Germany Part Two

 My trip to Germany was very full. I had no idea what to expect when I went. I did not do a lot of research. I did try to learn a bit of German but was really too shy to try it when I was there. People were very gracious to me when they realized I spoke English. My dear friend had many plans for us but it was all dependent on how the baby did, and she ended up doing really really well. So we went on numerous adventures in high temperature weather. It was glorious. We visited the sea, castles, villages, towns, and gardens. We visited her family and churches and cathedrals. Every day was something new for me to see and experience. I loved it all! The cobblestone streets, the buildings that held the mystery of hundreds of years of people who lived within their walls, experiencing food and shops and roads and schools. I have always loved history and it felt like Germany lived and breathed history. To go a village that was a thousand years old, to walk into a church built in 811, to see a nunnery that was still functioning, to see a road where on one side the buildings had been bombed in World War Two and on the other side the buildings from as early as the 1600's were still intact and original ~ it all mattered so much to me. I felt like myself there because somehow there are parts of me that miss things I've not known. Where I live the buildings are quite young and most old buildings are not preserved and were not built to last the way they are built in Germany. I had, quite simply, not experienced the depth of history that Germany held and it was so so beautiful to me. There is also such depth of detail in the older buildings there. The artistry and craftsmanship was something I had not experienced either. I felt like all my senses were being ministered to every day. 

I loved how villages all had water features in them that brought tranquility and also were needed to water animals back in a different era.

I can't quite fathom how old this house is and what it has seen and who has been blessed by its presence in the world. 

I had this magical moment where a violinist was playing and it was raining and this building was just so so beautiful and I wanted to cry.

                                This cathedral was beautiful and cool inside on a hot hot day.

 

                 This building is a nunnery and this is just a very small portion of it.

The details of the roof, the window, the stone...all of it spoke to me,

There were so many grand doors that could withstand the storms of battle and weather and more.

I love how people took the time to just sit and visit and drink out on the cobblestone streets as they had been doing for time out of mind.

My friend took this photo of me. I am in awe of the beauty of this ancient town surrounded by vineyards.

I was so impressed by the German dedication to window boxes of flowers. They were stunning always.

                                              These next two photos were taken by my friend.

Here you can see what is inside the walls of these buildings that have allowed them to last for hundreds of years! 

My friend would always remind me to look up ~ look up ~ so I would not miss the beauty.

     Inside a medieval castle...the rocks so worn from the thousands of feet and animal hooves.