Herbst Messe 2006

Herbst Messe in Basel, Switzerland.
Luke and Adam on the bumper cars
Woah! What a hit! Are you OK? Asks Ben to Christine, two of BFA seniors. 

World's Biggest Swiss Army Knife??

Now this is one big Swiss Army knife! I don't have a pocket big enough for this one.
I saw this XXXXXL knife in a store window tonight in Basel, Switzerland. It cost 890 Swiss Francs, that's around 700 dollars. Yikes.

Sunday Afternoon

Nap time for two babies. 

KD takes flight!

KD learned to fly today!! Thanks to Tyler, her flight trainer.

Basel, Switzerland is just 20 minutes from our home in Germany.

October 23, 2006. The first three pictures go together from left to right.


The other side of the Rhein. In the background is the tallest building in Basel - the Ramada Inn.

Basel Tram Stop

Basel, Switzerland 

Day in Basel, Switzerland

I used to think that this sculpture depicted an ancient soldier that returns home after fighting his last battle. Here he is overlooking the Rhein river holding his head in his hand wondering what in the world he will do now that there are no more battles to fight. Here is the real story behind this sculpture...

This sculpture actually represents Helvetia, the mother of the Swiss people. She has just completed a tour of her country and after an exhausting walk through the city of Basel, she stopped, put down her shield, spear, and suitcase to have a rest. Thanks goes to our friend Mari Ellen Reeser for pointing out the real story to us. In Switzerland, Helvetia is the equivalant of Mother Liberty and she is featured on several of Switzerland's coins.
Basel rows of homes bordering the Rhein.
Basel Cathedral. Man, that's a big lamp on top of the cathedral tower!!

Doors of Basel, Switzerland

This is just some of the old doors and archways of Basel. I love the woodwork
Side door to Basel Cathedral.
These arches are at the back of the Basel Cathedral.
Check out the hinges on this one! This is the door to the big Basel Cathedral a protestant church. 

Visiting with Colleagues

Lunch time at BFA. Here I am visiting with Hans Shaffer and Laird Leavitt during the lunch time. Nice to have good friends at work.

Various Shots

Tyler and his good buddy Yoel Kim. Yoel's parents live in Turkey.
Luke and Adam Dunham filling their plates at a recent C&MA gathering at BFA.
My Technical Drawing class. Two boys parents live in the Czech Republic, two girls parents are from Italy, one girl's parents live in France, and the last one's parents live in Germany. Today they were drawing multi-view projections.
This is a picture in our new Student Center. The kids are just hanging out here at lunch time. 

Books I'm reading right now.

This is the amazing autobiography of Eddie Rickenbacker. It's a bit old, but it is a very good story and easy to read. His parents were Swiss immigrants to Ohio. Eddie was born in Columbus, Ohio. Eddie was a race car driver, a WWI flying ace, built his own car, joined GM, purchased Eastern Airlines, served in WWII, had MANY amazing near death experiences (through these he knew God had spared him for a reason), and was a Christian believer.
Another amazing true story of the original pilgrims who landed in America. I only just started this book, but I am surprised at what I have already learned. So many things I simply didn't know before. These were some outstanding tough, yet loving people who were looking for a new land where they could worship God freely and build a life and community that would honor Him. When they landed there was NOTHING. Hundreds had made an attempt at colonizing America and most had died trying. I am looking forward to reading more.
I'm reading this excellent book AGAIN. "Too Busy Not to Pray". The title wraps it all up. My copy is getting so marked up I can hardly read it. I recommend this book often. I enjoy almost anything that Bill Hybels writes. Easy to read, truth based upon scripture, with just enough of his stories and humor keep me wanting more. This book got me started on a prayer journal separate from my daily journal. 

Senior Class Returns from Rome

BFA's 70 seniors gathered for one last time after unloading the busses at BFA to thank God for a safe and wonderful trip to Rome, Italy and back. The trip lasted one week and included stops in Florence, Rome, and Venice.
Here's Luke saying, "Cya later, I'm going home to rest" to fellow senior Adam Graf upon their return to BFA. All seniors were tired after two days of very long bus journeys. This included nine hours from Rome to Venice, followed by nine hours from Venice to Kandern, Germany. 

Bath Time for KD

Do you HAVE to take my picture now?? This is not my best side!
You can tell when KD is not happy, her eyes glow bright green! Scary. Nice gotee.
Clean puppy chasing the laser point. This is a GREAT activity for everybody. 

KD and Cinder

KD is standing on the coffee table beside her new friend Cinder. Cinder is wondering how they get those little batteries into that little toy dog. 

KD the dog

What a cute dog. We really enjoy KD, but raising a puppy is a challenge. We are learning lots about puppy training. Thank goodness for internet search engines.