We Sing Wherever We Go

This last weekend the band and choir from MIS had the opportunity to drive to Düsseldorf and work with and perform with the International school there (International School of Düsseldorf).  We drove up on Sunday and it was about eight hours with stops.  We were supposed to meet at the school, but our parents happened to be in Wien so the Office Elders were kind enough to bring us in the huge mission van.  Finally we got off, and at one of the gas stations we stopped at, I found this couldn't stop laughing for a few minutes.

When we finally got there it was so beautiful!  The hostel we were staying at was right on the Rhine River and it was just gorgeous!  

So on Monday we drove to the school and rehearsed and we sang two songs on our own, and two songs with their choir.  These are all the girls that came, there were about seven missing.

Tacie, me, Kayley

Both of our schools together, band and choir

The two bands rehearsing together

After performing we went out and did a historical tour of the city and that was really interesting.  We also found this adorable door.

The coolest part of the trip, in my opinion, was this.  During the tour we kept stopping at all these gorgeous churches and this one was supposedly famous for amazing acoustics so we asked the tour guide if we could sing there and he said yes so we were so excited!  We have learned this Latin song called Ubi Caritas that we performed at the school, and ever since we learned this song, our dream has been to perform it in a church.  It was the COOLEST experience!

That night we walked around and shopped and ate in the city center and then walked back to the hostel over this huge bridge that crossed the Rhine.  

The next day we drove back home and everything went back to normal.  I was so grateful for this trip to be able to bond with the girls and just sing.  It was amazing!

The sun is out in Salzburg, what more could you want?

The other night we had some of our good friends from the international ward over for dinner and they were asking us what foods we missed most from the states.  Then the next day, we found all of this on our porch.  They had gone to the base and gotten us all we missed and more.  It was so kind, I just stood in the doorway and smile, I couldn't believe it.  It made my day.

 So this weekend we went to Salzburg (again) for a stake conference.  We drove down on Friday afternoon so we could have time Saturday to look around and relax.  So we were driving downtown and drove past the house where part of the Sound of Music was filmed.  I know I posted a picture of it before, but that was actually the wrong one.  But yes, this is supposedly the house that was filmed as the outside of the house in the movie and the lake that was filmed.  Sister Kohler was in seventh heaven.

 Then we decided to go up to the Burg or fortress castle thing that Salzburg is famous for, so we saw some exhibits and things there and I just thought this man's mustache was picture worthy. 

 Enjoying some sights, with a bleary eyed Tanner and the sun in our faces.

 This was in the "torture room" of the Burg where the torture devices were kept and this is a dungeon that was actually used...kind of disturbing to think about...

 There were A LOT of stairs. (even more than our house :) )

 We finally got to the top and over looked the city.  It was sooo beautiful.

 A very windy selfie with President

Me: "Oh wait!  We have to take it again, my hair was in my face."

*we take the picture again*

Dad: "I think that time your hair was in MY face."

It's an ongoing issue when you have a jungle for hair.

 We stopped at a souvenir shop and stretched a "penny" just for kicks and giggles.

 This was a cool bridge going over the river.

 My favorite part is the locks.  I love looking at them all and reading the names engraved and the dates and all the different kinds.  It makes you wonder about all the people behind all of those locks and if all those relationships or marriages all worked out.  The funnies ones are the combination locks, I guess it's so you can come back and take it off if it didn't last.

 We stopped in a kids store and I just thought this was amusing.  It's "The Game of LIFE" in German.

 I just love this kid.  Enough said.

 That night we had dinner at the hotel and for some reason I was just craving fruit so they kindly put together this awesome fruit platter for me.  :)

 Waking up in a hotel in Salzburg, Austria with the sun shining in and the birds chirping.  Doesn't get much better than that.

 Then we set off to go to the Salzburg stake conference.  It was held in a hotel and this is where we had the meeting.  I took this picture because in the meeting, this whole place was filled up, but because my parents are such popular social butterflies...

 We were literally one of the last ones to leave.

