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Published: September 16th 2010
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Here we sit, on Wednesday evening at the hotel in Zurich and our honeymoon is almost over. Never knew time could fly so fast. We've had very long days, so blogging has been difficult as we've hit the hotels late, had dinner, and then sacked out so that we could get an early start on the next day.
Vanda will take you through Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsbuhl and Nordlingen, old walled cities from the feudal era that we visited during the two days following Leingarten. So I will pick up our travel journal with Sunday, September 12.
However, one digression before I begin. Vanda mentioned that the press met us in Leingarten and were interested in my military service in Germany. My second assignment in Germany, from April to September 1971, was as the S-2 (Intelligence and Physical Security Officer) in the 101st Ordnance Battalion (ammunition) in Heilbronn. We did not visit the Kaserne where the unit was located or the housing area where I lived because I could not remember where they were - plus we didn't have time to look them up anyway.
Back to the topic at hand - Oberammergau - now we are heading for the village of Oberammergau where we will cross off one of my bucket list items - the Passion Play. Oberammergau is also a homecoming of sorts for me, for it was in October 1970 that as a brand new Second Lieutenant, fresh out of the Armor and Intelligence schools, I was assigned as an Instructor to the US Army School, Europe in Oberammergau - my first assignment! 40 years have certainly flown.
The Passion Play was everything I expected and more. The 5-hour play was broken into two parts. Part 1 was from 2:30 until 5:00, followed by a 3-hour dinner intermission. Part 2 began at 8:00 and ended at 10:30. The play was totally in German. I followed along in a book with an English translation and became totally engrossed - to the point where I didn't notice anyone or anything around me. Vanda likened the experience to an opera and a Greek tragedy. I thought of it as more like a Shakespearean play, as it had one stage set that everything worked from. There was a 48-person chorus with a narrator that came on stage between acts to transition to the next act. The performance was also punctuated by still-life tableaus from the Old Testament, which were Vanda's favorite part. The play followed the passion of Christ from His entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday through His resurrection.
The theater was completely open on the stage side, was constructed around 1900, updated in the 1930s, and holds about 5,000 people. It is not heated, but we were not cold in spite of the cool evening because our seats were high and about three-quarters of the way back. However, our seats were dead center, giving us a great view of the stage.
For those who may not know, here's a brief history behind the Passion Play. In 1633 during the plague, or Black Death, which was sweeping Europe, the citizens of Oberammergau promised God that if He spared their village, they would put on a play commemorating His passion every 10 years. The town was spared and in 1634 the first play was performed. Every 10 years (now in the years ending in zero) it has been performed as long as politics or war have not interfered. For instance, there was no play in 1940. There was an extra play in 1934 to observe the production's 300 year anniversary. In about 1770 the government of the time forbid all passion plays, but relented in 1780. The players are citizens of the town and must have been for more than 20 years. Can you imagine being in a play that your ancestors took part in centuries earlier? Also, during intermission you might open your store for tourists to buy souvenirs and mementoes. I would guess that there are easily over 1500 people involved.
Afer the play, Vanda and I returned to our lodging in Farchant, about 10 kilometers from Oberammergau heading towards Garmisch. We stayed at a small hotel or Gast Haus called the Hotel Zugspitze, named after the highest mountain in Germany. The following day was our free day, so we checked out of the hotel by 9:30 a.m. or so, and headed to Salzburg, Austria.
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