DC to Germany

nik and I near the FDR memorial Two of the DC family

Tiffany windows at the Red Cross

The dining room at the townhouse

Chocolate Capitols at Costco

At the Representative's office

Gorgeous Orchids at the Botanical Garden

Elsie and Rico at the beautiful DC temple

Well, I’m currently on the plane to Germany, although, I’m not sure when I will post this since I have lost my internet connection. I’ve gotten a couple hours of sleep, which has been nice. This area of the plane is not very full, so I have a two-seat side section to myself. That always makes things easier!
The DC part of my trip seemed like a whirlwind - it was so packed with having fun with family and friends as well as sight-seeing. Looking back at my photos, most of them are of a group of us eating together or posing together in front of an important site. One of the greatest things about this trip I’m on in general has been getting to see where various family members live and work. From this DC part of the trip I have photos of Elsie and Paisley where they work, K-Rae where she goes to school and good friends like Jill and Elmo where they work or live. I so much appreciate all of them taking time out of their busy lives to show and share with me/with us.
The first few days in DC, I was on my own, then I was joined by my sister and one niece. Another niece and niece-in-law joined us on Thursday. From Thursday on, we stayed in an awesome DC townhouse north of the Capitol that my sister arranged for and paid for. It was a great place to stay, and big enough that we could have the DC area resident family members and friends over for meals. It was like living like the rich and famous for a few days, in our “city residence.” Before that I stayed with Elsie and Rico, which was awesome.
Some highlights that stand out in my mind:
-going to the DC temple with Elsie and Rico. It was my first time there, and I was so impressed with it’s beauty.
-Getting to walk to the Metro and ride it into DC on the first days with Elsie. I think I got the full Metro experience when a train broke down and we got to pack like sardines into the next one that came along J ! Don’t get the wrong idea though - DC’s metro system is very clean and very convenient. We used it lots during the week.
-Sunday Dinner at Nik’s house with the rest of the DC family gang. I had heard about them getting together for birthday dinners and other occasions, and it was awesome to be a part of it! I also loved being in Nik and Lory’s beautiful apartment, and the yummy eclectic dinner we all threw together, spur of the moment.
- going to the thrift store with Elmo. It was just fun generally, and I got a new pair of jeans that I’m taking to Europe as one of my two pairs of pants. (I like to pack light.) I also loved playing with her kids and enjoyed a yummy dinner with her and her husband.
-Getting to hang out at K-Rae’s apartment the morning before the next group arrived . I watched her clean and plant a beautiful herb garden planter. I was so impressed with her talents at making things look nice and feel nice with respect to her apartment. Up to this point in the trip the weather had been cold and rainy. That morning while I was there the clouds left and the sun came out and it warmed up dramatically in the course of a couple hours. The pleasant weather continued all through the weekend, until this morning when it started raining hard again. On two occasions later in the week we had a picnic in her back yard.
Just a little side note relating to that - the first day I was downtown, all the buds on the magnolias and cherry trees were closed. By yesterday many of them were in bloom. We all enjoyed seeing the trees “waking up.” The DC cherry blossom festival is in a couple of weeks.
- the orchid display at the national botanical garden. It was so beautiful and the humid warm air helped with a cold I’ve had this whole trip.
- getting to see Elsie and Paisley where they work in the office of a congressman!
-Paisley gave us a tour of the Capitol!
-We got to see a display of the Terra Cotta warriors from China
-Wonderful fun variety of food at the Founding Farmers Restaurant and great company!
-A Costco trip with Carolee. It was really fun. We used K-Rae’s car as a “truck” to transport luggage and food to the townhouse and everyone else got there by Metro. Here’s an “only in DC” moment: We were at the Costco in the bakery section. They had giant chocolate Easter eggs and bunnies out. They also had very large chocolate models of the capitol - white or milk chocolate filled with chocolate truffle. I considered getting one as a centerpiece for our townhouse for Paisley’s birthday, but decided she sees the capitol often enough at work J
Just a few more things:
-A tour of the Red Cross national office with it’s gorgeous Tiffany stained glass windows. Thanks Jill!
- Getting to go to the National History Museum for the first time. I saw Julia Child’s kitchen, the original Star-spangled banner and Kermit the Frog.
-A fun visit on Saturday to the Eastern Market north of the Capitol. I bought a scarf and awesome fresh wild mushrooms.
-Going to Ford’s Theater to learn about the assassination of Lincoln
-Watching a cool video reel of the presidents at the National portrait gallery. It was fun to see a video of FDR and also see President Reagan at the Berlin Wall urging Gorbachev to “come to this gate and open it.”
Getting to see the changing of the wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier.
-Fun meals at the townhouse - Tropical desserts, Paisleys’s birthday dinner and steaks on Sunday plus breakfasts.
　
So, now I’m headed to Germany. I’m flying into Frankfurt, and my first stop is a few days at the Frankfurt (LDS) temple. You may think, “there are lots of LDS temples in Utah, why are you going to the temple in Frankfurt?” I’ll tell you. The Frankfurt temple is a “destination” temple. Unlike most of the LDS temples in the US, the Frankfurt temple has an adjoining Guesthouse or hostel. Most of the people that come to the temple in Germany come for several days, and when they do, they stay in the guesthouse. The top three floors are rooms and the bottom floor has a complete kitchen and large dining room. When you check in, you are given the use of a locker in the dining room, and also a refrigerated locker in the kitchen! So between sessions at the temple, people go prepare their meals in the kitchen and eat together in the Dining Room. It is a wonderful way to get to know great faithful people in a peaceful environment.
There are several grocery stores relatively nearby, so when I arrive in the morning my plan is:
1) get my German cell phone up and working
2) travel to Friedrichsdorf where the temple is (I take the commuter train or S-Bahn)
3) Check in, get my sheets and make my bed (They provide linen if you need it)
4) Go to the grocery store and stock up on yummy German Quark, yogurt, bread and cheese
5) Go to the temple!
To me that is like a little piece of heaven - I get to speak German, eat German food, hopefully make new friends and all in the wonderful peaceful atmosphere of the temple.
I first learned how that worked there in the Fall of ‘08 when I was in Germany. When I first arrived in Germany in August that year I noticed online that two of the Stakes I had served in on my mission were scheduled for their temple week the same week - about one week away. I hurried and called my friend Minna from Nuernberg to confirm that that really was the case, and found out she was going to be there the whole week! I emailed the temple and was able to reserve a bunk in the same room she was in :)! So many miracles happened to bring all those circumstances together. So, anyway, I went, had the chance to renew old acquaintances and make new ones and had a wonderful time, and also learned the ropes of how things worked there with the guesthouse.
I don’t anticipate anyone I know being there the same week this time, but I think It’s a great way to start a trip to Germany none the less.
It will also give me a few days to sort of “decompress” and also, once I’m in Germany with my German cell phone it will be easier to make arrangements for what I will be doing after I leave the temple.