Visit a Missionary

One of the goals of our trip to Germany was to visit missionaries that we knew or knew of associated with the assemblies in North America.

Brother and sister H. have served the Lord faithfully for many years in various areas of Belgium. Travel from one country to another in the EU is quite easy and Gent , Belgium is only about four hours from Duesseldorf, Germany.

On Tues. May 29Th. we packed up early and headed for their place. they were expecting us by noon/dinner time. Our route took us through a corner of The Netherlands. At Venlo, Netherlands we planned to change to a different highway but some how missed our turn or took the wrong one so ended up having a tour of a residential area of the town. It was just the time of the morning when the students were going to school. There were many cyclists on the streets. We also discovered that the streets are not layed out on the grid method so continuing to make right turns does not bring you back to point of origin. Finally we found our way to the appropriate highway to take us on our journey to Belgium.

At a rest stop on the autobahn Helmut was studying a large map on the wall tyring to see how we should go through the city of Antwerpen, Belgium when a kind man told us (in German) to watch for certain signs and use the middle lane through the tunnel. We did what we were told and got through this large city without delays.

Mr. & Mrs. H. live in a village outside of Gent so with the map and their directions we tried to find their street. necessity required that we stop at a gas station so Helmut tried to call Mr. H. on the "Handy" (cell phone) - Helmut had enough time to tell Mr. H. the kind of gas station that we were at before the phone died. The attendant told us the street that we were looking for should be around the next corner. So we went that way. I was looking at street signs and discovered we just passed the one we wanted so Helmut stopped a backed up as we got to the corner a car was pulling out and it was Mr. H. who had come to look for us - he led us to the right house.

Our visit with them was very nice and informative as well a a great time of fellowship. We went out to eat at a buffet. We had a nice chance to visit with Mrs. H. and got better acquainted with her and she told us about some of the things she is involved in. (When the man always gives the report you don't always get to hear the woman's point of view of the Lord's work).

We headed back to Duesseldorf by about 3 in the afternoon. Somehow we got hopelessly lost in Antwerpen The rush hour traffic was in full swing - what a mess. We parked near a harbor and just watched a ship being loaded for a while. Finally we took a road going out of the city in the same general direction as the autobahn and made our way slowly from one small town to the next until we could finally get back on the autobahn. It was bedtime when we arrived back at Ursula's.

Unintentional Sightseeing

Mon, May, 28 --After a nice leisurely breakfast with Ursula and some time to talk and prepare Helmut and I took a walk to Aunt Hilde & Uncle Helmut's which is only about 10 minutes away. It was raining lightly but it didn't really wet us too much. This picture of them and Helmut in front of their house was taken on a different day- this morning they didn't come outside. We visited for about and hour and U. Helmut was very quiet and cooperative so we had a good chance to visit with aunt Hilde. It was much easier than the day that she took us out to a restaurant- at that time most of her time was spent helping U. H.

We had a quick lunch with Ursula and then she prepared to go out for the afternoon with a friend. we were invited to visit a family at Schuellenbach a village in the same area as the Weidnes bible School (east of Duesseldorf). We had special written out directions that Ursula had gotten from Christianna over the phone. However, some how we missed the proper turnoff from the autobahn and got mostly lost (unplanned sight seeing) for quite a while. Finally we arrived at the Wissing's and had a wonderful time of fellowship with these lovely Christians. Mrs. W. is a friend of long standing with Doreen H. here in Winnipeg. We had met her many years ago when she visited Doreen - that was before she married Johannes. They have adopted three nice children and we enjoyed meeting all of them. The little gal (5 Yrs.) really took to me and had a great time telling me all kinds of things that I didn't understand. When I asked in German for something to be passed at the table she was so surprised that she didn't pass it. Johannes said that my request was completely understandable.

In the course of the visit with them we found out that they are well acquainted with some folks who used to live in Valley City, ND. It ends up that Myrna knows the same folks that they know.

After supper with these folks we returned to Duesseldorf which wasn't far at all when you know the route.

Back to Duesseldorf

On the Sunday we went to the church where Herrmann was preaching that day. It was the Pentecost Sunday. Dorla was preaching in one of her churches but she particularly asked us to go with Herrmann. The place where we went was in Obertein - it is Lutheran. Helmut said that what Herrmann had to say was OK but I didn't understand. I followed the scriptures that he read and that was all. The group seemed small ( not as small as our assembly) for the size of the church and more older folks than young ones. The singing was "weak" compared to what we are used to.

