We had a great stay in Salt Lake while Lowell took his legal training. The weather was perfect and the flowers on Temple Square and in downtown were out in all their glory. We had a wonderful last chance to visit with some dear friends and family before our final departure. 
I had mentioned in the last post that we had met old friends in the MTC going to the Philippines, the Robinsons. Here I'm pictured with them (Teresa in the orange and her husband,Ray,in the back), Teresa's mother, Eloise, who we've known for years as well. She's a vibrant 93 years old, by the way! And a real treat was also seeing her wonderful neighbors, Chloe Ann and Patrick Kelly, who were special senior missionaries with us in Hong Kong. A pretty amazing reunion, I would say! 
While Lowell was slaving away in meetings on our last day, I had the pleasure of taking an early morning 6 mile hike up City Creek Canyon with Ruth Ann Hamilton,another Hong Kong missionary friend. The fall colors were just beginning to turn, making it a breath taking walk. Ruth Ann will leave on her second mission to Brussels, Belgium on Jan. 5th! We're hoping to see each other in Europe. She'll be in our Area.
get-together's were over for a while. Luckily we will have a phone in our apartment that allows us to call home any time. That along with Skype, Facetime and email will keep us in pretty close contact.
Hello Germany..............
Our flight the next morning was supposed to take off at 11:30am. Unfortunately our destination, San Francisco, was fogged in and we were late taking off. That resulted in our missing the connection to Frankfurt. Not a good start! We hurried and got our names put on a standby list for a 7pm flight to avoid having to wait another day for another standby flight. Since our names were at the top of the list, we barely made it on the packed plane. We were even able to sit next to each other in seats with extra leg room! BLESSINGS!!!!
We were both so tired we slept pretty well during our night which was Frankfurt's morning and awakened just in time to be served breakfast and get ready to land. It seemed surreal for me, a dream come true to not only be in Europe but to live there! Such a beautiful sight out the window. We touched down at about 2:30pm.
Our Area Legal Counsel, Mike Jensen and his wife, Jean, were right there to pick us up when we arrived. The only problem was that three of our five checked bags didn't make it. We tracked them down in SF and they promised us they would deliver them the next day, which they did.
We were pretty tired and so they whisked us off to our apartment so we could settle in and get our land legs on again. We were so pleased with where we will be living. The apartment, on the ground floor of a nice complex, is about twice as big as the one we had in Hong Kong. It's still pretty cozy but will be more than perfect for us. It's actually the first residence we've had since selling our home back in 2012.
We have about a four block walk to the Area Office building which we'll love for the exercise. Everything is lush green and, of course, very European and quaint. I can't believe we're actually here in this long anticipated place!
Lowell is sitting in our living room/dining room combo. Then you can see our cute little galley kitchen with everything we need. The Jensen's went shopping for us to get us by for a couple of days until we can figure things out.
Next, is the view from the front door of the complex out to our street, Schleswigerstrasse 12.
This is our bedroom, a single bed frame with two mattresses and feather "ticks". Lots of portable closet room about 18 inches from the bottom of the bed..........like I said.......COZY!
This is our snug little bathroom which actually has a tub!!! It took a while to figure out the hot water and heating systems, but Lowell finally figured it out. Hooray! It's pretty funny. To get into the shower you have to fold back the three paneled door into the tub area. Then to close it, you have to scruntch up near the wide end so you can fold them back around the tub. Not sure how those German minds work but we'll take it and be happy!
Our Area Legal Counsel, Mike Jensen and his wife, Jean, were right there to pick us up when we arrived. The only problem was that three of our five checked bags didn't make it. We tracked them down in SF and they promised us they would deliver them the next day, which they did.
We were pretty tired and so they whisked us off to our apartment so we could settle in and get our land legs on again. We were so pleased with where we will be living. The apartment, on the ground floor of a nice complex, is about twice as big as the one we had in Hong Kong. It's still pretty cozy but will be more than perfect for us. It's actually the first residence we've had since selling our home back in 2012.
We have about a four block walk to the Area Office building which we'll love for the exercise. Everything is lush green and, of course, very European and quaint. I can't believe we're actually here in this long anticipated place!
Next, is the view from the front door of the complex out to our street, Schleswigerstrasse 12.
This is our bedroom, a single bed frame with two mattresses and feather "ticks". Lots of portable closet room about 18 inches from the bottom of the bed..........like I said.......COZY!
This is our snug little bathroom which actually has a tub!!! It took a while to figure out the hot water and heating systems, but Lowell finally figured it out. Hooray! It's pretty funny. To get into the shower you have to fold back the three paneled door into the tub area. Then to close it, you have to scruntch up near the wide end so you can fold them back around the tub. Not sure how those German minds work but we'll take it and be happy!
This is our dining room table and our little hutch. It's all a completely separate room with a door. Great for guests! We are luckly to have an extra small room which will hold a twin bed and a small desk for both of us. Again, very nice for guests (hint, hint!).
Lastly, this is our little patio looking out onto the green between the buildings. We're looking forward to fixing things up a bit and adding our touch, but that will most likely have to wait a while. There is much to do and learn first. It's great to be here and we're so looking forward to the adventures and work ahead.
So great to see pictures of new your "home"! We miss you so much already and can't wait to come and visit you. Let us know when you have a way to call and/or FaceTime - our kids can't wait!! Love you!!
ReplyDelete