Gorlitz, Germany

We went to Gorlitz  on New Year's Day.  We have friends assigned as member support there.  The Bauman's are from Salt Lake City, Utah.  When they first got to Germany, they were assigned to us until their apartment was ready in Gorlitz. 

We took the train and arrived about 1415.  It was gray and cold, but not raining.  The Bauman's met us at the train.  We walked to our hotel and checked in.  We stayed at the Europa Hotel.  It was very nice.  We then went on a walking tour of Gorlitz.  Gorlitz was built in the 13th Century.  Originally, it was part of a country called Chalazia.  It is the only city from that old country that is part of modern day Germany.  It had a big double wall surrounding the city.  If you got over the first wall, you were in a "kill zone".  It was about 20 feet wide and had no place to hide.  The soldiers on the second wall would shoot you with bows and arrows.  There was no place to go and no way to get out.  The walls were very high and about 3 meters thick.  As we walked around, we saw where the judge passed sentence on criminals and where the executioner lived.  He did not live inside the city walls.  He was considered an outcast because of his line of work.  No one else wanted to get their hands "dirty". 

Gorlitz is located in the most eastern part of Germany right on the Polish border.  After WWII, the town was literally split at the Naisse River.  The polish side was called Zgorzzele.  There is a bridge that crosses the river that you can drive or walk across to go to Poland.  Because they are both part of the EU, there are no border checks.  We walked onto the bridge and drove over to Poland and took a few pictures.  Gorlitz has about 60,000 people living it.  It use to be twice as big, but much of the industry there has died out and people are moving away to find jobs. 

Our second day in Gorlitz we took a drive around the countryside.  I imagine it is beautifu in the spring and summer.  Right now, winter is in full bloom and it isn't very pretty to look at.  We first drove to the Czech Republic border.  We aren't suppose to leave the mission boundaries so we stopped at the sign and took a picture and turned back.  The border was near a town called Luckendorf.  Snow flurries were falling at the border.  There was a ski lift near by.  Dan's grandparents were from Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic.  He got a little emotional about being so close to where his grandparents were from. 

We continued our drive going to a small village called Obercunnersdorf.  There is a upper and lower Obercunnersdorf.  We stopped at a little Bacherei (bakery) for a pastry.  This little town is well know for its style of buildings.  They were very pretty.  There was hardly anyone in the town the day after New Years.  It was like every one had gone on Urlaube (holiday). 

After our drive, we took  little nap and then went to the Bauman's for a delicious "Mexican" dinner and games.   We had a great time visiting with them.

Our last day in Gorlitz it rained.  We changed our plans a little because we didn't want to be out in the rain.  We went to their chapel.  It was the first church building built in East Germany while the DDR was still in control.  President Monson promised the people of  Gorlitz 27 years before it was built that if they would be faithful, they would have all the blessings that every active Latter Day Saint would have.  It was pretty awesome to walk in the building and feel the sweet spirit there.  There is so much history here in Germany.  It is neat to experience some it up close and personal. 

We had lunch at a little German restaurant and then said our good byes.  We caught the trains back to Berlin (we had to change trains in Cottbus), and got home abut 1800.  We were tired but happy that we had the opportunity to see a little more of Germany.