I have been anxious to travel to Hannover since I arrived in Goettingen. It's the largest neighboring town that we have, and it's always good to meet and befriend ones neighbor since one never knows when they may need to borrow a cup of sugar. Hannover is also home to a major football club, the Opera house, several theaters, sprawling gardens, shopping, and an abundance of festivals. I suspect this will not be my only visit. The morning was spent playing tourist following der Rote Faden (the Red thread) painted on the sidewalks of Hannover and leading us to the various sights of interest.
In almost every German city is some sort of artifact from the war. Here in Goettingen, I pass daily by the sculpture that is now in the place of where the town Synagogue once stood before being destroyed on Kristallnacht. In Freiburg I stepped over bronze stones, engraved with Jewish family names and inlaid into the ground before the houses where they once lived prior to being deported to concentration camps. Every town museum displays pictures and models from before and after the war. Hannover, was of course no exception. What was exceptional, however, was the Aegidienkirche, a 14th century church, destroyed along with much of the rest of Hannover in the war. As I compare maps of destroyed cities to how they are today I am often amazed at the attention to detail in rebuilding buildings to their former selves.
This church remains gutted, standing as a powerful memorial to the victims of war and reminder of the destruction that Hannover experienced.
In almost every German city is some sort of artifact from the war. Here in Goettingen, I pass daily by the sculpture that is now in the place of where the town Synagogue once stood before being destroyed on Kristallnacht. In Freiburg I stepped over bronze stones, engraved with Jewish family names and inlaid into the ground before the houses where they once lived prior to being deported to concentration camps. Every town museum displays pictures and models from before and after the war. Hannover, was of course no exception. What was exceptional, however, was the Aegidienkirche, a 14th century church, destroyed along with much of the rest of Hannover in the war. As I compare maps of destroyed cities to how they are today I am often amazed at the attention to detail in rebuilding buildings to their former selves.
This church remains gutted, standing as a powerful memorial to the victims of war and reminder of the destruction that Hannover experienced.
There was something tranquil about standing in this disemboweled church. There are no more doors and no more windows and while it may have been stripped of its inner elements, its outer shell remains strong continuing to serve as an impressive presence within this city. Its pulpit has been turned to ash, but its bells continue to ring a call for peace. What once was devastated, persists as an important symbol of reconciliation. 
Keeping watch of the remnants and curious visitors- a woman who willingly endures the elements that each season brings and kneels in an permanent embrace.
A window which offers a much different view
Around the corner from the Aegidien church is the Town Hall, which was scarcely touched during the bombing of the city. Inside is a fabulous display of models of the city once under French occupation, the city before the war, the city as it looked after the bombings and the city as it looks today.
I still love the half-timbered houses!
And if I didn't get enough of Martin Luther on Wednesday, he stood proudly on display next to the Marktkirche.
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