Biking and trains

On Monday morning we slept in after our long day on Sunday. It sure felt good to get into a bed! Once we were up and moving I did some laundry (the machine still takes 2 hours and there's no drier. It's so humid here that at 8:45 p.m. some of it still isn't dry in spite of being out in the sun all day.) Leonard, Lindsay and Opa got dropped off at the train station in Ede and went to the Schippol (sp?)airport to pick up our rent-a-car. They were gone most of the day and it was Lindsay's first experience riding a train.

Oma dropped Ali, Michael, Jake, and me off at Holland's National Park. This is where the Kroller Muller Art museum is. The girls went to it on Saturday. Today we picked up "free" bikes (after paying the 7 Euro/person entrance fee) and biked through the park for 2 hours. Most of it was prairie-like grass-lands. We didn't see any wild animals although the signs alluded to some. (It must be like us never seeing a bear when we went out west!) By 5 p.m. when Oma picked us up it was thundering.

We went home for a birthday dinner and a special dessert. We ate outside but just before dessert was done it began raining. We rushed everything inside and then the sprinkles stopped shortly after-wards. Now I am sitting on the front porch of the owners of the cottage we are renting so that I can get internet service. It feels kind of funny but I won't be long. There is a pool here and Ali and the boys went for a quick dip after our bike ride. They didn't last long because there were so many kids in the pool. There is a campground on these premises as well. I took pictures of this cottage but don't want to take the time to post them. Maybe later. Keep checking back to previous posts to see if I've added things.

Tomorrow we hope to go to Amsterdam to see The Frozen Fountain. This is an art/furniture studio that Len's uncle owns. (Google it!)We may also see the Anne Frank house and some other possibilities. We'll see how much we fit in. We already warned the kids that they need to be up and in the car (completely ready) by 8 a.m. They groaned but we reminded them that we aren't in Holland/Europe just to sit around and we want to get in everything we can. We will be staying here until Friday and then we will move to Friesland. That will be a farther drive to most of what we want to see but it's how things worked.

The End of the Story

We have made it to the cottage in Otterlo, Netherlands after many snafus. We flew from train to train, sometimes just making the connections. It helped (for a time) that each train was a couple of minutes late. This backfired when we reached Venlo, NL and we missed our connecting train. We could wait a half an hour and catch the next one but it was the last train of the night so we couldn’t get to our last stop where Len’s Dad was waiting in the train station to pick us up. We found a very helpful conductor who allowed us to use his cell phone to call the owners of the cottage we are renting to tell them we’d be late. That conductor also found another worker who checked the schedules for us and allowed us to use the company phone to call again and tell them that we’d take a taxi from Venlo to Arnhem and that Dad should just wait for us.

The cab ride cost us 65 Euro but it dropped us off at the curb (in a thunderstorm) right at the train station. We hauled all of our luggage out, took a few steps and saw Len’s Dad wandering around the waiting cabs. We have experienced the hand of God in these travels and he has placed many angels (kind strangers) in our paths!

We stuffed ourselves into the rental car and set off for the short drive from Arnhem to Otterlo. Unfortunately, we had trouble interpreting the highway signs and we ended up circling around and around in smaller and smaller circles. An hour and a half later, we finally reached Otterlo and the cottage. By now it was 2:30 in the morning and we had been up for 21 hours (and on our feet for most of it).

I aged a year on this leg of the trip and my body aged far more. By the time we arrived my (Ann’s) right ankle was swollen beyond recognition. It looks better today but hurts a little. I may have to wear my compression sock for a bit.

We dropped into bed and were blessed with a great sleep. It is now morning and the adults are up but the kids are still sleeping. We are enjoying coffee and bread together and going over the details of the trip. We’ll see what the day brings.

