Germany Part 2

Here are some more pictures and information from our second week in Germany.

On Saturday we went to the town of Halle, which is the town where our friend went to University. It is about the size of Aberdeen. It was an East German city and the effects of that can still be seen. People are updating and rebuilding many of the buildings there. However, you will have a newly remodeled building connected with a run down vacant building with windows broken out and graffiti. The picture below is one example.



We went to Michael's former church on Sunday morning. The service was entirely in German, so we understood very little. However, the people were very friendly and some of Michael's friends made a very nice lunch for us. On Sunday afternoon, we visited Leipzig. Michael's former pastor gave us a tour. It was a very cold and rainy day! The picture below is of Thomaskirche. This was the church where the composer Bach attended. His tomb is at the front of the church.



On Monday we spent the day touring Berlin. There was so much to see. This is a picture of the Fernsehturm (TV Tower). It was built by the Russians to look over West Berlin. The ironic things is that when the sun shines on the tower, a cross forms (2nd picture).



The first picture below is of the Berliner Dom (Cathedral). It was a beautiful building with incredible detail. The next picture is the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate). This is the gate that separated East and West Berlin. The wall would have been just on the other side. This picture is taken on the east side, looking towards the west.



When we were in Leipzig I commented to Heather about the funny crosswalk signals they had. It was a man in a funny hat, not the plain looking man they usually have. When we got to Berlin there was a whole store selling "traffic man" merchandise. From what we understand, this traffic man can only be found in East Germany.


This is a piece of the Berlin wall. At some point people had painted murals all over the west side of the wall. The next picture is of a church that was damaged during WWII. They decided not to rebuild it as a memorial for peace.



On Tuesday morning we were headed back to Ingolstadt. We stopped in Potsdam to see a castle. The castle is in a huge park, that actually had two castles and many other old building. The first castle was called Schloss Sanssouci (Sanssouci Palace). It was built in the 1700's. There was also an old windmill near the castle that we thought was really cool.




The next castle was called Neues Palais (New Palace). It was huge! I couldn't get the whole building in one picture and I was standing very far away! The second picture is of the guest quarters behind the castle. Wouldn't you like to be a guest there?


On Wednesday we visited Nurnberg. It is a city about an hour north of Ingolstadt. It is known for its gingerbread at Christmas time and its bratwursts. We enjoyed a lunch of bratwursts, sauerkraut, and brezen (big, soft pretzels). It was so delicious that Michael and Jason were tempted to let the girls see the town while they stayed to eat some more! We also tried the gingerbread and brought some home with us. The first picture is of a fountain that was meant to be the top of a church. It was very ornate. The second picture is a view of the street that leads up a steep hill to the castle.



This is an interesting statue Jason discovered in one of the churches. It is a representation of Satan. The front looks like a normal man. The back shows rot and decay.



The style of some of the buildings in Nurnberg was really neat. Here are two examples.



On Thursday we took a boat trip on the Danube River. The fall colours of the trees were really pretty, however it was a hazy day so they don't show in the picture. It was a 6 km boat trip in which the driver told us some geological information about the river. It ended at an old monastery.


We had a wonderful time!

Germany Part 1

We just enjoyed a two week trip to Germany. We went with two friends from church. One is from Germany. His family lives near Munich. We stayed with them most of the time. We drove their because our friend wanted to take his car home to leave it. It was a 24 hour drive from Aberdeen to Ingolstadt, Germany. We left around 5:00 pm on Saturday.

The weather the first week was beautiful. It was warm and sunny. We greatly enjoyed the sunshine. The second week turned colder (30's and low 40's). However, it stayed dry which was nice. It snowed while we were there, except it snowed in Ingolstadt while we were in Berlin so we missed it.

The first place we visited was Ingolstadt. It is a good sized city north of Munich. The old part of the city is completely surrounded by a wall. This first picture shows one of the entrances to the old city. The second picture shows a clock tower. The old part of the city had a really nice feel to it. People were outside enjoying the weather. The pace of life seemed very slow and relaxed.


The next day we visited Munich. We went to the Olympic Park and went up in the Olympic Tower. We had a great view of the city. Too bad it was a hazy day.


Then we went into the old part of Munich and had a guided tour. We learned a lot about the history of Munich. The first picture below is of the New Rathaus (Town Hall). It looks really old because of the Gothic Style but was built in the early 1900's. The next picture is of a statue inside Pfarrkirche St. Peter (a Catholic church). Whenever the Pope dies they climb up and take this hat off the statue. When a new Pope is elected, the hat is returned to the statues head. The third picture is from the inside of Theatriner Kirche. It was an amazing church with very detailed walls and pictures on the ceiling.


At the end of the tour, our guide told us a story about how people would rub the nose of this lion because it can make you rich. We thought it was a funny story so we took a picture of Heather and I rubbing the nose. We stood in the area for about 10 minutes afterwards and many of the people that passed came up to rub the nose. We were surprised that so many people really did it. The next picture is of Jason and I in the English Gardens. The fall trees were so beautiful.


