Happy Memorial Day, Everyone!

Monday, May 26
Happy Memorial Day, Everyone! Remember, Kids, to think of your Grandpa A, since Memorial Day is really celebrated to remember our veterans (plus all of our ancestors who have gone before). I'm glad you - Mom, Jeanie, and Elise - were able to go to Ephraim this weekend. Wish I could have been with!

I haven't been able to post these last few entries since I couldn't get any of the USB drives on the computers in Poland to work. So here they all are at once.

I'm on the train to Magdeburg now. They did check our passports on the way back into Germany. It was the Polizei (police), though, not customs agents. They sell train tickets the old way there in Szcezcin - in person, instead of by machine in Germany. A kind of sad thing is that they are closing down all the little train stations all over Germany (not in the big cities) and just letting them sit boarded up and covered with graffiti, and replacing them with a machine. I guess it saves them money, but sure creates an eyesore and they are all such cute little train stations. (You kids know how much I like cute little places like post offices and stuff). Oh well.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008
I spent a day in Magdeburg yesterday. I had bread and water for lunch on the train because I had no money and no time to get any at the train station. I had bought some groceries in Poland on Saturday (including a Polish version of canned spam) and that is all I had left over from Sunday. But the experience is alllll worth it! (Either my clothes are stretching or I am losing weight. And my shoes are wearing out!)

Anyway, Magdeburg was not at all what I had thought it was going to be. From the descriptions I had read, it looked like it was going to be a cute little medieval town, but it was basically a showpiece of big fancy buildings – now dilapidated – and wide boulevards that were build by the communists back in the 1960s.

It did have a beautiful old cathedral, though, and the Rathaus (town council building) played a very nice set of bells on the hour one hour. And it is on the banks of the Elbe River. I saw some old train cars and engines that were from WW1, WW2 and from the days when Kathy and I would travel on the trains (which has gotten to be along time now)!

I am in Leipzig now. It is a much bigger city than I had thought. My guidebook says it has the biggest train station in all of Europe, which I am sure is true. It must be four times the size of the huge one I sued to go through in Hamburg.

I went through here once on a bus trip from Berlin to southern Germany to go skiing. It seemed small and quiet back then, but big and bustling now. I guess the big difference is all the cars on the road now. Back then almost no one could afford to have a car. Now they are everywhere!

This is the home of Johann Sebastian Bach, the famous composer. I visited the church where he was the musician and where he is now buried. They have a big Bach celebration here every year.

Anyway, alles es gut bei mir! I´m doing fine. I love you all!

(About the pictures: the first two are the place I stayed at in Magdeburg. They called my room the end room, but it was really the GREEN room, furnished with antiques. The second is a place by a guy whose name is Hundertwasser kind of like Gaudi what would do in Spain called the Green House, even though there is no green in it. Fressnapf is èverything for your animal`and the last one is some amazing work at the top of a Baroque church here in Leipzig).

From Poland, of all places!

Friday, May 22
One more thing about Hamburg - I didn't even know Kathy then, other than I had seen her in a couple of the preparatory meetings we'd been to in Portland before we left. Funny how things go.

Yesterday I went behind the Iron Curtain, or what used to be the Iron Curtain before Germany was reunited and the rest of Eastern Europe was freed from communism. I traveled to Rostock, which is in what used to be East Germany - the DDR. I didn't really know what to expect going back to a formerly communist country. But - it has been, what, 18 years since the Berlin Wall came down and the countries were freed from the communist dictatorship.

Is there much difference between a west German city and an east German one? Not very much, from what I can see here in Rostock! The old East German cars that sounded like big sewing machines when they drove down the street are long gone, replaced by Audis, BMWs, VWs, with some Volvos, SEATs (from Spain, Sonya and Kristina), Citroens and a few Fords and Chevs mixed in - just like in the west! There is more of a mixture of both brand new stuff and poorly maintained stuff in the East. The Commies let a lot deteriorate - and the people were too poor to maintain their property - and it either stays that way or a lot of money from the west has been poured in to fix things up. All the usual western retailers are in the best places in town for shopping. They have made sure of that. The chain stores all over the world have the money to drive out the locals.

