Out of the ashes
After a disastrous day we made it to Berlin just fine. I was greeted by a screaming running Marie (foreign exchange student from sophomore year of HS) and the feelings were mutual. We headed for the train and instantly it felt like we had never been apart. We dropped our bags at the hostel, which was a Hilton compared to the previous one, and Marie showed us around her favorite German city. Overall Germany felt much less European than all the other places we had been. The more modern buildings and traffic felt more like home than Europe. In the evening we went up to the top of this big tower to see the city all lit up from a birds eye view. It was stunning. After a good nights rest we decided to do a bus tour the following day. It was very interesting because I had a VERY brief idea of German history and much of it was explained. We learned about wen Berlin was decided and saw remnants of the Berlin wall ad even visited Check Point Charley. I still can't believe that the Berlin wall was standing not even 40 years ago. after our historical lesson it was time to head home to Celle. We missed the first bus to Hannover, but caught the next one and were met by her lovely mother at the station. We pretty much headed strait to bed because it was late.
Their house is absolutely charming. The wood floors, spiral staircases, and cases of books give a very homey yet whimsical feel. I felt home almost instantly. Looking out the window I could see her neighbors horses and their adorable backyard furnished with flowers and almost glowing green. Martina walks down to the corner to cut fresh flowers at least twice a week and it does not go unnoticed. There were sunflowers everywhere I went in their home and I couldn't help but smile as they are one of my favorites.
Marie gave us a little walking tour of Celle and I absolutely fell in love. The quaint streets laden with bicycles and little shops all with what we would call Bavarian style store fronts (although a German will tell you that that is in the south). Everywhere I turned I found myself saying "it's so cute!" weather it be a book shop, a river, a park, or even just some cows grazing on the side of the road. It was absolutely wonderful. But of course the best part was spending time with Marie. It was wonderful being reunited with my other sister, and it really did feel like we had never been apart. We went to the cafe where she works, the grocery store where she used to work, and saw where her father works. She really invited us into her life, and more than any of the sights we saw, I will remember just the time we spend together and all the laughs we shared.
On Sunday we headed to a concentration camp near Marie's house and walked through the museum reading first hand accounts of what it was like to be in that particular camp. It was so incredibly sobering. After the museum we headed out to walk around the grounds where they have plaques and pictures of what was in particular locations when the camp was still running. It was strange in a way because the grounds are beautiful. I saw so many images of a baron wasteland where not even any trees stood because the prisoners were so hungry they ate the bark off the trees and the trees died. Now where such horrible crimes once took place is a beautiful grassy area with forests and wildflowers. I was really reminded of redemption. I think God has really been trying to show me redemption and this was such a concrete example of his power. I have been reading Romans and Paul very explicitly talks about how we are dead to sin and that we have risen with Christ when we accept him. How beautiful to see a place that was once so horrible, much like life before Christ, now covered in flowers. It is unbelievable how God can use such ugly things to make something so beautiful. Not that's life is perfect much like the scars of the concentration camp, I am far from perfect, but I am confident that God has made something beautiful from my ashes.
Standing in awe of the beauty of redemption,
Sigourney
Their house is absolutely charming. The wood floors, spiral staircases, and cases of books give a very homey yet whimsical feel. I felt home almost instantly. Looking out the window I could see her neighbors horses and their adorable backyard furnished with flowers and almost glowing green. Martina walks down to the corner to cut fresh flowers at least twice a week and it does not go unnoticed. There were sunflowers everywhere I went in their home and I couldn't help but smile as they are one of my favorites.
Marie gave us a little walking tour of Celle and I absolutely fell in love. The quaint streets laden with bicycles and little shops all with what we would call Bavarian style store fronts (although a German will tell you that that is in the south). Everywhere I turned I found myself saying "it's so cute!" weather it be a book shop, a river, a park, or even just some cows grazing on the side of the road. It was absolutely wonderful. But of course the best part was spending time with Marie. It was wonderful being reunited with my other sister, and it really did feel like we had never been apart. We went to the cafe where she works, the grocery store where she used to work, and saw where her father works. She really invited us into her life, and more than any of the sights we saw, I will remember just the time we spend together and all the laughs we shared.
On Sunday we headed to a concentration camp near Marie's house and walked through the museum reading first hand accounts of what it was like to be in that particular camp. It was so incredibly sobering. After the museum we headed out to walk around the grounds where they have plaques and pictures of what was in particular locations when the camp was still running. It was strange in a way because the grounds are beautiful. I saw so many images of a baron wasteland where not even any trees stood because the prisoners were so hungry they ate the bark off the trees and the trees died. Now where such horrible crimes once took place is a beautiful grassy area with forests and wildflowers. I was really reminded of redemption. I think God has really been trying to show me redemption and this was such a concrete example of his power. I have been reading Romans and Paul very explicitly talks about how we are dead to sin and that we have risen with Christ when we accept him. How beautiful to see a place that was once so horrible, much like life before Christ, now covered in flowers. It is unbelievable how God can use such ugly things to make something so beautiful. Not that's life is perfect much like the scars of the concentration camp, I am far from perfect, but I am confident that God has made something beautiful from my ashes.
Standing in awe of the beauty of redemption,
Sigourney
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