When in Bavaria, do as the Bavarians!

McDonalds

Walking through Bremen while we wait for our next train.

The Streets of Bremen

I was gone for a month, now I’m back…lots of stuff to get caught up on!

Welcome Back!
Music: John Sebastian - Welcome Back (Theme from Welcome Back, Kotter),
Eddie Hadner / Eddie und Freunde - Beerbarrel/In Heaven../In Muenchen-Medley

I spent the day hiking in the German Alps, walking in Hitlers “Eagles Nest” and learning about the Nazi´s presence in the area. The weather is the most spetacular that we have had and the mountains are beautiful (the second highest peak in Germany) either way…i got to get going, my hitched ride is taking us up to our campsite in 1 minute!…ill be home saturday!!

We traveled from Delft, Netherlands to Brugge Belgium. We spent 2 days in Brugge. I guess I got too confidant and happy with the weather because Friday in Delft was really rainy as was Saturday and Sunday. Of course the weather cleared up for our train ride back to Marburg yesterday.(cause you know that it is better to have sunshine and blue sky on a day that you are stuck inside a metal box at 290 km/hr, not when you are walking a round a town [sarcasm]) Naww, Brugge was beautiful no matter what the weather was like. The city is so old, so many old buildings and TONS of shops on every street. There were canals, french fry stands, waffles, chocolate shops,anything you could want.

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!

a reader of this blog made this comment:

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.

What a busy few days it has been!

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!

There are so many nice people here at the dünenhof. (the place where my buddy spent the last year doing his civil service) they are all Christians around my age and about 4 or 5 of them speak very good english and enjoy speaking it. last night we went to a little town fair that was so small it was almost kind of sad, they crowned the “Flower Queen.” we all hung out and talked…it gave Dirk another break from speaking english and also let me tell so new people about video blogging as well as learn about their lives. One guy spent 9 months in New Zealand, one a year in Canada near Sarnia on a Chicken farm. Everyone here is so nice and helpful, they make sure to include me and inform me of what is going on. Christian fellowship is a great thing.

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!

Today was just right in termperature, and visuals. We went back to the small streets and castle that we traveled through last night, but this time it was daytime so people were about and the buldings were lit up. I still can’t get over some of the buildings here in Marburg. They are the style that have the big pieces of wood that criss-cross through the exterior, windowboxes full of flowers, and alleyways with stairs that are incredibly narrow. When I walk through the streets I can’t help but think what kind of people have walked these streets before me. What kinds of clothes did they wear? What were their lives like?

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)

A Day Out in Marburg
Dirk and I woke up and took our time getting ready. As I was getting ready, I realized how strange all the outlets and light switches looked to me. I mean, sure the outlets have different sized plugs, but the whole faceplate etc is really big. The just seem a little obtrusive. They seem much more utilitarian, where as in America they are kind of hidden or incorporated into the room décor. Anyway, we ate a typical German breakfast, killed some time checking email and what-not, and then hopped on our bikes. We rode on a very nice bike-path that followed the river and went into the city center. We arrived downtown, locked up our bikes and before we went on our way exploring, decided to have an early lunch. We sat at a small café and ordered personal pizzas. I had the Margharita pizza, it was pretty good. After that, we walked through one of the many narrow passages between buildings into the REALLY beautiful part of Marburg.

Downtown Marburg
Small shops, restaurants, and businesses lined the cobblestone road that sloped into the hill. The exteriors of every building were a different color, timbers painted red, blue and brown crisscrossed white stucco walls. Window-boxes overflowed with beautiful flowers. I had never seen such a quaint little city in my life. People walked through the city square, some sitting on a small fountain across the street from the impressive town hall. This was the moment I fell in love with Europe. American towns and cities dreamed of re-creating this kind of feel, but could never come close.

