March 10-16, 2019 Castle Adventure

Sunday was another quick drive to Lahr to visit the Branch.  We are always welcomed by the members there and we enjoy our time with them.  There were about 50 people in Church that included 7 Primary age children, 3 Nursery, 7 Youth and 3 YSA included in the group.  We had to hurry home to be with the Freiburg YSA for Family Home Evening and Lunch.  I made the soup and bread on Saturday so it was easy on Sunday.  The Brownies were their favorite part of the meal.

Monday was District Council with Skype at our home.  I was so glad we did not have to travel again this week for the meeting.  We always enjoy having the Elders in our home.  I just served them leftover soup, bread and brownies and it was even better the second day according to Elder Grimmett.  I just know there was nothing left.  We quickly went to town to pick up a few items for our Tuesday P-Day Activity and for our Dinner Guest that was coming over.

I was brave and tried a  new recipe - a German specialty of Rouladen.  It is very thin beef that you spread with a good mustard and salt and pepper.  Then you place a very lean bacon slice on top.  Then you put chopped onion and chopped dill pickle.  Roll up the beef like a jelly roll and secure end with toothpick or bakers string.  Brown and cook until tender.  Then you make a gravy and serve with mashed potatoes and red cabbage.  It turned out really good - I learned to not cook it so long, but it was still tender.  The mashed potatoes were the best.  The potatoes are different here - not bakers and they make really good mashed potatoes.  Most people don't make them homemade because the potatoes are little and a lot of work, but worth it.  I splurged and bought a chocolate truffle cake for dessert and it was divine - the best dessert I have had in Germany.  Most of their desserts are not sweet.

Tuesday was District P-Day and it was FANTASTIC!  We visited Sigmaringen Castle - the first working castle we have visited. We also toured the Armory.
This is a picture of the back side of the Castle.  It was first built in the 1200's and then additions were added over the years.  It has been the House of Hohenzollern since 1576 to current. The 13th and 14th Centuries left no remarkable remains.  It was not until the 15th Century that a new construction period began.  In 1650 another major construction period began that turned the complex into a Renaissance palace.  Changes were again made in the years 1860-1880 when changes in the neogothic style were carried out.

It was very modern for its day and had electricity as early as 1860 and indoor plumbing.  There was a large electrical fire that destroyed a large part of the castle.  The castle underwent a major redesign in 1893 after the great fire.  The completion of these conversions was in 1902.  The family was in their home at the beginning of World War II when suddenly Hitler's army stormed the residence and took possession of it for the use of the French Military Commanders.  The family was taken to the outskirts of the town.  They are no longer the ruling government of Germany, but they continue to live in the city and are regarded as:

This is a picture looking out of the window down into the city

His Highness Karl  Friedrich Prince of Hohenzollern and Your Highness Katharina Princess von Hohenzollern.  There are still social events held in the great hall.  No photography is allowed inside of the Castle.  It was truly a fairy tale.  It has been beautifully preserved with the belongings from the 1800's family time.  The women in the family were very strong and held high prominence.  The dresses were absolutely beautiful.   

This was in the walkway leading up to the entrance for the tour.  They were avid hunters.  One room in the castle had 640 Roebuck antlers and other wild game from one of the Princes.  There were three areas of influence shown.  The hunting trophies, the weapons in the armory and the Public service and business dealings of the family.

These are weapons on display.

This is the entrance to the castle.  The tour was in German with a guide book in English for those who needed it.  It was so nice to be able to read about each room and then hear the guide say it in German.  I actually understood many of the things she said.  We learned that the Rest room was the room next to the bathing room where the Princess would rest from taking her bath and also decide what would be worn that day.  She would then move to the dressing room that had doors large enough for the large hoops of her dresses to go through.  Several families lived in the Castle with each family having their own wing for sleeping quarters and only sharing the dining hall and main living area.

Our current wonderful missionaries in Freiburg,
Elder Janousek and Elder Robertson.
We love serving with them.  We have spent a lot of time in the car with them and they are very quiet, but wonderful to be with.



The Family in the Castle is very Catholic.  They were very much against the Reformation and even one of the sons of the family was killed trying to defend the Catholic religion.  There is a beautiful Church on the Castle hill grounds.  We took the time to go in and see it.  It was beautiful inside.  I especially liked the large organ.

We ended the day having a picnic in the parking lot where we parked.  We tail gated and had a good time.  We find it interesting some of the things we do here that we would never think of doing at home.  It was like having a picnic in a Target parking lot.  Fun Times.

We took the Elders to an appointment to see a lady that we visited two weeks ago.  She lives an hour away in a very quaint village.  I told about the farm house last week.  This week I took pictures.

