July 7-13, 2019 A peak at Vienna

Germany/France/Switzerland

Checking in at Basel Airport for our trip to Wien (Vienna)








Russ is in his "happy" place checking in at the Basel Airport.  He enjoys just driving into the airport and smelling the jet fuel.  This airport serves Southern Germany, Eastern France and the Basel area of Switzerland.  We parked in France and entered the airport on the Swiss side, trying to stay within the mission borders!  We were anxious to go and see what our new assignment and apartment living conditions would be like.  We arrived to a beautiful cool day.  We took the train to the city and were met by Elder and Sister Hansen at the train station.  We checked into the beautiful Hotel Savoyen and just dropped off our bag and hit the town running.  Our second stop was to see our new apartment and drop off two large suitcases with all of our Winter clothes so that we will have more room in the car when we move in 3 weeks.  What an amazing surprise!  The Hansen's served their first mission in Russia.  Everything she had told me about the apartment was actually about her first apartment in Russia.  We will live on the fourth floor and there is an Elevator!  We were not sure if we really wanted to leave our wonderful apartment in Freiburg with a parking garage and nice elevator.  All of our fears were put to rest the minute we walked into the building.  I will show pictures after we move in.  It is a large apartment with a wonderful large kitchen with all new appliances.  The big plus is that it has air conditioning.  It already felt like home in just the little time that we were there.  We then began a whirlwind tour of Wien from bus routes, tram stops and train connections to shopping and all points in between.  We stopped for a quick lunch at Subway - the first one since we arrived on our mission.  Being in a big city has a lot more of the comforts of home.

We visited St. Stephens Cathedral.  It has been about 35 years since we last visited Wien and it was nice to see these beautiful sites again.  Russ lived here for 8 months back in 1971 and it was very familiar to him.  These old buildings don't really change, just everything around them.

Stephen is the first known Christian martyr (someone who is killed because of his or her beliefs) after Jesus's Resurrection.  Many other Saints throughout history were also killed because they would not deny their faith in Jesus Christ.  You can read about this in the Bible,  Acts 7:54-60.

The building was bombed during the War and the roof was replaced.  Notice the motif on one side of the building.  There was a service going on when we visited and we were fortunate to hear the organ for a few minutes.  It is interesting to see how they keep these cathedrals operating.  There were four different stations to pay depending how close you wanted to get to the alter.  Sorry, we stayed at the back so the picture is from a long ways back.  We were hoping they would offer organ concerts on Saturdays like we attend in Freiburg, but we could only find very expensive weekly concerts listed.  We will have to do some further checking.

We ended the day at a wonderful Italian Restaurant, Vapiano.  It was a fun place with delicious food.  We did not get back to our hotel until 11 pm and it had been a very full exciting day.  We were anxious to see what day 2 would bring.

The Hansen's met us at 9:30 AM and we were off to another full day.  We took care of some business and then we were off to see the Institute of Religion where we will spend most of our time.  We will work from 4 - 9 pm, Monday through Friday at the Institute and then will have to fit everything else in.  It is a beautiful building just across the street from the Rathaus (City Building) in a wonderful part of the city.  I felt right at home in an environment that I spent 23 years working in.  Sis. Hansen showed me all things kitchen and Elder Hansen showed Russ all things office.  I was great with that and thought, we will see how that goes.  Russ kept telling him

that we would work as a team and that we both needed trained.  Russ can fill me in on the things he will need me to help with.  It will be good for him to have those responsibilities.  They have 3 classes each week with 1 in German and 2 in English - I just might get to help teach a few times and I am looking forward to that.

