Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Gemeinde Friends
On Sunday, we took about 20 dozen cookies to church. We told everyone to come to the lobby after church and enjoy a treat from us. It was to thank everyone for being so kind and loving towards us while we were members of the Tiergarten Gemeinde. We loved being in this ward. The many nationalities in our ward made a wonderful mix of cultures. There are 19 different countries represented in the Tiergarten Gemeinde. We wanted to get pictures of as many of them as possible, the cookies were a way of luring them to the lobby, we said thank you and took pictures. It was fun. Everyone stayed around and talked for 30-45 minutes, eating cookies. We will miss these people and their sweet spirits.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Wittenburgstadt
Yesterday, we went to Wittenburgstadt. Located about 70 km from Berlin, Bro. Gruse took us in his car. he had been there several times, so we had our own personal tour guide. It was great.
Martin Luther is credited with starting the Lutheran church. During the Reformation period, martin Luther became dissatisfied with the Catholic Church's way of doing things. He felt that they did not follow the scriptures and teachings of Christ. He said the Paying of Indulgences" was wrong. People should not pay money to have their sins forgiven, but should repent to God and covenant never to do them again. He wanted the people to be able to read the Bible in their own language, not Latin so they could understand it. Eventually, he wrote 95 letters criticizing the church and nailed them up on the front door of the local church in Wittenburg. he was eventually excommunicated from the Catholic church. He had many followers that thought he was right in his thinking. This included the "Elector" from the area. He helped protect Martin Luther during the reformation. We were able to go inside St. Mary's Parish Church where Martin Luther taught most of his sermons. Although it is undergoing a refurbishing, you could still get a feel for what it looked like and view most of the art work that was there. We walked down the road to the church of Peace, but were unable to go in. It also was being refurbished.
We continued walking and came to the Luther House. Originally built as an Augustinian monastery, Luther lived their as a monk in 1508. He later was given the monastery for his home and he lived there with his wife and family. Now it is the worlds largest museum for Reformation history. The exhibit totals about 1000 original objects, recalling Luther's life and work as well as everyday life of his family and the impact of the Protestant Reformer.
At his death, Luther was among Wittenburg's wealthiest citizens. His wife, Katharina von Borg, (a former Nun in the Catholic church), was responsible for this success. She was not only the mother of his six children, but also managed a large household--which included raising livestock, brewing beer, and taking in boarders.
Martin Luther is credited with starting the Lutheran church. During the Reformation period, martin Luther became dissatisfied with the Catholic Church's way of doing things. He felt that they did not follow the scriptures and teachings of Christ. He said the Paying of Indulgences" was wrong. People should not pay money to have their sins forgiven, but should repent to God and covenant never to do them again. He wanted the people to be able to read the Bible in their own language, not Latin so they could understand it. Eventually, he wrote 95 letters criticizing the church and nailed them up on the front door of the local church in Wittenburg. he was eventually excommunicated from the Catholic church. He had many followers that thought he was right in his thinking. This included the "Elector" from the area. He helped protect Martin Luther during the reformation. We were able to go inside St. Mary's Parish Church where Martin Luther taught most of his sermons. Although it is undergoing a refurbishing, you could still get a feel for what it looked like and view most of the art work that was there. We walked down the road to the church of Peace, but were unable to go in. It also was being refurbished.
We continued walking and came to the Luther House. Originally built as an Augustinian monastery, Luther lived their as a monk in 1508. He later was given the monastery for his home and he lived there with his wife and family. Now it is the worlds largest museum for Reformation history. The exhibit totals about 1000 original objects, recalling Luther's life and work as well as everyday life of his family and the impact of the Protestant Reformer.
At his death, Luther was among Wittenburg's wealthiest citizens. His wife, Katharina von Borg, (a former Nun in the Catholic church), was responsible for this success. She was not only the mother of his six children, but also managed a large household--which included raising livestock, brewing beer, and taking in boarders.
Birthday celebration / Deutscher Bundestag
Today is my birthday. We are going to celebrate by going to the German Reichstag to tour the Deutscher Bundestag. This is the place of government for Germany. You have to make an appointment ahead of time so they can do a minimal background check on you before entering.
The day started with us meeting the Elders and Sisters at the bus stop. We exited our building and I saw the Sisters walking towards us. I looked away and then back. They had disappeared. I just figured they had forgotten something and ran back to their apartment. We arrived at the bus stop first. As we waiting, I looked across the street in time to see the Elders sneaking up the street, hiding behind cars. I started to laugh, something was up. A few minutes later, they ran to the bus stop and sang Happy Birthday to me. They gave me a large bouquet of flowers and a wonderful card and picture of the 4 of them. It was really nice. Then we got on the bus and off we went.
