Midterm Report

image from here

The days are slow, but the years fly by.  We're halfway through 2021.  Each year, I set and present my goals for the year in January.  Today I look at how I'm doing.

Anyway, here are the goals and how it's going.

Spiritual
- Be disciplined in prayer/scripture routines (and start tracking them to encourage it)
- Teach the family

I started tracking prayer times and the chapter(s) I read of the Bible each day; that has encouraged me to make it more consistent and quality. And I'm teaching the family a little more. Room for improvement, but encouraging.

Nutritional/Fitness
- Keep weight under 185 lbs (goal: 180)
- Get a six-pack
- Complete 240 workouts (run, bike, gym)
- Be able to do 60 push-ups in a set and 15 pull-ups

On track, though my weight has held steady at 4 lbs higher than I'd like. I'll focus on this when we move home in a few days. The workouts so far: 

25 bike rides, 335 miles

65 gym workouts

33 runs, 63 miles

4811 pushups

1855 pullups

3274 dips

64 ab workouts

Financial
- Get good budgeting system in place

Work in progress. We've talked to a few people, have some ideas, and have future meetings planned to work this out.

Reading
- Read 50 books
- Complete my German Reading List

I completed my GRL last month, and really enjoyed it. On track to exceed 50 books.

Travel
- Visit the Alps
- Take the kids to new countries (Belgium, Liechtenstein, Italy, etc.)

We got one last trip to the Alps in this past weekend (to Austria; pictures once we get our PC back). We didn't travel as much as we would have liked here, but pandemics limit things. In the end, we got the kids to Netherlands, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, and many places in Germany. Not too bad.

Fluency
- Obtain a certification in German

Work in progress- I plan to test when we get home.

Games
- Minimize game collection to what I play regularly

Didn't happen- game collection is going the wrong direction :-). But I'll pare it down.

Adjust
- We move back to America this year, so finding a house, job, school, etc. will be priorities as we approach the summer

We're in our final days in Germany, so this one is hitting us hard now. The summer will be one of transition.

Overall

The year is going okay. Need more discipline in some areas, but progress is there.

Grade: B

Tales from the Perilous Realm (J.R.R. Tolkien)

Billed as "five classic tales by the author of The Hobbit," Tales from the Perilous Realm features:

- Roverandom: a dog who gets enchanted, lost, and has many adventures

- Farmer Giles of Ham: a common farmer is blessed with fortune and is perceived as a great hero in his village 

- The Adventures of Tom Bombadil: a collection of poems about the character in The Lord of the Rings

- Smith of Wootton Major: a man has repeated journeys into the realm of Faerie after consuming a blessed object

- Leaf by Niggle: an artist's obsession with individual leaves, and his desire to paint a bigger picture out of them

The appendix features the long (but helpful) Tolkien essay "On Fairy Stories," where he discusses his perspective on their attributes and origins.

I'm frequently drawn to Tolkien, and Alan Lee's cover art helps. This collection was pretty good. Reading the [rather long] foreword is recommended, as it gives perspective to each story and enhances the enjoyment. These are not tales set in the LOTR universe, so don't expect that, but the tales are good. I especially appreciated Leaf by Niggle, as that was Tolkien's way of discussing his writings set in Middle-Earth. The essay in the appendix was also valuable and appreciated, though I didn't always follow what Tolkien was saying. (I have this problem with C.S. Lewis, Tolkien's friend. I feel like our brains just aren't on the same wavelength in places.)   

Rating: B+

The Story of Christianity, Volume 2 (Justo Gonzalez)

In the second volume of his history of Christianity, Justo Gonzalez covers from the Reformation to present day (AD ~1500-2010), broken into three sections:

• The Reformation
• Orthodoxy, rationalism, and pietism
• Beyond Christendom

Summary
Martin Luther's internal struggles and uncertainties led him to study the Word of God with vigor. In so doing, he found that the church of his day had strayed far from the teachings of the Bible. He posted his famous '95 Theses' in Wittenberg in 1517, hoping for debate. What ultimately resulted was revolution. He soon attracted a following- true believers in Luther's theology and/or those simply wanting to diminish the power of the Roman catholic church. And various other biblical interpretations arose, leading to Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, and Anglican schools of thought. Then as now, difference of thought wasn't well tolerated, and a long period of unrest ensued, culminating in the Thirty Years War (1618-48) a century later. 

