Waffles!

We took two tours while we were there: the belfry – The belfry was built in 1300 and is really really tall. you can see so far over the city from the top! it also is a functioning carrillon which is like an organ but with bells. They have concerts every sunday at 2:15 and it is really cool to hear familiar songs come out of the old building (including the song “The Entertainer.”

Brugge from the belfry

We spent much of our time doing 2 things, sitting in the town square eating fries, drinking beer and watching people. the other time was spent walking through all the streets of the city. the architecture is so cool, and there are beautiful churches everywhere. It is really interesting to think of all the different types of people that have done the same thing as me. There were people durring the 40′s walking up the same stairs in the belfry when the war was over, hippies in the 60′s eating frites in the square, and ladies with big shoulder pads in the 80′s purchasing chocolate in the litle shops, not to mention all the medievel people with funny wigs and horses crapping all over the streets.

We also took a nice tour of a brewery. The lady gave the tour in French and English and was very good at both. It was really cool to see all the old brewery stuff and to learn a little bit about how beer is made. Of course a brewery tour wouldn’t be complete without beer so we drank one on the house and went on our way.

We took a break from the sighseeing and went to see a movie (yes they even have a movie theatre in this medievel city) We saw Mr. and Mrs Smith starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The movie was subtitled in both Dutch and French, lucky for me though they kept the English audio. It was a fun action movie…thats it but it was great to ake a break and listen to some English and be entertained.

When we left the theatre the city, we found ourselves in the city square that was lit up so beautifuly. the night ended with a few beers in Charlie Rockets, a hostel/bar kind of like the one we stayed at. (thanks DK)

Brugge at night

We spent our two nights sleeping at a hostel named the Bauhaus, it was a great place to stay because we had our own room with 2 beds (pay a little more, get better accomodations) I don’t think we would have enjoyed ourselves very much if we were in one of the larger rooms. Either way, we only paid 17 euro a night per person.

Our hostel room

ok so i bought lots of chocolate that I will bring home, and some other souveniers…so I’ll be home soon enough to share them with people back in the States.

This afternoon we go to Emmendingen in the black forest to go backpacking and to see Dirk’s aunt and uncle. Then to Munich and Berchtesgaden National Park…I hope my access to the internet is not too limited because I want to keep updating…

Have a fun time where ever you are, I will try to do the same.

Lesson Learned since last time: Belgians know how to do beer and chocolate!

I think people being nice to each other is a great thing. Fellowship is a great thing… but when you say Christian fellowship is a great thing, there’s a subtle implication there that non-Christians aren’t as “nice and helpful” as Christians. Just some food for thought.

I am going to have to agree that even non-Christians can be awesomly loving, kind, and helpful. I guess it all comes down to what is meant by Christian fellowship. For me it is partly the kindness and love but also the ability to talk about a mutual faith, mutual beliefs, and topics concerning those beliefs and traditions. Christian fellowship is a triangle between you, the people around you and God. Prayer, hanging out, talking, eating, drinking… that is Christian fellowship to me

The pastor in the church we attended in Berlin said something that really hit me. He explained that Truth is all around us, and too often Christians think that they are the keepers of the truth. But truth can be spoken by anyone, even non-believers. I believe that all truth comes from God and that God is in all things, so his truth can come from any place. The same goes for love and kindness, no matter who you are. It’s just that I believe that full truth and love can only be found in Jesus. That is my take on it all.

I think that everyone can agree that some things are bad and some things are good, we all have a feeling of right and wrong. I think we all want to live lives of truth and love. I choose Christ, you may not. That does not mean that I am any better you. It means that I should respect what you believe and hopefully you will respect me.

Enough ranting, I must sleep.

Quick rundown
Monday: Walk through the mud in Cuxhaven at lowtide
Tuesday: Ride trains all day to get to Leewarden, bus to Ferwert (village of ancestors) beer, camp
Wednesday: Walking through Amsterdam
Thursday: art museums, train to Delft, good Dutch dinner!