Wittenberg

We got up at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday in order to be at the breakfast buffet when it opened at 6:15. We needed to be all checked out of our room and have our luggage in the lobby by 6:45. We walked to the train station again and, once again, were thankful for the students’ help in lugging our stuff. We boarded the very crowded train for Wittenberg. Once there, we walked through town (with all of our luggage) and stopped at the Luther House. They agreed to let us put our luggage in lockers until we returned there later in the day. We then went to see the door where Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses. We took several pictures and then went into Martin Luther’s church called the Castle church) for a 10 a.m. worship service. It was in German so I didn’t understand it but, once again, I could find familiar phrases in the order of worship. We also had a baptism but I couldn’t see from where I sat. We intended to sing “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” after the service in the front of the church but the baptism family was taking pictures and we didn’t want to interrupt them. Also, we didn’t have a copy of the words. I worked at it during the sermon and thought I had remembered them but when the students sang it as we walked to the train station later I realized that I had bits and pieces of all the verses in my version. It’s probably good we didn’t try it then! We also saw MartinLuther’s “grave” in this church.

Next we went to look at the City church and learned more about Martin Luther and his work. We also learned some things that show the total depravity of humans in general. We tend to point fingers and say that the _______are bad. (Fill in the blank. Catholics, Germans, Russians, etc.) and we think that we are better than them. However, we do horrible things as well. After hearing how these Protestants treated the Jews we can see why they bought into Hitler’s lies so readily.

After this we split up to find some quick food for lunch. (“Quick” is a relative term!) We had soup and some bread and meat and the boys got ice cream cones. We are always excited to find free bathrooms and there were some here so we made sure we went (Most places you have to pay 20 – 40 cents to use the bathroom.) Next we returned to the Martin Luther museum. We also learned about Lucas Cranach, a famous artist from Wittenberg. We saw some of his work in the City church. The museum was interesting and I hope I retain some of what I learned. I never realized that Luther was such a social revolutionary in addition to being a spiritual revolutionary. He instituted many social programs for the poor and successfully left his possessions to his wife after his death even though women weren’t allowed that privilege.

At this point our adventure really began! We unlocked all of our belongings from the lockers but before we even had left the museum, the wheel on Leonard’s suitcase broke making it difficult to pull. It is our biggest suitcase so it was even more difficult to carry! Once again we had to troop out group through town back to the train station. The students were planning to take a train back to Bremen which left 10 minutes before our train to Arnhem, Netherlands. We said good-bye and split to our different tracks. After they left, Len got nervous because the signs did not correspond with the printouts we had. He stopped a conductor and asked for help. “Oh yes,” he said, “That train will be by shortly. Don’t get on this train. Wait for the next one.” We waited and waited but no other train came! We knew it was the last train that went to our final destination on Sunday. Finally, Len stopped a conductor who had just arrived by taxi to catch his next train. He looked at our printout and said, “You are at the wrong train station. The train that just went by without stopping was the train you should be on.” We didn’t know there were 2 train stations in Wittenberg! Now began a frantic attempt to figure out what to do. The conductor helped us quite a bit and then Len worked on it some more. We had to haul our luggage down and back up to another track. While we waited there, Len found a ticket office. (We had thought there was not a soul around manning this place.) He went in and she helped him plan a new route. It meant we had to go to yet another track. We were tired and cranky by the time we got on a train and then there was not much room. We have several transfers to make and we will be an hour and a half late arriving in the Netherlands but hopefully, Len’s dad will wait for us. I am typing this in windows while on the plane and will post it when we get a chance to have internet again.

Day 2 -Berlin

Day 2 – Berlin

We began our day with a fabulous breakfast at the hotel. It was included in the price of our rooms and we all took full advantage of the all-you-can-eat buffet before we left in the morning to see the sights again.

We began by heading to Checkpoint Charlie. This was one of the 3 places where one could cross the wall between East and West Germany. They were called Checkpoints A, B, and C. The US controlled Checkpoint C (for Charlie). We went through the museum there. It was a real eye-opener for most of us. Most of the students were about 6 months old when the wall came down so, of course, they do not remember any of it. I remember hearing about it but I don’t remember enough details to keep it all straight in my mind. From what I understand and have learned, the Russians were our allies in WWII. However the Germans did atrocious things to the Russians and killed many, many Russians. Therefore, when the war was finished and Germany was divided between the allied powers, the Russians had no sympathy for the Germans and made their life very difficult. It was heart-breaking to see and read of all the families that were separated during this time.

