In Dresden we got to visit our fourth daughter, Antje Urban. She showed us the beautiful city and I learned about the destruction of Dresden in February 1945. I had heard about it for years and now I was there and visited the Frauenkirche. I saw how the British RAF pilots from 1945 had paid to have the church restored and marveled at the great artists who had worked to recreate the great interior, the organ, and the great architecture. It was also interesting to see how the city had been transformed from the gray communist era town to a modern, vibrant, colorful city. Also, one of my favorite experiences was riding on the 1834 steam boat up and down the river. It was still powered by the actual, original steam engine that still ran on coal.

Austria Cycling Tour in the Rain

We took a wonderful bicycling tour of the area around Salzburg where the "Sound of Music" took place. Then it rained and hailed and flooded and turned cold and made the whole tour wonderful. Because of our wet circumstances we joined forces with two couples with whom we scrambled for busses, taxis, and trains and became very good friends. We still rode bicycles and saw the beautiful countryside of Austria.

Switzerland with Br. Kopfmann

We had a great reunion with my favorite companion from my mission, Br. Kopfmann. We spent the day in Basel and visited his mother. Then we went to Lucern where I finally saw the town and the lake about which the Jodel, that is playing on the video, was written.