Thursday, November 8, 2007
Saturday in Germany
After an early breakfast with people from all over the world, we took a bus to Neuschwanstein (just a 5 minute ride up the mountain). We shopped a little bit and walked up to the castle for a tour (we could have taken one of the many horse-drawn carriages, but decided we needed some exercise... plus it was another BEAUTIFUL day). Neuschwanstein is a 19th Century Bavarian palace. The castle was built by Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, as a retreat and as an homage to composer Richard Wagner, the King's inspiring muse. Although photography of the interior is not permitted, it is the most photographed building in Germany and is one of Germany's most popular tourist destinations. The castle was the inspiration for Disney's Cinderella's Castle. Both the inside and the outside were amazingly beautiful! We decided that one castle tour was enough (the other castle in Neuschwanstein is Hohenschwangau Castle, King Ludwig's childhood home... it kind of looked like Johannes's house on the outside). After having a brat, sauerkraut, pretzles, and some kind of delicious fried dough creation, we took a bus back down to Füssen. Tom went to get another Döner and brought us a pizza back while Elizabeth and I chillaxed and journaled...
Friday in Germany
Instead of going to Munich on Friday, we decided to take the train down to Füssen in Bavaria (a southern state in Germany, bordering Austria). When we arrived in Füssen, it was the most beautiful day of our trip! We had the address of a hostel, but on the way to it, we spotted a Bed and Breakfast with an American flag waving in front of it. We assumed that meant that the owner spoke English, so we went inside. Suzanne did, in fact, speak perfect English, as well as German, Italian and French. She had a family room left for the next two nights, and since we hadn't spent any money thus far on accomodation, we decided to splurge and stay in her beautiful B&B. We had four beds, a beautiful, clean bathroom with a hairdryer, and a beautiful room altogether. We had a porch with flower boxes, and the view outside our balcony was a perfect picture of the Alps! It was surreal. We dropped off our things, and Suzanne immediately gave us a map and told us where to go and what to do. We took a lift up the mountain to Tegelberg where we took pictures, watched parachuters jump off the side of the mountain, and enjoyed the beautiful day. We returned to the B&B later that evening and took a little nap (I know, it seems like we napped our whole trip away, but really, we hadn't gotten any sleep at NIGHT the whole week). Then we pulled ourselves out of bed to walk into town to find food. We settled on Döners once again (when will we ever eat them again, right? plus, they're cheap). We bought them from a friendly Tony Bennett look-alike and brought them back to the kitchen in the B&B to eat. The rest of the evening was spent journaling-- we had to remember everything that happened in our days in Osterode am Harz. We missed it already!
Although Füssen was beautiful, it was very surely filled with tourists. Everywhere you turned you heard a different language being spoken and cameras snapping shots of the mountains. It was nice to be around tourists, but nothing could compare to spending 4 days hanging out with real Germans in their small German town. Lots of people can say they've been to the Alps, to Füssen, to Munich, or to Berlin, but who else can say they rode horses in the Harz mountains and got to experience living in a German house with a German family and having German friends? We loved Füssen, and we were glad to be there, but nothing could compare to the Grammel family farm...
Although Füssen was beautiful, it was very surely filled with tourists. Everywhere you turned you heard a different language being spoken and cameras snapping shots of the mountains. It was nice to be around tourists, but nothing could compare to spending 4 days hanging out with real Germans in their small German town. Lots of people can say they've been to the Alps, to Füssen, to Munich, or to Berlin, but who else can say they rode horses in the Harz mountains and got to experience living in a German house with a German family and having German friends? We loved Füssen, and we were glad to be there, but nothing could compare to the Grammel family farm...
Thursday in Germany
After waking up, showering, and having a delicious breakfast of toast and Nutella (a european wonder-- basically chocolate in a peanut butter form) with Zita and her mom, we borrowed some jeans, boots, and coats from Monika (good thing we were all exactly the same size).
