Happy Easter to all! We are celebrating Easter in Germany for the first time together. Yesterday we went on a lovely hike over the Mosel River's wine country with family and enjoyed the beautifully warm weather 75+ (28 C) that Germany is currently experiencing. We hiked for three hours the Calmont Bremm through wine fields and enjoyed a picnic overlooking the Mosel River Valley where lots of wonderful German Reisling is produced. The area was filled with people biking and camping along the river. A very popular vacation destination for the neighboring people from Holland (AKA..."The Hollanders.")
Last night we went to church in a neighboring village, which was a new tradition for me. We met in one small village church, listened to the minister explain the story of the long walk, and then we set out at 7 pm for a 5 km hike to a neighboring village where we joined together with other non hikers for a 2 hour meditative service in a very old quaint church. It was a completely different Easter service that included the reading of the Crucifixion story and then the lights in the church were turned off. We sat in the dark meditating for a few minutes and then the organ and cello played a very upbeat "He has risen" melody and they brought fire from outside into the church and we all lit candles and sang. Personally I enjoyed the cello musician the most! We had communion and at the end of the service we all received cooked eggs as we left the church. Tradition is then to go to the bonfire and eat your Easter egg. It was a full day with the family hike plus the Easter hike!
Today they do have traditional Easter sunrise services as well, but we chose to participate in the other version. We enjoyed our traditional German pork loin at the grandparents today and are now enjoying a relaxing afternoon.
Happy Easter to all!
