Münster

On Saturday morning, we got up and ate Brötchen (yummy rolls), that we got at the bakery. Then we drove to Münster, parked, and rode the bus in. We went to the market first. That's where we bought these tiny strawberries. They tasted great to. The market had cheese, meat, baked goods, fruit, vegetables, and some other random stuff. It was really fun to see everything.

This is the Aasee. That would be Aa lake. Interesting name. There were people sailing on it, and it was pretty.

This is the Lamberti-Kirche. It was really pretty. Now I'm going to copy a text Kirsten sent me about this church: Here, there is also the market and city church, St Lambert’s, the most gorgeous late Gothic sacred building in Westphalia. A night watchman still "sounds the hour" between 9.00 pm and 12.00 am from the balustrade. Below it, there are the three hanging iron cages where in 1536 the three bodies of the leaders of the Anabaptist Revolt were displayed.(modern art in the city) By simple means Lothar Baumgarten alludes to the "Kingdom of the Anabaptists". The artist mounted a light bulb in each of the cages at the South side of St Lambert’s spire. At the onset of night a photosensitive control switches the lights on. Flexible copper wires allow for swinging movements. The installation lights up at a height of 60 meters and can be seen from many locations. After their execution in 1536 the bishop had the bodies of the Anabaptist leaders displayed in these cages. Kirsten's Dad said that they were executed mostly for their communist ideals, rather than because they were Anabaptists.

This is a castle. For real. They use it for a university building now. We couldn't really look around inside, because they were having an event that involved driving fancy cars around. They let me in to use the bathroom though. So I used the bathroom in a castle. There is a sad lack of bathrooms there. So when I saw one, I used it. Especially if it was free.

This is the Überwasser Kirche (over water church). It is easy to remember because it is Romanesque, rather than Gothic. Also it isn't named after a saint, so the name sticks better in my head.

This is Kirsten under a bridge that leads to the Bishop's garden. This is also the water referred to in the name of the church above.

This is the market, with the Saint Paulus Dom in the background. I think this is the one with the cool clock I wasn't allowed to take a picture of. At noon, it had a bunch of moving parts and played a song.

This is what every street corner in Münster looks like. There are thousands of people riding bikes everywhere. I was slightly afraid that I would be squished by one. That would have been a really undignified way to go. I was trying to explain my fear of one hitting me to Kirsten's Father the next day, and he thought I DID get hit by one. A testament to my bad German.

This is a cool bear statue in Münster. We did some shopping and sightseeing, and had a great day. Our feet and legs were SOOOOO sore the next day!!!! That night we went to Kirsten's sister Verena'a choir concert. They were great, and it was fun. They sang a couple Wise Guys songs, and I knew the words to one of them even better than Kirsten did!!!