Saturday, May 2, 2015

Rest at Kropstadt

Heinrich looked at the sun and was about to say something when Sarah asked, “How much farther do you think we have?” 

Heinrich looked at the road straight ahead and saw something that made him smile, “See that spire sticking above those trees? If that’s Kropstadt, as I think it is, then it’s a few minutes before lunch and about 5-6 more hours more to Juterbog. And I’m sure we’d all appreciate a public bath house.” He promptly flicked the reins and encouraged the horse with a promise of hay, some oats, and a long drink.

As they came into Kropstadt they saw a nice orderly town with its church anchoring the town’s center, its steeple commanding the highest point around. For a Sunday the town’s square was relatively busy and Heinrich was looking for a place to stop. As he scanned the buildings he was glad to see one whose sign read: Kropstadt public bath house, which likely meant it had places to relieve themselves. He pulled up to the front of the building and tied the horse to a hitching post, and they all went in.

With their immediate needs taken care of, they got back in the wagon. Heinrich said he talked to someone inside and he directed him to a spot near the river where they could water their horse and have lunch. Finally they came to the spot and while Heinrich led the horse to the water, the ladies set out a blanket and got the food ready. Everyone stretched their legs, ate their lunch, and the horse got his promised treat.

Finally, after a half an hour or so, they resumed the trip with its familiar movements and sounds composing the background. Soon Heinrich came to where another road broke off to the right from the main road and everyone paused to look at the sign. Among other places, its letters stated that Juterbog was 6 leagues away and other towns such as Dennewitz were on the way. Heinrich said, “The road up until now has been quite straight, but I understand this one will have its share of turns. It’ll take us until near sunset to get there, so I hope we can make good time. We’ll all have to spend the night in Juterbog and we should prepare for that.” With that he got them going on a faster pace. 


In a few minutes Rebekah said, “Now it’s my turn to ask some questions.” 

No comments:

Post a Comment