A Trip to East Germany

The one thing that we just had to do while Oma was here was attend the temple.  Our closest temple is 3 hours away and childcare is usually the biggest obstacle we face when trying to go to the temple, so of course it was wonderful that Oma offered to watch our boys for us while we went.  Attending the Freiberg temple with Oma is especially nice because Oma grew up in Freiberg and we got the chance to see her house and learn a few stories from her childhood.

We started our journey on Thursday, April 28th.

Oma in front of her childhood home.  Her family of 9 lived in the upstairs apartment on the far right of the building.

This door into the hillside is across the street from Oma's house.  When the sirens went off, signaling an air raid, her family would run across the street and hide in this cave.  Her mom was alone during the war, her husband had been drafted into the Army, and so she would have to get her 7 little children out of the house and into hiding.  I am amazed by the courage and faith of Oma and her family.

Oma and Hyrum relaxing on a bench.  They have the same smile, don't you think?

The mineral museum in Freiberg had a special exhibit while we were there.  They took a collection of about 100 insects and matched them to rocks and minerals using color or texture.  It was a really cool exhibit and the boys really loved seeing all the bugs.

There is a free animal park in Freiberg.  The boys loved giving the goats and sheep dandelions and grass to eat.

Friday, April 29th.  We left Freiberg and headed North towards Görlitz.  On our way we made a quick stop in Dresden.

Hyrum and Oma in front of the Frauenkirche in Dresden.  Oma remembers the night, in 1945, when Dresden was fire bombed by the Allies.  Even though Freiberg is 30 miles from Dresden she remembers seeing the sky turn red and orange from the fires in Dresden.

Emerson, Julian and Townsend in Dresden.

 Görlitz is a beautiful city.  It's also the furthest East you can go in Germany, Poland is just a short walk across the river.

One of the reasons we wanted to go to Görlitz was so that Oma could meet up with an old mission companion, Karin Sommers.  She served her mission in 1959 and has kept in touch with this companion and friend all these years.

Walking around the town of Görlitz.  It's quite an interesting city.  It was never bombed during the war so you get to see the town as it has been for hundreds of years.  

The Church of St. Peter

Here we are in Poland.  It was a stark contrast when you walk across the river to Poland.  They are trying to renovate their buildings but they are so far behind Germany when it comes to reconstruction.

One of the main attractions for Görlitz is the reconstruction of the Holy Sepulcher.  A wealthy German man commissioned this site to be built after making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the late 1400's.  This is the only complete and relatively accurate replica of the garden of Gethsemane and the holy places in Jerusalem, as they appeared in the 15th century.  

A statue of an angel beckons you to come and see the Empty Tomb.

The other big site in Görlitz is the Sun Organ inside the Church of St. Peter.  We were very lucky to stop by while the organist was rehearsing for a concert.  This organ was simply beautiful and the music was wonderful.

Once again, we had great weather while we traveled and the boys enjoyed the fun parks in Görlitz.

We stayed the night in Görlitz and headed for home on Saturday, April 30th.  It was a great trip and so fun to see Freiberg with Oma.