tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55828968359460176432024-02-19T03:29:00.972-08:00Lutheran AmpelmannPeter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-42203632968699903622012-06-03T09:55:00.000-07:002012-06-03T10:00:50.151-07:00Kirchentag in Hannover<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3rWCkn6F4ge64EkcQfBpJMDhBxYWWEftRNgrenlCRAi9DdPuhRQBmivfSMY-tepCSkX2ilw_ZMicPGb_hBMetOhKMTgLS6Jj8HxbBsWidkovAHbzV9n5zWf3c9wXCD4qpS0RDvpsWJ_M/s1600/IMG_2281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3rWCkn6F4ge64EkcQfBpJMDhBxYWWEftRNgrenlCRAi9DdPuhRQBmivfSMY-tepCSkX2ilw_ZMicPGb_hBMetOhKMTgLS6Jj8HxbBsWidkovAHbzV9n5zWf3c9wXCD4qpS0RDvpsWJ_M/s640/IMG_2281.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: left;">Two weeks ago was the SELK's 8th Annual Kirchentag ("Church Day") in Hannover. As far as I'm aware, we don't have anything comparable to Kirchentag in the LCMS. Here it's an entire weekend (despite it's name) of lectures, workshops, concerts, worship services, stands and displays. The synod rented the Congress Center in Hannover (a huge place with dozens of lecture halls and conference rooms) to host the event. And it's not just for pastors or theology students; lots and lots of laypeople - entire families even - and lots of youth, spent the whole weekend there. The student body of LThH decided to go as a group to represent the seminary. We had T-shirts made for us all to wear over the weekend, we had our own stand to man, and we even held a Bible-study workshop on Saturday morning, to which about 100 people came. It was a fun, busy, interesting, tiring, thought-provoking weekend.</span><br />
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Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from our workshop, but I do have the following clip which we made and showed as part of our presentation. I was one of the Lego architects... Even if you don't know Germany, I think you'll be able to follow the clip: "The Healing of a Blind Man"</div>
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Now for some pictures that I did take at the Kirchentag...<span id="goog_310854104"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2LP3JLiSsr6KlqVdq-Rssw_nwkaYErVJz5jFBtOrT-6WktlUkFOjDHsimMFCCB34oirC6gzZWqxs9HSX-kyNlyd_gTuYMU6iRfBc2QVTPKXnbtMi9_6D77R55CEt35TXc2KaTOd_TDs/s1600/IMG_2259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2LP3JLiSsr6KlqVdq-Rssw_nwkaYErVJz5jFBtOrT-6WktlUkFOjDHsimMFCCB34oirC6gzZWqxs9HSX-kyNlyd_gTuYMU6iRfBc2QVTPKXnbtMi9_6D77R55CEt35TXc2KaTOd_TDs/s640/IMG_2259.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Workshop/Lecture with SELK Provost Gerd Kelter (like a District Pres. in the LCMS) on church fellowship - very good.</span> </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is the main auditorium, where large events were held, including an opening and closing service as well as Divine Service on Sunday morning.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: large;">Sunday Morning Divine Service - not bad. It was done better than I would have expected for such a large setting. Unfortunately the Bishop's sermon left something to be desired, but <i>for the most part</i> the liturgy was done well and good hymns were sung. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">There was even communion. I was very curious at first as to how they were going to manage that, but it actually was done well, I think. The celebrant consecrated all the elements at the altar (very reverently, I might add), and then several pastors vested in alb and stole took the elements from the altar to the various side altars that had been set up at different places in the auditorium and administered the Body and Blood of Christ to the communicants in that area. (These pictures were taken before the service.)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">On Saturday night there was a BIG soccer game - FC Bavaria vs. FC Chelsea in the Champions League Finale. An extremely exciting, intense, drawn-out game ... unfortunately with a disappointing ending for Bavaria (and Germany in general). Bavaria lost in overtime - penalty shoot-out. :(</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Guess what this is? German, Christian Jazz Music. That's right - German, Christian Jazz.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A very interesting talk by a former Muslim from Turkey about his conversion to Christianity.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here's our stand in the "Room of Possibilities." We had a bunch of pictures of campus life, various brochures and books for people to look at or buy, maps of Germany and of the world with pins showing where all the current students hail from... It was a pretty cool stand.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our stand again. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some other stands...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>IN</b>itiative für <b>F</b>rauen-<b>O</b>rdination</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Initiative for Women's Ordination)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSyH5tcYnG-l97OZY9GqXLgXX_cK5tYuzkBo9Cw_pi5D_t3oQdFEgtgzkBOCFH3Bf5sC8lWAVZuCwUSR0aM_SXAjuNEqJLovIiQL_Ha9n41PMR5tR-i-bfHqW0Iz0rY6OO7L8px-SWGB8/s1600/IMG_2277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSyH5tcYnG-l97OZY9GqXLgXX_cK5tYuzkBo9Cw_pi5D_t3oQdFEgtgzkBOCFH3Bf5sC8lWAVZuCwUSR0aM_SXAjuNEqJLovIiQL_Ha9n41PMR5tR-i-bfHqW0Iz0rY6OO7L8px-SWGB8/s640/IMG_2277.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This group openly promotes women's ordination within the SELK. The fact that they have their own stand with brochures and materials at the SELK Kirchentag is in indication of the fact that the debate over women's ordination is much more alive here in our sister congregation in Germany than it is in the LCMS at the moment. The green poster in the back reads "Women for the Pastoral Office" (as in, we want women in the pastoral office).</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They had a running slide show with various pictures of people who support this group with a quotation telling why they are in favor of women's ordination. This one reads, "I support INfO because it hinders people's faith when within the context of this faith they are supposed to reject basic rights."</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWCFnezttYrxMRjx82Pi3yzoIjfnq9qqZJF1vn4ChB9ZQT7RmCdmUPi6n2GBi4tCj5BE0N0tYY3oflP7rF1sE6MhUdOmGBAz83rtA8n-_W_B2_Uxw9vddmd01e3_vVUcxVxcQy_i7lDE/s1600/IMG_2281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWCFnezttYrxMRjx82Pi3yzoIjfnq9qqZJF1vn4ChB9ZQT7RmCdmUPi6n2GBi4tCj5BE0N0tYY3oflP7rF1sE6MhUdOmGBAz83rtA8n-_W_B2_Uxw9vddmd01e3_vVUcxVxcQy_i7lDE/s640/IMG_2281.JPG" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvSWldOitjr-WNkxObDympCVZqzm4CKBV8jk_NH70XrDNRE-IbWFKWw45ngcqMibejgj-bzCpvAKpS40mibB6P3ZNcjLKIfYtAquNIG8aEHf4b8q6LSk1RjxoGt5qx_U7oDw4094Q0POI/s1600/IMG_2273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvSWldOitjr-WNkxObDympCVZqzm4CKBV8jk_NH70XrDNRE-IbWFKWw45ngcqMibejgj-bzCpvAKpS40mibB6P3ZNcjLKIfYtAquNIG8aEHf4b8q6LSk1RjxoGt5qx_U7oDw4094Q0POI/s640/IMG_2273.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">At the side of their stand was this board which says at the top, "Your opinion is important to us!" Here's what some of the comments says: "We'll accomplish more with women!" "Theologically opposed!" "Theologically in favor!" "It won't work without women." "I wish that women's ordination would be introduced in our church so that we women wouldn't have to feel like devaluated members of the second class any more." I wrote (upper left, in German): "My concern in this debate is, above all, that <u>we take God's Word seriously</u> and that we don't place our own sentiments above it." I also wrote the one at the bottom right (though it was someone else's idea): "Tolle, lege." It's a famous line from Augustine's <i>Confessions </i>meaning, "take and read"...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A little break outside with a frisbee.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A pro-life workshop I went to; it was very good. The title was "Concerning life - when does it start and who determines that?"</span></td></tr>
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<br />Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-28852869186040747422012-05-08T15:28:00.001-07:002012-05-08T15:28:29.100-07:00Matthew, John, Peter and Bach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Good Friday is far behind us now as we celebrate the week of Cantate, the 4th Sunday after Easter. Nevertheless, I've found myself continuing to reflect on the Passion of our Lord, more specifically, on Bach's <i>St. Matthew Passion </i>and <i>St. John Passion</i>. I was privileged to hear both of these masterpieces performed this past Lent here in nearby Frankfurt. The music, the text, but most especially Bach's ingenious combination of the two have truly taken hold of me. I have both <i>Passions</i> on CD and have the luxury, therefore, of listening to favorite parts over and over again. And I've noticed that the more time I've spent listening to these <i>Passions</i> and studying the librettos the more "favorite parts" I discover.</div>
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In both the <i>Matthew </i>and <i>John Passions</i>, there is a particular scene that I have found especially gripping. The scene has to do with my namesake Peter, or in the German, Petrus. Each <i>Passion</i> depicts in song Jesus' prediction of Peter's threefold denial, the denial itself, the crowing of the rooster, and Peter's subsequent bitter weeping. Then, after an aria in each case (the well-known alto solo "Erbarme dich" in <i>Matthew</i> and "Ach, mein Sinn" in <i>John</i>) follow two beautiful chorales. These chorales are what have especially made an impression on me of late. Below are the texts of the chorales. I hesitate to even attempt a translation since the poetry of the German is so beautiful, but for those of you who can't read German I've provided a literal, non-poetic, non-rhyming translation as well.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><u>St. John Passion</u></span></i> <br />
<i>Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück, </i>Peter, who doesn't think back,<br />
<i>Seinen Gott verneinet, </i> Denies his God,<br />
<i>Der doch auf ein' ernsten Blick </i>Yet who, at a grave glance<br />
<i>Bitterlichen weinet. </i>Bitterly weeps.<br />
<i>Jesu, blicke mich auch an, </i>Jesus, glance at me as well,<br />
<i>Wenn ich nicht will büßen; </i>When I don't want to repent;<br />
<i>Wenn ich Böses hab' getan, </i>When I have done evil,<br />
<i>Rühre mein Gewissen. </i>Stir my conscience.<br />
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<i><u>St. Matthew Passion</u></i><br />
<i>Bin ich gleich von dir gewichen, </i>Should I also deviate from you,<br />
<i>Stell' ich mich doch wieder ein; </i>I will nonetheless place myself (by you) again;<br />
<i>Hat uns doch dein Sohn verglichen </i>For your Son has indeed redeemed us<br />
<i>Durch sein' Angst und Todespein. </i>By his anguish and torment of death.<br />
<i>Ich verleugne nicht die Schuld, </i>I do not deny the guilt,<br />
<i>Aber deine Gnad' und Huld </i>But your grace and favor<br />
<i>Ist viel größer als die Sünde, </i>Is much greater than the sin,<br />
<i>Die ich stets in mir befinde. </i>Which I constantly find within me.<br />
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Now that you have the text before, you need to hear the music. I've found a couple pretty good recordings on Youtube...<br />
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This first one contains the whole scene of Peter's denial in the <i>St. John Passion</i>; the chorale is towards the end at starting at about 4:40.<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wob_RH5xEEo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wob_RH5xEEo</a><br />
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And here's a nice recording of the chorale in the <i>St. Matthew Passion.</i><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gxdJ1E75vA">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gxdJ1E75vA</a><br />
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In the <i>St. John </i>chorale, I simply love the switch from narration about Peter's denial to the personal prayer to Jesus that he would also look upon us as he did upon Peter in order to bring us to repentance. This is what Bach's <i>Passions </i>are able to do so masterfully; they bring the hearer right into the Passion itself and make the hearer a part of the story. This is brought out above all in the chorales. At times we as hearers identify ourselves with those who crucified the Lord, or with Judas who betrayed him, or with Peter who thrice denied him. And at other times, the chorales are earnest prayers, calls to repentance, or confident confessions of faith. Here, for instance, we learn to avoid the instinct to perhaps self-righteously accuse Peter from afar ("How could he deny Christ?") and rather to identify with him, recognizing our own guilt and rightly sorrowing over our sins.<br />
In the <i>St. Matthew</i> chorale, I love the escalation that takes place in the second half, beginning with "I do not deny the guilt." In this confession of sins one senses an almost prideful attitude toward the sin but only because of the statement which comes next: "But your grace and favor is much greater than the sin which I constantly find within me." This is not arrogance but faith. It's an insistence on God's mercy. It's holding God at his word. It reminds me of the Canaanite woman who did not mind the insults Jesus threw at her, calling her a dog. "Yes, Lord" (I do not deny the guilt,) she responded, "yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table" (But your grace and favor is much greater than my sin). This escalation from confession to a claiming of God's grace is likewise represented exquisitely in the music, as the choir's volume strengthens in and the melody soars upward.<br />
These wonderful pieces of music (and so much more than music!) are invaluable sources of prayer and meditation. What a rich musical heritage we have as Lutherans in that Bach is one of ours! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some computer art that I put together combining the sentiments of these two chorales.</td></tr>
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<br />Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-77106207202596234702012-04-26T01:47:00.000-07:002012-04-26T01:56:34.975-07:00Post-Philippians-Class Ponderings<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><u><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Philippians 1:21</span></b></u></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Εμοι γαρ το ζην Χριστος και το αποθανειν κερδος.</span><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.</span></i><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Question:</b> Does "to live" here refer to earthly life or to eternal life, or perhaps both - life in general?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My thoughts: </b>On the one hand, it appears that Paul is contemplating whether he will die or not, in which case το ζην would refer to earthly life. This makes sense since it is the opposite of το αποθανειν (dying). However, then the other half of the equation doesn't seem to follow very cleanly: if to remain alive is Christ, then why does he call death "gain"? Wouldn't "living" be gain, since it is equated with Christ?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Or does "to live is Christ" refer more specifically to the eternal life that believers will have in Christ? Then perhaps these two statements are not to be seen as contradictory. In other words Paul is saying, "to live is to be with Christ, and that's why I consider death gain because it will bring me to Him for eternity." </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Or does το ζην refer to Paul's earthly life in the following way: "If I live, the purpose of my life will continue to be Christ, and Christ will continue to be proclaimed through me to his glory and to the help and service of others. Thus, I certainly cannot complain about living" [Paul expresses this in the surrounding verses (12-14, 24-26)]. "On the other hand, if I die, that would really be a greater gain for me because then I would be with Christ" [Paul clearly expresses this as his desire in v. 23]. As I consider this anew while typing this up, I am leaning toward this latter explanation. The way v. 20 prefaces v. 21 with the statement "Christ will be magnified in my body, whether in life or death" also seems to indicate that earthly life as opposed to death is still the topic in v. 21.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Even so, "For me to live is Christ" is a rather puzzling statement, isn't it?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Another thing I'm wondering is whether Luther's translation, "Denn Christus ist mein Leben und Sterben mein Gewinn" favors one understanding over the other?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Your thoughts?</span>Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-15152029794582855742012-04-20T16:19:00.000-07:002012-04-20T16:19:20.715-07:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hi friends and family! Many of you have been keeping up with my German and European travels via my posts on Facebook. For those of you haven't or who aren't on Facebook, I'm sorry I've been a bad blogger lately. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">My 8-week break between the winter and summer semesters is now over. The new term began on Tuesday, and I'm really glad to be back in Oberursel and taking new classes again. Monday night, my friend Jeremy and I got back from our 3rd trip together. We used the Eurail Pass to go Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Bavarian Alps, then through the Alps into Italy where we spent time in Venice, Ravenna, Bologna, Florence and Rome. Finally we took a night train from Rome to Vienna, and after a day in Vienna we took the train back to Oberursel with stops in Salzburg and Passau along the way. Our friend and classmate Mathias also joined us for most of the trip. (He joined us on day 2 and went back 1 day early.) All in all it was a great trip with lots and lots of impressive sights. Unfortunately the weather didn't entirely cooperate and we had a lot of rain in Rome and onwards, but it was a good time nonetheless. The 1200 pictures I took in 8 days can testify to that! A few hundred of them I have posted on Facebook in 5 separate albums. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I've discovered that's it's much simpler and more convenient for me when posting a large number of photos to do it on Facebook and then share the link here. This Blogger website isn't so great for posting lots of pictures - it takes way too long. Therefore, I am posting below the links to all 5 Facebook photo albums which anyone can view, even without being in Facebook. Just click on the links! Now that I've got these big trips behind me, I will try to be a better blogger again. But not tonight; it's time for bed.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.651001216512.2096157.33100670&type=3&l=4920491ca8">Part 1: Garmisch-Partenkirchen</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.653209421252.2096188.33100670&type=3&l=9a7883616f">Part 2: Innsbruck and Venice</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.653214825422.2096189.33100670&type=3&l=48f226c521">Part 3: Ravenna, Bologna, Florence</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.653449400332.2096224.33100670&type=3&l=3cbba6f3bd">Part 4: Rome</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.653501925072.2096227.33100670&type=3&l=98a50334cc">Part 5: Vienna, Salzburg, Passau</a></div>
