Three years ago we visited Munich and one of our destinations was Rothenburg ob Der Tauber. We loved it then and we decided that for our 43rd anniversary we would visit it again. So, on Friday we headed South East from Frankfurt for Rothenburg. Rothenburg is a Bavarian Medieval City built, as all other towns in Germany, around a Castle. This particular Castle was called Rothenburg and was built high on a mountain top above the Tauber River.
As we drove, we saw our first Germany snowfall and it did not disappoint ! Just beautiful.
This is our hotel room in a quaint little
hotel just a mile from the town center. This is how they do their beds in Germany. Each side is made up individually instead of making it as one bed with one cover. We each have our own "down comforter" which they call a Federdecke.
We went out to eat at an authentic German restaurant. It is fun to watch Tony get so excited about eating the German food that he so fondly remembers from his young mission in 1972.
We were glad we got there on Friday because on Saturday the streets would be busy with all the tourist coming to see the Weihnachtmarkts or Christmas Market that opens at 10:00 am. Many German towns have this market going on up until Christmas and many town squares have them.....lot's of fun and very festive. We strolled around and went into some cute little shops and enjoyed ourselves in the freezing cold but we bundled up so it wasn't too bad.
The windows couldn't be cuter! I loved just walking the streets and looking at all the cute windows that were all decorated for the Christmas holidays.
Every store was enchanting and we couldn't help but think of our 5 grandchildren back in the United States and how we would love to buy them some of these cute things. But the expense to get them shipped is exorbitant and besides, we really could fine almost everything back in the states. Their displays are just so cute, it makes you want to buy everything.
Here's another cute store. These Beer Steins are beautiful but extremely expensive.....what would I do with one anyway???
This was another cute store front. It was a bakery and they looked delicious. They are called Schneedballs. The only problem is, the Germans do not bake with a lot of sugar, which Americans are used to! We bought some of these and they were just barely sweet. If I am going to eat something with a lot of calories, it needs to have enough sugar to give me a sugar high! But they are pretty!
This is a very famous Christmas store by Kathe Wohlfahrt. The store looks small but it is HUGE and the decorations and Christmas "stuff" is incredible and very expensive. I would have taken a picture inside but they asked that we not take pictures. They had some of those German candle holders with the propeller on top, they are called Pyramids. One of them is $50,000......yes, $50, 000.00
As we were driving we realized that we have been on our Mission for 5 months already, come Sunday. Where has the time gone. We started to list all the things we've done since we arrived and the list is quite long.
First, in July we entered the MTC in Provo and mingled with all the wonderful missionaries that have dedicated 18 months to 2 years of service. We loved our experience there and met some wonderful people that we will call our friends forever. One couple in particular were the Wakilds who are serving in Accra Ghana, West Africa in the OGC.
Then we had the opportunity to be taught by Bill Atkins and Lance Wickman in Salt Lake City and it was so enlightening and interesting to learn of all the corporations that make up the church organization.
Then on the 14th of July we arrived in Germany and were met by our zone leaders, the Proctors and the ALC (area legal council) head, Jeff and Janet Nelson. We were exhausted but ready and excited for our new experience in Germany.
So, while it took a little while to get our feet on the ground and our days and nights straight.....we were off and running. Some of the wonderful things that Tony has been able to do is..... keep several countries open for our missionaries to work. It is extremely hard these days because of all the refugees entering the countries to get a 2 year Visa permit and Tony works all day, each day on these problems in 26 different countries. He also kept one Elder from being drafted into a particular country because he has dual citizenship (America and Finland) He also kept a certain young missionary from being deported from his mission country. I don't think these young missionaries have any idea of all the work that goes on behind the scenes to keep them on their missions. It seems like something comes up on a daily basis.
I have worked in the financial department tracking Stake Priesthood Leadership travel. Some of the work I do results in trainers and Audits. Sr. Missionaries travel to these countries to re-train the Stake Presidents and leaders what travel is aloud to be reimbursed and what is not.
We also have been able to do quite a bit of traveling during our 5 months. We have been to: Switzerland, the Alps, France, Berlin, Dresden, Reudesheim, the Swiss Temple, the Freiburg Temple, Rothenburg, Braubach off the Rhein and 2 castles - BergEltz and Marksburg. We also visited a concentration camp from WWII name Buchenwald.
Among our visits to interesting places, I got to visit the HOSPITAL because of a fall I took on my bike, where I broke a bone in my thumb and needed to be put in a brace for 8 weeks. Not a fun time at all!
We have loved riding our bikes and learning how to use the Metro (train) system here to get around the entire city. We have loved the past five months and look so forward to continue our adventures here in Frankfurt. We have met the most wonderful people who work along side us and will keep in touch with for the rest of our lives. We have a lot of fun, at "movie nite" and game nite at some of their apartments and we also have enjoyed going out to dinner with many of them. We have also had the pleasure of having new senior missionaries over to our flat for a meal to help them with the first few days once they arrive.
On Saturday, we bundled up again and went down the same streets we had walked the night before in Rothenburg. This is a typical cobblestoned street. It was so charming. I loved just walking around and looking at all the windows and how they were adorned and decorated for the Christmas Season.
We walked the WALL around Ruthenburg. It surrounds the city for protection which was common in the 1600's to keep out enemies. In 1601 after the "Thirty Year's War" the Count of Tilly wanted to "house" his 40,000 troops in Ruthenburg but instead of of allowing them to enter, the town defended itself and had intended to win but instead were quickly defeated by Tilly's troops. After the war, Tilly's troops left the town poor and almost empty. Soon the Bubonic Plague broke out and killed most of the remaining townspeople. Without any money or power the city stopped growing and prospering and remained in its 17th Century state which makes it a lot of fun for todays tourists to travel to see this medieval city. As can be seen in the home below, the roof is sagging a bit, most of the homes have been preserved but we did notice some of the roofs as we walked along the wall around the city. We had a great vantage point being up high.
I took this picture below because I wanted to remember how they decorate their windows. They are all so unique and pretty.
Still another picture taken from the wall of a typical street. Look how they hang Christmas trees outside their homes. And, at night, they are all lit up....it's quite a sight. Makes you so in the mood for hot chocolate and Chirstmas!
This is Tony on the wall.....we walked 3.4 km. The wall is very thick and every 50 feet or so, there is a cut out where a soldier would stand to watch for unwanted quests from other towns and defend the town of Rothenburg.
This last picture was taken from our kitchen window on Sunday. We woke up to a beautiful blanket of snow this morning.
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