A weekend in the country

We took a train to Osnabrück this past weekend, to visit Guntram & Eva, who live in a renovated farmhouse in Lower Saxony, about 40 km from the border of Holland. Guntram is a whiz at solar power (which, along with wind power, provides 35% of Germany's energy), so he and Gary had a lot to talk about. Eva plays the flügelhorn, has a great sense of humor, and is a patient teacher of German, so she and I had a fun weekend, too. 

Eva’s father, Wilm Böing, was a talented sculptor who was often commissioned by the Roman Catholic Church in the 1960s and 1970s, before he died in 1981. Many of his pieces are on display (in wood and bronze) in churches and public places throughout the region, and are beautiful in their simplicity and energy. Guntram and Eva’s house is like an art gallery, full of his sculptures, large and small.

Yesterday we drove into the nearby town of Bippen to see the sights. One was the little church in town, now a Lutheran church (originally Catholic, of course, until Martin Luther came along), built in 1271. One of the neat features on this church is a stone on the side wall where churchgoers would sharpen their knives and spears before and after services. Apparently getting to church back then, traveling through the woods, was a hair-raising experience due to thieves and wild animals, so sharpening one’s weapon before heading back home again was essential. 

Across the lawn from the church is what used to be the village blacksmith shop. It's currently for sale for 60,000 euros, so naturally we had to take a look. Unfortunately, we will have to give it a pass, despite the fact that this building has a brick forge, living quarters upstairs, and a sweet little brook running alongside the property. If it had had a spreading chestnut tree, that would have been the clincher. 

Late this afternoon, we packed up and left Guntram and Eva's, and took the train from Osnabrück to Hamburg, where we switched trains to get back to Lübeck. A 20-minute walk from the bahnhof, with a stop at the grocery store along the way for milch, and we were back in our cozy apartment, with a surprise waiting for us: a card from our friend Rachel from Mahtowa! Thanks, Rachel — what a treat to get a card from Minnesota! 

The snow is coming down hard tonight. Three years ago, Lübeck got an unusually large amount of snow -- so much that they didn't know what to do with it. We hope this isn't another year like that.

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