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Cool place – too bad it wasn’t open.
He makes these Garden Gnomes in his “manufactory” – no English spoken hier! We are on the road for hours at a time, crisscrossing the area of Germany known as Thuringia, where Luther studied and taught.
The weather remains cold and rainy, making for exciting driving on the winding mountain roads. Snow flurries are coating the pines in the mountains.
The city of Schmalkalden – the focus of politics during the Reformation.
Wartburg Castle in Eisenach. During the time Luther was protected there he translated the New Testament into German.

We found our way to St. Moritz Evangelical Church in Coburg – Martin Luther preached there on Easter Sunday 1530 and stayed in the Coburg Veste, or fortress, for six months.
The Town Square in Coburg – we’ve got rainy, cool weather – we definitely left Spring in Australia – but rain can’t change the beauty of these Medieval buildings!
We are staying for 3 nights in Rödental, just down the street from the Goebel Porcelain factory! So of course we had to take a tour and see how Hummels are made – lots and lots of hands-on work.

Our flight to Germany left Sydney 6pm Monday night and arrived in London 6am Tuesday morning! Weird! That was 21 hours of flying time (about 11,000 miles) – we must have gone back in time.
We are now in the Thuringian area of Germany, the land of Luther, staying at a Brewery Gasthaus. It is Martin Luther’s birthday on Saturday (born: Nov. 10, 1483), and this “Luthertrunk” bier is made in this brewery to honor his birthday.
Ah – another inspiration for Chef Ed for a Men’s Club meat platter.

Fruit bats, or “Flying Foxes”, are destroying trees in the Royal Botanical Gardens. Creepy.
The Ibis, graceful and fun to watch. Because of them, Sydney trash cans had to be redesigned so the birds can’t get at the garbage with their long beaks!

St. James Anglican Church – the oldest church in Sydney at 183 years. We attended an early morning All Saints Day service and remembered the Saints of Bethel in prayer.
Another angle of the Opera House (there are so many) …and look what snuck in during the early morning – the Statendam!
Sydney Harbor is amazingly busy with boats of every shape and size. People take ferries just like we take buses. We took a ferry to Manley Beach in the suburbs – volleyball, anyone?
An appropriate final dinner in Australia for Ed – you guessed it, mate – it’s kangaroo (not an endangered species).