It was a good weekend and when we got back and walked into the house, it really felt like home.  It was such a realization that we have been here so long, that this really is our home and I love it!

Defending Myself and the Flowers

Defending myself: these past two Saturdays, and I believe at least one more to come, Tanner and I have been going to a self defense class at the church for Young Men and Women.  In German it is called Selbstverteidigungskurs.  Try saying that ten times fast!  I was conducting in Young Women's and had to announce it and I sounded like such an idiot.  Es ist auf Deutsch, natürlich, (it is in German, of course) so half the time I have no idea what is going on until he looks at me and asks "Verstehst du?" (Do you understand) and I just laugh and say...Nein so he has to explain in English, but that's okay.  It just makes me realize how much of my German is just either basic conversation, or gospel words.  It's pretty pathetic.  The only German I ever speak is in church or in my German classroom, so that explains that.  But at least I'll be safe!

The flowers: so these past few weeks, or days, really, have started looking and feeling a lot more like spring and it makes me so happy.  I even had a picnic with a friend yesterday.  One half of the field was covered in snow, so we sat on the other half.  All the old German ladies walking their dogs just looked at us like we were insane, but we didn't care.  We just laughed.  Laughing makes life so much better.  Anyway, the flowers, so all over these little spring flowers are popping up like magic.  No one plants them, but they are everywhere and they are so adorable!  They are in our backyard, in medians, at school, everywhere.  In a variety of colors, too.  I have seen white, yellow, purple.  I just love them so much!  So I tried to capture some pictures, but you can't capture it in a picture.  Here's my best shot:

 This one is my favorite

I just can't wait for Spring!!!

Out with the Old, In with the New

So this week was transfers, which is always fun.  Wednesday the new "goldens" came in and that night we all had dinner and a testimony meeting here at the mission home.  Below is a picture of our old AP, Elder Nielson (left) and his twin brother, (also Elder Nielson), who served in the Berlin mission.  He came down from the Berlin mission and spent a day with our Elder Nielson before they both went home.  It was really fun to see them together.

Then on Thursday the new missionaries went to their areas, and the old ones came in and that night we had a dinner and testimony meeting at the church.  We lost a lot of good missionaries that we knew well this transfer, but we also got some really awesome ones so I guess it all evens out in the end!

Blog Repentance and Recap

I am well aware that I am guilty of leaving out the last six months we have been here...but this is my repentance.  I have been SOO busy with school and missionaries that I have never gotten around to telling everyone else about it!  So let's do a quick recap, shall we?

So this means "good drive", but I just thought it was really funny.  We have done much "Gute Fahrting" this last little while,

I turned fourteen and we had a nice time at the Boden See,

School started,

We went to Salzburg and were able to see the birthplace of Mozart,

 We saw Neuschwanstein Castle (it was VERY cold and rainy),

 I was able to spend a day with the München sisters (Sister Motto)

and Sister Ahlm,

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner here at the mission home and Elder Kroes sported this lovely turkey hat,

We went to another zoo and met this lovely ostrich,

 We were reunited with our good friend Marius from fsy,

We put up our Christmas tree,

And decorated it,

Sister Motto's parents brought me Goldfish from America (I was in heaven),

I am in a vocal ensemble at school called ANIMA and was able to perform with them a lot,

(Margaux, my friend, also in ANIMA),

We got a cool smoking incense man,

(sorry for the bad picture) We went to Christkindlmarkts (Christmas markets) and saw all the cool stuff there,

Did some nifty crafts,

Skyped family on Christmas,

Watched hundreds of fireworks in the park on New Year's Eve,

ANIMA went to Belgium,

And we made some memories,

We went ice skating for young men and women's,

We got new mattresses,

And last but definitely not least, we had a visit from Elder Kearon of the Seventy.  He came and did a mission tour with us and we got to know him quite well.  He is an amazing man and it was such a blessing to be able to hear from him.

So it's been a pretty good little while, and I will try harder to keep this updated with the many adventures in Germany!