St Mark Germany Trip

Home at last

2010-08-09T06:49:00.004-05:00

Well, the trip home was not as smooth as the trip out. After waiting in the plane for two hours in Munich, United Airlines removed a passenger that was causing some problems so we were finally able to leave. This put us into Chicago late and we had to hurry through immigration, customs and security but we made our plane. We arrived safe and mostly sound in Des Moines at approximately 7:30 last night.

It was a wonderful trip and I want to thank everyone who helped to make it so special. We had a great group!

Auf Wiedersehen

2010-08-07T15:13:00.002-05:00

As a final farewell, a musical tribute. This was written this afternoon by Jacque Andrew. Thanks Jacque.

Auf Wiedersehen

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A group photo from our dinner tonight

Auf Wiedersehen

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More pictures from tonight

Auf Wiedersehen

2010-08-07T14:57:00.001-05:00

Some pictures from our final dinner together. We want to say thanks to everyone for making this such a special trip.

Auf Wiedersehen

2010-08-07T14:53:00.002-05:00

Tonight was a lot of fun, but somewhat sad also. We say goodbye to some new good friends. We want to thank William (tour guide) and Mike (driver). They were the best. They truly made our trip special.

Regensburg

2010-08-07T10:40:00.001-05:00

More pictures from today.

Cathedral

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Pictures from the Cathedral right by our hotel.

Lunch

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We ate at the historic sausage house.

Danube

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The Danube is out of its banks and of course the Muller boys could not stay out of it.

Regensburg

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More pictures of the city

Tour of Regensburg

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We took a tour of the city.

Last Day

2010-08-07T10:01:00.003-05:00

Today is our last full day in Germany. Tonight we have our farewell dinner. Today we toured the city and then had lunch at the first ever fast food restaurant. It is the historic sausage house in Regensburg. After a few days of rain, the Danube River is out of its banks and the current is very strong.

Tomorrow

2010-08-06T16:05:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is our last full day in Germany. After waiting so long for the trip, it is hard to believe it is almost over. It has been an awesome experience. Tomorrow we tour the city of Regensburg.

Munich

2010-08-06T15:53:00.003-05:00

Some shots from around Munich. The pictures are not the greatest due to the rain. Pictures include a palace, the Olympic stadium and the headquarters for BMW.

Munich

2010-08-06T15:45:00.001-05:00

More pictures from lunch

Munich

2010-08-06T15:40:00.002-05:00

More pictures from the Haufbrauhaus. When in Germany, do as the germans do...

Munich

2010-08-06T15:35:00.002-05:00

We had a great lunch at the Haufbrauhaus.

Rain in the Alps

2010-08-06T15:29:00.002-05:00

After numberous days of gorgeous weather we have now had two days of steady rain. The upside of this is the beautiful waterfalls it creates in the Alps.

Passion Play

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Enjoying a meal at the Passion Play

Passion Play

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At the Passion Play, you are not allowed to take any pictures during the production, but here are some of the stage with the Alps in the background.

More photos from the Palace

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Castle

2010-08-06T14:22:00.007-05:00

Before the Passion Play we went to a palace nearby. It was not allowed to take pictures inside the main palace, but we got some pictures of the grounds and other buildings.

Regensburg

2010-08-06T14:17:00.002-05:00

We are now on our final leg of the journey. Sorry for no post last night but we had a late night at the Passion Play. What a fantastic experience. Even Josh had his eyes glued to the stage in the 2nd half. For those of you who don't know, the Passion Play is performed in German and done in two parts. The first part is approximately 2 1/2 hours and the second is 3 hours. It was an awesome experience. Today we drove from Graswang to Munich. We took a driving tour of Munich and then spent a few hours in the city eating lunch and walking around. After having beautiful weather for the most of the trip we have now had 2 days of rain. We ate lunch at the Haufbrauhouse in Munich (you have probably heard of this). At 4:30 we left Munich and drove on to Regensburg.

Graswang

2010-08-04T13:49:00.001-05:00

This is the village that we are staying in and a number of our group on the internet.

Entering the Alps

2010-08-04T13:45:00.000-05:00

Some pictures from our drive in the Alps

Church

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We stopped at a church along the way. We also were able to buy some items. The Muller boys got Germany soccer jerseys with their original german name on the back.

