Bruhl, Germany

These pictures are some that I took in the village of Bruhl where I was staying with a host family while attending the conference: Kirchentag. Bruhl is located just south of Cologne on the west side of the Rhine River.

On the Friday afternoon of the conference, one of my fellow colleagues and I ventured to the village to experience it instead of Cologne for a wee bit. We opted to go there because the conference was so full of people and also full of so many talks in German that it was hard for us to navigate, plus the program for the event was so full we were overwhelmed. Thankfully we were advised from the beginning that we may need to take some time out. And this is exactly what we did in Bruhl.


This is a photo of the Schloss Augustusburg Palace. It was the palace of the 18th Century Archbishop of Cologne. As you might imagine, it is full of exquisite things, not to mention fancy floors, bookcases, and stairs.

In another photo, you will see a terrace on the village streets where no cars are allowed, but bicycles are everywhere. We stopped for lunch here...which you can see in the next photo. Eating was difficult for me in Germany--because I have a wheat allergy (Ich habe eine Allergie Weizen) and i am a vegetarian. I made certain to know how to say that I was allergic to Wheat before I departed. So, thanks goes to Elsa, one of the German teachers in Prestwick, Scotland. Thanks too to Marilyn for connecting me to her. :o)



This photo is of a wee fountain and me where some kids were enjoying the refreshing water on a hot day. I was wishing I opted for sandals that day.

This last photo is from the middle of the floor in a Greek Orthodox Church in Bruhl. It was here, in this place & space, that I found some time to just be...to just be with God...to do some singing and to be still...the acoustics were phenomenal. I was just in need of some communion time with God which was away from the hustle & bustle of both Cologne and the Kirchentag conference. And if this wasn't enough, just being, we went downstairs to an "angel of mercy". There is a woman who remains in the church daily for the expressed purpose of hospitality. She is there whether people come or not. And this day, she greeted us warmly with the hospitality of Jesus. She spread a table before us of coffee, homemade baked goods and even homemade Turkish Delights (actually they were Greek...because that's where she's from, but you get the idea). I told Carolyn that I felt like the prophet Elijah when he is running from Jezebel and is told to rest for 40 days, during which time the angels bring him cakes to eat and water to drink--to prepare him for the journey. (See 1 Kings 19)