Eat, Drink, & Be Merry, for Tommorrow We...Fast?

On Monday, February 23rd, we went to Mainz to attend Carneval (that is how they spell it in German). This is not something they celebrate in Frankfurt, because it is a Catholic holiday, and Frankfurt is Lutheran. So, we went across the river to Mainz. Basically, for those who may not know, it is the last day before Lent. So, they eat, drink, and are merry that day...but mostly drink. Everyone dresses up (the preferred costume is a clown) and heads out out to the parade. It's a bit like Halloween that way, and you even get candy from the floats. They throw it out to the crowd, along with tissues, confetti, toys, and a bunch of other things. I think the strangest thing we got from a float was a sugar packet. It was very much a Festival of Fools, but we had fun.

I almost forgot...the greeting for the Carneval in Mainz is "Helau!" Apparently it is different for each Carneval location. We are guessing that helau comes from the regional dialect.

So, since our lives are rather uneventful these days, I have decided to include pictures. This is becoming more of a picture blog than anything else. However, I take comfort in the fact that nobody is forced to read or look at more than they want to. :)

In front of the Evangelica Christus Kirche with my Carneval hat.

St. Peter's Church

One side of the Willigis Dom...this thing is huge!

Stewart with his Carneval scarf...we think the colors (red, white, blue, yelllow) are the city colors.

The other side of the Willigis Dom. It was hard to find a place to get a picture of this side because it's built against all the other buildings. It's rather awesome (meant in the archaic sense, not the slang...which seem to be the same anyway)!

A statue decorated for Carneval with the Willigis Dom in the background. They did a really good job decorating this statue. It almost seems natural.

Apparently these guys are famous, although I'm not exactly sure why or what they are. They looked like they would be heavy to carry around through this ridiculously long parade!

This horse was part of the parade. They stopped right in front of us (where we had had front row standing). He didn't seem to want to be hooked up to the rest of these horses. It was pretty hilarious to watch him. He even gets his foot caught up in the ropes while he's stamping his hoof. You are also privileged to hear the Mainz Carneval greeting in the background. :)

Many of the floats had a political theme. I missed taking a picture of the Obama float, but I did get this one.

Some eggs in the Carneval parade. There were a lot of great costumes, but I didn't think you'd want to be subjected to all of them.

The Smurfs were in this parade twice. I was fortunate to get a picture of Smurfette and Papa Smurf in this one. :)

Stewart wanted a picture of this band, but we also happened to get the policeman in it. What's so great about that? Well, as you can see, he had been hit with confetti. So, here he is with the confetti in his hair. I'm not sure why he didn't bother to get it out of his hair.

P.S.
I received a calling in our new ward this last Sunday. They sure don't wait long. I guess the Lord knows I prefer to have a calling. And what is my calling, you ask? Relief Society Pianist...2nd best calling. My dream calling is, of course, Primary Pianist. :) Let me just say that the Lord knows our needs and looks out for us. Otherwise, I can't explain how I've had a piano in both apartments in which I've lived in Germany, as well as the opportunity, in both places, to speak/practice Spanish. (There is a lady in our ward from Spain).

♫For the Beauty of the Earth♫

Last week we took a short walk to the older part of Reichelsheim. We took a few pictures that we'd like to share with you. Also, today, we decided to take a longer walk to the town just north of ours and the town a little further east. There really isn't much else to do in the country. So, here are some of the pictures we took.

Stewart by the Hexenturm (witches tower). This is one of the 3 remaining watchtowers (out of 6) that were part of the wall surrounding the city. During the time of witch trials in the 17th century, it was used as a holding place for those who were accused of being witches. 58 people were killed as witches in Reichelsheim.

Stewart in the older part of Reichelsheim. The church in the background is, of course, Lutheran.

More of the older part of Reichelsheim.

This picture is to show you the vast nothingness in which we live. That town in the background is the next stop on the train from Reichelsheim.

This cute church is in the town just north of ours, Heuchelheim. Actually, it's hard to know where Reichelsheim ends and Heuchelheim begins.

