social programs | The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

On our first morning in Würzburg, we woke up to clouds and rain. It wasn’t a surprise, since it’s February in Germany. I was kind of sad about it, though, because I don’t enjoy walking around in the rain. Fortunately, we had a wine tasting scheduled for 3:00 PM, so that kind of limited our time in the great outdoors.

We enjoyed a breakfast of locally made Brötchen and pastries from the bakery. Bill said the lady at the bakery was kind of a character. He’d order something and she’d prompt him to buy more by saying “Und?” after he made a request. The bakery also had eggs for sale, so Bill bought a few and cooked them for our morning repast.

After drinking coffee and sharing our opinions about the morning news (King Charles’s cancer and Toby Keith’s death), we all piled into the Volvo and headed for Würzburg. Bill easily found another spot at the Residenz, and we retraced the path we’d taken the night before, when we had dinner at Wirtshaus am Dom.

I smelled pizza as we rounded the bend into the center of Würzburg. It was already late morning, which meant we’d be having lunch soon. I did mention that this was a leisurely trip, focused more on time spent with Bill’s mom in unfamiliar surroundings, than actually seeing a lot of tourist attractions. I pulled out my phone to take some photos and immediately noticed a bright, colorful ramp at a business.

On closer inspection, I could see that the ramp was made entirely of Legos! I’d never seen one of these before, but apparently they’re a thing. There’s even a firm that builds them for businesses and cafes in the city. The organization that builds these Lego ramps are trying to bring attention to the many physical barriers that still exist in public spaces, making it difficult for people who have disabilities. According to the link I provided, ten Lego ramps were built from August 2020 until January 2022, with the help of local primary school children! I had no idea, and I think this is a great project to help bring awareness to the needs of people with disabilities. I love how the people of Germany are so community minded toward everyone!

*This ramp isn’t just cool looking. It serves an important cause!*

As we continued down the main drag, I took note of the colorful trams that were providing service into the inner city. Then we made our way to the Dom– a Roman Catholic cathedral that dates back to 1075, and is dedicated to Saint Kilian. This cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg, and has served as the burial place for the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg for hundreds of years.

After helping Parker climb the steps, we got some photos of the interior– full of art and colored white and gold. I always marvel at the beauty of cathedrals, and notice how no two are ever the same. I am not a very religious person myself, but I do enjoy the beauty and craftsmanship that God inspires in the people who build holy places.

Just down the street from the Dom is the Neumünster. I wanted to go in there, too, but there were a number of steps to reach it, and it appeared to be closed when we were visiting. I did get a few photos of the outside, though. The Neumünster is a former collegiate church that dates from the 11th century. If we manage to visit Würzburg again, I’ll make a point of venturing inside and taking my own photos. For now, Internet pictures will have to suffice!

We rounded another bend and found ourselves at Maria Chapel, another Roman Catholic church on the Marktplatz in Würzburg. The Maria Chapel is a Gothic church that dates to the 14th century. It’s considered large for a chapel, but is named such because it doesn’t have a parish. I’m not Catholic, so I don’t know much about the ins and outs of Catholic church structures. I just like to see the insides of the churches– especially the windows and the pipe organs. My mom was a church organist for over 50 years, so organs are kind of special to me. She didn’t play pipe organs, but I’ve grown to love the sound of pipe organs.

*The door under the stairs to the Neumünster*

Bill’s mom, Parker, needed some more euros, so she and Bill went to an ATM, while I took a few more pictures of the Marktplatz and Maria Chapel. We walked past the Rathaus and over the Old Main Bridge, which offers great views of the Marienberg Fortress. The Old Main Bridge crosses the Main River, and was built in the 16th century. It was built in a combination of Gothic and Renaissance styles and completed in 1543. There are rows of statues on either side of the bridge, which reminded me a bit of the Charles Bridge in Prague.

