Medieval Festival in Friedberg

Saturday took us off for our adventure back to Friedberg, where Elvis Presley lived between 1958-1960. There we enjoyed a medieval festival near the castle, partially surrounded by an old city wall. This castle was built 500 years before the pioneers trekked to Utah. It was fun to get away and just enjoy the music, crafts, and festivities.

 How the original city looked.

The city gate.

The greeter!

Crafts galore!

Love the way that families dress up for the event!

Some pitch their tents and stay for a few days.

This young woman was selling candies to earn money for her friends wedding. I bought a little Bounty bar.

Bob takes a peek outside the city wall.

German kids are very brave.

 Wow! Did you see that?

Don't be afraid! Come on in!

 

Creepy Bones!

 Scary guys holding up walls!

Bizarre pine cones.

Weapons!

Secret passageways!

Ancient old walls (notice the layers built from different eras).

Spooky old windows.

And the hanging crate!

Nothing beats the scariness of life more than eis!

This cute little puppy is unfazed. Love how he matches the sheep skins.

Last, but not least, the Bagpiper and drummer! These two guys travel around to a lot of the Medieval Festivals and perform.

A Busy Week With Meetings, Changing Buildings, and Relief Society

The days have warmed up a bit here in Frankfurt with more sun and less rain and cooler nights. As I looked out from our balcony over the trees, I could see a slight hint of changing colors. This week we enjoyed many activities, worked hard, and the week passed by very quickly.  We moved into the Frankfurt Ward from the Offenbach Ward this week. That meant cleaning out the huge Relief Society closet and unpacking things into the new closets. The Frankfurt Ward is very old and not air conditioned, so Sunday felt very crowded and hot. The classrooms and chapel are much smaller than in Offenbach. We tried to squeeze everyone into the Chapel and into the Relief Society Room, but there were very few seats left. Next Sunday the Relief Society is going to meet in the Cultural Hall. The one nice thing is that it is only a three minute walk from our apartment, rather than the 20 minute drive we had before. Wednesday evening I attended a joint Bishop's Auxiliary Meeting with all the leaders from both the German and International Ward to organize the use of the building. On Tuesday evening we had a Zone Leadership Meeting to give input on policy and calendaring with our new Zone Leaders, the Derrs. We enjoyed a delicious dinner in their lovely apartment nestled against the forest in .Friedrichsdorf. Thursday evening was home teaching night. On Saturday evening we had a wonderful dinner with Julie and Dave Colton and their two beautiful daughters, Sarah and Lizzie and their grandson, Finn. Lizzie just returned from a mission in  Santiago, Chili. She reported on her mission on Sunday, and it was a very spiritual meeting. Julie and her girls sang, and they have beautiful voices.

On Wednesday evening, I organized a fun Enrichment Night for the sisters in our ward and our Senior Missionaries. It was well-attended and a lot of fun. The theme was "You Are Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile." Sister Dearing, our Mental Health Advisor, gave a great presentation on smiles--how to smile in your heart and on the outside. Sister Colton brought half of her wardrobe along with scarves and jewelry and talked about accessorizing when you go on a trip. Then we went into the Cultural Hall for several different workshops: relaxation, nails, make up, hair, and making paper bead jewelry. I made chilled fruit soup, served with a dollop of whipped cream. Yum! We all had a fun and relaxing evening!