Nearly Home

What an amazing journey we’ve had on this trip! If anyone had ever said that someday I would be going to Germany for five weeks with four people I barely knew and staying in the homes of people I’d just met, I would have told them they were out of their minds. I can’t say that every minute of this trip was perfect, but I can tell you that I would not have traded it for the world. There were days when I simply could not believe how lucky I was to be in such a beautiful country with such wonderful, generous people. I kept thinking how lucky I was to have been given the opportunity . . .

GSE is hard work, so don’t think that we were just over here sipping wine and drinking beer for the last five weeks, because that’s far from the truth. Okay, I am quite certain that we each had our fair share of the aforementioned beverages while we were here, but we also were almost exclusively on the go each day with jam-packed schedules that had us walking halfway across Lower Saxony! Most days were long–sometimes they seemed too long–but a new day would dawn with other great adventures before us.

I think I surprised myself on this trip at how intensely I experienced emotions while living a life that seemed so unlike my own. I know that statement probably didn’t make all that much sense, so let me try to explain . . . we stayed with wonderful people who wanted to give and show us their best every day, and some days I just didn’t feel that I could possibly be waited on or taken care of for another minute. I never realized how truly independent I was until I came on this trip and suddenly was surrounded by fantastic folks who wanted to do everything for me. I know many of them thought me to be strange . . . I didn’t drink coffee, I didn’t put milk and sugar in my tea (which I told them that I would normally drink out of a VERY large cup with lots of ice each morning), and I wasn’t a fan of water “with gas.” Despite those odd, seemingly inconsequential differences, I have some great memories of the people I met along the way who helped keep us entertained, fed us some amazing food, and showed us some beautiful, interesting sights.   

To all of those who helped me get here–the Rotarians, my family, my coworkers, and my friends–I say thank you. To all the folks I’ve met during my five weeks here in Germany–my host families, the District 1850 GSE coordinator, and the GSE coordinators from Nordenham, Bremen, Diepholz-Vechta, Leer, and Oldenburg–I say Vielen Dank! Last, but certainly not least, I just have to say that my teammates rock! The five of us made a motley crew over here, but we survived all the ups and downs of each others’ moods (and there was no blood shed, believe it, or not!) and have formed some lasting friendships. So . . . I’m just sayin’ . . . Wow!

A Not-So-Brief Update

For those of you who may be wondering . . . we really are still in Germany. I apologize for my absence from the blog (you can tell that I’m not the only one who’s been absent), but we have had precious little time on the internet, and most of those brief moments have been spent reconnecting with family back home.

Since a couple of weeks have passed since my previous blog post, let me catch you up with some of the highlights after leaving Bremen: 

Hanging Out

During our time with the Rotary Club of Diepholz-Vechta, our coordinator Erich Rühmkorf filled our days with his wonderful humor and grace and showed us much of the beautiful countryside, including the Diepholzer Moor low lands, the State gardens at Bad Essen, and Kalkriese (site of the battle 

View from the Observation Tower at Kalkriese

 between the Roman Empire and German tribes in the year 9 A.D.). I would have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed all of the natural beauty and history Erich arranged for us to see, but—if I’m being totally honest—I would have to say that the visit he arranged for us to the Lloyd shoe factory in 

Lloyd Shoe Factory

Diepholzer Moor Low Lands

State Gardens at Bad Essen

Suligen was the highlight of my time in Diepholz-Vechta (David and Arlen were fascinated by this tour as well, so don’t think that I only enjoyed it because I’m a woman in a shoe factory!). For the record, the factory only produces Lloyds’ men’s line. However, their women’s styles were available in the factory store, and I couldn’t resist picking up a couple pair of high-quality shoes . . . and they were on sale! :o) 

Alicia, Deena, and I had the opportunity to stay with the same host family—the Geisings—in Vechta, which was quite a bit of fun. The Gerhard, Elizabeth, and their daughter Gatha treated us so wonderfully, and we had so much fun with them. When we first arrived with all of our baggage in tow, we were a bit concerned as Gatha kept climbing stairway after stairway to the third floor. We weren’t sure the stairs were ever going to stop, and we certainly weren’t sure that we would be able to haul our bags all the way up after such

Our Hosts - The Geisings

 a long, tiring drive. We managed and settled in for a wonderful stay. Elizabeth took such great care of us, and we truly enjoyed her company. She taxied us from place to place throughout our stay, and we got the chance to sing along with her in the car with music from The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkle, and Miley Cyrus (yes, I just said Miley Cyrus—it was not a typo) as she blasted music through the stereo. We laughed a lot with the Geisings and spent a wonderful evening drinking wine (only about four bottles) and looking at photos from their Scotland trip (they returned the same day that we arrived!). We were sad to leave, as we had really enjoyed our time with them. However, the representatives from Rotary Club Leer arrived to deliver us to our next destination.

