Day 3: To the River: We Head West to the Elbe 

(A Magical Palace, a River Ferry and Martin Luther's '95 Theses')

Day 3, Riding from Dessau to Wittenberg

The lovely grounds of the Dessau-Worlitz Garden Realm.

  There's a stir in the air this morning as we hop on our bicycles and put the two-night stay at our countryside Dessau hotel in the rear-view mirror. We'll get our first glimpse of the Elbe River today; even cross it via a ferry. And the sight of the Elbe will cement our exhilarating knowledge that this adventure is on!
   First up, we'll explore a real-life palace. We'll get our first extended look at the pastoral beauty of the German countryside. We'll learn that parents of a "Jeopardy" champion are in our midst. And by day's end in Wittenberg, we'll walk in the footsteps of Martin Luther, whose writings changed the course of religious and cultural history in the West.

Intrepid Road Scholar adventurers on steps of Worlitz Palace: Row 1, left to right, Bettina Caffrey, Sue Walker, Carol Morasch, Kay Lazar, Nan Ottenritter, Nancy Hembree, Larry Hembree. Row 2, left to right, John Caffrey, Elliot Kaufman, Paul Walker, Sylvia Mabe, Kate Kaufman, Dave Hanson, Dick Morasch, Charlotte Sutton, Logan Mabe, Leah Hayes, Jay Schneider.

A ceiling frescoe and an ornate parlor and painting in Worlitz Palace.

 When in Germany, experience a palace. And we did: Wörlitz Palace (yes, this is a palace, not a castle), which is a centerpiece to the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm. The grounds were created over 200 years ago by Prince Leopold III Friedrich Franz and the palace was his summer residence. Our Road Scholar bicycling group got itself into a fit trying to decipher a Latin inscription above the porticus on the palace's front. We finally determined that the inscription was the prince's dedication of the palace to his young wife, Ludovika.

  The Elbe River finally was near enough to dip in our toe (or bicycle tire) not long after leaving the picturesque Wörlitz grounds, but riding alongside the river isn't what our Group Leader, Dirk Broeren, had in mind. We were headed across it. Good thing it was by ferry, not bike. What struck me was how slow-moving the river appeared to be from 100 feet away, but not when I looked down at the ferry cutting through the current. This is a powerful river, flowing northwest 724 miles from the Czech Republic through Germany to the North Sea.

 

On a ferry across the Elbe, Leah Hayes ponders whose puns are worse, mine or Elliot Kaufman's. It's a tossup.

For Bettina and John Caffrey, the answer is: "Yummm!"

This wasn't to be a particularly long ride to Wittenberg, but there was plenty of time to begin to get to know each

other as we rode a paved path along the Elbe River. Personalities began to emerge, as did fascinating facts. To wit: New Mexicans John and Bettina Caffrey were riding near enough to me that the conversation somehow morphed into the subject of what turned out to be a mutually favorite TV show, "Jeopardy." It seems that, in her 20s, their daughter was not only a contestant, but a two-time "Jeopardy" champion. So the question had to be asked: Is Alex Trebek a nice fellow? Answer: "Very nice," they agreed.


 

The group biked to Wittenberg's Market Square to view a statue of Martin Luther (partially obscured, left).

Castle Church: Site of the "95 Theses?"

   The group rode into the heart of Wittenberg at mid-afternoon, allowing for time to freshen up before riding to the Luther House and Castle Church to learn from an entertaining local expert about one of Western history's most significant figures. Born in Eisleben, Germany, in 1483, Martin Luther spent his early years in relative anonymity as a monk and scholar. But in 1517 Luther penned a document attacking the Catholic Church’s corrupt practice of selling “indulgences” to absolve sin. His “95 Theses,” which propounded two central beliefs — that the Bible is the central religious authority and that humans may reach salvation only by their faith and not by their deeds — was to spark the Protestant Reformation. Although these ideas had been advanced before, Martin Luther codified them at a moment in history ripe for religious reformation. The Catholic Church was ever after divided, and the Protestantism that soon emerged was shaped by Luther’s ideas.

    Martin Luther is said to have posted his "95 Theses" to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, thereby kicking off the Protestant Reformation. There are several paintings of Luther heroically standing at the church door, hammer in-hand. But is it true? In his writings Martin Luther never said anything about nailing the "95 Theses" to the church door. We get this story from one of Luther’s colleagues, Philipp Melanchthon. The only problem is, Melanchthon didn’t move to Wittenburg until 1518, a year after the alleged ‘nailing’ and didn’t mention the event in writing until after Luther’s death. Regardless, Martin Luther remains one of history's most prominent men and the Road Scholar field trip to Castle Church was a highlight of the two-week adventure.

Elliot's Day's Biking Total: 20 miles.