Tag Archives: Germany

The Cruise of a Lifetime-Part 14

14 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Reblog

Since we had sailed overnight to Budapest, and had an early shore excursion, we were up by 5:30 a.m.  We had breakfast at 7:00 a.m. with Richard, Judy, Lucy, Roy and Jill, Joyce, Rick and Mary.

By 8:30 a.m. we left on the shore excursion for Budapest.  Some “Fast Facts about Hungary” from the ship’s info sheet:

Home to over a million people, Budapest spans both sides of the Danube River – historic Buda on the east bank and cosmopolitan Pest (pronounced “Pesht”) on the west.  Brimming with history, culture and attractions, Budapest is full of baroque, neoclassical and Art Nouveau architecture, and plenty to do.  Museums, shopping and restaurants are the places to be.

The bus took us around the town, then stopped at the square where we went on to the castle.

Funicular

Back to the ship by bus, we had lunch, then to our new room on the Lif, for a nap.

At 2:15 p.m., we had a “Budapest by Boat” tour, with our Program Director, Carl West giving the commentary.  

Carl West – Program Director 

We went by the Parliament Building, which is the most famous picture shown in the Viking advertisements – red-topped building.  Really beautiful.

We were back on the ship by 3:30 p.m., where we rested/napped and read some – quiet time for us.

We had our final/farewell dinner at 7:00 p.m. with Richard, Judy and Lucy.  While it was a fun time, we had our last hugs and “wish we lived closer to you” from each of us.  While I know it was a very concentrated two weeks with them, we all feel we forged a deep and lasting friendship, that will only continue when we all get to heaven.

Since tomorrow would be a REALLY early day (we asked for a 2:15 a.m. wake-up call, with a 3:30 a.m. bus departure time into Budapest), we showered that night, and were in bed by 8:30 p.m.

The Whale 

According to Google search:  That’s the “Bálna / Whale” (formerly called CET building) a modern shopping, cultural, and entertainment centre, as well as a tourist attraction on par with Paris’s Eiffel Tower, or the Covent Garden in London – at least that’s what the city leaders want it to be.

According to Google search:  The Shoes on the Danube is a memorial to the Budapest Jews who were shot by Arrow Cross militiamen between 1944 and 1945. The victims were lined up and shot into the Danube River. They had to take their shoes off, since shoes were valuable belongings at the time.

The memorial was created by Gyula Pauer, Hungarian sculptor, and his friend Can Togay in 2005. It contains 60 pairs of iron shoes, forming a row along the Danube. Each pair of shoes was modeled after an original 1940’s pair. 

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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The Cruise of a Lifetime-Part 12

24 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Reblog

After breakfast, we began a partial bus-and-walking tour of Vienna, Austria.  There’s just so much to see.  It seems strange to have an ultra-new building with the old buildings, but they seem to fit together rather well.  For the entire six years we lived in Germany, I hounded Fred about taking me/us to Vienna.  Never happened!  So this trip finally put us in that beautiful city.

I’m not a terribly good historian, but I have heard of the Hapsburg Dynasty.  Austria was the home for that dynasty.  The ship’s info sheet stated:  The rise and fall of the House of Hapsburg began along the Danube’s banks in 1276.  With Austria firmly in their grasp, the family gained new territories by marriage until their serial nuptials put most of Europe under their power.  As their wealth and territory grew, few royal families remained to help them acquire more kingdoms.  Their solution to this problem may have also been their undoing.  While the dynasty actually had its beginning in 1020, it wasn’t until 1273 when it moved to Austria.

The info sheet also said:  The Hapsburgs sought to retain their massive power through intermarriage between cousins or uncle and niece.  “The best spouse for a Hapsburg is another Hapsburg,” went the proverb.  The last of the Spanish line, Charles 2, was disabled from birth, perhaps from a genetic disorder typical in children born from siblings, and died.  It’s likely that the Austrian Hapsburg line ended for the same reasons.