Seeing the Sights
We walked further up the hill towards Marburg castle, which we had visited in the dark one night earlier. In the daylight, the castle was an entirely different. The view from the castle wall was fantastic. Looking across the landscape, I got a much better feel for the city. But, we couldn’t stay at the castle for long, we had a full day planned. We went back to our bikes and started riding across town. Soon we arrived at one of the oldest gothic churches in Germany, the Elisabeth Church. For me, this was a pretty special moment. It was my first time visiting a European cathedral. The stonework was beautiful and the gothic architecture was like nothing I had ever seen before. We spent some time walking through the church just looking around, but soon again we were on our bikes.

Traveling to the Tower
When we were at the castle earlier, we saw a small tower across the valley. It was one of the higher points on the hillside, and it looked kind of cool. When we were in the valley itself, it was one of the two highest landmarks on the skyline (the castle being the other). We pointed our bikes in the direction of the tower and started pedaling. After winding our way through side-streets, we met with a long set of stairs climbing a wooded hill. We tossed our bikes on the hill and started hiking. After the stairs, there was only dirt trail. As Dirk and I hiked through the forest, I began to think about what it would be like if we were in this exact place sixty years earlier. We would have had guns in our hands trying to kill each other. WWII was the war of our Grandparents generation, and today we were hiking through the forest like old friends. It made me happy to think that it was possible for us to be doing what we were doing. After walking for quite some time, we finally arrived at the tower.

Kaiser Wilhelm Tower
We entered the bottom of the Kaiser Wilhelm Tower and found that there was actually a small restaurant at the base of it. To climb the tower, it only cost a Euro. So we paid our way and started climbing the stairs. It was a long way up a spiral staircase but when we reached the top, all our climbing was worth it. We had the best view of the entire city, the surrounding towns and the rolling hills of the area. It really was one of the best views I have ever had of a landscape, and since it was a huge tower, it was a complete 360. As we climbed down the tower stairs, the clouds started to roll in. We hiked back down the hill and as we rode our bikes, rain started to pour down on us. I luckily had packed my rain jacket in my backpack so my upper half and my cameras stayed perfectly dry, my pants on the other hand were completely soaked.

Night Time in Marburg
We arrived back at Dirk’s apartment, dried off and killed some time once again, checking our email and just sitting around. It was much later in the night that we decided to have a late dinner. This time, we we walked into the downtown area of Marburg. We stopped by a series of indoor shops, one of which was served Döner. We ordered our food and walked to the market square. We ate our food as the clock tower chimed twelve midnight. We walked through the quiet streets back to our favorite place to chill, the Castle Walls. We brought some beer in my backpack and sipped it while looking at the city lights below us. We took a quicker way back home, got ready for bed, prayed together, and went to sleep.

Marburg Panorama
This photo shows the tower up on the hillside (view larger)

Marburg from the Tower
This is the full view of Marburg from the Kaiser Wilhelm Tower (view larger)

Google Earth Placemarks for Day 7: Open this map

Everyone loves pictures! well I finally figured everything out and while It may be some time before yous see some pictures of the Netherlands (we go there next week and come back to Marburg where a computer and dial-up connection will await us) here are some things to show you what I have been up to. (click on the pictures for larger versions)

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.

Leaving Mücke
After a short night sleeping on the floor, the whole gang woke up early in the morning to carry on with our travels. My new German friends sang a song on the balcony, and I happily listened while sipping on some hot tea. We packed up our things, hopped in a van (which must have been owned by Günni’s family)and said goodbye to the small village of Mücke. I was excited to start covering some real ground with just Dirk and I. As much fun as it was hanging out with his friends, I really wanted to just get to know Germany and get to know Dirk. We took the van to Gießen, (a larger city close to Mucke) where Dirk and I separated from our friends and caught our train.

