A couple of times a week, wonderful healthy snacks arrive in each lunchroom in the Phoenix Haus. This is a new service and we are all loving it. These baskets are delivered by a food service. I’m told that if there are leftovers at the end of the week, they are taken to places like the local zoo to feed to the animals there.
We also have new nut dispensers. These small perks make us really happy to be here!
Today in our German class we learned about chestnut trees. The trees are all around us here, dropping their prickly pods. Frau Enger taught us all the vocabulary associated with trees–trunk, branches, twigs, leaves, roots, nuts, leaves and more.
She explained the different kinds of chestnuts under our feet (really, they are falling EVERYWHERE). She’d collected several bowls of chestnuts to show us. They have big prickly pods, the size of a child’s fist. Inside are 2 smooth brown chestnuts. There are sweet ones for eating called Marone and others you don’t eat called Kastanie. Pigs and animals eat them.
After reviewing the vocabulary, we went to her small kitchen table. She had containers of chestnuts, in prickly pods and smooth for us to make things out of. She had nails for poking holes in the hard shell around the nut and we used matchsticks to put into the holes we poked to put 2 nuts together. She told us to make an animal or figure or whatever we wanted. It was fun. We felt like school kids! Lots of laughing and creating. She loves teaching us and showing us German traditions.
We all LOVE Sister Enger!
Our last stop of the day was in Limburg by the Lahn River, one of the best preserved historic sites in the area. We were told it’s a delightful shopping destination and it was on our way back to Frankfurt, so we decided to take a look.
Oh, my it was beautiful! We wandered through the beautiful narrow streets around the town square. The homes there are almost all half-timbered from the 1600-1700s. Most of these old homes have been converted into interesting shops and cafes with traditional outdoor seating. Everything smelled delicious!
Limburg grew up around a 7th century castle of the same name. The first recorded mention of the town appears in documents dating back to the year 910. In the 14th century, Limburg was ravaged by several outbursts of the plague, leading to a gradual decline in the town’s population. The town was revived in the early 19th century.
I’m always taken by the craftsmanship and details–in the building, in the embellishments, in the decoration. There is such attention to detail here. And you must remember to always look up!
Here’s a map of the old part of town where we wandered:
We walked up to the cathedral on the hill, which can be seen from miles around. It was magnificent.
There has been a church here since the 900s. This cathedral was started in 1180, and construction has continued with revisions and improvements since then.
It was so colorful, with painted stonework, but inside was simple and monochromatic, ethereal and peaceful.
Near the cathedral were very old homes and what’s left of the old castle, being renovated now.
Also near the cathedral was this beautiful gate to a small cemetery. Again, the detail made me pause and just stare.
Then we wandered some more, through narrow streets and shops, enjoying very much the feeling here of fine old things.
We came to another old church–St. Sebastian. This church was probably built at the beginning of the 14th century by Franciscans, rebuilt in 1742 in baroque style. The Franciscan monastery was closed in 1813 as part of secularization . The church was taken over by the state and declared a city church in 1820. Since 1827 it has belonged to the then newly established diocese of Limburg .
It was beautiful and peaceful inside. Calm and quiet. A nice place to sit and think about my blessings.
There was a social gathering in the street when we came out of the church. These kind people invited us to join them for a glass of wine. We declined, kindly, and continued on our way.
Here is the house of seven deadly sins built in 1567. It’s decorated on the outside with intricate carvings depicting the seven deadly sins.
And here’s a little window shopping as we made our way back to the car:
I’m not getting tired of beautiful buildings, cobblestone streets, outdoor cafes, or cathedrals. There is nothing like this in the world we come from and I love it.
Our next adventure took us to Berg Eltz, a magnificent castle nestled in a wooded valley about 2 hours from Frankfurt.
After parking, we took the foot path through forests, mostly downhill for a mile or so. It was through beautiful sacred grove-type trees, with fall leaves fluttering around us. Lovely.
Then we came around a bend and the castle came into sight. WOW!! Spectacularly perched on a huge outcropping of rock, kind of down in a valley. It was like a storybook castle.
The amazing thing is this castle was built in the 12th Century and has been in the same family for more than 800 years. And they still own it and people still live there. Tours are given through parts of the castle that are still furnished as they were 100s of years ago. It was like stepping back in time. We saw the sleeping chambers, a council room, dining rooms, a kitchen, a chapel and a women’s work room. That would’ve been my favorite place.
We were not allowed to take photos inside, but here’s a link that shows what we saw there: https://burg-eltz.de/de/die-burg.
We had an English tour guide (the lines for the German tours were Long). We only waited 15 min to go in. After the tour, we got to go into the “Treasures Room” where they had weapons, dishes, silver and gold figurines and all sorts of things of value.
Going into the Treasury:
You can see here how the castle is built on the stone foundation:
This is a pretty spectacular place!
In outside of the town of Mörsdorf is a famous suspension walking bridge. It was our first stop today, about 1.75 hrs from here. The bridge is called Geierlay Hängeselbrüke.
We parked in the village, then walked about a mile through fields on a paved path to the bridge. After seeing the picture of the bridge, I said I’d opt out. I’m not so good with heights like that. But I summoned my courage and decided to do it.
This was Waaayyyy out of my comfort zone. Once in my life is enough. I made it across (about 3 football fields in length). I didn’t look down much and I kept both hands on the rails on either side most of the way.
Here are some pictures from the visitor’s center in town of how the bridge was made and the valley it spans.
Our friend and colleague, Ralf invited us back to his neighborhood this evening for a German Fest. We had a great time enjoying some live music and lots of international food trucks. This is an annual event in Windecken for families and friends.
We settled on some Italian sandwiches made from delicious ham (Schinken) on a toasted bun with some really good sauce. YUM.
The old town square renovations are finished and ready for the upcoming Christmas markets!
Our Frankfurt Germany Mission 