Deutschland Chapter I

Departure: Thursday May 14th 2009

The weekend before we flew to Germany we decided to get everything out of Steve and Kari’s condo so they could get back to some sense of normalcy. We moved everything over the weekend and came back to Salt Lake. We spent the next few nights at Randy’s parent’s house in preparation for Lance and Kendra’s wedding.

The wedding was so beautiful and nice. Claire LOVED getting all dressed up in her flower girl dress. She sat in the mirror and said “pee-e” (pretty). It was really cute. (pictures of the wedding to come...soon...I promise) My mom and dad came to the reception and snagged the kids so Randy and I could help clean up and get packed for the next morning. ( I can’t believe my mom agreed to take the kids for 10 days while we traveled Europe. She is a saint!!!!)

(Randy and I at the SLC airport. This is the last time my hair is curled or blown dry. Randy laughed at me when I packed my blow dryer in the suitcase the night before. He gently reminded me the outlets and the voltage were totally different in Europe. Silly me.)
Departure: Thursday May 14th 2009
Thursday morning we flew out of SLC and had a quick Layover in NJ. We then flew all night into Frankfurt. My plan was to sleep while I was on the plane because we landed in Frankfurt Friday morning 9:00AM. Plan did NOT work. I could not get comfy for the life of me. Once we landed sleep didn’t matter too much because adrenaline kept me going. I was so excited to be in Europe. We quickly picked up our luggage and got our rental car. Thank goodness we got a car with a Navigation system. There is no way I could have co-piloted Randy in Europe. The roads wind and wind and wind. I swore we drove in huge circles sometimes. Plus Randy would laugh every time I tried to pronounce a street name. I then had my first experience on the Autoban. I had white knuckles the entire time. It is true there really is NO speed limit. We were flying…and cars were still passing us like we were cold tar.

(Randy eating bakery goods flying down the Autoban. Can you hear my anxiety through this picture. I was terrified.)

We stayed the first night in the guest house at the temple in Fredricksdorf. We got there before check in so we decided to go to Randy’s first area in Dauernheim. We drove around and saw his first apartment. We then tried our luck and knocked on the Frenkles door (of one of the members). Thank goodness they were home. Their family was adorable. They were so kind, warm, and welcoming. Thank goodness they spoke English so Randy didn’t have to translate the entire time. They introduced me to my first Apfel Schrole (A carbonated apple juice). It was different but I really liked it. We sat and chatted for a couple of hours. We asked the kids what they wanted us to send them from America and the teenage daughter said all she wanted was chap stick and cool-aid. It made me laugh.

(Randy and Bjorn Frenkle)

We headed back to the guest house and walked around the village. I didn’t realize but every village and city has a fuss or a city center where cars cannot drive. Kind of like the gateway but NOTHING like the gateway. They are filled with bakeries little shops and cobblestone. The smell alone was overwhelming. We stopped at a Turkish shop and ordered a Doner. I guess the missionaries ate them all of the time. They put a huge chunk of meat on a skewer and broil it then shave it off into a pita like bread. It was REALLY good. I asked what kind of meat it was and I never got a straight answer. The answer in Germany is ALWAYS mixed meat. I really have no idea what I ate during my trip. Then we stopped at a bakery and bought some really good bread for our dinner later that night. On our way back to the hotel I got a little emotional. I don’t know if it was the jet lag or the culture shock or being completely out of my element. I wasn’t sad or homesick… I just didn’t realize how different everything would be. I am sure it was the lack of sleep mostly.


( Walking around the fuss(city center) I couldn't get over how beautiful everything was)

We got back to the guest house and crashed. We opened the window all the way and listened to the rain as we drifted off to sleep my first night in a foreign land.



(Frankfurt Temple)