First week...over already????

It’s been a while since I’ve posted but I’ve been on the road and haven’t had internet connection. I have written from Tuesday to Sunday and will catch up as soon as I get to Vienna…enjoy!

Tuesday, June 15^th

My first full day in Herne was quite relaxing. Val and Werner both had to work so I got to spend most of the day just hanging out. I got up early to have breakfast with them before they left and then took some time to watch some tv. It was nice to flip through the channels and what I love the most is catching up on my music videos. Of course, right now, they are mostly songs for the WM (World Cup) but there are still some good ones out there. I also took the time to watch a couple of soccer games and talk with my Lil’ Sis. We talked for over an hour which is easy for us to do =) I knew I would be on the road so I took the opportunity to check in with her. So far so good and there will soon be a nephew in my life. But more on that later…Val called around 4:30 so say she was on her way home. Once they got home we went to Hoheward. It’s a hill, or what Alabamians would call a mountain, that has a beautiful view. It took us about 20 minutes at a nice pace to reach the top. From there, we got a beautiful view of several different cities. It was perfect weather for a climb. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing. It was chilly at the top but perfect for the walk up. At the top we took our time looking around and enjoying the weather. We then headed back down to head into Bochum. In Bochum, we went to the Dreieck (a pedestrian area with tons of bars and restaurants) for some dinner. There is a famous Wursthaus famous for it currywurst but I chose the bratwurst and was not disappointed. They were delicious along with some warm crispy fries. We then came to conclusion that some dessert would be just right so we walked into town for some ice cream and coffee. It was DELICIOUS!! It was so nice to simply “hang out” with friends. We spent some time watching a little more tv before deciding to head to bed. I had a long train ride ahead of me in the morning.

Wednesday, June 16^th

It was an early morning but I knew Val had to get to work and I didn’t want to make her late. She took me to the train station and dropped me off. We said our good-byes but a year will go by so fast and it’ll be time to visit again. She left for work while headed in to get some breakfast from the bakery. Delish! I bought a sandwich and coke for the train ride. I had a good 30 minutes before my train left so I mosied around the train station to kill some time. There was a wonderful fresh market just outside so I looked at all the fresh fruits, veggies, eggs, meat, cheese, and flowers. As I walked through, I wished such a market would appear in Opelika. Man oh man that would be great! Anywho, I went back into the train station so as not to miss my train and noticed I had a 45 minute delay. I know many of you think the Germans are extremely punctual but that is a false stereotype. These delays appear quite often with trains and busses. So I went out into the city for a brief walk. I found the 1€ store and looked through the tourist information. I couldn’t walk anymore, I was so tired, so I decided to head to the platform and just wait. The train arrived on its delayed time, I found my seat, and went to sleep. I woke up about an hour from my destination. I made it safely to Baden-Baden and met Andrea for coffee and cake. Again, it was delish! After coffee, we had a couple of errands to run before getting on the road tomorrow. We stopped by the grocery store to get some picnic food for our trip and then to her god daughter’s for dinner. Anna, the god daughter, turned 11 and Andrea wanted to take her gift. I was fortunate to get to tag along. The family is extremely friendly. Anna, 11, and Felix, 9, were quite entertaining. Their mother, Simone, has been friends with Andrea for years. It was fun to watch the kids play. During our visit, Simone got a phone call. She told the person that Andrea and America was there to visit. From that point on, I was America. In honor of the WM everyone decided they should all be a country. It was fun but it couldn’t last too long. Andrea still had to pack so we headed “home”. I didn’t have to stress too much about packing because I still had the morning while Andrea worked. So it was off to bed for me =)