Deena and Me with the Brinkemas

Deena and I were again paired up with the same host family: Dr. Heinrich and Heilke Brinkema. Heinrich is a retired dentist, and their son has taken over the practice in the building next to their house. Heilke fed us some amazing meals during our brief stay. The table setting was immaculate and precise, and the presentation of the food was like something out of a gourmet restaurant. Heilke is a woman who certainly knows a thing or two about entertaining. The thing that made us fall in love with the Brinkemas on our very first day with them was their willingness to let us truly enjoy our off time. I think that day was the first chance Deena and I had to sleep in on this entire trip. The Brinkemas hadn’t spoken English in a very long time but were wonderful hosts who managed to communicate with us remarkably well despite our lack of a common language. They referred to us as their children to the other Rotarians when we were together, and I considered that a wonderful compliment.

 I’m not even certain where to begin when it comes to updating you on the time we spent with the Leer club. Perhaps it’s easier to just give you all a bullet-point list of the things we did. However, I first need to tell you about the man who kept our days filled with exciting and amazing activities. Our coordinator in Leer was Gert Ehlert, a sweet man with a kind heart and a wonderful sense of humor who put much time and effort into showing us (okay, seriously . . . we are flying along the Autobahn at 230 km/h right now . . . holy crap!!!) some of the most amazing sights of our GSE experience.

Day One – Boat trip on River Ems to the Netherlands where we enjoyed a fantastic dinner in a Dutch restaurant (too much wine for me at dinner, though . . . ouch!). 

Day Two – Off time with host families and then a group dinner at the Ehlert’s

A Section of the East Side Gallery (Berlin Wall)

Day Three – Load van for Berlin with a stop along the way to meet the GSE Team from Washington State/Vacouver Island, BC for a presentation at Enercon (a large manufacturer of wind turbines) followed by a chance for our team to got to the top of a working turbine. Those of you who know me have probably already guessed by now that I opted to keep both of my feet planted firmly on the ground, but I know that the rest of the team thoroughly enjoyed their experience at the top!  

View of the Sony Center at Night

Deena and Me on the Bus Tour

Day Four – BERLIN!!!! We had a tour of the city by bus and got to see the amazing combination of past and present, in both history and architecture. We stopped at Checkpoint Charlie to explore for a bit before loading back in the bus to go to the Brandenburg Gate. After we left the bus tour, we had the chance to explore the area around the Gate before meeting back up with the rest of the group for our tour of the Reichstag. Our team took the opportunity to look at the stunning, sobering Holocaust Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe. The site contains 2711 concrete blocks of different heights on ground that is sloped and with slightly rolling walkways (hopefully the photos will make it easier for you to understand my description). We were on to the Reichstag after this sobering bit of exploration. The Reichstag is an impressive sight to behold. We were fortunate enough to see inside where the Bundestag (Parliament) meets. We also walked the 755-ft. long helical ramps to the top of the dome to get some wonderful, 360-degree views of the city. Unfortunately for us, it happened to be raining on this day, so our photos were not as nice as we would have liked them to be. To top off our day, we were treated to a variety performance called Qi at the Fredrichstadt Palast (the largest theatre stage in the world).

The Team (minus the photographer) at the Brandenburg Gate

The Ramps up the Reichstag Dome

The Reichstag

 Day Five (Berlin) – We started off with a visit to the Pergamon Museum (one of the world’s major archaeological museums) where some of the main attractions include the Pergamon Altar from the 2^nd century BC, the Isthar Gate, and the Processional Street of Babylon which both date back to the time of King Nebuchadnezzar. The museum was a stunning mix of ancient architecture and artifacts that was awesome to behold. After the Pergamon, we took a boat tour on the River Spree to learn more about the historic buildings and districts along the stretch of the river which runs past the Berlin Dom (cathedral) on one end to a point near the Reichstag. It was a fun way to view the river and the neighboring areas while staying out of the rain. After our boat trip, we had some free time for shopping and wandering, which was a treat. That night, we capped off our day by viewing a performance of the Berlin Philharmonic (let me just say . . . beautiful). 

