Europe Trip 2016

Over Norway, through Oslo, and on to Berlin.  Our trip begins.  Highlights of our trip are listed below:

Flying into Oslo, Norway with snow falling down, seeing forests and heaps of snow

Berlin with the sweet Fröhlich family and their kids...playing and cheese fondue.  
Wonderful fellowship, food, and accommodations

The Friessen family invited us for a delicious lunch and playing at a playground 
(with dangerous and super fun play equipment to spin, slide, climb...and soccer)

Wittenberg

An art school

Cobblestones

Countdown globe to the 500 year anniversary of Luther's 95 Theses

Martin Luther's house

The first German Bible

The first copy of "A Mighty Fortress is our God"

This is the door with the 95 Theses!

Evangeliums Christengemeinde in Hellersdorf (Berlin)

Dinosaur Park and Zoo

Into historic Berlin

These birds want the cake!  The birds in Germany were especially cheerful and loud.

Brandenburg Gate

Holocaust Memorial

Curry Wurst

Bakeries

Where the Berlin Wall had been

Potsdamer Platz

Bundesrat

Checkpoint Charlie

Fassbender & Rausch Chocolates

Gendarmenmarkt

True, true

Spring is coming

Ritter Sport

My favorite pastry...

Our dinner--delicious wurst and salads

Esther reads to the kids in the backyard

View from the train as we head west to Bochum

Time with Jacob

The Stadt Park--with little wild fuzzy bunnies

Delicious food and comfy accommodations with cousin Sabine and Bernhard

The Railroad Museum

Playground with wonderful contraptions

Hattingen

Family gathering at cousin Barbara's

My Tante Siglinde

Bergbau (Mining) Museum

On the tower

Time at Tante Siglinde's

Delicious dinner

She has me in her calendar!

Gasometer

Exhibit inside

On top

To the Isenburg

Restroom signs

Yummy Lahmacun Döner

Tierpark (Zoo)

Petting the goats

Lemurs with babies

Trey likes the "Käse Fisch" (cheesy fish) best

Afternoon coffee and cake with cousin Ellen, Jacob, and Onkel Wolf

The church where my father was baptized

Making homemade Käsespätzle with Jacob

Playing computer games with Julian

On our way to the train...trying Bochum Curry Wurst

On the train to Basel, Switzerland

Our hotel room--thank you Anja and Roland!!!

With cousin Anja at the Birs River

Our first meal--so fancy

Delicious Rüblitorte

Stroll by the Rhein River into Basel

Crossing the Rhein by ferry

City Hall

The Paper Museum

Raclette

Trey and Lily stroll along the Birs

We hiked across the locks on the Rhein

Into Germany

Lunch at a well

To the top!

Delicious chocolate

On a clear day, you can see the Alps from here.

Sweet time with cousin Anja

Fun playground

Views from the highest tower

Hike down

Birs again

Grinding grain to make bread

Delicious breakfast buffet with whole grain croissants, granola and yogurt, and latte macchiatos

Back to the train

Back to Germany

Picked up from the station by Onkel Joachim and Tante Elke with bikes

Walk to church

Great service in Erlangen

Cousin Raphael and family

Seeing my Grandmother's grave

 

Bamberg

All the lanterns, old doors, stain glass, cobblestones...

Erlangen

Ice cream

Schlossgarten

Nürnberg

Latte macchiato, Kaiserschmarrn, Schnitzel und Pommes

Castle

Castle wall

Into the tower

Views from tower

The deep well

Much delicious food, and wonderful accommodations.  Lily and Onkel Joachim also went on a bike ride...but my photos got deleted.

Back to Berlin and Lily's birthday at Garten Der Welt

The Birthday Girl--12 years old!

Wonderful friends and sisters-in-Christ.

Köpenick

One more bakery

Our last breakfast with delicious fresh Brötchen (bakery rolls)

Berlin-Oslo-Oakland

Tchüss Deutschland!

Matthew 17

I have been reading Matt. 17, about the transfiguration, and several things stood out to me.  First of all, how magnificent Jesus must have looked, glowing like that!  How amazing to see Him as he is... God.  Then that he would just have a good chat with Moses and Elijah (sort of fun to listen in on...wonder what they talked about...).  And then the voice of God the Father.  It was terrifying.  They fell on their faces.  It struck me that Jesus' response to this intense fear is to touch them and admonish them to "Rise and have no fear."  The verse that comes next really reminded me also of where my gaze should (must) be anyway.  "And when they lifted their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only."  Let me know His touch in my fear, and look to Jesus.  Here is the passage:

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

Let us lift our eyes and see no one, but Jesus only.                                                                              

February in the Sierras--Snow!!!

We were blessed to get to spend several days together at a cabin in the Sierras in the snow.  Such fun!

Hanna hammocked

Papa had to keep up with his reading

Snow cave

 Snow tunnel

 Above Donner Lake

 Coloring fun

 We were surprised with a huge snow storm

 We had to drive in the snow...to get chains.

This is Hwy 80!

 And within a couple hours...from snow to springtime!