Lunersee

We had a really wonderful District outing on August 1.  We drove to Dornbirn, Austria and then took our first train ride since arriving on the mission to Bludenz, Austria.

 We checked out the Milka chocolate factory outlet.

Now I can't say,
"I never saw a purple cow, I never hope to see one,
but I can tell you anyhow, I'd rather see than be one!"

Then we took a bus to Vandans where we hiked to the Lunersee.

 This is an incredibly gorgeous, very blue lake high in the mountains.  It took us about an hour and it was a very steep, difficult hike, but it was worth every step.  It was very windy that day but it kept us from feeling too hot.

 We were surprised to run into one of our YSA, Julia, from Dornbirn with her boyfriend from America.

 The Elders had fun getting in the ice cold water and competed to see who could stay the longest.

 We decided to take the tram down so we wouldn't miss our bus.  It was very fast!

By the time we got back home, it was dinner time.  We were grateful we had been invited to dinner by the Tonolis in our branch.  They prepared us two fabulous lasagnas with delicious sides. The Elders shared a spiritual activity after dinner.

 It was a very memorable day!

Heiligenberg Castle and Pfullendorf

The end of July, our dear friend, Connie, took us to see the Heiligenberg Castle.  This is the first castle we saw after arriving in Germany. Unfortunately for me, the tour was in German, but they had a written explanation in English for me to read.  It was forbidden to take pictures inside the castle so all the attached photos are on the outside. The castle was built in about 1250.  In 1516 Count Friedrich of Fuerstenberg inherited the castle and it is still owned and used by the family today.  There were so many beautiful and interesting things inside this ancient structure.  One of my favorite things was the enormous hall with paintings of the family members going clear back to the 1300's.  From this castle you can see the Allgaeu Alps, the Austrian Alps and the Swiss Alps.  It also over looks Lake Constance.  But on the day we were there, it was very cloudy and we couldn't see all these things.

Heiligenberg Castle

Inner court of castle

After visiting the castle, we went to the town of Pfullendorf.  This is a beautiful and very old city. They will be celebrating their 800 year birthday in 2020.  We went to see the oldest building in Southern Germany.  Originally, a wall surrounded the entire town.  Part of the wall is still visible by this building.  At one time, the only way to enter the town was through an arch, but as vehicles grew in size, it became necessary to remove a building by the arch to make it possible for large vehicles to enter.  You can tell the age of the town by the cobblestone streets.  We love and appreciate the history of this country.

Oldest building in Southern Germany.

Ornate church in Pfullendorf.

Entrance to the town. 

Life in the mission Part two

I would like to add a couple more things about our life in the mission.  We brought both of our bicycles with us so we would be able to stay fit and enjoy seeing this beautiful place from our bikes.  We've been asked how often we get out on our bikes.  The answer is, "Not nearly often enough!".  But there is missionary work to be done, after all.  We feel it is important to get exercise so we will stay healthy and be fit to serve.  Our preference is to go riding, but there isn't usually time for that.  We walk quite a bit, especially into the city, because there is very little parking and it is just easier and better to walk.  That way we can get our errands done and get our exercise at the same time.  We also love to walk into the forest up behind our apartment.  It's close, peaceful, very beautiful, and much cooler. It is a pretty good workout because we have to climb the hill.  But the reward is then being able to look out over the valley on the other side of the hill clear to the Bodensee.  When we can squeeze it in, we love to ride our bikes.  I must say, Bob has been out twice as much as I have.  He is more willing to go when it is too hot or too cold for my tastes.  Also, I just can't squeeze it in some days due to my shopping and cooking schedule.  We have been able to take some enjoyable rides on a P-Day or a Saturday.  But most rides are far shorter than we are used to or prefer.  It's okay. It's a blessing whenever it occurs.  I have gone twice in the last six weeks.  Bob tries to go 1-3 times a week.  Lately, it's been more difficult.  We've had more going on.  Also, it's been quite rainy, so that has cut down on riding time.  When winter arrives and it gets too cold, we will have to ride indoors on a trainer.  Boo!  But we still plan to do some walking.

This was our first ride together.  Bob is "wishing" I hadn't made him stop to take photos.

We stopped at this lake on one of our rides.

Shots from our last ride.  I hadn't been out for 6 weeks.

Photos from our walks.

Another one of our ongoing activities is apartment inspections for the young missionaries.  We are asked to do this once every transfer, or every six weeks.  This is actually one of my favorite things!  We have the blessing and opportunity to meet and get acquainted with missionary companionships on a "two on two" basis.  It's a truly sweet experience.  We also check out their apartments to make sure they have what they need and everything is in good working order.  Fortunately, they have made a real effort to have them clean and tidy so we don't have to get after them and be the "bad guys".  I always take them homemade cookies and they love that!

The view from the last apartment inspection of the day, Kreuzlingen, Switzerland.

Ebnat, Switzerland

Kreuzlingen, Switzerland

Wetzikon, Switzerland

The Elders in Augsburg, Germany

The Sisters in Augsburg, Germany

We are trying to make temple attendance a regular occurrence, but it's only happened twice so far.  Because it takes 3 1/2 hours each way by car and we always do two sessions, it is a very long and tiring day.  But it is definitely worth the effort!  We feel very renewed and inspired and blessed after we attend the temple.  I already posted about our first trip.  This last trip was very special because we were able to go through a session with one of our Young Single Adults who had just received her endowments in preparation to serve a mission to Spain.  We all felt it was a tender mercy.

Gerda, Jessica and the Lakes

Herbert, Elisabeth and Jessica Pail