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</div>Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-57543134285115303972012-03-20T05:23:00.000-07:002012-06-03T05:36:33.510-07:00Click!<div id="contentArea" role="main" style="float: left; line-height: 14px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 1px; width: 714px; word-wrap: break-word;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hi everyone! I had a great time on my Germany trip, but I don't have much time to tell you all about it yet. It's been a busy week since I've been back, and now I'm getting ready to fly out to Cambridge, England for a week (with 2 days in Dublin as well) - Big Trip No. 2. Last Tuesday on Facebook I posted a few pictures of my Germany trip. I'm going to post the li</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">nk to that album below. It's not much, but hopefully it will satisfy y'all until I have time to post more thoroughly. Enjoy!</span></span></span></div>
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</div>Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-61423178569446020812012-02-29T14:49:00.001-08:002012-02-29T14:51:36.558-08:00Luther and BeyondThe little winter that Oberursel experienced this year is already over. Snow never remained on the ground for more than a few days, and we only had to endure a couple weeks of below zero weather. These last few days the sun has been shining, birds chirping, and the temperature keeps inching it's way up the thermometer (- tomorrow is supposed to get to 60!)<br />
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<div>A lot of exciting things are going to be happening very soon - and I don't mean the twitterpation of the robins and rabbits. I'm talking about big travel plans. The first semester came to an end on Feb. 17 and the second semester doesn't commence until April 17! For me that means a 12-day tour of the northern half of Germany, a week in England and Ireland, and a week in the Bavarian Alps, Italy, and Austria. My friend Jeremy and I bought Eurail Passes and are going to be doing these 3 trips together. Our buddy Mathias is coming along for part of the trip as well.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The amount of time we have spent planning these trips is rather ridiculous. There's so many places to go and see in Europe, it's been hard to narrow it down. Then there's planning the route, knowing where to stay, for how long, what the cost will be, etc., etc. The first leg of the trip, which I will name, on the spot, as... "Luther and Beyond," begins early tomorrow morning (March 1st). I'm all packed and ready to go, but before going to bed, I want to quickly share our itinerary with you.<br />
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Day 1 - Oberursel (A) to Leipzig (D) via Wartburg Castle/Eisenach (B) and a tiny little village where my Eckardt ancestors stem from (C).<br />
• The Wartburg Castle is where Martin Luther went into hiding when he was excommunicated by the pope and declared an outlaw by the Emperor because of his refusal to recant his teachings. Here, under guise of Junker Jörg (the Knight George,) Luther translated the New Testament from Greek into German.<br />
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Weekend in Leipzig (Days 2, 3, 4) - We will spend 4 nights here at the Schmidts (my old host family). It's always a pleasure for me to go back to Leipzig and visit the Schmidts. It's sort of my German home away from home. And aside from that the city itself has lots of sights to offer (the famous St. Thomas Church where Bach was cantor and is buried and the <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Battle_Of_The_Nations-Monument.jpg" target="_blank">Völkerschlachtdenkmal</a> to name just two favorites.)<br />
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Day 5 - Leipzig to Erfurt (E) to Wittenberg (F) to Berlin (G).<br />
• In Erfurt there is a cathedral to see and the monastery where Luther was a Augustinian monk. Wittenberg, officially "Lutherstadt Wittenberg" (Luther-city Wittenberg) was the center of the Reformation. Here Luther posted the 95 Theses on the church door; here he lived and preached for many years; and here is buried in the Castle Church.<br />
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Days 6 and 7 in Berlin.<br />
• We'll be staying with German friends - a current vicar and his wife (Benjamin and Naemi). This should be a great couple of days. There's lots and lots to see and do in Berlin, and it'll be fun to spend with Benjamin and Naemi as well!<br />
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Most everything from this point on will be new Germany territory for me. I've been lots of places in Germany before but never up in these northern parts.<br />
Day 8 - sightseeing in Lübeck (H) on the way to Hamburg (I)<br />
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Day 9 (and 10) in Hamburg<br />
• Among other things, we're going to visit the "Miniatur Wunderland," the largest model railway in the world.<br />
• Overnighting at the home of a SELK pastor.<br />
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Day (10 and) 11 in Bremen (J) and Verden (K)<br />
• We're spending two nights in the quaint north German town of Verden (incidentally the birthplace of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._C._D._Wyneken" target="_blank">Friedrich Wyneken</a>) with friends of a sem prof and his wife.<br />
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Day 12 - Back to Oberursel via Köln (L) and Aachen (M).<br />
• This will be a full final day of the trip. We've allotted about 3 hours each in Cologne ("Köln" in German) and Aachen, and our priority in each city is to visit the cathedral. The Cologne Cathedral is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. (I've been here once before but I'm looking forward to climbing to the top of the insanely tall steeples again.)<br />
The Aachen Cathedral, also massive, is often called the "Kaiserdom" ("Imperial Cathedral") because for 600 years it was the site of the coronation of the German kaiser. It's also home of Charlemagne's tomb.<br />
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All right - that's all for now. It'll be fun to share pictures of all these places when I'm back!<br />
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Peter</div>Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-71227883343060086002012-02-01T09:33:00.000-08:002012-02-01T11:55:00.471-08:00January Pics 2012<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18Ii9ZPowX3lc3ImBLFnWJRQp2RPCFssmA4QWtDw5hgVXfC2HlZ7_4EkIoxKWWyT1_KkYOYPK7gJIwbDS1x27KCb5ZeGAIq9FUx5zSz6lO55QztJWIu0gejSaNs8o85oPJozdyuSkoWE/s1600/IMG_6567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18Ii9ZPowX3lc3ImBLFnWJRQp2RPCFssmA4QWtDw5hgVXfC2HlZ7_4EkIoxKWWyT1_KkYOYPK7gJIwbDS1x27KCb5ZeGAIq9FUx5zSz6lO55QztJWIu0gejSaNs8o85oPJozdyuSkoWE/s640/IMG_6567.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You: "What a nifty-looking old leather book, Peter! What is it?"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOAKUa1aUl8LdLH1ppVrS0-K7Kxhrz_TTn5bM-zsuDA8QVPdEget2GmOC_y1iEsZ7ge26q7k9RqHW3BsQTclt_Z-gZCwQmzIopfsQ6KUMRKlUJmQQpvUbeg-1t8FLVlzAn5lluVcVRxM/s1600/IMG_6572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOAKUa1aUl8LdLH1ppVrS0-K7Kxhrz_TTn5bM-zsuDA8QVPdEget2GmOC_y1iEsZ7ge26q7k9RqHW3BsQTclt_Z-gZCwQmzIopfsQ6KUMRKlUJmQQpvUbeg-1t8FLVlzAn5lluVcVRxM/s640/IMG_6572.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me: "Actually, it's no book at all. It's a..."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmW8_IaItDe6XcWk_PLkNpD_3d6Ft1JAfSp5xb0CP8QnquwV1Dit3teZOLPemd7LCqyPm1J6bKeoL3ZX1LFaPRgGT_eZyWf5hcFOu3e4VtVx3kyzmEulakrS5LG8GzCaEZafNz8sX78II/s1600/IMG_6571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="588" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmW8_IaItDe6XcWk_PLkNpD_3d6Ft1JAfSp5xb0CP8QnquwV1Dit3teZOLPemd7LCqyPm1J6bKeoL3ZX1LFaPRgGT_eZyWf5hcFOu3e4VtVx3kyzmEulakrS5LG8GzCaEZafNz8sX78II/s640/IMG_6571.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"... stylish, protective case for my MacBook Air called BookBook that I bought for myself with X-mas money!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"> My first time hiking through the woods that are west of the seminary...</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0iuH8PYk0NNneuMWghqfWAbzZt4NMZkXRuxLVFDlGLbbT0JN7baR5Ty9WqKbLYX4NdSgCfHa8bkKMTZfvr8ufJLbhxTgJ36XrRpBFLWAfr5L-zp69Hz8tHxpknIgdxcuA9WQEstQV3k/s1600/IMG_6573.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0iuH8PYk0NNneuMWghqfWAbzZt4NMZkXRuxLVFDlGLbbT0JN7baR5Ty9WqKbLYX4NdSgCfHa8bkKMTZfvr8ufJLbhxTgJ36XrRpBFLWAfr5L-zp69Hz8tHxpknIgdxcuA9WQEstQV3k/s640/IMG_6573.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's Jeremy (left) and Thomas (right, pronounced Toe-mahss)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZIz8Kri53zhC8szG12iIKt9U2Xpm_HtdXx2_9MtRaklKLR8VueRGblGQJ39svdiMkpeQL_R8gNJxlkaytTVixSPCLeBt3EZcz4TzHZzccW77SE43lBNg1pzxbVHGpmIJLa_M11acnltw/s1600/IMG_6577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZIz8Kri53zhC8szG12iIKt9U2Xpm_HtdXx2_9MtRaklKLR8VueRGblGQJ39svdiMkpeQL_R8gNJxlkaytTVixSPCLeBt3EZcz4TzHZzccW77SE43lBNg1pzxbVHGpmIJLa_M11acnltw/s640/IMG_6577.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are trees.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJViTHccmOZLLEcvj3Dex5-Az7lxWOdf0M49LXHoiOzuHvVFRneMfEbX31pFqqa6kUnvzJApWNXw1u6Wyb7QJLTN7xeRYOTomONnPZeRYHugeiDdLhdv23ECvycfk5TOvrF3bg_-5DmfY/s1600/IMG_6578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJViTHccmOZLLEcvj3Dex5-Az7lxWOdf0M49LXHoiOzuHvVFRneMfEbX31pFqqa6kUnvzJApWNXw1u6Wyb7QJLTN7xeRYOTomONnPZeRYHugeiDdLhdv23ECvycfk5TOvrF3bg_-5DmfY/s640/IMG_6578.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And this is moss on logs.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoeIuippIlqQz9SAT4_ruaZJjDwj9PeNpskTVstWqvf8fmZnUAbLizgUiwcUobDdJwuvNpN5XKeyuV5hPRK4gj_Izf7vgHlEdnsBHDK6fuEZxUcEBfJH2RcBfL1YG9xk7wX4LBBLI0XGE/s1600/IMG_6582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoeIuippIlqQz9SAT4_ruaZJjDwj9PeNpskTVstWqvf8fmZnUAbLizgUiwcUobDdJwuvNpN5XKeyuV5hPRK4gj_Izf7vgHlEdnsBHDK6fuEZxUcEBfJH2RcBfL1YG9xk7wX4LBBLI0XGE/s640/IMG_6582.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More trees with the sun shining gloriously from behind.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxS2nZ_jPayfejSABQWSrellva7jYwENhCXXi2HgGNYS09OLRBMoP6VRCijeEBcN8d-wr_XDvCbVVirL5hMVnnY4zDxGcwkKazhGWhHZi9HHCzMOmFvTihhstcexFNRX0pV27VcUDGNEM/s1600/IMG_6584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxS2nZ_jPayfejSABQWSrellva7jYwENhCXXi2HgGNYS09OLRBMoP6VRCijeEBcN8d-wr_XDvCbVVirL5hMVnnY4zDxGcwkKazhGWhHZi9HHCzMOmFvTihhstcexFNRX0pV27VcUDGNEM/s640/IMG_6584.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hiking group. From right to left, that's Thomas and his wife Liesl (a very fun couple from South Africa), Liesl's friend Petra visiting from South Africa, Jeremy (Canadian), and I (USA). </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS-g2eAv5Q3xURPboU2auSzv2reN7YgMw5ICsPAB_f63XrFxN4U3rFwsjGIUmoqbIhkYHWzJXKPGPeUoLoF_bs9VTxmQg3sk2o1JwhppOfzwzrubhQ002u_R2yRVxWLO_hEbyu88-3hKs/s1600/IMG_6588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS-g2eAv5Q3xURPboU2auSzv2reN7YgMw5ICsPAB_f63XrFxN4U3rFwsjGIUmoqbIhkYHWzJXKPGPeUoLoF_bs9VTxmQg3sk2o1JwhppOfzwzrubhQ002u_R2yRVxWLO_hEbyu88-3hKs/s640/IMG_6588.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The trail kept going gradually higher and higher until we reached the lookout point...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPUWfT5jYnauXk96c591JxDFN2guFnmDlnOkpnrVtoTA4VaViIXcR3s4Gg1kPkgbPtrfKS3TxS9yU-iRnt2J4OM2j0dhcjLatglDazaiLJfyY4KaaKijtmEXSczPWprsEwcstwg45zufg/s1600/IMG_6591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPUWfT5jYnauXk96c591JxDFN2guFnmDlnOkpnrVtoTA4VaViIXcR3s4Gg1kPkgbPtrfKS3TxS9yU-iRnt2J4OM2j0dhcjLatglDazaiLJfyY4KaaKijtmEXSczPWprsEwcstwg45zufg/s640/IMG_6591.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... with quite an amazing view. It was much nicer than I expected it to be.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasjwz2dRggw2BzdfPfM07i1qLP2bkmDTs11o-OKk732D6hgQ7EV0VBTOXeipoBYLIgLy1h7t4LV_L2a1JfnhCEEM8DChfrS-JDUvCwykqa1KZSGZ0SurlRNnmrBBEun1a4956pAfAGR8/s1600/IMG_6594.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasjwz2dRggw2BzdfPfM07i1qLP2bkmDTs11o-OKk732D6hgQ7EV0VBTOXeipoBYLIgLy1h7t4LV_L2a1JfnhCEEM8DChfrS-JDUvCwykqa1KZSGZ0SurlRNnmrBBEun1a4956pAfAGR8/s640/IMG_6594.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> On the way back we came upon these logs. These are my attempts at artistic photos of them...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Q2CmQ2GJSxkEF5kbH1TqeWbxTXXkAd0800Oh6nKkjawvNyPZEBnz5XDMQJTvu2Pc8kI85xpRVIZ8DSbe6ZACtQfeMPmi-P8sodJrjfYXUg5wIEVMgF6_mXuHhpOvp1h9XW70k-p-0sk/s1600/IMG_6604+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Q2CmQ2GJSxkEF5kbH1TqeWbxTXXkAd0800Oh6nKkjawvNyPZEBnz5XDMQJTvu2Pc8kI85xpRVIZ8DSbe6ZACtQfeMPmi-P8sodJrjfYXUg5wIEVMgF6_mXuHhpOvp1h9XW70k-p-0sk/s640/IMG_6604+-+Version+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvMybUzjrpLuqmDpSc5C8IbMsUHNkVsMpBWdKgm2uKZgpPli8Eb8z5Ivz4TagOCRRkdZSAsTwX0SIoyFasuaTxTn13POO-Jio5xz_KFBFHKrJJVJmle5hGRsE6JfWwtL3M9QMyKxkUS8I/s1600/IMG_6606.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvMybUzjrpLuqmDpSc5C8IbMsUHNkVsMpBWdKgm2uKZgpPli8Eb8z5Ivz4TagOCRRkdZSAsTwX0SIoyFasuaTxTn13POO-Jio5xz_KFBFHKrJJVJmle5hGRsE6JfWwtL3M9QMyKxkUS8I/s640/IMG_6606.JPG" width="596" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJov6uzIAHEjKtTT3z89gMXlv_3Po6HvZfULaazH3sQi4v9P3Pzw47Ym0MyZqyd5WuEyQTLzhphr77WhrMGvAOtumG_D77BJ_VRm1ohu6RnFnR-icflo0zfKIuh9ZASsf_C3WVUuhWJvQ/s1600/IMG_6607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJov6uzIAHEjKtTT3z89gMXlv_3Po6HvZfULaazH3sQi4v9P3Pzw47Ym0MyZqyd5WuEyQTLzhphr77WhrMGvAOtumG_D77BJ_VRm1ohu6RnFnR-icflo0zfKIuh9ZASsf_C3WVUuhWJvQ/s640/IMG_6607.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Ask and you shall receive. I asked the Fort Wayne Seminary if I could have free access to the LiveStream of the Symposia, and they gave it to me! So during the week, there were a handful of us students who watched several of the lectures that were going on across the ocean in FW. It was quite enjoyable.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHo7rQeyPaT2-_EhihKsx095erLuTMeI0zSRSNH8EBBOGGlY92KbXnlT5E4mc8AGvhPY0u8P7cxO-aQ_H9Yhl_N5AA1oZJBD1VAxdj9azIFGbs2TSitBHfhMN_aQddBojfIj6nLkLFJ4U/s1600/IMG_6613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHo7rQeyPaT2-_EhihKsx095erLuTMeI0zSRSNH8EBBOGGlY92KbXnlT5E4mc8AGvhPY0u8P7cxO-aQ_H9Yhl_N5AA1oZJBD1VAxdj9azIFGbs2TSitBHfhMN_aQddBojfIj6nLkLFJ4U/s640/IMG_6613.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Would you look at <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF8GhC-T_Mo">this</a>?! Dr. Scaer, right here in Oberursel on our common room wall! Just look at it!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4U-o-J75FmDWhfPg_6dox8oBT4ikIQTgLb8DAVlG-j4xhIJugsLMgVBWpLGwmRx97bY4Bim5_IlZcrcZpyceBIzFXoJblhey9S0xNjFhvaPjOtn81RLJPtSbQ-Kd05L3BgggI4ApiXv4/s1600/IMG_6614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4U-o-J75FmDWhfPg_6dox8oBT4ikIQTgLb8DAVlG-j4xhIJugsLMgVBWpLGwmRx97bY4Bim5_IlZcrcZpyceBIzFXoJblhey9S0xNjFhvaPjOtn81RLJPtSbQ-Kd05L3BgggI4ApiXv4/s640/IMG_6614.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying Scaer's lecture on an early dating of the Gospels, from left to right, Roland (S. Afr.), Heinz (S. Afr.), Mathias (S. Afr. - he spent a year in FW), Jeremy (Canada), and Alex (orig. Ukraine, he spent a couple years in FW)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"> This was only the second time it has snowed here so far. And both times, the snow was mostly melted after a couple days. But it was pretty while it lasted.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidE_cxNIikg0jwfKmKdKiViO9L_Gh0hEIpq8Pp_cbTelvr5-cDsfqANTxpSJUPlKMwlfW4o8nl9LCyPO1-qhIaP3T2lJMzoMhO44o5lY-QwdqXMy0KPsz450hewhIE_4quBoTfzqmo7Is/s1600/IMG_6616.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidE_cxNIikg0jwfKmKdKiViO9L_Gh0hEIpq8Pp_cbTelvr5-cDsfqANTxpSJUPlKMwlfW4o8nl9LCyPO1-qhIaP3T2lJMzoMhO44o5lY-QwdqXMy0KPsz450hewhIE_4quBoTfzqmo7Is/s640/IMG_6616.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPprBFuer07PhT8TdQmdZeokB_ZcIPCIlmxcaFX0LD-XRrYZ6H0PzFLb0zPL3tf3eC5aPmvT4ChpkR4Zb7fBbulBa5IB0FqsP9JiX7oMeVzD5c25hf7QqGwfdq3oT_YMBaTwHkpPQCE5c/s1600/IMG_6617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPprBFuer07PhT8TdQmdZeokB_ZcIPCIlmxcaFX0LD-XRrYZ6H0PzFLb0zPL3tf3eC5aPmvT4ChpkR4Zb7fBbulBa5IB0FqsP9JiX7oMeVzD5c25hf7QqGwfdq3oT_YMBaTwHkpPQCE5c/s640/IMG_6617.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't worry, I've gotten my hair cut since this photo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYM3A7Y7v14eiV57vS9yK9tuSqBebgKdfhgKepeW4qmhJigeM5peDSvVnIkgZ9VY8y09Uz0X4XtWnT5nISTBuJFWo2nYsxceKJyXwfAFI1Dy2J8cXyfmHd05kzmYNpFPGl12g6gbgopkQ/s1600/IMG_6621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYM3A7Y7v14eiV57vS9yK9tuSqBebgKdfhgKepeW4qmhJigeM5peDSvVnIkgZ9VY8y09Uz0X4XtWnT5nISTBuJFWo2nYsxceKJyXwfAFI1Dy2J8cXyfmHd05kzmYNpFPGl12g6gbgopkQ/s640/IMG_6621.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8rxLFNoe1RXUnXe000Y3IaCJx1f2QbBVZwIC4p7c_thrxp4lG-vujWB-Brrle93XWQZPJkKCqNG1NTvsZH06dJRTn1F2Xu43JIOVhFuV4OckNxckH6SnYHd6Aoepz5VOb-yf7ppVkyE/s1600/IMG_6625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8rxLFNoe1RXUnXe000Y3IaCJx1f2QbBVZwIC4p7c_thrxp4lG-vujWB-Brrle93XWQZPJkKCqNG1NTvsZH06dJRTn1F2Xu43JIOVhFuV4OckNxckH6SnYHd6Aoepz5VOb-yf7ppVkyE/s640/IMG_6625.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> Mathias, Jeremy, and I decided we wanted to have a(n) (North)American-style cheeseburger cookout. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4jFFA3hYzOuhyuGk4Jhu57siJEU-7Zefx37ftK3_56NqXyaNLq2AgN-X9l6nrJfGxh32VjhbgbB6iQ-Sph-aPxgrd-X8cKeQZXj53VRoTTTMKBC8UbQ0rdh-rWUeCxNZavv7oqDY1Gw/s1600/IMG_6627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4jFFA3hYzOuhyuGk4Jhu57siJEU-7Zefx37ftK3_56NqXyaNLq2AgN-X9l6nrJfGxh32VjhbgbB6iQ-Sph-aPxgrd-X8cKeQZXj53VRoTTTMKBC8UbQ0rdh-rWUeCxNZavv7oqDY1Gw/s640/IMG_6627.