Germany, October 2006

My parents, Jess, and I were able to go to Germany and visit all the cities I served in as a missionary as well as a few new places. Here we are in Weimar, south-east corner of Germany.

In the hills outside of Weimar lies one of many infamous Concentration Camps during WW II, Buchenwald. We walked through a forest to get there, as I took us on the wrong bus. My parents were excited to meet Mark, an Englishman who was also going to visit the camp.

If you have ever wondered what a post office in another country looked like, here you go... A real German post office.

The City Palace in Weimar.

In front of the Erfurt Cathedral. Erfurt is twenty minutes west of Weimar and is where Martin Luther lived for a time.

City of Erfurt from the Cathedral steps. During Christmas this whole area is full of booths selling Christmas items--Weihnachtsmarkt is what it is called (Christmas Market).

Berlin! Here we are at Checkpoint Charlie Museum, in front of a piece of the Berlin Wall that the Museum acquired.

The actual Checkpoint that was manned by the US during the Cold War (1950-1989). This point connected East and West Berlin.

Sanssouci Palace, twenty minutes southwest of Berlin. This palace was built between 1745-1747 by Frederick the Great (who introduced potatoes to Germany). To find out more about Sanssouci visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanssouci

The New Palace built between 1763 and 1769 by Frederick the Great.

The Communs, two buildings which housed the royal kitchens, utilities, gardeners’ shops, palace guards and servants at Sanssouci.

Berlin by the Spree River. The Nicholai Church in the background.

Inside the Berlin Cathedral, one of the largest Protestant Cathedrals in the world.

Berlin Cathedral Rotunda.

Veiw of East Berlin from the walk way around the Berlin Cathedral.

Brandenburg Gate at dusk.

The Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz. This is a real location of the wall. Just a short distance of the wall is on display here, the rest is marked by red bricks in the road or other kinds of marks. This area was a no-man zone for over thirty years, now it is a huge shopping center and theater.

We stayed with Sister Hein, as well as several other families during our trip in Europe.

On a boat ride in Rostock harbor.

Ships being built in the harbor at Warnemuende.

One of two lighthouses in Warnemuende/Rostock.

Dad in front of the ferry that travels between Germany, Sweden, and Denmark.

Here is the BMW we rented to drive from Berlin to Denmark to Sweden.

We are actually on the ferry traveling from Germany to Denmark.

Now in Denmark, we saw on the GPS in the car how close Sweden actually was. We decided to take the toll bridge to Malmo, Sweden and have lunch there. The toll for the bridge was $40 one way we found out after the fact (the conversion between dollars-euros-krones was very confusing), but at least we can say we've been to Sweden.

The Temple in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was easy to find using the GPS; without that, it would have been more difficult as it is in the middle of a large residential section.

Copenhagen, Denmark Temple.

Frederik's Church at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen.

Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen where the Danish royal family live.

One of four buildings comprising Amalienborg Palace.

Guard at Amalienborg Palace.
The Copenhagen Opera House designed by the same architect as the famous Sydney Opera House in Australia.

The life-size Little Mermaid statue made in 1909 after the tale by Hans Christian Anderson, of Denmark. She is life-size, but a small life-size.

Helsingor, Denmark, one hour north of Copenhagen. This town was small and quaint. We came to see Kronborg Castle.

Kronborg Castle was a fortress turned into a castle. It is surrounded by a moat and once had only a drawbridge to the entrance. The underground areas of the castle held prisoners, ammunition, food for soilders, and anything else that may want to inhabit a dark, musty place.

Across the water is Sweden, once part of Denmark, but won in conquest by the Swedes.

Courtyard of Kronborg Castle.

Holger the Dane--the legend goes that Holger helped the soilders when they were in dire need.

Cannons ready to fight anyone who dares attack the fortress at Helsingor, Denmark.

In the ballroom at Kronborg Castle.

The Maritime Museum at Kronborg.

Dad is checking out a bike at an Antique shop in Potsdam, Germany.

Cathedral in Potsdam.

Back at Sanssouci for another quick tour. This is the Chinese Garden house.

Last night in Germany, right before we turned the BMW back in. This was a very nice car and the GPS really helped us get where we wanted to go efficiently. We recommend renting a car from Europcar (they are the cheapest), and getting one with a nice GPS system.

It was definitely an experience in Europe; we had a great time, and were very tired when we got home, probably because we traipsed all over three countries. It was good closure for me to go back after my mission and I wanted my parents and husband to see a little of what I saw for sixteen months.