Cantate Gottesdienst & Maulbronn – May 7, 2007

Our incredible weekend continued. Yesterday was Sunday morning, but not just any Sunday morning. This Sunday is a special day, because at church the service was full of music. Anneliese sang with the church choir and Jo played his trombone from the top of the church tower with his brass ensemble. We were invited to come along, so of course we did. Heidi and I listened from the street, while Jeff, Martin and the kids went up. It was beautiful – a very meaningful church service, and then a walking tour of the city that Anneliese arranged for us.

In the afternoon, Philipp Dohse (Jo’s son) and Cora Koch (Philipp’s girlfriend) took us to see Maulbronn. This monastery and town are a great example of medieval life. Jo is a member of the Maulbronner Kammerchor (chamber choir), so it was fun to see a place that means a lot to him. We have been staying with Jo and Philipp. They are great hosts and we have enjoyed chatting and drinking Jo’s excellent homemade Most (hard cider). This whole weekend has been terrific. It is truly amazing to see friendships that span years, continents and generations. What a blessing it is to be human and to be able to offer and receive hospitality. One day we hope to welcome Jo and Philipp and Cora or any combination of Dohses to Minnesota. We are most certainly blessed.

Today our time together had a very sweet ending with a visit to a candy factory and museum right here in Vaihingen/Enz. We had lots of fun and purchased lots of treats for the car trip to Eisenach. The above picture shows us with our purchases. Anneliese, Philipp and his brother, Jakob, helped us make our choices and are pictured with us.

Vaihingen/Enz – May 6, 2007

We are having a very special weekend. Thirty-six years ago (1970-71) my family lived for the school year in a small town in southern Germany. I attended 4th grade at the town elementary school, while my little sister was a 2nd grader. My little brother, David, was only 3 years old. During that year my parents made some very dear friends, Reinhardt and Anneliese Dohse. Reinhardt passed away in 1992, but we were able to visit Anneliese, along with her children and grandchildren, at her home in Vaihingen this weekend. It has been a lovely reunion. Both Heidi and I have fond memories of our time here, and it is so sweet to have contact with such dear people after all this time. Over the years, our parents and the Dohses have written and visited. Friendships such as these are true blessings.

Friday was a big event with a grill evening at Jo Dohse’s (Anneliese’s son). It was so fun to see everyone. Anneliese’s children, Christoph, Beate and Jo were there along with Christoph’s and Jo’s families. We missed Cornelia (Anneliese’s youngest daughter), who is an artist living in Buffalo, New York.

On Saturday, we went to our old town Geisingen (now called Freiberg) and visited our school and found our house. Beate (Anneliese’s daughter and our favorite babysitter) came with us. We could even go into the school, because a very kind teacher, Petra Moldt, happened to be working. Frau Moldt had the keys to our old classrooms, so it was a wonderful opportunity to reminisce and show the kids where we went to school. The picture on the left is taken in my 4th grade classroom with Beate (on the left) and Frau Moldt (next to Beate), then it's me and Heidi.

After our walk down memory lane in Geisingen, we all went to Ludwigsburg to see one of our favorite childhood places – the Märchengarten! This is a truly magical place where fairy tales are told and mechanically displayed. You can see a picture of Solveig at the Hansel and Gretel Witch's house above. Right next to this amazing place is the Ludwigsburger Schloss, a real palace. It was all so cool, we had to tour both! What an incredible time we’ve had.

Hohenschwangau & Neuschwanstein – May 2, 2007

Today we did the tourist thing. We visited two very famous castles and one spectacular church. Our day started with a visit to the baroque church, die Wieskirche. This pilgrimage church was built in the middle of a meadow during 17th century.

From there we headed over to Hohenschwangau, the vacation home of the Bavarian royal family. We also saw Neuschwanstein, which is a castle built by King Ludwig II, but never completed and never lived in. It is quite something and certainly built in a beautiful area. Tourists flock here and the sights are impressive. We had a very fun day. Note Martin's appropriate tourist attire in the picture of us at Neuschwanstein.

Oberammergau & Bavarian Alps – May 1, 2007

Happy May Day! Today is a national holiday – actually an international holiday. Most of Europe is celebrating the Day of the Worker (Labor Day), so we decided to put off our castle visits until tomorrow. Yesterday we spent the afternoon at Linderhof, the smallest of King Ludwig’s creations. We will save Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau for tomorrow and hopefully avoid the gigantic busloads of tourists.

We had a quiet day of walking through Oberammergau, a lovely town with many painted buildings. I was surprised to see many shops open – mostly for souvenirs, but still fun to shop around. We even found some things we needed. We enjoyed some Strudel and Kaffee in the afternoon.

After returning to our apartment, we split up into three groups. Andrew and Solveig stayed with Heidi and Jeff to play, play, play. Christian, Carl, Jon Erik, and William went on a 2 ½ hour hike and climbed the mountain in our backyard. Martin and I drove to the Zugspitze. We enjoyed the clear day to see the gorgeous view and Martin hiked around the Eibsee. I got caught up on my journaling. It was very relaxing.

Ettal – April 30, 2007

On Sunday we left our Sickenhausen apartment after a great three weeks. Our last full day in Schwaben was spent touring Bebenhausen and Tübingen with Rainer Breitfeld, then enjoying a wonderful grill-evening with Rainer’s wife, Inge and their kids, Alexander, Wolfgang, Viktor and Marita. We are so thankful for the kindness everyone showed us and how welcome we felt. We certainly have a soft spot in our heart for the Reutlingen area. It has been an amazing place to live.

Our exciting adventures continue in the Bavarian Alps. We drove to Ettal, a small alpine village with a large monastery. We met my sister, Heidi, her husband, Jeff and their kids Jon Erik, William and Solveig, at a little apartment where we will stay for the next few days. This is a major tourist/ski area – very close to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Zugspitze (Germany’s highest peak).

You can’t imagine the joy on our boys’ faces when seeing their cousins. These kids have been very close their whole lives and I think, somehow, sharing this European experience makes it all the more special. Of course, having Heidi and Jeff around make Martin and me smile too. We do have fun together. After arrival we wandered around the town and monastery a bit. We caught the end of Mass at the baroque monastery church. Very beautiful.

Friends from Near and Far – April 28, 2007

What a coincidence! Our friend Leanne Savereide is in Tübingen this weekend. She is a courier bringing stem cells from the US to the Clinic here. Tübingen is the center for European transplant and donation. We had a great evening last night with Leanne and our friends, Rainer and Carola. As a surprise for Martin, Carola had called Uwe and Karin Stangel, so they joined us too. Uwe, Martin and Rainer were all buddies as teenagers. The spent a lot of time hanging out and riding around on their mopeds. It’s hilarious to see them together again – pushing 50. We all went out for a great dinner together.

Andrew’s School Comments – April 27, 2007

Today was my last day of school in Altenburg. I really liked it, especially meeting Phillip, because he helped me meet people and get along in school. He is a good friend and lots of fun. My favorite classes in school were Mathe and Sport. I also really like Grosse Pause, which means big break. We got to go outside to play and eat our Pausebrot, which is a sandwich that kids bring from home. One difference between Germany and America is that the kids leave their shoes in the hallway and wear slippers or clean sandals in the classroom. My teacher’s name was Frau Geiger. She is very nice and liked to have me visit, so she could practice her English. She is also the school principal. I really had a great time at the Hofschule Altenburg.