Friday, August 25, 2017 started off with much excitement. Ginny, Chris and I were going to Germany. I hadn’t been back since my mission, 35 years ago. We were excited to see family, mission sites, and simply the beauty of Germany.
We went to the airport together, but Chris would be going on a separate flight. As it got close to boarding times, we headed to our individual gates.
Ginny and I boarded our plane, hoping Chris will now get to Germany okay. We wouldn’t see him now until Saturday. As we landed in Los Angeles for our first layover, we got word from Chris that there had been problems with his flight. The plane had a mechanical error, and by the time they were getting them off the ground, he was going to miss his connection in New York. After working with airline representatives, Chris finally let us know that they had put him on a new flight going through Amsterdam.
When Ginny and I landed at our next layover, London Heath Row, we got word that Chris had been able to get on the new flight and was on his way to Amsterdam.
Finally in Berlin
We finally got to Berlin Saturday afternoon. As we were waiting for our luggage, we saw Chris looking in from outside the secure area. He made it and so did we. We were then greeted by three family members, Holger and Angelika Franke, and Berndt Zaubitzer. What we learned as we got out of security was that Chris’ luggage didn’t make it, and after further investigattion, we found out it was in Miami! Hopefully it would get to us tomorrow.
We checked into our hotel, Holiday Inn Express, and then headed out to see the sights of Berlin. We first stopped in front of the elaborate, Chinese themed gate to the Berlin Zoo, which was just a short distance from our hotel.
Then we hopped on the subway to get us to what was the center of West Berlin, Europa Platz. This was an area I knew well from my mission, as we used to come to the Spielbrunnen or Play Fountain to talk with people.
We also visited the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedechtniss Kirche, which is the remains of a bombed out church that has been preserved to remember the devastation of war. A new church was erected along side it.
Jet lag was definitely setting in, but we were hungry, so we were taken to a great steak house near these sites, and enjoyed dinner with our family.
Berndt, Chris, Angelika, Mike, Ginny, Holger
From left to right, Berndt, Chris, Angelika, Mike, Ginny, Holger
The real fun starts tomorrow!