While there are still living relatives of the Hapsburgs, for all intents and purposes, the dynasty died out in 1918, at the close of World War 1.

We walked through Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, which has a really dark interior.  I was unable to get any good pictures there.

But the outside is remarkable.  There is even a bronze model of the cathedral outside, that is to scale. 

We then walked through some of their Christmas Market.  It was still rather early in the season for the Christmas Market to be up and running, but there were a few booths set up already, and we enjoyed seeing them.

At 12:45 we met under the clock on the square and headed back to the bus and into the ship for lunch, which we had with Richard, Judy and Lucy.

At 2:00 p.m. we took a tour of the Schönbrunn Palace.  It’s very opulent, but beautiful.  

On our way into the Palace, there was a man on the sidewalk, covered in gold.  He was standing on a box, and was singing some Mozart – advertising a concert.  I just thought it was cute.  I gave him a short curtsy, and he replied with a small bow.

We had an early dinner (6:00 p.m.) with Richard, Judy and Lucy.  At 7:00 p.m. some of the group left for a Mozart and Strauss Concert, that was free to all who wanted to attend, since we had to change ships again.  Fred and I decided to stay onboard and pack.  Then we read some, and then were in bed and asleep by 9:30 p.m.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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The Cruise of a Lifetime-Part 8 Continues

27 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Reblogged

Nuremberg is considered to be Bavaria’s second-largest city.  It attracts tourists with its varied history, medieval Aldstadt (Old Town) and grand castle.  It is surrounded by massive walls, and boasts an abundance of 15th and 16th century art and architecture.

Courtesy Google 

A bit of history about the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal:  It is a little over 100 miles in length, and was started by Charlemagne in 793.  While this original canal was abandoned, a second attempt was made by the Bavarian king Ludwig 1, beginning in 1846, and included 100 locks.  With the advent of railroads, this water route was also abandoned.  It wasn’t until the late 1950’s, after World War 2, that planning began again.  The current canal took over 30 years to complete (1960-1992).

On our tour, we passed a beautiful cemetery where, among others, Albrecht Dürer and his wife are buried. 

Courtesy Wikipedia 

 Albrecht Dürer was an artist from Nuremberg (1471-1528).  While he is known for all types of painting, etc. and is considered Germany’s renowned Renaissance draughtsman, he is known to Fred and me as the artist of the “Praying Hands.”

Courtesy Wikipedia 

 We lived on Albrecht Dürer Strasse when we lived in Wiesbaden, and became quite familiar with his story behind his “Praying Hands” painting.  His residence and workplace is now a “museum,” and some special exhibits include a painting and printing shop, where various techniques are demonstrated.  Unfortunately, we were unable to stop and look.

Albrecht Dűrer house – Courtesy Wikipedia 

Sandra Bullock, the American movie star, had lived in Nuremberg for quite a while, and speaks fluent German.  Her father was a U.S. Army employee, and her mother produced German operas.  She lived in Nuremberg until she was 12 years old, when they moved to the United States.  Years later, when she visited Nuremberg, she gave an interview.  At the end of it she called her niece by name and said, “it is way past your bed time.  Be a good girl and go to bed.”  Sandra’s grandmother still lives in Nuremberg.  

By 1:30 we were back on the bus, going to the ship for lunch in the lounge.  At 2:45 we took the bus back into town and walked around and took pictures.  We saw a cathedral,

Courtesy Wikipedia 

an open-air market,

 and the beginnings of a Christmas Market. 

Beautiful city.

We were back on the bus by 3:45 and back on the ship.  We noticed a cute decal on the back fender of the bus:  a flying carpet.

We sailed for Regensburg about 6:00 p.m.

