Saturday May 10, 2014  Disibodenberg Germany

Hildegard of Bingen, Part #1

Here is the trailer from the Margarethe von Trotta film Vision, which we will screen before our field trip.  

This a delightful video tour of the first Hildegard site we'll visit, at Disibodenberg, now only hill-top ruins, but still a special place.

Hildegard of Bingen was a woman of extraordinary abilities, way ahead of her time, and a powerful influence in the medieval period. Mystic, Composer, Writer, Herbalist and Healer, she founded her own Abbey, which exists in slightly different form to this day on the hills above  Rüdesheim. On this first of two field trips about Hildegard, we will explore the ruins of her first abbey, Disibodenberg, nestled on a hill below Bad Kreuznach, where she first came as a young girl, and grew into a woman powerful enough to challenge authority and forge her own path, the Green Way, given to her by the visions she experienced her whole life.  For more information about Hildegard, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildegard_of_Bingen. To hear some of her music: try The Origin of Fire, performed by Anonymous 4.  The second Field Trip for Hidegard of Bingen will take place in the fall, and concentrate on the Hildegard Trail, which connects multiple sites in the town of Bingen itself. More information coming about that!

We will be hosting a screening of the relatively recent film Vision, a movie about Hildegard by one of Germany's prominent film directors Margarethe von Trotta on Friday evening 9 May (the night before) at the apartment of Elizabeth Malone and John Keating at 7 pm, followed by dinner at a local restaurant. Please fill out the RSVP form for more details.

Itinerary
We will meet at the parking lot for the hilltop ruins of Disibodenberg at 12:00 on Saturday 10 May.  Bring snacks and food for a picnic-type lunch.  The cost for entrance is 4 Euros for a group of 10 or more. There is a small but interesting museum, included in the price. We are negotiating for an official English-speaking guide. For directions, GPS type in:  Disibodenbergerhof 55571 Odernheim am Glan. Or visit the official website http://www.disibodenberg.de. (It is a German language-only website, but if you open it in Chrome, you can get an automatic translation.) Trains are available to Staudernheim; 30 minute uphill hike to parking lot. For driving and trains follow white directional signs for "Klosterruine Disibodenberg."

We will be at the site approximately 3-4 hours, including lunch. If you are interested, those of us living in Wiesbaden are planning to return and finish the afternoon and early evening at the Henkell Sektkellerei for their annual Mother's Day "Sekt Tag" celebrating their very nice sparkling wine.  For more information and directions to the Sektkellerei see: http://www.henkell-sektkellerei.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/ein_samstag_voller_perlen
RSVP below for more details about rendezvous at Henkell with our group.

To summarize:
Friday 9 May 7pm Screening of Vision: From the Life of Hildegard of Bingen at John & Elizabeth's apt., followed by restaurant.
Saturday 10 May 12 noon meet at Disbodenberg parking lot
Saturday 10 May ~4 pm Henkell SektKellerei 

Two of the Mandala-like images created by Hildegard of Bingen