Home Church & A Walk

Well, blogging is still new to me obviously.  I wrote last night's blog while everyone slept only to discover this afternoon I hadn't published it!  I thought I had, & the good news is that the entire thing was saved, just waiting for me to publish it.  For me, it's true---life's a learning experience!

This morning, we decided to have church at home, so we listened to Grace Church in Greenville, SC, where the kids used to live.  It was a good sermon after which the 6 of us discussed several points.  Church in jammies if you like!

After a big pancake breakfast, then we split up & did different things.  Chris, Dave & I took a long walk through the fields behind the house & extended it a bit to go through a fancy neighborhood of big houses on big pieces of land.  At one gate, we saw a sign that said Luxenbourg Counselate.  Chris found a sugar beet lying on the ground at the edge of one field, so Dave took this picture.

As you can see, the trails just wind their way through the fields & pastures.  It feels very rural with horses & farms & only steps away from their house.

It's hard to beat a Sunday afternoon nap, & I had one today.  Now, I should cut this short & help Dana make another good dinner. 

We're planning a couple of day trips for this week, so stay tuned.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:  I forgot how much teenagers eat----

Back Home to Home Away From Home

9/29/12
We came back to Frankfurt on the train today & talked to some interesting Germans in our compartment as we traveled.  One was a German Chinese woman, born in Singapore but has lived in Frankfurt since she was 2.  She told us her parents had only her because of the one child policy which she thought was a good idea especially when comparing China to India.  I'd guess she was in her early 30's & is a medical doctor.  She also told us where to get good Chinese food in Frankfurt!

Before going to the train station, we walked the Tiergarten, the famous park where many famous & infamous people have walked.  It's beautiful.

The Tiergarten had swans swimming in the lakes too, & as you saw in the first picture, touring boats as well.  

Dana & Chris were at the station to meet us, & we had another great family dinner cooked by Dana after which Jessie made a brownie in a coffee mug in the microwave & Karl baked a cake---both delicious.

Along the street close to our hotel, Dave noticed two large signs that described in a few graphic paragraphs the horror & terror of the Nazis with the words NEVER FORGET on top.  It was surprise to see them, & even more surprising was that they were written in English.  Sorry about the reflection on the glass covering them.  

It's good to back home with this great family who make us feel so welcome.  In my Paris emails (I was too intimidated to try blogging back then), I usually ended with a thought of the day, so I'm going to do that again.  Forgive me if they ever get too sappy or preachy.  

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:  Family is comfort.  

Potsdam

9/28/12
Today we took the train to Potsdam which took about 30 minutes.  At the station there, we bought tickets for a city tour, & it was great.   I was most interested in two things:  Frederick the Great, whose castles are here, & the Potsdam Conference between Churchill, Truman & Stalin.  We actually stood on the terrace where those fellows posed in wicker chairs.  They were there to make the big decisions about land divisions after World War Two.  It was held in Cecilienhof, home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern of Prussia.  Ceciliennhof was built in the English style with half timbered walls & a magnificent garden.

From there, we drove through the "Siberian" area of Potsdam, where homes are still occupied by Russians & look like big log houses, but the guide said the logs are fake, merely attached to brick walls.  Oh well, they looked good anyway.

A famous Potsdam  castle built by Frederick the Great is named Sanssouchi, which means, "no worries/cares."  He loved this place & mostly lived here during his life.  He's known in Germany for introducing the potato to the people, who were starving but refused to eat anything from beneath the ground.  They thought that stuff was only for animals, so they were eating only leaves during a famine which didn't fill them enough.  Nowdays, people lay potatoes on his tomb; there were some there today.  Here's Sanssouchi:

Frederick built Neues Palais, or New Castle, to celebrate a war victory, but he didn't really live there; he mostly hosted official events there but lived in his beloved Sanssouchi.  The New Castle is huge & opulent.

We got off the bus after the tour in the city center & walked around the big pedestrian street where we had lunch.  This brings me to a bad joke.  The wurst is good here, but I'm the worst for having eaten so much!  Really, I was so happy to have pasta tonight for dinner.  It seems the choices are: Italian, German (lots of pork & potatoes---tasty but tiring), a few Thai & Asian restaurants or McDonalds.  I nearly forgot, I've seen some Argentinean beef places too.  No shortage of meat here!

Potsdam has its own Brandenburg Gate, a smaller version of Berlin's.

We're taking the train back Frankfurt where Dana & Chris will pick us up.  Funny, how far away from Moraga they live, so I should be used to separations from them, but I've missed the 4 (5 if you count Diego) of them a lot this trip.  We might take a little trip with them next week.  It depends on Chris' job & getting some time away.  The kids are off from school all next week!  

