July 13, 2012
Münster
In Münster we took a day off from pedalling. We had a few things on our agenda for the day besides sightseeing. We were lucky that online friends, Maun and David Alston, whom we had met through crazyguyonabike, were also passing through Münster on their cycle tour. You can read their journal on their ride in crazyguyonabike, which David updates daily. We finally got a chance to meet after corresponding several years. We telephoned and made a date for coffee in the afternoon.
First we had to pack our bags and find another place to stay since the youth hostel didn't have any rooms free for a second night. On the way to our newly booked hotel we stopped by a laundromat to get our cycling clothes really clean. Rinsing things out in the bathroom sink in the evening doesn't do it quite as well as a washing machine. In addition, the weather hadn't been conducive to getting things dry.
After lunch we met Maun and David. It wasn't hard for us all to recognize each other. They looked just like the pictures in their journals and I guess we did too. We had a lovely afternoon and hope to meet again.
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The rest of the day we spent sightseeing. In World War II, 90% of Münster was destroyed. The historical buildings we see today are largely reconstructions.
Look closely. What are those cages hanging from the steeple?
I'll try to put it in a nutshell. The Münster Rebellion, the result of complicated and intriguing social, political and religious developments, was an unsuccessful attempt by radical Anabaptists, a religious group believing in adult baptism, to establish a communal sectarian government in the German city of Münster. After 18 months of rule, in 1535, their opponents captured and executed the leaders of the rebellion and put their dead bodies on display in cages hung from the old steeple of St. Lambert's church. The cages still hang there.
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2 years ago
We finished the day with a pizza in a pleasant little Italian restaurant near our hotel.
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