Then-- get ready for this-- we went horseback riding! I had never been on a horse before, and it was a goal of mine to go horseback riding before I left his beautiful continent. So Johannes's sister went out into the field to get her horses, and we helped her brush and clean them before she gave us a riding lesson! I almost fell off the black horse when we took it up to a trot, but we were in the pen the whole time, so it was all good. Elizabeth and I could hardly believe that we were so lucky-- riding horses on a beautiful German farm with a Harz Mountain backdrop-- it was beautiful!
Until... what we called the "Great Glass Fiasco of 2007." While we were tying the horses back up, Johannes and his mom were coming back in the John Deere tractor from feeding the cows. Apparently it was hot and smelly in the tractor, so Johannes opened the windows. And apparently Johannes forgot that when the front window is open, you can't use the tractor lift. So, when he tried, the windshield shattered in his mother's face. She jumped out of the tractor, and Zita ran to help. We didn't know what was going on at the time, so we put our helmets away, went to our room to change, and attempted the castle puzzle in our room. It was clearly an intense situation, and we didn't want to be in the way. As we were working on our puzzle, Monika came in to assure us that she was okay, that she was going to visit her eye doctor to make sure the glass was all out of her eyes, and that we'd be eating lunch a little bit later. (She is an amazing lady!) We ate a lunch of fresh beef from the farm, gravy, dumplings, cabbage, spaghetti, and fresh milk from a neighboring farm. Then, after we were all packed up and ready to leave, we were looking for train tickets and hostels on Johannes's computer. But due to the Great Glass Fiasco, we lost a little time. We didn't want to end up in Munich-- a strange and foreign city-- in the dark looking for a hostel, so we decided to stay for another night (plus we really didn't want to leave the comforts of staying in what felt like our new home).
We told Johannes that we didn't want him to plan anything for us-- that we just wanted to lay around and relax and go to bed early so we could get up early the next day to leave. But he continued trying to plan something... first it was ice skating, then it was the waterpark, then a movie... finally we decided on fishing in the Harz Mountains. We bundled up in Johannes's best Mosinee sweatshirts, and Johannes took us to Timo's house, where we met up with Timo and Eike. From there we went to Timo's dad's fish hatchery. It was getting dark, but Timo was prepared with his head light and fishing vest; he caught a big walley while the rest of us admired the sheep grazing around the pond and listened to Eike sing along with the "Gummy Bears" ring tone on his phone (in German-- hilarious!)
When we got home we took a nice long nap in Johannes's bed again-- one last time-- and had a delicious dinner of cheese fondue, bread, fruit, and Johannes's homemade cake. His mom helped us make some sandwiches to pack for the train ride the next day, and Johannes left for a party while we chillaxed at his house (we weren't up for a party, but we didn't want to hold him back). Although we stayed back to rest and sleep before our early departure, we ended up staying up way too late talking and crying together... I am not the kind of person who cries a lot, but the Grammel family was so incredibly kind to us, we were overcome with happiness at the few days we'd had and saddness at leaving them behind.
We took about a 3 hour nap, woke up at 4, and rode to the train station in Monika's Volvo. As the train pulled away, Johannes waved goodbye, and Elizabeth and I cried again... :(
Then-- get ready for this-- we went horseback riding! I had never been on a horse before, and it was a goal of mine to go horseback riding before I left his beautiful continent. So Johannes's sister went out into the field to get her horses, and we helped her brush and clean them before she gave us a riding lesson! I almost fell off the black horse when we took it up to a trot, but we were in the pen the whole time, so it was all good. Elizabeth and I could hardly believe that we were so lucky-- riding horses on a beautiful German farm with a Harz Mountain backdrop-- it was beautiful!