We had supper at 7:15.  Our table mates were Denise and John from Half Moon Bay, California, Barbara and a friend from Massachusetts.  Carl told us that we would have to change ships, because the river did not have enough water in it to support the ship with all its passengers.  We had been alerted prior to the cruise that we might have to change ships because of the recent drought.  Although we had hoped we wouldn’t have to change ships, it looked like we would be doing it, anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~~To be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Church-Part 6B

23 Oct

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Just a side note to finding a new pastor in our Baptist church in Germany.  There was one young man, from California, who expressed interest in becoming our pastor.  The Search Committee heard audio tapes from some of his sermons. 

Credit Pixabay

When he said he wanted to come in-person to interview – at his expense – we were agreeable.  Unfortunately, when he preached – while it was a good sermon – those of us on the Search Committee had already heard his sermon, on tape.  He wanted to come in-person, since he had relatives in other parts of Europe, and planned to visit them after visiting with us.

The Pastor Search Committee (Fred and I both were on this committee) met with him during the weekend he was with us.  When I realized we hadn’t talked about the “nitty-gritty” stuff, such as salary, etc., I offered to make lunch following the worship service on Sunday for the committee, and we could sit around our dining room table and discuss things in private. 

Credit Pixabay – French Onion Soup – which I fixed for lunch that Sunday

Everything seemed okay until he asked how we were going to get all his household goods to Germany, as well as his two cars.  We told him that he could bring 2,000 pounds of household goods and one car – the same as the military allowed the rest of us.  That put an end to the discussions, as he said he couldn’t live under those conditions.

Funny end of that story – the very Saturday night before the church was to vote on calling Greg to be our pastor, this gentleman called from California, and asked Fred to ask the committee to re-consider him for the position.

Credit Pixabay

He said his family had had a house fie, and had lost all his possessions,

Credit Pixabay

and one of his cars had been totaled in a wreck. 

Credit Pixabay

He stated that he felt God was trying to get his attention!  Fred informed him that the vote on another man was the next day, and Fred would tell him the result.  As it turned out – the church voted unanimously to call Greg as our new pastor.  

Our new pastor, Greg and his wife, Carol – 1981

Sorry about the clarity of this photo.

We enjoyed our three years with Grace Baptist Church, there in Heidelberg.  We became friends with Greg and his wife, Carol, and his three children.  As I mentioned last time, our Karen and their Brian fell in love, and later married.   Greg and Carol’s middle daughter, Michelle, was a delightful young lady.  She was one of the highlights of the young peoples group at the church.  Our Janet was the same age as their youngest daughter, Deanna, and they became fast friends, as well.

Last time, I mentioned that we had a family from Canada in our church membership.  The wife/mother of the family approached me at one time, about teaching her two boys piano lessons.  I had never thought to teach piano, even though I played, and was the pianist for our church there.  However, when she told me that Canada had a “conservatory” system of teaching and learning piano, I agreed.  Canada has a program where the child can be taught in any province of Canada, and if moved to another province, they can pick right back up where they left off.  It’s an interesting concept.  The boys had already had several years of learning, and it was a delight to work with them within this system.  That allowed them to keep up with the program, and not be far behind when they returned to Canada.

Credit ChurchArt

As with other churches we had been part of, that had a large military base, about one-third of the congregation left for the States every year.  Fortunately, they were replaced by incoming military members the following Fall.

Greg and his family stayed in Heidelberg for about five years, with Brian returning Stateside in our second year in Virginia, to study at the same University where Karen was.  They married in another year, and both completed their education.

WE….ARE THE CHURCH!

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Church-Part 2

11 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

We left San Jose, California to go to Wiesbaden, West Germany.  Because Fred’s father was a U.S. Air Force Chaplain, and Fred had grown up attending the base Chapel wherever they were, we decided we would attend the Chapel on base but contribute our tithe to the local Baptist Church.  We had checked, before we left the States, and found a Southern Baptist Church meeting in Wiesbaden – Immanuel Baptist Church.  It was the first of what became of the European Baptist Convention (now the International Baptist Convention). We met with some of the people from that church, telling them what we wanted to do.  They seemed to think that was a strange plan – and asked us to reconsider and worship with them each Sunday.  This church had at least 200 members.  And so we began our three-year membership with that Baptist Church.  This was not the pressured appeal we had with the church in San Jose – it was just a “why don’t you give us a try” sort of thing. 