After a good meal with H. & D. and lots more visiting we started out for Duesseldorf.
In the early evening we arrived at Ursula's and she wasn't home. So we went to the local Greek grill and got some supper. After eating we decided to walk around a while and then to Renate's home - there we found Renate, Wilfried and Ursula. They welcomed us in and gave of ice cream with raspberries and listened to our tales about our trip.

We went home with Ursula where we will stay for the rest of our time in Germany and just make a couple of day trips.

There just aren't in significant pictures taken on this Sun. afternoon.

A Weekend in Idar-Oberstein

Somehow I pushed or tapped the wrong key so posted the pictures before I wrote the text.

Helmut's cousin Dorla and her husband Herrmann welcomed us in their home and kindly entertained us on Sat. & Sun. Both of them are pastors in different parishes so they are very busy on Sundays. Dorla has five village churches along with another pastor so she goes to a different one than the other pastor and they rotate around from Sunday to Sunday. Herrman has three churches in Idar-Oberstein and shares the responsibility with another pastor.

On Sat. when Herrmann had some spare time he took us to see the famous Felsenkirche which is built right into the side of a mountain - It is the white building in the mountain. It was built between 1482 and 1484. It is not accessible by road any more so all the visitors, congregation and workers have to climb up about two hundred steps. Herrmann is one of its pastors and he goes there about once a month. I walked up all those steps and that was quite an undertaking for me. I was glad that there was a bench where I could rest just before entering this tunnel.

The tunnel was constructed as the entry way to the church more recently because of things falling down from higher up the mountain at the original entry way.

There are houses built on the side of the mountain and the only access to these houses is by foot. You can see the banister of the walkway in a couple of the pictures. In one picture Herrmann and I are descending the stairs and walkway.

Many years ago precious stones were mined in the mountains of this area so the town is famous for that and jewelry.

We had a very nice visit with H. & D. and Helmut really had lots of good reminiscing with Dorla about Grossmutti Rauhut. Dorla was fairly young when Grossmutti R. moved to Canada so D. felt cheated out of her Grandmother. However, Helmut's Grandmother Zimmermann went to live with his aunt (her daughter) about the same time and they were the next door neighbors of Dorla's family so she adopted Grandmother Z. for her own. Rauhuts and Hasselhofs are related to Helmut on the second Mother's side. (Dorla was a Hasselhof.) Probably Dorla knew Grandmother Zimmermann better than Helmut knew his own Grandmother.

Hopefully this separated blog post won't be too confusing to anyone. Just scroll down and you will see the pictures.

A

This & That

Doin' two things at once. I am not quite as handy holding the phone and using both hands to do something else as my sister is - but sometimes I can do it.

Back in Aug. when this activity was taking place I was asked about the drying rack that H. had made. I don't remember if I posted any pictures at that time - I think not. Here it is set up in Ruth's room because she was already in TX. Since the rack stays up about three weeks it is good to have it in a place a little out of the usual traffic way. the rack has two more "shelves" above the ones that you see in the picture. In nice warm dry days it takes about three days for a batch of apple slices to dry enough to be stored. If the humidity is high such as in rainy weather it will take more days.

On the previous post just keep scrolling up and you will find the pictures and the post.

On The Way To Idar-Obertein

As we traveled along the Mosel river valley we enjoyed the scenery on the lovely afternoon. The sides of the mountains were planted with many vineyards. This little cart on a rail is used to carry the worker up the steep mountain side so that he/she can reach the area where the work is being done. We saw many of these during our travels but this one we were able to get the best picture.

Near a place called Bernstein we found a lovely park area with free parking & free WC's so we took advantage of this opportunity. Helmut also took a walk back to the bus stop area to look at a map of the area that was posted there to get our bearings. We often used these posted maps (usually of towns) to help us find our way locally.

At the bus stop he met an couple who had just missed their bus to the next town. They would have a 2 hour wait. Since they were going the same way as we planned Helmut offered them a ride. In conversation with them H. discovered that the lady had lived on the platz of the street where H. grew up in Duesseldorf. what a small world.

In this area Helmut called his cousin from the Hasselhoff side of the family to ask if it would be OK to visit. We had a while yet to drive before reaching their town of Idar-Oberstein. Eventually we got to the area and then had quite a time locating their home in one of the little villages outside of I-O. We asked directions from several folks but finally a school boy was able to direct us to the right place on the top of a small mountain. It was passed our normal supper time when we arrived. Dorla and Herrmann took us to an Italian Pizza restaurant for supper. We stayed with them for the week end. More next time.