Realizing that we had a three o’clock appointment, we decided it was about time for lunch. We headed back toward the Dom, passing a few restaurants that looked cozy and inviting. Then I noticed a cool looking building and a sign that read Sternbäck. Although I was kind of thinking maybe we’d have something less German for lunch, I couldn’t resist the charm of this “Würzburger Original”. As soon as we walked in, I could tell it’s a very popular spot with the locals. It’s actually lucky that we arrived when we did, as the place filled up soon after we sat down.

It looked like they were doing some renovation, perhaps to the kitchen area. I noticed the waitress kept going outside to pick up her orders. There was a food truck parked next to the restaurant, and I could see craftsmen hard at work from where I was sitting. But the location of the kitchen didn’t affect the excellent quality of the food we ordered, which happened to be the special of the day– Bratwurst with either potato salad or sauerkraut. We enjoyed local draft beers and really excellent music, too. The prices were very reasonable, and the service was friendly and competent. I would definitely go back! Maybe I’d even bring Noyzi; as you can see, it’s also a dog friendly place!

After a leisurely lunch at Sternbäck, we started to make our way back to the car so we could be back at Weingut am Stein in time for our wine tasting at 3:00 PM. The wine tasting also turned out to be surprisingly interesting, as Weingut am Stein specializes in Sylvaners. I mentioned in part one that it was our first time trying German Sylvaners– a type of grape that isn’t as popular as, say, Riesling.

The guy who did our tasting spoke perfect English and came from Hamburg. We really enjoyed learning about the wines offered at Weingut am Stein and just chatting about life in Germany… and of course, American politics. We tried a whole range of wines, each one better than the last, and surprisingly different. We had Sylvaners, Rieslings, and I think we might have had a Pinot… but my memory is a little fuzzy.

After the tasting, we went down to the room where wines were being aged in egg-like structures that were based on Georgian qvevris. Having spent two years in neighboring Armenia, I am delighted to see how Georgian winemaking is catching on in Europe. In that room, there is also a beautiful table that was made from an old tree on the property. I was really admiring it.

We learned more about the history of the winery, including the construction of the degustation room and the guest house. They were built 20 years ago after an architectural competition. I really liked the design of the tasting room, which offered beautiful views, as well as interesting sunlight through the slatted windows. Our guide also told us that most of the vineyards by the winery don’t belong the winery, but are actually owned by the city. I noticed a lot of people walking around in them, and the guide said it was because that was the closest thing to a nature park in the area. It’s definitely not too shabby of a “nature” area for walks!

The wine tasting lasted about two hours, and by then, we were ready to call it a day. So we offered our thanks to the guide and went back to the house for some rest and relaxation. The next day, we were planning our day trip to Bamberg. More on that in the next post!

Public domain image courtesy of Wikipedia.

If you count both tours, Bill and I have been living together in Germany for over five years. Sometimes, life here still manages to be surprising, even when you’re at home minding your own business.

Yesterday, after I walked the dogs, I did some housework and made lunch. As is customary for me, after ditching my mud stained pants and dirty hiking boots, I got comfortable by putting on my favorite nightie. I have a tendency to do that, especially during the cold, wet, dark months. I figure if I’m not planning to see anyone, I might as well ditch the bra and be comfortable.

I was about halfway through lunch when the doorbell rang. In retrospect, I probably should have ignored the bell, but if I had done that, I would still be ignorant about today’s topic. Besides, I wasn’t sure if the person ringing the bell was someone important (and they almost never are, are they?). So I put down my burrito and went to the door, braless and in my nightgown. If you want me to look presentable, make an appointment.

Standing before me was a tall, attractive woman with curly brown hair and an impeccably made up face. She was wearing a red jacket and an identification tag. Her appearance was very professional. Of course, she immediately started talking when I opened the door.

I interrupted her and said, “I don’t speak German.” A lot of times, that gets door to door people to go away, but sometimes it doesn’t. It didn’t in this case. My visitor switched to very good English.

I remember she said, “Have you heard of the Red Cross?”

Of course I have. It’s a very well known humanitarian organization.