After going through this museum we went to the Bibelplaatz where they burned all of the books. This is not a readily marked spot and we would’ve walked right past it if Professor Nielsen hadn’t known where to look. Now it is a glass panel in a patio and when you look in it there are empty bookshelves underneath it. We also saw a memorial to victims of war. It was a mother holding her dead son. By this time we were all very hot and thirsty and were getting hungry. There was a market right there with a brat stand so we all got some food and looked through the vendors. Leonard bought a T-shirt because he didn’t bring enough casual clothes along. After this we visited Berliner Dom. It is a large reformed church. We got to see a wedding while we were there. In it there are statues of Martin Luther and John Calvin. There were also caskets and graves of the Kaisers and their families. We climbed up the dome and went more than 270 stairs! When we were at the top we could see Professor Neilsen waiting for us at our pre-arranged meeting spot and we realized we were late. There was a fountain in front of this church and several of us took off our shoes and walked right in in order to cool off. It felt so good! I also took several pictures of some young children that I though Ali might like to paint some day when she has time to do that sort of thing again.

After this, the group split up and had free time for the rest of the day. Our family walked with Professor Neilsen back through the Brandenberg gate and towards the hotel. On they was we passed a street of Linden trees and took a picture for Lindsay (whose name means “from the linden tree island”). Once at our hotel we freshened up and checked email and then headed back out into the main part of town. We stopped at the Ka De Fe.

At one time this was the world’s largest store. While the wall was up, the Americans kept it well-stocked with everything imaginable so when the East German officials came to the West, they could see how good things were there compared to things back in the East. Most of the store is 7 floors but some is only 6 because it used to be in different buildings and is now merged all into one. Each floor is as large or larger than some of our malls! It was huge! We bought some chocolate and looked for a newspaper with Obama on it but we were a day too late for that.

Next we tried to find a place to eat. We thought of eating on the 7th floor of the Ka De Fe but it was overwhelming and could easily get expensive as it was all a-la-carte. We returned to the street and began talking about where to go. We were just about ready to head to the mall where the restaurant was the night before to look for something else when professor Nielsen remembered that we weren’t far from the Hard Rock Café. We decided to go there and had so much fun. The music was a little (that’s an understatement) loud for we 3 “old” folks but it was definitely an experience. The highlight of the night was that there were FREE refills on pop! The boys and I took full advantage of that! Leonard bought me a t-shirt that I liked for a birthday present. Jacob bought a cap. Michael wanted one as well but they were too small for him and they were “one-size’fits-all”. Instead he bought the plain white t-shirt with the Hard Rock Cafe logo. When the students realized what they had missed, they were very disappointed that they didn’t get there.

After dinner we moseyed back to our hotel and we all conked out soon after. We wonder how many miles we walked today (and many of it in the hot sun!) I refuse to complain because I like it better than what we had last week but most of the students really liked last week’s weather!

Berlin

It is definitely summer here in Berlin. The day was sunny and hot! We arrived shortly after noon and walked to our hotel, detouring for a couple of sights. We were glad to have students to help carry our bags since they only had weekend duffels and we had everything we have!

We saw many sights here today and will see more tomorrow. Len and I are very thankful that professor Nielsen is here as he knows the city well and is full of interesting facts and stories about each place. We walked everywhere we went today and can feel it in our legs! On our way to the sights, we passed a grassy area where people were lying out in the sun without any suits on. The whole place was full of men - not a woman was in there!

Our first stop was the Victory monument (with a gold angel on top). We joked that we were the procrastinators club coming to see Obama as he gave his speech from there yesterday. We also got to see part of the Berlin Wall, the Brandenburg gate, and walk into what was formerly East Germany. All around the city you can see a 2 brick track where the wall used to be. We saw a monument to freedom facing the gate and the Russian memorial that is in front of the Reichstaadt. We took a group picture in front of the Reichstaadt.