When we first met with them, they were meeting in the basement of a building at 17 Taunusstrasse.  It was not the glorious building that we envision when we think of “church” in this country.  And to get to the nursery, it was almost like going through the catacombs!  After about a year-and-a-half, the group moved our worship to another building – but not in the basement – 81 Adelheidestrasse.   I am SO glad Fred remembers these details!   As I remember, it was not actually a church building but an office building.  I began playing the piano then for that church, and so missed out on any Sunday School program they had.  I have no memory of where the Sunday School classes met.

Before we left Wiesbaden, our group, along with a German  Baptist congregation, went together to build their own building.  They together had purchased the property for the building.  We saw the plans for the building, and it was wonderful.  We wished we could be there for the building and worshiping that would take place there.

Immanuel Baptist Church – Wiesbaden, West Germany

Well, we returned Stateside after our three years in Germany, much to our sorrow.  We really loved living in Germany!  God played a trick on us as we came back.  Fred and I  had often said to each other – “if we ask the Air Force to send us to New Mexico, do you suppose they will send us to Maine?”  Well, that’s just what happened!  Fred was assigned to Loring AFB, Maine.

We found there were two Baptist churches in the local area, but only one had Southern Baptist connections.  It was a relatively small group, and they met in the Odd Fellows hall.  It was not ideal – frequently on Sunday mornings we would arrive to find there had been a beer-fest in that building the night before, and the place was in shambles!  We had to clean up everything so we could have church.  

And this is where I say again – the “church” is NOT the building – it is the “people” that make the church.  We met in that horrible place and worshiped our God together – THAT is the church!  We made some wonderful friends there – many of whom we still are in contact with after all these years.  Again, before we left, the group was planning on building a “church building” for them to meet in.  They did that very thing in the few years after we left Maine.  And again, we were only there for 13 months.  We didn’t know that at the time we arrived in Maine – we were planning on another three-year tour of duty.  Thank goodness God had other plans for us!  

WE…ARE THE CHURCH!

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Random Memories of Germany-Aerobics Part 1

9 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

In thinking back to our times in Germany, I am reminded of the years that I taught aerobic dancing.  I have written about this previously, but there are some small details that I didn’t mention.

For instance, we had not been in Heidelberg for very long, when we attended a party for the Weather Wing (my husband Fred, was a meteorologist), and we were introduced to the men and women Fred would be working with there.  One of the wives mentioned that she was going to be attending a new aerobic class in her housing building the next week.  Well, always being interested in exercise, that peaked my interest.  When I asked if there was room for “one more” in the class, she said, “come on!”

I had heard of the Jackie Sorensen® program of exercise – aerobic dancing – literally days before we left the States for Europe.  So when I went to the first class, that was the aerobic dancing program Joanne was teaching.  I had never done any dancing in my life, but was intrigued by the concept of “dancing” as a form of exercise.  I fell in love with the class!  I am a fairly coordinated person, so I took to the steps right away.

After dancing with the group for a few months, Joanne said she needed a partner, as she couldn’t handle all the classes that people wanted.  She chose me to be her partner.  

And so, we set out to make our program as good as possible, naming it “Heidelberg Aerobic Dancing.”  This was our color and logo.

The classes were held either on the military base itself, or in the space above some of the housing units.  For example, we lived on the third floor, and the “space” above our apartment was just empty space.  At one time, I held a small group of classes in that space.  Since it was above our unit, we were disturbing no one else in the building.  I usually held my classes either in the gym, or in the ballroom of what they called “the Casino”…essentially the Officer’s Club on the base.  That particular class had about 50 women in it – we danced most of the dances in a double circle.  It was an evening class, and I actually think I enjoyed that class the most – the women had to face each other and get acquainted.  And usually the women who attend this class were those who worked during the day, and this was their way to get some exercise as well as let off some stress.  It was loads of fun. 

