More of Augsburg

Thursday Jan 17, 2013

Today I drove Brad to work so we could have the car again.  We were meeting up with Ursula in Augsburg.  Ursula is Anne's mom, so you know she is wonderful!!  She is also friends with Karen.  Another reason she must be wonderful!!

We drove through the snow into the city center.  We met her in the new Augsburg library.  It is a huge, nice building.  She showed us where they keep the English books in case we want to come back and get a library card.  Lea is always happy in a library!

We went to lunch next at a little place called Anna Cafe.  It's connected to the St. Anna church which is a building that was originally a monastery built in the 1300's.  Seriously.  I can never get over how old everything is here!

Here is our lovely and delicious lunch!

Mine: roasted chicken and potatoes

Ursulas: tortellini with tomato sauce

Lea's: pasta with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese!!

Lainie's: American style pancakes with maple syrup and fruit

It was really delicious.  And while we were sitting there, Ursula gave the girls some gifts.  Lainie got a beautiful pendant on a ribbon...sparkly like she is!  And Lea got a bag full of Barbies and Barbie stuff!!  This is her later at home with it all:

Ummm, Ken?  This is public, here!

After lunch we went into the church.  I have never visited this church in past times in Augsburg.  It is so beautiful!  It is now a Protestant church, but we think it was Catholic at one time.  Ursula explained that there were fights between the 2 and many churches changed hands over the years.  The church was recently restored inside and the outside is being done now.  It was so spectacular!!  Here are a few pictures from inside:

Hallway

This was a sculpture on the wall from the 1500's

A mural

And that was just the hallway!  There were also many, many giant tombstones, along the walls and on the floor.  We aren't sure if there were people buried under there!
Now inside the church:

The priest/minister would stand in this podium in the middle of the church so he could be heard.  The front of the church was too far away from the back pews.

It's so much prettier in real life!

Pipes from the organ with painted shutters on the sides

Very bright, full of natural light!  (The church, too)  :)

Me & Ursula :)

The grave of Jakob Fugger, a VIP in Augsburg.  He started the first known social settlement, the Fuggerei, which still exists today.  He seems to have been a pretty cool dude.

Another cool dude...Jesus.

This chapel that is attached is from the 1300's

Lea being goofy!

The last supper

It was really just so beautiful.  I wish I had the words to describe how I feel surrounded by all of this rich history.  I can just imagine the people sitting in the pews on Sunday mornings.

Next we went to a museum that had an exhibit of old toys.  It was very interesting and cool. Here are the highlights!

Fabric shop dollhouse

Hat shop dollhouse

Train set

Adorable tiny kitchen

There was also displays of silver which was made in Augsburg, and some old coins and medals.

A medal from 1574.  Old.

Lainie wasn't feeling well today, coming down with a cold/flu thing.  So she was ready to go home.  It was still snowing and the city was beautiful.

We came home and rested.  Then I picked up Brad from work and made a very German meal...Leberkaese!  Leberkaese is like a giant bologna, but cooked and warm.  Brad really loves it, and I found one in Aldi, raw and ready to cook!  You can find this at every deli counter here.  Before it was cooked, it looked like someone's torso, I'm serious.

Ew.

I baked it for about 40 minutes.  The directions said something about the last 5 minutes, with water and a plate, but I couldn't figure it out.  So it was done.  Much better now!

Looks kinda like a ham.  Tastes just like bologna.

It was good!  We sliced it up and ate it on Semmel (rolls) with mustard.  Well, Brad likes it that way.  I had mayo.  Lea had hers on the side with a Breze (pretzel) instead.  Lainie had nothing because she doesn't feel good!

We played a round of Zebra Pig, our game from Christmas from the Papsdorfs.  We cracked up as usual.  We Skyped with Grandma and Grandpa T (Brad's mom and step dad) for a bit.  Grandma is coming to visit in a couple of weeks!  We are all very excited and making plans.

It was another incredible day!  I am so thankful for friends, Kuka and Leberkaese.