Sept. 22-30, 2018

Salzburg, Austria at dusk

We just completed two months in the Mission Field.  I was not sure I would survive, but after this past week in Salzburg, Austria attending a conference for all Senior Missionaries in our Mission, I have a new outlook and confidence that I am right where the Lord wants and needs me.  We have learned you don't need to go to Six Flags, Disney or any other Amusement Park for a Roller Coaster Ride - a mission is the ride of your life.  Lots of highs and lows and hold on tight and enjoy the ride!  The first two months take a lot of adjusting to the new surroundings and also the adjustment of being away from family and friends.  I have relied on my Heavenly Father and the promises that He gives us if we will "Ask and it shall be given you."  The Savior spoke to the Prophet Joseph Smith when he suffered with his companions in the darkness of Liberty Jail:
         "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be
         but a small moment;
         And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph
         over all thy foes."
With that eternal perspective, Joseph took comfort from these words, and so can we.
Some of my biggest challenges have not been here in Germany, but with things back home.  I am learning to trust in the Lord and to remove myself from things I cannot control.  

                                                "I can think, therefore I may Pray."  
Each one of us has adversity, trials, sorrows, and pains that have tried, fortified and refined our characters.  Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, Oct. 2008, Come What May, and Love It.
"The Lord Jesus Christ is our partner, helper, and advocate.  He wants us to be happy, He wants us to be successful. If we do our part, He will step in.  He who descended below all things will come to our aid.  He will comfort and uphold us.  He will strengthen us in our weakness and fortify us in our distress.  He will make weak things become strong."
So, what is our part?  In Alma 32:8 we read, "Yea, thou art merciful unto thy children when they cry unto thee, to be heard of thee and not of men, and thou wilt hear them."
      There is a Savior and I am Not it.  One of our biggest challenges is thinking we have to do it on our own or our way -  All He wants is for us to ASK.  He is the Savior, He can exalt us on high.
I pray each of you will find peace as you Ask and then trust in Him.  I am trying to apply this in my life each day.  Pres. Russell M. Nelson said, "It is mentally rigorous to strive to look unto him in every way."

We had an amazing week.  We left on Tuesday morning to see the sights along the way to Salzburg, Austria.  We had been there 35 years ago and it has always been our favorite memory of travels.  We were originally assigned to live there when we received our mission call and then the week we were leaving we received a call that changed everything to Freiburg, Germany.  We know this is where we are to be, so Salzburg will continue to be a great place to visit.  A lot changes in 35 years - even the highways, so it was a great adventure.
 We drove about 2 hours to the area called
The Bodensee or Lake Konstanz.

It is the largest lake in Europe and is on the German, Austrian, and Switzerland Borders.  There are several places you can take a ferry and cross over to other cities.  It is much closer to take the ferry than to drive around the whole lake.  Konstanz also has a large Cathedral that was built in  615 AD.  It is just amazing to me the work and craftmanship of these people.

The large wood doors were intricately carved with scenes from the life of Christ.  The first door was his birth and early years and the other door was his ministry.  This cathedral was the most ornate of the ones we have seen and more open and bright, but not as big.  It was originally Episcopal through the 8th Century. In 1052, the cathedral collapsed.  It was reconstructed in 1051-1069.  Over the next 300 years several towers were added.  Fire destroyed one of the towers and 96 homes in the area.  It was reconstructed in 1378.  From 1414 to 1418 the cathedral hosted the Council of Constance, the most important assembly of the Church during the Middle Ages.  The ceiling was replaced with the current vaulted ceiling in 1637.  During the years 1526-1551, the Bishop left Konstanz because of the Reformation, and moved across the see to Meersburg.  In 1821, Konstanz's bishopric, the largest in Germany, was dissolved and moved to Freiburg in 1827.  That group had served the area for 1200 years and survived almost 100 Bishops.  It has a rich history and facinating stories.

 We then rode in our car on the ferry that took us across the Bodensee  to Meersburg.  It was a fun experience with semi-trucks, buses, cars, bikes, and walking people all riding on the ferry.  I have never seen so many apple trees and vineyards.  They grow their apple trees small and in rows that look like a vineyard and the trees are loaded with apples.  Miles of these orchards and they are wonderful apples.  It is harvest time and the stores and markets are full of them.  We stopped and bought fresh pressed apple juice.

We stopped at a Stilt House village of the Neolithic period (around 3917 BC)  yes, that is right.  Old Testament times.  Pile construction, plastered with clay wattle walls, roofing of reed canary grass.  They were reconstructed in 1996-2011 from the results of the archaeological excavations in 1980 of Lake Constance.  It was very interesting and well worth the time to stop and see.  They found jewels, pottery, weapons, food, clothing all preserved in the water for all of those years.  The craftmanship was beautiful and their village life was very contained to the area.  Looks like a great way to raise a family. 

 There were neighborhoods and enclosed areas that bathing, washing cloths, etc. would have taken place.  The lake provided protection and also was along the main trade route of the day and provided commerce.  It was a source of food, but they also farmed the area and raised animals.  The water can also be harsh with winds, hail, storms and hard times. 

This was a hand carved boat out of a large tree.  Very long and narrow, but very thick.

We left this area and drove to the next city,
Friedrichshafen.  This is home of the Zepplin.  The Hindenburg (Blimp) was built here and they have a museum with a replica and great movie that tells the history.  There is even a Zepplin University in town.  Russ loved the museum.  He loves all things air.  It was another more modern piece of history that was great to learn about and see.


