German 2013 Week 1 - Mainz

Our first stop (after hunting for a place to park!) was the Gutenberg Museum. The museum is named after Johannes Gutenberg who was born in Mainz and (as you probably already know) is credited with inventing the first movable type printing press (there was a previous press made in China using clay letters whereas Gutenberg used wood or metal letters).

Getting ready to begin our tour!  

I was in charge of listening to the audio tour and then summarizing and passing on the information to the others.

We watched this lady do a demonstration of how Gutenberg's original press would have worked.

In a different part of the museum, some of the younger ones got to give it a try!

This museum is home to some very special books including one of the original Gutenberg Bibles!  It also has many exhibits on the history of printing and the people and instruments involved in some of the first printing projects. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures of the rest of the museum.

In front of a statue of Gutenberg's head.

We set out to make a couple more stops around the city.

Isn't this a neat looking church?!

Streets of Mainz...

Our next stop was the statue of Saint Boniface!  Saint Boniface was one of the early missionaries to the people of Germany and later became the first archbishop of Mainz.  He was very passionate about the spread of the gospel and was later martyred because of his faith.  Though we wouldn't agree with all of his beliefs, his love for the Lord and selfless sacrifice can inspire us today.

One of my favorite stories from the life of Saint Boniface is the time that he chopped down "Thor's Tree" (a religious tree of the pagan's) while calling on Thor to strike him dead, if he was real, for defying him with such an act.  Boniface acted with great bravery and trusted the Lord for the outcome as Elijah did when confronting the prophets of Baal.  When the tree fell and nothing happened to Boniface, the people converted to Christianity.

Boniface also had some great quotes.  One of my favorites is: "Let us stand fast in what is right and prepare our souls for trial. Let us neither be dogs that do not bark nor silent onlookers, nor paid servants who run away before the wolf. Instead, where the battle rages, let us find ourselves. Run towards the roar of the lion! Run towards the roar of battle! That is where Christ’s most glorious victories shall be won." 

In case you would like to read more about the life of Saint Boniface, or read the more complete story of  the chopping down of Thor's Tree, here is a helpful article on the subject: click here!

Please note!  I've not read the entire article, nor am I familiar with the rest of the site, so please (as always!!) use discretion!!

Warm pretzels on a chilly day - PERFECT!!!

This church has beautiful stained glass windows!!

We got to listen to this lady play the pipe organ - she did an amazing job!!