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***image1***I had the luxury of visiting Mainz on the last workday in April thanks to the 415th Base Support Battalion Chaplain’s Office.
They were sponsoring their first Spiritual Fitness Day Out, where 20 members of the battalion were treated to Touristik Centrale Mainz guided tours to the St. Martin Cathedral or as they say in Mainz, “The Cathedral,” and the Gutenberg Museum.
The 415th BSB Staff Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Doug R. Wootten said Mainz was chosen for the spiritual fitness day because of the city’s historical beginnings of the Bible.
***image2***“It’s important for people to know about the religious history of the cities they visit especially in Europe since a large part of the history of those cities has significant religious involvement,” he said.
We were split up into two groups of 10, and my group’s tour guide was George Buzhleitner, who, in my opinion, was very colorful and a joy to listen to. He told us quaint stories amidst the historical facts that helped us quickly get acquainted with the city that is situated and centered along the Rhine River. That was extremely important as we only had about five hours to see the sights and have lunch.
Our group first visited The Cathedral. Herr Buzhleitner said this massive cathedral gives the city its character to this day, 1,000 years after it was built. The Archbishop Willigis began its construction in 975.
I was not allowed to take photos inside The Cathedral so I took photos outside, especially of the bronze door panels, which Herr Buzhleitner said was part of the original cathedral.
The Cathedral is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
After I stopped focusing on the door, I saw the Maniz market. I just love markets, not because I can shop, which I do love to do, but because of the people. I just love to photograph buyers, sellers and those making their way through the intricate activities of markets.
I got caught up in the wonderful world of the Mainz Market, which is 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Friday and Saturday right outside the cathedral’s dome. In fact, I almost lost my group as they were heading to the Gutenberg Museum.
***image3***The Gutenberg Museum houses 4,000 years of writing culture from all over the world, and I was really excited about taking the tour, but I missed it as I had to deal with one of the museum’s curators, who was nervous about my camera equipment.
He finally agreed to let me take photographs of their demonstration of Johannes Gutenberg’s first printing press. Gutenberg invented printing letters made with a casting device and the printing press about 550 years ago. Before his invention, books were copied by hand.
Well, I didn’t get to photograph the demonstration because I found out that it is only given in German. I didn’t even try to convince the others to sit through a demonstration they could not understand just so I could have a good action shot for my story.
The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
After visiting and learning about those two historical sights, it was time for lunch and to interact with our fellow spiritual travelers. For me, it was a treat to relax and get to know my coworkers outside of the battalion’s day-to-day operation.
Chaplain Wootten said he is already planning another spiritual day out to Worms in autumn.