Our group after the Berlin Philharmonic

The Holocaust Memorial

Day Six (Berlin) – This day began our last hours in Berlin, and I was reluctant to leave. The city is beautiful and intriguing—so full of history and culture, and rich with wonderful people—and I am planning a return trip in the near future (pack your bags, Troy!). We started our day with a trip to the Berliner Dom (originally built between 1894 and 1905 under Kaiser Wilhelm II and rebuilt in the 1970s after sustaining heavy damage during WWII). While the ornate interior of this Protestant cathedral was beautiful, I was most fascinated by the Hollenzollern family crypt which lies beneath it and contains over 90 sarcophagi from the 15^th to the 20^th century. Believe it or not, I did climb the stairs all the way to the top of the dome and stepped outside to see the panoramic view of the city. I must admit, however, that I wasn’t outside on the walkway more than 30 seconds (and my view was FAR less than panoramic) before I freaked out and stepped back inside to get myself back to a more agreeable altitude. I did see the view of the city from the top, but not much of it. The way I see it, I got in a GREAT workout. Ha! We left the Dom and headed to an exhibit titled “The Story of Berlin.” We began our tour with a visit to a public bomb shelter that was constructed during the Cold War. It was such an eerie feeling to be in that place and to hear the guide tell us about what life would have been like for people who might have been forced to seek shelter there. The exhibit upstairs was wonderfully done and provided an astounding account of how Berlin was formed and grew into the city it is today. The exhibit covers the whole story—both good and bad—through remarkable sights, sounds, and words. We were free on our own recognizance after the exhibit, with orders to meet at KaDeWe (the largest upscale department store in all of Germany) at 3:00 for departure back to Leer. Deena and I wandered off in search of a camera to replace mine that had unfortunately been dropped and broken the night before. Funny thing—buying a camera in Europe means facing a language and power-source barrier for an American. The instructions in the box were offered in six different languages, but not English (thank goodness the software had an English version of the manual!), and the power cord included for charging the battery can only be used in Northern Europe! Oh, well . . . at least I have a camera that works now.

Me at the Jewish Memorial

Alicia and Me Enjoying our First Beer in Berlin

 Day Seven – Our last full day with the folks from Leer led us to the Meyer Werft (ship yard) in Papenburg where luxury cruise liners are constructed. It was exciting to see the newest Disney ships being built. The Disney Dream is nearly completed and slated for launch in October of this year. Once it’s launched, it will be the largest cruise liner in operation in the world. Its sister ship is slated for completion shortly thereafter. It was incredible to hear about and see this process in such an up-close, personal way. It was a fantastic way to round out our experiences in Leer. At day’s end, our team gave our presentation at a gathering (not a regular meeting) of several Rotarians of the Rotary Club Leer, and the treated us to a lovely barbecue dinner that allowed us to relax and have fun with our new friends for the last time before moving on to our next stop.

 I just have to say that this entire trip so far has exceeded every expectation I ever had about the people I have met and the things I have seen, done, and eaten. I am truly having a once-in-a-lifetime experience thanks to folks who are some of the most kind-hearted, generous, lovely people I have ever met.  

Danke, Bremen!

My host, Hildegard

Bremen was an interesting adventure for me in so many ways. My host for the duration of my stay in Bremen was Hildegard Rasch, an animated, strong-minded, force to be reckoned with. She told me some great stories about her life as a young woman in Germany and about her travels to the states. She has a very lovely home with beautiful gardens and lives a comfortable, full life. She made me laugh many times and gave me several fun little memories to take away with me.

Hildegard's house from the front

The garden in Hildegard's back yard

Me with Dr. Peters from Bremer Landesbank

My vocational days in Bremen were great fun. I think I mentioned my first two visits in previous posts but did not get a chance to tell you about my last vocational day. It was a wonderful visit to the Bremer Landesbank. I spent the morning with Dr. Chrisitan Peters, who was a great host and explained his very interesting job of financing ship building. I can guarantee you that he is making much bigger deals than anyone in Hutchinson, Kansas and travels all over Europe to meet with clients–it kind of makes my job seem a bit less glamorous than I thought it was. LOL

Our GSE Coordinator in Bremen, Thomas

We had such a great time with Thomas, our GSE coordinator in Bremen. He took great care of us and made certain that we were well fed the whole time we were there. We had an interesting experience at one restaurant during our visit that resulted in us having our meal at a bratwurst stand in the marketplatz. Let’s just say that it was a long evening in a restaurant that was cleary struggling to keep up with their customers. Enough said.