I'll leave you with one of the many welcome bears around the city.  This one's in front of our hotel, & it says welcome in many languages all over it.  I almost got run over by a bicycle when taking the picture.  I stupidly backed up on the sidewalk, getting into the bike lane, to take the picture just as a fast moving biker I didn't see approached.  For once, I'm glad I don't speak German, because her tone spoke volumes as she gave me the what for!  I said sorry, but ........

  

  

Trains & Money

9/28/12
We bought that 3 day rail pass for about 25 euros apiece, & we've yet to be checked.  So far, we could have done all our train rides for free if we were dishonest.  Dana told us agents randomly check people for tickets, but we've never seen that happen.  It's the honor system, for the most part.  We have our tickets at the ready, however!

Another thing we've noticed is that it seems to be a nearly all-cash society both in Frankfurt & here in Berlin.  We've not seen anyone paying with credit cards in restaurants or stores, so we haven't tried to either.  Thank goodness for convenient ATM's & banks.  Even at Ikea while making a major purchase, Dana had to pay with cash.  No credit cards accepted.

Busy Day, Some Sad, Some Fun--All Interesting

9/27/12
We went back to the farmers' market after they were set up for business, & here's some of what we saw:

We bought a ticket for a Berlin Circle tour bus for about 25 euros (for both of us).  It's great, because a bus arrives every 10 minutes at each of the 20 stops, so you can get off anywhere & see the sights in that area, then hop back on the bus & go to your next desired stop.  

We got off at Check Point Charlie & went into the museum which houses lots of artifacts & stories of both successful & unsuccessful attempts at escaping the eastern side of the wall.  No pictures were allowed in the museum, but none were needed for me to remember some of the poignant stories of courage & fear.  We saw many examples of ingenious escape methods: a glider, hot air balloon, special ladders, hoisting harnesses, compartments inside cars, trucks, suitcases, etc.....People were desperate to escape; that was evident. Here are some Check Point Charlie pictures.  Notice the McDonald's as close as possible to the line.

We walked to the Wall & experienced a graphic narrative, including pictures, with no words minced, of Hitler's rise to power & its results.  The word used most often was "murder/murdered" instead of "killed" or "executed."  As I walked the long stretch of remaining Wall & read of the unbelievable but true story, I felt worse & worse.  How could this happen?  There was a section on families separated & murdered, another on homosexuals, one on gypsies, & the worst for me was the questionably ill people, aka, epileptics, retarded, reclusive or mentally ill people.  On one, there was the picture of a beautiful 6 year old epileptic girl, who was murdered because of her genetic disability.  Dear God, those were hard to read.  Part of me wanted to get out of that place, & I'm safe & unafraid.  How must it have felt to be there in that time?  These are some pictures.  See the "WHY" on the first one?

On a lighter note, we got lunch at one of the many caravans/food trucks near Check Point Charlie, & I had a  Currywurst (wurst cut up & in a tomato-ish curry sauce with onions on top), & Dave had a regular bratwurst.  We shared a Coke, & it cost 7.5 euros.

Another section of the Berlin Wall was designated for artists, so it has become the largest outdoor modern art gallery.  I don't know how long it is, but here's a picture of a piece of it.  I took it from the bus while standing which broke a rule!  

Dave says there's a data limit on this hotel wifi per day, so I'd better stop here!  That scares me, another unknown for the day.  

              

Breakfast Fiasco, aka, Learn the Language, Judy!

9/27/12
We walked in the rain this morning to the train station, about 3 blocks away, to get a breakfast roll & coffee.  We also stopped in the grocery store along the way to get bottled water, because a bottle of Evian in our room costs 3.5 euros.  In the plaza in front of the grocery store, farmers & other vendors were setting up their stations for a big farmers' market.  Rain or shine, the market must go on.  From what I saw, it will be interesting to browse later.

So, to the point of the title---coming back to our room which requires we use a separate elevator from most other guests, we discovered by sort of reading a sign, that there's a free breakfast buffet for our floor!  So off we went to check it out, & it's terrific!  It has both American & German breakfast foods, yogurts, all kinds of breads, etc.  We went all that way in the rain for a pastry when we could have stayed in our hotel, traversed one floor up, & had a super good breakfast.  We did sit down for coffee & some more healthy choices anyway, but we're all set for the next 2 days.

Thanks to Kendra for telling me to look for the title field on this blog.  Now I can put titles on here!

