Goodbye Germany, Hello Home

Home is Where the Heart Is (June 25th)

Today was dedicated strictly to seeing places in Sonnenberg that are important to Oma and Gerhardt. Gerhardt and Crystal promised to show my family around the town, to locations that are of importance to them and to my Oma.

Gerhardt has a 30 year old Mercedes. It is in prime condition. If I recall correctly, the car has less than 50,000 miles on it. It is such a nice car, and my dad and I got to ride in it. As we cruised around Sonnberg, people looked at us. This is something that Gerhardt loves and cherishes, and it shows with how well it is maintained.

Our first stop was the place where Gerhardt was born. Back then Oma's mother was the caretaker of a wealthy persons home/apartments. Oma was not born at this place as Oma is 10 years Gerhardt's elder. Our next stop was the cemetery where members of the family have been buried over the years. Burial practices are unique in Europe and are not what American's would expect. In America, families buy plots and those buried in those plots will stay there until the end of time. In Europe, families and individuals rent plots for certain lengths of time. When the time runs out, families can either pay for more time, or the inhabitants are dug up and cremated to make space for new residents.  Some of the family is no longer buried there. The most emotional stop on this tour of the cemetery was the resting place of my Oma's daughter and my mother's sister Marion. This was the first time that my mom has seen her grave since she died in 1996. My mom introduced Marion to her kids. We were all happy to see that the grave is well maintained. Those around Marion are covered in weeds. Marion's grave was clean and had a nice bed of flowers. Even in death Marion maintains her beauty. 

This grave belongs to the priest, a priest who was loved by all. When he died, the church bell cracked down the middle.  The bell was then placed on the grave of the priest. During WWII, the bell was hidden because metal was being melted down into weapons. After the war it was replaced to its proper spot. 

After the cemetery we drove up to the school where Oma, Gerhardt, and the grandchildren  went to and still go to. This is the place where Oma and Gerhardt learned the things that they carry with them to this day. When my Oma tells stories of her home, I could never imagine what things looked like. Now I can vividly recreate the places in my mind when I hear these stories.

A short walk away was the castle that rests above Sonnenberg. Gerhardt told me a story where a bull escaped its owners and rampaged through the town. The bull ran all the way up to the castle and jumped, or fell, off the ledge. So strange things happen atop these heights. Following the castle, Gerhardt and Crystal showed us the church where they were married, where Marion was married, where Matthias and Andreas were married.

A significant stop on our tour was Oma's kindergarten. This also happens to be the place where Concordia, the choir that Gerhardt, Crystal, and Matthias sing in, rehearses. In fact, Gerhardt's grandfather was one of the founding members back in 1870. Gerhardt and Crystal showed us where they sit in choir, the seating area in the corner, and the bar in the other corner. After rehearsals, the choir spends some time together socializing. Being as it is Germany, and Germany is known for its beer, it was not surprising to find a fridge filled to the brim with German beer. After rehearsal the beer comes out. Because Gerhardt is the master of the kitchen, he had a key to the fridge and we split a beer. Why can't rehearsals at home be like that...granted I went to a Christian school that banned alcohol on the premises.

In the choir room, my sister sat down at the piano and sang/played hymns that were known by Gerhardt and Crystal. The room was filled with singing. My sister also sang a solo for Gerhardt. There were tears as Gerhardt was happy that other people in the family love music and find happiness in singing.

Our last stop was Opa Paul Otto's Garden. He built this place as a place to escape to. This property does not hold much of a garden but it holds special significance. Here I was told a fascinating story. Opa Otto built an outhouse on the property, however, he did not build it to the right size. The door to the bathroom could open and close if no one was inside, but if the toilet was being used then the door would not close.

After visiting the garden, we returned to the home where we had tea, cookies, and cake. At this time Matthias, Alicja, Pascal joined us. We sat and talked for what seemed like hours. We were talking about everything. It was like we have been together for years. After a while, I went with Matthias back to his house so that he could give us a Concordia CD. He showed us his house and we listened to a solo on the CD that he gave us. I promised to send a CD and DVD of my recital to Matthias when I get them completed. When we got back, we had pizza with the rest of the family that showed up. Everyone enjoyed each other's company. I can see myself being with these people for weekends and holidays if I come back to Germany. It is nice to know that I have family that I can turn to. This means that I really need to learn to speak German. 

