We did sort of celebrate because we had institute closing that evening and we had a barbeque so Dave got to grill which is what we often do on the Fourth at home. No fireworks, just a lot of talk. We had about 20 young people turn up so that was very good.
A few days later we went into city center and happened on a car show. We had wanted to take pictures of people for Dave to paint but took pictures of cars instead. Check out the old red cross motor cycle!
The old city center is closed to traffic for two blocks and is often the place for town events like this. We even saw a pole vault contest in the middle of this long plaza like area. Most days it is filled with shoppers and sidewalk cafes.
We do see lots of interesting people there. Most are just like any shopping area anywhere in the world, busy materialistic people. But there are some noticeable things. Hof has a very large Turkish population and many wear the whole burka but most of the women just cover their hair with a scarf.
Another noticeable person is a man who is often found at one end of the plaza near a round ball fountain busking with his guitar. He cannot play the guitar nor can he carry a tune, but he is very friendly and everyone knows him. I guess he makes his living by being noticeable. I gave him a bottle of water the other day and he blew me a kiss. There are a few other buskers, mostly men playing accordions or a recorder and it is very evident they are local Turks and quite poor. We did see one man in costume but he wasn't as good as some we have seen in larger towns like Dresden.
One other man we have wanted to get a picture of is our postman. He is small and energetic. He runs his route, but the most remarkable thing about his are his eyebrows! He rang our bell the other day and came to the door to deliver a package so I took a picture, which unfortunately didn't capture his true nature.
We sat near the fountain shown here for over an hour last Monday waiting to meet the men from the church in charge of preparing the new rented place for our tiny branch. By the end of this summer we should no longer be in the hotel. The new place is on the top floor of a building facing the north end of the town center so it should be a great location. There is still a lot of work to be done before we can use it. The landlord has to get it cleaned up and build a wall to divide a larger room into classrooms. That might take some time. The building has no fire escape which is a church requirement so they will install a special emergency escape unit. From what I understand, it is a thing like airplanes use and would be stored in a cabinet but in need it attaches to a window and provides something like a round slide, as an emergency exit. Then the Church has to install things like the curtains, the white boards and notice boards. They also have to order the pianos and other furniture. We have been assigned to buy the kitchen supplies and the cleaning supplies.
This room will be the chapel and will be sunny and nice. It faces the town and the Catholic church at the other end. There is a small kitchen, bathrooms, an office and three classrooms.
There will be a church logo and name plate at the outside door and happily, there is an elevator as well as the stairs. When we get into the building we will have a street display and invite all the zone missionaries to come and try to get the word out. Hopefully this will make the church more well known here.
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