Until... what we called the "Great Glass Fiasco of 2007." While we were tying the horses back up, Johannes and his mom were coming back in the John Deere tractor from feeding the cows. Apparently it was hot and smelly in the tractor, so Johannes opened the windows. And apparently Johannes forgot that when the front window is open, you can't use the tractor lift. So, when he tried, the windshield shattered in his mother's face. She jumped out of the tractor, and Zita ran to help. We didn't know what was going on at the time, so we put our helmets away, went to our room to change, and attempted the castle puzzle in our room. It was clearly an intense situation, and we didn't want to be in the way. As we were working on our puzzle, Monika came in to assure us that she was okay, that she was going to visit her eye doctor to make sure the glass was all out of her eyes, and that we'd be eating lunch a little bit later. (She is an amazing lady!) We ate a lunch of fresh beef from the farm, gravy, dumplings, cabbage, spaghetti, and fresh milk from a neighboring farm. Then, after we were all packed up and ready to leave, we were looking for train tickets and hostels on Johannes's computer. But due to the Great Glass Fiasco, we lost a little time. We didn't want to end up in Munich-- a strange and foreign city-- in the dark looking for a hostel, so we decided to stay for another night (plus we really didn't want to leave the comforts of staying in what felt like our new home).
We told Johannes that we didn't want him to plan anything for us-- that we just wanted to lay around and relax and go to bed early so we could get up early the next day to leave. But he continued trying to plan something... first it was ice skating, then it was the waterpark, then a movie... finally we decided on fishing in the Harz Mountains. We bundled up in Johannes's best Mosinee sweatshirts, and Johannes took us to Timo's house, where we met up with Timo and Eike. From there we went to Timo's dad's fish hatchery. It was getting dark, but Timo was prepared with his head light and fishing vest; he caught a big walley while the rest of us admired the sheep grazing around the pond and listened to Eike sing along with the "Gummy Bears" ring tone on his phone (in German-- hilarious!)
When we got home we took a nice long nap in Johannes's bed again-- one last time-- and had a delicious dinner of cheese fondue, bread, fruit, and Johannes's homemade cake. His mom helped us make some sandwiches to pack for the train ride the next day, and Johannes left for a party while we chillaxed at his house (we weren't up for a party, but we didn't want to hold him back). Although we stayed back to rest and sleep before our early departure, we ended up staying up way too late talking and crying together... I am not the kind of person who cries a lot, but the Grammel family was so incredibly kind to us, we were overcome with happiness at the few days we'd had and saddness at leaving them behind.
We took about a 3 hour nap, woke up at 4, and rode to the train station in Monika's Volvo. As the train pulled away, Johannes waved goodbye, and Elizabeth and I cried again... :(
Germany, Day 3
On Wednesday, Johannes took us to "Museum im Ritterhaus," the museum in his town. They did not give regular tours in English, but a woman there fought her way through the entire exhibit in English for us! She said she hadn't spoken English with native speakers in 30 years, and she was AMAZING! I hope she realized how much we appreciated it! Her adorable dog came on the tour too! Johannes also took us to a beautiful Protestant church in Osterode for us to look around in. Then we stopped at Oma's house (oma=grandma in German), but she wasn't home. So we moved on to Johannes's father's veterinary clinic and the party house that they own. We returned "home" for lunch-- the boys made us spaghetti while we enjoyed the great lighting and the great view from the kitchen window.
Later we took a beautiful car ride once again, but this time to a near-by town called Goslar. Johannes took us to Kaiserpfalz, a beautiful palace. Kaiserpfalz was built in the 11th century and became a summer residence for the emperors, especially Henry III of Germany who visited his favourite palace about twenty times. Henry's heart was buried in the chapel because, no matter where he traveled, his heart was always at Kaiserpfalz. The great hall of the palace was filled with elaborate paintings depicting the history of the empire and even a few fairy tales. The murals were incredible-- they must have been 20 feet tall! Our tour guide spoke only in German, but we had a booklet written in English with information about the palace. Johannes later found out that the tour guide's last name was Reinert! The same as Elizabeth's! Crazy!