9/26/12
We arrived Berlin this afternoon after the 4 hour train ride from Frankfurt & immediately began trying to figure out the subway & train system here.  There are helpful info niches in the massive terminal buildings, where we bought a 3 day rail pass, but it was still challenging.  We had a few back tracking episodes, up & down lots of stairs, many escalators, & even a funicular, but we prevailed & got to our hotel, a Best Western, which is more than adequate.  This is a picture of the beautiful Hauptbahnhof (train station) in Frankfurt.  That's Atlas holding up the world on top.


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I've noticed that the men in Germany seem to take care with their hair styles.  There are lots of asymmetrical cuts in front, on the sides, in back, & the guys appear to use lots of products to keep their hair in place.  I'd say more than the women I've seen with the exception of teen aged girls.  Most women I've observed are wearing more casual hair styles.  Men are also wearing something new to me---man pries, aka, capris for men!  They come to midway between the knee & ankle.  I suppose this is summer attire, & by the way, it was 72 degrees in Berlin today.  Perfect for man pries!  Sorry, no pictures of hair or clothes yet.  I'll try.

Just as we walked out of the train station, I saw this painted bear, & then we noticed a few more around town.  Must be like the Chicago cows or something.  

Also just outside the station was a group of young people with petitions to sign & waving placards with this sign prominently displayed.  Look carefully--it's a half Obama, half Romney face, & I don't know what the words say, but I'm guessing they're not warm & fuzzy.  

We dropped off our things at the hotel & struck out on another train adventure, this time to the Brandenburg Gate area (picture above).  We walked around that bustling area & over to see the Reichstag as well.

 

The American Embassy is in that same area.  It's huge & very modern.

Then we went to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, an area about  the size of a city block,with  3000 symbolic pillars, all concrete & in different sizes.  The ground slopes down & back up among the stones to symbolize a hopeless, helpless feeling.  Many people were strolling through with great quiet respect.  

We ended our jaunt with dinner at a German restaurant.  Dave got meatloaf, & when it came I thought it was a grilled cheese sandwich, cut corner to corner.  Very strange, but he said he liked it a lot.  Turns out, it was like fried bologna.  With it he had a sweet cucumber, cabbage salad & a mound of mashed potatoes.  I ordered what else---schnitzel, & it was really good.  My potatoes were dressed with dill & cucumbers served warm & a nice tossed salad.  Back to the gym when we get home!

Starbucks are everywhere, so I know where to get tomorrow morning's coffee!  Now to put my feet up & rest for more walking tomorrow.  

9/25/12
Bakeries have happy hour here.  That means everything is half price between 5 & 6 PM on weekdays.  Large 2 pound loaves of most kinds of bread cost about 2.5 to 3 euros, so that's good savings!  Dana used to bake their bread in a bread maker when they lived in the States, but it doesn't work here, & the kitchen's small & counter space a premium; so, bakery bread it is.

We went to the commissary on the Weisbaden Army post for big grocery shopping today, & as Dana puts it, "it's a little slice of America in Germany."  Truly, it's like an American grocery store, with all the brands from home like Nabisco, Tyson chicken, Land O' Lakes butter, Charmin, Bounty, etc.  The prices are amazingly low, & the quality is excellent.  An American radio station was playing over the PA system while we shopped. The bagger did a great job & loaded all the groceries into our car.  I've never seen a cart like the one she used after things were all bagged.

 

Next, another trip to Ikea where we bought area rugs for 3 bedrooms & shelves for the basement.  Dave assembled the shelves where Dana will store her cleaning supplies which near the washer & dryer.  There's also a big room in the basement where they put their sectional couch & tv.  Karl calls it his "lair."  The ceiling is low, so it should be very cozy this winter.

Here's a picture of Karl enjoying the new rug in his bedroom.

In this picture, Dave's in a Weisbaden 2 story mall which has a train station alongside it.

The train station is a beautiful building.

Here's a picture of Chris in front of the Apple store in Frankfurt, just around the corner from Goethe's house.

We discovered an interesting pedestrian street in Frankfurt with lots of coffee shops & cafes with sidewalk seating.  This is a most interesting statue we saw there.  A Betty Boop card is propped on her!

Dave & I plan to take the 4 hour train ride to Berlin tomorrow & stay 3 nights.   I'm hoping to blog while there, so until next time.  Tschuess!  sounds like "choose" said in a high tone when saying goodbye.  It's like "bye" or "chow."

9/24/12
The internet has been down for a couple of days, & it's been tough for the kids to get their homework done without it.  The adults weren't too happy either.  The technicians came twice today & did some rewiring, so let's hope it stays up & running.

