On to Sonsbeck!

We left Oberamergau and traveled North to Sonsbeck, Germany, to visit some friends who are stationed there. I can’t even describe how wonderful it was to stay in their home, and enjoy the food, conversation and fun that comes when you spend time with good friends and family. It was true comfort food for the soul!

They baptized their oldest daughter and blessed their youngest in the German-speaking branch we attended with them Sunday. The people we met were so kind and made us feel very much at home. It was a reminder to me of how the gospel creates family wherever we go. It also made me think about how quickly time passes. When we met them, Pianogurl was in the second grade and Deep Thinker wasn’t even born yet. Between us we had 5 children. Now our numbers have grown to include 12 children!

One day we visited a spectacular museum in the Netherlands that focused on the battles around the Arnhem Bridge. You may have heard of it in the movie “A Bridge Too Far.” I hadn’t, but we devoured the museum with interest. Basically, there were several military groups that were assigned to seize control from the Nazis of the bridges in the Netherlands during WWII. The other bridges were all successfully taken, but Arnhem was not. The museum (which is actually in the hotel that served as headquarters during the attempted takeover) has a number of different artifacts, personal accounts, computer/movie exhibits that tell the story of what happened at Arnhem. The crowning feature, though, is an interactive exhibit where you board an airplane and “jump” with the paratroopers down into Arnhem. As you walk through, it’s like you are in the streets – greeting the locals and battling the Nazis – complete with fire, gunshots, bodies, etc. Finally, you cross the river to escape the enemy. Deep Thinker and The Net thought it was about the coolest thing ever -- we had to go back through again.

The rest of our time was spent with the kids playing and the adults talking and taking care of the kids. We really enjoyed holding their new baby, who was just about 6 weeks old – so tiny and sweet! It was with much reluctance that we loaded up our van to head back to Italy. Many tears were shed on the way home. Sometimes it stinks to be constantly on the move. The silver lining is that they are close enough we can see them again in the near future!

The drive home was long – 11 hours in all – but once you factor in stops for gas and bathrooms, it took closer to 12 ½. Pianogurl didn’t feel well for about the last half of the trip and the kids were all so ornery from sitting in such close proximity, that I seriously considered leaving a few of them in Switzerland!

Speaking of Switzerland, it was breathtaking! We drove through a narrow valley that looked like green velvet stretched over rolling hills. The snow-capped peaks stretched above that. It was so pretty that it almost didn’t look real! Most of the rest of our time in Switzerland was spent in tunnels – a couple of them were so long I started to wonder if we were ever going to come out! We crossed the border into Italy and the tunnels became almost non-existent, so we got a good look at the gorgeous Italian Alps, as well. We also enjoyed the beautiful lights from Milano, although we didn’t appreciate the extra traffic.

We arrived home at long last and found the house intact and even a little bit warm. It even almost felt like home…