A Weekend with Matthias and Petra Leben - Hessenpark

After our adventures at the Roman Fort, Petra directed us down the road to the "Hessenpark" open air museum and village.  Here we learned about everyday life from the 1600's to the 1950's in Hessian villages.  "Hessen" is an area of Germany much like a "state" in the USA.  In some ways, this village reminded us of Gardner Village in Midvale, UT - only much bigger.  There were lots of old houses and buildings with original artifacts.  Many buildings were reconstructed and some were actually moved to Hessenpark from other locations in Hessen.  Some of the items we saw brought back childhood memories.

Petra says the trees are pruned like this to make it easier to pick and get more sunlight

All the apostles were shown as well as Christ birth, baptism, death, resurrection, and ascension

This one is for Jordan - look at the texturing and designs

When we completed our tour of Hessenpark we drove to downtown Frankfurt and had lunch.  Petra and Matthias has been to this particular restaurant before with their daughter.  Again we had authentic German food. The setting was beautiful and the food was delicious.  We only got a picture of the desserts.

After a late lunch we drove back to our apartment, set up our computer and watched the opening session of General Conference (10:00 am SLC time - our 6:00 pm).  After conference Matthias and Petra went back to their hotel.  We made plans to eat breakfast in the morning and watch the Saturday afternoon session of conference on Sunday morning.  Their son, Aaron joined us about noon.  We had lunch and watched the Priesthood Session.  Petra, Matthias, and Aaron left for home after the Priesthood Session.  At 6:00pm we watched the live 10 am Sunday morning session.  We enjoyed watching the Sunday afternoon session during the week,  one speaker at a time.

On Saturday, the 13th we went back to Hessenpark with the Davis' for an Ostermarkt (Easter Market).  We enjoyed ourselves again.  One of our favorite stores was the Brush Maker Shop and the old Lutheran Church.

Off we go - shopping

The eggs were something else!

Notice the apostles above us.

"Unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives.  Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lost their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish - and in effect save their lives." Thomas S. Monson "What Have I Done for Someone Today?" Ensign, November 2009