Going Back in Time: March 27, 2009

Just wanted you to meet Mariella and Steffen and share a little of their wedding day! It was a cold, blustery day the end of March, but the rain stopped for the whole day so they could at least be free of umbrellas! First, you must know a little about them. Steffen is the youngest of seven children, and Mariella is the oldest of seven children. They met several years ago at a young adult activity, talked, and just "hung out." They met a couple more times (not easy to do as they lived about 4 hours distant from one another) at church activities, and then Steffen got called to Austria on a mission. Well, as fate would have it, so did Mariella (very same misson). They saw each other once on their mission but that is all. Then, one afternoon after her mission, Mariella was sitting in the celestial room at the temple and in walks Steffen, and he says he knew right then and there that she was who he wanted to marry... and they lived happily ever after!! Of course, it wasn't that easy, as getting married over here is a real challenge for young people, housing difficult to find or afford, etc., etc. Steffen is in school studying to become a professor, and Mariella works in our office--thus our connection with her. Their courtship lasted more than a year, with each taking a turn traveling the 4 hours to the other's house on weekends. She's from Bad Homburg, and Steffen is from Hannover.

As the law requires a civil marriage before a temple marriage, they were first married in this little building next to the city hall in Friedricksdorf (the city where the temple is). We waited outside during the civil ceremony, as we brought cookies and goodies for them to munch on before they walked to the temple, about six blocks away!

Dad trying to stay warm and not snitch the cookies!

Ceremony over, and out they come to be showered with flower petals (much nicer than rice, don't you think?).

Mariella's mother is Chilean, and Mariella has her beautiful coloring and features. Steffen won't win a GQ award, but he's solid gold--absolutely perfect for her. Mariella currently has two brothers serving missions (and her family is anything but rich), and all of Steffen's brothers served missions and all brothers and sisters married in the temple. Strong, strong families.

Fun tradition to share: Mariella's family made a heart on a sheet (backed by kind of a paper mache -- hum, how do you spell that?). The bride and groom are required to cut out the red heart and then walk through the white piece that is left, representing starting life together.

They were so cute about it--had a race to see who could cut his or her side first! Mariella won!

I missed the shot of them walking through, but oh, well...

Time for family photos...

And here's poor Mariella, trying to warm up after freezing for all the photos and traditions! The two families then walked up the cute little cobblestone streets to the temple, where they were sealed in a wonderful ceremony.

I'm happy to announce that they moved into our little branch, and already their strength is felt and appreciated. They are one special couple. We just love them to death!

Bernkassel Kues and Trier, My Outing with the Sisters!

Well, much to Hank's delight, I took off one Saturday with the senior single sisters to visit Bernkassel Kues and Trier! He doesn't enjoy the travel much and figures once you've seen one city you've seen 'em all, so he was happy to stay home and complete a list of honey-do's while I partied!

Trier has the reputation of being the oldest city in Germany. One author states: "Trier was already a city when Peter was still out fishing on the Sea of Galilee....The city was officially chartered in 16 B.C., called the "Rome of the North" and in its heyday in the 4th Century A.D., it was as important and splendid as Rome itself." So, there's your history lesson for the day! This is what is left of the "Porta Nigra" or black door. It is massive.


We entered here and then just walked up and down the streets for a couple of hours.















Here's Sis. Meisman and I posing for the world. I work with her in the R.S. Presidency in our little branch. She goes home in July and would have to take the prize for the "most traveled" missionary here! She's got an awful lot of miles under her belt!

This was certainly my favorite house! It's really narrow on the bottom and then gets a little wider at the top. Don't quite know how it stands up, and you can see how narrow the streets are on either side of it! Talk about no privacy!

It was a really cloudy day, so the colors won't be as fun, but this is their "farmer's market" and main street, full of all kinds of little shops and restaurants, etc. They had three full choirs spread up and down the street, as well as a small band and various other single performers. They were incredible and provided music the whole time we were there.

More market, more gingerbread houses, more fun!

St. Peter stands atop the fountain in the market square. He has been there for 400 years, but he's considered a "newcomer" since the city itself is so ancient. It's amazing there's anything left, as the city was so badly bombed during the war.

My favorite picture of the square.

A cheat picture! These are more Roman ruins, but I resorted to snapping a picture of a postcard! These were ancient Roman baths.

Another cheat picture. This was the Constantine's Basilica. It was once a 67-meter long throne hall of the Roman Emporer Constantine and is today used as a Protestant Church. We couldn't go in the church 'cause they were holding some kind of service. Anyhow, I couldn't get a picture of the whole building, so a bought a postcard and send you a fuzzy copy of the card!
This is the Palace of Trier. Trier has been in the hands of the French, the Prussians, the Germans, and, of course, the Romans. Quite a history.