Thursday, June 17^th

Once again, I had a morning of nothing much. Andrea went to work and I got to have the apartment to myself. I couldn’t believe it. I woke up at 10:30. I had slept 10 full hours and only woke up once when I heard Andrea walk through the living room. It was a great feeling but it was also one of those, “Man, that’s half the day”. Either way, I took time to sit around and watch some more tv. I also packed for our trip to Schwandorf and also had to repack my suitcase for Vienna. As soon as Andrea got home from work, we loaded the car and headed to Karlsruhe. There we met the rest of the group for our trip. There were a total of 10 so Christiane rode with us in Andrea’s Mercedes A class and the others in a VW bus. We had to pick up a couple of people along the way but before long, we were all ready to head to Oberpfalz. The group included Uwe, Ines, Steffi, Achim, Isolde, Fritz, and Maria. Gerhard and Wolfgang met us later at the hotel. Now, you’re probably wondering what this trip was all about. Well, I just kind of happened to be here when they had their “Home Town Tour”. They are all friends from various aspects of life and decided a couple of years ago to plan yearly trips to each others’ hometowns. This year was Maria’s turn. They planned the trip and were gracious to let me tag along. I personally think it’s a great idea to plan such weekends. It’s a great time to get together and share your past with your friends. I personally know a good bit about my hometown but not everything. I’m sure many of you are like me. There are things just around the corner that I’ve never seen but feel the need to see when there are guests that need to be entertained. It took us about 6 hours from Karlsruhe to Schwandorf. Of course, about 45 minutes of that was spent in a traffic jam but we finally made it to our hotel. It was in a beautiful location with a restaurant just across the parking lot. The first leg of the trip ended with a meal together. The VW bus riders were extremely hungry but the A class riders were content. We were prepared with snacks and sandwiches. That didn’t stop us from enjoying yet another meal for the evening because we were unsure of our next one.

Friday, June 18^th

Well, the day began with a lovely breakfast buffet and some nice hot coffee. The weather has been a little chilly so it was nice to have a warm drink. After breakfast we loaded up to attend our first event, a brewery tour. It was quite interesting…especially for me. The tour guide was extremely nice but spoke quite softly. What made it even worse was his use of the Bavarian dialect. I don’t know really how to explain it but in 10 minutes of the tour I understood maybe 10 words. All in all it was a descent tour. We then loaded back up to have some lunch. There was a beer garden waiting for us with white sausages. White sausages are the typical Bavarian breakfast which should be served warm with a wheat beer before 11 am. I personally am not a fan of them so I choose the bratwurst with kraut and apple juice. Maybe it’s my Methodist/Baptist background but beer before noon seems wrong. Either way, we enjoyed yet another meal together and then loaded up for our next stop, the farm. Maria took us to her family’s farm where she grew up. The first and MOST important thing to do was watch the soccer game between Germany (0) and Serbia (1). That was so much fun. It was much like watching a football game on any given Saturday in the fall. We all took our places and no one talked until half time. Even after the game, there was conversation of what was done wrong and what should be done for the next game against Ghana. I just loved it! Before taking a tour of the farm, we were all escorted to a beautiful balcony for some coffee and cake. It was just perfect. The tour of the farm was also extremely interesting. I mean, I had seen cows and been in a pasture with them but this was something different. Maria’s father and brother told us the ins and outs of the dairy farm which has been in the family since the 1500s. Amazing! They were all so wonderful about asking me if I could understand or had any questions. From the farm we headed back into the city for a tour of the underground…literally. We met our tour guide for a tour of the underground system in Schwandorf. There was a connection of cellars that were used for beer brewing and later for storage. During WWII, 4000 people spent 4 weeks in the underground. I cannot imagine. There are no words and there would be no way I could ever know what that must have been like. It was freezing down there. The tour lasted about 2 hours and it was difficult to focus on anything but being cold after about an hour. A nice schnapps helped but not for long. We finally reached the surface, which made me happy, and headed to dinner. Once again, it was time to eat!!

