350,000 Happy Germans

We drove to Berlin Saturday morning, hoping that going further north would get us cooler temps. Not so! It was warmer in Berlin than southern Germany.

At our hotel we asked for directions to the Brandenburg Gate, and they said the area was closed because of the 350,000 soccer fans would would be watching the Germany-Argentina World Cup game. That was exactly why we wanted to go... to get into the crowd. The girls at hotel reception seemed to panic and said, "Oh no! Don't go! Too dangerous." LOL. We asked for a map when they wouldn't tell us where it was, and proceeded to find it on our own.

First stop along the way was the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial. This massive church that was almost destroyed by bombs.


The new sanctuary next to it is really cool inside with all of the little blue stain glass bricks.


Along the way, we crossed the river and it was pretty and peaceful.


We got to the Brandenburg Gate, and heard the roar of the crowd as Germany scored. Sharayah texted us her sadness, as she was rooting for Argentina. We called and let her hear the noise of the Germans in the background. Before we made our way into the crowd, we walked by the Reichstag, the German Parliament building.



Then we headed into the heart of the party as the game was coming to a victorious end with a score of 4-0. It was entertaining to see all of the people celebrating in their country colors: black, red, and gold.




Here you can get an idea of the crowd as they made their way back to the Brandenburg Gate in the distance.


There were impromptu parades all over town for several hours. Flag waving, singing, dancing, and general merrymaking. Lots of national pride!


We continued along the main street of the city. I thought my mom would like the name of this University.


We came to the largest church building in Berlin, and you can see the TV tower in the background which is in the city center (Mitte).


I thought the crosses on top of the church and dome were cool.


We took a bicycle rickshaw back to our hotel, and on the way through the tiergarten saw this nice statue. Our driver was a bit of a tour guide and told us who it was, and I recognized the name at the time, but now I can't remember. Nonetheless, I thought it was a nice statue with it's different colors and especially the angel.


More on the next day... tomorrow.

The Hills Are Alive...

Even Marty broke out into this song and he doesn't even like The Sound of Music. Haha. On Saturday, we spent the day in the alps of southern Germany. First we went to Fussen, home of the castle that inspired Disney, but we didn't go there this time. Instead we checked out what was going on down in the center of the town.


There was a parade that started with guys in plaid playing bagpipes, followed by a line of Morgan cars.





Then we enjoyed lunch at a little sidewalk cafe, and in honor of Sharayah, I took a picture of my yummy food; a pork tenderloin in mushroom-sherry sauce.


Next, we walked around and checked out the quaint little shops of German-made goodies. I think my mom will appreciate this pic. They are so cute.


I found this set of armor most amusing because of the matching accessory: the trashcan.


We took a walk down by the river. Rivers flowing from the alps are extremely clean, clear, and cold!


We explored some ruins we found in the surrounding woods.


We checked out the castle, with it's sundial on the wall.


There was artwork on some of the walls made from... wagonwheels... no less. I got this picture of Marty as if he were holding it up, and a British couple was walking by at the time. They chuckle and the lady calls out, "It's a cheat!"


We turn to follow them into the castle courtyard and she notes to her husband that most of what appear to be balconies are "painted on!" I respond, "It's a cheat!" and we all laugh.



We also admired the church tower before we worked our way back to our car.


We drove on up into the alps to the little town of Oberammergau. This is where the world famous Passion Spiele is being performed this year. It's only presented once every 10 years, but more on that later. We saw some cool artwork.


We had dinner, and this was our view of the nearby mountains.


A closer look reveals a cross on top of the cliff. Cool! This is like the focal point from everywhere you walk around in the town.


I found the Germany version of little cherub angels to be amusing.


After getting our tickets for the play in a couple weeks, we headed back home. Along the way, we crossed this cool bridge.


It's nice not being on any type of tour schedule, because it means you get to just whip off the road and go for a walk. We walked back over the bridge and took pics of the view from each side.



Later on down the road, we were driving through this tiny village and Marty caught sight of a drive behind some houses that went right down by the river. So we pulled off and enjoyed a little time with some geese. The mommas all seemed to be keeping careful watch over their little ones and herding them away from us. But I did get close enough for a few fun shots.


And finally, I got this great shot of Marty standing on the rocks down by the river. God always presents the most beautiful artwork to be seen.


On Sunday, we went biking. The weather is beautiful, sunny, and in the low 80s. We also went to Circus Luna, a little circus traveling through town. It was interesting. I'm sure at circuses in the U.S., you never get so close to an african elephant, brown bears, and bulls, with nothing between you and them. We could reach out and touch them, and the elephant almost smacked us with her trunk as she came prancing around the ring doing her tricks. Amusing ;)

We watched Germany rock England in the World Cup game, and then the little town of Memmingen erupted into celebration. People were partying and dancing in the streets. They were driving their cars around waving Germany flags, and wearing them like capes. Car horns and those crazy soccer horns were blowing constantly. We enjoy living right in the heart of the city and getting to lean out of our 4th floor windows and yell, along with everyone else, each time they scored. The roar in the inner city was so loud, it was like being at the game. There's alot of spirit and pride here.

Now we're watching Argentina vs Mexico. Go ARGENTINA!!!

Mark and Beth's Wedding

I've been waiting to get pictures of Mark and Beth's wedding from my brother-in-law Will. They finally reached Germany, and so I decided to share them.
Here's the first shot of Marty and Johnny keeping the groom from "getting away".


He didn't get away. Here's the flower girl leading the bride down the aisle.


The couple shares their vows.



And now I present Mr. and Mrs. Mark and Beth Spicer.




The bride's family...


The groom's family... (minus Sharayah who was skyped in)


The grandparents...


Their roommates (Brandon and Christa)


The best "little" man.


Time for some non-alcoholic grape juice...



And then my personal favorite... the cutting of the cake.







The happy couple... destine for a long, blessed life together.