Tonight we all had dinner together at a Bavarian restaurant similar to the Alpen Rose in Holland. 2 people ordered Sweinhecksel mit kartofellen (among other things like red cabbage) but no one in our family did. (That note was for you, Bob!) Everything was very, very good AND I got free refills on my tap water!

Beaches in Germany

Well, if you walk with 2 teenage boys to the beach here in Germany, can you guess what they ogle at and drool over? It is.......




........cars! We saw many cars that they loved on our walk there.














At the actual beach the things that struck me were the wicker baby carriage someone had there (at the beach!), the fact that here "boy shorts" are for both boys and girls while at home only girls wear them, that people eat with real dishes, silverware, and glasses on the beach, how most everyone has a volleyball that gets batted around, and that clothing is optional (but only if you're a child, it seems.)

Michael and I took another way home and realized we were in an upscale part of town. Here the yards are larger and the lawns are beautifully landscaped. Flowers bloomed profusely and we
were surrounded by hollyhocks, roses, clematis, butterfly bushes, apple trees, and more!

















We even saw a campground! (If you click [or double-click?] on any of the pictures in the blog you should be able to see them full-screen for better details.)















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St. Petri Dom and Museum, a film!

All of the activity that I noted going on around our apartment turns out to be a film that is being shot in the building next door. The boys and I hung around by the windows watching them set everything up and then sat on the wall by the river watching some more. One of the actors came by in a long-sleeved dress shirt and his boxers! The boys later saw them putting make-up on him. It was a beautiful morning to sit outside. I read a book and the boys made lunch for me and brought it out to me.

When Len came home, we all walked to the bank. It is in a very old building. I took a picture of Len by the door. After that errand, we walked over to St. Petri's Dom. Len had looked on the internet and all tours are on Wednesday. I was so disappointed because I wanted to climb up to the steeple. We went in and the first thing they asked was if we wanted to go up! (At least that's what we assume they said, they were pointing up.) It only cost 1 Euro a person. We climbed at least 267 steps. We all lost count a couple of times when we had to pass people in the very narrow staircases. When we got to the top we had a magnificent view of the surrounding area. We could easily find our apartment and the river. It saddened dus to see the entire staircase walls and the area at the top filled with graffiti. Why do people feel compelled to do that? We did not have Len's camera with us but he used mine to get several pictures. After climbing up and back down we went through the museum there. Many years ago they were going to put heat in the floors and they dug up the coffin of a bishop. You can see the concrete vault now. There were also many ancient clothes and a Bible of Martin Luther. (At least we think that's what the plaque said.)

After our self-guided tour and lots of pictures, we went shopping for chocolate. We were happy to find some made in Bremen. We detoured on the way home to get a picture of the Joey's pizza delivery vehicles. We see them delivering pizza all over town.
Now we are home again so Len can grade. I stopped at the store to buy the 3 eggs I needed for pancakes, some beverages for tonight's pizza, and some fruit and cookies for tomorrow's trip. The man in line in front of me was talking to me. When he took a breath I told him I don't speak German. "You don't speak German!?" he repeated. "Are you an American?" When I confirmed that he replied, "I can hear it! You have followed your president Obama here." I assured him that we had been here much longer than Obama (who is in Berlin today) but that we were going to Berlin tomorrow. "No, no," he said, "He is here today!" I said that I knew that but we still weren't going until tomorrow.

Summer on Thursday!

We woke up to not only sunny weather but warmer as well! We might even get to wear shorts today! We hope to check out the beach as well. The only other thing we wanted to do was take a tour of the Dom. The boys tried to arrange it but the guide couldn't speak enough English. Len assigned 2 of his students to arrange it but they forgot. It's no big deal to them because they can see it in the remaining weeks they are here but this is our last day. Maybe we'll try to do it with just the 4 of us when Len returns from class.
Lindsay emailed us that their flight was delayed 4 hours. She didn't have much time and didn't give us any details. When they arrive in Amsterdam this morning they may think we were lying about the weather if it is like this there!