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8meogFgc9A6KfXW6dXGG4jR_CGha2VKAlZfPy5OHLmnU1se-hn_lrGZonOjzF9ojunYIT4FbY8F1G9RByxbkZfqTUIf1UPzDcFQhFpKIygDDeVQdoOh4hhAQGZJguOmDfC6XkCx_pJgg/s1600/IMG_6628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8meogFgc9A6KfXW6dXGG4jR_CGha2VKAlZfPy5OHLmnU1se-hn_lrGZonOjzF9ojunYIT4FbY8F1G9RByxbkZfqTUIf1UPzDcFQhFpKIygDDeVQdoOh4hhAQGZJguOmDfC6XkCx_pJgg/s640/IMG_6628.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Are your mouths watering yet?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogtnV8wkCHm4oGKzhGbeOZxsBck8uNk4XeUVdWOhAiRk2f7SF4TqXlIcGEQGr9VwB7OyVJ7rx4PlyLN8SVWGIsRMgJwRSyKmm39MnpaoYSZzbKo5p3HIq3lSLSTc8gs_seuzDaLe1vNk/s1600/IMG_6630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogtnV8wkCHm4oGKzhGbeOZxsBck8uNk4XeUVdWOhAiRk2f7SF4TqXlIcGEQGr9VwB7OyVJ7rx4PlyLN8SVWGIsRMgJwRSyKmm39MnpaoYSZzbKo5p3HIq3lSLSTc8gs_seuzDaLe1vNk/s640/IMG_6630.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> My niece Sarah and nephew David both just had their birthdays (4th and 2nd, respectively). I skyped with them the day after their joint B-day party, and they were in an especially cheerly mood. These are screen shots from my Skype session w/them.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DouEvzbwNBTk5wxn7svL5EoeQjgsYXE2PgHCWsVT5lq3_zoudV7sNcVLkg3OHSdi90S3FLxRurHs6ALlyGxutG4MyZYD4zWEyHCj0HahwLhqpStxEPA6mN3pUHn19xKK016IH7E1sIw/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-01-30+at+8.52.43+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DouEvzbwNBTk5wxn7svL5EoeQjgsYXE2PgHCWsVT5lq3_zoudV7sNcVLkg3OHSdi90S3FLxRurHs6ALlyGxutG4MyZYD4zWEyHCj0HahwLhqpStxEPA6mN3pUHn19xKK016IH7E1sIw/s640/Screen+shot+2012-01-30+at+8.52.43+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aren't they adorable? I love these rug-rats.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9F1APfLhvjlLsq-4lfgp6TlwynUlP25VO-fakiMAoBvKbukGrEP_NVei6crdjPvQQmhtEgr7F-nZz3NmI5Y7N8hkV_WKJoTm9p0L2A1CXWhklXy5zprLlnPbcKAjt88e2Z4PNOkmthjY/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-01-30+at+8.56.24+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9F1APfLhvjlLsq-4lfgp6TlwynUlP25VO-fakiMAoBvKbukGrEP_NVei6crdjPvQQmhtEgr7F-nZz3NmI5Y7N8hkV_WKJoTm9p0L2A1CXWhklXy5zprLlnPbcKAjt88e2Z4PNOkmthjY/s640/Screen+shot+2012-01-30+at+8.56.24+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I asked them if they could imitate my screeching, pterodactyl-type noise that I like to make, and they both started screaming really high and loud. It was so funny. They wouldn't stop.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7f1MEOevheknp3OEYNuaiM1v2MRk4zfu5Wra0VVnONacDzGcTgLPHi6gNKTkpWWR9t-ahuA1C3HheEFudVTd1PAwUFEZcNP3JD4iyCcozbguyvV1nJDtJmeLPEFnZm1J8ltyLoOSnGjE/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-01-30+at+8.56.19+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7f1MEOevheknp3OEYNuaiM1v2MRk4zfu5Wra0VVnONacDzGcTgLPHi6gNKTkpWWR9t-ahuA1C3HheEFudVTd1PAwUFEZcNP3JD4iyCcozbguyvV1nJDtJmeLPEFnZm1J8ltyLoOSnGjE/s640/Screen+shot+2012-01-30+at+8.56.19+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still screaming...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Soccer. Unfortunately the lights at the public field that we play on are out, and the city is really dragging its on getting them fixed. But we still find time to play during the daylight hours once a week or so.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKr_wLQNVnGW0uxjn6iOCsc_aLbdUWjibhr0Av-0PaYTeH_IiTeTsQe6XxnEmG4Fgi5EdrGHjCMYg0IsdIkD0uMMc__gNL-HjVsfCE0kPKZgNP_w0TRzJj3ARsM_3uOohg0QHAW4VmKk/s1600/IMG_6646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKr_wLQNVnGW0uxjn6iOCsc_aLbdUWjibhr0Av-0PaYTeH_IiTeTsQe6XxnEmG4Fgi5EdrGHjCMYg0IsdIkD0uMMc__gNL-HjVsfCE0kPKZgNP_w0TRzJj3ARsM_3uOohg0QHAW4VmKk/s400/IMG_6646.JPG" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I got some more battle wounds that day. It was totally worth it, though. As goalie, I sacrificed my body to save the ball from going in.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOJ7j9KhGK6c3i1tLtIgpAwT_lpxhDTTis181cSDrOH0b356aqLlyQzXHzz4W0wTpF4mBZTlEPLVV3mhO03hBEiO37wNCL6_uLccQltugPtBjFRjZIjwK89rT5K-Dhly9QYouFkdtGik/s1600/IMG_6647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOJ7j9KhGK6c3i1tLtIgpAwT_lpxhDTTis181cSDrOH0b356aqLlyQzXHzz4W0wTpF4mBZTlEPLVV3mhO03hBEiO37wNCL6_uLccQltugPtBjFRjZIjwK89rT5K-Dhly9QYouFkdtGik/s400/IMG_6647.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"> I really loathe washing dishes by hand...</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBaWLRWs51QdesPDk5XUVquuxjQByU78RvaHVUcRSkNhDAl36YwTkAVY30vV0-kzXg4KdkO7GpTVcgZMDODR-x3v5tfSgb0SeCUOSU9OfFlA4ZLqYRFxRFPMEzd9uv3xkmLKOljNLonqs/s1600/IMG_6648.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBaWLRWs51QdesPDk5XUVquuxjQByU78RvaHVUcRSkNhDAl36YwTkAVY30vV0-kzXg4KdkO7GpTVcgZMDODR-x3v5tfSgb0SeCUOSU9OfFlA4ZLqYRFxRFPMEzd9uv3xkmLKOljNLonqs/s640/IMG_6648.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... but I love the feeling you get when they're all done.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">These pics are from back in October. I just got them from Claudia (Germany theology student, pronounced Clow(as in "now")-dee-uh), who had watched us play one day and took a bunch of pictures on her phone. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9ZpuxXIssgXh74aEcr_qIR2y5D2o_8uFM5AcN-A2X_mGPU7Quvvn9kTwU2D0ciVp41ALJA1-SYV7nQy7R1DPLmwVnDee9H6hAdcnEyUDF_Pyt8rDm7sk2f77qVqrlok9z0743hiombw/s1600/DSC01741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9ZpuxXIssgXh74aEcr_qIR2y5D2o_8uFM5AcN-A2X_mGPU7Quvvn9kTwU2D0ciVp41ALJA1-SYV7nQy7R1DPLmwVnDee9H6hAdcnEyUDF_Pyt8rDm7sk2f77qVqrlok9z0743hiombw/s640/DSC01741.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From some of my other pictures, you might not think there are any Germans around here that I spend time with. But there are. The three guys on the left (Simon, Frederick, and Niklas) are all German. That's Thomas and Liesl (S. Afr.) in back and me on the right.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYl6sHsJjGXtPyz-hY83zWgcOkfutUBO0RwaKOwtcukBG-yHq4mBrenBDAdoTjmYqCroAu-fWoKr8ISlF4_yAKtD9l9kL7TUFwNFxS9F3b98kRl60px5QoKDDaStRDgB2LSGqGbPg84A/s1600/DSC01745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYl6sHsJjGXtPyz-hY83zWgcOkfutUBO0RwaKOwtcukBG-yHq4mBrenBDAdoTjmYqCroAu-fWoKr8ISlF4_yAKtD9l9kL7TUFwNFxS9F3b98kRl60px5QoKDDaStRDgB2LSGqGbPg84A/s640/DSC01745.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More Germans: brothers Michael and Sebastian (left and middle)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PS4_CK989mm4ttMSaimWLjT5Z1hVcSneOqj7cNd1D096wNgd_gLdpTBaVQvOGNWbCZBHgc3Hd5hlQriys3atNQQv1-prxs66GeuBb_hNaeK6AuaAbhwrg1Ux2G5xq3Ou4LnK32Ld5jM/s1600/DSC01755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PS4_CK989mm4ttMSaimWLjT5Z1hVcSneOqj7cNd1D096wNgd_gLdpTBaVQvOGNWbCZBHgc3Hd5hlQriys3atNQQv1-prxs66GeuBb_hNaeK6AuaAbhwrg1Ux2G5xq3Ou4LnK32Ld5jM/s640/DSC01755.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The two girls on the right are also Germans.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqYFdeicWK5AJOW9pRYp8Q0WEeRFcvDnaRDix5fhWP8Jj_hR1fBZG01D6yby6ie4ExgsRH5muM-t6h4Gs-OhZEo3wbYR0YmJCSxpyCeDoVMDLmqlJUGuBbDf1cmQt4LI4tsz_yHPnwjI/s1600/DSC01761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqYFdeicWK5AJOW9pRYp8Q0WEeRFcvDnaRDix5fhWP8Jj_hR1fBZG01D6yby6ie4ExgsRH5muM-t6h4Gs-OhZEo3wbYR0YmJCSxpyCeDoVMDLmqlJUGuBbDf1cmQt4LI4tsz_yHPnwjI/s640/DSC01761.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Far right is Gennadij. I don't think I've introduced him yet. He's from Kazakhstan.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVUCeQqnx4iQP9OCXGPi-Gnk2LX1uLGJcpL3ofooW8pZojmpnkLlG0ddS0r4XyXFuR4M6FdXy92PfjbNRzFau7o-azS_rjjvhqKxmvIjDPGD3yxJNFojWLhYozAuf4XqYNuWC3VOfZNk/s1600/DSC01766.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVUCeQqnx4iQP9OCXGPi-Gnk2LX1uLGJcpL3ofooW8pZojmpnkLlG0ddS0r4XyXFuR4M6FdXy92PfjbNRzFau7o-azS_rjjvhqKxmvIjDPGD3yxJNFojWLhYozAuf4XqYNuWC3VOfZNk/s640/DSC01766.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Well I hope you enjoyed this slide show. My next post will be more words and fewer (<a href="http://oxforddictionaries.com/words/less-or-fewer" target="_blank">not less</a>) pictures.</div>Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-89794232088442925292012-01-08T11:13:00.000-08:002018-11-15T20:57:02.010-08:00First Post of the New Year, Part II<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Here come the Christmas and New Years pics! I went to Leipzig for Christmas to spend a week with my old host family the Schmidts. For those of you who don't know or remember, I was a foreign exchange student in Leipzig for 6 months back in 2003, my junior year oh high school. A few other students were traveling in the same direction for Christmas, so we all traveled together in a rented car and split the costs. They dropped me off at a place called Gera, and then I took a short train ride the rest of the way to Leipzig. See?...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcCnpZvbrcoAIeJgdo-rkYiyHhWnwcZilDIFYQHWazBusttUr2YcSfVyoHuq5M6bursZgyGlXJEG9DygIbRHNLoua2DV2aJNXrc0ATsa7nfhDMpMF3wiiU-N1Lf_5qSOVgBYtxnG-k__Y/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-01-08+at+5.55.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcCnpZvbrcoAIeJgdo-rkYiyHhWnwcZilDIFYQHWazBusttUr2YcSfVyoHuq5M6bursZgyGlXJEG9DygIbRHNLoua2DV2aJNXrc0ATsa7nfhDMpMF3wiiU-N1Lf_5qSOVgBYtxnG-k__Y/s400/Screen+shot+2012-01-08+at+5.55.14+PM.png" width="330" /></a></div>
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I had a wonderful time with the Schmidts. It's always good to see them again. The last time I saw them was when I had my second foreign-exchange adventure down in Passau, Germany; that was in 2006 when I was a sophomore at Augustana. In any case, we all agreed that it didn't seem like all that much time had passed since I was there last. Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt are both a lot of fun and extremely hospitable. They have 2 sons: Stefan is about my age and I was good friends with him and many of his friends back in '03. He doesn't live with his parents any more (shares an apartment in Leipzig with a few friends,) but he spent the entire Christmas week at his parents house. As a result, I got to hang out with him quite a bit. The Schmidts' older son Christian lives down the street with his girlfriend Janine and their 5 year old daughter Lena. I never saw them all that much when I was in Leipzig in '03 (and '06), but this time around I got to see them all several times. I also got to see Stefan's aunt and uncle who also live down the street, Stefan's grandmother, and several of Stefan's (and my) friends, some of whom I hadn't seen since 2003. I received several presents, got to eat way more delicious food than I needed to, stayed out too late with Stefan and company, slept in too long, got to go on a day-trip with Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt, and more. All in all, it was lovely.</div>
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After having spent Dec 23-28 with the Schmidts, I then traveled farther eastward to a tiny little village called Weigersdorf (almost in Poland) for a few days of New Years activities and celebrations with several SELK youth. (Remember, the SELK is the sister synod of the LCMS.) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnbz7xMhVvSb6-DhE052-xCzkpZecrRHE2T7BA0GnCKY5qK9aiZqM57uSXWTOeCMzvmxcCc1srWJLyRTLZeXC-YJiU5O0vuYjqAeEbFwN-9aoM00FwcqhyphenhyphenhPVulKC7Wb9995IhZcw9NOI/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-01-08+at+6.22.23+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnbz7xMhVvSb6-DhE052-xCzkpZecrRHE2T7BA0GnCKY5qK9aiZqM57uSXWTOeCMzvmxcCc1srWJLyRTLZeXC-YJiU5O0vuYjqAeEbFwN-9aoM00FwcqhyphenhyphenhPVulKC7Wb9995IhZcw9NOI/s400/Screen+shot+2012-01-08+at+6.22.23+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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While Weigersdorf consists of only a few hundred people, there is a rather sizeable SELK congregation there. My classmate Renatus is from Weigersdorf, and he organized what was basically a four-day long sleepover/hangout/party for 38 people, who ranged in age from 13 to 32. Renatus was nice enough to invite me along, and I said "sure." I hadn't met most of the people there, but I got to know them quickly and we had some good times. The entire event was also very Lutheran in nature. It wasn't like a Bible camp or anything, but we did have morning and evening devotions together every day; Renatus' dad, the pastor in Weigersdorf, led us in a Bible study one day; and we got to go to 2 New Years Eve services and one on New Years Day. On the "secular" side of things, we played lots of games, indoors and outdoors: card games, trivia games, ping pong, foosball, soccer etc. etc. Unfortunately I wasn't a very diligent photographer this time around, so I don't have a whole lot to show. But I think you'll get the idea. Then without ado, let the slide show begin!</div>
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<u>Leipzig</u></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-niuKUIiwkfB9TLf7NBzSFkd5wnB-pJFV-Jm-TwFUtZ1zvTFJ3KZigzDNCjjIHzxd5xlg16S1QHxR0utWrbjCgCNbk_1Vm6LvSvEMg1cQxVrnerXhWEkvE9jk294845gfyGuKhooI9s/s1600/IMG_6407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-niuKUIiwkfB9TLf7NBzSFkd5wnB-pJFV-Jm-TwFUtZ1zvTFJ3KZigzDNCjjIHzxd5xlg16S1QHxR0utWrbjCgCNbk_1Vm6LvSvEMg1cQxVrnerXhWEkvE9jk294845gfyGuKhooI9s/s640/IMG_6407.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dec. 23 - Dinner in downtown Leipzig with Stefan and several other friends whom I hadn't seen in a long time.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqfVMFiHn-0NzPC0k7ai49S0aVjKyfFfEUoDYRqIPrS-7W2M6A8sX86150LNiLc31q1t5CotIdbyBrs-aSXd-PBMtSxMzxWEjY5eF1Ym9h1RGOTWwqWd33L-VmgM5JOnYPrpkV5pGPX4c/s1600/IMG_6417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqfVMFiHn-0NzPC0k7ai49S0aVjKyfFfEUoDYRqIPrS-7W2M6A8sX86150LNiLc31q1t5CotIdbyBrs-aSXd-PBMtSxMzxWEjY5eF1Ym9h1RGOTWwqWd33L-VmgM5JOnYPrpkV5pGPX4c/s400/IMG_6417.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Christmas Eve service at the SELK congregation in Leipzig wasn't quite what I expected. I'm used to a divine service with communion for Christmas, but this was more of a Lessons and Carols service with a nativity play in the middle. Even stranger was that the participants in the play were all at least teenagers, if not adults. I went again Christmas morning, however, which was then a very nice Christmas divine service.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRppRT85tAwge1lrdDZgw9fw6tS3MvmWKMFg2mOGOQXiHi0j5GJr3zHgRTckHHgy2iqVKZrCuxdQABC5Kb-lxXw0FzDTe9hYL-7jS9HtCcllX-4ZMExfKZJHBhrtJTLiXMihmzwHiFUEY/s1600/IMG_6420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRppRT85tAwge1lrdDZgw9fw6tS3MvmWKMFg2mOGOQXiHi0j5GJr3zHgRTckHHgy2iqVKZrCuxdQABC5Kb-lxXw0FzDTe9hYL-7jS9HtCcllX-4ZMExfKZJHBhrtJTLiXMihmzwHiFUEY/s640/IMG_6420.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span>Christmas Eve dinner and distribution of presents down the street at Aunt Helga and Uncle Dieter's. That's Dieter on the left, Helga in the middle, then Christine and Rudi on the right (Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt, that is.)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmObU0EWP1sj_RiWozNlJZcUZ2llf2U0noXqYINKF6jj-1Y0IEhtqrRX3pCv0gS9z_q_m3O5NjB5mwC_dwi5vTOpOx9uU_CdnRRibqynmsGmwa1PIW73Uuq3_u8EMASNATwH-76Cnk6Ao/s1600/DSC_0016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmObU0EWP1sj_RiWozNlJZcUZ2llf2U0noXqYINKF6jj-1Y0IEhtqrRX3pCv0gS9z_q_m3O5NjB5mwC_dwi5vTOpOx9uU_CdnRRibqynmsGmwa1PIW73Uuq3_u8EMASNATwH-76Cnk6Ao/s640/DSC_0016.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rudi, Stefan, and I. The main course was pork tenderloin, which was delicious. There were plenty of tasty sides, too, including bratwurst :)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMiXZZ7qZVNOZL9CJbrBJw33ivrfz-NAckO-eycAZGe5fnW1cagiZtCEOW3WVlCaM2QPf7XLWJ-cAB_OU3IRJzYIuEIwy28guj1_twbjrJlDf-qHBBtSUEao6NuOZ370u4L4lWdeJ8ANA/s1600/DSC_0033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMiXZZ7qZVNOZL9CJbrBJw33ivrfz-NAckO-eycAZGe5fnW1cagiZtCEOW3WVlCaM2QPf7XLWJ-cAB_OU3IRJzYIuEIwy28guj1_twbjrJlDf-qHBBtSUEao6NuOZ370u4L4lWdeJ8ANA/s640/DSC_0033.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stefan and I</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zOp8C9r49FNtzgeju6zAfXtMh6n6J3rBCB-_F_CTtAkUlfc9d7W4-Ta0HQvt-JXSdGEu0wdDUBW3ACsCFr1fQTit1I5w-eos3Uop4Dwyr-Eg1A9S8eD0GwbszmsRzGn6C0pnsvkPuxQ/s1600/DSC_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zOp8C9r49FNtzgeju6zAfXtMh6n6J3rBCB-_F_CTtAkUlfc9d7W4-Ta0HQvt-JXSdGEu0wdDUBW3ACsCFr1fQTit1I5w-eos3Uop4Dwyr-Eg1A9S8eD0GwbszmsRzGn6C0pnsvkPuxQ/s400/DSC_0037.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm showing everyone a picture of the whole family and explaining who's who.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL8PI4ZOpD6OqIegxpPjZN7eQioYFxqkpHIMpxgGG6OVI3dyTyUfQvQTpy8t70N4m0ASc3vtCoJtJMCO4aD9E-56aGMfMu0WvG9h09NwgyEzPMxMjL35OOzOD-3uNuPyqLNeb5JBon47g/s1600/DSC_0098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL8PI4ZOpD6OqIegxpPjZN7eQioYFxqkpHIMpxgGG6OVI3dyTyUfQvQTpy8t70N4m0ASc3vtCoJtJMCO4aD9E-56aGMfMu0WvG9h09NwgyEzPMxMjL35OOzOD-3uNuPyqLNeb5JBon47g/s640/DSC_0098.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at all those presents I got!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyp5Zy9vAclTwUsKPPJGhJnex-8FTSNVtr0NEPmkS1CMUIOXOLAQKiN17eWiOu8HxXGAaCB3QD12da9wlfOc_Nkdtstt5yRXMMf37shVVfI8BThBcdYktXviib-rasbqexIRjiUAQncR4/s1600/DSC_0099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyp5Zy9vAclTwUsKPPJGhJnex-8FTSNVtr0NEPmkS1CMUIOXOLAQKiN17eWiOu8HxXGAaCB3QD12da9wlfOc_Nkdtstt5yRXMMf37shVVfI8BThBcdYktXviib-rasbqexIRjiUAQncR4/s400/DSC_0099.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schmidts' Christmas tree - <i>Weihnachtsbaum</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0YR2MKrUGZ2gALPEFpEozPNmsYVLAQ7ap9LkwhI5zPHkzz6tNMwrygWIFLF2lXBkObbMGtxY9DMTymxM0ZfDhGvxtNQbYxOIGbI0vvdwsyxUVxSdGmMmkAhkgGyBMe2JXMFE-WUzIwg/s1600/DSC_0100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0YR2MKrUGZ2gALPEFpEozPNmsYVLAQ7ap9LkwhI5zPHkzz6tNMwrygWIFLF2lXBkObbMGtxY9DMTymxM0ZfDhGvxtNQbYxOIGbI0vvdwsyxUVxSdGmMmkAhkgGyBMe2JXMFE-WUzIwg/s640/DSC_0100.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chilling after a long evening of food, drink, and gifts.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPD6ah1fbWm2h3ll4derz6s9xAy_azCySrBE4JDtxH3wdlZ5d0kKc-zExUixci542Nzr5QfCoVWH_BmTs9rIioyCSd3IKSHez__9yCZF4KUWrVo6voV_ed17nGvI5rJVFiCD3zymVHjR0/s1600/DSC_0104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPD6ah1fbWm2h3ll4derz6s9xAy_azCySrBE4JDtxH3wdlZ5d0kKc-zExUixci542Nzr5QfCoVWH_BmTs9rIioyCSd3IKSHez__9yCZF4KUWrVo6voV_ed17nGvI5rJVFiCD3zymVHjR0/s640/DSC_0104.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the next day (Christmas), and I'm wearing my new flannel shirt that my mom sent me across the ocean. All my brothers got one too (see below).</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxmB93oQa292D_BoFrBxeQiu5Zcl6ZsqlDz6fjgXcOm1Hcq5hvcjljc_qNEXYnOz9Wlxeg_sAVC0h24SPnusNaU0zjoqDnIdNeHPH8HDANqIzrbXWMCqBmY6nk_SQjJj0ehQv_HTj24Y/s1600/384898_10150473747592753_505552752_8975734_247496602_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxmB93oQa292D_BoFrBxeQiu5Zcl6ZsqlDz6fjgXcOm1Hcq5hvcjljc_qNEXYnOz9Wlxeg_sAVC0h24SPnusNaU0zjoqDnIdNeHPH8HDANqIzrbXWMCqBmY6nk_SQjJj0ehQv_HTj24Y/s640/384898_10150473747592753_505552752_8975734_247496602_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I stole this pic from Facebook...</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0yH_m41HaEVej1Xg8njiUHHBM9_MVGBALD-n-beh5ZxVnOgjiA-2erv81Akf-KKsiI3TC5lZvt7qGEEKzvw2w-yijtdwJ_hlE_9wz5I8EoP2H9ripUjFrZk3GmFMGWZcHCHS16-xWPR8/s1600/DSC_0107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0yH_m41HaEVej1Xg8njiUHHBM9_MVGBALD-n-beh5ZxVnOgjiA-2erv81Akf-KKsiI3TC5lZvt7qGEEKzvw2w-yijtdwJ_hlE_9wz5I8EoP2H9ripUjFrZk3GmFMGWZcHCHS16-xWPR8/s640/DSC_0107.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas Day dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt and Stefan's grandma - Oma. This meal was perhaps the best one: Kaninchenkeulen mit Rotkraut und Klößer (Rabbit legs with red cabbage and dumplings.)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1BRldodSynLnVHxhXf_O3qM3MEWIZ4Q4qXWKq4AJxlFKRCPqIyuGIBJPtXZg81kOP68YeSPBBVhm4n38BzisGhp7pDnF092mUJbWvxUVgDGY3wJZmA7zAohHFritomFvi5xH7nJv_w0/s1600/IMG_6441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1BRldodSynLnVHxhXf_O3qM3MEWIZ4Q4qXWKq4AJxlFKRCPqIyuGIBJPtXZg81kOP68YeSPBBVhm4n38BzisGhp7pDnF092mUJbWvxUVgDGY3wJZmA7zAohHFritomFvi5xH7nJv_w0/s400/IMG_6441.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stefan's brother and family: Christian, Janine, and Lena</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhZquL8-unRouqBT6Ad0f_9AekQ8fL8PGKjXa-J2tvnYr6Tn9qsaixlOPeo17JjXafptJY-12IdGhq99s0GWRqAnN-4_tomKxkakx5buEJB7ryP2dgmsfnw4FrQrHl1AJritNMpHM3CM/s1600/IMG_6444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhZquL8-unRouqBT6Ad0f_9AekQ8fL8PGKjXa-J2tvnYr6Tn9qsaixlOPeo17JjXafptJY-12IdGhq99s0GWRqAnN-4_tomKxkakx5buEJB7ryP2dgmsfnw4FrQrHl1AJritNMpHM3CM/s640/IMG_6444.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whole Schmidt fam + me.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogBRcij_gIpAJbqjDGWRnscskezOyZSjtKuDbiqKgKZeeLyfUanLwqMdDdYZaepDZOL_NAdK0jAAB8ZP-mBcpZLnJKHU75t9P_KoeIb_ty4B3SnhSSc5t79MYhCMPQZEYKmzz268pEfk/s1600/DSC_0145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogBRcij_gIpAJbqjDGWRnscskezOyZSjtKuDbiqKgKZeeLyfUanLwqMdDdYZaepDZOL_NAdK0jAAB8ZP-mBcpZLnJKHU75t9P_KoeIb_ty4B3SnhSSc5t79MYhCMPQZEYKmzz268pEfk/s640/DSC_0145.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas meal #3, Dec. 26. This meal was another winner: Lamb with red cabbage and dumplings again. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
