Europe and Jerusalem!!!

Jon and I just had the most wonderful vacation while the kids were here with Grandma Tueller.  I can't even describe how incredible it was--we saw such diverse places and had such a great time walking miles and miles around Dusseldorf, Jerusalem, Tallin, and London.  Here are some highlights . . .

One day layover in Dusseldorf, Germany:

Walking from the airport to our hotel

Bratwurst in Dusseldorf's Old Town!  We also tried Weinershnitzel that night--yum!

Leaning on the glass walls of the tower with awesome views of the city.

Crepe with nutella for breakfast--I think the yummiest thing I ate on our whole trip!

2 days in Jerusalem:

Our taxi ride from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was quite an adventure.  Honestly, I was in tears by the end because I was pretty terrified, but Jon thought it was awesome.  We took a shared taxi and the driver was absolutely crazy once we got to Jerusalem and started dropping off passengers in the Orthodox Jewish section.  It was dark and he sped through the narrow streets that were crowded with people and got out a couple times to yell and shake his fist at people/cars in his way.  He finally dropped us off, but it wasn't where we expected and it took a minute to realize we needed to cross the street and go down an alley to get to the St Thomas Home where we stayed.  After that adventure, we had a great time the next couple days seeing the sights and experiencing all the cultures in Jerusalem!

View from the roof of St. Thomas Home

The Western Wall of the Old City

View of Jerusalem from The Mount of Olives (Orson Hyde Park)

The Garden of Gethsemane

Breakfast at St. Thomas Home--Rolls, hummus, cheese, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, olives, etc.

Touring a Canaanite-made tunnel at the City of David

Wall at bottom of picture is the outside wall of a newly excavated area and is what they think could have been David's palace.  The neighborhood in the background is Silwan.  Jon really liked seeing all the ancient structures and learning the history behind what we saw.

St. Thomas Home

Our authentic "widow's mite."  This dealer showed us an article in National Geographic featuring his shop.

Dinner in the Old City--pitas, hummus with shwarma, falafel, and salad

The Garden Tomb--I think this was my favorite spot in Jerusalem!

It was fun to listen to the tour guides describe this tomb that matches the description in New Testament very closely.  Many believe it to be where Jesus was resurrected.  The tomb is cut from solid rock (was patched later).  The doorway used to be shorter.  The groove in front was likely used to hold the round stone that covered the door.   It is in a Garden (wine press and well also found here) and is next to a rock cliff that resembles a skull (likely Golgotha).  

Shops and narrow streets in the Old City

A return to Jon's mission ground in Tallin, Estonia!

View from our hotel room

Jon and Siim Schneider--the Branch President in Tallin and also the one who called Jon to be Primary President on his mission!  He did a double-take when he saw Jon at church--he totally remembered him!

Walking in the beautiful forest parks

The Baltic Sea

The church building in Tallin

Fun food:  sausages, Estonian cheese, leib (Estonian dark bread), candy, and milk

Old Town

The apartments where Jon lived in Mustame

Segways in Old Town--this was so much fun!

Dinner at the Olde Hansa Restaurant in Old Town--it was lit completely with candles and gave us a taste of what it might have been like to live before electricity!

Family Home Evening with the Kiirisberg family, the Chan's, and the missionaries.  Jon went to the Kiirisberg's house a few times on his mission and their daughter taught him the piano song that we all love.  Sister Kiirisberg was so sweet, she made me want to stay in Estonia. This was one of my favorite parts of our trip!

YUMMY breakfast at our hotel!  Jon came here for breakfast a few times as a missionary.

Our last stop--London!

Our fancy room at the May Fair

Hyde Park--I loved the huge trees

Buckingham Palace--just a short walk through Hyde Park from our hotel!

Big Ben/the Parliament Building

Westminster Abbey

 Cornish Pastie

I loved walking around London and thinking about my ancestors that came from England.  I want to go back for a family history research trip!

Trafalgar Square with Big Ben in the background--our first night was beautiful and rainy/cloudy and great for pictures!

Red double-decker buses and telephone booths were all over

We toured the Warner Brothers Studio where the Harry Potter movies were filmed!

The cupboard under the stairs

The Great Hall

The Gryffindor Tower portrait/password lady

Gryffindor Common Room

The Weasley cottage--the self-scrubbing pot and knife chopping vegetables and other things were mechanically made to go on their own, it was cool to watch!

The Hogwarts bridge

Jon in the "flying car"

Diagon Alley

Model of Hogwarts that they used for aerial shots

Outside the May Fair

An advertisement on a bus :)

The Lyceum Theater--The Lion King was such a great show!

The lobby of the May Fair, everything was so fancy we felt like total country hicks, but it was great!

Plane ride home!  We got great meals and our own personal TVs, I almost didn't want it to end!

What a trip!!!!  We really enjoyed our time together and seeing unique and fun places.  We decided that we would love to bring our kids back to Estonia and London when they are a little older and could really appreciate the experience.  Here are a few random observations about our trip:

1.  There are almost no drinking fountains in Europe!  Even in the airports it was really hard to get something to drink without buying it.  And in restaurants they either wouldn't offer cups of water or you had to pay for them.  This was a different experience for frugal Jon and I!

2.  Everything is smaller in Europe.  The bathrooms, the showers, the bags of food . . . being there made me feel like I am so excessive but blessed here in America!  I have so much space!

3.  It was interesting to notice how the different cities "felt."  We weren't in Germany very long, but it felt beautiful but a little gruff/brusque.  The servers at food places just took care of the job, there wasn't much chit chat or pleasantries.  Jerusalem was just crazy, but there was an obvious feeling of devotion from the people, locals and tourists alike.  It was a neat group of tourists--not there for the sun and beaches but for their interest in the city and it's history.  Estonia was a wonderful place to visit--very kind people but quiet and reserved.  Everyone stopped for pedestrians at crosswalks, even on busy roads.  London felt very busy and proper.  People were always in a hurry, speedwalking to important places in their suits or black skirts and pumps.  It felt very formal and polite, stately, and grand.  It was so fun to get a taste of these different places!