I hear the cleaning people out in the hall. They are cleaning the rooms this morning. We wish they had waited one more day because then the apartment and sheets and towels would be clean for when we are gone and the next professor arrives. We'll have to see how we're going to work that out. I just woke up the boys so they can get ready and we can let them in. (This is one of our cleaning ladies. She reminds us all of Aunt Uschi. She is smiley and friendly.)

Something is going on outside today. There are trucks outside our window and people are bringing flowers and instruments into the building next door. They even backed a truck up on the walking path by the river. It was an extremely tight fit!

This morning I planned to get up before Len and make pancakes before his last day of class. I mixed together all of the ingredients and then remembered that we don't have any eggs. I'll send the boys to the store and make them for lunch, I guess. If I don't do that, then I'll have to give it to the students and tell them to mix eggs and milk in it and to make pancakes some day next week. We won't be able to take it with us.

My hands are very dry and peely here no matter how much lotion I put on them. I think it's from doing dishes all the time (after every meal and snack). My hands must be pampered now that we have a dishwasher at home! (I also never did them this often before but we run out of dishes if I don't!)

Wonderful Weather Wednesday

Today the weather was much nicer. The sun came out, the rain stayed away, and it was a little warmer.
I needed to do laundry but when I went down to do it, the cleaning lady was using the machines. She used them all morning so I didn't get to start until noon. I only had to do 2 large loads but they take so long! I finally figured out how to do a shorter wash cycle. By the time I had things in the dryer, I was at the end of my patience! We hung up things that we didn't want to be in the super hot dryer until they were done and decided to go to the park with Leonard.

I must admit that I was crabby by the time we left and both boys were irritable and sullen. We took more pictures but the lack of cooperation we got along with Len not holding the camera steady either, resulted in very few good ones. That's a bummer because we even rented a boat for an hour to get some unique ones. When we rented the boat we looked over the "rules" first even though we couldn't understand them. I thought that I understood the end quite clearly but when I did it, no one appreciated it. At least I pulled a few smiles out of them for a few minutes!

Tomorrow Michael wants to go to the beach. I told him I might make him go back and re-do some of those pictures first since he refused to smile.

Well, everyone else wants a turn on the computer. Only one more day with easy access to it!

Birthday Party

On Tuesday we received an email from one student's mom reminding us that it was his 19th birthday. I went to the store to see what I could do about a cake. There are bakeries everywhere here but they don't have cakes or cupcakes. I went to the grocery store and bought a chocolate raspberry frozen cake. I wasn't sure we could get 17 pieces out of that so I also bought chocolate cake which was round and came in 3 layers. I couldn't find cans of frosting but I found some white glaze in a tube (like toothpaste). I also bought a tart shell (yellow cake), nutella, and a can of whipping cream.
When I got home I spread the glaze on one layer of cake, topped it with another layer, spread nutella on that one, and topped it with the 3rd layer of chocolate cake. I spread the rest of the glaze on that and then set the tart shell on top. Since this had a lip, I spread nutella in it and then just before serving, we topped it with whipped cream peaks. It looked more impressive than it tasted but it wasn't bad if you added some extra whipped cream. (It was a little dry).
I bought regular candles instead of birthday candles because it was much more affordable to get 19. They were a little thicker than usual but they worked. We put 10 in one cake and 9 in the other. It took him several breaths to blow them all out.
In honor of his birthday, we set up tables and chairs in the lobby and all ate together as a group. We had brats (with chicken for the 2 who don't like brats), salad, bread, and cake. Each person had to provide their own plate, silverware, and beverage.

SUN!!!!!

We woke up this morning to sun! After yesterday's October-like weather, it was a welcome sight. The weather here changes so quickly. Yesterday was a high of 16 degrees C. By Thursday it is supposed to be 26 degrees C! (That is a difference from in the 60's to in the low 80's F.)