One of Rudi and Christine's gifts to me was to take me on a day trip somewhere not too far away so we went to Altenburg for half the day and Seiffen in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) for the second half of the day.</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jdwDHsce-fsn0Wias8mIIppDzCAIMSPzNg9Vqi6m696mpM6jJQY8-GZYXybFlaUcIrfoXWsI6-bzc1oJfIOcVBAfOFMj4be8dQg-QhEnlEzP3g43Wx2QkHwXZrQBAWcoVRIf3TY3lro/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-01-08+at+7.41.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jdwDHsce-fsn0Wias8mIIppDzCAIMSPzNg9Vqi6m696mpM6jJQY8-GZYXybFlaUcIrfoXWsI6-bzc1oJfIOcVBAfOFMj4be8dQg-QhEnlEzP3g43Wx2QkHwXZrQBAWcoVRIf3TY3lro/s640/Screen+shot+2012-01-08+at+7.41.55+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxqeNdhnfhet-lC8V6caQXhX8dgXvM_J5my_rt0NIg8Puy3_K4FGic9LMssKNM676UAUx88WPszlodHo5MSdoAD1JR5y-Jt6o5XfU7fdrX7qRN1Rc06IqvZisTDzmLkyS7KWZGWhW5uc/s1600/IMG_6450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxqeNdhnfhet-lC8V6caQXhX8dgXvM_J5my_rt0NIg8Puy3_K4FGic9LMssKNM676UAUx88WPszlodHo5MSdoAD1JR5y-Jt6o5XfU7fdrX7qRN1Rc06IqvZisTDzmLkyS7KWZGWhW5uc/s640/IMG_6450.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> This is the Altenburg square - not bad, but not exactly riveting either.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGT_O0UwarxsAaX8q3AD1csK0Uz02xT1KV5mn68rAZVDfmGPmOEOf5GqO5HRvEYYal7nOpnZubKK1vAMvdJK_MP88utQ6xQad_nlkI_NBAK-2PXDVVEgxkqm5pavlLMI6v5Iv_oer74aQ/s1600/IMG_6451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGT_O0UwarxsAaX8q3AD1csK0Uz02xT1KV5mn68rAZVDfmGPmOEOf5GqO5HRvEYYal7nOpnZubKK1vAMvdJK_MP88utQ6xQad_nlkI_NBAK-2PXDVVEgxkqm5pavlLMI6v5Iv_oer74aQ/s400/IMG_6451.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I would have like to have gone inside this church, but stangely, it was closed.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlHX1102hS3Svz2Nkh2IFhy6j2hwB6rIeiF8arK0cms4HD5xzPl7aTHhg3RwPDlh4MoGhnku0pG9p0GMZ3b4oHBO7krBQHbzDF_ASFfE3zFJ8INbEP6IOYW5oQH-gvMkbv1kXLVjavxs/s1600/IMG_6452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlHX1102hS3Svz2Nkh2IFhy6j2hwB6rIeiF8arK0cms4HD5xzPl7aTHhg3RwPDlh4MoGhnku0pG9p0GMZ3b4oHBO7krBQHbzDF_ASFfE3zFJ8INbEP6IOYW5oQH-gvMkbv1kXLVjavxs/s640/IMG_6452.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span">A nice mosaic on the church </span>fa<span class="hsb"></span>çade</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNz13pIw2B_yvM2TLo_ptukXebfL9a-M9sgBXOGVy8LOYqh4tlrlHC39PBmm75cVfdBE33VN2BKVn9cQWZFOtpUtaSGRd9tLSKADyuWLAzKA_fH_wSPLNsukoy7Bfshj9yv7ZzoeqTMw/s1600/IMG_6456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNz13pIw2B_yvM2TLo_ptukXebfL9a-M9sgBXOGVy8LOYqh4tlrlHC39PBmm75cVfdBE33VN2BKVn9cQWZFOtpUtaSGRd9tLSKADyuWLAzKA_fH_wSPLNsukoy7Bfshj9yv7ZzoeqTMw/s400/IMG_6456.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rudi and Christine</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVKTOpoO43qZIZ4NevwV2u4KSDFKq8Rg-UCelMeYV_wyqSYmlazO7ELnpX2ap6CT_BxY5pdg43-mRlyMdpj5jz7sRqAv4Olus3nYHnv1pPj6p8JdNwl0-X8eqVJBFnC1QJUbhVJoayD3c/s1600/IMG_6467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVKTOpoO43qZIZ4NevwV2u4KSDFKq8Rg-UCelMeYV_wyqSYmlazO7ELnpX2ap6CT_BxY5pdg43-mRlyMdpj5jz7sRqAv4Olus3nYHnv1pPj6p8JdNwl0-X8eqVJBFnC1QJUbhVJoayD3c/s640/IMG_6467.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Altenburg Brewery - there's a museum attached, which we toured, but it wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be. I was hoping we'd get to have a tour of the brewery itself and see how the beer's made, but we didn't...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfOExYHyY932g0dEm0090DAJHqNk5PnFPbMI-RT-nzyhv6gBMa2I33Xk9aMWtndbS7EXTd92QQj_PV9aWXo9sxzXWVPlOkiyRsJHjVo143htiolDjXXGDysIfO4hZe6IbqirOISqV4068/s1600/IMG_6474.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfOExYHyY932g0dEm0090DAJHqNk5PnFPbMI-RT-nzyhv6gBMa2I33Xk9aMWtndbS7EXTd92QQj_PV9aWXo9sxzXWVPlOkiyRsJHjVo143htiolDjXXGDysIfO4hZe6IbqirOISqV4068/s400/IMG_6474.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I found this to be the most entertaining item in the brewery museum: <i>Textbook of Brewery</i>. :)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWxd7idgFgiYvRA8mxOyvsXe5YRRczySPq1W6iWZ-jjA8c7jea4hQX6RcIJz5tXnZ-OK81D7MCXNgUeOza2VubcQ36TL-OCpytrVI2Oxkk1Bgke3Ifgh8u7AAl-cah303WPO97ncwtRPs/s1600/Schloesser_Altenburger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWxd7idgFgiYvRA8mxOyvsXe5YRRczySPq1W6iWZ-jjA8c7jea4hQX6RcIJz5tXnZ-OK81D7MCXNgUeOza2VubcQ36TL-OCpytrVI2Oxkk1Bgke3Ifgh8u7AAl-cah303WPO97ncwtRPs/s640/Schloesser_Altenburger.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ok, I admit - I didn't take this picture myself. I got it from Google. The highlight of Altenburg was the castle. Here it is from above... </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKtaZV8Vbs2PECcPipv_wXkcoe1nGyOVn7_1dq2CjGEEJq2mK9OojEhSm8-3oGKhxrTJG0cOdWnieNMUvGpmBE9i22A9vKm3Ys_AdbGqmpP-hDt3DDS0M0ZuhmxAqX5t_Y0rtJxudId48/s1600/CIMG8037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKtaZV8Vbs2PECcPipv_wXkcoe1nGyOVn7_1dq2CjGEEJq2mK9OojEhSm8-3oGKhxrTJG0cOdWnieNMUvGpmBE9i22A9vKm3Ys_AdbGqmpP-hDt3DDS0M0ZuhmxAqX5t_Y0rtJxudId48/s400/CIMG8037.JPG" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christine and I outside the castle entrance with the castle church in the background</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhzwVkl_nMtaTSslXZBLDsRRKchgA1HXv_Vo5QyBxkwRaWDmlO9nl196DVLJYB44B5LCgme_0nF50iqhbid3bUbXc1Ef_g-lWh6cFzELN3BhlPeqpVI5KtzxEYiuWemBify6cXZehHRlk/s1600/68.5_Trostorgel_Schlosskirche_Altenburg-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhzwVkl_nMtaTSslXZBLDsRRKchgA1HXv_Vo5QyBxkwRaWDmlO9nl196DVLJYB44B5LCgme_0nF50iqhbid3bUbXc1Ef_g-lWh6cFzELN3BhlPeqpVI5KtzxEYiuWemBify6cXZehHRlk/s400/68.5_Trostorgel_Schlosskirche_Altenburg-web.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">This picture is from the internet, too, because we weren't allowed to take photos inside the castle. This is the Trost Organ, supposedly one of the most famous organs in Germany. I would love to hear it played sometime. Bach played on this organ a couple weeks before it was officially finished and he praised it to the highest degree.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAqv9HZ0-kd-2u2CKD4f_ze3bVIDHVVbcObUqu-UGtrZ9pR-EcEnUHoKYBPjrHBjAHornNOrcaAF4CdKvFLJ0bW8LFhCMz7IzGbjYL204jUf5gBQmKAPLRbnnGnQulY1KLhAEF1krjPpo/s1600/Schloss-Altenburg-Festsaal-a22060417.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAqv9HZ0-kd-2u2CKD4f_ze3bVIDHVVbcObUqu-UGtrZ9pR-EcEnUHoKYBPjrHBjAHornNOrcaAF4CdKvFLJ0bW8LFhCMz7IzGbjYL204jUf5gBQmKAPLRbnnGnQulY1KLhAEF1krjPpo/s640/Schloss-Altenburg-Festsaal-a22060417.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">This is the Grand Hall - eat your heart out! (Photo also from internet.)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Day Trip, Part 2: Seiffen in the Erzgebirge</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The entire Erzgebirge region, but especially Seiffen, is famous for its handmade wooden Christmas decorations, as seen in the photos below. It seems just about every German family has something from the famed Erzgebirge. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvAcYjCa2MasgJxgrFBkbvz-8w08BTsUf23AtILCWqHu8bOOsRGHB8e6kZ8VuXtgS6ztQ2Z_6_92uIuD1XcqM1jVnCmfeLHL9C9GNCze4N2dAUXsX_1EJ3q7fGsPPNGSP3tDctco_UNEY/s1600/IMG_6478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvAcYjCa2MasgJxgrFBkbvz-8w08BTsUf23AtILCWqHu8bOOsRGHB8e6kZ8VuXtgS6ztQ2Z_6_92uIuD1XcqM1jVnCmfeLHL9C9GNCze4N2dAUXsX_1EJ3q7fGsPPNGSP3tDctco_UNEY/s640/IMG_6478.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are to be placed in your windows during Christmastime.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbz7mMvjhUptpLhP6hyphenhyphenkSsALp133biUt8cs0FzAVISTqMNMddJP0FtgnT3JFLcilvUGMzz6FTv04SHLfDFDIz2U-fFc57_aE-p0cqvoelzPvzBQsDbFPvep9PuNAh9nR_tjGGojLSNGkU/s1600/IMG_6479.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbz7mMvjhUptpLhP6hyphenhyphenkSsALp133biUt8cs0FzAVISTqMNMddJP0FtgnT3JFLcilvUGMzz6FTv04SHLfDFDIz2U-fFc57_aE-p0cqvoelzPvzBQsDbFPvep9PuNAh9nR_tjGGojLSNGkU/s640/IMG_6479.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They call these things pyramids, and they are a vital part of a traditional German Christmas. The heat from the candles, or in this case lights, causes the blades on top to turn, thus turning the entire inner part of the pyramid. Very neat. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5oPbGjJKknqSgX7TzaCU8ZuLKf4-f-NRRAdHB2PjtVlwNqMrGgj9ptyqZtwoE5EqHhBkrKrhs9xtWYsOfY9cWcJyI-s3HrMG1kY_y4TEGVExLJrpv9itVQminuUocDoUgnUvkD9SlmA/s1600/IMG_6482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5oPbGjJKknqSgX7TzaCU8ZuLKf4-f-NRRAdHB2PjtVlwNqMrGgj9ptyqZtwoE5EqHhBkrKrhs9xtWYsOfY9cWcJyI-s3HrMG1kY_y4TEGVExLJrpv9itVQminuUocDoUgnUvkD9SlmA/s320/IMG_6482.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But they're not cheap. This is the price for the big pyramid on the left in the above picture: 1,499.00 Euros (~$1900) for the pyramid itself and another 839 Euros (~$1070) for the figurines!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2CfyR0zxOEoN5eN-j49IDQdknHj5CsnqSYYnD1SOvchC9FHq2QP-URytwQYFaT3dSzm_5IxJT-LxQa5yFMSbSzFwezZTHr3zYmWFV9_ZWs9c5A_fe5qsjX3Dt_VXQDdMcMVYxUXk_hjs/s1600/IMG_6483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2CfyR0zxOEoN5eN-j49IDQdknHj5CsnqSYYnD1SOvchC9FHq2QP-URytwQYFaT3dSzm_5IxJT-LxQa5yFMSbSzFwezZTHr3zYmWFV9_ZWs9c5A_fe5qsjX3Dt_VXQDdMcMVYxUXk_hjs/s400/IMG_6483.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the main street in Seiffen. Shop after shop after shop, full of the same handmade wooden Christmas things.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sgQ9sgoGWv1DT2rZ9lB_IVBmLagLE2LO7xlQQyS8Ss8_BDQALmgKVrVrrR8_j5q3q8Ij2GqjJ4gOTvUuAPshRNPDAXk2kncnEfxjTJvCWdCqqKN0eCOn5Qyo9GZhgwp8TF1afHv5xj0/s1600/IMG_6490.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sgQ9sgoGWv1DT2rZ9lB_IVBmLagLE2LO7xlQQyS8Ss8_BDQALmgKVrVrrR8_j5q3q8Ij2GqjJ4gOTvUuAPshRNPDAXk2kncnEfxjTJvCWdCqqKN0eCOn5Qyo9GZhgwp8TF1afHv5xj0/s400/IMG_6490.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In one of the shops, you can pay a couple bucks and get a behind-the-scenes look at the ornaments being made. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQs12OjQEF42a1ziAOVSdm3ELUtulrttXiaLXivOrd5GXT_F7p7D_6bG8B7_YxDm8qfflbQ1DivcLKXVKU15SLmYMtQjKNvejVxFyghllzf-EEadyvJ7hxYtKIA7IOuKC5boYJiGsRoXk/s1600/IMG_6493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQs12OjQEF42a1ziAOVSdm3ELUtulrttXiaLXivOrd5GXT_F7p7D_6bG8B7_YxDm8qfflbQ1DivcLKXVKU15SLmYMtQjKNvejVxFyghllzf-EEadyvJ7hxYtKIA7IOuKC5boYJiGsRoXk/s400/IMG_6493.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American soldier nutcracker.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi86Sn1I1AsVrGfcEnXJdsxZvqI0euBUWCnQY0beVc00IF-HCYqU0PR8ma8s4IU_kPD640UVeDCM7JwSJi7x6scqObRbSRXyDbricyq3u-AAo-W-eCHjpcF3JgdaHuT8q2lw5LmZiymicY/s1600/IMG_6495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi86Sn1I1AsVrGfcEnXJdsxZvqI0euBUWCnQY0beVc00IF-HCYqU0PR8ma8s4IU_kPD640UVeDCM7JwSJi7x6scqObRbSRXyDbricyq3u-AAo-W-eCHjpcF3JgdaHuT8q2lw5LmZiymicY/s640/IMG_6495.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I felt like I was in Santa's workshop.</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0EgoUHvDXF19h0DIV3EgN_sJ1np3Sde-6N7gQ7Yzfo1jxIRfRpII2tSQyG-DfuL6jb6u3wNYDpfzabOtJfWoL55A_-xsVKV36BDsSR2XUc9IJFrwhjvxUVJAZ7VaiO-JAxrGrXxOZbQ/s1600/IMG_6501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0EgoUHvDXF19h0DIV3EgN_sJ1np3Sde-6N7gQ7Yzfo1jxIRfRpII2tSQyG-DfuL6jb6u3wNYDpfzabOtJfWoL55A_-xsVKV36BDsSR2XUc9IJFrwhjvxUVJAZ7VaiO-JAxrGrXxOZbQ/s640/IMG_6501.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red or white stars like these ones are also extremely popular and traditional for Germans at Christmastime.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGcaEb0xwN1m0o6BSavCvc0xbjG5h1yqu4NtDP7YRuCPC4XImOj-n0XAocRW98hSHmIroxT3pcXMno7RpJM_hVQfJW-wcmrRykNa-LbW4-TiX3cYmcWQdcQk4Xdh_C1sKC6xJWvOPlJEs/s1600/IMG_6506.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGcaEb0xwN1m0o6BSavCvc0xbjG5h1yqu4NtDP7YRuCPC4XImOj-n0XAocRW98hSHmIroxT3pcXMno7RpJM_hVQfJW-wcmrRykNa-LbW4-TiX3cYmcWQdcQk4Xdh_C1sKC6xJWvOPlJEs/s400/IMG_6506.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice how each and every window has one of those arched candle things (Schwibbogen) in it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidx2lmjhcSJmvhWImhryOEBzdTwBDYmPC4rLPR6UyAt1bNjmulUL4ZpVz49TSiLdJfxXRJCU_Ohb5r0tnxWqLU_yyKedJuEU51YiCTaKTXVLotLzeajmNt8jaNOHp_RzME6LrnspcEAtk/s1600/CIMG8047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidx2lmjhcSJmvhWImhryOEBzdTwBDYmPC4rLPR6UyAt1bNjmulUL4ZpVz49TSiLdJfxXRJCU_Ohb5r0tnxWqLU_yyKedJuEU51YiCTaKTXVLotLzeajmNt8jaNOHp_RzME6LrnspcEAtk/s640/CIMG8047.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After a long day of sightseeing, we got to relax and have a filling meal and a delicious beer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc2xAX18J4VT16Hb10vZZ_FqUBPYmWRVvxu1OEQq05XckFnsoUM9WAnfX50tII9WcaI6SP1uMSBRmXomINPBXeikW_ulMDsm9GM3DLQPm9z8iBSdt6HDaM58xhoSwDOKqOcyYyMUhFxx0/s1600/IMG_6507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc2xAX18J4VT16Hb10vZZ_FqUBPYmWRVvxu1OEQq05XckFnsoUM9WAnfX50tII9WcaI6SP1uMSBRmXomINPBXeikW_ulMDsm9GM3DLQPm9z8iBSdt6HDaM58xhoSwDOKqOcyYyMUhFxx0/s400/IMG_6507.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Later that night Stefan and I were invited to go play Texas Hold'em with Christian and Janine in their apartment.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jMmiySL5fAo5QaFNlpQk_nnTJ_dNe4ISYVEwwHbohtp9Hgftb-oY1PP1QwIyxQBd-KcdUqlb-8AmpervEOz3fvbE8wFLlQC9Jgf5ATtgupCNDxCgOS2qwiprnTN30o22RZL2zyUgmLs/s1600/IMG_6509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jMmiySL5fAo5QaFNlpQk_nnTJ_dNe4ISYVEwwHbohtp9Hgftb-oY1PP1QwIyxQBd-KcdUqlb-8AmpervEOz3fvbE8wFLlQC9Jgf5ATtgupCNDxCgOS2qwiprnTN30o22RZL2zyUgmLs/s640/IMG_6509.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They have a pretty hip place.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nF8NeCfxOz8p45bOiJ9vU5w6zLYqG_wFyKnIPK8Y0Icf4V6Z43IYqwURVM3mfMfLJ_QHT9FSTe0h0sO-W6iW-7u9mSqHxX469GNOU3UxMoYfM2I8AL-nIKYcE2XAy9hNZhxp91BsWYs/s1600/IMG_6510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nF8NeCfxOz8p45bOiJ9vU5w6zLYqG_wFyKnIPK8Y0Icf4V6Z43IYqwURVM3mfMfLJ_QHT9FSTe0h0sO-W6iW-7u9mSqHxX469GNOU3UxMoYfM2I8AL-nIKYcE2XAy9hNZhxp91BsWYs/s400/IMG_6510.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lena was supposed to be in bed, but she wanted to hang out with us (and the cats) instead. She's a cutie. I had fun talking to her. I don't often have the opportunity to speak German with children, but when I do I always find it fascinating. How can such little children speak German so easily when I've had to work so hard at it?!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u>Weigersdorf New Years Thing</u></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBLwzAOrrMkbq7285Ki3E6TXZCaWh7ffcp43Tj_s5itCFN2iKpZlFX74H8CG4ZIUok1yqYKwTaHoOGnoinmdekWfHBdX1GbUACr8BGOsTMHGj3abB-m6GwINx5UwZJvxzBIaPMGzWj34/s1600/IMG_6524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBLwzAOrrMkbq7285Ki3E6TXZCaWh7ffcp43Tj_s5itCFN2iKpZlFX74H8CG4ZIUok1yqYKwTaHoOGnoinmdekWfHBdX1GbUACr8BGOsTMHGj3abB-m6GwINx5UwZJvxzBIaPMGzWj34/s400/IMG_6524.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing Doppelkopf</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SOLwr8nVTrXFOZPivmq071rSaOcv9OzLhhjPNaW9oDlWjNbi3aW_6twM3i7UqgEWBEw6mZ3AD9JTLi1HKw20SZO6UZESrwXUQMzCxnAG2tvX91pYUKJVpWkjfJohK3rAGhb5PRoAGDg/s1600/IMG_6527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SOLwr8nVTrXFOZPivmq071rSaOcv9OzLhhjPNaW9oDlWjNbi3aW_6twM3i7UqgEWBEw6mZ3AD9JTLi1HKw20SZO6UZESrwXUQMzCxnAG2tvX91pYUKJVpWkjfJohK3rAGhb5PRoAGDg/s640/IMG_6527.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready for a Bible study with Pastor Voigt</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivh1lc6j9s2hg5TJXZh36bpKDyIShbLtiJ9qjjO-zXz_sEoSFFmeccdHiUb3O-WqXONJWDDZZ1Ag7VvO5A1nJXSFeu7bLnsmkuPGPtXryH1mZgNuOl0nGCx6S2md4n-WWPH4IGjtdJXwo/s1600/IMG_6530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivh1lc6j9s2hg5TJXZh36bpKDyIShbLtiJ9qjjO-zXz_sEoSFFmeccdHiUb3O-WqXONJWDDZZ1Ag7VvO5A1nJXSFeu7bLnsmkuPGPtXryH1mZgNuOl0nGCx6S2md4n-WWPH4IGjtdJXwo/s400/IMG_6530.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A full evening of volleyball. That was lots of fun.