In Search, we tackled the Thirty Years’ War via our reading of Simplicissimus. Learning about this period of unrest and conflict which eventually resulted in the Peace of Westphalia (creating the notion of sovereign nation-states built on an approximation of religious tolerance and respecting borders) helped further develop my understanding of how Germany became the country it is today. In German, we learned some grammar rules by reading a text by Mark Twain, in which he explores the various traps and pitfalls of the German language. I imagine knowing these rules is going to be very useful for me in my studies of German.
In the afternoon, we went to Saarbrücken for the first time on a guided tour to the Ludwigkirsche and the castle wall. The Ludwigkirsche was very impressive, and most importantly, we had a great tour guide. My favorite part was one of the stories he told us while standing in the square in front of the church. I’m going to write it down here so I don’t forget it, so if you don’t want to read a semi-long story, skip ahead to the photos.
Our tour guide began be explaining the Baroque style, reflected in the symmetry of the surrounding houses. Then he pointed to one house, and explained that the King’s mistress had once lived there. Apparently, the King had once visited his mistress and had hit it off with one of her handmaidens, a former farmer’s girl. The mistress was jealous of the attention, and slapped the girl after the King had left. The girl took the initiative of going to the King and complaining about the attack, and the King broke it off with the offending mistress and made the girl his new mistress. He sent her off to be educated in France, and after his wife died, the King made the girl his new wife as well. From then on, he tirelessly tried to have her recognized by the Parliament so that his children with her could be his heirs. The Parliament refused to see her as noble because she was born a farmer’s daughter - not even being named princess of a small German city was enough for them to accept her. Finally, the King went to the King of France and asked for him to name her a Duchess of a French territory. Thanks to the legitimacy of the King of France, the Parliament full-heartedly accepted the Princess after she was named a Duchess.
The inside of Ludwigkirsche was beautiful. It was entirely white, as it was meant to accompany the King’s vision of a White City. There were however accents in gold and pastel pink. I took one of the prettiest pictures I have ever captured - it features the organ and the ceiling motif of the church.
The church’s pillars were carved into representations of Spartan women, each of whom symbolized particular values of the State, Church, and Royalty.
The church’s pillars were carved into representations of Spartan women, each of whom symbolized particular values of the State, Church, and Royalty.
After our tour, we were given some free time. I went to the Regional Museum and saw the remaining bits of the old castle which still exist underground. Then we crossed the river and walked down the pedestrian shopping street. There were way more stores than I expected. I was able to discover a German bookstore, Thalia, for the first time. It was very fun experience. I went for the express purpose of finding the first Harry Potter book in German, to facilitate my learning German by using something I love to learn more German grammar and vocabulary. I had the hardest time finding Harry Potter until I discovered there was a separate table for it instead of it being on the shelves (well, the hardcovers were shelved, but I was looking for the cheaper paperbacks). It was great to learn that Harry Potter is popular enough in Germany to merit its own special place in the bookstore. Seeing as how the series is over, I don’t think such a thing would exist in American or French bookstores.
I also went into an Apotheke. I thought it would be like a French pharmacy, but it’s much bigger and more diverse than that. Still, it’s not on the level of American Walgreens which has sections for toys and food. There was however more than medicine in the Apotheke - I saw teas and toothbrushes and candy… yet it still had that pharmacy look and atmosphere.
To finish our free time, we went to a café and had a treat. Surprisingly, the café charged more for the food when it was eaten on place instead of to go. To justify this, I guess, you had to go sit down outside and wait for them to bring you the food, instead of the much easier system of ordering the food and them giving it to you directly to carry outside. I wanted to get a tarte aux framboises, but it was nearly 4 euros! C'est de l'arnaque. It didn’t even look that good, the raspberries were kind of shriveled. In France, I’d be able to get a much better tarte aux framboises for just a little over 2 euros. I settled for some ice cream and apple pastries instead.
I also went into an Apotheke. I thought it would be like a French pharmacy, but it’s much bigger and more diverse than that. Still, it’s not on the level of American Walgreens which has sections for toys and food. There was however more than medicine in the Apotheke - I saw teas and toothbrushes and candy… yet it still had that pharmacy look and atmosphere.
To finish our free time, we went to a café and had a treat. Surprisingly, the café charged more for the food when it was eaten on place instead of to go. To justify this, I guess, you had to go sit down outside and wait for them to bring you the food, instead of the much easier system of ordering the food and them giving it to you directly to carry outside. I wanted to get a tarte aux framboises, but it was nearly 4 euros! C'est de l'arnaque. It didn’t even look that good, the raspberries were kind of shriveled. In France, I’d be able to get a much better tarte aux framboises for just a little over 2 euros. I settled for some ice cream and apple pastries instead.
Although we had hours in Saarbrücken, I didn’t actually get to explore that much. I’m looking forward to our next trip to Saarbrücken with much more free time, when I’ll be able to explore different kinds of shops and the Europa-Galerie shopping center.