Monday, July 21, 2008

Another Expedition

One of the great things about Heidelberg is it's central location in Germany and in Europe. I think we'll be able to go somewhere fantastic every Saturday for quite a long time without duplicating trips. This last Saturday our friends rescued us from our hotel (today is day 12 in the hotel) and took us to this monastery:


I don't know much about it's history (all the signs were in German, and after a week here, I'm still not fluent :) ) but what I do know is that parts of it are extremely old. There was a tomb in the crypt dated at 1080 A.D. It was renovated in 1889, and destroyed in the 1930's. Apparently Hitler wanted a swank place to hold a rally, so he pulled apart the monastery and built this amphitheater:


Wow. Can you imagine all of that stone back in place at the monastery? It must have been beautiful. The sad thing is, apparently the amphitheater isn't used for much these days. What a waste. The whole area has become a picnic/hide and seek destination. It was a perfect place to take our kids - they loved it, and so did we.







6 comments:

Summer Owens said...

How lovely! I only spent one day in Heidelberg but I wanted to see so much more. What neat experiences you'll get to have.

Jonathan and Rachel said...

I'm so glad you guys have a blog so we can see all the AMAZING places that you are visiting! Sorry you're still in the hotel! We hope you get a house... and SOON! --

Angela said...

You are going to have so many great adventures; Dan and I look forward to reading about them.

Jenna Harris said...

HOORAY!!! I'm so happy to hear from you. Looking at all the pictures just makes me ache to be there with you.

Stephanie said...

I can't believe that you are still in a hotel! What about your car, did you ever get it? Can't wait to see more of Germany! This great...it's way cheaper than a plane ticket...although, no where near as good I'm sure! It looks beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

Bastianclan said...

Emma I can't believe how beautiful Heidelberg Germany is. Wow it looks amazing. You have some beautiful pictures with the kids. I love it...