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnNFYBb-dKfWzF0BS17nK82UkhB0SvrtPeTtAoPALJKq2Kz7peHmlfUF8G3N-qYqSTz_R_1UZLn7dgy_8J-3x8x5uao2J-Um41boSAvMxqqKGNkxMvfSlQ_-UxAe8ZrHzDOIrFlSEsqBQ/s1600/IMG_6536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnNFYBb-dKfWzF0BS17nK82UkhB0SvrtPeTtAoPALJKq2Kz7peHmlfUF8G3N-qYqSTz_R_1UZLn7dgy_8J-3x8x5uao2J-Um41boSAvMxqqKGNkxMvfSlQ_-UxAe8ZrHzDOIrFlSEsqBQ/s400/IMG_6536.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Years Eve: From 11:30 to midnight there was a small prayer service in the church. Afterwards, the brass choir played Christmas chorales to bring in the new year! It was a very pleasant way to celebrate New Years.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmGmKEKlVGXZVuIvcbc586UjtGYPRwLHKYHzsIfRpFn1vn1xXmoectuHeM_kAMBZ5zUvqqVUn02xQi5jbnNqENfQPCwO1VqIrt4Ivsq_pz8BEezwBiUfqBo4STnNDZuI1BMOElvzSRRc/s1600/IMG_6538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmGmKEKlVGXZVuIvcbc586UjtGYPRwLHKYHzsIfRpFn1vn1xXmoectuHeM_kAMBZ5zUvqqVUn02xQi5jbnNqENfQPCwO1VqIrt4Ivsq_pz8BEezwBiUfqBo4STnNDZuI1BMOElvzSRRc/s320/IMG_6538.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcj5Y-NiF0brwynmrZYIa9biGj_mqm0L26uAm3siSNdJUY3E5icJpwUE0sJSXwaJKVV8-voPTr5kaQMly0tKyeHrk_3wpywqCHhuTpnqQb3x7n8FNo75ioFrpOwEUZIu0UlXOYJBV34zw/s1600/IMG_6539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcj5Y-NiF0brwynmrZYIa9biGj_mqm0L26uAm3siSNdJUY3E5icJpwUE0sJSXwaJKVV8-voPTr5kaQMly0tKyeHrk_3wpywqCHhuTpnqQb3x7n8FNo75ioFrpOwEUZIu0UlXOYJBV34zw/s320/IMG_6539.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFUqihocYCWibHpRK3n1O1TCYZ3wUPh5DUcan1PuWVH5qZ37ZXr6LAIMpmPVnKH00GlxO_YLL_W6ko37saL7IAIhCys7z4HCwKRFsS1e9UEonn4xsOFJYmtIUwprITb51ansa4dOCtvQ/s1600/IMG_6544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFUqihocYCWibHpRK3n1O1TCYZ3wUPh5DUcan1PuWVH5qZ37ZXr6LAIMpmPVnKH00GlxO_YLL_W6ko37saL7IAIhCys7z4HCwKRFsS1e9UEonn4xsOFJYmtIUwprITb51ansa4dOCtvQ/s640/IMG_6544.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese ping pong</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzu59-L10wWvn5cD-DbqJHWJGBIuasFZ2L1N_Ege4x1VagLYH1v9I81QP06NU4_ZSKOJST2XGIK4_JJQ6u8JVIb9HHloqo8ZRwf94HkuqiUdDLMz_n-HV4ac0YCrUpCqUVhAwg66bNrpY/s1600/IMG_6552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzu59-L10wWvn5cD-DbqJHWJGBIuasFZ2L1N_Ege4x1VagLYH1v9I81QP06NU4_ZSKOJST2XGIK4_JJQ6u8JVIb9HHloqo8ZRwf94HkuqiUdDLMz_n-HV4ac0YCrUpCqUVhAwg66bNrpY/s640/IMG_6552.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was then invited to stay another couple of nights with Renatus' family, which was very, very nice. On the last evening we had a Skat tournament. I love Skat. For those of you who don't know, Skat is a lot like Sheephead which is another German card game that my family has always enjoyed playing. There are lots of folks up in Wisconsin that play Sheephead. We kids learned it from our dad who, being from Sheboygan, learned it from his dad, who learned it from his dad, etc. But I think I enjoy Skat just as much, if not a bit better. Interestingly, most Germans have no idea what Sheephead, or <i>Shafkopf</i>, is. My guess is that it's a Bavarian variant of Skat, Skat being the most popular card game in Germany.</td></tr>
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Whew! I'm finally done. That took a long time. Hope you enjoyed the pictures and stories. Until next time! A belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!<br />
- Peter</div>
Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-15254080320106890352012-01-06T08:40:00.000-08:002012-01-06T08:40:55.885-08:00First Post of the New Year, Part I<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKInGvPB-iD1qy8VDHwvVYXGJz2cEcrJA8sb60dTklVt2wF7BLMv5BS5lPy927-ZsZBuHOPDSR1UO4rq5THgpz3lBwtLaxyKa8sTxE9lnW1Z0jfWAeYwXz23hTlopaRgWhiyOHbX1551I/s1600/IMG_6304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a><br />
It's a happy new year and there's much to tell, but there's also still a good deal of activities from the old year that I have yet to relate. Time for a captioned photo reel, I'd say!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-p-Cc4euw1GgwIYXbbgWPGR-784G-pdiKQcDzazUG25tFMCplgU1tACpp1eFKtNqF72sKOoHL5P37BH4mcAiPkiMjNHQSRMtr9LcyeSL4imxOYWKnSlsmu_z4ssDPjdo6PXqL_zvBuCg/s1600/IMG_6083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-p-Cc4euw1GgwIYXbbgWPGR-784G-pdiKQcDzazUG25tFMCplgU1tACpp1eFKtNqF72sKOoHL5P37BH4mcAiPkiMjNHQSRMtr9LcyeSL4imxOYWKnSlsmu_z4ssDPjdo6PXqL_zvBuCg/s320/IMG_6083.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanksgiving in Oberursel with the other Americans on campus, Matthew and Halle; a couple that spent a year in America; a couple that will be spending next year in America; and a Canadian.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbi1oUrhamfeWKWt2jROpAj3doHxcm2hGhLIWYwpwd00ntc-19a7_L19PlbDRBuD7sBdiZxuMSdDfbbJBLeldVJMGC1akUo1rA87IGvefmf80QpfpGKFD1CVoKXkvzN_nTfjdYgAL9NPg/s1600/IMG_6082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbi1oUrhamfeWKWt2jROpAj3doHxcm2hGhLIWYwpwd00ntc-19a7_L19PlbDRBuD7sBdiZxuMSdDfbbJBLeldVJMGC1akUo1rA87IGvefmf80QpfpGKFD1CVoKXkvzN_nTfjdYgAL9NPg/s320/IMG_6082.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwYqT0PA8umwOL4jDKjj6nrbEAuhWgjdFP0ZjP5PzuyPzBAkT3B7XLdPScPXgEk2873CyL5ZwcSiCS-Dw-aLkTvPv97TF8mJTpbBAEGLZvcNxalSN5NgLRe8l3OPq84HkQeklqwdY9sU/s1600/IMG_6081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwYqT0PA8umwOL4jDKjj6nrbEAuhWgjdFP0ZjP5PzuyPzBAkT3B7XLdPScPXgEk2873CyL5ZwcSiCS-Dw-aLkTvPv97TF8mJTpbBAEGLZvcNxalSN5NgLRe8l3OPq84HkQeklqwdY9sU/s320/IMG_6081.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not bad, huh? I made the mashies.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HnDQ5fRxAB0sPPYIRaIkCthz0Efe6rpurU5ZAneJ2qBAvITYSo-xKR0kzOvDLyNWkj0-awvK_gKOGZDgE3sKdxuI8OkH0q4HbQzoyTkDxxRHG6VHMij_rxoh0GZo-T8xUvuOubNFt18/s1600/IMG_6140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HnDQ5fRxAB0sPPYIRaIkCthz0Efe6rpurU5ZAneJ2qBAvITYSo-xKR0kzOvDLyNWkj0-awvK_gKOGZDgE3sKdxuI8OkH0q4HbQzoyTkDxxRHG6VHMij_rxoh0GZo-T8xUvuOubNFt18/s320/IMG_6140.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A trip to Stuttgart with Thomas (left, from South Africa) and Jeremy (right, from Canada)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMXsWPAkpUwlnOV25giXwJ87R6FFypSgGrgky58AZvb5IdLA33Q3mC6IueRfOWDW66ey8xI7jn7LX2-XGQPN0exbKVZ5omHMjQGCSzzGxmp-tlrxcLgcoxhywyDJ_TWVW7oqW-jKJRnI/s1600/IMG_6103.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMXsWPAkpUwlnOV25giXwJ87R6FFypSgGrgky58AZvb5IdLA33Q3mC6IueRfOWDW66ey8xI7jn7LX2-XGQPN0exbKVZ5omHMjQGCSzzGxmp-tlrxcLgcoxhywyDJ_TWVW7oqW-jKJRnI/s320/IMG_6103.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr4AeSnMW9VtSiBgUvE__27RJJ5EsVxu36-8WJNLSRqfT_Iqz5JdBYNmPav2e0dN8AzPyp1MQAZgONIHk6DOOuvVZRV5o_N8Ou-ihovRLTqLmrEBqhTS8IHwepHaf0o-6CW2JEp2iGZ-8/s1600/IMG_6119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr4AeSnMW9VtSiBgUvE__27RJJ5EsVxu36-8WJNLSRqfT_Iqz5JdBYNmPav2e0dN8AzPyp1MQAZgONIHk6DOOuvVZRV5o_N8Ou-ihovRLTqLmrEBqhTS8IHwepHaf0o-6CW2JEp2iGZ-8/s320/IMG_6119.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUV2B0wNoGk3_uPiZa1sn3ZU8v3qcuHfby_KhOkq4eZ3RLsoFNEWupPK1ZtzSz9I-Xp3AJQ0nhnkUCkX7VeW9eoM83uc4BUE-47UHQpGcijK2k0hGSax3I2zjGm8j30uWWYc-hESkLhFY/s1600/IMG_6136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUV2B0wNoGk3_uPiZa1sn3ZU8v3qcuHfby_KhOkq4eZ3RLsoFNEWupPK1ZtzSz9I-Xp3AJQ0nhnkUCkX7VeW9eoM83uc4BUE-47UHQpGcijK2k0hGSax3I2zjGm8j30uWWYc-hESkLhFY/s320/IMG_6136.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Impressive-looking church in Stuttgart. Sort of a mixture of old and modern, but I actually really liked it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChEAdySERwq6atcwD1j7h3sRIdLyTJqb_Mr5Gbky-8LlpBD1l727A0bARV7OBVQWFQoA789CT5407bxOibznwXG47e2pxUkMPfDzldlNANGp7D4d_rmifszC3cOxpjJaDE9eYdWz4vr8/s1600/IMG_6127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChEAdySERwq6atcwD1j7h3sRIdLyTJqb_Mr5Gbky-8LlpBD1l727A0bARV7OBVQWFQoA789CT5407bxOibznwXG47e2pxUkMPfDzldlNANGp7D4d_rmifszC3cOxpjJaDE9eYdWz4vr8/s320/IMG_6127.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What an organ!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDLmdElUoVtfODsK31Uyq_VRRPLg-ueAz37Wy_A-kTuYXx3XBvq_hCKUrB9IX3B1QTEqkYoKDZNP1HN3HKXJzy92SP8rNxMW3IqgzZntRX7-uQDn3RLpN7yE2hci-_6Xk5aE4xzmxbd84/s1600/IMG_6134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDLmdElUoVtfODsK31Uyq_VRRPLg-ueAz37Wy_A-kTuYXx3XBvq_hCKUrB9IX3B1QTEqkYoKDZNP1HN3HKXJzy92SP8rNxMW3IqgzZntRX7-uQDn3RLpN7yE2hci-_6Xk5aE4xzmxbd84/s320/IMG_6134.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4E0oZ8GpmdDOa60uFFidmx5CCvxA38AQaf79x9ZeALzhXSHZv7Ti1ZkCRdgJDjJ8PcrmWcYETSZORF951_YUzx1jwUlp8-ygpF-CdvCzHMuxaeajGl0-2MvdqECnc2ecDUTTjLb4WgA/s1600/IMG_6175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4E0oZ8GpmdDOa60uFFidmx5CCvxA38AQaf79x9ZeALzhXSHZv7Ti1ZkCRdgJDjJ8PcrmWcYETSZORF951_YUzx1jwUlp8-ygpF-CdvCzHMuxaeajGl0-2MvdqECnc2ecDUTTjLb4WgA/s320/IMG_6175.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back in Oberursel - brass choir playing Advent hymns from the downtown church's bell tower. I got to go up in the tower with them. Beautiful Advent chorales and a beautiful view of the surrounding area (we could see the Frankfurt skyline).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUuQgHnt7zNXCRPT00pxr0xW3boLnnuNor8Tr3QH44KJGwQ0kNjjbaQN5QiarjEPGuSyNeKDyDyusrV4jNTABmw_oV8SigkJounE3jHFaYI6Qk98laNqV7wAS6yAcPtn3jcgIA6CM1CQ/s1600/DSC00473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUuQgHnt7zNXCRPT00pxr0xW3boLnnuNor8Tr3QH44KJGwQ0kNjjbaQN5QiarjEPGuSyNeKDyDyusrV4jNTABmw_oV8SigkJounE3jHFaYI6Qk98laNqV7wAS6yAcPtn3jcgIA6CM1CQ/s320/DSC00473.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sem pals Chris and Mag, who are currently doing a foreign exchange year at Westfield House in Cambridge, England, came to visit as they traveled through Germany on their winter break. They brought two other Americans from Westfield House with them, too. It was a good time.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98GGFYgQuHQqajL1OPDM9-vVpUCyb0mp-rp0NHfh4nLua1yRwOEGLvOj-_JtTcMTZOAMZPllL9Ua7_Fsv4Zmkhmt6dzvtHZQH-E9Eig25GoujphoYw-HOjlEg8Y61dU-iCqGs_TG471M/s1600/IMG_6217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98GGFYgQuHQqajL1OPDM9-vVpUCyb0mp-rp0NHfh4nLua1yRwOEGLvOj-_JtTcMTZOAMZPllL9Ua7_Fsv4Zmkhmt6dzvtHZQH-E9Eig25GoujphoYw-HOjlEg8Y61dU-iCqGs_TG471M/s320/IMG_6217.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Sweet building in downtown Frankfurt</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ7bC3G0EPDwpTOFsFC2xGH21M7Y2j_RItpAHyFnkrHih3nBk1mp2ysMbV8WnrZLLH1S3yl83Z9LJdh9gio1eOy_UpIznt5xTMhRbgAZkR4U_HzB9SWhqM-vmLwcGUQ_fjxecfTir0lJo/s1600/DSC00459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ7bC3G0EPDwpTOFsFC2xGH21M7Y2j_RItpAHyFnkrHih3nBk1mp2ysMbV8WnrZLLH1S3yl83Z9LJdh9gio1eOy_UpIznt5xTMhRbgAZkR4U_HzB9SWhqM-vmLwcGUQ_fjxecfTir0lJo/s320/DSC00459.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frankfurt Christmas Market</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOYvuogNFtDrNsTsq_6DleMQ7LwfDbqbIc218rlWiFS2T5SfjUxTSqi4-mnSSpGOvb7BjTEFk7IVFmaTulQREBwQ9SwrbmjVP505BJWvjHVG7fYn-Hl_1W6S0eQBAbDrVRQVbXgilifio/s1600/IMG_6222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOYvuogNFtDrNsTsq_6DleMQ7LwfDbqbIc218rlWiFS2T5SfjUxTSqi4-mnSSpGOvb7BjTEFk7IVFmaTulQREBwQ9SwrbmjVP505BJWvjHVG7fYn-Hl_1W6S0eQBAbDrVRQVbXgilifio/s320/IMG_6222.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Worms - large Romanesque cathedral</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoa8BH6GnnEPMh3xHptGhQx5uSIzCeEl43N_KeYSV82VblJ4QMBzTANd3NfahEXvFll_oWl85GrAxw0xFOWiWanIztimFRb0SyLb9djXUp3u61u1-4M91auPfrqwsRI0F7RnFDNU6SIjE/s1600/IMG_6224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoa8BH6GnnEPMh3xHptGhQx5uSIzCeEl43N_KeYSV82VblJ4QMBzTANd3NfahEXvFll_oWl85GrAxw0xFOWiWanIztimFRb0SyLb9djXUp3u61u1-4M91auPfrqwsRI0F7RnFDNU6SIjE/s320/IMG_6224.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Worms Cathedral... and Chris</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuxtDMLKu80lwjpwHFzHJSxGKltS43HEAYtnaFARzw_Nqag0310TjFk-RWHQI2s9SIOCCKpLJA1fWDru-rDg6jsLZEyNXNTlWfdCXg9pnM0W344oPT7WHSRSGq465z35aAVQuJhmcMK8Q/s1600/IMG_6231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuxtDMLKu80lwjpwHFzHJSxGKltS43HEAYtnaFARzw_Nqag0310TjFk-RWHQI2s9SIOCCKpLJA1fWDru-rDg6jsLZEyNXNTlWfdCXg9pnM0W344oPT7WHSRSGq465z35aAVQuJhmcMK8Q/s320/IMG_6231.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Fun with the Pope.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2KrWmh3c2Lty-yY97ikqaO3d2G1a-qCvgnk60H2OdILQfBz6UYPvP0jQ1Sl3vCSZhPA86am5DOR_ajZNBMxodmQ5gVGa5q1P8oTH249DnhmENeNuEtFAzMbPhKqaA7dz12sodZhRpZg/s1600/IMG_6254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2KrWmh3c2Lty-yY97ikqaO3d2G1a-qCvgnk60H2OdILQfBz6UYPvP0jQ1Sl3vCSZhPA86am5DOR_ajZNBMxodmQ5gVGa5q1P8oTH249DnhmENeNuEtFAzMbPhKqaA7dz12sodZhRpZg/s320/IMG_6254.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">"Here stood, before Kaiser and Kingdom, Martin Luther, 1521."</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKxfVNPPKwFth63zHry98NUwCaR2v7OPFuukHU0ztJJ4eqI9knZvLK5Y4gsFH62P7h1nK9iM1QSypiNwUFyTumvIOgl6SUNHfb0NCNS0pIAxMkOjrqgE6xL8ZKtced-iaIvdypoiy63E/s1600/IMG_6253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKxfVNPPKwFth63zHry98NUwCaR2v7OPFuukHU0ztJJ4eqI9knZvLK5Y4gsFH62P7h1nK9iM1QSypiNwUFyTumvIOgl6SUNHfb0NCNS0pIAxMkOjrqgE6xL8ZKtced-iaIvdypoiy63E/s320/IMG_6253.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">"Here stood, before a camera, 6 theology students, 2011."</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmwfCMpMZNbCeBYWCi-4y8mA6JStNh9cXn38GPFHB7oyRy_mT4VMDYNY4sbSFp1dbpLIPvYAAMZlrT2a4UNS9G4LQlcWdb2ZJhMqUutQmfFjB7N7TRO7JQ_2EL0RSq6XWib_e8yRHPBE/s1600/IMG_6258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmwfCMpMZNbCeBYWCi-4y8mA6JStNh9cXn38GPFHB7oyRy_mT4VMDYNY4sbSFp1dbpLIPvYAAMZlrT2a4UNS9G4LQlcWdb2ZJhMqUutQmfFjB7N7TRO7JQ_2EL0RSq6XWib_e8yRHPBE/s320/IMG_6258.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Worms: Luther and his homeboys.</td></tr>
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</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOy0jMRX9KQTPKp4oSORcQRTPHwTOWSaUkAU-x9CMLstHnf-n4xZsOyIeIrv5m-a3jFNwX86UK77zwi2KPt4EUDrQQDwfDpKugO3mMKJuvuARlXSDcakoV2fswWdSkwePpqJyCULAYJE/s1600/DSC00549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOy0jMRX9KQTPKp4oSORcQRTPHwTOWSaUkAU-x9CMLstHnf-n4xZsOyIeIrv5m-a3jFNwX86UK77zwi2KPt4EUDrQQDwfDpKugO3mMKJuvuARlXSDcakoV2fswWdSkwePpqJyCULAYJE/s320/DSC00549.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On our way from Speyer to Heidelberg we got ourselves a little lost at one point. No big deal - we just had to wait half an hour for the next train. Exercise is always a good time-passer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43f9po0WdVNNRWI2s8UQdlwCLg9a3QMSCZGrEi9-NlCu3BJQ2U08slpqr5FUPCohBdotpnuZgupOyaxHKYRoBTojDQUxEbK768MD7QcaCMia2KVGL_SQITLNOAacd_kW1-fTnlPXykFY/s1600/DSC00552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43f9po0WdVNNRWI2s8UQdlwCLg9a3QMSCZGrEi9-NlCu3BJQ2U08slpqr5FUPCohBdotpnuZgupOyaxHKYRoBTojDQUxEbK768MD7QcaCMia2KVGL_SQITLNOAacd_kW1-fTnlPXykFY/s320/DSC00552.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think Mag won the pull-up contest...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKInGvPB-iD1qy8VDHwvVYXGJz2cEcrJA8sb60dTklVt2wF7BLMv5BS5lPy927-ZsZBuHOPDSR1UO4rq5THgpz3lBwtLaxyKa8sTxE9lnW1Z0jfWAeYwXz23hTlopaRgWhiyOHbX1551I/s1600/IMG_6304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKInGvPB-iD1qy8VDHwvVYXGJz2cEcrJA8sb60dTklVt2wF7BLMv5BS5lPy927-ZsZBuHOPDSR1UO4rq5THgpz3lBwtLaxyKa8sTxE9lnW1Z0jfWAeYwXz23hTlopaRgWhiyOHbX1551I/s320/IMG_6304.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heidelberg Castle - we got there just as the sun was setting.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_MVP6BGKuzFhz3dtz5LThtIP_eoemzgfYaAs-qjLrk-Y1i2IZzuaqrOGl8dJguBS0tfNgZiHprh5LZ8jdUR2pIVk3jnP0T4-OE92MvFCSddgmWeKaK-WwH1WxRSfwGIFn7fsdaAxrSE/s1600/DSC00573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_MVP6BGKuzFhz3dtz5LThtIP_eoemzgfYaAs-qjLrk-Y1i2IZzuaqrOGl8dJguBS0tfNgZiHprh5LZ8jdUR2pIVk3jnP0T4-OE92MvFCSddgmWeKaK-WwH1WxRSfwGIFn7fsdaAxrSE/s320/DSC00573.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There we are. The view from here was amazing, but my camera didn't capture it very well.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeilts3TJ37TkX7mO5TMsvN9i4dWRMQCpRk50ZY9j0R5L2WJEYq8CBwB-clk85wHFfyOABSUGFryZYd4Rj92NGWCd58roHG0lyWiVEYgvbr2H_5O3S-nY5z4e3KbAZXprvkcvwEjiqy28/s1600/IMG_6318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeilts3TJ37TkX7mO5TMsvN9i4dWRMQCpRk50ZY9j0R5L2WJEYq8CBwB-clk85wHFfyOABSUGFryZYd4Rj92NGWCd58roHG0lyWiVEYgvbr2H_5O3S-nY5z4e3KbAZXprvkcvwEjiqy28/s320/IMG_6318.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Have you seen this wine vat? It's ginormous!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDexuCjFHfkaH5BALxFmrsOVZVDKRBuXA5B6ij44bkOyDRjLF33x2e09ZHTspZz7MVbv7IuY0T7skvs41GYJaeRlZqJsdpe3V3JMz1ej0nZmrafhb6DUjxvXHAynT3IM6Qrygo7xVTbo/s1600/IMG_6333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDexuCjFHfkaH5BALxFmrsOVZVDKRBuXA5B6ij44bkOyDRjLF33x2e09ZHTspZz7MVbv7IuY0T7skvs41GYJaeRlZqJsdpe3V3JMz1ej0nZmrafhb6DUjxvXHAynT3IM6Qrygo7xVTbo/s320/IMG_6333.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas market in Heidelberg - definitely the best one I got to visit this Christmas season.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7njnVWem3gdXrfZb8x-9pFBixsrOoSQxcupHRwpyN8vLGPg_H6u_S6QMwye21DkXgU-U_Gw7vYhX9BK53Q3FDS_q1Q3jCWGWiIty74XgZhq8DSasm7LA1zC9EwdlxHLughf8tYvnxEk/s1600/IMG_6332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7njnVWem3gdXrfZb8x-9pFBixsrOoSQxcupHRwpyN8vLGPg_H6u_S6QMwye21DkXgU-U_Gw7vYhX9BK53Q3FDS_q1Q3jCWGWiIty74XgZhq8DSasm7LA1zC9EwdlxHLughf8tYvnxEk/s320/IMG_6332.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the most scrumtrillescent pieces of food of my life! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwv1ws679wnz92I1SvIis8vaBTYrWC93E0kkvIbmLirh4yYamlRQAn3TZ8LYw9K9DemGcXtAXlZEV9YXrY46IY-ziiuoLJXZ0wIHljpgFqQ1BZ6ZrsbyaMLD1Q8Hmpn2z-xUM7snFIq0/s1600/DSC00653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwv1ws679wnz92I1SvIis8vaBTYrWC93E0kkvIbmLirh4yYamlRQAn3TZ8LYw9K9DemGcXtAXlZEV9YXrY46IY-ziiuoLJXZ0wIHljpgFqQ1BZ6ZrsbyaMLD1Q8Hmpn2z-xUM7snFIq0/s320/DSC00653.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back on campus with a nice fire, glühwein, and beer. Pastor Wenz even joined us!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCDhE4VZ-87OQo5Y2AUF2y7qSEXbIKqXZxH2UvTw55-Oeh_ZwgZaLUkIIIIXRK4v4JYimF5PoLFDoElgtx9Gf1kYAc0CvBz0kOWi7QqnXHj-rI0xSBlxvO2Khs_-5sH_rrvoYbemzAjS4/s1600/IMG_6347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCDhE4VZ-87OQo5Y2AUF2y7qSEXbIKqXZxH2UvTw55-Oeh_ZwgZaLUkIIIIXRK4v4JYimF5PoLFDoElgtx9Gf1kYAc0CvBz0kOWi7QqnXHj-rI0xSBlxvO2Khs_-5sH_rrvoYbemzAjS4/s320/IMG_6347.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gentleman's scotch-tasting event in honor of Roland Johannes (second from the left) whose first child Noah was recently born.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFg82KVUkZKNw8t0UYROvTjkqiLLm5oaZmWLCyyKzAoXOAOVILGGrbbJTRhO56mbV1euKqJvaLwj414QpayAykZ3883QN624DBY9g76ww-GNU9iO3cY8ggFiiIZnm-5wlZL8Wy76B5S8/s1600/IMG_6348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFg82KVUkZKNw8t0UYROvTjkqiLLm5oaZmWLCyyKzAoXOAOVILGGrbbJTRhO56mbV1euKqJvaLwj414QpayAykZ3883QN624DBY9g76ww-GNU9iO3cY8ggFiiIZnm-5wlZL8Wy76B5S8/s320/IMG_6348.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We tasted some high-quality scotch, let me tell you. One of them is missing from the photo...<br />