Dirk’s Apartment
The train ride didn’t take all that long, and before we knew it, we were in Marburg. We passed a Döner shop as we walked to Dirk’s new apartment. I really liked the feel of Marburg: people living in close proximity with little yards, and cool houses. The red tile roofs is what really made me like it. Dirk’s apartment was pretty much bare. We were the first to sleep the night there. There were some unpacked boxes from his roommates but no real furniture except a floor-type futon. The thing to remember about German apartments is that when the former tenants move out, they take everything with them. Even the kitchen sink. We had bare light bulbs, and nothing but bare pipes in the kitchen. Luckily the bathroom had a toilet and sink (they usually leave that kind of stuff). I didn’t realize how portable kitchens were. Dirk said he and his roommates had a kitchen set-up arranged to come in about a month when everyone moved in.

Settling In
Dirk had some business to take care of so we made a trip to the bank, and then decided to get something to eat. Obviously, we stopped at the Döner shop and got a very tasty lunch. We brought it home, ate it on our boxes and then rested a little bit. Luckily the phone lines were working at the apartment, so we were able to check email and dirk was able to take care of some more apartment/college related stuff. We rested a bit and then made a trip to Aldi. We picked up some things for the next couple of days: grey bread, beer in plastic bottles, sliced meat, and liverwurst (something I learned dirk loved to eat no matter what time of day) and some yogurt. As we walked home, the overcast skies began to spit at us. We chilled out some more and then ate a modest dinner of some of the things we purchased.

Exploring Marburg
After dinner, we decided to go into downtown Marburg. This was my first time seeing what I would call “traditional” German buildings. The large painted timbers crisscrossed white stucco walls. The windowsills were overflowing with colorful flowers and the cobblestone roads were narrow and winding. City centers like this truly make me wish we had more historical areas like this in America. As the sun went down behind the hills, we made our way up towards Marburg castle. The road leading up to the castle was cool enough, but when I saw the castle itself, I was pretty giddy. The view from the castle wall was amazing. It overlooked the entire city. I could see cars flowing by on the highway and city shops turning off lights for the night. Dirk and I threw back a couple of plastic beers we packed in a backpack and then made our way back the to the apartment.

Turning In
When we returned home, I uploaded some travel pictures to flickr, made a quick blog post and then prepared for bed. Dirk and I unrolled the futon, hopped in our sleeping bags, prayed, and then went to sleep.

Google Earth Placemarks for Day 6: Open this map

Travel Day
We were going to be riding the train for a long time. We had to travel from Guben to Mücke where Dirk’s friend Darius (Günni) lives. Mücke is a little south of Marburg, the city where Dirk was going to be living while at the university. This was my first time on a German train, but it wasn’t going to be the last. I had heard that the train system in Europe, and especially Germany, was very efficient and dependable. I had to activate my rail pass which would serve me for the month I was traveling. Dirk’s father drove us to the Guben train station and helped us figure out what we needed to do. Dirk translated to the woman at the ticket booth, and with only a few minutes to spare, I got my pass stamped and hopped on the train.

The Train Ride
The train took us back through Berlin and then headed on the long journey to Mücke. Dirk and I watched some of the videos from my video blog that I had put on a dvd for him. The German scenery was very nice. I was surprised how a country that is so small compared to the U.S. could have so much farmland. They must do a good job at preventing urban sprawl. I also noticed that the farms in Germany are not your normal American-style farms of giant square fields. These farms followed the shape of the land more. Their borders were not straight lines, it was much more aesthetically pleasing to watch pass by at such a high speed. We were riding the ICE (inter city express) which traveled much faster than any train that I have ever been on before. An American traveling to Switzerland to visit his daughter. I talked to him about my trip, about videoblogging, and the differences we noticed between our cultures. After a few hours of travel, we made a few transfers and then ended up on our final train. I listened to my brothers iPod as the final train clicked down the track towards Mücke.

