Very very cold as we enter the Netherlands. My first site right before dawn. Was a huge Windmill with Holland Casino. .

I love traveling. But am ready to be back where my heart sings clearly openly and to dance to God again freely with no one but Gods invitation.

My heart is feeling sad and glad that Pastor Doug is dancing in heaven with Ivy do i feel envious! How odd. Kahu is the one who insisted I do this as inspired not planned. He so supported my growth and change. I’ll miss him. Thank God I had the chance to say i love u , thank u, goodbye

Koblenz and Colone

Today is a day full of incredible fun and adventure.
Starting with wandering aimless and finding a bookcase full of books outside the community center. They were available for anyone to borrow and then bring back on an honor system. Amazing! What a great idea. So even though the center was closed bokks available !
This was right outside St Christophers church. Another place destroyed by wars and rebuilt in parts over the centuries. The modern statue of Christ that Lisa is fighting with looked like it was made of mud rather than metal. There was a mattress in an alcove the first evidence of homeless we have seen in our travels

A highlight of Mainz is the Guetenberg museum to see press and some bibles of course in the old town of Mainz. I volunteered. And got to use the gutenberg replica press to create the first page of john’s gospel in Latin so exciting! I have it to post on my wall. Yeah.

The Dom in Mainz was very elaborate and very dark. Again a mix is modern and ancient the dimensions are the same as the original St peters Basilica in rome. But the altar is in the east When the French had occupied Mainz the used it as a stable so the original statuary and gold and glitter were all gone. There is a large crypt for bishops under the altar and a
Mix of very contemporary with traditional religious art a cold cavernous place. Not a place I’d want to worship.

Rudesheim.

After this full morning we sailed for 90 minutes while eating lunch and enjoying the castles, hotels and homes go by on the shoreline

The afternoon finds us visiting a musical instument musseum in Rudesheiem. And other fun shopping etc in the quaint town of 10,000. There were 10 cruise ships docked in town that means close to 2,000 day visitors. Eeeek !

Wine tasting at George Bauer winery. Tasted 3 wines down in a 300 wine cellar. They showed us where their reisling wines grew i of course loved the sweet one lisa liked the 1/2 dry
Then for a dinner out on the town @ Winzerkeller. We each got a half bottle of Rudesheim reisling. And a real German meal sausage souerkraut and potatoes.

We are still shopping for chocolate snaaps.

Well yesterday was my mid trip slump day slept the afternoon away after a morning of shopping, mostly just gazing at things but kinda like a visiting a contemporary museum

We sailed all afternoon and overnight to Frankfort a very picturesque trip vineyards, castles, villages, churches, & the biggest cows Lisa had ever seen

We had another multicourse dinner. I am actually getting tired of all this food. Crazy but true. Although it is beautifully presented

Here in Frankfort or Bankfort or Mainzhatten of Germany lots of “highrise” and the financial center and where eruo coinss are minted.

Headed to Heidelberg to see the castle and the very large wine barrel With a dance floor on top. Yeea ha

The Heidelberg castle is an amazing mix of fortress, castle, and palace built over the centuries with Various wars and changes in war technology and culture causing new aditions and modifications. It was like walking thru a history book experiencing as we went along in an hour.

The old town is a university town . Since it was interssession theibrary and students jails were closed so sad but did get a picture ouside of the library that houses 3 million titles

The driving blowing rain made the touring uncomfortBle but we ventured forward and found exciting thing like vodka with canabis and kiss sweets, ice wine , and gummie bears of all flavors, pizzas made of candies and wireless networks everywhere Not enough time again to explore but the cold rain did damped out adventures

Dinner with friends was full of Real Questions. Guessing answers, racous laughter, adventure stories, and total enjoyment

. We went into town which is mostly closed since it is Sunday… But found a few open shops including a chocolate store. A church that is having a Swing Christmas choir concert this evening the group was rehearsing. Great music in a church with s pink sacrasty. All a capella amazing !

This afternoon there was a guided tour of the town which had the oldest in town prison in Germany the prison is a leaning tower EntrAnce into the cells is thru windows. The put them in with a ladder then take it away. At the end of the tour some others climbed up the ruins of the castle on the hill. The church tower has a clock on the side facing the town had the hour and minute hand. The clock facing the nobels dwellings had only the hour hand since time not important to them “worse then retired”

Later there was a glass blowing demonstration by a local artist Gus who is the 7th generation glassblower in his family. It also snowed briefly.
In other words, another awesome day in Germany!

Today an hour trip thru the countryside which was full of vineyards the bus took us to Rothenberg, a beautiful midevil city more than a 1000 years old and that unlike Bamberg has suffered extensive damage from wars over the years. The were very innovative and for about $1,000 you can “buy” a meter of wall and have your name and city on it whAt a way to fund renovations

Apparently it is against the law for stores to be open on the 26 th of December so we window shopped , but the restaurants were open and we got to sample the local beer

We had a tour of St. Jakobson Lutheran Church which has a beautiful wood carved alter with a relic said to be Jesus’ blood.
An oranate and elaborate church.

The town has small winding cobblestone roads and is surrounded by a massive wall

After returning to the ship Lisa ventured to the nearby bridge to photograph a Lion. It gets dark by 430. Brrrrf

Another day full of the grace beauty and joy of God. Wow we are so lucky

We attened Christmas service at a small Lutheran church in Hallstad. It was a lovely service. The choir was really wonderful the sang in 4 parts and all a Capella including God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen in English. It felt like home. A small community they did conmunion Circling up and holding hands for a blessing just as we do at Our home church http://www.calvarybythesea.org The church was the home church of our bus driver and he was very pleased to show it off.

Later the boat sailed for 12 hrs to Wurzberg. Fun sailing on the Maine with more locks but lots of countryside villages, saw swans, geese and castles. .

We both got to call home and chat. I am so grateful for the txt and pictures. It. Really makes me feel connected to my sweet family.

Christmas dinner was turkey or catfish… They again made the meal wonderfully festive. The sailing is taking extended Times since one of the engines is struggling. I am so grateful we have a room that is high and a long ways from the engines. The weather is in the 30s now which is much warmer so at least the scrapping noise from the ice is gone. Finally Around 2 AM the boat reached Wurzberg.