We arrived a little early and had to wait about 15 minutes for our appointment. Before entering the building, you had to go through a metal detector. Our tour was in German, so the Elders translated for us. It was a cool tour lasting about 90 minutes. Our tour guide seemed to have a sense of humor, making everyone laugh. The building itself is very modern on the inside as you will see from the pictures. The actual room where the Bundestag meets has purple and gray seats. They were not in session at this time so we were able to go into the room and sit down. We also went up into the big dome. You can see all over the city. I bet is really pretty on a clear spring day.
After our tour we went to Vapiano's for lunch. It is a Italian place with really good food. We had a very nice time.
The day started with us meeting the Elders and Sisters at the bus stop. We exited our building and I saw the Sisters walking towards us. I looked away and then back. They had disappeared. I just figured they had forgotten something and ran back to their apartment. We arrived at the bus stop first. As we waiting, I looked across the street in time to see the Elders sneaking up the street, hiding behind cars. I started to laugh, something was up. A few minutes later, they ran to the bus stop and sang Happy Birthday to me. They gave me a large bouquet of flowers and a wonderful card and picture of the 4 of them. It was really nice. Then we got on the bus and off we went.
We arrived a little early and had to wait about 15 minutes for our appointment. Before entering the building, you had to go through a metal detector. Our tour was in German, so the Elders translated for us. It was a cool tour lasting about 90 minutes. Our tour guide seemed to have a sense of humor, making everyone laugh. The building itself is very modern on the inside as you will see from the pictures. The actual room where the Bundestag meets has purple and gray seats. They were not in session at this time so we were able to go into the room and sit down. We also went up into the big dome. You can see all over the city. I bet is really pretty on a clear spring day.
After our tour we went to Vapiano's for lunch. It is a Italian place with really good food. We had a very nice time.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Jewish Synagogue
Monday, we went with Sister Child and Sister Ricks to see the Brandenburg gate and take pictures there one last time. We ran in to a ward member working at the gate. We didn't recognize him, he was dressed as a German " Soldier Bear". As we passed by him, he said Hello Brother Johnson. we looked around and all we saw was the bear. We still did not recognize his voice when he spoke again. I guess we didn't expect to see him dressed as a Bear.
Next we went to the New Synagogue Berlin Centrum Judaicum foundation. We thought we would see the synagogue but found out most of it was destroyed in the war. Now the building houses artifacts found in the rubble. The center seeks to trace the history of the building and the lives connected to it. Most of the objects that would have told about the building were destroyed. During the restoration of the building, architectural fragments and remnants of the interior furnishings were found and made part of the permanent exhibition. It was interesting to see pictures and read about the people that attended the synagogue before the war. Many of them were murdered in concentration camps. Unfortunately no photos were allowed to be taken.
Next we went to the Jewish cemetery. We were expecting to see many grave stones but most of them were gone. The Nazi's desecrated the cemetery during their occupation of Berlin. The pictures are of the few Headstones we saw.
Next we went to the New Synagogue Berlin Centrum Judaicum foundation. We thought we would see the synagogue but found out most of it was destroyed in the war. Now the building houses artifacts found in the rubble. The center seeks to trace the history of the building and the lives connected to it. Most of the objects that would have told about the building were destroyed. During the restoration of the building, architectural fragments and remnants of the interior furnishings were found and made part of the permanent exhibition. It was interesting to see pictures and read about the people that attended the synagogue before the war. Many of them were murdered in concentration camps. Unfortunately no photos were allowed to be taken.
Next we went to the Jewish cemetery. We were expecting to see many grave stones but most of them were gone. The Nazi's desecrated the cemetery during their occupation of Berlin. The pictures are of the few Headstones we saw.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
History of Berlin Museum
Last Monday we went to the History of Berlin Museum with the Elders and Sisters. What a great museum. It tells the story of Berlin's development over a period of 800 years starting with it's trading center status in the Middle Ages to the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Each of the exhibition rooms are designed individually and equipped with modern multimedia technology so that everyone can experience Berliners' everyday life during the different eras. Some examples of things we saw are: a Time Tunnel with pictures, a 19th century Berlin Salon complete with piano, desk, and people. Another room illustrated Speed, the evolution of transportation in Berlin. Another area was about the Book burning during Hitler's regime. Your tour comes to an end with pictures and information about the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
We also toured a nuclear bomb shelter from the Cold War, situated below the busy Kurfurstendamm area of Berlin. Originally built in the Seventies, the "Bunker" allows shelter for almost 3600 people in case of emergency. Going along the Bunker bed area you can sense the breath of Cold War and the fear of a nuclear attack. You would only be Abie to stay in the Bunker for 2 weeks, and then you have to leave because of the lack of oxygen. When you leave the Bunker, you would have to run for at least 1 hour to the Brandenburg area out of town to possibly escape the effects of radiation poisoning. Personally, I would rather take my chances outside the Bunker then to be inside with so many people. All you could do was lay on your cot for 2 weeks and worry.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Gemeinde Essen
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