Otherwise, what is new? Well, I couldn't find a place to stay here in Rostock - I searched the internet for hours, sent emails, etc., etc. So I arrived without any reservations and asked at the tourist office. They sent me to a place that rents private rooms. It is a place owned by an older lady and she rents a couple of her rooms out to travelers. It only costs 20 Euros and she is very nice. The room is huge - in a late 19th century old home and is quite comfortable. She has all her belongings all over and is, of course, very trusting of everyone. She was telling me she is 80 and has lived through World War II and through communism. The house next to hers was hit by a bomb in WWII and her brother died in a U-boat (submarine) in the war. Communism wasn't as repressive in Rostock as in Berlin. Quite interesting.

I traveled to Warnemunde today, a little town on the Baltic Sea (or the East Sea, as they call it here). There is a nice beach (but way too cold to go swimming) there and a little seaport town, where ships come into the harbor to unload freight or to unload sightseers from the cruise ships. Some of the ships are huge ferries that carry big trucks and cars and let the occupants stay overnight, like a big traveling hotel. Just beyond the horizon lies Denmark, home of our ancestors!

Well, I guess that is about all for now. It starts to get pretty lonely being alone like this without anyone to talk to or share things with. That is the BIG trouble with traveling like this - no one to share things with! So, I'll be calling soon. I'm off to another one of those places tomorrow that keeps changing nationalities over the years - this one from Germany to Poland and back and again. It is a historic place that used to be called Stettin, but now that it is part of Poland, just over the border, it is called Szcezcin. Try saying that one three times fast! It was made part of Poland after WWII to 'punish' Germany and I've read that people mostly speak both Polish and German. We shall see.

A couple of other observations: if I haven't said it yet, graffiti covers every square meter of blank space alongside the railroads and in train stations and on all the buildings even close to the rail lines. It is often around town, too. It is pretty ugly and disgusting. But, society seems to have given in to it and there it stays! Too bad. Also, every here and there from the train you see these 'managed' forests, where the trees are all harvested and then replanted in rows, ready to be harvested in another 30 or 40 years. Kind of takes away from the natural look to them, but there are plenty of other natural forests, too.

Saturday 5-23-08

I took a little side trip to a town called Schwerin yesterday, another small city much like Rostock, but less touristy. I ran into a couple of missionaries on the street there. When I asked them where they were from, one said Italy and the other said Indiana. They said the work was going so-so and they basically have one person they are teaching who is coming to church. I've heard from every missionary I've ever known who has gone to Germany that the Germans just aren't interested much in the Church. Basically, they aren't interested in religion at all these days. Churches are more museums than places of worship. I did get to see a wedding in the big cathedral in Schwerin, though. Tourists just sort of wandered around while the ceremony was being performed, even while the pastor was saying a prayer. But I got to hear the big organ being played, so that was pretty cool.

There is also a big castle there on its own little island on a big lake at the edge of town. It is huge and elaborate, but not very old by the standards of most real castles. It was built in the 1840s. I peeked inside, but decided I can't really afford to pay to go into many places to be able to afford this trip (I've still only eaten in a restaurant one time so far, so I've been saving money, making the whole thing possible).

I am in the train now to Szcezcin, passing a lot of little dorfs along the way (we stop at each one on this trip - the slow train). Each one seems to have a lot of old buildings that are unused and have fallen into disrepair, the result of modernization in the world and especially in the former Communist countries, where things deteriorated so much over the years. The train yards are especially empty and unused. This is a cute little train with only two cars. The conductor lady even gives us a guided tour along the way, telling us about the history and origin of the name of each little place we come to. So that makes it interesting. It has been an interesting trip for a couple of other reasons. There is an older couple up ahead who have been smooching away and a lady was arguing with the conductor about her ticket. The conductor also stated yelling that someone had left the on-board restroom in a mess and asked who was responsible. Otherwise, a smooth trip so far!

Sunday May 25, 2008
Sczeczin used to be part of Germany but is now in Poland. It is funny that there was no evidence of a border crossing and no customs to go through - all with the countries being part of the European Union now. Talk about culture shock - arriving at the station and everything is in Polish! Impossible to understand!
There are lots of kinds of cars here - from Japan and Russia and all over. There seem to be a lot of Fords. A lot of the words just seem to add a "y" to the end, like laptopy and computery. This country is definitely poorer and less well cared for than anything I've seen in Germany. Much more run-down and less commercialized. I know Poland is a much poorer country. You can sure see it. My hotel, though, is the fanciest by far I have stayed at - a real hotel - but on the edge of town for car travelers. I looked and looked on the internet for one but there are almost no hotels here, other than a couple of fancy ones. It's not a big tourist or business place so I had to take whatever hotel I could find. It's a half-hour bus ride from town plus a 15-minute walk, but is in a green area and has a nice view over the Oder River valley.

