Coburg

This month we went to Coburg, about an hour away to visit a castle.  You know by now we like to do that and our mission president encourages us to really get to know the German culture.   Coburg was one of Germany's largest castles.  Martin Luther lived there for a number of months in 1530.  It  dates from the eleventh century and was rebuilt many times, especially in the fifteenth century when most of what now exists was constructed.  The family no longer used it as a home after the 16th century and it is now a museum housing a large collection of art objects and paintings, a large collection of arms and armor, and fun examples of early modern coaches and sleighs.

  We thought this stuffed horse looked too small for a real knight then read that these were used for jousts and show rather than war.  We could tell, no dents.

These sleighs were particularly interesting because they were used by ladies in mock jousts.  A driver sat on the seat behind which you can see on the third sled.  The lady used the jousting stick to try to catch rings or such.

Afterward we ate lunch at the castle restaurant and the waitress brought us a menu in English but printed in old German script.  I asked Dave about one of the menu items and he read it out loud as if it were German, not realizing it was English until he realized how weird it sounded.  His brain  understood it and menus are in German so it must be German.  We both a had a good laugh.  Shows how the mind works when you think in two languages.