The Arrival
We arrived at the small station and were immediately greeted by Dirk’s friends from the Dunenhoff. It was like a little reunion after a month of separation. His friends all came together to see each other again in Mücke and to meet me. Two of them would be living in the apartment where we were going to stay in Marburg. A mixture of English and German flew through the air as we walked to the grocery store with our backpacks in a shopping cart. We walked through the isles of the store while we talked and laughed. I still managed to be surprised by interesting German food products and followed Dirk’s friends as they looked for whatever it was they needed to buy. But this was no ordinary grocery store; this store had two floors. I had never seen a two-story grocery store, but the other people acted like it was a normal thing, so I just followed along. The upstairs had some clothes, plants, gifts, and Halloween decorations. Immediately Günni and Dirk ran to one corner of the second floor. They dove into a small pool of plastic balls. I looked around nervously expecting to be chided by someone in German, but no one came, so I too jumped in. It must have been a common practice for store patrons. After a while of swimming in the balls, we left the store and started walking to Günni’s house. The town was pretty nice, It felt more rural and peaceful. I was excited to spend the night there.

Settling In
All the friends kind of settled in and went their separate ways. We all stayed on the top floor of what I guess was Günni’s families apartment building (I think the family that lived in the apartment we stayed were out of town or something). I got an opportunity to check my email and talk to some people on instant messenger while Dirk and Günni Spoke in German behind me. They went off talking, so I went upstairs to hang out with Michi and Jacob. We sat down to dinner and talked about school and how to figure out our futures. Both of them spoke English very well and were kind enough to have an extended conversation with me over dinner. Dirk and Gunni came back, so I let all the German-folk hang out and talk in their native tongue while I talked to people online, updated my blog and tried to get used to the messed up keyboard. When I returned back upstairs, they were all watching some German comedy show on dirk’s computer. I felt a little left out since I couldn’t understand what was being said, but I figured that Dirk and I would have plenty of time to chat in English later in our trip. After a couple of hours, we all decided to go to bed, since we had to be up early in the morning to catch our train. We slipped into our sleeping bags, prayed, and went to sleep.

Google Earth Placemarks for Day 5: Open this map

Can I just say that I wish I was in Michigan right now…but only because I hear it is very warm. it is like…aw heck stupid celcius…probably in the 50’s and cloudy. It feels like Michigan in the fall. I am eagerly waiting the moment when I can walk around in a t-shirt and not have goosebumps.

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

Touring Guben
Staying in Guben gave us the opportunity to take things easy. We slept in and had another typical German breakfast of bread and meat, and even though it was drizzling, we hopped on our bikes and began our day. Dirk took me to his families church, and since his dad is a deacon, we had a key to get in with. The Church was old on the outside with beautiful ivy, but fairly simple and clean in the sanctuary. The youth had their own area upstairs which was pretty cool. It was interesting to see the similarities between American and German churches. I think that faith and worship is something that helps to bridge the language and culture barrier. After touring the church we went on to the errands. Dirk had to fax something to his new landlord, so he did that at a doctors office in the village. I rode my bike by a REAL kindergarten (Children’s garden in German) where little kids were speaking in German. Why is it that little kids speaking a different language is so entertaining? We rode our bikes through Guben and along the riverbank, which was quite the peaceful ride. We stopped by the grocery store to pick up some batteries and snacks (more good custardy yogurt) and then went back home. Since we were going to be leaving the next day, I decided to use the cookie ingredients I had packed along.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
I had been told by my sister in-law that in Germany, you can’t get the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies. So, most likely a typical German family has never experienced the wonders of a warm, homemade chocolate chip cookie. I packed everything I would need to make the cookies (including measuring spoons since I didn’t want to convert to metric). I made a good batch of cookies. I mean, they were perfectly golden brown and had that nice chewy texture. I knew that most people loved cookies, but the response I got from Dirk’s family was awesome. I think Dirk’s mom loved the cookies the most, but his brother and sisters were quite smitten by my discs of chocolate goodness. There were some ingredients left over after making them, so I made sure to tell them how to make more (I sure hope they made another batch). We saved some cookies for Dirk’s dad since he was still at work.

