Ah so! Schreiben...

Writing, writing, writing. That's what I was going to do.

So, the end of Orientation week included a tour of Dortmund on Friday and a visit to a mining museum on Saturday. The City Tour started at the Stadthaus (the main city government building).

 

 This is a picture looking at the glass ceiling of the central area (gallery?) when you first get in.

 The building is mostly used for meetings, thought state weddings (versus a church wedding) and grand announcements happen here.

 A scale model of Dortmund. The City center is at the top left of the table and Signal Iduna Stadium (promised you a picture) is on the left side above the green.

 This tapestry apparently shows Dortmund during the middle ages. It was an imperial city, which gave all sorts of benefits like minting money, holding a market, and answering only to the Emperor.

 Here I got to sit in the spot of one of the deputies in the representatives room (:-). In the red sweater is our tour guide.

And I just wanted to see how a spiral staircase would look from the middle. I like it.

Here is an example of part of the mystery that has plagued me since my first visit to Dortmund. Why are there sculptures of rhinoceroses with wings with all sorts of different paintings and advertisements all over Dortmund?

 Now for a riddle: How does a Rhino get on a balcony?

 Simple. He flies there.

And the answer to the mystery lies in the new Concerthall. Apparently the architect or designer chose a winged rhinoceros as the symbol.
 Why? Well Rhinoceroses have extremely good hearing, with an audible range far exceeding humans, and their ears can swivel independently, allowing for focused listening.
 But winged Rhinoceroses? Well when you listen to music it lifts you up as if you had wings.
About one hundred of the statues were made as a marketing scheme for the new concerthall. People, companies, or schools could adopt them and paint them as they liked and place them around the city center. Now it has become common for the rhinoceroses to be bought from the adopted parents, so you may see them in any part of Dortmund, not just the middle.
 So, that mystery is finally solved.

We also got to see Reinoldikirche.

 Aside from being one of the city center's U-bahn stops, Reinoldikirche is this Church in this picture. Named for Saint Reinold, the patron saint and credited founder of Dortmund.

 One of the miracles connected with this church is that during World War 2, when 95% of the city center was leveled by Allied bombings, the archway with the cross hanging in it was one of the only parts of the church to remain standing. The church was rebuilt after the war using much of the same stone.

And there was an organ in it. I did not get a clear understanding if it is still used for church services, but they did say it was often used for concerts, recitals, etc. While the guide was trying to relay all of the information about the history of the church to us, there was a pianist practicing.

Also, for those who don't know from my family yet. I met a German man through the international orientation who was part of Intervarsity in his year abroad in Iowa and is now active in SMD (Studentenmission in Deutschland), the German counterpart with IFES. So, I have gone to Church, a Baptist Church with contemporary and organ-led hymnal songs, with him and his new wife, and I will be going to the first SMD event tomorrow.

The last week was finding classes and settling back into learning. This week is more learning and finding a place to live...