Today was the first day of the convention, pretty amazing to have 35,000 JW's all in one place. There were about 8000 English delegates, and a little over 3000 Greek delegates. The rest were German attendees.

The entire program is simultaneously given in all 3 languages... there are specific sections for each language, with separate PA systems for each. There are 3 stages, 3 dramas, etc... the only thing that is "combined" are the songs, which are fun to hear. Some of the pictures I added to the convention album show the setup.

Everybody was giving out little gifts and greeting each other during lunch and after the session. It was warm, maybe close to 90 degrees out, but the stadium is covered, although not enclosed, and so it was cooler inside by about 10 degrees or so.

Afterward we ended up on the train platform back to our hotel for nearly an hour and a half, the first train filling up, the second one being cancelled, and the third one late. Some of the friends broke out in song on the platform to pass the time, it was very nice.

Upon departing the train a young man who had seen all the badges asked if he could talk with me. He said he was very happy to see us all together for purposes of teaching the bible, and asked if he could text me to see if he could meet with us at some point to discuss the bible. We gave him one of the new releases and exchanged contact info.

After getting back to the main area of Frankfurt, we found a nice place that made pizza (and German Bier), and then back to the hotel. A long day... but a glass of wine and a good night sleep and we'll be ready for Day 2...

 (PS- I know a couple of the pictures in the photo album are rotated, I'll fix it later when I'm not working over a hotel WiFi connection...)