They took us to a local German restaurant that specialized in none other than Wiener Schnitzel.  It was so fun.  They are friends with the owner and we received a wonderful welcome.  We were well taken care of.  We will return for sure.  We saw more of the sights in the city and then we were back to the Institute for their daily shift.  It was non-stop from the minute we entered the building.  Students were already there waiting for the Hansen's to arrive.  We began the evening meal preparation and also met everyone as they arrived.  The time went so fast and the evening was over so quickly.  It was a beautiful evening for the walk back to the hotel with a stop for a dish of eis (gelato ice cream) on our way back.
Day three was more of learning where things are and a visit to the Church Building in our area.  This is the Church Russ attended when he lived in Wien.  It has a very large pipe organ - the pride of the local people - maybe I will even get to play it some day.
We took a tram ride to the other side of the city and saw the United Nations building and the Danube River.  We ended up at a very large Shopping Mall and had lunch at Burgerista - what they call an American Hamburger shop.  So we got to experience a little bit of everything in the few days that we were able to visit.  We were then off to the airport and returning home.

Base of statue inset

 This was a neat statue that is made of nails.  It was a fund raiser where people purchased a nail and then would pound it in to make the design.  It is really neat if you can see it up close.

 From June - September they have the Vienna Film Festival.  This is the front side of the Rathaus with a giant screen and seating.  It is every night with different events broadcast on the screen from live concerts, theater, opera, movies, etc.  We stopped on our way home Wednesday night and watched for a few minutes.  It will be fun to see a few opera's.

Our apartment is just behind Belvedere Castle.  The gardens are beautiful and I am sure we will enjoy taking walks through the gardens.

So the count down begins as we only have a few weeks left in Freiburg.  We have so much to get done, see and do.  I get worn out just looking at the schedule.  I have already had a few requests for Cinnamon Rolls before I leave and I have 3 cooking days left to prepare for.









We have made so many friends with the Young Adults we are trying to have a few over one last time.

For our Swiss friend, Melena and her husband Jonas we had the traditional raclette (cheese melted on a little grill and served over boiled potatoes)with shrimp, bacon, ham and other vegetables and then Chocolate fondue.  It turned out so good and the four of us ate the whole tray of fruit and chocolate!

Flowers on the Temple grounds

Saturday we were on the road early to visit the Bern Switzerland Temple.  We took the Elders with us and had a wonderful day.  This will probably be the last time to attend the Temple until we finish our mission.  We got to see some friends from the MTC who are serving in Heidleberg.  They brought a group of YSA for the day. 

 Picture Time!  About 38 years ago we visited Bern with my parents.  We visited the Temple and then went to see the Bern Bears.  The pit at the right is where they were kept.  It was just this pit with about 6 bears roaming around.  It was fun to see and I have always remembered the Bern Bears.  They still have the original pit, but have moved the bears to a wonderful hill just down the river from the original site.  I have always wanted to go back and see them and today we visited the Bears.  There is a beautiful river that flows through the city.  They have built a walkway between the river and the bears with a little mote for the bears. 

Look closely and you will see the bear down by the water.  He was putting on a little show.

 Below is a close up of the same bear sitting on the edge of the water.  He would play and then sleep and then turn to the crowd and then lay down and sleep.  There are 6 bears total but we only saw 2 out today.  They say that 3 are still wintering and have not come out yet. 

The Elders cooling off

Russ enjoying the river

Bern is a beautiful city.  We usually just go downtown to do our apartment inspections and see the buildings and train station.  This is on the edge of downtown and it is a whole other world.  I am so glad we took the time to go see them. 

We have had an amazing week.  We have made friends with many people and will have wonderful memories to take with us.  We have visited several homes this week and been able to share a message of hope, peace and comfort.  We have been able to pray with them and to bless their homes.  We are so grateful for this experience and look forward to the days ahead.
So much to get done in the next 17 days.  I feel like we are getting ready to serve a new mission.  New Country, new Visas, packing, cleaning, and all of the good-byes. 
It seems the more we serve the more blessings we receive.  So grateful for our health that allows us to keep up this pace and still be standing.  Thanks to Joe Thompson for the lemon raspberry bar recipe.  It is made and in the fridge ready for dinner tomorrow.  Bread just came out of the oven - So we are ready for another Sunday with our home filled with YSA.

Viel Liebe,
The Grimmett's