Extended Version:
Monday
The tide in Cuxhaven goes out around 40 kilometers. This means that you can walk to islands, walk for miles on mud as far as the eye can see, and also just have a fun time squishing around. Finally the weather warmed up enough to go barefoot, the sun was out and things were pleasant

Tuesday
We left Cuxhaven and took the train into the Netherlands. The city of Leewarden is very nice, I could see myself living there someday. Kinda like Grand Rapids but with some canals and homes with big windows. We took a bus to the small farm town of Ferwert. Ferwert is surrounded by fields of sheep, crops, and dykes. The church, build in the 1600′s, is still standing and still used. The gravestones of my ancestors have been replaced with newer ones of peolpe with familiar names (that is what they do in Europe, after a certain amount of time they just make a new grave there.) We took our bearings from there and tried to find the buildings where my ancestors worked and lived, we found the street, the corner, some old brick buildings…but nothing definite (buildings have been updated but the streets are still the same) We stopped in a bar to ask some locals if they knew of the buildings or any other relevant information, they didn’t, but the told us to stop by the government building in the morning to ask them. They also told us of a place to camp right outside of the village (owned by a local farmer.) All the homes in Ferwert were very beautiful, a mix between Evergreen Park (where my parents grew up) and Palos Heights (where I grew up). The windows were so large, it gave a very welcoming feel to the town. We ate dinner, set up camp (we even had a working toilet and hot shower!) then we walked to try to find the sea but all we found after we went over the dyke, was more farmland and swampy areas. we turned back and decided to have a beer at the bar we stopped by earlier that day. Those 3 people were still there plus a new face, and they welcomed us with a mix of Fries-Dutch(Friesland), Dutch, English and German for my travel companion. We sat and talked about where we were from, what we did, and why ferwert was a nice place to live. 3 beers later (one on the house) we said goodbye and made our way back to our camp to sleep.

Wednesday
Went to the Ferwert Government house to get some info (all which was already collected by my Grandfather’s nefew from a leewarden church) so nothing really new. However, the lady was nice enough to give me a hardcover book with very very old pictures of ferwert and other nearby cities. Stopped by the bakery for something to eat and for sentimental reasons (the Leo bakery may not be there anymore but I still can say that I ate some darn good pastries from the bakery in Ferwert!) then we waited for our bus, and waited, and waited…it never came…so we hitchiked a ride with a nice man going to Leewarden (a 20 minute drive) we took the trains all day until we arrived in Amsterdam. The weather was fantastic, but Amsterdam was FILTHY! trash everywhere and since we arrived so late, the museums were closed. We got 2 of the last beds left at the Shelter Jordan (a Christian Hostel) and then went to walk the city. My mother should be proud to know that at no time during my stay in Amsterdam did I consume Marijuana, though the fragrance whafted through the air many times.) we had a nice dinner and then made it back the the hostel for the night. It turned out that one of the guys working at the hostel knew some people who lived in my college dorm! his brother-in-law’s brother was an RA in my dorm! What a small world it is!

Thursday
Free breakfast at the hostel (PANCAKES!!! Finally no more rolls and meat for breakfast!) then we headed to the art museums. We purchased a museum card and saved some cash visiting the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. We saw famous works by the Dutch masters, vermeer, and also saw a whole mess of Van Gogh paintings (mmm Van Gogh.) then we took a train to Delft. The train was packed and the heat was making me sweat buckets (I guess I was getting repaid for complaining about the cold before.) We are staying with friends of Dirk’s family, a retired dutch couple that fed us a good old fashined Dutch dinner of green beans, beef, and potatoes! Tomorrow we will see this charming city and hopefully take a tour of the delftware porcelain factory. Saturday we head off to Brussels and stay the night (perhaps 2) in Brugge, so until then…

shine on your crazy diamonds!

We went to a giant sail boat festival in Bremerhaven early this morning but it rained buckets so we were soaked to the bone and decided to leave. However, it was not that easy since we separated from two of the guys we were with, one who had our train ticket…so we sat around for a good hour on the train platform in sopping wet clothes shivering and then went to go look for them again. We finally found them and waited for the train together (grabbed a döner for lunch) and then took the train back. Everyone here says it is unseasonably cold and wet…which kinda sucks, let´s hope that the weather improves for our time in The Netherlands and Belgium.

From Cuxhaven Germany, (until tuesday morning)

This is Josh Leo.

tschüss!

I have to say that the hilight of the day was the big payoff after a big hike uphill. When you are in the city or marburg, in the valley, you see two buildings on the top of the hills. One is the castle that we were at last night, and the other is a stone tower on the opposite side of the valley. We decided to make our way over there this afternoon. We stopped by the oldest gothic church in Germany and then headed uphill walking our bikes in the direction of the tower. The road ended, so we ditched our bikes and began the long hike uphill through the woods (there were trails) so we hiked and hiked legs getting sore. We arrived at the top of the hill and found a restaurant that probably has one of the best views in Germany, asked where the tower was and then made our way in that direction. The base of the tower is a nice little cafe that seems like a really cool place that would be on the top of my list if I lived here. it cost one Euro to take the stairs up to the top of the tower. We took many spiraled stairs until we arrived at the top. The view from this tower was amazing. You could see over the hills surrounding the valley. Every part of marburg was visible from there, including the smaller vilages on the outskirts. The giant castle on the other side of the valley was below us and yellow and green fields in the distance were cloaked in fog. We headed home on our bikes and it began to rain, but after such a great surprise, nothing could make it a bad day, not cold weather, rain or wet jeans.