Yesterday we did a lot of reading and a little shopping. It was cold and rainy almost all of the day. My jean jacket is still damp from all the times I was out in the rain. At night, some of the students asked the boys to play Euchre. They were still out playing when I went to bed. It was good for them to get out of the apartment for awhile!

Blustery Monday Morning

Guten Morgen!
Len's new clock says that it is 70 degrees F in the apartment this morning. As I sit by the kitchen window I see the plants on the wall across from me struggling to maintain their hold on the brick in the wind. The pavement outside is wet from the overnight rain and the sky is gray and cloud-covered. People are still out and about but they are all wearing long pants and jackets and have their hands stuffed into their pockets. I see a man and a woman pushing a baby buggy along the lower path near the river.

Yesterday Len and I took a long walk down the river. We were comfortable in our jackets but I did see a woman biking with a headband over her ears and gloves on her hands. I keep reminding myself that it is July! When Len and I were ready to return we ventured into some of the streets through the neighborhoods. We gave thanks for our huge yard at home. Most of these people's yards are the size of our front porch. They have beautiful plants growing there and Len took a picture of me by a purple Rose of Sharon (Althea) bush. We watched an older couple enter their apartment. We grieved for them at all of the graffiti on the wall surrounding their door. I would find it humiliating to have all of that right next to my front door. On our walk, we even saw potted palm trees along one street. They say they do not get a harsh winter here but it certainly seemed like a strange sight to us!

We have been emailing with a woman from back home. It looks like we will again have the privilege of having an exchange student for the Fall semester. There is a small chance that we will have 2 students but she is exploring another option yet for one of them. Perhaps Ali will be able to bring us some information about the student when she comes. I guess this is the answer we have for now about not wanting an empty nest too soon! At least we will feel more compassion for someone who does not understand the language after being in Europe all summer!

If I sit at the kitchen table and look to the Kleine Weser River, there are 2 benches which overlook the river. There is also a gate with steps down to the river. I just noticed the gate yesterday and within minutes of noticing it, saw several people come up the steps. Michael checked it out and said it goes to a path along the river. Maybe we will have to go down and see if we can get close to the waterfall today. Each day, a group of older men come on their bikes and sit on the benches and talk. Every time I see them I think I should get a picture but I haven't yet. I wonder if they will come today if the weather stays so dreary. I certainly do not relish the thought of going out in this although I do need to go to the market for some kielbasa-type meat for dinner. I also want to get a baguette of bread. We have been eating a whole baguette at each dinner. It is so good when dipped in a bowl of oil with Italian seasoning and garlic salt in it. YUM!

Our apartment

This is the view if you are standing in the hallway looking into our apartment. We are number 220. Even though we are on the third floor, things on what we call the first floor, they call the zero floor. The first floor would be up one flight of steps.








When you walk into the apartment, you take a few steps in and turn to the right. There you will see the "multi-purpose room" with a set of drawers for bathroom things, a shoe and coat rack, a full length mirror and chair, and our vacuum. We have hung a clothesline in there as well. You can also see into Len and Ann's bedroom. While standing in that "room" you can look to the right and see into the bathroom.








This is Len and Ann's bedroom with a view of the Weser river out of our large window. We have a large wooden wardrobe to hang our clothes as well as drawers and shelves in it to put our things away.

Stepping back into the hallway, one heads toward the kitchen table and another window. Directly out this window is another building. However, if we look one way we can see the Weser river and if we look the other way we can see the Kleine Weser river. There are plants growing up the wall out this window and 2 very large "pigeons" are building nests in them. They rest on the railing of a deck and then disappear into the climbing vines.














Here is the kitchen with the door to the living room/boys' bedroom. Standing in their doorway, there is a couch on the left with a desk next to it. Their window overlooks the pirate boat. Michael's cot is next to the window. On the next wall (on your right as you stand in the doorway) is their wardrobe (which is a little smaller than ours.) Jake's cot is next to that. From their room you can turn and look back through the doorway towards the kitchen table.













I hope you have enjoyed your tour!