Lunch on board

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We had lunch on the bus and Pastor Mike collected offering (trash) afterwards.

Group Photo

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We stopped on the way and took a group picture with a castle in the background.

Trip

2010-08-04T13:16:00.002-05:00

We had a beautiful drive today. Here are some pictures from our drive.

Bavarian Alps

2010-08-04T13:04:00.004-05:00

We have reached the Bavarian Alps!!!! We drove from Detwang to Graswang, just outside of Oberammergau. Here is the view from where I am blogging!

Autobahn

2010-08-03T15:10:00.003-05:00

Today when we were on the autobahn we were traveling at about 100 kph (60 mph) when a Porsche blew by us. Our bus driver estimated he was traveling at 200 - 220 kph (125 - 140 mph).

Stau

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When we left Nuremberg today we got stuck in a "stau" (traffic jam)

Nuremberg

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These pictures are of the courthouse in Nuremberg where the trials of the Nazis were held.

Nuremberg

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Pictures of the "Beautiful Fountain" in Nuremberg

Nuremberg

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Pictures from the church in Nuremberg

More Nuremberg pictures

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More pictures from Nuremberg

2010-08-03T14:38:00.001-05:00

Rain, rain, go away, come back another day

Nuremberg

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Pictures from around Nuremberg

Nuremberg

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Nuremberg is a medieval city with a high wall surrounding it. The city had never been successfully invaded until the American army did it in 1945.

Trip to Nuremberg

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Today we took a trip from Detwang (just outside of Rothenberg) to Nuremberg and then we came back to Rothenberg and Detwang.

Rothenberg

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Pictures from Rothenberg at night.

Rothenberg

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Pictures from the night watchman tour.

Rothenberg

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Here are pictures of the church in Rothenberg

Rothenberg

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These are pictures from the garden area in Rothenberg overlooking the valley and seeing another part of the city.

Rothenberg

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More pictures from Rothenberg

Rothenberg

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Pictures for our time in Rothenberg

Detwang

2010-08-02T15:03:00.002-05:00

Here are pictures of our hotel in Detwang, just outside of Rothenberg.

Drive

2010-08-02T14:53:00.002-05:00

Here are pictures of our drive from Eisenach to Rothenberg.

Monday

2010-08-02T14:51:00.002-05:00

Today we took a beautiful drive through the forest from Eisenach to Rothenberg. We have now left former East Germany and are in the American zone from after the war. We walked around Rothenberg this afternoon, came back for dinner and then went back for a tour with the night watchman.

Erfurt

2010-08-01T10:50:00.002-05:00

More pictures from around Erfurt

Erfurt

2010-08-01T10:30:00.002-05:00

More pictures from around Erfurt

Erfurt

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Another church in Erfurt

Cathedral

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These pictures are of the Cathedral where Martin Luther was ordained.

Erfurt

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Pictures from around Erfurt

More group members

2010-08-01T09:55:00.002-05:00

Still more members of our group

More group members

2010-08-01T09:51:00.002-05:00

Here are more pictures of our group.

Members of our group in Efurt

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Here are pictures we took today in Erfurt

Erfurt

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The Monastery door that Martin Luther knocked on during the thunderstorm when he committed to become a monk.

Monastery

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These are pictures of the monastery where Martin Luther was a monk.

Sunday

2010-08-01T09:27:00.003-05:00

Today we went to Erfurt and attended church at the Monastery where Martin Luther was a monk. Then we toured the town and had lunch. We got to see the Cathedral where Martin Luther was ordained.

Dinner

2010-07-31T14:35:00.001-05:00

Just had a fabulous dinner at an Italian restaurant with a total of 10 members of our group. The food was awesome and the fellowship was even better.

Tour Guide and Bus Driver

2010-07-31T11:06:00.002-05:00

Here is a picture of our tour guide William and our driver Mike.

Hotel in Eisenach

2010-07-31T09:42:00.001-05:00

We are staying at the Hotel Kaiserhof in Eisenach

Picture of Eisenach

2010-07-31T09:37:00.002-05:00

Pictures of Eisenach. There is a road rally going on so some pictures of cars and then some pictures of town.

St George's Church in Eisenach

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Pictures of St. George's church in Eisenach

Luther House

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Picture of the Luther House in Eisenach

Bach House

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More pictures

Bach House

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Enjoying music at the Bach house.

