There and Back Again

Let's just say up front that I am not cut out for travel. I don't enjoy sitting for long periods of time, I hesitate when confronted with the unknown, and I much prefer familiar surroundings. Our trip had none of the above. Believe me, this was a test, in more ways than one. If I were to choose, I would choose God's creation over man's, every time. But our primary destination was Berlin, and there is little there to indicate God's presence at all...

Over the course of the week, I took more than 270 pictures, but I'll spare you the details. Instead, I'll try to hit some highlights...

This is where we stayed while in Berlin. It is called the Ostel, and it boasts "authentic East German flair." It is East of where the wall stood, and it didn't take much to convince me.


We were located in a corner apartment, on the 13th floor. Yes, I said the 13th floor. This is the first time I've ever been on a 13th floor - I didn't know they made them. ;)

We arrived in Berlin on Tuesday, 8/26. On Wednesday, someone turned 50. We won't name names (he doesn't want anyone to know), but I did take pictures. He seems to be handling it pretty well...

The primary reason we went to Berlin was to see the opening of the Arthur Szyk exhibit at the Deutsches Historisches Museum. Arthur Szyk was a Polish Jew, who used his artistic talents to fight a propaganda war against Nazism. His work is amazing. I spent some time examining his work. He was a man whose faith was his passion, a man who used ALL of his talents on behalf of his people. His body of work is remarkable, and 60 years later it still stirs great emotion. I am very glad we were able to be at the opening of this historic exhibit.

On Thursday, it rained. Check out our friends. They came to visit as we were eating breakfast.


After four days in Berlin, we flew to Frankfurt. There, we rented a car, and drove to visit my cousin in Rodgau. We specifically told them we had five people, and luggage. "No problem." ummm...Are you sure?


The drive was worth it, as we visited Cousin Cathy. She and her husband Juergen took us to Miltenberg, where we saw the Germany I'd imagined from my youth.

We hiked up to the castle ruins...



And were rewarded with a spectacular view of the town...


They were having some sort of festival (see the ferris wheel?), and as we were eating dinner, some of the parade participants came marching past our dinner table...

On Sunday, we piled into the car and drove to Esslingen, the town where my grandfather spent his boyhood days. Perhaps if you click on the photo, you can see the name of the town in the manhole cover. I thought these were pretty cool...


The next day was spent in Heidelberg, where the kids were impressed with the size of the wine casks in the castle. Yes, that little man in front of the keg is our son - the one who barely fit in the BMW. This is one VERY LARGE cask!!!


I'm thinking wood was used for important things like storing wine. Why waste it on things like doors? This is the same son, same castle...The people must have been a tad smaller than we are, eh?

I really should post more pictures, but we're supposed to leave for a dinner engagement in a few minutes. I'm not ready. Jet lag has me in its clutches, and we were up at the ridiculously early hour of 4:30am this morning. How we're supposed to be alert and interactive for a dinner party is beyond me, but hey, I'll give it a shot.

I'll leave you with this last picture of one of the Heidelberg lions. These guys cracked me up. Every one of them was different, and more than one of them bore a striking resemblance to the lion in The Wizard of Oz. Don't you just love the way he's rolling his eyes?

So. We are back, and I am glad to be back. I love my life: it's peaceful, slow-paced, and quiet...just the way I like it! Being away for a week truly helps me to appreciate how good I've got it. May I never take it for granted!!!!