sorry about that. 10 days and no word from me. how terrible.
got off the plane Wednesday (17th) and hit the ground feet-a-flyin'! Had to make ready for services last Sunday, plus catch up from jet-lag, and never had time to sit-down and process what we'd done. So here's the last segment from Germany - at Heidelburg and Worms; stayed in Mannheim for out last meal and then off to the Frankfurt airport (up at 3:00 am!) to do that!
Switzerland was just beautiful - way too spendy - even a regular cup of coffee was 6-8 bucks (USD)! I did what I wanted to do, though, and that is buy a Swiss watch while in Lucerne - and did just that - and got one for my lovely bride as well. So my Sunday-go-to-meetin' watch is Swiss made - and would have probably been cheaper in the US, but who cares!
after Switzerland, back into southwest Germany with a stop at Heidelburg (home of the "Student Prince" - beenn so long since I saw that movie, I don't remember how much of Heidelburg was in it! downtown was really cool - great shops - ice cream, beer, lace, and trinkets galore! stopped by the famous bridge - then headed up to the shopping area. then back in the bus and up to the Castle! WOW! what a place. forgot how many leaders lived there - was also a University city/place - and in fact still is. the moat (now grass) was fascinating. King Ludwig(?), flooded it in times of disruption - but used at as his hunting place for deer in peace times - how cruel - the animals never had a chance! but was really cool walking through the grounds of the place. there's a wine vat in one of the cellars that holds 272,000 liters of wine! it's the biggest wooden vat in the world! and the students pretty well kept it filled - something like ... they all brought their own wine and dumped it all in this one vat ... and the party stated??? don't quote me on that - that's a revision that I might have heard, and maybe not!
then back on the bus to see Worms. City and and the cathedral are awesome! the place where Luther "took his stand" is no longer there, but the ancient city still provides a sense of history. we spent some time in the cathedral - WWII had decided not to bomb Worms - at least the historical places, but this was hit - only the high altar and front chancel area were untouched. (that's also where the crypts are buried underneath). after leaving the cathedral we meandered off through a park like area, down the street, around the corner, took a left, then a right, and another left, and another right, and turned around, and spun in place, pirouetted, doh-sah-doed, and low and behold - there he was - UNCLE MARTY! in all his glory! actually a pretty amazing sculpture - Luther at the prominent place - high above - but then statues of all the other famous leaders of reformation. and crests of the city/states that also were privileged to share in the reforms. spent a good deal of time there - it was hard taking it all in - having learned the story and tracing the footprints for the last couple of weeks.
we gathered in Mannheim for our last hotel - a Holiday Inn of all places - but I think everyone- yes, everyone! commented - "wash cloths" did you see in your bathroom, "we get wash cloths"? it doesn't take much to impress a bunch of Oregonians in Europe!
will include a picassa URL, and will finish off the pictures later.
oh, yeah - Karina and I watched "Luther" (the 2004? version) last night! It's even more impressive now! "see that? we were there!"
and one last thing ... reality checks are important - we went to the Kyron Hormon Wall of Hope last Saturday - it's close to a 100 days he's missing. a sobering place.
Guten Tag!
d.
Good to read more of your journey. Sorry to see Kyron is still missing. We'd wondered how that saga was unfolding.
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