When it came time to leave, we all got up from our seats with heavy hearts. We do not know how long it will be till we see each other next. There were emotional farewells. Gerhardt said something to me. I could not tell what he said, but I believe he said something along the lines that "I am a good kid and that I will do great things. And to come back anytime." 

Tomorrow we fly home. It is hard to think that I am leaving a country that has given me so many fine memories. On the flip side, it has been so long since I have been home. It is time to go home, but I am sad to go. I am blessed for the experience that I have had with both Bethel Choir in Poland and with my family in Germany. 

Cruising Down the Rhine (June 24th)

Rivers throughout history have held a special place in literature and in the hearts of people. Rivers and water continually show up in literature in literal and symbolic imagery. Life and civilization flourish around the banks of rivers. Water is life. As such, nearly every culture places particular importance on rivers. North America has the Mississippi, Egypt the Nile, South America the Amazon, and Germany the Rhine. Of all of the rivers across the world, the Rhine is one of the most romantic and written about rivers ever. I can assure you that the river lives up to its legend. 

The day started off less than Romantic as one would hope when cruising down the Rhine River. It was cloudy nearly the entire day and it rained off and on. Regardless it was a good experience. As a lover of all things medieval and castles, one realizes rather quickly that there are castles after castles along the banks of the Rhine. I would have loved to go explore all of the castles, but that would just be impossible. Many of the castles are private homes. I would love to own a castle. So I will just make bags of money with my bachelor of arts in history and english literature. It can happen! 

Mauseturm (Mouse Tower) 

This castle pictured above has a pretty interesting story which is derived from popular legend. Hatto II was a cruel ruler and he used the tower to demand tribute from passing ships, threatening to shoot their crews if they did not comply. The peasants got angry and decided to rebel. Hatto promised to feed the people and told them to wait for him at an empty barn. Hatto trapped the people in the barn and set the barn aflame. When Hatto retired to his castle, he was besieged by an army of mice. He fled the swam and took his boat to the tower pictured above. Trapped in the tower, Hatto waited for the mice to eat through the door and eventually eat him.

They whetted their teeth against the stones, 

And then they picked the Bishop's bones; 

They gnawed the flesh from every limb

For They were sent to punish him!

They almost devour me with kisses,

Their arms about me entwine,

Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen

In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

~ Henry Wadsworth Longellow

Our cruise of the Rhine ended at the Lorelei which is a large rock formation around a (formerly) dangerous bend in the river where sailors would run their boats aground. Luckily our captain was not affected by the mermaid/siren who seduces sailors through her song. We got off the boat at St. Goar's, where we jumped onto a train going back to Ruddesheim. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the town where my Oma and Opa met for the first time. This is where the magic began. We looked in various shops, got some food, and we visited the Drosselhof-Keller. This is the place where my Oma and Opa met. They were there with friends and they danced late into the night, where my Opa asked for my Oma's address to write her. The rest is history. 

For dinner we stopped at another place. The area around Ruddesheim is known for its brandy. Obviously I had to try some. It was smooth and had a nice rustic finish. After dinner we retired to our humble abode in the country. With only one two days left in Germany, the family was excited to get home, sad to leave, and overall tired.

Weisbaden (June 23rd)

Left to Right: Andreas, Thomas, Diana (mom), Matthias, Scott (dad)

It was a wonderful day where Thomas, Matthias, and Andreas showed my family around their hometown of Wiesbaden. Wiesbaden has been the site of human habitation for centuries, since before Roman times. Wiesbaden is known for its thermal springs and the city grew around this resource. Today it is a thriving city with a wealth of cultural history. Part of this history has to do with my family. Generations have been born and raised in Wiesbaden. I do not know how far back, but to my knowledge my great great grandparents.

