Long Weekend

Thursday
Thursday, Brad and Debbie and I loaded up the car and set off for Bamberg, to visit another Hospitality House while the carpets dried after their shampooing. Our first stop was Heidelberg, for some sightseeing. We hiked up to the castle (and it is a very steep hike!) and toured the ruins and not-so-ruins. After walking back down, we stopped and thoroughly enjoyed the elusive Starbucks - one of the few places here that will give you free ice-water! It was a very warm, sticky day, hotter than it normally gets here in Germany. After finishing our deliciously cold drinks, we got in the car and headed towards Wurzburg, where we stopped for dinner. We also walked around the gardens of the Residence there, which were quite lovely. After dinner, we drove to Bamberg and stayed up late talking to Matt and Tina Huisjen, the House directors there.

Friday
Friday-day Brad and Debbie and I went in to Bamberg to see the city. Bamberg is in Bayern (Bavaria) so the culture is a little bit different - I really enjoy the cities here. Friday night was Bible study at the Bamberg Hospitality House - it was so nice to be in a Bible study with so many people again! Bamberg is a larger base than Baumholder and has more than one brigade, so even though some of their soldiers have recently deployed, others have just returned or are even between deployments. The House was full, and we enjoyed good food, worshipping through music, a good lesson/discussion (lead by our own Brad), and lots of fun time in fellowship.

Saturday
Saturday was spent just enjoying time with the Huisjens. They have four children, ranging from 4 to 10 yrs old - Madeline, Jesse, Toby, and Bridget. We had a LOT of fun with them (and with the dog, Sandy). We took a drive out to a nearby lake to go swimming and playing with the inflateable rafts. Dinner that night was delicious - steaks and ribs and corn on the cob! Mmmm, it doesn't get much better than that!

Sunday
Sunday we said goodbye and headed back to Baumholder, with a stop on the way in Sinsheim at the Auto-technik Museum. We were checking it out for it's feasability (and desireability) as a Saturday trip for the House. It was fascinating - two huge buildings full of old classic cars and trains and planes, and a whole heap more outside. We climbed up to the cockpit of the Concord (or, since it was Russian, the sign called it the "Concordski"), and through an rickety old Bulgarian plane, and one like Indiana Jones flew on, and then slid down a kind of monster slide from the roof in a plane to the ground floor of the building below. We also checked out the IMAX 3D theatre there, and while it was pretty cool, I got rather motion sick. After leaving Sinsheim (the weather changed abruptly from bright and sunny when we went into the Concord to dark and stormy by the time we got back out), it was really very nice to come "home" and to sleep in my "own" bed.

Thinking about that made me realize - I only have a week left here!! AHHH. Then I really do get to go Home and sleep in my Own bed. Yay! I know I'm going to miss it terribly and wish I could come back (especially when I realize that Phoenix is a really brown and hot huge city and I start missing cool, green German countryside), but I'm very excited to start school again. Speaking of, please pray for me, that major decisions that have to be made SOON about school can be made - and according to God's will, even if not my own!