Cochem May 25

On May 25Th. we woke up fairly early so Helmut decided to have a swim in the hotel indoor pool before breakfast. This gave me plenty of time to get up, dressed and have time for my devotional reading before breakfast. This morning there was no reason to be in a rush because the opal company was going to drain the gas tank of the car so we had lots of time to see Cochem on foot.

The breakfast served in this deluxe hotel provided the greatest variety of choices that we had seen at any place where we stayed. You could even make your own juice from oranges or apples in an electric juicer.There was a large choice of breads and buns and many cheese and cold cut choices. They also had a selection of fried or scrambled eggs, bacon, wieners fresh fruits and vegetables and cereals. We chose plenty to try to keep us filled up as long as possible into the day.

We packed up all our bags after breakfast so that we could vacate our room by the given time. the hotel manager or owner allowed us to place all of our luggage in the office until the car would be ready. Helmut had a very long visit with this gentleman while I waited not really understanding much of the conversation - some of it was spiritual.

So we spent the remainder of the morning and well into the afternoon walking along the main street that follows the river in Cochem. Between the road and the river there was quite a bit of green area, plenty of benches for sitting on and beautiful sightseeing. Of course the WC's were scarce but near the main bus terminal area there was a WC where you had to pay to use but at least it was there and fairly clean. the flowers in this town were perky and fresh a gave the area a lovely appearance. There seemed to be a number of shops selling plants and garden items.

In the picture where you see me walking away from the cameras there is a castle on the top of the hill that is the one that Helmut walked up to the night before. There are a couple of shots of different buildings along the way. The little "tree" is made up of pots of geraniums in a special wire structure. The row of blooming bushes are roses.

It got fairly hot as we were walking along this way so I would often have to stop under those low trees that you see ahead of me to have a stand-up rest in the shade. Finally at one point about half way back from the "hill end" of the walk I had to just sit at a picnic bench to wait while Helmut walked the remainder of the way to the Opal dealer to get the car. Before he left to get the car he bought me a bottle of orange juice because my fuel reserve was getting low.

Helmut got the car and picked me up then we went to the hotel for our luggage and another conversation with the owner. We finally got on the road for our next destination by about 3:30pm.

(It took Andrew a few tries to help me learn how to upload pictures from our new set-up but I hope that I'll remember now ---Thanks Andrew.)

More to Learn

Here I am again without pictures. Andrew uploaded all our pictures on to the new computer but he didn't show me how to get the blogspot to upload them onto the blog so I am still without pictures to go with my stories. I won't start into another episode of Travel in Germany until I can use the pictures. all these things are so complicated for a rusty old brain.

We had a nice restful afternoon. We went to the evening meeting at St. James Gospel Chapel. Afterwards we stopped to visit Mrs. H. an elderly sister in the Lord.

Yesterday, evening we attended a choral concert by the University Singers and the University Women's Choir. three women from our assembly sing in the second choir. Katie is a student at the U. and is taking this choir course, her Mom & Aunt sing in it for the fun of it - the director asked for others to join to increase the size of the choir. "Aunt" S. and her husband had all the guests that they had invited to the concert to come to their place afterwards for tea and fellowship. Their French-Catholic neighbours were there and S's colleague and her brother were there beside some of the folks from the meeting and another aunt & Katie's boyfriend.

The bout with gout seems to be past but I am still taking the medication until tomorrow. I have to visit the doctor to find out the test results of the blood work - whether or not I will require some on going medication.

Tid Bits

Here I am working at the new computer and getting used to a new keyboard. The keys are very sensitive and I often get unnecessary letters or puncutation in my writing. I guess I'll eventually get used to this new keyboard.

So far I have not learned how to put the pictures into the computer and A. hasn't had the time. Thus it will be a little while before I can blog about our trip to Germany again.

We are having a real cold spell right now. There is about 2 to 3 inches of snow on the ground wwe expect more at the week end.

The Cochem Experience - Still May 24

In the previous post we had arrived at Cochem and located a Aral gas station. Helmut topped up the gas tank with what he thought was the super diesel that the car required. We were hardly back on the street when the engine started making awful noises - we drove a little ways and it didn't quit so we started to look for some place to get some help. At the far end of the town area we came to an Opal dealer. The Lord was very good to us that this dealer was located right at this spot. We drove on to the parking lot and Helmut went in to talk to the mechanic. He took a look at the receipt from the gas station and told H. that he had put super benzine (gasoline) in the tank. The tank would need to be drained but the business was ready to close for the day. So we would have to leave the car there and they would work on it in the morning.