After the Thirty Years War and other things like the Puritan Revolution, a continent weary of war went through an "Age of Dogma and Doubt," where religion started a shift into the private sphere when it became clear that forcing people to align with a given confession was unproductive and ineffective. The different schools of thought by this point each had developed their respective orthodoxies (which Gonzalez presents in simplified form), and there arose other schools of thought like rationalism, spiritualism, and pietism. The author concludes this section with an analysis of religion in the thirteen American colonies.

Gonzalez concludes by looking at an age 'beyond Christendom,' studying the shifting landscapes in the Americas and Europe, new schools of thought in Proteestant and Catholic theology, missions work and the unifying effect that has between different traditions, geographic expansion (so that Christianity is now truly global), and geographic shifts (where the world wars contributed to a 'crisis at the center' of the old Christendom, and led to a new 'vitality at the periphery,' as the church is now more centered in Asia, Africa, and Latin America).

Review
As with Volume 1, This is an excellent read. It's clear, succinct, fair, informative, and well-written. Gonzalez covers major events and personalities impressively. Highly recommended for anyone (Christian and non) who wants to understand this highly influential institution and how it obtained its present form.

Rating: A

Oppenheim

Today we did a quick trip to Oppenheim, a quaint town surrounded by vineyards and enjoying lots of history (Martin Luther stopped here between Worms and Wartburg). The Michaelskapelle houses the remains of ~20,000 who died between 1400 and 1750. The church looked cool (but was closed during our visit), the town seemed nice, the castle ruin was small but nicely situated. Overall, not a bad way to spend an hour.

German Castles

I'll conclude my "Long Goodbye" series by looking at the thing I'll miss the most (outside of people): castles.

I love antiquity, and reminders of it abound in Europe. Within 10 miles of my home, one finds ample evidence of settlements going back 2,000 years. It's amazing, and I'm reminded of the contrast when I'm in America- the USA is just so new. (Of course, people have lived there for thousands of years, too, but their cultures didn't leave the same sorts of traces behind.)

Looking through time, I have a particular love of Medieval history and architecture. It's so prevalent and accessible here. I'll miss many facets of it- from cathedrals to half-timbered homes (like in Idstein or Schiltach) to the focus of today's post, castles.

The next few paragraphs are from my series on German history.

Near the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire, we started to see those wonderful fortifications: castles. They became increasingly prevalent from about 1000AD. At one point, there were ~20,000 castles in Germany- the most in Europe (that’s one castle every 7 square miles)!

Castles were popular for obvious reasons. They protected people and goods from harm, and could oversee and protect important lands/strategic spots. Gunpowder (in Europe from 1300s) and artillery advances gradually made them obsolete in subsequent centuries (though still effective in Napoleon’s time- some castles were destroyed by his army, ~1800).Today, there are four types of castles: real, restored, ruined, and romantic (this delineation is my own and subject to criticism).

• Real: the castle exists today in a ‘natural’ state, perhaps expanded over the centuries (as most castles were) but never destroyed or appreciably altered for other purposes. (Marksburg is an example)
• Restored: the castle exists today but was destroyed and rebuilt (often in more modern styles or in accordance with fashions of the era); it has a degree of original authenticity but has been substantially changed. (Cochem is an example)
• Ruined: the castle was destroyed or abandoned and has decayed naturally, often helped by residents using the stone for other projects. (Eppstein is an example)
• Romantic: the castle was built after the age of fortification and never intended for use as a stronghold. (Neu Schwanstein is an example)

Today, only 20% of castles in Germany have roofs, 40% are in a state of ruin, and 40% have only ground-level foundations (if that!). In fact, some have disappeared; we know about them only through literature. Castles were expensive to upkeep; when they became obsolete, they were abandoned, auctioned off, used as local quarry, etc.

