Back at Last!

Sorry for the long absence! My sister and her husband were visiting for 2 1/2 weeks and we were traveling much of the time. I also ended up with a cold that turned into a sinus infection so I was not feeling the best. It was wonderful to see my sister Laraine and her husband Gregg. We had a great time, got to see allot and catch up with each other since we saw each other last year.


We spent 5 days in Germany traveling all the Martin Luther sites, Wartburg Castle, Erfurt and Wittenberg. I must say I was quite surprised by how "depressed" the former East Germany still is. I guess it will take some time to restore the old buildings. Regardless, it was amazing to see the places where Martin Luther walked. The museum in Wittenberg was particularly interesting. To see actual items that Martin Luther used and his pulpit that he preached from for 30 years was a highlight. We spent 1 1/2 days in Berlin, not nearly enough time since there is so much to see. We also spent 1/2 day at Buchenwald concentration camp. We hadn't planned on stopping there, but I'm glad we did. It was hard for me to ignore the contrast of such a beautiful spring day with beautiful views and the horrors that happened there 60 years ago.



Later in the week we headed to the tulip fields, Kinderdijk, Delft (and drooled over all the beautiful blue and white dishes!) We then headed up north of Amsterdam to stay the night in a small village. The next day we went to the Zuiderzee Museum and Marken, an old fishing village. It is a little more touristy than I remember it from 12 years ago, but it is still quite charming.

I hope Laraine and Gregg had a wonderful time. I told them they had to go home, because I was exhausted!