Author: Ann Laemmlen Lewis

We left the castle and drove down to the old part of town, where we spent the next hour or so, eating, wandering and enjoying the beauty of this rainy Spring day.

It is a tradition in Germany to decorate fountains in town squares.

Our co-worker, Ralf, tells us that Coburg Brats are the best in Germany.  Every area and every Brat maker has their own special recipe and technique.  The Brats here in this place in Coburg are grilled over a pinecone fire.  They really were delicious.

This is one of the oldest Fachwerk houses in Germany, dating back to 1288.

Next came some dessert!

This is the castle down in the town.

Next we went to the Coburg LDS church where we happened upon a Relief Society activity and a room full of happy women.

Here are the 2 rooms in the Coburg Castle that Martin Luther lived in while he was exiled in 1530. He lived here for 6 months during the Diet of Augsburg. This is his very table and chairs and the headboard for his bed. His artwork is on the walls.

We lingered a long time in this place, feeling the importance of the work Martin Luther did, starting the Reformation that led to the Restoration of all things.  Luther was a hero.

One treasure was Luther’s 11th century Venetian Coburg Hedwig glass, a beautiful piece, rose colored with beautiful designs in the glass.

From the castle gift shop:

When Emperor Charles V demanded that Luther recant, Luther’s response sealed his place in world history: “My conscience is captive to the word of God! To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. I therefore cannot, and I will not recant! Here I stand.

Here’s a simple and good history of Martin Luther.

Today’s Saturday outing  took us to Coburg, about a 3 hour drive from Frankfurt.  We went with our department co-workers and we had an excellent sort of day.  We spent several hours in the castle. It was really well preserved and the rooms were filled with so many interesting things as you will see below.

This castle was built around 1200. It was a fortress for Electors of Saxony, then it became the seat for the Dukes of Saxe-Coburg. In more recent centuries, it became a place for wonderful art collections and armor collections and there’s a world-class glass collection. The woodwork in the castle is exquisite. There are so many beautiful things here.

A highlight was seeing the 2 rooms Martin Luther lived in while he was exiled in 1530. He lived there for 6 months during the Diet of Augsburg.  More about his living area in the next post.

A beautiful family tree:

A bit of bling:

A hunting hall:

A door with a window:

The castle chapel:

Beautiful fabrics and textures:

Such beautiful woodwork!

A painted room:

There were great art collections here.

The collections were throughout the castle.  It was really interesting to see so many different rooms and areas.

Next to the armoury.  So much time and energy used to create things to kill or to protect from being killed.  Just Be Nice.

Torture tools:

This huge room was filled with guns and swords and bows and spears.

Every soldier had a custom made suit of armour.  This was like the armour wearhouse.

Here is a world-class glass collection.  Many of these pieces were collected by the folks who lived here in the castle.

And, finally, a collection of carriages, sleighs and sleds, many from the 1600s and 1700s.  They were pretty incredible.

 

It’s hard to be away from our kids.  Today Claire’s CT friends had a lovely baby show for her.  We are a month away from delivery.  I wish I could hug this pregnant girl.

Today the Jorgensens joined us here in Frankfurt.  They come from Moses Lake, WA and have recently been serving in South Africa.

We are in the middle of some housing shifts, and we’ve worked really hard to find a great temporary spot for the Jorgensens until their permanent apartment is ready.  This is a short-term housing development used by people who come to Frankfurt and are looking for housing.  We were thrilled to find such a great place to tuck them away for now.

Yesterday we did some grocery shopping to prepare the Jorgensens for their first few days here.  We do that for each arriving couple to help them ease into a new lifestyle in Germany.

We’ve looked at dozens of new apartments in the last several weeks.  It’s interesting that most new apartments don’t have a separate kitchen.  Living spaces here are compact and efficient, even more so in temporary places like this.  We hope they love their new home.

Sis Enger is teaching us about Spring and Easter Traditions in our German class.  We enjoy her gentle ways and patient teaching.  It’s really fun to learn about the different traditions here.

This Easter handwork was made by her mother.  What a treasure!

Tonight faithful BYU fans gathered to cheer our Cougars in the BB tournament.