We left the palace and walked around Goslar, admiring the beautiful streets, shops, buildings, churches and marketplace. The impressive Rathaus was built in 1450. The portico, with Gothic cross-vaulting, opening on to the Marktplatz, was used by merchants for centuries. Above this is the citizens' meeting hall and the councilmen's meeting chamber, lavishly decorated in the early 1300s. Marktplatz, in front of the Rathaus, was for a long time the town's hub of activity. In the center of the large square is a 13th-century fountain with two bronze basins and the German imperial eagle at the top. Many visitors think seeing the Glockenspiel perform is the highlight of their visit. Every day at noon, 3, and 6pm (there's a smaller version of the spectacle at 9am), a procession of mechanized miners, representing the silver trade of long ago, traipses out of the innards of the clock tower. Sadly, we didn't get to see the Glockenspiel... we had just missed it! There were children trick-or-treating in which hats, and everything was lit up. It was so quaint and beautiful, and Elizabeth and I decided we are going to live there.
We ate at a restaurant called Die Worthmühle. We had schnitzle, dumplings, and some kind of chicken wonderful that I don't remember the name of, and Tom had some local beer (his favorite German beer of the trip, apparently). Elizabeth and I tried it just to say we tried German beer. But, if you look at my pictures, you can see just what we thought of that-- sorry, Germany! We love you, but we just don't like beer!
When we returned to Johannes's house, Elizabeth and I took another power nap in Johannes's bed and attempted to make another puzzle-- this time of Neuschwanstein castle. Johannes told us to "get a life." Later we took the dogs for a walk down the road in front of Johannes's house. It was so dark we could hardly see in front of us. I don't know where the moon was, but I could see more stars than I've ever seen before. It was beautiful.
That night Johannes's parents, Monika and Thomas, and his 11-year-old sister Zita came home from EuroDisney (they took Zita there for her birthday). They were so nice and friendly and welcoming, especially considering we were strangers that had invaded their house for the past few days. We sat with them as they ate dinner and chatted. Mr. Grammel spoke perfect English, and his mother spoke it very well too. Zita was a little shy, but so nice! She was so cute too!
Later that night we went to Hemingway's again to meet Johannes's friends for a bit, and then we all piled into Big Red and went to Leoni's house to watch a movie. They put in "Along Came Polly" and watched it in English for us! Gotta love the Germans!
Later we took a beautiful car ride once again, but this time to a near-by town called Goslar. Johannes took us to Kaiserpfalz, a beautiful palace. Kaiserpfalz was built in the 11th century and became a summer residence for the emperors, especially Henry III of Germany who visited his favourite palace about twenty times. Henry's heart was buried in the chapel because, no matter where he traveled, his heart was always at Kaiserpfalz. The great hall of the palace was filled with elaborate paintings depicting the history of the empire and even a few fairy tales. The murals were incredible-- they must have been 20 feet tall! Our tour guide spoke only in German, but we had a booklet written in English with information about the palace. Johannes later found out that the tour guide's last name was Reinert! The same as Elizabeth's! Crazy!
We left the palace and walked around Goslar, admiring the beautiful streets, shops, buildings, churches and marketplace. The impressive Rathaus was built in 1450. The portico, with Gothic cross-vaulting, opening on to the Marktplatz, was used by merchants for centuries. Above this is the citizens' meeting hall and the councilmen's meeting chamber, lavishly decorated in the early 1300s. Marktplatz, in front of the Rathaus, was for a long time the town's hub of activity. In the center of the large square is a 13th-century fountain with two bronze basins and the German imperial eagle at the top. Many visitors think seeing the Glockenspiel perform is the highlight of their visit. Every day at noon, 3, and 6pm (there's a smaller version of the spectacle at 9am), a procession of mechanized miners, representing the silver trade of long ago, traipses out of the innards of the clock tower. Sadly, we didn't get to see the Glockenspiel... we had just missed it! There were children trick-or-treating in which hats, and everything was lit up. It was so quaint and beautiful, and Elizabeth and I decided we are going to live there.
We ate at a restaurant called Die Worthmühle. We had schnitzle, dumplings, and some kind of chicken wonderful that I don't remember the name of, and Tom had some local beer (his favorite German beer of the trip, apparently). Elizabeth and I tried it just to say we tried German beer. But, if you look at my pictures, you can see just what we thought of that-- sorry, Germany! We love you, but we just don't like beer!