The dealer kindly phoned around and found a hotel that would accept MasterCard and had a room available. Then he took us in one of his vehicles to the hotel that you see in the picture. the one with "stained glass" roof over the entrance. this turned out to be a pretty swanky place with an indoor swimming pool and lots of other pluses. (It cost the most of any place we stayed). We settled in, had a swim and then went down to the dining room for supper where we found a table set just for us with our names and everything. You can see a view of the dining room.

After supper I retired to our room to rest and write in my travel log and/or on post cards. Since it was still day light Helmut took a walk up to the castle which was on a far mountain at the other end of the town. So the other pictures he took while on the walk. The castle grounds were still open but the buildings were closed for the day. By ten it was getting dark and Helmut wasn't back yet so I had just noted that in my log when he appeared. He had gotten confused about where to find the hotel so had walked around more than necessary. We settled in for a good nights sleep.

Mosel Valley Tour Continued

The title goes for this post and the previous one that I forgot to put a title on. We are still on May 24 and it is getting late in the afternoon.

Finally we came to a long strung out town beside the Mosel river and we found a gas station. I succesfully asked the clerk in German where the toilet was and she indicated outside to the left in German and I got enough of the words to find the WC - OH what relief! Helmut topped up the fuel tank. The next time you will find out more of the saga.

The other two pictures just show some of the river and the town.

We continued north along the Rhein river valley as far as Koblenz where the Mosel river meets the Rhein. At this point we turned to follow the Mosel valley. The valley is another lovely area of vineyards. The valley is broader than the Rhein valley - the river is a little smaller than the Rhein. The mountains don't appear to be as steep. Now we are travelling mostly west.

The autobahn is on top of that high bridge that you see a part of in the picture. There was a rest area underneath where we stopped to relax and take a few pictures. There was no WC (toilets of any sort) in this rest area. By this time I really was wishing for one. I noticed a couple of cyclers stop just past the pillar and one of them went off down towards the river alone. Afterwards I thought I should have tired the same thing. I am a modern urban gal and using the bush isn't really my "cup of tea". The sign gives the facts about the bridge.

A little further along the river we saw this lock so got out to watch the boats being lowered or lifted I don't remember now. This big flat boat was the second one loaded with sand that we saw in the lock. This one had a number of plastic sand toys on the top of the pile closest to the cabin. A woman walked along on the side of the boat behind the red wall where the ladder is and helped a child on to the ladder. The child went down into the sand and we thought he/she might stay and play but he/she went back up the ladder to the adult. It was a very hot afternoon so perhaps that sand felt very hot to the feet.

I wonder where the sand was headed? The previous boat load of sand was headed the opposite direction.

Rhein River Valley

Here we are back in Germany again still travelling north down the Rhein river valley. It is Thurs. afternoon, May 24. The afternoon is getting hotter as we continue I am thankful for a/c in the car.

There are many castles to observe on the sides and tops of the mountains - we didn't visit any of them and I don't know their names.

The picturesque town with the rose bushes up front is one we passed through on our way. I think it probably is the one where we stopped by the riverside for a little break and walk. Here you see Helmut reading the road atlas trying to figure out where we are going. It was nice to find a shady place to relax for a bit. Across the river you can see a vineyard. This one is not a steep as many that we saw that afternoon.

A Gorgeous Visitor

Meet Mr. Pine Grosbeak who came to visit our yard this afternoon. He stayed around for nearly an hour and let different people get quite close up. Ruth was within a meter of him when taking the picture. He seemed to be finding yummy seeds to eat in the edge of the flower bed and under the cedar tree. Helmut first spotted him during the snow removal efforts on our walkway. Then Helmut went to clean the neighbour's walk and drive and the bird was still in the same area when H. returned. I arrived home from shopping and had the chance to observe the bird up close for several minutes before it decided to fly off to the neighbour's yard. when I saw it fly I knew it wasn't injured which I had suspected before hand. what a special treat from the Lord to be able to see this little guy up close.

Sisters

A sister is a God given blessing.

Sisters share - all kinds of good times, bad times, special celebrations, plain old everyday work, parents, brothers and things.

It is probably hardest to share things as one often wants to be possessive of their own things. "That is my doll" or " that is my side of the bed" or "don't put your clothes there that is my space".

It is easy to understand that parents & other family members belong to each equally.

It seems now that we are more mature and many miles apart geographically we are closer in our feelings for one another.

Sister, Pat, I love you. Thank you for being a wonderful sister.

Our Unexpected Trip East

Now some of you are going to say what on earth do these pics have to do with the title of the post. Read on and you shall find out.

