Europe Trip Day 2- Frankfurt and Heidelberg, Germany

We have arrived and what a beautiful day it is! (Although it is definitely colder here.) Thankfully I took a sleep aid to get me through the nine-ish hour flight, so Kyler and I are ready to see the sights! After dragging all our luggage a mile and getting settled into our first European hotel, (and thankfully discovering that more people speak English than expected), we set out to explore Frankfurt!

We took a nice blustery stroll near the edge of the Main River (pronounced "mine") and saw unique trees and tons of Museums lining the street. Off in the distance we could see the Kaiserdome, a large Cathedral in Frankfurt.

 The area I was most interested in seeing here was Römerberg, the main town square where the city hall is located. I did not realize that it would also be the location of our first German Christmas market! We were pleasantly surprised to see all the stalls decorated so beautifully, the trinkets, and handmade items, and especially the pleasant... and sometimes less than pleasant... smells of yummy bratwurst, pretzels, other foods I didn't recognize... the least pleasant of which was the beer stench that we soon could not escape. It seemed that every place we visited in Europe was known for some kind of alcoholic beverage, and Germany was definitely known for its beer. Since neither Kyler or I drink alcohol, we just had to take their word for it. :)

It was so beautiful to walk through the Christmas market, though, set to the backdrop of the medieval Römerberg, which is the "historic heart of the... Altstadt (OldTown)" according to Wikipedia. :) Despite being born and raised in the USA, I couldn't help but feel a bit at home while walking the streets of a country where my ancestors lived. Kyler got a glimpse into a portion of my heritage, and mentioned that he finally understood why Christmas was such a big deal in our family! Many of the Christmas traditions we incorporate today, including the Christmas tree, were more or less introduced from Germany and other surrounding countries.

We tested out the bratwurst (pronounced Bwat-vuhst) and some strange deep-fried potato and onion-thing dipped in your choice of applesauce (apfelmus) or garlic sauce (knoblauchsosse.) (We looked it up online and it is called a Kartoffelpuffer, or potato pancake.)  We ate them while standing in the freezing wind and listening to some nearby teens speak in German. Since we only learned a few basic phrases before coming, we were only able to pick out a word or two here and there.

Also at the Christmas market, we saw a giant Christmas Nativity Pyramid! I have seen smaller versions of these before, where you place little candles under them, and as the hot air rises, it rotates the paddles at the top, causing the little scene below to also rotate around the center. This one rotates at the top, but I don't think it is candle driven. It was sure neat to see!

Another thing I loved seeing at the Christmas market was the large collection of beautiful German-made miniature buildings. The architectural tudor-style is so beautiful, I just had to get one to bring home! (They were expensive, though, so I got one of the smaller, cheaper ones, but I absolutely love it!)

 Finally, we left the Christmas market and headed over to see the Kaiserdome, Frankfurt's Cathedral. It was the first of many beautiful churches and cathedrals we would see on this trip. We learned that this building was much smaller when it was originally built, and had no large tower, but due to various fires and renovations, including being destroyed at the end of World War II, it has been rebuilt and remodeled over time to reflect its current Gothic architectural splendor. Many emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were crowned in this building between the 1300s and 1700s. (aviewoncities.com)

After visiting the Kaiserdome, we walked over to visit a Jewish cemetery situated in the city and surrounded by a cement wall monument decorated with small plaques listing the names of the deceased around its entire exterior. We really wanted to go inside and look at the gravestones, but the gate was locked so we could only get a view from the gate. There is something truly peaceful about cemeteries. The veil seems so much thinner there. You can feel a tangible peace and reverence as if the earth itself were hallowed in memory of the deceased. Each of those names belonged to a person. Each of those people had a history... and family and friends. My spirit longed to know their stories, to glimpse into their lives. All throughout the trip we learned a lot about the various persecutions of the Jews, not only in Germany, but everywhere. So much of what we learned rings true with scriptural prophecies. In the Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual, there is a great summary and description of the scattering and gathering of Israel, which you can read here. I sure felt my heart long for their happiness. 

 As we left the Jewish Cemetery behind, and started heading to our first paid tour, we passed a couple of shops including an adorable clock shop and a shoe store! Kyler found a pair he actually liked and the price seemed really good! The shop owner did not speak any English, so I had the chance to try out some of the phrases I had been studying in German. :) In the end, Kyler chose not to buy the shoes, but the experience we had trying them on was memorable!

Finally, after walking around town for hours, our feet already sore, and our bodies feeling the fatigue of jet lag, we met our tour guide/chauffeur who would take us to visit Heidelberg. We were SOOO sleepy already, that our guide told us we could nap on the hour drive there... I happily accepted. :) By the time we arrived, it was already nightfall. He drove us up the winding cobbled streets of Heidelberg to the top of the hill upon which rested the famous Heidelberg Castle.

 Like the Kaiserdome, the Castle was developed over different time periods, which are reflected in the different architectural styles of the buildings. For a large period of time, it was used as a residence for many Prince Electors. Unfortunately, it caught fire twice before it was finally left uninhabited after being struck by lightning in 1764. One of the most famous tourist attractions of this castle is, of course, the fact that it holds the largest wine barrel in the world: the Heidelberg Tun, built in 1751 as a place to hold all the wine paid by the vineyards as taxes. It can hold over 58,000 gallons of liquid! It apparently has an interesting story relating to the dwarf who guarded the tank, which you can read about here.

After catching breathtaking views of the castle and the city below, our chauffeur took us to visit the Heidelberg Christmas market, where we found some beautiful handmade German ornaments to bring home! The shop owner blows the glass balls by hand and then his wife paints the beautiful little scenes. We picked one up for both of our parents to put on their Christmas trees. We also saw an even more beautiful Nativity pyramid, which lit up in the night! We perused the shops, noticing that there seemed to be a lot more food booths than gift booths. We did get to stop and visit with an aspiring German artist, whose name I have forgotten. She was so sweet and gentle and was studying art while working at the shop of her boss, who is also an artist. She had a very free style, much different than the style of her boss. Even though she was very sweet, I think I liked the artwork her boss did better.

After a VERY long, but WONDERFUL first day, Kyler and I snoozed the whole way back to Frankfurt. Our chauffeur kindly dropped us off at our hotel so we didn't have to walk the long mile back home in the freezing darkness. Thank goodness!