But, I have to tell you about my new friend Andre Niewada who took me in his car from the train station to my hotel! When I arrived, I had no idea what to do or where to go. And no ones seems to speak German. That probably died out with newer generations. So I asked a lady at a magazine counter if she spoke German. She just shook her head, but a guy - about 60-something - standing there said he knew a little. He spoke it quite well and we were able to communicate pretty well - me with my American accent and him with his Polish one! He actually thought I was German at first, after I told him I had just come from Rostock and lived in Berlin years ago. Anyway, we had a great conversation about the town, how a big car factory that had been around for nearly 100 years had recently closed down, putting a lot of people out of work, etc. He said I was lucky and actually took me in his car to the bus stop I needed to get to my hotel. I agreed!!! When he realized just where it was, he said, "You are double lucky" and drove me there, since it was an area where he took his family now and then to get out of the city. We kept talking about a lot of things and I was surprised how good a conversation I could carry on in German. We got there and I wanted to pay him for the gas and he said no, but that I was triple lucky and handed me a little bag with good Polish pastries in it. That was my dinner. We exchanged addresses and I'm for sure going to write him.

Well, I didn't go to church today - I didn't even try because I didn't think I'd get much out of a meeting in Polish. But, I did go into a church (in fact, two). Does that count? There is a nice big park and cathedral here, too. Like I say, it is getting pretty lonely. I can't even understand the TV, since it is in Polish. But there are a couple of channels in German and even CNN, European version, in English. But meeting people like Andre and seeing things that seem to be out of time, make it a tremendous experience. Especially interesting are the cathedrals, some of which were built 1,000 years ago!

From behind the Iron Curtain

Friday - May 2008

One more thing about Hamburg - I didn't even know Kathy then, other than I had seen her in a couple of the preparatory meetings we'd been to before we left. Funny how things go.

Yesterday I went behind the Iron Curtain, or what used to be the Iron Curtain before Germany was reunited and the rest of Eastern Europe was freed from communism. I traveled to Rostock, which is in what used to be East Germany - the DDR. I didn't really know what to expect going back to a formerly communist country. But - it has been, what, 18 years since the Berlin Wall came down and the countries were freed from the communist dictatorship.

Is there much difference between a west German city and an east German one? Not very much, from what I can see here in Rostock! The old East German cars that sounded like big sewing machines when they drove down the street are long gone, replaced by Audis, BMWs, VWs, with some Volvos, SEATs (from Spain, Sonya and Kristina), Citroens and a few Fords and Chevs mixed in - just like in the west! There is more of a mixture of both brand new stuff and poorly maintained stuff in the East. The Commies let a lot deteriorate - and the people were too poor to maintain their property - and it either stays that way or a lot of money from the west has been poured in to fix things up. All the usual western retailers are in the best places in town for shopping. They have made sure of that. The chain stores all over the world have the money to drive out the locals.

Otherwise, what is new? Well, I couldn't find a place to stay here in Rostopck - I searched the internet for hours, sent emails, etc., etc. So I arrived without any reservations and asked at the tourist office. They sent me to a place that rents private rooms. It is a place owned by an older lady and she rents a couple of her rooms out to travelers. It only costs 20 Euros and she is very nice. The room is huge - in a late 19th century old home and is quite comfortable. She has all her belongings all over and is, of course, very trusting of everyone. She was telling me she is 80 and has lived through World War II and through communism. The house next to hers was hit by a bomb in WWII and her brother died in a U-boat (submarine) in the war. Communism wasn't as repressive in Rostock as in Berlin. Quite interesting.

I traveled to Warnemunde today, a little town on the Baltic Sea (or the East Sea, as they call it here). There is a nice beach there and a little seaport town, where ships come into the harbor to unload freight or to unload sightseers from the cruise ships. Some of the ships are huge ferries that carry big trucks and cars and let the occupants stay overnight, like a big traveling hotel. Just beyond the horizon lies Denmark, home of our ancestors!