Before I had a chance to respond, she said “I am from Die Johanniter, which is kind of like the Red Cross.” She listed all of the good things this organization does: providing meals to the elderly, teaching young people first aid, search and rescue with dogs or on horseback, assisting refugees, services for disabled people, and on and on.

It sounded like a fine organization to me. Indeed, from what I’ve read, Die Johanniter does good work that is of value to the community in countries throughout Europe and the Middle East. However, in order to do good work, it needs money. That’s what brought this visitor to my doorstep yesterday afternoon.

So my visitor was going door to door asking for what she called “donations”. However, instead of collecting money at the door, which she said was too dangerous, she was asking people to sign up for “memberships”. It involved a monthly bank transfer of whatever amount we wanted to contribute. She was quick to tell me that if we ever wanted to cancel the donation, all we had to do was email.

At first, I thought this sounded okay. One of the things I like about living in Germany is that there is help for the citizens and asking for help is not as shameful as it is in the United States. I like the idea of community organizations designed to aid those who need help. I also love that getting medical help in Germany doesn’t mean that one will end up bankrupt. And, as a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, I think it’s important to provide assistance to countries experiencing disasters. Die Johanniter reportedly does all of these things.

However, I do not handle paying our German bills. I basically know how it’s done, but it’s not my job in our household; it’s Bill’s. Moreover, I didn’t think it would be right to sign up for something like this without talking to Bill about it. So I asked the woman if she had any literature I could read. She reluctantly handed me a very nice color brochure, in German, of course. She said she’d be back later to talk to Bill, after he came home from work. Then I went back to my burrito, which had only gotten a little cooler in the meantime.

I looked up Die Johanniter online and discovered a well-produced Web site in English. It’s a Protestant run organization that is affiliated with the Alliance of the Orders of Saint John of Jerusalem. I also found the Facebook page for Germany’s Die Johanniter and checked out the reviews. Honestly, that was kind of what turned me off from donating to this organization.

I noticed that there were many one star reviews from people who were upset about the way Die Johanniter does business. Quite a few people wrote that they felt the door to door model was offensive, especially since they got a lot of elderly people to sign up for monthly donations. One woman wrote that she was offended because she Die Johanniter apparently demands a minimum number of donations per year. I read on and found a few comments noted below…

But there were many more five star reviews, which seemed to have to do with the actual services provided.

It occurred to me that we came close to having to move last year. Then I remembered all of the horror stories about quitting monthly debits in Germany. I also don’t like the door to door high pressure collections model they used and wouldn’t want to reward it, even if the money is going to a very good cause. I would much rather donate to a charity because I want to, not because I feel pressured.

I emailed Bill about the encounter. He initially would have been okay with donating very generously– actually much more generously than what they’d requested. After I did more research, I talked to a local friend, who also informed me about Malteser International, which is the Catholic version of this charity. Malteser also canvases neighborhoods seeking people willing to make monthly donations. My German friend candidly told me that she doesn’t like how these charitable organizations go door to door “begging” for donations, even though they’re for a good cause. Apparently, a lot of charities do this in Germany, although Die Johanniter is the first we’ve personally encountered.

Ultimately, I decided it would be better if we didn’t sign up, and Bill agreed. He got home from work last night, exhausted because there’s a conference going on and he had to stay late. It was about 7:00pm when he was finally able to take off his tie and sport coat. I told him the woman from Die Johanniter would be back to talk to him. He looked at his watch and thought he was in the clear because it was dark outside and getting pretty late. However, she did show up at about 8:00pm, which seemed a trifle late to me. I was in the shower. Bill told her he wasn’t interested… but, like me, was impressed by how professional and official she was. (ETA: Bill told me last night he kind of caved and said he would sign up, but he has to call the woman because he didn’t have his bank info. Hopefully, she won’t show up here again because he has no plans to call.)

I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel a tiny bit guilty… which I’m sure is the whole point of the door to door method and the pressure to sign up right then and there. I noticed our visitor was a little reluctant to let me talk to Bill about it. Oh well. I’m sure we’ll have another chance to “donate” if we stay here much longer.