Lesson Learned today: The great things in life are worth the work. (like a breathtaking view after a LONG hike uphill)

p.s. Germans eat rolls way too often, breakfast (with jam or cheese and meat) and dinner (meat and cheese, including liverwurst, gross)…I am starting to hate rolls…However, Döner is the best food that I have ever had! (it’s kinda like a gyro)

Here is a picture of me in front of a beautiful palace in San Soucci Park in Potsdam. There are a number of amaying “Schlössers” here all with their own unique style.

This is me on the stairs of yet another great building in San Soucci, I think a University owns this one…I have no idea who the person in the green is.

Good ole’ wind-crafts (windmills though they don’ mill anything)…quiet, clean and GIANT!

Tonight Dirk and I sat on the wall of this castle, looking over the beautiful town of Marburg. The buildings are so old, the history is in the air, and I want to kick everyone who calls this place home because I am so jealous (I’m pretty sure it is morally wrong to live in such a beautiful town)

Lesson learned today: I want to live in a place where the streets are so small that an SUV can’t drive anywhere.

I spent all day on a train today. The ICE is amayzing…and just my luck the only other passenger in our compartment was American, so I gave my friend a break from speaking the foreign tongue and talked to that guy a little bit. I told him about video blogging and even showed him a few on the train. His daughter lives in Switzerland…I am very impressed that all the trains are timed so well and that my rail pass allows me to travel across the country for one nice flat rate.

the rest of the night is spent here in the town of Mucke (where having a grocery store with 2 floors is AMAZING!) farms, cows, beautiful scenery, beautiful houses, nice roads, village-atmosphere…I Don’t think these people realize what they have here!

I will be in Marburg tomorrow, then a few days later in Cuxhaven then maybe even try to hook up with Bre and Jennifer in Amsterdam if money, time, and coolness works in our favor!

that’s all for now, g’night!

Lesson Learned since last time: Germans like Suasages, I like sausages, and not all places in the worold move as quickly or loudly as the majority of America

Also, I am really having a hard time getting used to having my biggest meal of the day be served around 1:00 pm. Germans eat at the wrong times for Americans. Breakfast is smaller, usually toast with jam or rolls with jam. Lunch is served around 1 or 1:30…and it is quite the meal. Schnitzel, potatoes, and green beans, sauce. Dinner is sandwiches (meat, a darker bread, cheese, wieners, and BEER) Either way…you eat the biggest meal in the afternoon…it is so strange for me. I know it is healthier but cmon..6pm is Potroast time!

Lesson Learned since last time: Germans like Chocolate Chip Cookies, Lunch isn’t always a sandwich!

I am very happy that my friend here speaks good english, but sometimes he gets sick of speaking in a foreign tongue (rightly so) so I just sit there quietly grinning as he has conversations that sound like “blooben gleeben showstuh foop.” It was really strange watching Austin Powers 3 dubbed in German last night while everyone around me spoke words I didn’t know.

In other news, I have seen things such as the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, along with some other famous things. We headed over to Potsdam yesterday to visit San Soucci, a really big palace, and a bunch of other mansions. It was very very beautiful! (pictures will come when i figure out how to get them on this darn PC.)

So finally, we are now in Guben where I met Dirk’s family. They don’t speak English, so everything I said went through translation by Dirk and his older sister who was there for the day. I found that video and photo’s do a lot better at communicating that words do.

Tomorrow I will make chocolate chip cookies (I brought the ingredients from America) and try to rent a German movie with English subtitles…All in all, everyone is very friendly and welcoming. Hoever, I am surprised that most people don’t really seem to care that I am from America. I thought that I would get the same reaction from people here that I give to foreigners in my friends houses. (lots of questions and try to speak their language) but I guess Americans are not that foreign of a thing here, they listen to our music, watch our movies, and have their own formed opinions of us. Either way, I did get a kick out of Dirk’s 7 year old brother and 10 year old sister looking at me and laughing as though I was some sort of animal in the zoo.

We will be in Guben one more night and then off to Marburg to meet with some of Dirk’s friends. I am having a very good time and slowly getting used to not understanding what anyone is saying. (my first German phrase that I learned was “I do not speak German, Sorry.”

Lesson to learn from this experience thus far: Learn some of the language before you go to a foreign country!