When we returned to Johannes's house, Elizabeth and I took another power nap in Johannes's bed and attempted to make another puzzle-- this time of Neuschwanstein castle. Johannes told us to "get a life." Later we took the dogs for a walk down the road in front of Johannes's house. It was so dark we could hardly see in front of us. I don't know where the moon was, but I could see more stars than I've ever seen before. It was beautiful.
That night Johannes's parents, Monika and Thomas, and his 11-year-old sister Zita came home from EuroDisney (they took Zita there for her birthday). They were so nice and friendly and welcoming, especially considering we were strangers that had invaded their house for the past few days. We sat with them as they ate dinner and chatted. Mr. Grammel spoke perfect English, and his mother spoke it very well too. Zita was a little shy, but so nice! She was so cute too!
Later that night we went to Hemingway's again to meet Johannes's friends for a bit, and then we all piled into Big Red and went to Leoni's house to watch a movie. They put in "Along Came Polly" and watched it in English for us! Gotta love the Germans!
Germany, Day 2
Tuesday morning we got a late start after catching up on the sleep we'd lost on Monday. We got showered and had some bread and pizza for breakfast. Then Johannes took us out in his VW van ("Big Red," as we called it) to the marketplace in his town. His friend Morris drove, as Johannes's ankle was still healing and none of us could drive the stick-shift van). Eike came too, and after looking around at the quaint shops, restaurants, and other various buildings, we stopped at an Italian gelateria for some green apple icecream-- DELICIOUS! After a little driving tour of Osterode, we stopped back at Johannes's house to get directions for our next destination. Then we picked up Andi and headed up to the mine. The drive was beautiful, as were most of the drives that week, through the Harz Mountains, and we were so happy that Johannes's friends wanted to hang out with us! Once at the mine, Johannes bought us tickets, and we walked around and looked at the exhibits for a bit. Johannes translated some of the captions on the exhibits and gave us some background on the mine itself. then we went down into a part of the mine where there was a little bar and a water canal. We waited for the party before us to return, put on our hard hats, and hopped into the wooden boat. we made it to the end of the long, dark, wet stream by pulling on the rope that was secured above our heads. Once we reached the end, we all turned around and fought our way back out of the tunnel. It was so much fun! It reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Disney World! Then we got out, and the boys had a beer/smoke break at the bar (all the kids in Germany smoke. don't worry, we yelled at them a LOT).
Later we had a tour of another part of the mine. We rode down with several German tourists (two families with cute kids) in a green train that reminded Elizabeth and me of Circle M Corral in Minocqua (where we both happened to vacation as children). We had on our hard hats once again, and the German boys sang loud German tunes as the rusty train carried us deep into the mine. We got out, and our adorable German tour guide showed us around the different parts of the mine. Eike and the kids in our tour group even got to do a little picking and drilling! Johannes tried his best to do some quick translating on the tour, and we got a good general idea of what the guide was saying, I think. About 100 wet and slippery steps later (poor Johannes-- still on his crutches), we got back on the train and emerged from the mine with growling stomachs. the boys decided to introduce us to a German delight for dinner (although it is really Turkish in origin): the Döner. we grabed our glorious pitas filled with meat and salad and God knows what else and devoured them in the van to escape the chilly evening air.
When we returned to the Grammel family mansion, we chillaxed in Johannes's room (and taught Johannes the meaning of "chillax"). Elizabeth and I took a quick power nap in Johannes's crazy-comfortable bed. Then we got up, freshened up, watched a little soccer, and went to Hemingway's (the bar in town) with Lucas and one of Johannes's girl friends (I don't know her name). The drinks in Germany are so cheap! Only €2 per drink (unlike in Maynooth where they are €5 per drink!) Our German friends opened our eyes to a mixed drink called a "keba"-- cherry juice, banana juice and vodka... I know that doesn't sound good, but it is very delicious. We listened to some techno music in the smoking room which made Elizabeth want to do a kick line, and Elizabeth said something profound:
"I never knew how much I liked bananas. I guess when you leave home, you learn about yourself; you find out what you love, and you find out who you are."
