22-26 Feb 2011 Dinner with Jessica & Ruth-Journey to Partenstein

This was a work day, but Ruth, one of my co-workers said, "where are we going for lunch today?" Sounded like a great idea to me, so we got Elder Walters to take us to a fun place called Pizza Guido. I have never seen such a place in my life, it was a small place but it was filled to the brim with all things old. Every space was filled with something. As you can see there was an old baby buggy which we loved, tin pictures, horse harnesses, old photographs, heaters, and everything else used by man. You bussed your own tables and took your own order. Ruth is the one in the maroon scarf. What a beautiful person she is. We have so much fun at work together. The other person who went was Jessica, she is working there until she leaves on her mission to the Washington DC Visitors center. She already knows French, English and German and will probably learn Spanish eventually since she is very good with languages. I think that is what she wants to major in when she gets home. She is just like a daughter to me. We are going to her house this week end for her birthday. She wants us to come visit her on her mission when we get home. It is wonderful to make new and lasting friends. We will probably have alot of visitors from Germany in the next few years. Well the food was great, I had a gnoshi dish, Gene had Pizza and the other girls had lasagna. This is another good place to take our girls to, when they come. Would you believe it, we actually had snow today. This is crazy weather.























































On Saturday the 16th we got up early, had breakfast at our favorite place, McDonalds. Actually it is the only place to get breakfast, at least what we Americans would call a breakfast. Then we were on our way to Freigerisch to work on the project house. It is coming along. The heating is finally going in upstairs and now Elder Walters and another Brother are putting in the electricty. It won't be long until she can move the four boys upstairs into their own rooms. Elder Walters made some more shelf space in her washing room and in her kitchen. She loves that she has more space in her kitchen and a place to fold her clean clothes. After a great meal of Chili Con Carne and great German bread we were off to do a little sight seeing going East toward Ascheffenburg. We traveled through some beautiful forest country and we came upon the small town of Partenstein. What a cute little town. Took a few pictures. Don't you just love the huge house on the hill. Someone is a lucky dog to have that. It must be beautiful when summer comes again. We saw a few interesting sites here. The prettiest statue of Marien in the middle of town and some old houses there. We discovered we had driven almost to Wurzburg so we had a nice drive. Elder Walters hates the thought of staying home and resting when we have this beautiful country to see.

02.12.2011 Follow-Up in Fulda

This is the bridge arch we passed under coming into Fulda and the town itself












We took a short walk around the town and saw a group of buildings running down the side of one street. You could tell they were quite old as they were of half timber construction. The building on the corner was the original Rathaus or City Hall the one next to it is the Mollenhauerhaus which is an interesting building. It has always been a music business making Recorders and Violins. They have a workshop & museum combined where you can see them being made close up. They also have seminars where you actually learn to play the recorder. These are all made in Germany but they specialize in Italian and French Violins.



These are pictures of the inside of the Cathedral. Beautiful Baroque statues and a fantastic looking organ, very Gothic.


































St Michaels Church and the Benedictine Abbey
















A little bit of History on the city of Fulda. The town was founded by Boniface (The German Apostle) in 744. The location was cleverly chosen because it was situated where a brook flows into the River Fulda and close to two ancient trade routes. When Boniface died or rather murdered, he was buried in the Dom Cathedral. The Dom was the biggest church North of the Alps for quite a while. This is a city of Baroque statues and churches every where. Fulda was one of middle Europe's center of cultural life in the 9th Century. Fulda was situated close to the Iron Curtain between West and East Germany. It lies almost in the center of Germany.

The first place we looked for when we got to Fulda was a place to eat. The other Missionaries found a quaint little sandwich shop where we could all eat together. Everyone ordered some kind of soup and a few ordered sandwiches. It was fun talking all together. It is great knowing you have friends to share with while you are away from your family. Then we were on our way to see the sites of the city.






We were looking forward to viewing the Cathedral. It is styled in the Baroque and is today kept up by the Episcopal church. It is modeled after St Peters church in The Roman style. You can see on the ceilings the crossing cupolas. Two statues on each side of the High Alter are of David and Jesaia. The black marble is the crypt of Boniface or the German apostle as he is called. After his death Pilgrams came yearly to visit is buriel place. His crypt shows on the top him being stabbed which was the way he was murdered and the bottom statue shows him trying to get out of his crypt. Very interesting art work. The ceilings were painted by Luca Antonio Colomba from Arogno, Italy. The pews were all hand hewn and massive.










Then we walked over to the Palace which was constructed in 1288. It consists of the Main building, the Guard Rooms, the winter riding stables, the gardner houses and the Orangery. The statue across the street is of Saint Boniface
It is made of bronze and stands at the entrance to Boniface Square. The Inside of the palace is decorated in the rococo style including the 46 oil paintings from Johann Andreas Herrlein. The Grand dining room has 6 crystal chandeliers with a beautiful inlaid wood floor. The painting on the ceiling was created by Emanuel Wohlhaubter. We loved the Orangery or formal gardens. Can't wait until spring to see what they look like.













A small church in the heart of the town is the City
Parish church of St. Blasius. It was built in the Gothic & Baroque Style combined. It is a smaller church but the inside is very oranate. I especially loved the door lock.




Great day in Fulda The Hermann's were so much fun to be with. They leave their mission in July and they will be sorely missed. You won't believe this, but Elder Walters actually likes playing games now, at least with them. They are a kick. Being on a mission has broadened our horizons.