We apologize for taking so long to update our blog. I am sure you missed us. We spent three weeks of May in Germany. The trip was with some good friends of our from church who were born and raised in Germany. We told them that when we went with them, we just wanted to be treated like family and not tourists. Sometimes that is a dangerous thing to say, but in this case it worked out well.
We flew out of Charlotte on Lufthansa into Munich. The flight was smooth and uneventful. As we were about to land, you could look out the window of the plane and saw huge fields of yellow. We learned later that these plants were called rops (spelling is probably wrong, but is pronounced like hops only with an r). The plants are used to make a kind of safflower oil and or a silage for animals.
As requested, we were able to spend a lot of time with the family of the Schultz’s. Their daughter and son-in-law lived in the small town of Ihrlerstein. We ate many meals with them and enjoyed spending time with them and their children, Adrian and Cora. Cora loved animals and had two rabbits but would occasionally bring home a dog from some people she helped out.
We rented a small apartment in Ihrlerstein. It was rough. It was above a bakery and right next door to a grocery store. After spending time the first day getting settled and caught up from the time difference, we went into the nearby town of Kelheim. [insert picture from 5/7 sitting at a Bistro] Kelheim’s biggest tourist attraction is Befreihungshalle (Freedom Hall). [insert picture from 5/7]. The hall was built between 1839 and 1863. This is actually pretty young for a lot of buildings we saw in Germany. We visited that a few days later and went through it. Very impressive.
From Kelheim we took a boat cruise up the Danube to the Weltenburg Kloster. This is a Benedictine Abbey built in the early 1700’s. The inside of the church and chapel was very impressive. In truth, the inside of all the churches we toured were very impressive.
This may be the time to make several observations about the churches we saw. 1) Churches were often in the center of every town. When they were built, this showed the emphasis on the spiritual needs of the people since the church was built first and the town grew up around the church. 2.) The churches have intricate designs inside. Many of the statues and interior are covered with gold. God is the symbol of royalty and truly God deserves the best. 3) While the interiors are adorned with great riches, they were built within towns that the people were incredibly poor. It is amazing how much money was spent on buildings while the people were under great oppression. 4) Almost all the churches had a great number of statues to honor the apostles and various church leaders through the years. This seems to be in direct violation of the 2nd commandment which says, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them”. People often light candles and pray to these statues, or should I say idols. 5) Many churches were bombed during World War II and yet they have been rebuilt in meticulous detail. God is also able to take broken lives and make them new in Christ. 6) Most of the churches all had at least one pipe organ. In one church I actually counted five. 7) The churches have become more museums and tourist sights rather than where the gospel is preached.
We next experienced the birthday party of Hanna’s sister that still lives in Germany. She turned 80 while we were there and we were happy to share in the festivities. The dinner we shared featured a unique item what was in season at that time, white asparagus. We ate this for several meals for the first week.
Gail really enjoyed watching the boats on the Altmuhl canal particularly as they went through the locks. The clearance in the locks was minimal, but the boat captains did a great job getting the boats in and out.
We were able to tour the Audi factory in Ingolstadt where the A3 is assembled. Sorry we could not attach any pictures, but cameras were not allowed in the factory. It was very impressive, but they did not give any free samples. In fact, if you wanted to buy something from their factory store, anything with an Audi symbol on it was very expensive.
We spent a day in Reidenburg and at the Rosenburg Castle were treated to an exhibit of falconry. The castle had birds of all sorts that they trained to fly and retrieve food from other trainers. They had the audience in a large circle and as the birds made their pass, they would just pass over the head of the audience. The children would scream and sometimes the birds would actually hit you with their wings (believe me, I know). We then finished the day with ice cream while overlooking the Altmuhl canal.
We then took a trip to Eastern Germany. On the way, we stopped at Dresden and spent several hours looking at all the old buildings. Telling about the sights can’t do justice to the real thing. I have included two pictures which give a little idea.
While in East Germany, we toured the area where Stefan (the Schultz’s son-in-law) was raised. We toured a fabric factory in the area that make towels. We actually stepped foot in the Czech republic.
Returning from Orlausitz in East Germany, we again stopped in Dresden. We were able to attend services at Frauen Kirche a protestant church in Dresden. It was interesting, but the gospel definitely was not preached.
We visited Regensburg twice. This was the first Bavarian capital. We toured the Imperial Diet Museum which portions were built in the 1300’s. This was used in the 1660’s. There was a torture chamber in the bottom of the city hall. It still amazes me when you see the evidence of man’s inhumanity to man.
We then visited Passou which is on the Danube. We were able to watch the cruise boats as they docked in Passou. The church in Passou and the one at Weltenburg Kloster were my two favorite. The scenery and architecture is amazing. In Passou I saw the smallest pipe organ I have ever seen.
We spent one day in Oberaudorf area so the Schultzes could visit with some old friends. We were hoping to see some of the Alps since it was so close to Austria. Unfortunately it rained on and off that day and the clouds prevented us from seeing the mountains. We did visit another church in the area and had a great dinner. (Probably Bratwurst)
We went to church at a mission church with missionary Keith Klaus. I think the preaching was good, but since it was in German, I could not tell all the message. Understood about 25% and definitely could follow along with the scripture. After church we had a picnic and then left for our final city to visit. We spent the day at Nurnberg. Being a Sunday a lot of places were closed, but there were street vendors, living statues and performers all over the place. We visited the old fort before leaving.
Well, that is all for now. We will add more from our summer at Harvest Time Bible camp soon. It will cover 3 months worth of work. RVCraze?