Well, I guess that is about all for now. It starts to get pretty lonely being alone like this without anyone to talk to or share things with. That is the BIG trouble with traveling like this - no one to share things with! So, I'll be calling soon. I'm off to another one of those places tomorrow that keeps changing nationalites over the years - this one from Germany to Poland and back and again. It is a historic place that used to be called Stettin, but now that it is part of Poland, just over the border, it is called Szcezcin. Try saying that one three times fast! It was made part of Poland after WWII to 'punish' Germany and I've read that people mostly speak both Polish and German. We shall see.

A coiple of other observations: if I haven't said it yet, grafitti covers every square meter of blank space alongside the railroads and in train stations and on all the buildings even close to the rail lines. It is often around town, too. It is pretty ugly and disgsusting. But, society seems to have given in to it and there it stays! Too bad. Also, every here and there from the train you see these 'managed' forests, where the trees are all harvested and then replanted in rows, ready to be harvested in another 30 or 40 years. Kind of takes away from the natural look to them, but there are plenty of other natural forests, too.

Hamburg - more than 30 years later

Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday 5-21-08

Got up and took the train to Hamburg. That is where Kathy and I first went in Germany over 30 years ago. I can´t believe it has been that long. We each lived with separate families for that time.

My first impression was how strange it seemed without fog and clouds - very unfamiliar, since that is mostly how it was during the January we spent there. It is not far off the coast of the North Sea and very far north, so its winters are mostly like that. The second thing was that it seemed so commericalized. Mönkebergstrasse, the main shopping street, used to have a little bit of everything. That is where I spotted my very first Konditorei, a specialized bakery that makes fancy cakes. Mm-mmm. Now it is just more like a fancy mall that has mostly expensive women´s clothes you can´t afford. Oh well, that is progress for you!

A few other impressions: so much is in English now - ads etc. Despite what people say about not liking America´s policies with the world, American English seems to be the cool language and people wear T-shirts with American slogans and buy American brands. It is quite a bit different in Germany now when even stop signs no longer say ``Halt!``

Everyone rides bikes, too. There are special paths all over and they take them on the subways and everywhere. It is interesting to see so many older people on bikes. We need to get one for you, Mom!

I think that, so far, I´ve only heard about 10 people speak English. I guess the low value of the dollar has something to do with it, as does the time of year - the vacation season hasn´t really started yet. The weather the past week has only been in the 50s, too.

One of the days I went back to the little town I lived in outside of Hamburg called Aumühle. I used to have to take the train into Hamburg for our classes and group meetings and to do other things. The train ride took about half an hour. It looks so different in the sunshine! The picture of Oberförsterkoppel is the street I lived on. The house is still there, but the trees seem larger. I debated whether or not to see if Frau Schönfeld was home - the lady who was my host ``mother`` but I decided against it. It was nice to see that little town was still there and very similar. One change is that they´ve added a high-speed train line through town to Berlin and parts east. It used to end only about 10 miles away, where it hit the East Germany border and stopped - not much train traffic then.

I tore something in leg on Monday - a muscle or ligament. It has made it harder to get my 5-10 miles per day in! But I´m doing it anyway. It just hurts. I guess it will be going away soon. I bought a 3-day train and subway pass in Hamburg, so I was able to ride a lot.

Hope everyone who reads this is happy and well. Tschuß! (By the way, it seems like Guten Tag (Good day) is being replaced by Hello here (said more like Al-low). More changes here in Germany toward a one-world world.

Bremen - rainy and cold

Sunday 5 17 08

I guess it is time I got this updated, no? I stayed a couple of nights in Bremen. I got to go to church there. I found the location and time on the Church website and it was right on. I was a little late due to waiting for the streetcar and then finding my way the last little ways, but I made it. It was hard to understand the speakers, but I got the gist of what they were saying. Everyone was very firendly afterwards and one guy even told me I spoke good German (he was just being nice). There were about 200 people there - about as many as in a ward at home - in a nice new little building.

On my way back to my little room I saw a religious processlon ( a lot like those you send us pictures of, Kristina) and got fined for riding the streetcar without a ticket. Funny, huh? I tried and tried and tried beforehand to find how to buy a ticket, but there are only machines on the streetcars that take prepaid cards. Most people don't even use those. The plain-clothes crew who came through (I think they only checked the tickets of two othjer people) said that there is a machine that takes coins right up at the front of the first car (these streetcars are abiut four cars long). The driver is inside a closed booth and you can't even talk to him or her. Oh well, live and learn!

