleines bisschen) about my German heritage:  daily life, culture, vocabulary, history, and cooking.
I taught high school German I & II for 4 years at a small, Christian school.  
My students called me "The Frau*".
Wilkommen to my new blog!

(*Frau is the German word for woman, as well as the address for Mrs.)

When one travels or is a visitor, they are often asked, "Where are you from?".  To make things simple, I usually answer, "Tennessee" because that's where my parents live now and where I spent my life from 6th grade - and other than 1 year diversion to another state - through college graduation.  East Tennessee is kind of "home" even though I've lived many places since then.  

But in reality, I am ORIGINALLY from Germany.  I was born in Frankfurt in the early 1970s in a district called Ginnheim, which is to the north of the city center.  

The main identifier of the district is its TV tower, also known as the Europaturm (Europe Tower), which was opened in 1979.  It is nicknamed the Spargel  (asparagus) of Ginnheim.  I am old enough to remember Ginnheim BEFORE this 2nd tallest TV tower in Germany was constructed (the tallest is in Berlin)!!  It is 337.5 meters high (that's about 1,107 feet) and has become rather obsolete - unfortunately - these days due to new satellite technology; its observation deck and rotating restaurant are closed to public, last I heard. 

(Ginnheimer Spargel seen from the Nidda River)

As a child, it was just normal for me to ride my bicycle along the Nidda River, a tributary of the Main, which is the distinguishing river of the city.  There are actually 2 Frankfurts in Germany - Frankfurt am Main and Frankfurt an der Oder (on the Oder River), which is in eastern Germany.


(the Main River as seen from Sachsenhausen district)

My Opa (Grandfather)'s family on my mother's side was from the Frankfurt area, and my Oma (Grandmother's) family was from East Prussia.  World War II brought them together as they were married in Prussia in October of 1942.  My Oma was a farm girl - or at least a country girl.  My Opa was from the big city.  It is amazing to me to think neither of them ever owned an automobile, and my Opa only ever had a short stint as a motorcycle owner (until he wrecked!).  As city dwellers, they could get anywhere they needed to go on foot, by public transportation, bicycle, train, or with a taxi. Occasionally, a relative or friend would also give them a ride.  

A kind of ironic situation happened to my Opa in the time after the war, when Germans were desperate for jobs.  My Opa took a job as a streetcar conductor.  However, he found that after a long day on the rails, he would become quite motion sick!  So, he had to give up that job.  In the end, he got a job as a Beamter (Civil employee), I believe, with the German Postal System (Bundespost), which is a federally run institution in Germany, founded in 1950.  Previously, it had been the Reichspost (the imperial post office) until 1945 (and was run by the Allies in the interim).  As a child, I remember the local post office was always completely closed for lunch time - as was the bank in town as well as other businesses.

Because my grandparents enjoyed having a garden patch, another part of my childhood was going to their little garden almost daily.  To be a part of a Kleingarten Verein (small garden club) was not unusual for city folks.  It was a place for those who lived in apartments, as my grandparents did, to have a little bit of green - some grass, flower and vegetable beds, and in our case, a little garden hut or cottage for parties or even an overnighter.  


(picture:  my Oma and me at the cottage at the Kleingarten Verien, ca. late 1970s)

My grandparents' garden club was part of a Kanninchen Zucht Verein (rabbit breeding club), which featured a rabbit exhibition each summer.  My Opa always had 4 to 8 rabbits.  On our almost-daily walks and bicycle rides, we often paused to pick Löwenzahn (dandelion) leaves as a treat for the bunnies!  

VOCAB TIDBIT:  
Löwenzahn is made up of 2 German words:  Löwe = lion and Zahn = tooth. No doubt this is a description of the jagged edges of the dandelion leaf.  


(picture source:  botanical.com)


Another of my favorite plant compound words in German is Löwenmaul:  Maul = mouth (of an animal).  The word Maul is different than the word Mund, which is the German word for a human mouth.  Löwenmaul is a snapdragon. 

(picture source:  google images)

But for today, I will say Auf Wiedersehen.  (Auf wiedersehen is not really good-bye, but a German wish to see another again - wieder = again; sehen = to see.)  

This is a small glimpse of what I hope my blog will continue to be - ein bisschen THIS and ein bisschen THAT.