Frankfurt and Neustadt

We left St. Goar and made our way to Frankfurt to our mutual former companion and we got there around 5:00 p.m.

We walked through old town Frankfurt, which looks like this:

And then we got together for dinner and had a good time catching up and laughing about experiences from our mission. (from left to right, Ben, me, Jan)



Jan stayed with Ben and we took off for Heidelberg where we would stay for the next couple of nights. And we got to our place around 9:00 p.m.

We woke up on Tuesday, Sept. 2, and drove about 45 minutes west to the first town I served in - Kaiserslautern. We drove through it and saw some familiar sights. A lot of memories come back as you see places around town, apartment houses, streets, or buildings where you had experiences. I remembered this city fondly as it is where I was first exposed to Germany, was taken in by a friendly ward, had great mission experiences and struggled to learn the language.

We then drove about a half hour east through a forest valley to the next city I served in, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. Neustadt is a hidden gem of a city. It doesn't have a lot of tourism except possibly among Germans who know it as a wine retreat town. It sits at the entrance of a green valley and its old town is well-maintained and quiet.



 



We hiked up a path along the mountain-side vineyard terraces and we looked out over the city.



We met this family I had taught while I was serving there. They never joined the Church, but we've stayed in touch over the years and we remain good friends. The Book of Mormon we gave them sits on their bookshelf. We took this picture on the corner where I contacted Herr Pletsch for the first time as a missionary. They enjoyed meeting Melanie and Beck and having Beck play with their grandson who is close to Beck's age (pictured below).



We really enjoyed walking around the peaceful and well-kept town. And I was glad to be back. Here is  Neustadt an der Weinstrasse city square at dusk:



We drove back that evening to Heidelberg where our apartment rental was and where we would tour the next day.