Our lazy, lovely, river cruise

Our "ride" to Worpswede

Thomas made certain that we were able to get some relaxing in before we left Bremen. Yesterday, he and his wife Claudia took us on a boat cruise starting on the River Weser and continuing on two of its tributaries: the Lesum and the Hamme. It was a relaxing, beautiful trip that ended at Neu-Helgoland, where we boarded a horse coach to the artist village Worpswede. We were able to walk around looking at art and browsing through a few shops (Believe it, or not, I didn’t buy anything!). We were taken by taxi back to Bremen-Vegesack to walk around the River Weser–the harbor and to see the Segelschulschiff Deutschland. We enjoyed a lovely dinner at Havenhaus before returning back to our host families to pack and to sleep.

Aboard the big ship

Ship's masts

Sunday morning, Alicia and I went to Pentecost Mass with Hildegard. The church was beautiful and very old. We enjoyed the service (even though we didn’t understand the language) but didn’t enjoy the hard, unpadded wooden kneelers. After church, we went to Claudia’s beautiful art studio in Lesum. The food was wonderful, the company was great, and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Before leaving Lesum, we took a beautiful walk through the countryside to soak up some of the beauty of the area.

At Claudia's Studio

View of Lesum on our walk

Thomas transported us to Vechta–the next stop on our journey–and so we said goodbye to our new friends and set out on the next leg of our journey. Danke, Bremen!

Free Wi-Fi Rocks!

After an interesting visit to the Deutsche Factoring Bank this morning (where I actually learned what factoring is for the first time), I ran into David along the River Weser (think Visa, not weezer). We hung out for a while, hoping another team member might cross our path. When that didn’t happen, we wandered off in search of an Internet connection. I had decided not to lug my computer along all day but had tossed my iPod Touch in my bag for good measure. Luckily, we quickly found a quaint coffee shop with free wireless Internet! David is finally getting a chance to blog, and both of us are enjoying reconnecting with family at home.

Stupid me left the house this morning without taking my stash of Euros, so I enjoyed my first experience with a German ATM. Fortunately, I had the option to complete my transaction in English :0) This afternoon has been laid back and relaxing–a far cry from my stressful morning of hopping a bus and then a streetcar headed to a location I wasn’t quite sure I would find. I was filled with panic at the prospect of getting lost in a city where I didn’t speak the language and only had a public transportation map–not even one of city streets! My nerves were brought into check once I exited the streetcar to begin walking to my destination and saw David standing at the streetcar stop trying to figure out where in the heck he was supposed to be going. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so much like the stupid American abroad. Without incident, we both made it to our vocational visits!

Banking in Bremen

Today I spent my vocational time at Sparkasse Bremen. I have enjoyed a lovely day with people who have been very patiently explaining German banking practices and indulging my need for caffeine (black tea, please!). The Sparkasse Bremen is MUCH larger than Central Bank and Trust Co., as they have nearly 50 branches with over 1500 employees! We talked a bit today about the concept of overdraft fees (a concept foreign to them) and also about how people train for jobs in their bank and move up in the company. We had a very informative visit! Since I have no internet access with my host, they have secured a computer for me to use before I meet up with my team at the Bremen Cathedral here in about half an hour. Everyone has been so gracious to me, and I am very appreciative of their hospitality. I must admit that I am struggling a bit with this German keyboard, however! Hopefully I can find an internet cafe tomorrow to be able to post some photos. Dinner tonight is at the Ratskellar. I am very excited to dine at this famous place, but I do not know how much I will be able to eat, as the shrimp pizza and fresh salad I had at lunch was VERY filling!

A Walk Through History

Alicia listening to information about the passenger she’s following.

The poor, scary passengers in steerage class.

Deena and David posing as emigrant passengers.

Alicia and David waiting to be served a meal that’s never going to arrive.

I KNEW I shouldn’t have packed so many shoes!