The classes I held in the gym were three days each week.  The man who managed the gym reserved that time for us, and would sit and watch us dance.  He said it was amazing to watch the new-comers learn the steps and eventually we were all doing the same steps at the same time.  The classes in the Casino were only two nights each week.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Random Memories of Germany-Figures

28 Nov

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I am re-blogging this piece, as it is a wonderful memory we have of Germany.

…There were several things that interested us while we were in Germany.  All those years before that we lived in Wiesbaden (1967-1970) , we had never heard of the Kaiser company (founded 1872..became Kaiser in 1928) that produced porcelain figurines.  But when we arrived in Heidelberg (1980-1983), that was the rage – to have some figurines by Kaiser.  We found several that we liked and purchased them for ourselves.  And some we purchased for our family.  For instance, my Aunt Jessie loved dogs, and especially poodles.  So we purchased this poodle for her.  Following her death, I reclaimed it.

And this little Scottie just took my fancy – he’s got such a happy expression, don’t you think?

These dolphins reached out to me, so I purchased them.  Kaiser has several different versions of the dolphins.  I liked the two set best.  Some were glazed (shiny) but I liked the unglazed better.

I think this squirrel is quite the cutie.

But this little bunny rabbit looks so much like Thumper from the Disney movie Bambi®, that I had to have him in my collection!  He’s adorable!!

We have a couple of nudies that appealed to us, and here they are.

I don’t have pictures of them, but my Aunt Jessie had several Kaiser figurines of gymnasts.  Our Janet has them now, as she was quite interested in being a gymnast herself.  They are quite delicate and beautiful.

Our Karen has a Mother and Child figurine, and a running horse with her colt – all made by Kaiser.  Here they are in a picture of them on her fireplace mantle.

As you can see, all of those Kaiser figurines are white bisque.  While we saw many of the same figurines that had been painted, for some reason, I liked the plain white much better.  However, there was one figurine that we purchased that couldn’t be anything but painted.  It is so delicate and beautiful, and we treasure it.

Another type of figurine that caught our attention was those made by Lladro (Spanish pronunciation – yah’ – drow).  Many of their “human” figurines are rather grotesquely elongated – definitely not proportioned, and did not appeal to us at all.  However, the figurines they made of animals were something that did appeal to us.  My family purchased them for me and gave them to me as Christmas presents two different years.  I enjoy them so much, and am thankful to have them.  They were rather expensive, even in Germany.

One other figurine type we purchased when we were in Wiesbaden, and have enjoyed them all these years.  They are Dresden “musical angels,” with each one having a different musical instrument.  Two seem to be the same, but after looking closely, you will see that one is praying for her sister instrumentalists (far right – hands closer together), while the other one is directing the music (far left – hands more apart).  I have treasured these figurines for over 40 years.

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Random Memories of Heidelberg-2

4 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

We so thoroughly enjoyed our tours of duty in Germany.  First those three years in Wiesbaden, and then, 10 years later, those three years in Heidelberg.

Being the wife of a U.S. Air Force officer, I became a member of the OWC – Officer’s Wives Club.  That may sound rather “exclusive,” but we did a lot of good things for the entire military community.  As just one “for instance” – the OWC held a Christmas Bazaar every year.  It wasn’t just for crafts that the wives had worked – although there was that, as well.  But a lot of the international vendors presented their wares at these events, as well.  We were able to purchase many things for ourselves that we enjoy even to this day.

