Living in Germany - The People

Our record of our stay in Germany would hardly be complete without writing some about the people we met there. The people in Germany were generally very nice to us, which was great. Many people were happy to stop and help us, provide us with directions and other information, or just talk to us. People seemed to especially like children, and Austin got a lot of attention in many cases. We found that stores and restaurants were quick to give him miniature packages of Gummy Bears or other little treats.

Our ward in Germany was particularly nice to us. We were so happy to be warmly welcomed there! The ward members were quick to befriend us and offer us whatever help we might need. I had some offers from other mothers to meet up during the week so that I wouldn't feel lonely, and as previously mentioned, Raphaela offered to help me navigate grocery shopping and German foods. Someone else agreed to let us borrow a weight scale so we could make German recipes that measured things out by weight. Everyone tried to include us in ward and Relief Society activities too.

I was invited to Raphaela's baby shower as well. That baby shower turned out to be the longest shower I have every been to. It started at 7:00. Raphaela offered to give me a ride since the shower wasn't close by, and we didn't leave the shower until 10:30, which meant I didn't get home until 11:00. Interestingly enough, the shower fell on a Friday evening. In fact, a lot of things in Germany, including YM/YW activities and other similar things were all scheduled for Friday evenings. Apparently, Friday is not the traditional date night in Germany that it often is here in the U.S.

We ended up meeting with one family from the ward, the Hoffmanns, a few times. We had them over once for an after church meal, and Corinna Hoffmann invited me to spend the day with her in her town of Donauwörth a couple times. Exploring this city with Corinna was great because she was able to tell me about the history there and a lot of other information about the place that I never would have known without having her as my guide. The town was founded by two fishermen who met where the Danube and Wörnitz rivers cross. The town was involved in various religious wars and had a special status as a free imperial city that was not under the rule of anyone except King or Emperor of the time. Today it has a large population of both Catholics and Protestants, which Corinna told me she liked since it meant they get the holidays of both religious affiliations off from work.

Unfortunately my camera wasn't really in working order during my first visit. However, during my first visit we saw the Danube river, entered a couple of churches, and saw the old city wall. I saw so many beautiful spots that I wished I could have photographed then and never had the chance to go back to!

Above is the Kloster Heilig Kreuz church. If I am remembering correctly, Corinna told me that when Napoleon entered this town, he housed the army's horses inside the church, which greatly angered the community. At the bottom left of the picture, you can see the sculpture of Ludwig Auer, who founded a Catholic school at the convent called the Cassianeum.

I was able to get a lot more pictures the second time around. We started out walking along some paths in the town. We visited the studio of an artist Corinna knows, Raimund Göbner, who makes wooden sculptures. We walked by the old ruins of the Mangoldstein Castle and went up the steps of the Way of the Cross.

Ruins of the 10th century Mangoldstein Castle, which was destroyed in 1301

The Way of the Cross consists of 14 stations with pictures of Christ sheltered inside. A Catholic procession happens here annually. There is a chapel at the top and a display of the crucifixion. From there we continued up the hill Schellenberg, and from the top we had a nice view of Donauwörth. A bloody battle took place on this hill in 1707 during the Spanish Heritage War.

View of Donauwörth from Schellenberg

After lunch we visited a doll museum about the work of Käthe Kruse. Käthe Kruse's dolls were made in Donauwörth, and her company's dolls continue to be made there. Today these dolls are collectors items. Käthe Kruse wanted to get her dolls for her children, but her husband wouldn't let her buy the ugly dolls that were being sold at the time. Consequently, she made her own for them. Her husband, Max Kruse, was a sculptor and helped in designing the dolls' faces. It was interesting to see the process involved in making the dolls, and Austin enjoyed pushing buttons on the displays that had moving parts that would turn on.

Below are pictures of the main street in Donauwörth, the Reichsstraße. The beautiful gabled buildings along the street were rebuilt after they were destroyed in the war.

Below is the Invalidenkaserne: the disability barracks that have been used as a invalids` home and as a hospital. Today they are apartments.

Invalidenkaserne

I was very grateful for Corinna's friendship and kindness in having me over to her place a couple times during our stay. We also loved and appreciated the missionaries, who translated for us during church since they were all from the U.S. and could speak English fluently. They were particularly helpful in answering questions for us from a perspective that was more familiar and understandable to ours. We also enjoyed playing volleyball and a soccer game of sorts with them sometimes on Wednesday evenings at the church.

Elder Martinez, ?, our family, Sister Smith, and Sister Armstrong

Austin with his nursery leader

Below we are with Raphaela and her her husband Jendrik. They had a couple of boys. Raphaela was the Relief Society president, and while we were there her husband was called as the bishop. Right before we came home they had their baby, a beautiful little girl.

Here we are with the Hoffmanns: Sophie, Jarek, and Corinna

Austin with flowers from Sophie in his pocket