My all-time favorite church so far (except maybe the one with the Chagall windows), and that's saying a lot, since I've seen a bunch of them!! My pictures can't begin to do it justice, but try to imagine mauve, light blue, white, and gold, gold, gold, and you are just beginning to get a feel for the beauty inside.

This very ornate gold gate separates the choir seats and I don't know what all from the chapel itself. How I wish I could have captured the delicacy of the colors and the ornateness of the wrought iron...

Same general picture, just a little closer.

The priest's preaching post!

The confessional. I sure hope they use curtains or doors!

More...This was taken just beyond the front gate. Mary sure takes precedence over the Savior.

The entire length of the ceiling was painted. Again, the combination of colors and the beauty of the work was remarkable.

And here's what I came home to! Hank had planted all our pots and boxes on our balcony, and that was more fun for me than the whole trip! Aren't the flowers beautiful? We called the little guy in the corner Friar Tuck, but he doesn't exactly qualify in dimensions, so if you have a better name, let us know. It was one of the treasures left behind by Sis. Spittler.

More flowers.

And the hero of the day! There he was, with a beautiful patio, dinner all ready, and a smile on his face. Can't beat that!

Love you all. Thanks for letting us share!

Michelstadt, One of Our Favorites!!

We've talked often of Brother and Sister Frost from Michelstadt (about 1-1/2 hours from our house), and we were lucky enough to visit them again on April 22. They are our German Script teachers, and I dearly love them. They are humble, brilliant, stimulating, interesting beyond words, and just fun. Anyhow, after we did our study time, we insisted they let us take them to lunch, as they have always fed us wonderful meals at their home in the past. So, before our lunch, they gave us a tour of the Altstadt or "Old City." What fun!

This is their Rathaus (city hall), and it is small and ornate, with a date of 1484 on the front. Michelstadt was not bombed during the war, so it's treasures pretty much still exist.

Same Rathaus, just showing the easy-going style of the city folk on an afternoon... This doesn't look like a castle, but it is one of the four walls of an ancient castle which surrounds a center court, sort of like the castle in Bad Homburg. This type just doesn't carry the same "fairyland" quality that a normal castle does, but it was fun in its own way.

This is the outside of said castle wall. You can see the remains of the old moat, and the last tower is the "Thieves' Tower," where the villains were thrown for safekeeping.

Sis. Frost is standing in one of the many little alley-ways that weave between the buildings. They certainly add a little charm!

And this was just a hoot. The people had no great love for the Pope during this era, and someone created this "Fox" statue of him. If you look closely, he looks pious and sedate with his Bible, but on the side is a small bag with a chicken's head poking out, meaning that the Pope appears to be one thing but is actually a fox and steals from you. He's standing right in front of the Thieves' Tower. I don't know if that was intentional, but that's where he is.

And our Maitre 'd at the restaurant was the highlight of our day! When we first saw him from the front, he looked like he was wearing a piece of dark silk stuck to his head, but up close, we could see that it was, indeed, his hair. He just parted it way down the back of his head, brought it forward, slicked it down across his forehead, did a swirl, and brought it back down on the other side. I didn't dare try to get a picture of the other side--I was lucky to sneak this one in!

He was one great dude, and we thoroughly enjoyed him, especially the hair!

And this is lunch! It was a wonderful old restaurant right in the old city, with big wooden beams (original) and great decorations. Our favorite restaurant thus far!

I wish you could see the little sign above Bro. Frost's head. It's a picture of a small child pulling on his Dad's hand and pointing to the restroom! The sign reads "Father, there!"

Well, that ended our day in Michelstadt. It's a wonderful drive to get there, traveling through mountains and enjoying little villages nestled in the mountains as we went. It wasn't fun last November on our first trip when it was snowing, but this trip was perfect, thanks to the weather and the Frosts!

Love from the Bad Homburgers!

Walking Tour in Frankfurt

The senior missionaries went on a "walking tour" of Frankfurt one Saturday morning, and even though it was a downpour in the beginning, it was lots of fun. It lasted about three hours, and the rain had stopped by the time we were through.

Anyhow, a wonderful sister (who is actually Austrian) was our guide. She works in the Area Office and has lived in Frankfurt for 30 years. I took way too many pictures, and I realize you're going to be really bored by the end of two years, because I don't vary my shots much. Oh, well....

This very pink building is a bank, but I thought the architecture was rather interesting, to say the least! I don't know who the lucky men were who posed for this sculpture, but I bet their backs ached by the time they were through!

