5-30-10
Church & Oberaumergau. In some ways I like the first few days being over in Europe, because I’m normally not a morning person, even though I’d like to be more of one. At least the first few days, I wake up at 5:30-6am feeling rested, but by about 9pm I just fall into bed. We decided to go to church today. We brought clothes that would be suitable for church, and I looked up on-line before we left the locations that would have the closest churches to where we’d be staying. It was about an hour’s drive, and we made it there just before it started. It was a little branch of with about 30 people in a little chapel. There was a pair of missionaries and they asked if we’d like a translation. We said we were OK, but just before it started they brought us head-sets anyway and said the branch president insisted. The kids were really quite good in church. They were much better than they are at home. We started driving back, and decided to go to Oberaumergau. They are having the Passion Play this year that they do every 10 years since the middle ages when the town was mostly spared from the plague. We’ve already read a few things about the plague in Europe during the middle ages. Within a couple of years it decimated Europe killing in excess of 25 million people. They estimate that within just a couple of years that 1/3-1/2 of the population of Europe died from the plague. Just outside of Oberaumergau we stopped at a store that sold dirndls and leiderhosen. Ashley bought a dirndl. In Oberaumergau besides the Passion Play, they are famous for their wood carvings. We went into a number of the shops, but I couldn’t find anything I was thrilled with. It has been lightly sprinkling off and on most of the day. Last time we came to Switzerland, Kindra was really upset that we didn’t buy a Coo-Coo Clock. (I’m sure I spelled that wrong) She staying in the car with Mitzi, and I found one that I think she’ll really like, so I bought it and had it shipped home. If I can keep it a surprise from her, and keep her from buying another one, I’ll surprise her and give it to her for Christmas. This area of Southern Germany is absolutely gorgeous. Cows with bells, thick forests, green meadows, high mountains, cute chalet’s and chalet looking buildings, quaint towns with white churches. It really is a fairy tale like land. We are staying about at a farm house that has a couple apartments in it. I get the impression that the grandparents live in one of the apartments, and they rent one out to people on vacation like us. It is about 200 meters from the end of a pretty lake out in the countryside. It’s very comfortable with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and kind of large open foyer area. They have cows, goats, and a couple of cats. Mitzi loves the animals. Again, by the time we made it back to the apartment everyone including myself pretty much fell into bed.