On Wednesday we went south of Munich to a castle, Neuschwanstein. The castle sits up on a hill and we hiked about 30 minutes to get up to it. It is called the Fairytale Castle because the king who built it had the walls painted to tell the stories of different fairy tales. The funny thing is the King only spent about 170 days in the castle before he died and it is only 1/3 finished.


This is Mary's Bridge. It is behind the castle and is the best spot to get pictures of the castle. It was very high up! The second picture is a view of the Alps from the castle.

After Neuschwanstein, we drove into Austria through part of the Alps and then back into Germany to Linderhof Castle. It was built by the same king as Neuschwanstein. It was much smaller but was beautifully decorated and had pretty scenery.


On Thursday we went to Dachau Concentration Camp. The history of what happened there was so sad. We also went to Rosenburg, where we saw a bird show. There were many birds, such as eagles, hawks, and vultures. They showed the different stages of training them. It was very neat. On Friday we stayed at home to relax and had a nice dinner with Michael's whole family. His mom cooked a goose for us. We also had potatoes and red cabbage. It was a wonderful meal.

Stay tuned for part 2! Hope you are not overwhelmed by the pictures. And this is a very limited selection!

Saturday Outing

On Saturday we went up the coast with our friends Jonathan and Lynsey. Our first stop was the town of Ellon, about 30 minutes north of Aberdeen. We had a very nice lunch at a cafe (paninis and homemade Italian ice cream). Then we drove a few miles east to Collieston, which is on the North Sea.

The shore of Collieston was lined with jagged rocks. The waves were huge and it was an incredible sight to see them hitting off the rocks. We found a spot to sit and enjoy the scenery.

We went for a walk farther down the beach. Jason was standing out on some rocks that had a little bit of water surrounding them. The waves were crashing behind him and I thought it was a neat spot for a picture of us. I walked out to join him and a few seconds later, I felt a cold sensation on my feet. A massive wave had come and the area where we were standing was now filling with water. I quickly jumped back to a dry spot. We then found a bigger rock to stand on and took our picture. I went back to shore, and again, a big wave came. So Jason was now stuck on the rock.

Life changes forever

Many of you may have heard by now, but for those who haven't, Erin is 10 weeks pregnant. We had a scan last Friday, and everything looked good. We enjoyed calling our family to share with them. Our parents have known for several weeks, but we made them swear to secrecy. If they told anyone, they had to pay for everything the first year. :-) Here is the 10 week picture.

The picture isn't the best; the 20 week should be better.

In other news, Erin has started back to work. She is enjoying the 4-5 year olds. They definitely keep her busy. Jason's studies are going well. We are headed to Germany one month from now for a 2-week holiday. It should be a great time. We will be staying with a friend's family, which will make the trip even better.

Ireland

On Monday, July 3oth, we flew to Ireland. We landed in Dublin and took a bus to Gorey, where Ray and Lynne Crowe picked us up. They are friends of mine from Arizona that live in Ireland part of the year. They have a lovely cottage in Carnew. Their cottage is about 100 years old. They have remodeled it themselves. The area they live in is rolling hills and farmland. It is beautiful!



On Tuesday morning we went to the Craanford Mills. The man who owns it had worked there as a young boy. He went into other work and the mill later shut down. About 15 years ago he bought it and restored it. He gave us a tour, explaining the process of milling grain.


This is the room where they would light the fire to dry the grain. The main who owns the mill is on the left. The second picture is how the room looked without the flash.


After the mill, we went to Altamont Gardens. We had a picnic lunch. Next we walked through the gardens and then the trails through the woods that lead to a river.



This is a tree called the 12 Apostle's. It has one trunk and then twelve parts that grow off of it. I just had to climb up in the middle!


There had been 4 brown ducks on top of this rock. One by one, the white ducks climbed up and forced the brown ones off. A game of King of the Mountain!


This is an arch in the Altamont Gardens that is made of willow trees. As the trees grow they wrap (twist) them around each other to make the sides and top of the arch. It was amazing!


On the way home from the gardens, we stopped at a little village. I was looking at this shop and saw a gas pump in front of it. Then I realized it was also the post office and the grocery store!


On Tuesday night we went to the House of Story. This a a place where people come to share Irish culture and history. Everyone gathers in a small room around the fire. They pass a stick and each person has a choice to participate or pass it on. One can share a story, poem, or song. It was a very neat experience.

On Thursday morning, we took the bus back to Dublin. We went to St. Michan's Church. The church was founded in 1095. We went into the burial vaults underneath the church. The first vault had an area with coffins and then an open room with four "mummies." That is what they called them. They were very old skeletons. We got to touch an 800 year old skeleton!! I'm not sure we should admit that...some of you may think we are disgusting. But it was cool! The conditions of the vaults preserve the skeletons. The other room had different stalls with doors in which families would place the coffins.


We also saw Christ Church Cathedral. The inside of the church was huge and very decorative. However, there were many tourists there and it was pretty loud.