This is the Wertheim Haus. It was the only timber-framed building in the old part of the city to survive the war. So, it's the real thing, refurbished I'm sure, but the building itself is not rebuilt. It is original.

We walked to the "Wall Street" of Frankfurt, and we were hosted by their bull and bear. Several tourists were climbing on top and having their pictures taken, but we actually retained some decorum and just "leaned." Frankfurt is the money capital of Germany, even though Berlin is the actual government capital. The pink trees in the background were beautiful, and they were dropping their blossoms really fast, such that it resembled a snowstorm of pink!

This is Goethe's house, with an attached museum to the right. We saw the church he was baptized in, as well as a monument in his honor just down the street. We didn't go inside, so we weren't very educated from just walking by... I thought this combination of architecture was kind of interesting, from gingerbread to circular to ancient church in the background.

This is the Rathaus, or city hall. Weddings also take place there on some days, and you can just barely see a wedding party coming out in this picture. This particular area is famous for it's Weinachtsmarkt, or Christmas market. The whole square and surrounding area is glowing with Christmas lights, the plaza covered with booths for food, decorations, gifts, and anything and everything. We didn't go last year, but they say it gets so crowded that it's shoulder to shoulder the whole time. The sisters were advised to leave their purses home, and cameras were discouraged, cause there's so much pickpocketing, etc. We'll have pictures next year if I can talk Hank into a late night!

Well, that's all for this little blurb. I think I took around 50 pictures during the tour, so you're lucky I have some restraint!

April Showers & Flowers!!

When we first arrived in Bad Homburg, I sent a picture of the lovely house across the street from our apartment, and it has turned even more beautiful with the coming of spring. Pictures can't possibly capture the beauty of the wisteria, but it is breathtaking!! The rest of their yard has many blooms as well. One of these days I'm going to take them some cookies and thank them for the beauty! This little tree is just outside our apartment, and we love it! We call it a "tulip" tree, but a lot of people call it a magnolia. These trees are sooooo exquisite, and some grow to be huge and just a mass of color. There are light pink to dark purple/maroon, and it makes spring a wonder.

This is a single blossom. One at a time or a whole tree--they're really something!

This is Louisenstrasse in the spring. It turns into the "walking" street just about 3 blocks up, so it's doubly fun to go up. No cars allowed for many blocks. Our street (Frankfurter Landstrasse) turns into Louisenstrasse just one block west of our apartment.

A fun discovery on one of our walks--just a tunnel under a train track--beautiful stream, joggers, walkers, and warm spring weather.

I promised a picture of an Easter egg tree. Wow, are they ever prolific here! Every available bush, tree, sometimes even fences became Easter egg "trees," and it is colorful and fun.

If you've traveled through Idaho, you've seen the miles and miles of fields with these plants. They make oil out of them, and they are just beautiful! The only difference here is that the yellow fields are a little smaller and interspersed with green fields, and the combination can't be beat!!! This doesn't do them justice, but I'll keep trying to catch a good picture before they are harvested. You should see the fields right after a rain--they're almost fluorescent!

We spent one Saturday afternoon with Wes and Sandra Theurer, and that was sure fun. We first enjoyed a temple session with them, then drove to Frankfurt to see if we could find a park that was supposedly having a pottery sale. Well, the pottery turned out to be mediocre, but the park was really fun. There were Lagoon-type rides and tons of booths selling food and trinkets and such, but when we saw this enormous "spit," Wes really wanted me to take a picture of it to send to his dad, Scott, who is one of the BBQ kings of the world. I think even Scott has yet to try a whole cow!

And this was a real kick--when the Germans say "No Parking," they mean NO PARKING! There were three cars parked beyond the sign, and each one was individually harnessed, picked up, and transported off to the lock-up! I pity the persons who came out to find they had no way home! There's no such thing as being ticketed--the cars are literally taken away. These companies must really make a haul on a holiday or Saturday, because parking is pretty rare. I believe we had to walk at least a mile to the festivities after we finally found a parking place down the road. I wouldn't think that would bother a German, who seems to be born walking, but I guess the tendency is in all of us to park as close as we can to a place! Anyhow, we were pretty relieved when we got back to the car and found out that we really had parked in a legal place, 'cause these parking "police" were everywhere, just cruising up and down the streets looking for violators.

And, last but not least, this is the very apartment that Hank lived in 40 years ago in Bensheim when he served there. After we visited Sis. Seidenadder one day, we drove a little off the beaten path (Autobahn) and found his old city, set the GPS for the address (which he still had), and lo, and behold, there it was! A little nostalgia.

That's all for now. But I'm going to do some more tomorrow and try to catch up with some of our activities! Love to you all.