Heaven

There are a LOT of pictures on this post... you may need to hit your refresh button a few times to make sure you can see them all... :) Should see 17.


So today was it. Day one of official tour. I was so excited I couldn’t sleep. We left at 8, took the train to Stade, then a little bus to Steinkirchen. Our first stop was St. Martin Kirche. This little Lutheran church was built around 1550, though the congregation itself is older, with records as far back as the 1300’s. This building holds a 1687 Schnitger organ (II/28) and it was AMAZING. Words can not even begin to describe the building and can even less begin to describe the organ. WOW. It’s amazing to think of how many years that building has been used to praise God in worship services, and fun to imagine people long ago coming for worship. The pews all have doors, and the alter is beautiful. The organ… wow. I have never heard anything like it. It poured out this rich, intense sound that left you with goosebumps and wanting more. Below are a few pictures from this stop.

The church



The front of the church

A close up of the BEAUTIFUL altar



No words needed.

One VERY happy girl.

After lunch, our next stop was St. Barholomaus Kirche, Mittelkirchen. This building dated from 1322 and also housed an amazing Schnitger organ (II/32). Also a Lutheran parish, I was thrilled to find Luther’s Small Catechism in German there!!! This was just as beautiful, but bigger. It had gorgeous stain glass on either side of the front, and numerous small balconies. This organ also needed 2 people to pump it, which was totally fun.

The church.


The altar



A view from the organ loft looking down to the rest of the church...



Stain glass window...



A close up of the other window, which was my favorite. You can't see in the picture, but it says "Lasset die Kindlein zu mir kommen" and just made me happy.


The real reason why we're in Germany (Or one of the reasons...)


Craig testing it out....



My turn!!!


Pumping hard. This was just about as cool as playing it!!



The little graveyard outside the church




After that, we went to Grunendeich for a concert.

The organ:
They were rededicating it or something, so their pastor was there. Most of the talk was in German, but I did catch "Martin Luther" two times and got all excited. Also, there was congregational singing, which was super cool.




It was a very good day.

Things I Have Learned...

Gelato is the best thing ever invented.

If you walk in the bike lane, you’re likely to get run over.

If you cross over the bike lane without looking over your shoulder, you’re also likely to get run over.

The bread here is SOOOO good.

The people here like American soft rock.

The people here smoke SOOOO much.

There is no writing on clothes here, and not many t-shirts.

People here are super hospitable, and polite. (Americans could take a lesson from them….)

You have to carry a LOT of coins, since anything under 5 Euros is given in coins.

The police sirens really sound like in the movies.

Gelato is the best thing every invented. (repeat intentional)

Tuesday.... exploring Hamburg

Today we headed out to explore the city. David took his trusty GPS and led the way, much to the amusement of us girls.

First we visited a bunch of churches, including St. Nikolai, which was bombed during the war. Here's what's left of it...

We also saw none other than MARTIN LUTHER!!!! I was pretty excited about this, as you may have guessed.

We also walked MILES and found the cathedral in Hamburg. The chancel was amazing, but the rest of the cathedral was very modern and very white. Not nearly as big as I would have expected, either.

Then we visited the museum of Hamburg, and saw all kinds of things..... and it’s just amazing how OLD this city is. Crazy! You can just feel the weight of the history here. We learned that the earliest evidence of organs here is 1301!!!! Also, in 1720, Bach applied for the post at St. Jacobi in (which we get to visit later this week) but did not get the job. Imagine not hiring Bach! They didn’t know what they turned down. We also saw stuff on the war and other things about the city. By the evening, 4 more guys had arrived, so we all went for dinner together and had loads of fun. After dinner, we walked to find some gelato, and then everyone played cards until pretty late in the evening. Tomorrow the rest of the gang should be arriving, and the official tour starts on Thursday. I can’t wait to see these organs!!!

SLEEP!!

It's about 10 AM here.... we all slept 12 hours last night. SOOOO good.

I think it's funny that all the blog directions about signing in, creating a new post, etc.. are all showing up in German!!! Good thing I remember what tab is what and don't need to read them....

And I can't spell check.... everything comes up wrong, becuaes it is spell checking in German!!!!

Exausted...

We made it..... Sunday, Mr. Z picked me up from the house and took me to the airport. As he left, he advised me (wisely) to just soak in as much as I could. Well, 3 plane rides and no sleep later, we arived in Germany around noon or so (I think). We then spent the day going all over Hamburg, and I got my first taste of gelato. YUM. Now it's 6, and we're EXAUSTED.... gonna stay up 2 more hours, then going to bed.

Pictures to come....

Does Not Travel Light.

I promise I won't keep posting so much about Poco, but I couldn't resist this one. Because Poco's suitcase is bigger than mine. Literally. What does a dog need for a month long vacation? Well, harnesses to match the right liturgical color each day, toys, food, treats, stinky sticks, Blue Bone, blanket, bed, comb, allergy meds, flea preventative, heartworm preventative, ID card (YES, he has an ID card), bath stuff, shirt that smells like me, water bottle, pick up bags. He was not to happy about having most of his belongings being put in a bag, and was rummaging through trying to empty it as I packed.


Pathetic, I realize.....

Stowaway

My dear, sweet Poco knows something is up. All night I've been packing. And he keeps pacing, going to the front door and plastering himself into the corner. He does every morning as though saying "don't leave me here! Take me with!" This baby does NOT like to be alone, and he knows when I leave he always comes with. But he knows we usually don't go out at night, so he is confused, sitting by the door thinking we're going to go somewhere and making sure I don't sneak out without him! I haven't packed his things yet, but he's watched me put all of my things in my suitcase. (Yes, Meg, all neatly rolled....) As you can see, his Blue Bone security blanket has been closely guarded and he's more clingy than usual to it. He thought maybe my suitcase would make a good dog bed. Sweetie boy, I'd love to take you with, honest I would. More than anything in the world I would love to take you with me. I'll come back, though, I promise you that.