Mini Road Trip
When Dirk’s younger sister came home from school, Dirk, Anett, Marie, and I decided to take a little road trip. I had told Dirk that I wanted to stop by the giant windmills I had seen earlier. We drove out to them, and I was pleasantly surprised. The “windcraft,” as Dirk called them, were HUGE! They made a eerie, peaceful swishing sound far above out heads. I shot a lot of video and took a lot of pictures. They are something that is so common in Europe, but so uncommon in America. After the windmills, dirk drove us out to a place that he and his brother liked to visit. It was also a place where you could go mushroom hunting. The forest was beautiful, and the small lake where we stopped was very peaceful. We spent some time finding mushrooms (some poisonous and others edible) and just talked while enjoying nature.

Food and Entertainment
We drove back home where a late lunch/early dinner was waiting for us. It was quite the spread. We had bratwurst, fancy meats, cheese, beer, grey bread, and vegetables. This was the type of meal I was expecting, a nice selection of meats and the ever-present grey bread. It is like a light rye. I liked that Germans aren’t uptight about their alcohol, they have it with dinner and it is nothing special. It all comes back down to moderation, something that Americans have yet to master. After lunch/dinner we took it easy and asked Dirk’s dad if he wanted to watch a movie that we had picked up earlier in the day. We rented the Machinist, an American movie, set in Los Angeles, filmed in Spain, and watched (for the sake of Dirk’s dad) completely in German (no English subtitles available) I understood the majority of it, but once again no knowing the language can be difficult. After the movie, we gathered our things together to leave in the morning. We went to bed on our bunk-beds, prayed together and went to sleep.

Video from this day posted at Stone Farm

Google Earth Placemarks for Day 4: Open this map

I brought the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies…the ingrediens that German grocery stores do not have (Vanilla extract, chocolate chips, and brown sugar) then I made the cookies today…let’s just say that German families LOVE home made chocolate chip cookies…I must admit they were quite good. So I guess that is a good thing to do if you visit another country…make chocolate chip cookies.

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!

Morning in Berlin
We woke up in the morning and knew we had nothing really planned. We took it easy and packed up our things. Dirk and I grabbed a basket and headed to Aldi. (yes they Aldi is actually a German store, but there they have two branches, Aldi north, and Aldi South.) Aldi was pretty much the same as in America except that all the products were German. We got some potatoes, quark, and the best yogurt I have ever eaten (a custardy kiwi apple). I did not know what quark was, but supposedly it was quite german, and quite good. We went back to the parsnage and met up with Bise and Robert. We boiled the potatoes and mashed them together with the quark. It was like herb flavored sour cream, but different. After further research, I discovered that it is curd cheese and the kind we bought had more whey than traditional quark. I’m not sure if you can get it in The United States, but I wish it was more common because it was delicious. After finishing our lunch, we packed up our things, said goodbye to Bise and Robert, and headed for Guben

Some Quick Stops Along the Way
We stopped by the home of Dirk’s friend Mechthild in Werben. We said a quick hello and went on our way to Annett’s apartment in Cottbus. Anett, Dirk’s sister is the whole reason this trip happened. I met her about 3.5 years before I visited Germany. It was good to see a familiar face and to speak a familiar language. She was studying to be a nurse as was her roommate. The four of us decided to go to the town center and maybe do some shopping. I had my second H&M experience of the trip. I love the cool clothes, the low prices, the right sizes. I bought a few pairs of boxers and then met back up with the girls. It was raining, and we were planning on eating dinner in Guben so we headed out again.

1,000 Year Old Tree
We drove through the country and then dirk and Annett started talking about some tree. I wasn’t sure what was going on but I followed along. We turned down a small street and then parked outside a house in the town of Bärenklau. In the yard next to the house was a thick gnarled tree with a sign on it. Half of the tree was dead but it was still quite impressive. Dirk said it was a one thousand year old tree. I had no idea what the sign said but I believe it was something roughly like this: “I have been here for a very long time. I have lived through good times and wars. I have been hit by lightning but still survive. When I am gone put another tree in my place so it can grow for another 1,000 years. At least that is what I think I remember it saying. Maybe someone will translate the sign for me someday.