For a more in-depth introduction to these structures, check out Medieval Castles or Marc Morris's Castle.

In the pandemic, we made seeing castles a priority- it was easy to socially distance and enjoy these structures of old. In Pandemic Tourism, I provide a few resources for locating the nearby structures. We've seen over 20 in our region; I link to many of them below, providing a map for those interested.

 

Hohenstein

Sonnenberg

Eppstein

Königstein

Münzenberg, Friedberg, and Bad Vilbels

Runkel 

Drachenburg

Manderscheider Burgen

Cochem

Eltz (& Cochem)

Frankenstein

Auerbach

Rodenstein

Wertheim & Mespelbrunn

Ehrenfels & Rhein Castles (and again here)

Like ruined abbeys, ruined castles in particular fill me with peace. These mighty structures are now destroyed, delapidated, or repurposed. It's a testament to the flitting nature of life, and turns the attention to what really matters. 

TLG: Trails

Continuing The Long Goodbye series, today I say farewell to trails, by which I mean walkable cities in addition to the obvious bike paths/etc.

Europe is far more pedestrian- and bike-friendly than America. We enjoyed the pedestrian quite a bit the last time we lived here, so much so that the kids, shortly after our return to America in 2014, were begging to walk somewhere- it was the first thing they missed. They quickly realized that America is built for cars, and walking isn't convenient, safe, or possible in many places. And they missed the walkability dearly- as did we. In fact, we gained ~10 lbs after moving home, simply by the lack of walking to run errands and such.

This time around, we also enjoyed the pedestrian possibilities here (I love the pedestrian zones in cities in particular), but we branched out and realized just how far the paths extended outside the city. The pandemic encouraged outdoor & isolated activity, leading us to explore the paths on bikes and foot whenever possible. We saw a ton of castles (post forthcoming), and we were amazed by what we found.

The paths between towns and for leisure astounded me. It's quite easy to go by bike (or foot) between towns on paved walkways through farm, forest, vineyard, town, and meadow. The paths are numerous; the options many. I found it faster (and cheaper) to get into the city on bike vs. car. The paths are safe, serene, and wonderful. Even when having to cross busy streets, drivers are more aware and conscientious of hikers/bikers. I'll miss this element of Europe dearly. From the 'mundane' or typical paths, to the fun ones like the Steckeslaaferklamm, they're wonderful. I can't say that enough.

I've blogged several times about biking, so I won't repeat that in detail, but visit those pages if you're interested in more (and some pictures):

- A New Direction, where I talk about my new-found hobby, inspired (or forced) by the pandemic and injuries

- Shadowfax, where I welcome a gravel bike to our stable after my riding got serious

- Stepper, where I introduce a mountain bike to more fully explore the trails

Biking in particular allows you to cover so much ground and enjoy these paths to their fullest. I just passed 1,600 miles on the bike since March 2020. I will miss this so much. Farewell, trails of Germany. Farewell.

Metz

On the way home from Paris, we stopped for lunch in Metz, a quaint town on the Moselle. It must have been a big deal in the Middle Ages, with the cathedral and all. We enjoyed the architecture and the river as we chowed down, then grabbed some macaroons on our way home.

Versailles

In the second part of our "Paris day," we visited Versailles. The royal residence for ~100 years, we had visited pre-kids, and were excited to show them the wonderful gardens (we stayed outside in the pandemic- they would have been bored indoors anyway).

After some ice cream, a boat ride on the lake, and briefly enjoying a classical music concert (where jets of flame shot up in time with the music), we headed back to the hotel. That was 36 miles away, but took 2.5 hours, because everyone in Paris- perhaps in France- was on the same roads at the same time. Not that I'm bitter.