Day 5: What a Day! WWII History, More on Martin Luther, a Bear and a Bicycle Church 

(And this question: Was That an Emu or an Ostrich?)

Day 5, From Torgau south to the village of Moritz

Anita Berge talks at the site of the U.S.-Soviet alliance.

A plaque commemorates the "link up."

Soviet troops marched out of these trees. 

    At dinner the previous night, a Torgau native, Anita Berge, painted a fascinating picture of life in the former GDR. We then met her this morning for a walk to explore Torgau, which was the political center of the Renaissance and the Reformation, as well as the site at the Elbe River on April 25, 1945, when Soviet and American troops met, or "linked up," marking an important step toward the end of WWII. This contact between the Soviets, advancing from the East, and the Americans, advancing from the West, meant that the two powers had effectively cut Germany in two. Anita told us the "link up" nearly went awry. As Soviet troops waited in the woods for a signal to cross the pasture, the U.S. waved an American flag from Hartenfels Castle. In turn, the Soviets fired red flares. Then the U.S. was supposed to respond with green flares. But they had none and the Soviets opened fire. Eventually, the communication was corrected, and the "link up" was accomplished. 

Standing above the bear pit at Hartenfels Castle are (left to right) Paul Walker, Sue Walker, Elliot Kaufman, Larry Embree, Kay Lazar and Jay Schneider. This is the best-preserved early Renaissance castle in Germany.

Indeed, Hartenfels Castle has a bear pit (left) and a bear (right) that tries to dig its way to freedom (below).

      The exploration of Torgau was delightful and fascinating. As the city of the Renaissance and the

Carol Morasch plants her feet at a Torgau flower shop.

Reformation, Martin Luther's reformatory ideas were spread from here. In 1526, Protestant rulers founded the alliance of Torgau in order to defend the freedom of faith. In 1530, Luther and three other men wrote the "Articles of Torgau" as foundations of the Augsburg Confession. Popular lore calls Torgau the "nursemaid of the Reformation," while Wittenberg is named "mother of the Reformation."
     As for Torgau's beauty, 500 buildings in late Gothic and Renaissance style form an urban ensemble of international relevance. Of our many beautiful stops, this is a treasure I will visit again.

For Kay Lazar, a sign of the times.

'Spokes'-person of the Bicycle Church?

Our adventure was only beginning as we headed out of Torgau, bound for an afternoon pedaling through more bucolic countryside and fairy tale villages. We stopped at what our Group Leader, Dirk Broeren, explained was a "Bicycle Church" in the municipality Webnig Pluckuff 7.5 miles from Torgau. The church is located on the Elbe River Bike Path and it's motto is "better slow, slow better." From the group's perspective, this seemed about right because our collective religion was based on the seat of a bicycle for a fortnight. A short while later, we got a look at authentic German life when Dirk asked a farm wife if we could fill our water bottles out of a farmhouse hose. As we lined up for water, a German farmhand across the road was pitching hay in a wagon.

A kindly farm wife lets Dirk Broeren & Co. fill their water bottles in the noontime heat. Meanwhile, across the road, a German farmhand (below) is using the old-fashioned method, a pitchfork, to load hay in his wagon.

  

Looks like the group has happened upon some mighty big chickens.

  Our route continued south toward that night's stay in Moritz. Sights along the way included what Charlotte Sutton dubbed two baby emus, Charlotte refusing to cave in to group pressure that insisted they were baby ostriches. (Charlotte, it's 50/50 you were correct.)

Nope. Logan Mabe tells Carol Morasch, "They're baby ostriches."

Kay Lazar wonders, for a moment, who's more saddle sore, her or them?

John and Bettina Caffrey, Kay Lazar and Dick Morasch ferry across the Elbe.

  We told lots of stories on those stretches of open country, and it was among my favorite times of our two weeks. Road Scholar prides itself on the camaraderie that is created on a lifelong learning adventure, and I enjoyed hearing about our fellow participants' lives.

  I learned that Larry and Nancy Embree retired in their early 50s; that Logan Mabe teaches English and was a crackerjack newspaperman; that his Mom, Sylvia, rides a motorcyle; that Paul Walker has created a charity to help a village in Kenya.

   I also learned that Elliot Kaufman, and Dick and Carol Morasch, have run marathons; that Sue Walker has counseled women's groups; that Bettina Caffrey just retired, as did Nan Ottenritter in the past year.

   More personal nuggets were gleaned as the days went on, sometimes over breakfast or dinner, sometimes on the bike, or maybe while walking a historic town square in, say, Dresden. I had begun to enjoy each of these wonderful people and began to think of them as more than acquaintances. They were becoming friends.

Elliot's Day's Biking Total: 34 miles.