A Night in Guben
We arrived in Guben and I was finally able to meet the rest of the Shneider family (except for Dirk’s older brother). After dropping off Annette’s roommate, we headed to his childhood home. His parents and younger siblings lived in an apartment building that was typical to East Germany. His mother greeted us with hugs and minimal English. I was fine with his family not being able to speak with me, it was however a challenge. Dirk’s father was not yet home from work, but that did not stop dirk’s mother from sitting us down to a nice afternoon desert. I showed the family some of my videos that I brought on a DVD, and spoke through Annett and Dirk. A friend of the family was throwing some sort of party, so Dirk and Anette decided to make an appearance and eat some dinner. We sat at a small table with the father of the family. For the most part I quietly ate my delicious German home-cooking while Dirk spoke about computers and technology in German. After a few hours of not understanding a single word, I was glad to leave. We brought Annette to the train station and made it just in time. After that, Dirk had to put some gas into his parents car that we had been using the past three days, so of course, we went into Poland. I guess gas is cheaper in Poland and since it was just a drive over the river, it was no problem to get it there. The border police stamped my passport and gave me a funny look (I imagine that not many Americans come to Guben on a regular basis). We crossed back into Germany at a different border crossing, so I got an additional stamp in my passport! Dirk stopped and showed me a cool overlook area to watch the sunset. Our time there was abruptly interrupted by Dirk dropping his keys into the tall grass. But that is all explained in the video. We headed back to Dirk’s home, I checked my email, made my first blog post for the trip and then got ready for bed. We retired to our bunkbeds, prayed, and went to sleep.

Google Earth Placemarks for Day 3: Open this map

Feel free to translate:

Germans like beer. Germans like to speak German. I do like to drink beer (I am still learning to appreciate it fully) and I have no freaking idea what everyone is saying. (p.s. the Z and Y are switched on computers here and it is a real pain in the ass.)

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!

First Morning in Berlin
We woke up and had a slow morning. The English service at the church started around noon so we had plenty of time to eat breakfast and get ready. The shower in the parsonage was very tiny. In addition to being tiny, the floor was tilted and the showerhead was not affixed to the wall. I was a little bit worried that all showers for the rest of the month were going to involve me constantly slipping and washing separately from rinsing. The whole time getting ready, I looked wide-eyed at the European bathroom fixtures. That was probably the prominent way that I could tell I was in Europe.

Dirk and I went for a walk through the neighborhood before church started. The whole area had a feeling of familiarity. For some reason I had this thought that since I was in Germany, that everything was going to be different. But in actuality, the trees were the same. People looked the same. The houses looked a bit different, but nothing all that striking. Maybe it was just my state of mind, but even though things didn’t look all that different, they felt different. I was still on my “I’m actually in Germany” high.

I was excited that the church (International Baptist Church) offered a service in English. The people attending were a mixture of tourists, Americans working in Berlin, and people who just liked the language. The songs we sang were mostly new to me. Some were in English and some were in German. There were two pastors, one was African and one was American. The American Pastor preached a sermon about truth. He talked about how God is truth and God is in all things, therefore truth can be found in all things. It was a good sermon and it it was good to hear some English after a few days of hearing mainly German.

Off to Potsdam
After church, we made a quick trip to the ATM and to a nearby backpacking store to pick up some things for the rest of our trip. It was a pretty nice store. Dirk bought some hiking socks and a new thermarest sleeping pad. I bought a new backpacking stove, fuel and a sleeping pad for the trip. We were set for future backpacking adventures.
Dirk, being my personal tour guide, said that since we were close to Potsdam, we should go for a visit. Dirk said there was some sort of cool palace there, so I gladly accepted the idea and off we went.