German Emigration Center, Bremerhaven

Today we visited the German Emigration Center at Bremerhaven. I thoroughly enjoyed the detailed, interactive walkthrough. Our tour included following the progress of a real German emigrant through the entire process of boarding and seeing the different types of accomodations they stayed in (steerage, 3rd, 2nd, or 1st class). What differences between the cabin classes! We had the opportunity for several wonderful photo ops and took full advantage. I’ll post a few here for you all to see. As it’s late, I’m only telling about the first half of our day. Hopefully one of my teammates will pick up where I left off and tell you about our bus tour of Bremerhaven’s working harbor, as that was another sight to behold.

Beautiful Silence

Perhaps one of the most pleasant discoveries we’ve made about this part of Germany is how quiet it is outside. Even with traffic moving on the streets and highways, there’s such a peacefulness about this area. Several different times today, Deena and I commented to each other about the stillness around us. Neither of us is used to that beautiful silence back home–often the wind is blowing so hard you can’t hear yourself think!

Deena and I are staying with a wonderful host family: Dr. Werner Wodrich, his wife Ulrike (we are to call her Uli), Simon (13), and Marisa (12). Werner is an OB/GYN, and Uli works part time at the children’s school. They have been taking very good care of us and feeding us well. Tonight they served us a beautiful meal of seafood native to the North Sea: smoked eel (it was delicious!), tiny prawns (smaller than a dime!), herring two ways–smoked and natural (I wasn’t as fond of the herring), and white asparagus. Of course, we enjoyed sparkling wine BEFORE dinner, white wine DURING dinner, and a couple of small shots of prosecco and a raspberry liquer that Werner insisted we try AFTER dinner. The look on Deena’s face when she knocked those drinks back was priceless! We learned a bit more about Simon and Marisa today, as well. Simon competed in a ping pong tournament today and is apparently quite the runner–he likes the long distances. Marisa is a huge fan of a television show–Germany’s Next Top Model (hosted by Heidi Klum, of course!), and she enjoyed a wonderful birthday party at a friend’s home today where they had a “Nordenham’s Next Top Model” theme. It sounded like they had come up with some very creative ideas for some fun photo shoots. Hopefully we will get to see the pictures before we have to leave.

I enjoyed an informative meeting with Marco Schnakenberg from Raiffeisenbank for the part of my day that was devoted to a vocational visit. Marco explained several interesting things to me. I was surprised to learn that checks are almost NEVER used in Germany! Monies are moved from person to person by way of bank transfer. You would essentially give your bank information to the person who owes you money, and he would go online and transfer the money directly from his account to yours! I asked if this created quite a bit of fraud, and Marco assured me that there are multiple numbers (PINs, transactions numbers, and such) that eliminate the chance for fraud. He also indicated that this information can only be used to deposit money–NOT to withdraw. One other VERY interesting thing I learned from Marco is that the way credit cards are used in Germany is not at all like in the U.S. In Germany, when you apply for a credit card, you must supply your checking account information, as it is used for billing purposes. If you charge items on your credit card, your checking account will be debited at the end of the billing month for the total amount of your purchases! This means that you can never truly get into credit card debt. However, since there is often a fairly large line of credit tied to most checking accounts (they use a formula based on the total amount of monthly deposits to your account), there is a strong possibility that you can get into debt with your bank, and the interest rates are very high for these lines of credit.

Well, it’s been an exhausting day, and the pain medication for my spider bite is starting to kick in, so it’s time for me to sign off. Tomorrow I will try to post some more photos. Tonight, I’m only attaching two: one of me and Marco in his office and one of the lobby of Marco’s bank.

Waiting to Depart

We all made it to the airport and got checked in! Hopefully noone forgot anything, as it’s too late now . . . departure time is 4:40. After that, our long journey begins. Right now I’m praying for forgiving skies–no massive storms, please! Thanks for all your well wishes for our team. We will post more down the line. Here’s to safe travels!

WAITING UPDATE:
We’re tracking a line of storms that are headed our way and are currently passing through Hutchinson right now. Everybody is in their basement or shelter (called the kids at daycares and schools respectively). Everyone be safe. Here’s what the radar looks like right now…. yikes.

Dinner and a Few Laughs

We had a great evening out with our significant others at Jillian’s in Hutchinson. I believe we’re all starting to get very excited.

Working Out the Details

Hard at Work

So, we’re sitting at HCC ironing out the final details for our presentation. Lots of tweaking and shuffling will result in a great-looking final product. Things are starting to come together nicely.