But the monies that were made for the OWC during the bazaar was used for many different projects.  In one instance, I remember the OWC in Wiesbaden was able to present three $1,000 scholarships to graduating high school students.  The NCOWC (Non-Commissioned Officers Wives Club) presented scholarships, as well.  That’s just one project.  And I was fortunate enough to be the one presenting the scholarships one year.

I don’t have a picture of the bazaar in Wiesbaden, but here is a picture of the one that was held in 1982 in Heidelberg.  It was held in the ballroom of the Officers Club, as it was the largest room in that building.  As I recall, it was held for about a week – with a weekend on each end.  It was usually a great success.  The entire military community was invited to attend and shop.

The bazaar in Wiesbaden was held in the General Von Steuben (pronounced fon shtoyben) Hotel.  It was a very up-scale hotel in Wiesbaden, and run by the U.S. miltary at that time.  I remember us eating in the restaurant many times.  And the OWC Bazaar was held there in the ballroom of the hotel.

Credit Google Search – The General Von Steuben Hotel, Wiesbaden

I do remember we purchased the first of our three wood-inlay pictures at the Wiesbaden Bazaar.  We thought the price was high ($33 as I remember), so only purchased the one.

In later years we wished we had purchased more pictures, as when we went to purchase the other two we have, while in Heidelberg, the price was considerably more!  But we purchased them anyway.

The artist of the wood-inlay pictures – we only know his initials, B.G. – had a workshop in Heidelberg, which we visited.  While the artist had already died, we were told that he had cut enough jigsaw pieces to make pictures for five years following his death.  WOW!  There was a journeyman the artist had trained to put the pictures together.

I’m not sure just what else we purchased at the Bazaar, but I do know that we purchased our hanging-wall clock there.  It was just the “right” shape and size, and had a really nice chime to it – it was the Westminster chime, better known as the “blind-man’s chime.” 

 It hung on a wall in every house we lived in from 1970 until we moved into this house in 1999.  It just gave up-the-ghost then (quit working), and we had to purchase another clock.  When we lived in Panama City, Florida during the late 1970’s, we had a clock shop there ship the inner workings to Germany for repair, and it worked for a long time after that.  I really enjoyed that clock, and was sorry to have to retire it.

1974 – San Antonio, Texas – Fred and Janet – clock on the wall

1974 – Tyndall AFB, Panama City, Florida – Karen, Janet, Charles Wills clock on the wall behind them

I do remember purchasing some brass Christmas tree ornaments at the Bazaar, that came from the Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas store in Rothenburg, Germany.  Every time we were able to visit Rothenburg, we managed to stop by that store and purchase other ornaments.  

I caught Fred in this picture

Such fond memories.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Random Memories of Germany-Part 6

12 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Fred and I tried to be good Americans – not the “ugly” Americans that are portrayed so often.  To do so, we took German language lessons before we left the States, and studied some after we arrived in Germany.

I remember taking classes after we settled in our apartment in Heidelberg. 

Part of Mark Twain Village – across the courtyard from our building

One of the last days of classes, we had to partner up with another student, go downtown Heidelberg, stop a German on the street and ask questions/directions in German and get an answer from them.  That was a rather intimidating thought to me, but my partner and I did it.  We would stop someone on the street with “Entschuldigen (Excuse me).  While we then began our questions, the person we stopped usually had a stern look on their face, which nearly made me stop.  However!….as soon as the question was asked, their face cleared, and they answered our questions eagerly and with friendliness.  It never felt like we had interrupted their day.  That was amazing to me!    

Heidelberg Castle, gate and town from the Neckar River

I mentioned in previous posts that we were occasionally mistaken as German by the Germans (i.e., please see my post of March 20, 2016 – The Cruise of a Lifetime, Part 6 continued).  That was always fun.  And that brings me to a time when we were walking from our apartment on Römerstrasse to our church, when a car pulled up beside us and stopped.  In German the people in the car asked for directions to Leimen – a town just a few miles south of Heidelberg.  Well I did my usual “ich habe nur ein bischen Deutch” (I only know a little German),and as I turned to Fred to ask about how far it was, someone in the backseat spoke up with “I speak English.”  But then, being good Americans, I still answered in my best German – that it was straight ahead perhaps 10 kilometers (geradeaus vielleicht zehn kilometers).  They thanked us – in German, with smiles on their faces – and off they went.  

