Christmas in Deutschland

One of the highlights of Christmas in Germany is visiting the Weihnachts Markt (Christmas Markets).  We went to several, each was unique and a treat to see.  We visited our first on the last Saturday in November and Cliff shopped on the Saturday before Christmas at a market in Kassel.  The shops are beautifully decorated and they sell a large variety of items, many one of a kind and only available at Christmas time.  It was fun to taste the different foods available, from bratwurst, currywurst, crepes, Christmas stolen and marzipan, just to name a few.  Needless to say we tried as many as possible!!

 

Our first market was a small one in Berlin.  Then a couple larger markets in Berlin, Dresden and Hamburg.

 

 

 

Swedish ladies smoking Salmon 

These girls are making Baum Brot (tree bread) which is a sweet pastry that is baked around a round wooden 3" dowel.  When it is finished they roll it in your choice of topping (sugar & cinnamon, nuts, etc.)  It was very good.

 

 

 

 

 

The one thing we quite enjoyed about Christmas was the way the LDS members celebrated Christmas Eve.  Many came together at the Dahlem Chapel in the early evening for a music devotional that lasted about an hour.  The Dahlem Ward Choir supported by the missionaries presented a wonderful music program that really brought the spirit of the season.  This allowed many friends from different wards throughout the stake to greet each other at this special time.  Most left to spend the rest of the evening in their homes with family.  We were invited to spend the evening with other missionary couples serving in Berlin, the Snows and the Mickelsens, with President and Sister Kosak, and her parents in the Mission Home.

 

We had the missionaries - Elder Taylor, Elder Beck, Elder Wolfley and Elder Hansen, Sister Hansen, Sister Turner, Sister Ahrenholtz and Sister Miesbauer and the Snows -over for breakfast on Christmas morning.  Sister Beesley makes wonderful waffles. 

 

 

Merry Christmas!!

 



Couples Convention in Dresden

December 17th - 19th we attended a Senior Couple Convention in Dresden.  We enjoyed being taught by President and Sister Kosak and were sung to by talented Elders and Sisters of the Dresden Zone.  Dinner was at the Sophienkeller, a traditional German restaurant. It was great to get to be with the other missionary couples.  Our assignments vary, but we share the bond of serving together. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning after breakfast, we visited the place President Monson dedicated Germany.  It was good to be there with the missionaries of the Germany Berlin Mission.

 

 

 

We spent the afternoon enjoying the city of Dresden.  It is a beautiful city with a rich history.

 

Semperoper (Semper Opera)

 



Semperoper from Augustus Bridge over the Elbe River

 

The Fürstenzug in Dresden, Germany, is a large mural of a mounted procession of the rulers of Saxony. It was originally painted between 1871 and 1876 to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Wettin Dynasty, Saxony's ruling family.

Elder Beesley is trying out the panorama feature on the iphone camera.

 

Frauen Kirche (Lady of our Lord) Catholic Church.  Built in the 18th century, the church was destroyed in the bombing of Dresden during World War II. The remaining ruins were left as a war memorial, following decisions of local East German leaders. The church was rebuilt after the reunification of Germany. The reconstruction of its exterior was completed in 2004 and its interior in 2005. The church was reconsecrated on 30 October 2005 with festive services lasting through the Protestant observance of Reformation Day on 31 October. It now also serves as symbol of reconciliation between former warring enemies.  Note that the original stones were used where possible in rebuilding it.  The original stone appear almost black while the new stones are a sandstone color.



The inside of Frauen Kirche is more impressive than the outside. 


 

We concluded the evening with a great dinner at Altmarktkeller- good food and even better company.  Elder and Sister Snow, Sister Kessler and Elder and Sister Boehm.

 

 Elder Boehm served with Elder Beesley in Austria in 1972.  This is there second Sr. mission which they finished Dec 27, 2013.  Wonderful friends and better missionaries.

 



Summer and Fall Missionary Travels

 

These are some sights we enjoyed on a trip moving a Sr. Sister to Rostock.  The weather was beautiful, about 30 minutes from Rostock is the Baltic Sea and we took a quick walk along the water front.

 

 

We thought the thatched roofs were interesting.

