Wangen 8

The Church

The interior is an updated blend of classical and baroque decorations in a Gothic nave, quite pleasing.

The light is beautiful. One can actually see the art works. 


The church is named for St. Martin of Tours. He lived in the A.D. 300’s. He was a Roman soldier. One day he saw a freezing beggar, and cut his cloak in half to share with him. He later had a dream that the poor man was Jesus, which changed his life. Eventually some people wanted him to become a bishop, but he didn’t want to, so ran and hid in a barn, but the honking geese gave away his hiding spot, so he became the bishop. His saints day is November 11, and on that day one eats goose in commemoration of that event. (How God uses little things for big things.) Also, it was on that day (the day after he was born), that Martin Luther was baptized - his father brought him to the church and didn’t have a name picked, so did the common thing of giving the name of that day’s Saint, thus MARTIN.

Top: the people welcoming the new bishop. At the front of the church.

Bottom: the sharing of the cloak that started it all. At the back of the church, by the narthex( entry).


But the worship focus is on Christ’s work of redemption. 


Such a pulpit could inspire fine words about the Word. 


Pretties and light and color






And in a corner, tucked away, the utility items, in case of a fire. Note also the hollow-backed sculpture. Probably plaster, finished to look like marble. 


And the pews each have different design, showing a hand crafted church. 


The Stations of the Cross are in high relief. Well done. 


Beautiful woodwork on the confessional booth and stairway to the organ loft. 


And would we not all want to give our confession to Pastor Blessing? 


The exterior showing - left to right - St. Gall with his very odd bear (this area was under the direction of the Saint Gallen  monastery across the lake for a long while), a bishop, and St. Martin ( if I remember correctly). 

And that is all for our Wangen visit. We had gotten an emergency call at midnight about a property matter, so had to hasten back after the Sunday morning worship. We hope to return on some other time to see the city museum. 


The End

Wangen 7

Tombs and Memorials

Outside the old city walls, we went to find the city cemetery, which is also a park. 

Through a gate in a whitewashed wall is this chapel. Note the date. 


Among the mossy white tombs are many, many plaques noting the memories of departed loved ones.


Amid the tiles the mosses grow,

Over the columns, row on row…

(With apologies to “FlandersFields”)


This fellow was surnamed “Dear Lord,” and he evidently meant it, by the looks of his Good Shepherd Memorial. 


Huge stately tress shade the memories.


So, when there is a path, one MUST go see what it leads to….


…even if it leads to nothing. 


The town has grown up close the cemetery now, right up to its walls. Each of those little pavilions marks a memorial to a group of beloved people: music teachers, soldiers from old wars….


And then, in the middle of the green is a paved circle, edged by slab after slab around it, with names of the fallen in the First and Sevond Workd Wars - from JUST THIS TOWN!


And on every slab are lists of names.

This has got to be convincing evidence that wars are the absolutely stupidest way to resolve a problem.


At the gate, this plaque says the cemetery has been there since the 1500’s, and was renovated in the 1980’s.


Then back to the much more cheery town. 


And tempting goodies in the windows. 


But the stores were closed, so temptations averted. It was after 4:00 p.m. on a Saturday, after all. 


One more post on Wangen to come: the church. 

More Valentines

They Keep Coming

From a little Miss that spent the day with Oma today. (But the card was from an early day with her Mama.)

From My Valentine

The Best

Happy Wintery Valentines Day

Love to All Family and Friends 

The sun is shining today, which is good and much better than the heavy fog we had yesterday. But it was very frosty this morning; winter is  hanging on. So, I assembled a frosty wreath for today.

I have a place for a seasonal wreath, to mark the progress of the year and festivals and holidays. God said that is a good thing to do, so I agree. Any excuse for decorating, celebrating, congregating, is good in my view. 

And I made more sourdough yesterday, this time more filled and festive. I didn’t make any brownies, or velvet cakes, or other typical valentines baked goods, but I did put chocolate and dried fruits in one tiny loaf, and blueberries in another, and then one is just plain, but is scrumptious with honey butter. Fear not, I will get more reasonable when it is not Valentines Day. 

These are the bottoms. They were baked in glass bowls, the small ones lined with butter and raw sugar. (I know, it’s probably a sacrilege, but it for a holiday). 

They are really tasty. 

So, the experiments go on. 

Sending lots of hugs to all. 💌

Spread the love. 

❤️🌺💗💘💝

Wangen 6

Bier und Garten

Some couldn’t resist a stop at a brewery in the old town. 

Hot chocolate warmed the cold hands.

And cold beer cheered some empty stomachs. A bit of food buffered it all. 

Then some of us went outside the old town…

To visit the garden of a Franciscan monastery….

….that is open to the public.

It is quite small, and in drab winter attire, but had some interesting rocks from the area (glacier drops), and a promise of prettiness in the summer. 


A cat followed Better Half ( where he goes, everyone wants to be). 

The blue balls in the pond are to keep it from freezing, so the fish stay alive. 


This might refer to the Holy Spirit.

The text gets harder and harder then impossible to read. It starts out with referring to Jesus rising from the dead. 

To be continued. Next stop: cemetery. Always especially sad in Germany. 

Wangen 5

Antique Shop

Along the way, as we were peeking into windows, I saw these figures, always arresting for me. These are old plaster figures, probably from some disused chapels. Some were priced at a few Euros. I wasn’t really interested in those particular ones, but other kinds might be inside. 

So we went in. There were some very fine etchings, and some appealing oil paintings, but none went home with us. 




This lovely bronze was in the window. It cost rather more, but still a remarkably low price for what it was. 

Then we noticed wood carvings. Aaahh…


“ Might we see this little potbellied night watchman in the window case?” “Yes, indeed.” At €18, he went home with us. 

He is missing his lantern, but I might make him a new one some day. His pike has been renewed along the way, too, but it is still a fine piece of wood carving, worth much more in terms of artistic craftsmanship than what it cost. 

We found another, which I will show later, as it is a gift for someone, who has not seen it yet.