Saturday, June 19^th

After a long day of tours and travels, it was time to start all over again. We started once again with a healthy breakfast and then we were off. Our first stop was Wackersdorf. We had planned a tour but the tour guide wasn’t there and we were a few minutes late so we made other arrangements. We took an hour and a half walk through the forest. Once again, perfect weather. It was a little chilly but the sun was shining so I had no complaints. Then it was off to a nice lunch at the Sternberger See (lake). This was something neat to see. I saw a sign for water skiing. Of course, I’m thinking a lake with boats and skiers. That was not the case. There were skiers but no boats. The skiers held a rope that was attached to a line. It appeared to be much like a ski lift but on water. They had ramps set up for jumps and stunts so it was definitely something different. There is probably something similar in the states but I have never seen anything like that on Lake Martin. Well…we ate lunch and had an appointment to tour Schwandorf so it was back to the city. Our tour guide was great! He was young and mixed history with jokes and folks tales about the city. I was impressed and ready for our next adventure. This was a tour of the church and kindergarten that Maria attended. It was beautiful and it was great to have Maria talk about her memories. Then, you know what comes next…dinner time! There was a small family owned restaurant just across the street where I ordered pork shoulder with a potato dumpling and salad. Again, it was DELISH! While I was stuffed, there was a dessert on the menu that I couldn’t pass up, Apfelküchle. Josh understands why! I managed to order and eat it. I went to bed with a full belly. There was one more day in the weekend so I needed a good night’s sleep.

Sunday, June 20^th

Alright…so here we go again. After another lovely breakfast, we made our way to the city of Nabburg. It’s a beautiful place that is still surrounded by its original fortification wall from the Middle Ages. Our tour guide was friendly and knowledgeable while giving us just enough info to keep it interesting. They have a renaissance fair every year and that would be something to see. Everyone dressed as if from years past. Maybe that should be on my list for future trips =) Of course, we finished the tour and began thinking about food. We all decided to head to our next destination, the Freilandmuseum (Open Air Museum). We were scheduled for a tour at 2 entitled “Before there were tvs”. I was unsure of what to expect until I got there. It reminded me a lot of Old Alabama Town. It was set up in various “cities” with the typical house from that area. We were shown what children and families did during the day before there was a tv in the house. The families spent their days working and spending time together. It was quite interesting to see and our tour guide spoke in a dialect I could understand…most of the time. She switched between the dialect and the high German quite often which was nice for me. One of the highlights of the day was the elder bloom cake “Hollerküchl”. It was like eating a funnel cake but with an elder bloom holding the deep fried dough together. There was even some powdered sugar sprinkled on top. I think a deep fried elder bloom would have great success in Alabama…of course, anything could succeed in Alabama if it were deep fried. Speaking of Alabama, I made my mother proud. I took my Lake Martin Living with me to the museum and we took a group photo. You have to understand, we gave her a hard time last year for wanted to take group pictures everywhere we went with Lake Martin magazines. Either way, I should ask for her forgiveness. It was fun to take the picture. In fact, everyone enjoyed flipping through looking at the pictures of the lake. Sorry mom…I love you!!! Any who, after our tour it was time to eat again. We sat together one last time for some coffee, hot chocolate, or beer with a piece of apple cake. I chose to have a cup of hot coffee but passed on the cake. I thought I had eaten enough for one weekend. We said our good-byes from the group. It was an amazing weekend and I felt blessed to be a part of it. It was so much fun to meet families and to make new friends. I was extremely nervous about spending time with a group but they made me feel like I was part of it.

Andrea and I hit the road headed for Regensburg. The drive took about 30 minutes. Along the way, we discussed the weekend together and were in agreement that it was great! We had reserved a room in the Altstadt (city center). We arrived with plenty of sunlight to discover the city but we had to brave the rain which was no trouble. After checking in, we headed into the city. It’s an amazingly old city that was spared during WWII. Everything is still as it was which is something to see. We saw many of the sites and churches but also did quite a bit of window shopping. Before we knew it, it was time to eat once again. As we ate our pizza and pasta, we made a shopping/to do list. There were a couple of things that we wanted to definitely to do before leaving the city. At the top of my list was the Dirndl shop, tourist info, and to see the cathedral. There were also some shoe stores and souvenir shops that needed to be viewed from the inside ;) After making our list we headed back to our hotel for the night. Before hitting the hay, we decided to make some plans for the rest of our travels. We reserved rooms for our next 3 nights via the internet. We were so tired that we decided to make other decisions on the spur of the moment. As long as we had a place to sleep we were happy. Now it was off to sleep until our next meal =) Stay tuned…