 



 

 

 

 

 We visited Halberstadt to check out the possibility of using a former Elders' apartment for a Senior couple.  It didn't look very promising but had some potential.  It took work from a small army of missionaries, Andre Seidel and his helpers - it is now home to Elder and Sister Russell.
 

 

In Halberstadt we visited a church that was built in the year 804.  It had been renovated several times over the years, the last renovation taking place in the 1400's.  It is still used for worship services,  how amazing it was to see something that has exisited so many, many years.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finished out August by getting an apartment ready for another Senior Couple in Wilhelmshaven.  This is a city in the Northern part of Germany, on Jade Bight (Bay), which  is part of the North Sea. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures of the Apartment in Wilhelmshaven

 

Most of the furniture was donated to the church by a friend of some members in the Wilhelmshaven Branch.  She was an older women (not a member of the church) who was closing her home.  She had very nice, quality furniture, it was old but in great condition,  beautiful sets of dishes and lovely table linens. Her home was  

 about 2 hours from the apartment and it took 2 trips with 2 vans to get the furniture for the apartment.  Andre Siedel and his wife Andrea, 2 Elders and some branch members helped with this project  It took a couple of trips to an IKEA in a nearby city to finish up with some of the things still needed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We drove home through some beautiful countrysides and stopped at a delicious bakeri - one of the best we've been to. 

 

The landscaping was beautiful. 
 

 

 

 

A quick stop in the Alt Stadt (old city) of Leer.
They were having some rowing races, which were fun to watch.
 

 

We were walking down some of the streets and there were American Flags everywhere.  We wondered what the occasion was - we eventually saw a sign about a fair, that had been held that weekend celebrating  American cars.
 

 

In September we went to Bad Bentheim to close out an apartment.  These are pictures of the place we stayed.  It was a cold, rainy day, but a beautiful place.  We wouldn't mind returning here on a sunny weekend, just for fun!

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

In October Elder Beesley scheduled the semi-annual tire change.  These are the Senior Couples who met in Hamburg.  It is always fun to have a chance to see the other couples.  We took advantage of the opportunity and went to lunch together.

 

Beesleys, Porters, Margetts, and Nuttells

 

 

 

We greeted new Missionaries Oct 16th.  Six arriving from the Provo MTC and four arriving from the Preston England MTC.

 

 

Lunch with the  Pumipayup Family
The Pumipayup family in the Lankwitz Ward take great care of the missionaries.  We currently have 2 elders, 4 sisters and 2 couples who attend the ward and Panu (the father) wants to feed all of us once a month.  He is a chef and makes food from around the world.  This day was sushi, chicken and rice.  His presentation is beautiful.

 

 

Eating the red pepper that is in the rice is always the challenge for the missionaries.  Elder Taylor gets it done!

They are very missionary minded.  Panita, their 18 year old daughter is a ward mission leader.  Joshi, their 16 year old son, is in our Sunday School class.  We love and appreciate them and recognize the sacrifices they make for the gospel.

Somehow I turned around and ended up with everyone's left over sushi on by plate.  I didn't mention that the serving size is gross!  (big)



 

 

The first of November we enjoyed the fall colors on mattress run up north.  We delivered 7 mattresses, 3 beds, 1 bookcase, 2 desks and a variety of smaller items.  The van was loaded as we left Berlin.  The colors were beautiful and the weather was cold, but clear with no rain.

 

 

 

By the end of the first day we were getting close to the North end of the mission.  Cliff was driving along the autobahn when the Flensburg Elders called to say they were going to be about an hour late.  Cliff was distracted by the call and missed the exit.  First thing you know, guess what? 

 

 

We didn't stay long, but did find a McDonalds (for the clean rest room) but they wouldn't take our money, so we headed South to finish our work for the day. 

 

 

 

The second day we are driving along when the navi said, "in 2.5 km board the ferry" - we looked at each other and laughed, we didn't know we were going to get a ferry ride!

 

 

 

As we got near Hamburg we saw kilometer after kilometer of orchards.  We were surprised to see so many fruit trees.  We stopped and bought some fresh apples that were delicious.

 

 

The Germans love their apples,  apfelstrudel, apfelsaft, apfelschorle, and even fresh apples.