 

We spent Tuesday night in this town.  We tried many places to get a reservation and most everything was booked.  This is a big time of year with Octoberfest and the beautiful September weather.  We booked a hotel on-line and that is always an interesting experience when you do not know anything about the area.  Let's just say it was a bed to sleep on and we were safe the next morning.  We knew when the bed had skittles on it instead of a chocolate it would be an adventure!  Did I tell you it was clean.  That was the best part.  It was down by the lake and close to the train station and some very

 good restaurants.  So, that was all good.  What they failed to tell us was that it was upstairs from a betting bar.  Not the best environment to be in.  We walked to a great Italian restaurant and it made the night much better.  They spoke Italian and German and made the best pizza in their pizza oven.  I enjoyed watching the process of making the pizzas and baking them.  It was truly an art form with 1 man in charge of the pizza. 

 It was a quaint little coastal town with a nice park and walk along the beach.  It was time to move on from the Lake District and head to the Mountains.  It was a 6 hour drive on Wednesday to Saltzburg.  We drove through about 100 Kilometers of tunnels.  That was very interesting as you don't get to see much scenery because you are in tunnels through most of the mountains.  We went through Innsbrook Austria and the mountains were majestic.
I appreciated them even more when we drove home through Munich and it is flat and not much to see along the way.  I am glad to live in the Black Forest and see the mountains every day.

 We arrived in Salzburg Wednesday evening at dusk.  We stayed in the Hotel Schone Aussicht.  It is high on a hill overlooking the city.  We stayed here 35 years ago.  We loved it then and have always thought it was our favorite place we have ever stayed.  It was even better than expected.  They have redone the rooms and kept all of the history and pictures and antiques from the original.  We had a room on the backside that looked out over the city with a large balcony.  A big contrast from the night before.  The host was very Austrian - it is almost like a Bed and Breakfast and speaking of Breakfast - it was delicious.  Every kind of meat, cheese, bread and

 rolls, cereal, and lots of different juices and drinks.  Too much to choose from.
These pictures are looking out from the balcony.
The bed was plush with  amazingly soft bedding.  They don't do top sheets in Europe, so the bedding is a little different.

 This is the big hill in the middle of the town.  There is the Hohensalzburg Fortress, Central Europe's largest, completely preserved fortress dating from the 11th century located on the other side of the hill.  We toured the fortress with our whole group and had a great time exploring the sights.

 The countryside and gardens are still green, colorful and beautiful.  It is just beginning to be Fall here and the leaves will soon be turning.

We went to Hellbrunn - Palace and Trick Fountains.  It was used for over 400 years as a summer residence with trick fountains and beautiful gardens.  It was also known as the Pleasure Palace for the Arch Bishop and Political Leader of the City.  No overnight stays by guests, but they had a day of bathing, dining, entertainment - all with water tricks when you least expected it.  It was very entertaining and a highlight to see.  It is also the place where the Gazebo and long garden walkway is that was used for the Sound of Music.  People walk by it and just start dancing.

 Welcome to our new Hotel, Laschenskyhof for the conference.  I loved the hearts out of logs in a metal frame.  We had a beautiful room with a wonderful view of the countryside.  We had 3 days with 11 Senior Mission Couples and the Mission Presidency and their wives.  We had workshops, lectures, great food and lots of sightseeing and fun.  I have not been able to get my photos from the other phone to my laptop.  You are spared further photos, but maybe next week I will be able to share more of the sights and sounds of the area.  We took so many photos, but technology is not working for me today. 

Hotel Laschenskyhof

 The picture does not do the hotel justice.
It is like a large Villa with a large restaurant, bar and conference rooms on the lower level.  There are two other buildings with guest rooms.  There is a beautiful garden in the back with outside seating for the restaurant. 

We learned how to make Apple Strudel.  It was so fun.  We all helped from making the dough, peeling the apples, spreading the cinnamon sugar, rolling and then it was baked and we all got to sample it.  I bought all of the ingredients today and will attempt to make it tomorrow by myself.  It was so good.  The dough is whipping cream, flour and a pinch of salt.  It is very light and flaky.   We made four strudel from start to finish in about 30 minutes.  With everyone helping it was really fast and really helpful to see the whole process.  Below is a board with pictures of all of the steps it takes to make it. 

They even have special butter to bake with that does not burn or turn brown in baking.  That is used to grease the pan for baking.  

The process starts at top left and goes down and then up to the next row and down, moving across the board in the same manner.
You can see the finished baked strudel.

I was asked to teach the class after this class while it was baking.  That is a tough act to follow.  Our presentation went really well and everyone loved the recipes and food I shared.  I made homemade hummus with chips, and vegetables.  I also made my homemade granola bars and they were a favorite.  We also made everyone packets of instant oatmeal showing one of the recipes for quick and economical missionary meals.  We made about 8 varieties and they make a great breakfast. Two favorites were banana, coconut almond and Blueberry almond.   Check out the recipe in Linda's Cookbook.  I gave everyone a 40 page recipe book of vegetarian cooking, meals for missionaries and recipes to serve at Zone Conferences.
We made new friends, shared stories of our adventures as missionaries, learned "what I wish I would have been told when we arrived," and we were spiritually fed and uplifted by the speakers and sharing of testimonies and blessings in our lives.  It was a much needed experience that we will always remember.  It was a 7 1/2 hour drive  and we came directly home with only necessary stops.  The autobahn is very fast until it is not.  When it stops, it is backed up for miles.  It is an interesting road system and then when you get into the mountains, it is slow going.

Hopefully I will get the better pictures for next time.
Viel Liebe
The Grimmett's