This is a working farm and they have turned many of the rooms in the barn into apartments.  It is amazing.  I love the antiques.

 There were many of these water pumps around the property and they really work.  This is a beautiful collection of tea pots.

Across the street was 2 Cranes (birds) building a nest.  It was so neat to watch and to see the large nest they were building.

We ended up not seeing Maria today.  She had to go to work and so we drove a long way to just have me take pictures!  All in the life of a missionary.  We enjoyed the scenery and the nice day.

Cranes building a nest on tower

Friday is baking and cooking day.  I made Granola Bars, gluten free peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, salsa, Homemade Enchilada sauce, Chicken enchiladas, homemade corn tortillas for the enchiladas, and black bean dip.  

I am not a really good cookie baker but today they turned out just like I needed them to. The key is good ingredients, a good recipe and a lower temperature on the oven for a longer baking time.  This makes them crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.   I made Chocolate chip cookies to take to Apartment Inspections next week for a Thank You for making an effort to have a clean apartment. I made the Peanut Butter cookies for District Meeting on Saturday.  The recipe suggests a Hershey Kiss in the middle.  They DO NOT sell Hershey kisses in Germany.  I have not liked how just putting a chunk of chocolate turns out so today a made a chocolate truffle filling and added my own kiss on top.  This is my new favorite - they are soooo good. 
We have had an awesome Saturday.  I was so tired when I went to bed last night - well more like 1:30 AM.  I was not sure how I would feel in the morning, but the pain reliever I took did wonders on my sore back and I was good to go.  We had a wonderful District Council and Interviews with Pres. Brown.  The enchiladas turned out so good - a lot of work making my own corn tortillas and enchilada sauce, but well worth it.  I will make my own tortillas now - at least while we are in Germany.  The missionaries feasted on the homemade Salsa.  They all said they had not had TexMex since they had come on their missions and that the Salsa was the best.  I made enough that they each got to take a container home.  The granola bars and peanut butter cookies did not last long.
After the morning meetings and lunch we had a break before the 5:00 meetings started so we took Sis. Brown and Elder and Sis. Blanchard to see our city.  We took them on the Tram and to go see the Munster. (Cathedral)  It was the first really nice day and it was wall to wall people.  We ended at the Italian eis (gelato) shop and each got a scoop or two to eat.  The line was out the door and down the street.  We waited in line for 30 minutes and it was worth it.  They all loved it.  They were amazed that we walk that route just about every day and sometimes two or three times a day.  We returned to the Church for our evening meetings where Pres. Brown was one of the speakers as well as an Area Authority Seventy, Elder Phillips from England.  It was very uplifting and spiritual.  It is always good to see so many people as well.   We invited all of the missionaries to come downstairs to the kitchen and finish off all of the food.  We had a wonderful gathering and I served the leftover meatball sandwiches from Wednesday and they loved them.  It is fun to feed the European missionaries these new foods.  I tried to hide the last of the granola bars so I could take them on the bus to Zurich Sunday, but they found them and did a good job of eating them.  There is a power that comes when we are with all of these young missionaries.  They are doing a great work and making such a difference as they teach the people in their areas.  They are dedicated, hard working and obedient servants of the Lord, Jesus Christ.  We are so blessed to be able to serve with them and learn from them as well.  I know that we are also an example to them and are helping in some small way.

This week has also been a time to again be grateful for the great Plan of Salvation given to us by Jesus Christ.  We received word that our neighbor on Peyton Place passed away this week after a fall at his home that then led to a stroke and other complications.  He was 77 years old and leaves his wife and a daughter.  Stan was our good friend.  He would always watch for us to put up our Christmas lights and then he would come out and join us by putting up his lights.  He and his wife Lou are wonderful people who have served others and made a difference for many in their Church congregation.
Another dear friend passed away this week as well.  Kathy Trowbridge returned to her Father in Heaven after a very long battle with cancer.  She was a devoted mother to 5 children and a grandmother to 6.  She was so talented and made a difference in so many lives as she taught piano lessons for many years.  We served together in the Stake Relief Society Presidency for several years and I was truly blessed with a dear friend and daughter of God.  She taught me so much and together with Claudia Pickering we met every week together and served the Sisters in the Arlington TX Stake. So grateful for the peace that comes in knowing that there is a place beyond the death of this mortal body and that we can be with our Father in Heaven again.  Yes, Families are Forever.

This has been quite a week.  Sunday will be a full day of travel and meetings and fun on the bus with many people from our Church congregation.  Then, 4 days in Switzerland doing apartment inspections.  Hopefully good pictures of our adventures next week.
Viel Liebe,
The Grimmett's