We arrived at the family home at about noon where we met with the three brothers (cousins). We discovered that we would be accompanied by Matthias' family (Alicja, Tammy, and Matthias), Thomas with Castian and her daughter, Andreas with Pascal and Vanessa). We had a full group to see all of Wiesbaden. The family has been very gracious. We never had to pay for anything and they were very good to us. Our first stop was the Kurhaus. This is the main spa house. Today it houses many different things and is where my cousins proms were held. We then walked by the opera house which was right next door. The unique part of this experience was that Thomas had a guide book for the city and would read what the book had to say on each of the sites. It was all rather cute.

Kurhaus

Kurhaus Inside

Bandshell in back of the Kurhaus

Kurhaus

The town of Wiesbaden was before us. We saw so much of the city in such a small amount of time. My mom reminisced about walking the streets as a college student and with her mother when she was small. She has fond memories of the area.

This is the worlds largest cuckoo clock. As a teenager my mom had a picture of her standing in front of this same clock over 30 years ago. It seemed only proper to have another picture taken.

This is the place where couples come to get legally married.  My Oma was married here to her first husband before she met my Opa and travelled to America

Heraldic Eagle

This here was a Roman Bridge/Gate. It has since been restored somewhat. Thomas joked with me that the graffiti inside the tower was Roman. Clearly it was not. 

Thermal Spring

Wiesbaden is a spa town. The water supposedly has healing properties. In town they have places like the one pictured above. It is a constantly flowing fountain of spring thermal water. The water is quite warm and smells/tastes of sulfur. When we got to this fountain, Thomas pulled cups from his small backpack and told us to drink. I drank. It did not taste that great. If it would heal me I would drink more of it, but I don't think I could stomach much. The worry many of us had was that the water may not be the cleanest water and filled with bacteria, but I don't think that would be the case. The cousins just were not sure since they never drink from the well themselves. As we were leaving the fountain, a biker stopped at the fountain, drank some hefty gulps of the water then continued to fill up his canteen with this water and bike away. 

For lunch Thomas took the entire group out to Alicja's favorite place...the American Sports Bar. The Blackhawks Stanley Cup game was on the TV, the bar had burgers named after Elvis etc... To put a cherry on top, right when you walked in there was a massive poster of Randy Moss as a Viking. All the way in Germany, and this is what I find. Unbelievable.

After lunch we took this train thing up to the top of this small mountain. The train was unique. At the bottom where you board the train/tram, the train dumps the water that was pumped into it at the top of the hill. So as one car empties, another is filled and that is how the cars move up and down the mountain. It's pretty ingenious I think.

From our vantage point above the city, all was laid before us. We could see all of Wiesbaden. The view was quite spectacular. The day it was warm and beautiful. There was a large park at the top. People were drinking coffee, beer, and simply laying around like any normal person might on the most glorious of days. Just a little way from the summit is St. Elizabeth's Church. It is a Russian Church and is quite beautiful. It just appears out of the trees and stands there gleaming like a jewel endowed upon a crown. 

St. Elizabeth Kirche

At this point all of us were getting tired. We had been walking around and touring the city for at least 6 hours. It was also time for dinner. So we drove back to the family home and picked up Gerhardt and Crystal. We went to the Schutzenhaus. This place is a family tradition. Now I have the chance to become part of that tradition. One thing that was recommended to me was Apfelwein, which is exactly how it sounds. I was warned that it is quite tart and I should get it mixed with water. However I did not think that it was strong at all. It was very mild. When I got a second glass I asked for it straight. Even then the wein was not super strong. I don't know what everyone was looking at me for when I drank it no problem, and liked it. 

Schutzenhaus

Dinner was lovely. Everyone was there. I could see Gerhardt's happiness looking out at the entire family. He definetly looked like the patriarch of the family and I am sure that is how he felt. When we were leaving, the restaurant owner asked if my family was the daughter of Irma. The owner knows Gerhardt and his family, and figured that if someone was visiting and was family, it must have been Irma's family because she is the only one who has left Sonnenberg. It is a small world.