Saturday in Cologne!

Bob and I hopped in the car and headed for Cologne, the fourth largest city in Germany. The Rhine River runs through the city. We only had a short window of time, so we spent most of it photographing the huge, huge, huge, ornate Cologne Cathedral, the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Cologne. When we walked in we were absolutely dumb-struck with the vastness of the cathedral and the light and color from the spectacular stained glass windows. After visiting the cathedral, we were very hungry and found the largest and most beautiful bakery in all of Germany. Of course, there went the diet again. We each had a delicious sweet pastry. The shopping district there is worth exploring, but we didn't have time. We'll need to go back.

Awesome Entry!

Huge stained glass windows!

Two massive organs! Can you imagine the sound with both playing at once?

This folk art ceiling in one area was such a contrast to the rest of the cathedral. I loved it!

The biggest and best bakery in Germany (or probably the whole world):

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil:

We walked over to an old church in the Alstadt. This is the shell that is left of the building after the bombing in World War II. It's skeleton makes us feel sad for all the magnificent buildings that were destroyed.

Missionary Dinners!

We love our missionaries, and they do not hesitate to call us when they need a party. They called to say that a new friend, Alejandra, had just lost her job, and was needing a bit of cheer. They knew that our baked apples and ice cream would do the trick. So we had a nice party with pasta and salad with her and both the sister missionaries and the elders. It was very fun and, of course, we all fell in love with Alejandra. She is from Peru and will be going home soon for six weeks, so we took her out for Thai food and scheduled a Peruvian cooking party with all of the elders and sisters and other friends who might want to join us in our little apartment. We hope that it has expandable walls! It's always so much fun to be with "our kids" here!

Back to Work! Wetzlar on the Weekend!

With the holidays behind us, we got right back to work. We work hard all week longs so that we can enjoy our P Days on Saturdays. That's when we take off to see the sites in Germany!

Bob had a zillion calls to follow up on and projects to assign and approve. I was asked by the Area Presidency to write the Cape Verde video script, as they are organizing a new stake there. It is located just off the coast of Africa and is composed of ten small islands. The land is poor and drought ridden. It is not an island paradise, but the people are filled with light and embracing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Over a hundred new members are baptized in Cape Verde each month.

P.S. The video script was approved by the Area Presidency, and soon a film crew is going to Cape Verde from Salt Lake to film it! Exciting news!



Wetzlar

We headed with our friends, The Dearings, to Wetzlar that is located by the Lahn River. We parked in the Aldstadt (old town) and started with The Dom that is ornately decorated on the outside. Inside is  a huge organ and beautiful stained glass windows. The Pieta is heart-wrenching. Then we explored the cobble-stoned streets with its timbered houses. Notice the paintings inside the faux shutters. If you look closely, you will see Santa climbing up one building. This is typical in many towns in Germany. We had a delicious lunch of lasagne and salad and enjoyed a bit of window shopping.

The Dear Dearings!

New Years Eve!

Germans spend around 200 million Euros on fireworks that they shoot off on New Year's Eve. All of Frankfurt was blasting off with what sounded like gun shots for a couple of days before the holiday. On New Year's Eve, we headed over to the Dearing's apartment where we played Pictionary and How's Yours with several Senior Couples. We managed to stay up until midnight to watch the fireworks from their veranda that overlooks the city. But the fog had rolled in, and we were stuck with only a view of the neighborhood displays that were pretty spectacular, we must say. We watched rockets of colorful explosives (seriously) blasting off in the air and then they trailed down upon roof tops. We were glad that it was a damp night, so nothing in our area caught on fire. About 2:00 a.m. the fireworks came to sort of a halt, and we went to sleep. The next day the streets were covered with burned out fireworks. No one cleans up their own, probably because they can't find them. They just wait for the city to do it. It took a couple of weeks, but now things are pretty much back to normal with just minimal trash strewn around.

Of course with the New Year always comes our ill-fated resolutions to lose weight and to exercise to get in better shape. That lasted about a week, and then we're back to our German Indulgences--marzipan chocolates and baked apples with ice cream. We had a nice devotional, and the speaker said, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13   Believe! Believe! Believe!

Sister Erika Enger

We love Sister Enger! She teaches us German each week and always has something wonderful to share with us. At Christmas time, she gave us two jars of her delicious berry juice that she had bottled. For our January Sisters Night Out, she taught us how to make German Christmas fruit bread and apple strudel. Last week she made two bird feeders for us. She also made these cute little booties and knitted bags. She is a generous and loving person, and we are grateful for her example and friendship!