Germany

November 15, 2008
This morning we left Vienna. We caught an underground train close to our hotel, went on it for 3 minutes, then caught another train going the other direction for a few stops, then got off and found ourselves at a huge train station. We found our train to take us to Nurnberg. We got on it and it sped us to Nurnberg in 5 hours. We saw lots of farming ground with fields all over the rolling hills that had been plowed or had some type of crop in for next year. I think there were piles of turnips on some of the fields. There were lots of small villages dotting the way in-between the fields or hills or forest. It was all very sporadic.
When we got to Nurnberg we found an information building, got our map, found our motel and left for our adventure. We went to Kaiser Castle and climbed the stairs in the tower. The castle used to have a mote around it. We saw some armor from knights and noticed the underclothing of a knight is very detailed. Such detailed work for such a time in history. The dark ages certainly had a lot of talent in the building of buildings and art work.
We went to the Hangman’s Museum and learned about the executioner in the 1300’s. He carried out the sentence the judge set for the criminal. He was so good at his knowledge of how the body worked and was to torture people that he became a doctor after he retired from being the executioner.
Of course there are lots of churches but they’re not like the ones in Vienna that you went in you just looked on the outside.
We found a Christmas store and Ralph bought a candle that turns the top when they are lit.
We ate dinner and decided to just walk around. The whole middle of town has streets that are just for walking and have all the stores on the different streets. The size of the clothing and shoe stores is more like the US stores. The stores in Vienna were all very small. Everyone was out walking the streets and enjoying the evening. People ride their bikes and walk or take public transit.
It seems people are less likely to speak English to you here than they were in Vienna.


November 16, 2008
Today we went to church at the Nurnberg Ward. We walked there from our motel, just over a mile away. We listened to church in German. We could have had a translator, but I chose not to. There are 4 sets of Elders, 1 set of Sisters and 1 couple missionaries in this ward. We were welcomed by everyone. We chose to attend the English speaking Sunday School class, then off to RS and Priesthood Meeting. After I introduced myself, a sister offered to translate for me since she was already translating for another sister from Russia. I asked if there is anyone there from Furth. There was, and I asked her to give me directions to the cemetery in Furth. After church Ralph informed me that a couple offered to give us a ride around Nurnberg and to Furth. He took us to some of the places that Hitler used to have his power in Germany. The Lippenfield is very big, kind of the size of 4 football stadiums. Most of the stands are down, but one side where Hitler would stand and show off his armies was still there. Ralph stood where Hitler stood. Hitler built this huge place just to show his power and have his army march in front of the people. We saw where the barracks were and were told that most of Nurnberg was bombed out when the war was here and then it has been rebuilt. They didn’t build back everything like it was, so most of the city is not that old. He showed us that some of the buildings aren’t even built straight up. The front of the building is narrow and goes back for the larger size of the building. The people were taxed on the front of the building, so they built the front small. Most people rent an apartment. Very few people own a single dwelling house. We saw the first hanging bridge in Nurnberg.
He took us to Furth and let us out right where Ralph was born, #2 Baumenstrasse. The streets in this area are cobblestone. We were on our own now. We looked on the address box and found a man with the last name Winkler living where Ralph used to live. We called up to his apartment and asked him if he knew Regina Barbara Winkler, but he said no. We spoke with a lady that said she knew Regina Winkler, but Ralph wasn’t sure if it was true. As we walked over to the cemetery we saw some huge grassy areas and some of it was soccer fields. At the cemetery we looked for Regina Barbara Hofmann Winkler’s grave, but we never found it. The graveyard is large.
We rode the train back to Nurnberg, changed our clothes at our hotel and went out for dinner. We found where to catch the train tomorrow to travel to Bern, Switzerland. We walked around the same place downtown as last night but found that all the stores were closed and the streets were empty. It was lightly raining too.
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:22:12 -0700Hi,While we were in Germany, we didn't have any Internet access. This keyboard in Switzerland is different than the one in Vienna or the US. In Austria, Germany, and Paris we can use Euros for money. In Switzerland we have to use Swiss Francs. In Germany, we toured Nurnberg and saw a place where Hitler had his armies march. The stadium was the size of at least 4 football fields. Most of the stands are in ruins, but the place where Hitler would stand to look over his army was still there, so Ralph stood there and we took his picture. Hitler built some huge buildings in Nurnberg, that's probably why it was bombed so much. We went to church on Sunday. The church was about a mile away, so we walked. Everyone was really nice. They have 6 sets of missionaries in that one Ward. They offered to translate the meeting into English for us, but we just wanted to listen in German. We did go to the English speaking Sunday School class, and in Relief Society someone offered to translate for me, so I accepted. Ralph said that in Priesthood the lesson was given in English and translated into German. In RS they gave me an English manual and the lady next to me a Russian manual so we could follow along. After church one of the members offered to give us a ride around Nurnberg and take us to Furth. He showed us some of the older sites of Nurnberg, like where the houses are built at a slant (not on purpose) and the front of the house is narrow but goes way back. The reason for long skinny houses is the people were taxed on the front of the house, not the size. It seemed like in Germany the people weren't so willing to speak English to you. We were looking for the Hangman's House and were one bridge away from it when we couldn't find it and went a different way. Along came an elderly lady riding a bike and pushing it up the hill. We asked her for directions and she gave us good directions. When we saw we almost found it the first time, we had to laugh. The Hangman's House is where the executioner lived and carried out the judges ruling for the punishment. Sometimes torture or various ways of death. It learned so much about the human body, that he became a doctor after his job ended.We went to Furth and found the apartment where Ralph lived and took his picture, walked around a bit and went to the cemetary to see if he could find his Great grandmother's grave. We looked for about an hour and gave up. Of course now we're still in our Sunday clothes so walking wasn't as comfortable. We found the train and made it back to our motel.The buildings in Nurnberg do not have all the carvings and statues like in Vienna. Everyone lives in apartments. In-between cities is the only place you ever see single dwelling homes and they're not that big. We saw garden plots that people plant their garden in, but it's not by their home. All of the land is farmed where there aren't little villages.Today, we rode the train to Frankfurt and then to Bern. It was quite a ride. I'm disappointed in the Alps. They look like the Rocky mountains. We walked around Bern this afternoon, but got here too late to visit any museums. Everything closes at 4 or 5 p.m. It's colder here too.We're having a great time but the time is going way too fast.