Aww, Elizabeth...
Later we had a tour of another part of the mine. We rode down with several German tourists (two families with cute kids) in a green train that reminded Elizabeth and me of Circle M Corral in Minocqua (where we both happened to vacation as children). We had on our hard hats once again, and the German boys sang loud German tunes as the rusty train carried us deep into the mine. We got out, and our adorable German tour guide showed us around the different parts of the mine. Eike and the kids in our tour group even got to do a little picking and drilling! Johannes tried his best to do some quick translating on the tour, and we got a good general idea of what the guide was saying, I think. About 100 wet and slippery steps later (poor Johannes-- still on his crutches), we got back on the train and emerged from the mine with growling stomachs. the boys decided to introduce us to a German delight for dinner (although it is really Turkish in origin): the Döner. we grabed our glorious pitas filled with meat and salad and God knows what else and devoured them in the van to escape the chilly evening air.
When we returned to the Grammel family mansion, we chillaxed in Johannes's room (and taught Johannes the meaning of "chillax"). Elizabeth and I took a quick power nap in Johannes's crazy-comfortable bed. Then we got up, freshened up, watched a little soccer, and went to Hemingway's (the bar in town) with Lucas and one of Johannes's girl friends (I don't know her name). The drinks in Germany are so cheap! Only €2 per drink (unlike in Maynooth where they are €5 per drink!) Our German friends opened our eyes to a mixed drink called a "keba"-- cherry juice, banana juice and vodka... I know that doesn't sound good, but it is very delicious. We listened to some techno music in the smoking room which made Elizabeth want to do a kick line, and Elizabeth said something profound:
"I never knew how much I liked bananas. I guess when you leave home, you learn about yourself; you find out what you love, and you find out who you are."
Aww, Elizabeth...
Our first day in Germany!
1 Nov 2007
Two years ago, a boy whistled at me when I walked into the band room to deliver some papers to the teacher. Today i am half-way around the world breathing in the fresh air of the Harz Mountains in his backyard. I didn't know Johannes very well in the year he spent at my hometown high school, but he was always very friendly (except when he gave me a hard time for scoring higher than him on a biology test). And one day in class, I mentioned to him that I wanted to study in Ireland in college. And he told me that if I was ever in Europe, I should come visit him and stay at his house in Germany... and I didn't forget that invitation. As soon as I knew I was going to be spending a year in Ireland, I sent him an email asked him if his offer was still good. He said "of course," that they have a guest room, that I could bring a friend, and that his parents were great hosts.
And so, for our first vacation from school in Ireland, my new friends, Elizabeth and Tom, and I traveled to Germany-- a totally foreign world-- all by ourselves. none of us know a word of German (except now the swear words that our new German friends taught us), and it's a wonder we made it here at all.
Monday morning we awoke at 3am to meet our cab at 4. We rode to the Dublin airport where we promptly got on the WRONG plane and almost ended up somewhere in Spain. The steward caught it just before the plane took off and just after we had gotten settled into our seats. Three different people had checked our tickets, and none of them noticed that we were in the wrong place. We felt like stupid Americans... but we were just glad that someone finally noticed and got us off that airplane.
Upon returning to the airport terminal, we ran into our German friend Gesa from Maynooth. it turned out we were taking the same plane to Frankfurt-Hahn! So we all waited for the RIGHT plane and boarded together. I slept soundly for the hour and a half flight, and as soon as we got off the plane, our luggage was there for us. We walked through passport control and customs and straight to the bus ticket booth. Gesa helped us get tickets to the Frankfurt airport and train station (even though the woman spoke English, I think). We said goodbye to Gesa, and I slept again for the two hours it took for us to get to Frankfurt on the bus. When we got to Frankfurt, Tom was freaking out about the train situation, but I told him just to trust me. We followed the signs to the train travel center and got tickets (EXPENSIVE TICKETS) to Osterode am Harz. With our extra time, we purchased and consumed some frankfurters in Frankfurt-- delicious! We boarded our first German train and chose some seats in a quiet compartment. The German trains are SO nice-- with automatic glass doors separating the many compartments. When the train man came to check our tickets, he told us we were in first class. So, once again we were uprooted. We made our way back to second class and eventually found three seats together behind an adorable little boy telling loud stories in German and giggling. I didn't understand the stories, but I understood the laughter.