Wartburg Castle

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The room where Luther hid and translated the New Testament

Wartburg Castle

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More pictures from inside Wartburg Castle

Wartburg Castle

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Pictures of Saint Elizabeth's room

Wartburg Castle

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Pictures from inside of Wartburg Castle

Wartburg Castle

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Views from inside the Wartburg Castle courtyard.

Wartburg Castle

2010-07-31T08:30:00.002-05:00

Views from outside of Wartburg Castle

July 31

2010-07-31T08:29:00.002-05:00

Today we went to the Wartburg Castle and the Bach House. We then took a walk around Eisenach and went to the Luther House. Pictures to follow.

Buchenwald

2010-07-30T16:08:00.003-05:00

These pictures are of the memorial and the ash pits where they put the ashes of the dead after cremating them. There are 3 ash pits in all.

Buchenwald

2010-07-30T15:41:00.003-05:00

These photos are of the Buchenwald concentration camp. This held over 110,000 prisoners at the highest point. Pastor Deitrich Boenhoeffer was held here. These pictures are of the camp. The actual buildings where the prisoners were held have been removed. The camp was liberated by the American 3rd Army.

St. Thomas Church

2010-07-30T15:18:00.003-05:00

These are pictures of the church where Johann Sebastian Bach served and is buried.

Friday

2010-07-30T15:04:00.002-05:00

Yet another awesome day in Germany. Today we went to Leipzig and visited the St. Thomas Church where Johann Sebastian Bach served and where 13 of his children were baptized. We also went to St. Nicholas Church. We left Leipzig and went to Buchenwald, a german concentration camp during WWII. This was a work camp, not an extermination camp althougth many prisoners were killed there. They did have a crematorium they used to dispose of the bodies of the dead prisoners.

Church Service

2010-07-29T15:25:00.003-05:00

Here is a video of our service tonight and also a picture that Josh took.

Muller Boys

2010-07-29T15:22:00.002-05:00

Here are the Muller boys walking down the street.

Jon - Here is the shout out that I promised to you.

Communion

2010-07-29T15:17:00.002-05:00

Today we had a very special occasion. We had the opportunity to have communion at the chapel where Martin Luther preached sometimes. This chapel was built in 1367. We took the opportunity for Josh to have his first communion. It was very special to the Muller family.

Luther Garden

2010-07-29T15:12:00.002-05:00

This afternoon we had the opportunity to do a ceremonial tree planting at Luther Garden. The Luther Garden is a place in Wittenberg where they are planting a tree garden in honor of Martin Luther. The goal is to have 500 trees by 2017, the 500 year anniversary of the posting of the 95 Theses. Some members of our Germany group are donating a tree there and we will also plant a sister tree at our church.

City Church

2010-07-29T08:15:00.003-05:00

Pictures of the City Church where Martin Luther served as pastor.

Castle Church

2010-07-29T08:07:00.003-05:00

Pictures of the Castle Church where Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses. This includes a picture of Martin Luther's grave.

Our hotel in Wittenberg and nearby

2010-07-28T12:16:00.003-05:00

We are staying at the Luther Hotel in Wittenberg for tonight and tomorrow night.

Berlin

2010-07-28T12:08:00.002-05:00

Riding on the AutoBahn

More photos

2010-07-28T12:06:00.002-05:00

The Brandenberg Gate

Some sights in Berlin

2010-07-28T12:01:00.003-05:00

After landing we took a tour of Berlin before heading to Wittenberg. The Berlin wall.

We are in Germany!

2010-07-28T11:51:00.004-05:00

The day is finally here and we made it. We are at the Luther Hotel in Wittenberg. Our flights went off without a hitch and we had a good tour of Berlin today.

Here is a pictyure of our group in the Chicago airport.

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2010-07-24T16:27:00.001-05:00

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2010-06-27T09:24:00.000-05:00

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2010-06-27T09:22:00.003-05:00

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2010-06-24T20:51:00.003-05:00

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2010-06-24T20:49:00.001-05:00

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2010-06-18T22:48:00.002-05:00

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2010-06-14T21:25:00.002-05:00

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2010-06-13T21:28:00.001-05:00

The Muller family

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2010-06-13T21:23:00.001-05:00

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