For those of you who might be interested, here's what we drank:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">1) Ben Nevis (W. Highlands, 12 yrs, 40%)<br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">2) Braeval (Speyside, 12 yrs, 40%)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
3) Bowmore (Islay, 12 yrs(?), 40%)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
4) A rum from Guyana (17 yrs, 45%)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
5) HIGHLAND PARK (Orkney, 24 yrs, 47.7%)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
6) Caol Isla (Islay, 27 yrs, 43%)<br />
Highland Park was the favorite!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqnatyaNgaDgmvQ8OnEfwxuccGLjIs-yS5CgtxB-x333W7XSrK1XoZR1DSxFoziC9eTT6JHEoqFXT8cnenxTEd7z8Wmh4bhVjgKRavOmVTPgvciC0IulrwBmxiKGU6UMYQ_-hFYk9kXs/s1600/IMG_6358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqnatyaNgaDgmvQ8OnEfwxuccGLjIs-yS5CgtxB-x333W7XSrK1XoZR1DSxFoziC9eTT6JHEoqFXT8cnenxTEd7z8Wmh4bhVjgKRavOmVTPgvciC0IulrwBmxiKGU6UMYQ_-hFYk9kXs/s320/IMG_6358.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weekend trip to the SELK's Mission Headquarters in Bleckmar, Germany<br />
It was lots of fun and also very informative.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4GgjRWkFgFVLT-YjgOwxHyI1bYQsnzjgfUKppUbjH5UOirTaZdM09FWvfyvvaay5nU3KCzRNC0C4WuorIu-VF6h0Dxx-LgCyOSDQN7RxImywGbwv6grmULyhhc-ymp5iqbTQTXCB2R8/s1600/IMG_6366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4GgjRWkFgFVLT-YjgOwxHyI1bYQsnzjgfUKppUbjH5UOirTaZdM09FWvfyvvaay5nU3KCzRNC0C4WuorIu-VF6h0Dxx-LgCyOSDQN7RxImywGbwv6grmULyhhc-ymp5iqbTQTXCB2R8/s320/IMG_6366.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mission Museum in Hermannsburg near Bleckmar.<br />
An interesting crucifix from Malawi in southeast Africa. It represents simultaneously the death and resurrection of Jesus, using imagery of a corn seed being planted and coming to fruition as a full grown ear of corn.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCczpdpNsuvmsQbsE_9psVtr5fmo-lZ5TUP4fE_B5hOQMYTuS1ejtXH7vXiJrSRBiO5eOVnedGFkbtSv9eH_gq-bQjoqDdCGg4I9ZG8slaEKDIV7K57KPtbVLevxKKSUvfAgy8ybgaE0/s1600/IMG_6369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCczpdpNsuvmsQbsE_9psVtr5fmo-lZ5TUP4fE_B5hOQMYTuS1ejtXH7vXiJrSRBiO5eOVnedGFkbtSv9eH_gq-bQjoqDdCGg4I9ZG8slaEKDIV7K57KPtbVLevxKKSUvfAgy8ybgaE0/s320/IMG_6369.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An African triptych portraying the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Pentecost. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DuNmxwH19vBbAGRVGeMm2-N5iqe4cKRm0biTMnx5JvoMMrmCxDaJjlIl7_DL9ua6Z-wms_wM9UF5bPcGM3tliuPSCo5zvCGX2fCM_WUTsIfhjlplh0NYORI12ww-5vngjHc0A01Fsj4/s1600/IMG_6370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DuNmxwH19vBbAGRVGeMm2-N5iqe4cKRm0biTMnx5JvoMMrmCxDaJjlIl7_DL9ua6Z-wms_wM9UF5bPcGM3tliuPSCo5zvCGX2fCM_WUTsIfhjlplh0NYORI12ww-5vngjHc0A01Fsj4/s320/IMG_6370.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More from the Mission Museum</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXvg-GNtBtbny1xOCvje7QO_4ZIqMptIkD_hBVjeJ_xJlbp4yOz-98Vn7SJM2CWKgbs6tgpk1hPperqsOFgnvklRd9Y2PEvZG0XC2AyC8qH-IHTfW2YQGqyRuLLuvXwiFrrxgjo0iGhyphenhypheno/s1600/IMG_6393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXvg-GNtBtbny1xOCvje7QO_4ZIqMptIkD_hBVjeJ_xJlbp4yOz-98Vn7SJM2CWKgbs6tgpk1hPperqsOFgnvklRd9Y2PEvZG0XC2AyC8qH-IHTfW2YQGqyRuLLuvXwiFrrxgjo0iGhyphenhypheno/s320/IMG_6393.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back at the Mission House in Bleckmar playing Doppelkopf (a game similar to Sheephead and Skat that I picked up in Oberursel)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe11eNDDjzn-9yn10-7JB6QZO3qui3EX2Mak8i5tZ41EnS_0vNyeN2q0Rd0imzqbkIKOIohp4I67I2Yg2b1Qjdj2ejCmhuV_3aq0B6jCYigU_FYqe5ny-As4i-3UG6byyV8ow0kXLPNl8/s1600/IMG_6395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe11eNDDjzn-9yn10-7JB6QZO3qui3EX2Mak8i5tZ41EnS_0vNyeN2q0Rd0imzqbkIKOIohp4I67I2Yg2b1Qjdj2ejCmhuV_3aq0B6jCYigU_FYqe5ny-As4i-3UG6byyV8ow0kXLPNl8/s320/IMG_6395.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovely country view from my room in the Bleckmar Mission House</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Tune in again later this weekend for more from my exciting Christmas and New Years travels!</div><div>Tschüß!<br />
<br />
</div>Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-55639001288523039452011-11-20T12:46:00.000-08:002011-11-20T12:46:15.264-08:00Ewigkeitssonntag<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Today is the last Sunday in the Church Year, a day that the Germans call “Ewigkeitssonntag” (“Eternity Sunday”). Our Epistle reading today was from Revelation 21 which includes John’s vision of <i>a new heaven and a new earth </i>and a loud voice saying, <i>“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, </i><b><i>“Behold, I am making all things new.”<br />
</i></b><br />
In Mel Gibson’s <i>The Passion of the Christ</i> one of the most moving moments occurs as Jesus is carrying his cross through the streets of Jerusalem. Bloody, beaten, and weak, he struggles to carry the load. As he passes by an alleyway where his mother is standing, he stumbles under the weight of the cross and falls to the ground. Mary, seeing her son in anguish and remembering running to him when he fell as a child, again rushes to comfort her son. But he looks at her and says, <b>“See, mother, I make all things new.”</b></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">What a marvelous theological statement this is, connecting the crucifixion with the coming in glory of the Son of Man. Indeed Jesus is glorified in his passion, and the cross is his throne. Did they not put a scarlet robe on his back, a crown of thorns on his head, and a reed in his hand? And did not the title above his head read, “This is Jesus the King of the Jews”? It is from the cross that Christ makes all things new, redeeming all of creation by spilling his innocent blood. Therefore, when we focus this Sunday on the end times, on the Final Judgement, on death and life, mortality and eternity, we do so rightly only in view of the cross of Jesus, who by his death has won for us life. Surely <i>the dwelling place of God is with man</i>, for <i>the Word became flesh and dwelt among us</i>. Thus, when the Final Judgement comes, we who through faith have been bound to Christ, will reign eternally with Him in the new heaven and new earth, where<i> death shall be no more.</i></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>______________________________________________________________________</i></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i></i></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Now to updates on what I’ve been up to these last couple of weeks. Quite a bit, actually. There was a Student Convention two weekends ago and then the seminary’s annual theological symposium called “Dies Academicus” a few days later. Both events were very quite interesting, and I made a point of taking part in everything that I could. This included, during the Student Convention, a Bible study and round-table discussion with the current SELK leader, Bishop Voigt and, during the Symposium, several lectures from German, South African, and American theologians on the topic of “Mission and Apartheid” in South Africa. (Apartheid was a national policy of racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa against “non-white” inhabitants. It was the law of the land from 1948 until 1994.) </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Have I mentioned that there are several South African students that study here at the Oberursel seminary? Well there are, and they all speak German as their mother language. Confused? Let me try to explain briefly with a couple snippets taken from the website of the <a href="http://www.felsisa.org.za/">Free Evangelical Lutheran Synod in South Africa</a> (FELSISA):</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #303030; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #000000;">“</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The FELSISA was founded in 1892.The descendants of the <b>German missionaries</b> that were designated to spread the Gospel among the Zulu and the Tswana, were the nucleus of the first congregations.” […] “In the past the FELSISA usually called it's pastors from Germany.” But today, “students complete a BA (languages) degree at Pretoria University and then go to either the <b>Luthersische Theologische Hochschule Oberursel</b> … or to one of two seminaries of our sister church in America, the Missouri Synod.” (emphasis mine.)</span></div><div style="color: #303030; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #303030; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So now maybe it makes a little more sense why this German seminary chose to discuss South Africa at its symposium. What made the symposium really interesting, especially for someone like me who previously knew nothing about South African Lutheranism, was learning that there are two separate confessional Lutheran church bodies in South Africa. They are in fellowship with each other, but because of cultural differences (in part, exacerbated by apartheid policies) they remain separate churches. The FELSISA is the “white” church made up largely of German immigrants, and the other church, the Lutheran Church in South Africa (LCSA), is the “black” church which “emerged through the preaching of missionaries among Tswana and Zulu people.” Representatives from both FELSISA and LCSA gave papers at the symposium, the FELSISA pastor in German (albeit “South African German”) and the LCSA speakers in English (albeit with a heavy accent). Therefore, as you can imagine, the weekend was, culturally and linguistically, very interesting.</span></div><div style="color: #303030; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">____________</span></div><div style="color: #303030; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #303030; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The symposium started Thursday (Nov. 10) and went through Friday evening. The next morning at about 4:48AM I rolled out of bed in order to hit the road with 8 other students for a soccer tournament called “Cup of the Brothers” (or as the Germans say, “Cup off zee Bruzzers.”) There were 20 teams, all made up of students from theological seminaries in Germany. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the play-off round, but we had a great time, anyway. The road trip was fun, too. On the way back, we parked our rented van at a little rest area in the woods and finished off the day with some beers and leftover schnitzels from the Symposium dinner.</span></div><div style="color: #303030; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">____________</span></div><div style="color: #303030; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #303030; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As for my studies, they are certainly keeping me busy. I spend a good deal of time in the library: reading German, <i>trying to</i> <i>read</i> 400-500 year-old German, and <i>trying really hard</i> to read Latin. When it comes to reading our Lutheran Confessions, the Book of Concord (400-500 year-old German), it actually goes quite well because I have English translations at my disposal with which to compare. However, for my class on <i>Biblical Hermeneutics</i>, I’m supposed to give a presentation in a couple weeks on a 1610 work by Johann Gerhard called </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #000000;"><i>Tractatus</i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #232323;"><i> De Legitima Scripturae Sacrae </i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #000000;"><i>Interpretatione</i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #232323;">. As you can see from the title, the work was written in Latin. There is no English translation, and the only German translation was written two years after the publication of the original and is, therefore, 400 year-old, very-hard-to-read German. This challenge alone is keeping me plenty busy for now.</span></div><div style="color: #232323; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">____________</span></div><div style="color: #232323; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #232323; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">On Friday the seminary community celebrated St. Martin’s Day (it was actually last Friday, but we couldn’t celebrate it then because of the Symposium). This is a really neat German tradition that I had never experienced before. I’m running out of gas to explain it in depth, so you’ll just have to Google it to learn more. I’ll just say: candlelit chapel service, little kids with homemade lanterns, walking door to door singing St. Martin songs, fruit, goodies… you get the idea. For the adults, the evening continued with Glühwein</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #232323; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">(mulled wine, or glogg)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #232323; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"> </span>at the history professor's house and then cheese and white wine at my Latin professor's house. </div><div style="color: #232323; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">____________</div><div style="color: #232323; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #232323; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Now for some pics and then good night!</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohI4BJAjS0gZ-JWYESHOtu25B8848x9J7rhWNXQY8gYa7VRohAvazM10cBlOJmtRfSXswcCCD3ycJtESLy2iFkcpfgbkqR7is63ADTpaXIljAY6um-KHUoiZ9M-HHa1eM0H-oZSJ0U5c/s1600/IMG_6019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohI4BJAjS0gZ-JWYESHOtu25B8848x9J7rhWNXQY8gYa7VRohAvazM10cBlOJmtRfSXswcCCD3ycJtESLy2iFkcpfgbkqR7is63ADTpaXIljAY6um-KHUoiZ9M-HHa1eM0H-oZSJ0U5c/s320/IMG_6019.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Student Convention with Bishop Vogt</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii9jx6tYiPjhXdkWUbCfOfIHjqRFp-tqP4DMB0CfThIrGK_btEU3I5aKxnkIn8hPCClahru8BBSPb0JzAwIfooK4EQt0WEePeAJIBzawBs9_KObYh5PC8jZ3tOyOTJNQCCfeCkNOwhOFM/s1600/IMG_6021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii9jx6tYiPjhXdkWUbCfOfIHjqRFp-tqP4DMB0CfThIrGK_btEU3I5aKxnkIn8hPCClahru8BBSPb0JzAwIfooK4EQt0WEePeAJIBzawBs9_KObYh5PC8jZ3tOyOTJNQCCfeCkNOwhOFM/s320/IMG_6021.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZzz7yB8tU2epbxdEB0XWoKCIaS4xIypb8Kp9rC0K_eM7BpkNcUkYoZDosUGXqF0LlpdiSal8jmdWrmNQhb5mi-U02Vk4GFWPkYCaiFuK46x9aDQLl4QTodZjHYPIq4kZXTk0RY35PLKs/s1600/IMG_6031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZzz7yB8tU2epbxdEB0XWoKCIaS4xIypb8Kp9rC0K_eM7BpkNcUkYoZDosUGXqF0LlpdiSal8jmdWrmNQhb5mi-U02Vk4GFWPkYCaiFuK46x9aDQLl4QTodZjHYPIq4kZXTk0RY35PLKs/s320/IMG_6031.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5kf3R3WDnhcSjvGLR7aE4ZEKq2I8VMtZslh8UZbC-F04FREQPTKbgxrbciJ8Y8wAdGvmMv5Xj0O4GsXxwSuSpqxsUjy1JhcLntwecLeVMLUs9WPoGJuXnRe8ctbi7tE6k6SQM34Euots/s1600/IMG_6041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5kf3R3WDnhcSjvGLR7aE4ZEKq2I8VMtZslh8UZbC-F04FREQPTKbgxrbciJ8Y8wAdGvmMv5Xj0O4GsXxwSuSpqxsUjy1JhcLntwecLeVMLUs9WPoGJuXnRe8ctbi7tE6k6SQM34Euots/s320/IMG_6041.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Symposium</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCkHImt7ODdQaOOxtzmrmNfq3z16tePYYGUi_-jpoz8ahK3djGeY7E64LubjyzOa9S3o_5kx2ZJGOcp96qxxyemHa7Pe5KrGunOJkQ7c65kkZx8xhEPA6JaEF5Vt1VPkTonupItSoujMU/s1600/IMG_6042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCkHImt7ODdQaOOxtzmrmNfq3z16tePYYGUi_-jpoz8ahK3djGeY7E64LubjyzOa9S3o_5kx2ZJGOcp96qxxyemHa7Pe5KrGunOJkQ7c65kkZx8xhEPA6JaEF5Vt1VPkTonupItSoujMU/s320/IMG_6042.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFuTDK0acQeTHFrtVVMQG3Oj60YatmzMdaa1QERLk5s90tmxyvxYMRpE9MAudI1nj8-wDXdR5sihNihhL7VyHp6TvSSzyEzDWkG3qzD0-I0PKHkgoNNhIhNka6sEfF0D2T2ZVnz1IhP0/s1600/IMG_6045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFuTDK0acQeTHFrtVVMQG3Oj60YatmzMdaa1QERLk5s90tmxyvxYMRpE9MAudI1nj8-wDXdR5sihNihhL7VyHp6TvSSzyEzDWkG3qzD0-I0PKHkgoNNhIhNka6sEfF0D2T2ZVnz1IhP0/s320/IMG_6045.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Cup of the Brothers"</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWttzWfsDwt9PWxSVtizZTutb8jB-Kn_Htez3u9mshOOP8X9iThz5PbPVkLeTeNevYOc6k-rDu209SUsHSqO2dmXszeoVb1VLr09-lNVK7eD9HAX-wX7c5R6QV9VFmnm4qnHgMi0hoKM/s1600/IMG_6048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWttzWfsDwt9PWxSVtizZTutb8jB-Kn_Htez3u9mshOOP8X9iThz5PbPVkLeTeNevYOc6k-rDu209SUsHSqO2dmXszeoVb1VLr09-lNVK7eD9HAX-wX7c5R6QV9VFmnm4qnHgMi0hoKM/s320/IMG_6048.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKwHwQ5zK_Lx7wH9LPGSvsBCYI67hdptsKtgkGy0qVofgvxlvkP5VPP5ZCbhhTzMZjFVB66HdIypxk_D__uBL3Zf8fj1WyCwrA8O8M24vjqV9UUTzucxQelGzBjn6aiUs4Z6uuQWFKBg/s1600/IMG_6052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKwHwQ5zK_Lx7wH9LPGSvsBCYI67hdptsKtgkGy0qVofgvxlvkP5VPP5ZCbhhTzMZjFVB66HdIypxk_D__uBL3Zf8fj1WyCwrA8O8M24vjqV9UUTzucxQelGzBjn6aiUs4Z6uuQWFKBg/s320/IMG_6052.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUW34njZQWs0sRJnNp5y_atJq4Lzdnlr_vwg_7cy85VNmVPIh512aFBmAsWMXEvQRhRvQuSei5egrfNttZAyf5o8-E_Mr9rB3zgSxayEa1IKZVbOO8_VcLKpXXfg7Qi1NiRDOtESkzRU/s1600/IMG_6057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUW34njZQWs0sRJnNp5y_atJq4Lzdnlr_vwg_7cy85VNmVPIh512aFBmAsWMXEvQRhRvQuSei5egrfNttZAyf5o8-E_Mr9rB3zgSxayEa1IKZVbOO8_VcLKpXXfg7Qi1NiRDOtESkzRU/s320/IMG_6057.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi950psDoKfQwL3Z3-d3oO5XUX_rxIxjyhj1fkhC9aVQvYajYg7OPBnHCfd-iSfFsEIbh2mhW-4gPKyKzAipJMMvMVmlhVinvGZFQGjcCz9Dpi4c3NV8oQZGDanr0dW5ArPe33d8ywHj98/s1600/IMG_6063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi950psDoKfQwL3Z3-d3oO5XUX_rxIxjyhj1fkhC9aVQvYajYg7OPBnHCfd-iSfFsEIbh2mhW-4gPKyKzAipJMMvMVmlhVinvGZFQGjcCz9Dpi4c3NV8oQZGDanr0dW5ArPe33d8ywHj98/s320/IMG_6063.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Fröhlich sei das Fußballspiel! Fröhlich, Fröhlich, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">Fröhlich!!!"</span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSJyrWPvCIlX5H9mPpWEmVGhEn5cfz6gGOzySflrKjRgndKxOU8tVcRwVj-V1PjLXsa2jXmG9qWibhnViLdfg5GDJzjQ7eoBtvvI5ONSiAxhnEPIQtc5_-tDlYGC5NhGUiFfUHcrepC4/s1600/IMG_6064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSJyrWPvCIlX5H9mPpWEmVGhEn5cfz6gGOzySflrKjRgndKxOU8tVcRwVj-V1PjLXsa2jXmG9qWibhnViLdfg5GDJzjQ7eoBtvvI5ONSiAxhnEPIQtc5_-tDlYGC5NhGUiFfUHcrepC4/s320/IMG_6064.