A few train changes (and a missed train and a stop at Burger King) later, we found ourselves in Osterode about an hour early. As non of our cell phones worked internationally, we found an information office and asked if they had a phone. The woman directed us to a payphone outside. We tried to call Johannes, but each time we punched in the numbers, a German voice cut in and the phone went dead. So, we tried texting him from the payphone, and that worked! We sat on a bench at the train stop and waited for him.
About a half hour later, Johannes climbed out of his friend Eike's Volkswagon on his crutches and greeted us. (He had had surgery on his leg the week before). We exchanged a somewhat awkward hug and got our luggage and ourselves into the VW. When we pulled up to his house, I knew the week would be just as I'd imagined-- AMAZING! Even though it was dark out, we could see the grandeur of the place. Johannes gave us a tour of the house and the farm and took us up to the loft bedroom on the third floor that would be ours for the next few days. we had meat, cheese and bread (that Johannes cut for us with the fold-out bread cutter in a drawer in the kitchen), and fresh beef from his farm (which was AMAZING). We even met Oma (Grandma) and Johannes's aunt (who told us that when she was in South Africa, the first week she understood no English, the second week she understood a little, and by the third week she was dreaming in English!) Then we ran to the supermarket to get some drinks and snacks for the evening. When we returned, we made ourselves some kiddie cocktails and occupied ourselves with a puzzle until his friends got there. I also taught Elizabeth how to shoot a pool cue...
Johannes's friends trickled in, Eike taught us how to open a bottle of beer with a lighter, and we sat around until 3:30 in the morning talking with all of their friends. We met Christoph, vanessa, Leoni, Melani, Janine, Marcus, Andi, and Timo. There were lots of other kids there too, but man of them must have been shy about practicing their English with us. My new friend Christoph struggled through an hour of talking about Bambi and Japan. At 3:30, after being away for 24 hours straight, we finally retired to our lovely little loft in the attic...
Two years ago, a boy whistled at me when I walked into the band room to deliver some papers to the teacher. Today i am half-way around the world breathing in the fresh air of the Harz Mountains in his backyard. I didn't know Johannes very well in the year he spent at my hometown high school, but he was always very friendly (except when he gave me a hard time for scoring higher than him on a biology test). And one day in class, I mentioned to him that I wanted to study in Ireland in college. And he told me that if I was ever in Europe, I should come visit him and stay at his house in Germany... and I didn't forget that invitation. As soon as I knew I was going to be spending a year in Ireland, I sent him an email asked him if his offer was still good. He said "of course," that they have a guest room, that I could bring a friend, and that his parents were great hosts.
And so, for our first vacation from school in Ireland, my new friends, Elizabeth and Tom, and I traveled to Germany-- a totally foreign world-- all by ourselves. none of us know a word of German (except now the swear words that our new German friends taught us), and it's a wonder we made it here at all.
Monday morning we awoke at 3am to meet our cab at 4. We rode to the Dublin airport where we promptly got on the WRONG plane and almost ended up somewhere in Spain. The steward caught it just before the plane took off and just after we had gotten settled into our seats. Three different people had checked our tickets, and none of them noticed that we were in the wrong place. We felt like stupid Americans... but we were just glad that someone finally noticed and got us off that airplane.