I was able to find a laundry and do my wash there, too. I'm not sure why, but self-serve laundries are a rarity in Europe. When you find one you'd better use it! I had my only real sit-down real restaurant meal of my trip so far there - with fresh asparagus! Otherwise, I've been eatinmg out of grocery stores and bakeries. Otherwise, the countryside in travelling from town to town here is sure beautiful - mostly flat, but with some forests. The further north you get the more pine trees you see - it is like going higher on a mountain back home - into the pines. Sehr schon!

Oh yeah, and here is apicture of one of the old´fashioned toilet, that has the water tank mounted on the wall. And one of a place called `Wormland` - a women´s clothing store!

BY THE WAY, MY ITINERARY ...

Here it is, in case you were wondering. I tried to put it into a nice table, but the software wouln't let me. Oh, well!

Date-Day-From-To
5-9-Fri-Home-LV
5-10-Sat-LV-Chicago
5-11-Sun-Chicago-In the air
5-12-Mon-In the air-Frankfurt
5-13-Tue-Frankfurt-Trier
5-14-Wed-Trier-Trier
5-15-Thu-Trier-Koln
5-16-Fri-Koln-Essen
5-17-Sat-Essen-Bremen
5-18-Sun-Bremen-Bremen
5-19-Mon-Bremen-Hamburg
5-20-Tue-Hamburg-Hamburg
5-21-Wed-Hamburg-Hamburg
5-22-Thu-Hamburg-Rostock
5-23-Fri-Rostock-Rostock
5-24-Sat-Rostock-Stettin / Sczcecin
5-25-Sun-Stettin-Stettin
5-26-Mon-Stettin-Magdeburg
5-27-Tue-Magdeburg-Leipzig
5-28-Wed-Leipzig-Leipzig
5-29-Thu-Leipzig-Weimar
5-30-Fri-Weimar-Erfurt
5-31-Sat-Erfurt-Erfurt
6-1-Sun-Erfurt-Eisenach
6-2-Mon-Eisenach-Wurzburg
6-3-Tue-Wurzburg-Wurzburg
6-4-Wed-Wurzburg-Regensburg
6-5-Thu-Regensburg-Regensburg
6-6-Fri-Regensburg-Augsburg
6-7-Sat-Augsburg-Augsburg
6-8-Sun-Augsburg-Ulm
6-9-Mon-Ulm-Ulm
6-10-Tue-Ulm-Frankfurt
6-11-Wed-Frankfurt-Frankfurt
6-12-Thu-Frankfurt-Heidelberg
6-13-Fri-Heidelberg-Rothenberg
6-14-Sat-Rothenberg-Munich
6-15-Sun-Munich-Fussen
6-16-Mon-Fussen-Freiburg
6-17-Tue-Freiburg-Basel - Madrid
6-18-Wed-Madrid-Madrid
6-19-Thu-Madrid-Almeria
6-20-Fri-Almeria-Almeria
6-21-Sat-Almeria-Almeria
6-22-Sun-Almeria-Almeria
6-23-Mon-Almeria-Madrid and Basel
6-24-Tue-Basel - Zurich-Innsbruck
6-25-Wed-Innsbruck-Brannenberg
6-26-Thu-Brannenberg-Brannenberg
6-27-Fri-Brannenberg-Dresden
6-28-Sat-Dresden-Dresden
6-29-Sun-Dresden-Gorlitz
6-30-Mon-Gorlitz-Gorlitz
7-1-Tue-Gorlitz-Prague
7-2-Wed-Prague-Prague
7-3-Thu-Prague-Berlin
7-4-Fri-Berlin-Berlin
7-5-Sat-Berlin-Berlin
7-6-Sun-Berlin-Berlin
7-7-Mon-Berlin-Berlin
7-8-Tue-Berlin-Berlin
7-9-Wed-Berlin - Frankfurt-LV
7-10-Thu-LV-LV
7-11-Fri-LV-Home

Köln to the Ruhr Area

Thursday 5-15-08
Koln

I arrived today in Koln. In English and French it is called Cologne. I suppose you can guess where it got its name? Yup, it is where Kolnisches Wasser was discovered or invented. In other words, eau de cologne, or just cologne. It was discovered there naturally and was first thought to promote good health and, later, just to make you smell better. The French pretty much took over the business and developed perfume for women.