It was drizzling slightly, but that didn’t stop people on the autobahn from driving quite fast. I was amazed at the condition of the highway. There were no billboards, everyone drove correctly, and there were no speed limits. I guess Germans are better drivers than Americans, after all you have to go through a lot more to get your license (including over 1,000 dollars just to get one). We arrived in Potsdam and followed the signs to Schloss Sanssouci.

Sanssouci
A rhino hung In the square near the parking garage. Of course it was a sculpture, not a real rhino, but it was quite life-like and strange nevertheless. We walked on through some gates and down a nice walkway through lines of trees. When we turned the corner, there it was: a magnificent view of the palace. It sat atop a series of terraced gardens. The palace and the gardens were built by Frederick the Great around 1750. Tourists milled around as the giant fountain sprayed high into the air. We walked up to the palace but found out that, like most things in life, you had to pay. It being only the beginning of the trip, and us being poor college students, we opted to just look through the windows and carry on. The palace was actually somewhat small compared to the impressiveness of the gardens. In the distance we saw a windmill and decided to walk to it. We walked through more archways, past a man playing a flute and up to the windmill. Again we had to pay to go up in it, so we went on our way.

I hadn’t realized that Sanssouci was more than just a palace and gardens. It was a giant plantation with numerous palaces and buildings on the grounds. We walked past more fountains and took some great photos from the top of the orangerie. We decided to actually pay the few euros to walk inside one of the palaces (We made sure that it was one of the more impressive ones). We had to put on these big felt slippers so our shoes didn’t mess up the uber-fancy floors. I couldn’t believe the ornate furniture, the stone sculptures and the beautiful paintings that adorned each room. I can’t imagine that people actually felt comfortable hanging out in places like that. Everything was built to impress not to be comfortable. We kept walking the grounds through gardens, and past more impressive buildings. After a few hours of doing that, we had our fill of fanciness and decided to head back.

The weather continued to be a mix of sun and clouds. We encountered two interesting things on our walk out of the grounds. The first was what appeared to be little wood figures standing under a tree. They looked similar to garden gnomes from far away but upon closer inspection I discovered that they were coming from the tree itself. It looked like the roots were coming up through the ground but had been routinely cut off at a certain height. I had never seen anything like it before. The second thing was an older German man. He was nothing special, but it was what he did that was so special. As he walked passed us he asked me a question in German. Now you might be saying “so what, you are in Germany, of course they are going to talk in german.” But to me it was an honor. To me, it meant that I looked like a local. I looked European, not an obnoxious American tourist.

A Night in Berlin
We headed back to Berlin and met up with Bise and Robert. They were going to a friends house and we tagged along. We stopped for my second Doner of the trip (oh so delicious). The guy’s friend’s apartment was actually pretty cool. It had a few bedrooms and the kitchen/living room had very high ceilings. We sat around, drinking beer and chatting (mostly them in German). Then the movie came on: Austin Powers 3, Goldmember. It was on television with only a few commercial breaks. The strangest thing was seeing an American movie dubbed into German. The Character Frau was no longer the only German character (but the guys said that she had a different German accent then the rest of the characters). After the movie we headed back to the Parsonage, drank some beer, prayed and turned in for the night.

Video from this day posted at Stone Farm:

Google Earth Placemarks for Day 2: Open this map

Getting There

I had never flown overseas before. I have, however, taken an extremely long flight to Anchorage, Alaska which lasted almost as long as a flight across the Atlantic. I love flying so I was not worried one bit. Of course I did have a layover in Brussels, but I figured that airports are usually pretty easy to figure out and cater to international travelers pretty well. I booked my tickets on Orbitz and got a round trip flight from Chicago to Berlin and back for $697.77. I Couldn’t believe that I was going on a month long trip so far away form home, but I was unbelievably excited. The more outrageous thing was that I was spending every day of this month with someone who I had only met in person for a total of 3 hours!