Upon returning to the airport terminal, we ran into our German friend Gesa from Maynooth. it turned out we were taking the same plane to Frankfurt-Hahn! So we all waited for the RIGHT plane and boarded together. I slept soundly for the hour and a half flight, and as soon as we got off the plane, our luggage was there for us. We walked through passport control and customs and straight to the bus ticket booth. Gesa helped us get tickets to the Frankfurt airport and train station (even though the woman spoke English, I think). We said goodbye to Gesa, and I slept again for the two hours it took for us to get to Frankfurt on the bus. When we got to Frankfurt, Tom was freaking out about the train situation, but I told him just to trust me. We followed the signs to the train travel center and got tickets (EXPENSIVE TICKETS) to Osterode am Harz. With our extra time, we purchased and consumed some frankfurters in Frankfurt-- delicious! We boarded our first German train and chose some seats in a quiet compartment. The German trains are SO nice-- with automatic glass doors separating the many compartments. When the train man came to check our tickets, he told us we were in first class. So, once again we were uprooted. We made our way back to second class and eventually found three seats together behind an adorable little boy telling loud stories in German and giggling. I didn't understand the stories, but I understood the laughter.
A few train changes (and a missed train and a stop at Burger King) later, we found ourselves in Osterode about an hour early. As non of our cell phones worked internationally, we found an information office and asked if they had a phone. The woman directed us to a payphone outside. We tried to call Johannes, but each time we punched in the numbers, a German voice cut in and the phone went dead. So, we tried texting him from the payphone, and that worked! We sat on a bench at the train stop and waited for him.
About a half hour later, Johannes climbed out of his friend Eike's Volkswagon on his crutches and greeted us. (He had had surgery on his leg the week before). We exchanged a somewhat awkward hug and got our luggage and ourselves into the VW. When we pulled up to his house, I knew the week would be just as I'd imagined-- AMAZING! Even though it was dark out, we could see the grandeur of the place. Johannes gave us a tour of the house and the farm and took us up to the loft bedroom on the third floor that would be ours for the next few days. we had meat, cheese and bread (that Johannes cut for us with the fold-out bread cutter in a drawer in the kitchen), and fresh beef from his farm (which was AMAZING). We even met Oma (Grandma) and Johannes's aunt (who told us that when she was in South Africa, the first week she understood no English, the second week she understood a little, and by the third week she was dreaming in English!) Then we ran to the supermarket to get some drinks and snacks for the evening. When we returned, we made ourselves some kiddie cocktails and occupied ourselves with a puzzle until his friends got there. I also taught Elizabeth how to shoot a pool cue...
Johannes's friends trickled in, Eike taught us how to open a bottle of beer with a lighter, and we sat around until 3:30 in the morning talking with all of their friends. We met Christoph, vanessa, Leoni, Melani, Janine, Marcus, Andi, and Timo. There were lots of other kids there too, but man of them must have been shy about practicing their English with us. My new friend Christoph struggled through an hour of talking about Bambi and Japan. At 3:30, after being away for 24 hours straight, we finally retired to our lovely little loft in the attic...
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Germany!
I will blog later... no time now, but feel free to peruse my pictures!
"We're in Germany!"
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2119463&l=bfe5f&id=5619987
"I never realized how much i love bananas"
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2119469&l=967e0&id=5619987
We're Living Here...
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2119494&l=35b3b&id=5619987
Grammel Mafia
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2119496&l=95cf5&id=5619987
Ellis the Horse
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2119498&l=f25df&id=5619987
Son of a Bee Sting
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2119504&l=c8529&id=5619987
Auf Wiedersehen, Germany!
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2119500&l=6da21&id=5619987
In short, it was one of the most amazing weeks of our lives! And we want to go back!
"We're in Germany!"
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2119463&l=bfe5f&id=5619987
"I never realized how much i love bananas"
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2119469&l=967e0&id=5619987
We're Living Here...
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2119494&l=35b3b&id=5619987
Grammel Mafia
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2119496&l=95cf5&id=5619987
Ellis the Horse
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2119498&l=f25df&id=5619987
Son of a Bee Sting
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2119504&l=c8529&id=5619987
Auf Wiedersehen, Germany!
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2119500&l=6da21&id=5619987
In short, it was one of the most amazing weeks of our lives! And we want to go back!
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