Römerstrasse – the street near our apartment building – where we walked

While in Heidelberg, I found a set of china/porcelain that I wanted.  It is made by Goebel, the same company that makes Hummel figurines and plates.

The pattern I liked is called “Burgund.” 

There was a store in Heidelberg that carried the entire pattern, and I purchased my set from them.  When I got home with it, and compared what I had to what I had paid for, I realized that they hadn’t charged me for 12 saucers.

Again, wanting to be good Americans, I went back to the store with the receipt to explain.  Well, between my halting German and their halting English, it took some doing to make them understand that I had under-paid them!  They thought I was saying I had over-paid for something!  When it was finally clear that I was in the wrong – and was there to make payment – they were astounded!  And as a thank-you, they gave me a set of salt and pepper shakers in that pattern!!

 WOW!  It really does pay to be nice!  I just wanted them to know that not all Americans are “ugly” Americans.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Random Memories of Germany-Part 2

7 Jun

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Last time, I wrote about the pathway between our housing area (Mark Twain Village or MTV) and Patton Barracks in Heidelberg. 

It was a shortcut between the facilities, and one we could walk easily.  We were able to experience a lot of God’s good earth along that pathway.  We saw the garden platz that the Germans used to grow their own vegetables.  But the blackberry bushes were our favorites.  And the berries were free to any and all who would or could pick the berries.  Yummmm!

Credit Google Search and Pixabay

We also enjoyed the pizza that was made at the pizza parlor on Patton Barracks.  And it was a favorite of most of the military there – of any and all ranks!

But I have another memory of that pathway.  It started with us arriving in Germany and getting into temporary housing.  We were there several weeks in that glorified hotel room, and had to eat either in the restaurant downstairs, or on the economy (military speak for the civilian population).

One of the first things we did was to locate a church for us to attend.  Of course there was the base Chapel, but that really didn’t suit us, even though Fred’s father had been a Chaplain in the Air Force most of his career.  (I say most, because he was a Chaplain in the Army during World War 2, before the Air Force became the Air Force)

In finding the church, we found it was meeting in the church building that was owned by a German Baptist congregation. 

The church we met in

 It was within walking distance of MTV, and so when we moved in there, we walked most Sundays to the church.  However, the German congregation met during what we considered our Sunday School time, so our Sunday School met in an English Institute which was a school that taught English as a second language to Germans. It was not far from the church facility.  And then, following Sunday School time, we would all go over the few blocks to the German church building and have our worship service.

All that to say that we found the pastor of that church had been there for his three year term, and had already resigned and was ready to head back stateside.  In the few weeks we were in the church, I got to know the pastor’s wife fairly well.  She was telling me that one time she was doing her jogging along the pathway between MTV and Patton Barracks when a German teenager came upon her with his bicycle.  He began to ride behind her, as if chasing her.  She said she finally turned around to him and said “geh weg!! (go away!)”  At that point, he stopped chasing her.

Well, I thought it was funny.  I told it to Fred, and we devised a skit to retell the story during a “roast” the church had for the pastor and his family before they left Germany.  I had on a pair of shorts under my skirt, and we fashioned a set of “handlebars” for Fred, complete with a sign saying “bicycle,” and when the time came for our skit, I took off my skirt, jumped up, Fred took up his handlebars and began chasing me around the room.  We went on for a few minutes, and then I told him to go away!  

Looking back – it was a fun memory.  We haven’t kept up with that pastor and his wife.  However, the pastor that followed became our oldest daughter’s father-in-law, so we have kept up with them.  But that’s for another story.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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