Annika and Idrissa's Church Wedding...

It was Annika and Idrissa's church wedding on Saturday, 1st December 2012. Annika and Idrissa met with Mercy Ships in Sierra Leone last year, fell in love, and were married in Ghana earlier this year. The church wedding was held for Annika's German family and friends.

The service was held in the Lutheran Church in Dusslingen. After the ceremony there was a lovely reception with amazing African food! It was great to have African food, with all the spices, in the cold of the German winter!

 The Lutheran Church was built in the 1400s!

 Inside the church.

Idrissa welcomes family and friends.

 Annika and Idrissa leave the church.

 The beautiful ornate organ.

 Pretty flowers on each pew.

 The Reception venue.

 Our name tag letting us know the table we were seated at.

 Cool flower display on the tables.

 The menu was done on a wooden piece.

 African food!

 Candace and I.

 African music.

 Idrissa and Annika cut their wedding cake.

Mercy Ships crew members who were at the wedding.

Dog Parking...

I've seen some strange and interesting sights during my travels over the last few years, and now I can say that I've seen one of these sights in beautiful Germany!

I saw a dog sitting on a street in Tubingen and thought that someone had left their dog unattended. Then I noticed the sign on the wall!

Hohenzollern Castle...

After exploring Tubingen during the day, Candace and I were taken out to Hohenzollern Castle, a short drive away. This is a Gothic-style castle that was rebuilt during the 19th Century. The original castle dates back to the 11th Century. It was awesome to explore this impressive structure, and also browse at the annual Christmas Market held in the Castle's Courtyard. But boy, it was so cold! The temperature hovered at around -5 degrees Celcius (around 23 degrees Fahrenheit) most of the day, and the castle structure and fortifications were covered in a thick blanket of snow. What an amazing experience!

 Hohenzollern Castle on its hill.

 Little Gatehouse before getting to the Castle itself.

 Thick, thick snow!

 The sculpture above the Main Gate.

 The snow created an amazing atmosphere.

Note the rather cold statues above.

 It was so cold that there were icicles!

 Snow-covered trees.

 Beautiful wintry landscape.

 Snow on this gate.

 Amazing sunset over the snow.

 There are statues of Germany's old leaders around the Castle. They were wearing thick cloaks of snow!

 Weathered walls above.

 The Gate to the Courtyard.

 Inside the Courtyard.

 With another cannon.

 Candace and I.

 The Christmas Market.

Hohenzollern Castle at night.

Exploring Tubingen...

Annika and Idrissa took us to see the university town of Tubingen on Friday, 30th November. There was some absolutely magnificent architecture in this quaint town - including the historic castle. The real treat for me, however, was earlier in the day when it snowed and I was able to be outside catching snow flakes on my tongue! It was so much fun! Here are some photos from playing in the snow and our walk through the pretty town of Tubingen.

 Snow-covered logs.

 With Candace in the snow.

 Catching snow flakes!

With Candace at the picture-perfect Tubingen.

The famous German poet Friedrich Holderlin lived in the tower of this yellow building

 This is the Evangelisches Stift, a Protestant Seminary since 1547. It was originally built as an Augustinian monastery around 1262! 

 Lots of bicycles here!

 The entrance to the Hohentubingen Castle. It sits on a hill above the town.

The design around the gate is amazingly intricate!

 The main castle building.

The rain gutters of the castle were designed to look like dragons!

 You cross over a moat to get into the castle building.

 Inside the courtyard. Most of this property is now used by the university. It was in a kitchen here in 1869 that Friedrich Miescher made an important biological breakthrough. He isolated "Nuklein", the substance that contains DNA, the carrier of genetic information.

With a cannon in the courtyard.

The view from outside the castle.

Looking over the old town.

Looking towards where we walked up.

The Lutheran church steeple.

The Lutheran church building.

 Fruit and vegetable market near the large Lutheran church.

 Note the small fellow taking strain holding up the building!

 Pretty creeper covering half of this building.

Traditional bratwurst sausages at a German bar!