On Sunday the 11th of Nov. Helmut and I left Wpg. for Markham, ON, with a fully loaded mini van. This was a very impromptu trip having only decided at the end of the week that we would be going for sure. Sat. afternoon we had to make a trip to Portage 60 miles from home to pick up 14 mattresses that were stored there and that we wanted to take with us. When we returned home that evening Helmut packed the van with all the stuff to delover to Markham where a container was scheduled to be packed for Zambia on Thurs. the 15th. I got my ersonal packing done and a lot of other details so that we could leave Sun. after lunch.

Sorry I don't have any pics of how the van looked all loaded - stuffed full inside with 18 boxes of blankets and part of the 14 mattresses. The rest of the mattresses were tightly wrapped and tied to the top of the van.

A few miles along the way we had to stop to retie one corner of the load on top as the plastic was really flapping. Helmut's skills with ropes and knots really came in handy and after that one fix up the whole thing was secure for the whole trip.

Sun. night we stayed in a hotel in Thunder Bay, ON.

Mon. evening we arrived at our friends home outside of Little Current, ON about an hour south of Espanola, ON and that much off the straight path. We enjoyed a little visit with them, a place to stay and a little tour of their place to see the changes since the last time. Evert has been very busy helping their second daughter build a barn and arena for her riding stables.

By Tues. supper time we were with Val & Dennis ( the family in the top picture). Val is my niece. They live at the New Tribes Missions Training facility in Durham, ON. They are first year students with NTM. It was so enjoyable to visit with them and play with their daughters.

The oldest daughter in the middle is now about three & a half years. She said to me the first afternoon, "You look like Grandma." Her Grandma is my sister and we have some family resemblances as you might see from the picture of her and her husband with two other of their granddaughters.

By Wed. both of Val's girls were calling H & I Grandpa & Grandma. We happily accepted the title.

Wed. we took a three hour drive from Durham to Markham delivered our load and returned to Val & Dennis in time to take them our for Kentucky Fried. After the girls were in bed the big people had a game of Scrabble. You have to ask Dennis how it went.

Thurs. we went to classes with Dennis & Val in the morning and found how interesting their courses are and what all they are doing at NTM.

After lunch we started for home taking the routw through the states. There was a very long line up at customs in Sarnia, ON/Port Huron, Mich. but we finally passed through with out trouble and droave as far as Lansing, Mich. to stay for the night.

Fri. was a long day the rest of the way across Mic. around Chicago and Minneapolis and to Albany, MN where we spent the last night.

Sat. we were home by 2 pm. which was very nice.

Weather was cool but dry most of the way. We saw several deer in the fields but not on the roads and the other wild life was fairly scarce - a squirrel or bird once in a while.

In the middle picture you see U. Helmut reading a story to "Button" ( nick name used by the family). We had lots of fun with all the girls.

Thanks to Val EASTON & SARAH VAN ESSEN FOR THE picutes>

Castle Interiors

A friend asked for some pictures of the interiors of castles. At the moment there are only a few recorded in the computer so I chose the best ones from what I have available. We took loads more pictures but they are on a disc that has not been uploaded to A.'s computer and I don't do that step on my own. A. is out of town.

All of these pictures are from the Ludwigsburg Castle near Stuttgart. This is a modern building compared to many other castles that we were in it was built between 1704 & 1733. There are over 450 rooms in 18 different buildings we toured about 60 rooms in the main residence building.

One picture is an opulent corridor with me just getting in the right lower corner. Helmut was quite taken with the lovely desk that took seven years for the furniture craftsman to make. I forgot what the large room with the platform was called but it is still used today for concerts. Next is a sample of the hand painted ceilings found throughout. The room with all the red furnishings is a chapel. Most castles that we visited had their own chapel or more than one.

Ludwigsburg has extensive gardens but there was an extra charge to tour them and we didn't have so much time anyway. We peaked out a few windows as we toured inside and got a little idea of how the gardens looked. The flower boxes all around the outside wall were blooming very nicely and we observed them as we walked from the bus stop to the main entrance. this castle is not on top of a mountain as many such places seem to be.

Tourist information at: www.ludwigsburg.de I haven't looked at it yet so I don't know if it is in English or German.

Views from Loreley

On top of Loreley. We took this little side trip up the mountain because Helmut had heard so much about the beauty of the Loreley. It is a large flatter area on the top with lots of agricultural land. The sign indicates a camping grounds which we didn't visit. there is a school aand larger recreational complex at the top. We took some pictures of the various views. the river is the Rhein.

As you can see A. uploaded another disc full of pictures that i can work from.

We found out today that it is not econimical to repair the camera. I guess we might have to think about a replacement some day.