The Glockenspiel
Today we had a day off from work so we left about noon for Nurnberg. We took two single sisters with us and we had a blast. Sister Udy is from Colorado. She is petite and full of vim and vigor at 80 years old and Sister Windley is the ultimate outdoor girl. We really enjoyed being with the two of them. We literally slid into Nurnberg as we left right after a big snow storm that hit all of Europe. You may have heard it on the news. All the airports are closed here. It took us a good 3-1/2 hours to finally get there. Elder Walters did a good job of keeping us on the road and out of danger. Our hotel was about 2 miles from the center of Nurnberg so we had to catch a train both ways. We still have problems figuring out if we are going the right direction. You are underground most of the time and you have no way of knowing. They don't tell you N,E,W,or S, they just tell you what the next town will be.
Even though we were very cold and tired it was well worth the time and effort, as this Weihnachten Markt was outstanding. There were at least 200 booths all decorated with lights and nothing was duplicated. The Beautiful Fountain was covered with lights and it was beautiful. We saw some handmade ornaments that were dublicated from the original ornaments used. We ate the famous Nurnberg sausages which are very small but very delicious. We also had the gingerbread which Gene and I both love. Don't worry family, your gingerbread is on it's way. We looked at each vendor and had at least three mugs of kinder punch.
We got back to the hotel at 10:00 and dropped into bed hoping the next day would be a little warmer. To our surprise it was warmer, if you call -7 C. We looked through the two main churches there, the St, Sebald and the Frauenkirche. They are both beautiful inside. They are decorated especially for Christmas and we got to hear a concert on the huge pipe organ. Sis. Windley is a music major and she said she had to hear how the organ sounded. He played 5 songs and his last one was from Handel's Messiah. At noon on the outside of the chapel something special happens. A life size glockenspiel plays. It is on the very top of the Frauenkirche. If you have ever seen how a German cuckoo clock works, this is the same thing. First 2 men come out and play the long horns, then 2 more play the drums, 2 more play the bells and then on the stroke of 12 the big bell in the tower chimes while 8 Roman Priests circle the tower. It is amazing that all of that is coordinated. Everyone stands and watches no matter what they are doing.
I was able to capture a few of the special moments we had and hope you get a little feeling of how Germany celebrates Christmas. We headed home thinking we would never see anything so exhilarating.
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