We attended the International Christian Fellowship church yesterday.  People were very friendly, & most spoke English.  There was a 4 piece band & 2 singers who led us in singing all praise songs.  The sermon was on Elders & Deacons, & Elders were always referred to as male.  Except for raising the hackles on the back of my neck, it was pretty boring.  I almost fell asleep, but to be fair, I hadn't slept well the night before.  Jessie & Karl went to Sunday school & said there were about 15 kids in with them.

Businesses are closed here on Sundays except for gas stations, so that's where we went for some nice fresh bakery bread & cold cuts to have for lunch at home.  It's hard to believe that gas stations are the place to be on Sundays!  Here's a picture of the one we used.

 The four grownups went to see the Goethe home & museum after lunch, & it was most interesting & right in downtown Frankfurt.  Like most everything in Germany, it was rebuilt after the war.

Here are some more pictures from downtown Frankfurt, all near Goethe Square.  Note one with skateboarders.

Chris & Dana's house is in a little subdivision bordered on one side by huge fields of sugar beets & apple orchards with trails woven around them.  It's a great place to walk, & Chris has his morning runs there with Diego (the dog).  Here's a picture one of the fields.  The sugar beets are peeking out of the ground & are bigger than large grapefruit!

That concludes a Sunday report.  TAG----sounds like "tock" & means "day", it's short for guten (good) tag (day).  

9/23/12

9/22/12
We went to Jessie's track meet today, & Chris gave us a tour of the school before it started.

Yes, we took the dog, Diego, with us!  Dogs are allowed all over the place, including restaurants & stores in Germany, but not in grocery stores or bakeries.

At the meet, we met lots of folks from all over the world, mostly English speakers.  Frankfurt Intl School is taught in English.  One woman I met first at the grocery store & then again today at the meet is from Piedmont, Calif.  Small world, that's for sure.

Here's a picture of Jessie & Chris after her cross country 5k race.  She did well.  Their school is near some beautiful woods where the cross country course is located.

After the race, where Dana worked the concession stand; then we went to the grocery store.  Dana said this one is kind of the "Safeway" of the area. She does all her big shopping at the PX on the Wiesbaden Army Post, where she can get American foods, aka, Cheerios, which are not available in local stores.  Trash & recycling are quite serious here.  There's a special opaque yellow sack, which you get at the courthouse only, to use for things like yogurt & cottage cheese containers, paper milk cartons, plastics, etc.  The trash men are able to see through the sacks for unwanted items, & if they see any, they do NOT take the sack.  Since they only come twice per month, it's important to get it right.  They also have to recycle colored glasses separately from each other plus what they call "old paper," newspapers, magazines & cardboard, all have their own place as well.  Here's a picture of Chris using the machine at the grocery store for redeemable plastic bottles.  It tallies up a total, spits out a receipt for redeeming when paying for your groceries.

As I mentioned yesterday, we had 2 students, runners from the American School in London, here for the track meet, spending the night with us last night.  Both said they camped outside the church the night before William & Kate's wedding, so they saw the royal couple up close on their wedding day.  One of the girls said her parents go to garden parties which the Queen attends as well!

Last, I'll leave you with a cute sign we saw on the trail in the woods where folks hike & bike often with dogs in tow.  It reads, "No water closet for dogs."

9/22/12

We went to Jessie's track meet today, & Chris gave us a tour of the kids' school.

9/21/12
Time to visit a castle!  As soon as J & K left for school around 7am, Chris, Dana, Dave & I took off for the Rhine River & its castles.  It was about a one hour drive to Bingen, where we began a Rick Steves' tour on our own.  Just north of there, we stopped at the Rheinstein Castle, for an amazing self guided tour.  There were lots of stairs & steps, but it was worth it.  It's set up like a 19th century duke's hunting palace & has a killer view overlooking the busy Rhine. 

We drove on to the darling town of Bacharach, where we ate at a local favorite, according to Rick again, & had good German food:  pork medallions, bratwurst, wienerschnitzel, red cabbage & potatoes.  Bacharach is called the "Sleeping Beauty Town" for good reason.  You'll see from the pictures I hope. 

We stopped at the town of Boppard for caffine & sugar (more bakery items) mid afternoon & admired some impressive Roman ruins.  We got home just in time for the kids to arrive from their school day. 

We drank some delicious red wine purchased in Bacarach for dinner tonight & toasted to a good day with 5 teenagers (they drank water) around the table with us.  Dana's a great cook!