Here's another picture of our vast nothingness. Stewart really wanted to get that puddle in the picture.

Weckesheim is a town about 2 km. east of Reichelsheim. It's amazing that a town as small as this, with a population of 1,077, needs a welcome sign. I especially love that they are welcoming the "rest of the world."

This is one of the houses in Weckesheim. It has very intricate work on the wood, which is why we took the picture.

And now we've come full circle. This is a view of Reichelsheim on the way back from Weckesheim.

There's a lot of "heim" going around in this area. I guess it technically means "home," but I like to think of it as hamlet. These are all little hamlets. If you come from the state of New York, that means something more to you than it would to other people. Leo.org tells me that "Heim" can also mean "asylum," but let's not go there.

The "How to" Guide on Exercising Your Brain

1. Move to Germany. (One could choose a variety of other countries in which to have this experience, but Germany is as good a place as any. The idea is to choose a country where you do not speak the language before arriving there).
2. Ride to church with a German couple. (During the drive, one should not only enjoy the scenery, but also listen and try to understand any conversations along the way).
3. Attend church at a German ward.
4. Sit through 3 hours of church, completely in German. (The point, of course, being to attempt to understand what the lessons and talks are about).
5. Be introduced to a couple dozen people in German (3 of which one may remember their names). (Some of these people may wish to speak to you in English, but rest assured that the woman with whom you rode to church will ask them to speak to you in German. This is, naturally, best since the point is to exercise one's brain).
6. Ride home with the same German couple. (Again, trying to understanding the conversation is part of the trip).
7. Have Mittagessen with that German couple. (Although the purpose is to eat, one should also be attempting to understand everything that goes on in the conversation).
8. Get together with the aforementioned couple, plus another German couple (who will be next week's ride to church) and have tea and cake. (Don't be confused by the food/drink, you are still in Germany, not England). (Once more, one should listen as attentively as possible, despite any tiring of the brain muscles, in order to try to understand the conversation...half of which doesn't even make sense to one's spouse who speaks German almost as well as a native).
9. Repeat.

*Do not be discouraged by the Swiss gentleman who attends the post-Abendbrot get together. As long as he speaks high German, one should be fine.
**One should pay special attention when questions are being directed at him/her. Although one's attention may have a tendency to roam because the exercises are difficult, this one thing is vitally important.
***One should ask his/her spouse to help with any exercises where he/she may have been remiss.

Now that you know the steps, start exercising!

Good Riddance to Merlin

Yesterday we moved out of Berlin. I will not miss that darn cat! Now, we are in a small town called Reichelsheim. It is about 22 miles northeast of Frankfurt and about 15 miles from the Frankfurt Temple in Friedrichsdorf. We had absolutely no idea what to expect from our apartment, but it turned out beautifully! The apartment is gigantic and very light! I'm attaching some photos of our new place.

The stairs to the basement.

The stairs to our landlords' apartment...the Frenkels.

This is the front door to the house and the entryway as viewed from our apartment.

The guest bathroom between the main entrance and our apartment.

The view of the patio/backyard from the living room sliding glass door.

The view of the backyard from our dining room.

The view of the side of the house from our dining room

Our kitchen...with a real stove/oven, lots of counter space, and way more cupboard space than we need.

Our fridge...with no freezer. But hey, we're lucky to have a fridge.

Our laundry room, but the washer isn't hooked up yet.

Our dining room...with the patio table/chairs. We had to eat off of something. This was formerly a terrace, but they enclosed it and made it part of the interior.

Some of the cupboards in our living room.

Our living room...

...complete with lawn chair.

The highlight of the apartment...the living room includes a piano! Maybe this is Heavenly Father's way of telling me I need to keep practicing the piano, despite the circumstances.

Our bathroom with his and her sinks.

We have a shower that you can move around in!

And we have a bathtub...strange how these things can make you happy.

Our hallway

Our luggage room

Our computer room.


Our bedroom...with REAL mattresses! Yay!

Our wardrobes.

This completes our tour. I hope you've had a wonderful time, and we hope to see you here again soon. :)