The big attraction of Koln now is its enormous cathedral. A pretty amazing place! It is either the biggest cathedral in the world or the biggest in Germany, I'm not sure. Even though it was built from the 1100s to the 1300s, the towers are over 50 stories high! It had to have taken a lot of faith in God for those people to take on such a task! You can climb 300 feet to the south tower, which I did. A little tiring , but worth it! It just reinforces to you what an amazing structure it is, to have been built that long ago. It has dozens of little ornate towers all over it, about a dozen flying buttresses and lots of those little guys, what are they called?

Koln is right on the Rhein River, too, and there is all sorts of river traffic on it, carrying coal and chemicals and tourist boats.

I got to stay in a little hotel in a Dachzimmer, an attic room, one of my dreams come true! Pretty cool and with a nice view into the inner courtyard. If it is any indication about the places I am staing, the Marriott was right across the street! OK, well, that is no indication, since it wasn't even close to the same league. They even let cars drive on the sidewalk to drop people off at the Marriott. I jusat get to share the bathroom and shower with everyone on my tiny floor.

Friday 5-17-08
Essen - Duisburg - Dusseldorf

See below

Saturday 5-16-08
Well, here I sit on the train from Essen to Bremen. How do I write a "blog post" from the train? With my little Palm Pilot and keyboard gizmo. I'll take a picture of it and post it, too.

I slept late today. I guess it's one of those days that you need to catch up from the 5 to 10 miles of walking I've been doing. I just went around to a few local towns in the Ruhr area yesterday. It is not a touristy area, but us of great importance historically as Germany's big industrial area. It is where most of the arms for WW II were built. They are now less industrial areas, but, like the US, most of the industry has moved oversees. It seems to have become a shopping area and Essen's slogan, as you come out of the train station is "Germany's shopping city!" A lot of the old train stations and tracks have fallen into disrepair as their need has declined

Well, it was raining this morning. I guess that is pretty common weather for this time of year - or all times of the year, since it is so far north and so close to the North Sea. And, like it was in Hamburg many years ago, it is very foggy. Like in Portland, that is the price you pay for all the green! It IS gorgeous here.

I stopped in Munster (that's not MONster, but the name means cathedral) to see the famous Munster, but got soaked in the rain. My jacket was just as wet on the inside as on the outside. There was some sort of festival going on so people were lined up inside the cathedral - for what, I didn't have time to find out, or I'd have missed my train. On the outside was a huge open-air market selling mostly fruits and vegetables, but you could buy just about anything there in the rain! "Frische Spargel" is sold all over the place - everywhere I've gone. That is fresh asparagus and is not like ours in the US, but is white and very thick. I need to eat at a real restaurant one of the days and try it cooked. Also outside the cathedral there were outdoor cafes and people were eating, but, mostly, drinking. Good way to celebrate a religious holiday, huh? Now, the landscape is mostly flat, as we get closer to the North Sea coast and a bit foggy.

I am at an Internet Café right now in Bremen and, you know how there always seem to be little parades go by whenever we go to Mexico? Well, believe it or not, one just went by on the street right now! The cars were all sporting Turkish flags! There are a lot of Turks here in Spain. They were brought in as ‘guest workers’ after WW II to provide manpower that was badly needed to rebuild Germany. There are new generations still here. Anyway, there was just a Turkish parade. And, Kristina! They love their Döner kebaps here, too! They are all over the place!

I’ll write a little about Bremen tomorrow. I just need to try to get some pictures up here right now! Tschuß for now!