Anyway, so my flight left at 5:40 on August 5. It was an overnight flight and I would be arriving in Germany at 11:05. From Chicago to Brussels, I sat next to a woman who was from Belgium. She, her husband and their two children were coming home from a long vacation in the Southwest states like Utah, Arizona and then some of California. They traveled all over to see the sites. She said that they took these kinds of trips fairly often and have been all over the world. I was jealous that their employers let them take a good month off to see the world. We talked here and there as we flew through the darkness over the ocean. I arrived in Brussels around 8:45, walked through a number of empty hallways, and ended up in the most spacious Airport Terminal I have ever seen. It was just one big metal arch, much more spacious than was needed, but it was quite visually impressive. I waited there a little while for my plane and then had a short flight over to Berlin. The plane was small, and so was the Airport. I flew into Tempelhof Airport, which is located very close to the main city of Berlin. I had to walk from the plane to the terminal and then wait while they got our baggage. The airport was practically empty, and there was no traffic on the other runways, I was very surprised. Once I got my bag, I walked through a door and there was Dirk. I did not have to go through any lengthy inspections, no customs, no metal detectors, just a glass door. It seemed very strange. I was expecting more technicalities and fanfare…nope, just my German buddy waiting behind a simple glass door.

Exploring Berlin
We gave each other a big hug and then loaded my bags into the Ford station wagon. It was all a bit surreal, being in a different country, with someone who I had not seen in a long time. I had known him for about a year at that point, but I still had no idea what to expect. We stopped off at the church parsonage where we would be staying the next few nights, and then went on our way to explore Berlin and do some sightseeing. Berlin is a very new city. There are historical buildings, but they are few and far between. I suppose it is all because of WWII. Dirk always described the large, bland, metal and concrete buildings as “GDR buildings.” It was an overall lack of esthetic and it all felt very cold and sterile. For me, the architecture had a feeling of the 70’s in America.

We took the train to the main part of the city, to see some of the more famous areas of Berlin, but we also made sure to stop at Starbucks, and H&M (mostly to hide from the pouring rain). We saw the Brandenburg Gate, the Sony Center, pieces of the Berlin Wall and a GIANT Holocaust memorial. Huge concrete blocks of varying sizes filled acres of land. I was frustrated by the children running and playing on the blocks. I didn’t think their parents were raising them right, they didn’t instill the sense of reverence for what it symbolized. But looking back at my video, the running children add a whole new element to the space. An innocence amid tragedy.

Some Thoughts on Berlin
We spent the day walking through the city and enjoying the random rays of sunlight. I can’t say that I was all that impressed with Berlin, maybe I was still in shock that this was the first day of a momentous journey in a country where I couldn’t speak a single word of the native language. Maybe it was it’s similarity to many large American cities. I think I would rather visit medieval cities than new ones. I did, however, make two important discoveries While in Berlin: Döner is heaven in edible form, It is very similar to a Gyro, but somehow better. The other discovery was that being able to drink in public places is really great! Dirk and I bought some bottles of beer that we would drink later. My eyes widened when he popped the cap off that bottle right there on the street. It was refreshing, I mean we weren’t going to get drunk, we just wanted to sit in a nice area and have a beer, It was so logical yet so freeing! There we sat sipping away on German beer in the Alexanderplatz the promise of an amazing trip sparkling in our eyes.

Done for the Day
We took the train back to the parsonage where we were staying and met up with our hosts. Two brothers (Bise and Robert) were watching over their uncle’s home while he and his wife were out of town. The brothers (who were our age) rolled their own cigarettes and played some card game that I could not understand (different cards and different language.) We all just hung out in the house, I think I took a nap and tried to catch up on my missed sleep. We pulled out the couch, prayed, and then went to sleep eagerly awaiting the next day of our trip.

Video From this day posted at Stone Farm:

Google Earth Placemarks for Day 1: Open this map

A Month in Germany

I am leaving on Friday August 5 at 5:30 p.m. I will arrive in Berlin the next morning. I will come back home on September 3. Everything in between will be hopefully documented here!