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: #232323; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #232323; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #232323; font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-86757819985081488792011-10-31T13:01:00.000-07:002011-10-31T13:01:55.443-07:00My Address<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By the way, if anyone ever wants to send me any mail over here (not that I would presume to expect mail from anyone and not that I would ask for people to send me anything...) my address here is:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Peter Eckardt</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">150 Altkönigstraße</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">61440 Oberursel</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Germany</span>Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-74956826728554763212011-10-28T10:57:00.000-07:002011-10-29T06:54:29.828-07:00<div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">"Spiritus sanctus non est scepticus."</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">- from <i>De Servo Arbitrio (On the Bondage of the Will)</i></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Little did I know that I was going to be reading Latin while here in Oberursel... My classes are in full swing now, and it turns out that the readings for many of them include some Latin texts, an extra challenge I hadn't really expected. For instance, in the class which I think I will enjoy the most this semester,<i> Biblical Hermeneutics in Lutheran Orthodoxy,</i> we discussed Luther's famous writing, <i>On the Bondage of the Will, </i>which Luther wrote in Latin, not German. I did have one year of Latin at Augustana 5 or 6 years ago, but now I wish I had taken more, or had kept it up. At the suggestion of a classmate, I made a last-minute decision to take a Latin 3 which is being offered this semester, one day a week for two hours. The three of us in the class and our teacher, Frau Dr. Adam (a very nice lady who's been teaching Latin for 25 years) will be working our way through St. Augustine's <i>Confessiones</i> and reviewing grammar and vocabulary as we go. I think this will be a relatively painless and even enjoyable way of improving my Latin.</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Allow me to share with the rest of the classes that I'm taking this semester. So far, I'm very pleased with the selections I made. I believe I have a challenging but rewarding semester ahead of me.</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Augsburg Confession</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Formula of Concord </span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">These are the names of two of the eleven documents of the Lutheran Confessions, assembled in the <i>Book of Concord</i>, which all pastors of the Missouri Synod (and virtually all of our sister churches) must subscribe to upon their ordination. It is subscription to these documents that makes the Missouri Synod a <i>confessional </i>Lutheran church. Apart from the three ecumenical creeds (Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian) the remaining texts of the Book of Concord were written between 1529 (<i>Small </i>and <i>Large Catechisms</i>) and 1577 (the <i>Formula of Concord</i>) as a way of clearly stating the evangelical Lutheran faith, as derived from the Scriptures alone (sola scriptura!), over against the errors of the Roman Catholic Church and other churches which had arisen from the Reformation and invented new errors.</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Gospel of Luke</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Systematics/Dogmatics III (Pneumatology and Ecclesiology)</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">This class is already proving to be very interesting, and I am doubly excited because it should fulfill my requirement for Dog III at CTS in Fort Wayne which I still need.</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Form of the Sermon</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Latin III</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Biblical Hermeneutics in Lutheran Orthodoxy</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Anyone who knows me very well knows that I could go on for hours about everything that's going in my life and describe all of my classes and activities in full detail. But I'm also well aware that such detail doesn't necessarily translate into the most engaging reading. With that, I'm going to move on and post some more pictures from this past week. Most of them are from a nearby town (Bod Homburg) that I explored last Saturday with the accompaniment of a few other students (1 German couple, 1 German/South African, and 1 Canadian).</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHq8C6oFoR3Jp8PH2iJnGEUpvkapBdYq8ww0VUpOLLFo9iGjwWbkjLODItW-H7xAGp9qQkRZpuCfp9Yy5kBZ_fp8L_Tl7EqZco6_3VyfF7X6VnQ_oLR2G0WWYlsZEl_fUjSDu4Jdldmjo/s1600/IMG_5962.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHq8C6oFoR3Jp8PH2iJnGEUpvkapBdYq8ww0VUpOLLFo9iGjwWbkjLODItW-H7xAGp9qQkRZpuCfp9Yy5kBZ_fp8L_Tl7EqZco6_3VyfF7X6VnQ_oLR2G0WWYlsZEl_fUjSDu4Jdldmjo/s400/IMG_5962.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOVmrW0ZpS-mJ89nnYJGc5R_LL1GevoUjIfYv0sdfD4pXH95zLm-cSNRoR7edYkLYuqkHPaLb2vXtdmud4lWxIJ9msJP4rUy4jY1Z293L8XtbC9b0WTY74A5r3KhV2q0GlNopn6rWwKHs/s1600/IMG_5963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOVmrW0ZpS-mJ89nnYJGc5R_LL1GevoUjIfYv0sdfD4pXH95zLm-cSNRoR7edYkLYuqkHPaLb2vXtdmud4lWxIJ9msJP4rUy4jY1Z293L8XtbC9b0WTY74A5r3KhV2q0GlNopn6rWwKHs/s400/IMG_5963.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This first church honestly wasn't that pretty, but it did have some nice features, such as the stations of the cross carved in stone around the church.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdigwJawq_QEiPeJ4UeZAgbWWmkyte1Smoux2ge1fltP1pw9V9ZtQ_5k0xy8YZtiCiLpvdB-y1hAh-OuYNY9aALQr_SUvnnkdfnbzAzfyKZkFJy3z1YYklr8NQx80zHk9xRhj2bNhNrBI/s1600/IMG_5964.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdigwJawq_QEiPeJ4UeZAgbWWmkyte1Smoux2ge1fltP1pw9V9ZtQ_5k0xy8YZtiCiLpvdB-y1hAh-OuYNY9aALQr_SUvnnkdfnbzAzfyKZkFJy3z1YYklr8NQx80zHk9xRhj2bNhNrBI/s400/IMG_5964.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> And I liked the huge crucifix.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyqr0DwzNrgOI0zcOnef6sAAiIUeOOy7h1fJh84GA7TxR6QjkDOf6b8gXyO_gg2Pu9H70kYIYrU6pt7U7H91zAQneVauGdqctkrjgKQlf8ECMZjcP2tZnPTwIj7BfZpEgwApaaalNCY38/s1600/IMG_5967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyqr0DwzNrgOI0zcOnef6sAAiIUeOOy7h1fJh84GA7TxR6QjkDOf6b8gXyO_gg2Pu9H70kYIYrU6pt7U7H91zAQneVauGdqctkrjgKQlf8ECMZjcP2tZnPTwIj7BfZpEgwApaaalNCY38/s400/IMG_5967.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Next church: much more interesting.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAoSDVWr2uPLnuKO6sG_j4YovuC3rGYGe3TKUrzavCRMjmRaYsyvukWFA8cwjTzKf6E_LyFktznzENPFyGugOOi6uEoz4p6jF2nfZNn6uwrBw5g9PkfpmxiEwQyFlLV7OmyHmQYwyboXU/s1600/IMG_5969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAoSDVWr2uPLnuKO6sG_j4YovuC3rGYGe3TKUrzavCRMjmRaYsyvukWFA8cwjTzKf6E_LyFktznzENPFyGugOOi6uEoz4p6jF2nfZNn6uwrBw5g9PkfpmxiEwQyFlLV7OmyHmQYwyboXU/s400/IMG_5969.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> But not necessarily attractive. I don't know. I sort of like the mosaic, but that cross made out of light bulbs needs to go.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtrObCA2SQwChRMKMeP7ACtDmmBKhsRkuPWxtIyrqnpVEeLTbCtCf7lJdQELdSWfVLdTgWYtEzaVpAgyPVWEs38-tvhACjkdkCHaSDB0jtOhJRoVZ1vtbQzhb-aIAI2HxBKvI5f3YUHsk/s1600/IMG_5972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtrObCA2SQwChRMKMeP7ACtDmmBKhsRkuPWxtIyrqnpVEeLTbCtCf7lJdQELdSWfVLdTgWYtEzaVpAgyPVWEs38-tvhACjkdkCHaSDB0jtOhJRoVZ1vtbQzhb-aIAI2HxBKvI5f3YUHsk/s640/IMG_5972.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwBryYOe7KFvbhCYukf60WBiZnuvYWmXCTZlmT-BanF21tx8-u9BKmeGy4R1iZ5zuxBHd0BsusThQqwiX00bUtkZ7NlMIakrlcNzpIQ-7iESIGm70P3uEqcRfGLRNryoD6IE4sq7GlhV8/s1600/IMG_5975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwBryYOe7KFvbhCYukf60WBiZnuvYWmXCTZlmT-BanF21tx8-u9BKmeGy4R1iZ5zuxBHd0BsusThQqwiX00bUtkZ7NlMIakrlcNzpIQ-7iESIGm70P3uEqcRfGLRNryoD6IE4sq7GlhV8/s400/IMG_5975.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Jeremy, I don't think you're supposed to go up there...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLb4ipD8Xqg0tpcVBeY7ApW1Xg46GqlYRrMaZMKTRy4A3FyuE22N-vQNz8BiRWAuqNNweKe6bBm2IFptCI22Kef7AscGPK9vhrjOsjg4RJJlTCAreRKgf93PcQ0gw9WjuMDSHPjvdaqzc/s1600/IMG_5980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLb4ipD8Xqg0tpcVBeY7ApW1Xg46GqlYRrMaZMKTRy4A3FyuE22N-vQNz8BiRWAuqNNweKe6bBm2IFptCI22Kef7AscGPK9vhrjOsjg4RJJlTCAreRKgf93PcQ0gw9WjuMDSHPjvdaqzc/s400/IMG_5980.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDSwl8tsP9BZ8KZq0L6lBRd9GMGvmuO9WNlaAxJ4enEousJTpgW4fE9zlsbaNDExSIQk44vbfvLtAwWVM-RuMTE__jZgTjdOPZROAfiTWLm_HrbW7nAnrJghhiNkISjuOGn0qPmLyrlk/s1600/IMG_5983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDSwl8tsP9BZ8KZq0L6lBRd9GMGvmuO9WNlaAxJ4enEousJTpgW4fE9zlsbaNDExSIQk44vbfvLtAwWVM-RuMTE__jZgTjdOPZROAfiTWLm_HrbW7nAnrJghhiNkISjuOGn0qPmLyrlk/s400/IMG_5983.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> I don't like this cross either. The corpus is androgynous and ugly.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAd_p0d1WOj_xqYLiS1GpEk-JxBMR3NZPVw4FPcFVpkcYYHNH65cjPf39FiV9dSGwnuAIqUFPVs_EnRXqWonfV8DqqQD_cm53Lt3sUwkHxx5Dn5MCB0gwhiNPBq4iqJ90ZqjkX8XfAFM/s1600/IMG_5986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAd_p0d1WOj_xqYLiS1GpEk-JxBMR3NZPVw4FPcFVpkcYYHNH65cjPf39FiV9dSGwnuAIqUFPVs_EnRXqWonfV8DqqQD_cm53Lt3sUwkHxx5Dn5MCB0gwhiNPBq4iqJ90ZqjkX8XfAFM/s400/IMG_5986.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> I got some nice pics from the outside, though.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4VuUEVmSiFJy4GrKO1SgBfyAxGWquEyB08jGjlR6sBDNnS7A90kfpbgZD3o5hEewnRkhgL-VfQ5yCnThBw7x-2SCP1c2apdHOQTG4-yzeEFBzJT3K11-2ly9qPWn-EXfOcmAPM61_Fc/s1600/IMG_5987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4VuUEVmSiFJy4GrKO1SgBfyAxGWquEyB08jGjlR6sBDNnS7A90kfpbgZD3o5hEewnRkhgL-VfQ5yCnThBw7x-2SCP1c2apdHOQTG4-yzeEFBzJT3K11-2ly9qPWn-EXfOcmAPM61_Fc/s400/IMG_5987.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuB5aglAYeITkgdT61jPUBPq7ifqW4VTyN7tLw-rhM7ibtR6XzPK5BlBbvQjayurqD01d-zQJdEgQaCPEaB4Ywa6k0nj_l2rXUHG5PKY4c99ZJcMb2SRQga83gp9l8ji77lkmq7exxY6o/s1600/IMG_5988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuB5aglAYeITkgdT61jPUBPq7ifqW4VTyN7tLw-rhM7ibtR6XzPK5BlBbvQjayurqD01d-zQJdEgQaCPEaB4Ywa6k0nj_l2rXUHG5PKY4c99ZJcMb2SRQga83gp9l8ji77lkmq7exxY6o/s400/IMG_5988.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi0E09tlPCZniPpAex1uyg_H2UGq_TnaNeVetPbrIRaeFEdegObkD2LLF3lqSpr9MfW23Nq1cr_GffPlgiPBfopl9thhg7WoZKDhX0vu5Oy9CCC6lJBWy5z73rDWeVaHr9KQd__d0gJo8/s1600/IMG_5991.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi0E09tlPCZniPpAex1uyg_H2UGq_TnaNeVetPbrIRaeFEdegObkD2LLF3lqSpr9MfW23Nq1cr_GffPlgiPBfopl9thhg7WoZKDhX0vu5Oy9CCC6lJBWy5z73rDWeVaHr9KQd__d0gJo8/s400/IMG_5991.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Then we went to this castle, former summer home of the German Kaiser.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5RqYAUv2d4kj7VfzYI_SvywrP9UbXua_16ZMaVoY4BAyHRWkJw97tWcWBXNyVJFurpOAPQi_RY8INFrGOHFWbyClbjbRHaKefFL-3eBCNuMfWtX5DZR3jHQ5CVlwUk4VBKq3tbd0_ZA/s1600/IMG_5989.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5RqYAUv2d4kj7VfzYI_SvywrP9UbXua_16ZMaVoY4BAyHRWkJw97tWcWBXNyVJFurpOAPQi_RY8INFrGOHFWbyClbjbRHaKefFL-3eBCNuMfWtX5DZR3jHQ5CVlwUk4VBKq3tbd0_ZA/s400/IMG_5989.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> This awesome-looking tree is a cedar of Lebanon... like in the Bible!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBGZwql3umblQQfwDsLkSuytZzpnolesRVV6NGJD6NLWc_Q_JoWEtbx0P-_Y4IQANlSmgu4QLoEjGLv0hi_wKDD14L5JJAIGn1sfvumYcKMq20Q_tJVfMPhz_kVt4ZtY3RNTtMVcBr7E/s1600/IMG_5990.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBGZwql3umblQQfwDsLkSuytZzpnolesRVV6NGJD6NLWc_Q_JoWEtbx0P-_Y4IQANlSmgu4QLoEjGLv0hi_wKDD14L5JJAIGn1sfvumYcKMq20Q_tJVfMPhz_kVt4ZtY3RNTtMVcBr7E/s400/IMG_5990.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> And then all of a sudden we were in California...?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijv4HHS5JBRfN09vPEn2iPDzaWILdxbSv_j5ViuZcbS9y0Q2q1kURMxaeWjvMgUASmQY_2IriZVq48_XhpYjamwuPK9cFMYNLAlNi0f7WZ5kLPwWKwWxUxziXUn55BWwbvsRdQf1sedAI/s1600/IMG_5994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijv4HHS5JBRfN09vPEn2iPDzaWILdxbSv_j5ViuZcbS9y0Q2q1kURMxaeWjvMgUASmQY_2IriZVq48_XhpYjamwuPK9cFMYNLAlNi0f7WZ5kLPwWKwWxUxziXUn55BWwbvsRdQf1sedAI/s400/IMG_5994.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> I love the look of these houses. We could use some of this aesthetic back home in Kewanee...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlHEyoL4t8DNMUdz1aTOizYJpu55pi_o3YRXFRYwKRwJxXlY7355qholuUpcDjl5RIOheCbDLmnm8i1i-LPPgwh4Qiv8JAHwv46ozteaADovJ_3jHyXBnDQe1tkANIAU4tOMAeJ6-07M/s1600/IMG_5996.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlHEyoL4t8DNMUdz1aTOizYJpu55pi_o3YRXFRYwKRwJxXlY7355qholuUpcDjl5RIOheCbDLmnm8i1i-LPPgwh4Qiv8JAHwv46ozteaADovJ_3jHyXBnDQe1tkANIAU4tOMAeJ6-07M/s400/IMG_5996.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__uJ1KHq8xvdKEP5tbzQK-QPhDOALopezLjmiIbmqDztIn0_BrcJ8PKI-T5m7JrKvQDJ2t14iLNnwVFskWla3DVjQGbtFxR8GKjxO52PezqGaCzgL7ChJ-ZqD2QXlJq4_fGuSX8LDSyk/s1600/IMG_5997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__uJ1KHq8xvdKEP5tbzQK-QPhDOALopezLjmiIbmqDztIn0_BrcJ8PKI-T5m7JrKvQDJ2t14iLNnwVFskWla3DVjQGbtFxR8GKjxO52PezqGaCzgL7ChJ-ZqD2QXlJq4_fGuSX8LDSyk/s400/IMG_5997.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> I made this dinner all by myself. Lecker!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEFpynipzVYALcurMSsqfQNEnsU9YDP_0tVe7QnjbGD_ognjaaCPc5SOEwMqVetu3O0SdNgvT42acZ2_zfYLUFb4xNKrGP6M2C5Iu1PEeajaWPF-IBp-JmkpUb0Zqhr1Y98JLM_1-_T4/s1600/IMG_5998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEFpynipzVYALcurMSsqfQNEnsU9YDP_0tVe7QnjbGD_ognjaaCPc5SOEwMqVetu3O0SdNgvT42acZ2_zfYLUFb4xNKrGP6M2C5Iu1PEeajaWPF-IBp-JmkpUb0Zqhr1Y98JLM_1-_T4/s400/IMG_5998.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> More soccer battle wounds. But this injury came seconds before I scored the game-winning goal!</div><div style="text-align: center;">I got hit in the face again, too. :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDfoiuEK-4P4UUC-EcJwrCbVN6kVKJIDsOSrRw8JPIcWjk8QZLk0jEv4uFnrMP7GN8koWT0i5GipVsESblzv2N61qrs3noKYIMmO8uZwMhjm5cK42qwYkLL4Elc5rKa0aYEj-Hp_0mOQ/s1600/IMG_5999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDfoiuEK-4P4UUC-EcJwrCbVN6kVKJIDsOSrRw8JPIcWjk8QZLk0jEv4uFnrMP7GN8koWT0i5GipVsESblzv2N61qrs3noKYIMmO8uZwMhjm5cK42qwYkLL4Elc5rKa0aYEj-Hp_0mOQ/s400/IMG_5999.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">How often do you see your clock read 0:00? That's army time for ya.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWgJ9oo5bbCxmTIgg2KWB5fsP2hp1xElL6bRErZ8F27ZEGU3nnkHJYHwHoN3vHVomNQ1u527yjd6BH737Xzk-AdeGUCPEQz13MewXGVRlVIwtXD8p8PqI62_qRsmh9jVfS33UUiJSpCnw/s1600/IMG_5961.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWgJ9oo5bbCxmTIgg2KWB5fsP2hp1xElL6bRErZ8F27ZEGU3nnkHJYHwHoN3vHVomNQ1u527yjd6BH737Xzk-AdeGUCPEQz13MewXGVRlVIwtXD8p8PqI62_qRsmh9jVfS33UUiJSpCnw/s400/IMG_5961.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-30132687021516609532011-10-18T14:46:00.000-07:002011-10-18T14:46:20.648-07:00But it was lots of fun./!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This one's mostly a picture post. That is, a post of pretty places... and plants which I purposefully took pictures of today for the primary purpose of posting on this plog. I mean blog. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.</div><div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasWq8FwSI0dhb5jGljQ6JrdatGNwgxoby_FACArJrijBydATvGGP7nZvwpGY17k3pg2UWRdXflAktkNR0CKeqwd6aOIM_axfS1sER7vmE0w6hiebSpLLQGc-uayuxhDy_eYsBsNkzeYs/s1600/IMG_5929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasWq8FwSI0dhb5jGljQ6JrdatGNwgxoby_FACArJrijBydATvGGP7nZvwpGY17k3pg2UWRdXflAktkNR0CKeqwd6aOIM_axfS1sER7vmE0w6hiebSpLLQGc-uayuxhDy_eYsBsNkzeYs/s640/IMG_5929.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The lovely entrance to the campus</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtUnsGCmqr7lF22yzH7ugZM4MiR7nzaZRQg_ir0956uqd6PTid8NbjB9EMA_XZFg792SF1yYI8pGKqzPKyxQCxYtGUD4Pbg3v_P49zOWnLtLYf9bsZYHVJ0GaLRqv6o-3zErxtESQ0LMs/s1600/IMG_5930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtUnsGCmqr7lF22yzH7ugZM4MiR7nzaZRQg_ir0956uqd6PTid8NbjB9EMA_XZFg792SF1yYI8pGKqzPKyxQCxYtGUD4Pbg3v_P49zOWnLtLYf9bsZYHVJ0GaLRqv6o-3zErxtESQ0LMs/s640/IMG_5930.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> A nice big field. I played volleyball yesterday - can't really remember the last time that happened... but it was lots of fun. In the background is Dorm 1 (of 2). My room is the upper left one; you can see the window behind the leaves.</span></div><div><br />
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I'm going to go on a little excursus here: I wish there were a mini-exclamation point, or some sort of punctuation that shows a little excitement and emphatic expression, but not too much. For instance, in the above caption, I couldn't decide whether to place an exclamation point after "it was lots of fun" or simply a period. I went back and forth 3 or 4 times before leaving it with just the period. I feared that the exclamation point might have given the impression that I'm slap-happy about playing volleyball and that you might imagine me with this sort of expression on my face:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeQBrBrz4Xds1Ad2B_jxH-Fwhcsg78kzR-h6WI_ZRGjCMNQj0S0CjypkrHKRzjUGDXb73gDDxkFazK5S_4Vw9tfFXLxdSPPSUhpuWVn5IGmnLHEDGqRVhdCy8XYmqBTDjD1LHNJC99S4E/s1600/Photo+on+2011-10-18+at+22.25.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeQBrBrz4Xds1Ad2B_jxH-Fwhcsg78kzR-h6WI_ZRGjCMNQj0S0CjypkrHKRzjUGDXb73gDDxkFazK5S_4Vw9tfFXLxdSPPSUhpuWVn5IGmnLHEDGqRVhdCy8XYmqBTDjD1LHNJC99S4E/s200/Photo+on+2011-10-18+at+22.25.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But that's not the case. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There's a problem with using a period though, too. Isn't it a bit oxymoronic to write that something was "lots of fun" and then to punctuate that with a boring, matter-of-fact period? I can just imagine someone responding sarcastically, "Oh sure - sounds like you had a blast!" </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">See my dilemma? In the end, I decided the period to be the lesser of two evils.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Just so you know, this sort of thing actually goes through my mind quite often regarding punctuation.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFtbBldgmht5d6vrwmk5qQehU4zSGSqkL7Wy5IL5afZrMK0UYwy2fw1PL-hJCUvKR9A-kjdSXmeJUSc7-5G6oG6vDeZ6KAFEa6zROReAYrJd06KJw3O4lF_YZ4w7_XwXH3KQ20OZ57Xo/s1600/IMG_5932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="379" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFtbBldgmht5d6vrwmk5qQehU4zSGSqkL7Wy5IL5afZrMK0UYwy2fw1PL-hJCUvKR9A-kjdSXmeJUSc7-5G6oG6vDeZ6KAFEa6zROReAYrJd06KJw3O4lF_YZ4w7_XwXH3KQ20OZ57Xo/s640/IMG_5932.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Top left is my room.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXk1LjfqO3yTSrB0NfVN59DcPMgmCAYeCWd1_YB_UdvPGErtEMhmI9oP_Zs_5PO2MOMQhXVn3t2cXcwXNLGXnNL2pQtbaxMwxmWZO6QfHvcNnrqKf5CW4Xg98M_gQwKcFeq8bWFxLfgQ/s1600/IMG_5935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXk1LjfqO3yTSrB0NfVN59DcPMgmCAYeCWd1_YB_UdvPGErtEMhmI9oP_Zs_5PO2MOMQhXVn3t2cXcwXNLGXnNL2pQtbaxMwxmWZO6QfHvcNnrqKf5CW4Xg98M_gQwKcFeq8bWFxLfgQ/s640/IMG_5935.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A nice place to sit and have coffee and enjoy the sunshine (while it lasts). Sehr gemütlich.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjrF1N8Zw4O5kt96wtG_8ZuyLcl6bEwU1aI7NitPLfTCMC2FwEhpJYcq2mcxLA6dS-QCY3_mn3Pohp_m5zm0wbm_YBy8H6Lhl52-1ofAkqr2QWn6_SERQyk9xayhh3zOSV4QjNdW0uYks/s1600/IMG_5936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjrF1N8Zw4O5kt96wtG_8ZuyLcl6bEwU1aI7NitPLfTCMC2FwEhpJYcq2mcxLA6dS-QCY3_mn3Pohp_m5zm0wbm_YBy8H6Lhl52-1ofAkqr2QWn6_SERQyk9xayhh3zOSV4QjNdW0uYks/s400/IMG_5936.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">An interesting thing about Germans is that they like their drinking water <i>spritzig</i>, that is, fizzy. If you ask for water in a restaurant, they might ask "Mit oder ohne Gas," which is "With or without gas (referring to the carbonation)?" Weird, right? Not a big fan.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXzZ9588m2r4EDPpAIcWFjNidrEKlJQtOayjYyZJVhiYZZoBbMOJYIosRn51J28xbicUBlrC0CRCaq4IkWSwxBXjmcwbTF56We7CsU7oEN-cMYAfCQ2k05MBKTHViQpQtdJq51GkvnS_g/s1600/IMG_5938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXzZ9588m2r4EDPpAIcWFjNidrEKlJQtOayjYyZJVhiYZZoBbMOJYIosRn51J28xbicUBlrC0CRCaq4IkWSwxBXjmcwbTF56We7CsU7oEN-cMYAfCQ2k05MBKTHViQpQtdJq51GkvnS_g/s640/IMG_5938.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Aufenthaltsraum = Common Room<br />