On to Saarbrucken and Trier

Tuesday - May 13th

I got up early and ate the breakfast that most places provide. Never had cucumbers and slices of peppers for breakfast before! Then I left for Saarbrucken, a place famous in German history for its industry and coal mines that supplied much of the rest of Germany and France and that has been argued over for centruries by those two countries for that reason. ("It's mine!" "No, it's mine!") Not a real touristy spot, but the Saar River is nice, with an ancient bridge over it (the name of the town means Saar Bridges) and an interesting old town. I got my first German chocolate bar - with Marzipan from Lubeck inside, a real delicacy, Mm-mmm! As you say, Ryan, we remember things by the food we eat and as you say, Kristina, we always like to talk about the food we eat! Since I had a hard time finding a place to stay there, I hopped the train again for Trier, just a few miles to the north to stay for the next two nights. (I spent many hours on the interenet for sevral months trying to book places, but Saarbrucken seems to have very few cheap places). My hotel here is in a quaint old gaststatte, a typical German guest house. It has a view into the hof, the inner courtyard and even has its own bathroom. It has the typical quaint German restaurant downstairs and the Gastgeber is a nice old German Herr, whose German I can understand pretty well.

I walked around town a lot today and bought my favorite German meal - slices of wurst with Edamer cheese and brotchens, a small hard-roll type of bread. Pretty good! No one has quite the wurst like they do here in Germany.

The most impressive thing here in Trier is the old Romanesque cathedral that was built from about 500 AD to 1100 AD - pretty darn old and very simple and bold-looking compared to the gothic and baroque architecture that came later. Too bad the interior was closed due to renovation. Another interesting thing is that a second, gothic, church was built to adjoin it, making it one large cathedral! There is also an old Roman gate (Porta Nigra, or Black Gate) which was built in the 100s, nearly 2000 years ago! Trier was the Roman capital of the area back then. Then there are the old narrow streets, the shopping (a little too busy and expensive for me) and my hotel is about two miles out of the center of town. I must have gotten 10 miles of walking in today, bertween the two towns. lt works up a sweat during the time l wear my 30 pound backpack - no suitcase for me!

The German kids dress and act just like Americans - very different from when I was here years ago. Cell phones, some long hair, faded jeans and up-to-date fashions are the "in" thing. The older folks are much more casual now, too, than when I was here before. I guess that's the American influence for you, for better or worse, All the kids have cell phones, which are called "Handys" here. Pretty handy way to call, no? Well, Auf Widersehen, or Tschuss, for now!

(Well, I am having a hard time uploadng my pictures from this `Internet Cafe,´ so I will try again later).

On my way!

Sunday 5-11-2008

Ever hear of a 20-hour layover? Well, I had one in Chicago, before my flight to Frankfurt, but I made good use of the time to visit some old sites from when we used to live there, years ago. I had to stay at a hotel Saturday night, but took the train to downtown and looked around a little. Plus, I got a few miles of exercise, helping me to get ready for all the walking in Germany. I even got to give directions to a British couple to the train station (since I knew that from when we lived there)! I even took the El train to Wrigley field, where a Cubs-Diamondbacks game was in progress. Of course, I didn't get to see any of the game but, like the 'Shut up and drink your beer T-shirt I accidentally bought in 2002, I saw a baby T-shirt that said, 'Shut up and drink your milk!'

I also got to eat one of the goo-ood Italian sausages that Chicago is famous for. (Food is always one of the best parts of traveling, no?)

Monday 5-11-2008

I arrived in Frankfurt after an extremely long flight. I think everyone on the plane was able to sleep most of it except me. I always have trouble sleeping while traveling. Frankfurt was 75 degrees and sunny. A little humid, but very nice! I checked into my TINY hotel room (about 6 x 12), which had a TV but no bathroom. It is across the hall, shared by everyone on the floor, but I had no trouble getting into it when I wanted.

I walked around town that day. Frankfurt is an unusual German city because it has a lot of high-rise buildings, but it also has an older part of town that shows a lot of its histroy. I even got to walk across the Main River that flows through town. Remember when we almost moved to Frankfurt, Mom, Norman and Jeanie, when Dad had that opportunity for a job assignment there?

I got to bed early, since I was going on half an hour sleep, and slept through the night, despite no air conditionaing and garbage tucks, police sirens and people yelling outside my window all night. I was up on the 4th floor, so I felt pretty safe in spite of it all.

I've made two rules for myself: walk and use the stairs whenever possible to get exercise and speak - and think - in German as much as I can, so I can learn the language better. Oh - and none more thing - eat a lot (but not too much) good German food!

Getting ready to go

So much to do, so little time to do it. Like putting a sprinkling system in, in about a week's time. Making all the travel arrangements, which still isn't done. Grading finals and getting everything done at school. And, packing it all in a little backpack for two months. But it will be all worth it.