Sunday, June 1, 2014

Willkommen in Deutschland!


In April, Luke and I took a long weekend to visit our friends Erin & Kurtis Peters.  We met Erin & Kurt in Edinburgh and became good friends with them.  Kurt is also doing a PhD in Old Testament, so the boys have lots to 'nerd it up' about.

The University of Edinburgh participates in an exchange programme called the Erasmus Programme which the Peters took advantage of this to spend a term in Tübingen studying German.  The powers that be recommend that Biblical Studies students study German because there are a lot of books written in the language and unfortunately no translation will ever be perfect.  Luke would like to do something similar but we are having to explore different options because the University of Cambridge Divinity Faculty does not participate in the Erasmus Programme.

Tübingen is in southern Germany and is mainly a university town.  Its architecture has also been very well preserved because it was able to avoid the bombings during the war.  No major industry = no reason to destroy it.

The town is lovely with narrow, winding streets and is set right on the Neckar river.  And there are ice cream shops throughout the city where you can pick up an ice cream cone for 1 Euro.

















We took the bus to one of the many forested areas around Tübingen and followed the trail to the Schwärzlocher Hof, an inn and restaurant with a lovely view of the valley, for lunch.  We took our chances on the German menu and were both quite happy with our selections.  I got the Schwärzlocher Mostbraten au Sauerkraut und Brot and Luke got the Linsen mit hausgemachten und Bauernbratwurst.




We also visited a monastery that is not far from where they live - set in a little valley.








And on our way back to the flat, we foraged for wild garlic.


It was a great trip and we got to spend good time with friends - including meeting the newest addition to their family - Nienna Grace.


I'd definitely love to go back to Germany when we have more time and explore some of the fairy tale castles.  Fortunately for us, we have a few more years here.

Love you and miss you,
Aub, Luke & Luther


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