I've already watched a couple movies in here with some fellow students, and this is where I've been coming lately to use the Wi-Fi internet since it's not reachable in my room and the ethernet connection isn't set up yet. The Hausmeister (landlord) is on vacation, so I have to wait until next week.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKqquB0XhlnfxtApeCfPJL_MWXgk6QwKrjoJQmbb_B6o30hUyU3h_DNrWnnqsqdvcUW2tpSU_rrlpRMm9vYhKEH5ldKsa_g-a3FU6EjfnLn2RYd5szvrSHVHMC7Ptx3ymJpdZgPRw5Ec/s1600/IMG_5939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKqquB0XhlnfxtApeCfPJL_MWXgk6QwKrjoJQmbb_B6o30hUyU3h_DNrWnnqsqdvcUW2tpSU_rrlpRMm9vYhKEH5ldKsa_g-a3FU6EjfnLn2RYd5szvrSHVHMC7Ptx3ymJpdZgPRw5Ec/s640/IMG_5939.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Library all the way on the left and <i>the</i> (as in the only one) lecture hall in the middle with the big windows.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-t51xoOWLYsmXeQk6NUUQ5UXRAZCIMtWdNXW0Qs6QN8zG7WNpayf8QyXuvzHseRmBuJNCPAanzCOKLLo4T_bgeyuKxJkMCHWVd0JcIaCCpJh4tCVE9MzSg3oBZmlUtKN8or8b7q-5nk/s1600/IMG_5940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-t51xoOWLYsmXeQk6NUUQ5UXRAZCIMtWdNXW0Qs6QN8zG7WNpayf8QyXuvzHseRmBuJNCPAanzCOKLLo4T_bgeyuKxJkMCHWVd0JcIaCCpJh4tCVE9MzSg3oBZmlUtKN8or8b7q-5nk/s640/IMG_5940.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Administration Building</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQvIpsCZT24QMFn0CxfhqeYBcrLVVk-1q80yOBCw3AB20tZd4yW1I3OigCPqZwQgs01BDW5u-BN9SNDl5yhhxQh9ihcfRTa0z72Lx_8EMt2WyYv1ItWGhjol8346tjnCDoQKI5YildrQ/s1600/IMG_5941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQvIpsCZT24QMFn0CxfhqeYBcrLVVk-1q80yOBCw3AB20tZd4yW1I3OigCPqZwQgs01BDW5u-BN9SNDl5yhhxQh9ihcfRTa0z72Lx_8EMt2WyYv1ItWGhjol8346tjnCDoQKI5YildrQ/s640/IMG_5941.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I don't quite know what to say about this, except that I've heard it's gone unused for a while now. And that I hope it stays that way...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY6Rz0FRN6Ih4-alwJYtxhx2gXC7UjA6uKKOxnGi4H4hHFIznsRhVh_fzMGk8fwaHaW8OkdohQI9YaQVOGM4rBkkZca7yRecidoHYKrWn8tRWy04QY2V-098unBPH7o6DVBnhtd4K2d7U/s1600/IMG_5942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY6Rz0FRN6Ih4-alwJYtxhx2gXC7UjA6uKKOxnGi4H4hHFIznsRhVh_fzMGk8fwaHaW8OkdohQI9YaQVOGM4rBkkZca7yRecidoHYKrWn8tRWy04QY2V-098unBPH7o6DVBnhtd4K2d7U/s640/IMG_5942.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Die Mensa = The Cafeteria</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKQv5QxPzztxxrNkszEgrZ07zrf26yvlvqZ_Q2SmRVtR8Syf9soOnUaFM8Gkz1w6dTssvT_LNvylQtINfL34sSg1grx6sZAflMb_Q4OU7AT8xWcHL55D02KlPvoaNL7G522tyJmuXIgU/s1600/IMG_5943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKQv5QxPzztxxrNkszEgrZ07zrf26yvlvqZ_Q2SmRVtR8Syf9soOnUaFM8Gkz1w6dTssvT_LNvylQtINfL34sSg1grx6sZAflMb_Q4OU7AT8xWcHL55D02KlPvoaNL7G522tyJmuXIgU/s640/IMG_5943.jpg" width="414" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZY5rC2RpicUD6qc2dUtS-NekrJQJ8HGhY6jV1gpCxo-UasMLWpAU-ai37MO4SywRTfN27jjYSa6wxZJC4THNvqOVZihYicZJLp5H-VigggH7RuMxzHdzAoNcVk7tm4Q0fSjQvUyA3FXs/s1600/IMG_5946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZY5rC2RpicUD6qc2dUtS-NekrJQJ8HGhY6jV1gpCxo-UasMLWpAU-ai37MO4SywRTfN27jjYSa6wxZJC4THNvqOVZihYicZJLp5H-VigggH7RuMxzHdzAoNcVk7tm4Q0fSjQvUyA3FXs/s640/IMG_5946.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Lovely view from the cafeteria. It makes me think of the dining hall in Jurassic Park...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4hhODKEFLDFAsyYe4yJapUFuhZtyjIvFt_kRCl-BJovYOaoXklBRB1nsB6rcKV2P-h_XW07K8vq9X1qFgpKxGXqc7YYfZEtvFqGsT0AsiCVBId2rf3n4NsdVJqBJT7ZiE1Erzy7FwI-0/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-10-18+at+11.08.46+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4hhODKEFLDFAsyYe4yJapUFuhZtyjIvFt_kRCl-BJovYOaoXklBRB1nsB6rcKV2P-h_XW07K8vq9X1qFgpKxGXqc7YYfZEtvFqGsT0AsiCVBId2rf3n4NsdVJqBJT7ZiE1Erzy7FwI-0/s320/Screen+shot+2011-10-18+at+11.08.46+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCaMFOEcq8CVd3cuSWuMckqgJavIERW_Ixsof4a2YJ7XZvv0Yy6L1uAa-955sqIgVBmjZotF4RLtP521M4jkJ5TmJ9B6uFyGmSY2T-ZQwdNBsMBU7Gf2hqIhngRD0MdvIWBJNFciOe7Y/s1600/IMG_5947.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCaMFOEcq8CVd3cuSWuMckqgJavIERW_Ixsof4a2YJ7XZvv0Yy6L1uAa-955sqIgVBmjZotF4RLtP521M4jkJ5TmJ9B6uFyGmSY2T-ZQwdNBsMBU7Gf2hqIhngRD0MdvIWBJNFciOe7Y/s640/IMG_5947.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">New students learning Hebrew<br />
Haha (in a Nelson-from-the-Simpsons voice)!</span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLEmRqvOzMJnh0PprIEjwSq67brCYz0UOfjKzAcZKLxEI7lyWriZnLj3t2CEb6oiq-qtQTbkdFRdLmn8b59N6_2Ez4twYMFBj7QrdQfKkuocTeLkGbuEvG-0WyM8DfaBXQT68ltgOHUkU/s1600/IMG_5948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLEmRqvOzMJnh0PprIEjwSq67brCYz0UOfjKzAcZKLxEI7lyWriZnLj3t2CEb6oiq-qtQTbkdFRdLmn8b59N6_2Ez4twYMFBj7QrdQfKkuocTeLkGbuEvG-0WyM8DfaBXQT68ltgOHUkU/s640/IMG_5948.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZEElQJaCVlzHtG9Tf9tOOhJv6tDy7F476597AFhmpoV5k63qioa9ssmT22_fKtqHKJowMCQNtRSZD93w3F5GkSYwpxmacilpPJ8xO6L4PSEx1qFsqlMpCZRx9Y9jzkrheb8BUn-k7Qk/s1600/IMG_5949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZEElQJaCVlzHtG9Tf9tOOhJv6tDy7F476597AFhmpoV5k63qioa9ssmT22_fKtqHKJowMCQNtRSZD93w3F5GkSYwpxmacilpPJ8xO6L4PSEx1qFsqlMpCZRx9Y9jzkrheb8BUn-k7Qk/s640/IMG_5949.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I like this tree. As I was helping Frau da Silva rake leaves the other day (aren't you proud of me for voluntarily doing yard work, Mom?) she told me that it's a "Platane." Well, I just looked it up and, sure enough, it's from the genus Platanus. In English, it's a sycamore tree or plane tree. Now I know what Zacchaeus climbed up.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRy0CoXLCeDfEBXlo23AXMat2knmZopqh-Ehvseum_8T4sReD2e2M79Wmftn4E3J2toSX7p_kL2xXWF9nh427AlSG1rwY2BimzoL24gCfeNfbc0YXifhZA66O6Ndnncpa0Pa17U96zIo/s1600/IMG_5950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRy0CoXLCeDfEBXlo23AXMat2knmZopqh-Ehvseum_8T4sReD2e2M79Wmftn4E3J2toSX7p_kL2xXWF9nh427AlSG1rwY2BimzoL24gCfeNfbc0YXifhZA66O6Ndnncpa0Pa17U96zIo/s640/IMG_5950.JPG" width="546" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is how I looked after playing 2 hours of Fußball(soccer) this evening and getting the ball kicked right in the face from about 4 feet. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhILm40GhgV3D7NrBS54fZ6Eklw8EwRGqNKrgglaApIiBfm1MJSLiLDfeACpruzXIKMWnFYTBdc4UJx-Zt6W4MAUg1BE1ms4fDuZRcU8A0EX9iDqXKat13IWdpdP1lNAlmamXBuRuVsFA4/s1600/IMG_5957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhILm40GhgV3D7NrBS54fZ6Eklw8EwRGqNKrgglaApIiBfm1MJSLiLDfeACpruzXIKMWnFYTBdc4UJx-Zt6W4MAUg1BE1ms4fDuZRcU8A0EX9iDqXKat13IWdpdP1lNAlmamXBuRuVsFA4/s400/IMG_5957.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I was EXHAUSTED. And my face still stings.</span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUD8MeYxRqYEUQljIgJ9uxJmb5Xfn_9RHYp12Ul9HwWZwBa9jB6IUtb0X_BPM44CJrl5B-fhwQXL4fSNYFcF9dTctBvEeUdx1suW5UVPDSno7zUYs0uxZ8oB75YPOnXIkPstIs2j5W1gg/s1600/IMG_5956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUD8MeYxRqYEUQljIgJ9uxJmb5Xfn_9RHYp12Ul9HwWZwBa9jB6IUtb0X_BPM44CJrl5B-fhwQXL4fSNYFcF9dTctBvEeUdx1suW5UVPDSno7zUYs0uxZ8oB75YPOnXIkPstIs2j5W1gg/s400/IMG_5956.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">More battle wounds.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfvbYHI7Cz7qhFJXKcVrMWT4rN3fLjPH_mb9HWBnz0C1Hwg59L3RI1XFG1-N__bUtrqfkykeCB9lVYlebC5zwzshc7UF_Iyzf9TARbVDqhThcq0PGi5U0zmRzqLD4VrOOEchP9I9jbP3k/s1600/IMG_5954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfvbYHI7Cz7qhFJXKcVrMWT4rN3fLjPH_mb9HWBnz0C1Hwg59L3RI1XFG1-N__bUtrqfkykeCB9lVYlebC5zwzshc7UF_Iyzf9TARbVDqhThcq0PGi5U0zmRzqLD4VrOOEchP9I9jbP3k/s400/IMG_5954.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It's worse than it looks. I can just tell it's going to develop into a big fat blister...</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">But it was lots of fun!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-15402506244682573012011-10-15T14:17:00.000-07:002011-10-15T14:17:22.663-07:00Ich bin da!<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This year is already showing signs of going by fast. I’ve been here since Thursday morning, but it doesn’t seem like more than a day has gone by.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">For anyone who might be worried about how I’m doing so far (Mom), let me say that I’ve only experienced wonderful things so far. Well I guess that’s not entirely true; I did have a bottle of dish soap open up and spill all over my first set of German groceries… and I did have a bottle of beer drop, shatter, and spill all over my floor. But that’s all water under the bridge now, or soapy German beer, as it were. </span>Bad joke.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Now for the good things:</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">~ My friends Sebastian and Mathias (the 2 guys that I already knew before coming here) picked me up at the airport and have helped me immensely in the last couple of days to get settled. For instance, Mathias spent all of Friday morning in downtown Oberursel with Jeremy, a very nice student from St. Catharine’s Seminary in Canada, and me taking us to the bank to open student accounts, to an insurance office to get health insurance, and to the city hall to register as foreigner students.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">~ I’ve enjoyed meeting a dozen or more students here already. They definitely seem like a great group of guys. On Thursday night, a group of people got together in the dorm’s common room to watch the movie <i>Seven</i> (<i><a href="http://www.imdb.de/title/tt0114369/">Sieben</a></i> in German), an awesome thriller with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. I had seen it a few times before in English, so it was a fun experience to watch it here with the German voice-overs.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">~ I had a Döner today. It was five years since my last one, so the €3.90 (a bit pricey for a Döner) was easily worth it today. Rather than trying to describe in detail what a Döner is, I’ll simply post this picture of one and heartily invite you all to visit Germany to partake of one. I suppose it’s somewhat similar to a gyro, except way, way better.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.nus.edu.sg/doepel/files/2011/01/d%C3%B6ner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://blog.nus.edu.sg/doepel/files/2011/01/d%C3%B6ner.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">~ I really like speaking German. Other than with Jeremy and the St. Louis student Matthew and his wife Holly, whose German skills are still in their beginning phases, I’ve been enjoying speaking German all the time. I’m a bit rusty, but it’s coming back to me quickly, and I’m looking forward to learning German as well as I possibly can. Being a perfectionist has its advantages, especially when it comes to learning a foreign language. I want to get it right! </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">~ The campus here is beautiful. It reminds me a bit of being in the woods of Wisconsin. Check out the view from my room!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMYhs9gy48KD9bwhhPa01vcn6dKdvzN-cCLx3e_vfNpOojaV1vfl2q-e1lHpIoGZ0c-N1B1IwbK6-ZD2RGayiSCWFp_c23yGpM3xeQgEsbLQAzF5t6VYsPXTKJrd5nRm25s4Xj9uBbp8g/s1600/IMG_5923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMYhs9gy48KD9bwhhPa01vcn6dKdvzN-cCLx3e_vfNpOojaV1vfl2q-e1lHpIoGZ0c-N1B1IwbK6-ZD2RGayiSCWFp_c23yGpM3xeQgEsbLQAzF5t6VYsPXTKJrd5nRm25s4Xj9uBbp8g/s400/IMG_5923.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-a64LLIvA58qXpAgg3G1dJ1BK1KhyphenhyphenDfK2xOgmNEGX7DIShWqaeATJbWAlq5CRfbUZ2oa0CdV3qcSm2ABjlYVkHLCmu8F1MFEPcC4CAVUPk9_5yBYrhvoR2c3hq-d0CD574k9vKbhCaQ/s1600/IMG_5924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-a64LLIvA58qXpAgg3G1dJ1BK1KhyphenhyphenDfK2xOgmNEGX7DIShWqaeATJbWAlq5CRfbUZ2oa0CdV3qcSm2ABjlYVkHLCmu8F1MFEPcC4CAVUPk9_5yBYrhvoR2c3hq-d0CD574k9vKbhCaQ/s400/IMG_5924.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">~ I got to see the SELK church today, which is right next to the seminary campus. It’s a nice little building with a pleasant pipe organ that I got to play on today. Next week they’re actually starting a €15,000 project to renovate the organ! So that’s exciting. I’m looking forward to going to church there tomorrow (there’s communion every Sunday - yay!) It should be rewarding to participate in the German liturgy and hymnody and to hear Pastor Wenz (whom I met today) preach.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">~ I like my room. Here are some pics: </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4dBqgt6hcQEXjoZ2sEwAeJ13-TXsiCaixJy1JXaozQ71PDZmjgWhLpfHP1A-wmD05e5HQB0II7ZtYS9NDNHFt6UZ47AY0xXhyphenhyphenDDoAsbL1wePmQrmuXE_TAKnB4CxVdELNLcZ4598IJck/s1600/IMG_5925.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4dBqgt6hcQEXjoZ2sEwAeJ13-TXsiCaixJy1JXaozQ71PDZmjgWhLpfHP1A-wmD05e5HQB0II7ZtYS9NDNHFt6UZ47AY0xXhyphenhyphenDDoAsbL1wePmQrmuXE_TAKnB4CxVdELNLcZ4598IJck/s320/IMG_5925.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzcGR0ViIAiL9mm9_jbqcGB440zlSANCvIV3YXecLEMcZvKjmxhdrAVBKSkcmpqWHERNgfzL9EzIU5B2-KavM9AgkFiL2fNEUAeY3c4rgS2WkXosDTaIvA7JUvTWLX3HQ0FZ-d9sKTrk/s1600/IMG_5926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzcGR0ViIAiL9mm9_jbqcGB440zlSANCvIV3YXecLEMcZvKjmxhdrAVBKSkcmpqWHERNgfzL9EzIU5B2-KavM9AgkFiL2fNEUAeY3c4rgS2WkXosDTaIvA7JUvTWLX3HQ0FZ-d9sKTrk/s320/IMG_5926.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_x7cTVYvabqw3QxBibMp9LRjXE6K6D-RNlxSKbbEJetQDClkoFbLJNxzEZcxT1poxjSLJwC9JoAOTpcytkTp9m1XJC5372BAzfyx2HaZU0fHZVx2bqNjxLf0vXJtMCfiI3oKc-AkvwhA/s1600/IMG_5927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_x7cTVYvabqw3QxBibMp9LRjXE6K6D-RNlxSKbbEJetQDClkoFbLJNxzEZcxT1poxjSLJwC9JoAOTpcytkTp9m1XJC5372BAzfyx2HaZU0fHZVx2bqNjxLf0vXJtMCfiI3oKc-AkvwhA/s320/IMG_5927.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Tune in next time for more. You stay classy, America!</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">__________________________________________________</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"He cannot have God for his Father who does not have the Church for his Mother." - Cyprian of Carthage (d. 258)</span></div>Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-76489440681166026032011-10-11T21:16:00.000-07:002011-10-11T21:16:46.281-07:00Canine IntuitionAs I was packing my bags this evening, our dog Reggie came in the bedroom and lay down in the middle of the room. This was a little odd since I didn't have any food on me, and I hadn't been offering to play with him or take him for a "W." But one look at his face told me that he was sitting there because he knew I was leaving. He knew I had been up to something rummaging around all day, and he saw the suitcases. He's seen them before and knows what they mean. Poor dog. The house has been emptying steadily for him since the summer. Michael, Joey and I were all here together for most of the summer, but now school's back in session and even little Michael is gone to college. Once I leave, my parents will experience an empty nest for the first time. And Reggie will, too.<br />
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On the bright side, dogs are easy to please. I took him for a 20-minute nighttime walk around the neighborhood, and this time I let his retractable leash extend out all the way during most of the walk. He sniffed and peed on so many trees and fire hydrants that I bet he'll be dreaming about them all through the night.Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-42783382740118557482011-07-26T07:40:00.000-07:002011-07-26T07:40:17.407-07:00women's ordination causing trouble in Germany...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, it looks like I'll be going to Oberursel during some rather turbulent times for our sister synod, the SELK. Their church body has historically been opposed to women's ordination on the basis of the clearing teaching of Scripture, but recent events have demonstrated that there is a fair amount of dissension to that position within the SELK. If the dissenters have their way and achieve tolerance of women's ordination in the SELK, it could mean the end of our (the LCMS's) fellowship with them. Read more about it here:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://gottesdienstonline.blogspot.com/2011/07/trouble-in-our-sister-church-selk.html">http://gottesdienstonline.blogspot.com/2011/07/trouble-in-our-sister-church-selk.html</a></span></span>Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582896835946017643.post-86255900130938397572011-07-02T19:04:00.000-07:002011-07-02T19:26:00.124-07:00my first post...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">This is mostly just a test post to see how it will look on my blog...</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">doo de doo de doo... la de da de da...</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Did you know I'm going to get an 8 week break in the Spring between semesters?!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Peter</span></span>Peter J. Eckardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14610193736342482750noreply@blogger.com5