Oct. 30, 2010

We woke up early this morning, Kristen, Kacey and I, to head to Prague. Hannah Eddy and Kirsten were planning to come with us, but unfortunately last nights dinner did not agree with their stomachs. It was a huge bummer for Hannah, she had been looking forward to going there for so long. I hope that she will get to go later in her life. 

It was the crack of dawn and we hopped on the first train to “Praha.” On the way there we entered a thick fog that blocked out view  of anything that was outside. At about ten we watched the scenery change as the sunlight began to enter into the white foggy air. And when we finally got to the train station in Praha (Prague) and there was a huge advertisement for the seventh Harry Potter! It was huge! So naturally us girls had to get pictures in front of it.  

We had around 5 hours to explore this new city in this new country. So after finding a map, getting some money in the right currency and asking a few questions we ventured into the unknown. Our first goal was to find a Polish dog to eat. I went up to this stand and asked a man selling sausages where the best place here to get a good sausage was and he pointed down the road. Honesty, it is good to know that it is still out there, he could have very easily said that his were the best. We took his advice and went to this stand. They weren’t bad! 

The next thing on our list of “things to do and paces to see” was the St. Charles Bridge. On the way there we walked through markets where scarves, jewelry, art and toys were sold. We walked through the town square and in front of us was the most intricate clock that I have ever seen. It could have been a astronomic calender as well as a clock and a few other things. It was beautiful. The most beautiful clock I think I have ever seen. Except for Big Ben.

There were a lot of people in the town square, actually there were a lot of people in Praha, but none us us got stolen from or anything. It was a major blessing. We walked through the streets and made our maze of a way to the bridge. The Saint Charles Bridge is known for its stands that sell handmade jewelry, trinkets and artists who will draw you for money. It is also known for its use in the movie “Mission Impossible” where one of the main characters throws himself over that very same bridge to stage a death and Tom Hanks runs down the steps to see his mentor “dead.” It was cool to be there and see where it was filmed. In the picture to the right I am on the steps. 

Much of our day was relaxing as we walked through this unknown (to us) city. But the time was running out and we had to catch our train home. On our long train ride home we had hoped to relax and sleep a little, but alas we were accompanied by two old drunk men. They had had a few beers before they got on the train and kept drinking the whole time they were with us. Kacey made the mistake of being friendly and talking to them, so the chances of sleeping were now nonexistent. I am not saying that you shouldn’t always be friendly to people, it’s just that I was so much looking forward to sleeping a bit. When their stop finally came they kissed Kacey’s  hand good bye and one of them kissed my foot!!! I just hope that they made it to their houses okay. Once the train began to move again we were finally convinced into having the worst hot chocolate I have ever tasted. Kacey said that it tasted like dirty sock water,  Kristen and I full heartedly agreed! But we enjoyed it all the same. Up to this point nothing bad had happened to us the entire day. We didn’t miss our train, didn’t get pick pocketed, or anything else. Mystery that… Prague was a great city. 

Oct. 29, 2010

Today we all ventured to the city of Nürnberg where we visited the Nazi document center. The establishment was in just one of the many buildings that were parts of Hitler’s dream Parade Grounds. After an hour of so in the building I actually began to understand how this man had the support of the nation. He slowly desensitized the people into the ideal followers that he so needed. Everyone knew the Nazi song and would sing it like a Christmas carol, subconsciously in the kitchen wile making dinner. He convinced them that the Jews and many others were inferior to them all and needed to be rid of. Propaganda filled the minds of every individual and it seemed so right that the undesirables should be disposed of. So when the time came and all the Jews and many others were disappearing, no one saw the harm in it. And when this large supply of rock began to come from nowhere, no one saw reason to wonder. Now we know that at most concentration camps had strenuous work for its prisoners to where many of the worker would die from being over worked and malnourished, but the German people did not know this. It was all a secret.  

We walked around later outside in the beauty of the yellow fall leaves. An hour was given to us to explore the grounds of the Nazi turf. I wish that we would have had more than an hour. Two would have been nice. We got to the famous Zeppelin field and I had to sit on the steps in defiance against Hitler. The irony to his end just screams JUSTICE!!! If he knew that this was all that was left of his “kingdom” he would role over in his ash can. 

Later that day we all got to taste the world famous Nürenburg bratwurst. They were smaller than normal, but Jerry says, “the smaller, the better.”

The next day we were off to spend the day in Prague!

Oct. 17-23, 2010

It was the second travel week for us Ambexers and I stayed with my oma in Winnenden (near Stuttgart, Germany). Every morning before breakfast I would roll out of bed and eat awesome chocolate and a banana and go on a run in through the village. When I got back I would eat a delicious breakfast of pastries, meats and fresh fruits accompanied by honey, jams, and Nutella. Oh and hot tea. While I ate my breakfast, my oma would be busy preparing the hot water for my shower. What a humble servant she was! She did everything in silence and with joy. When you offered help, she kindly denied it. She did the dishes, cooked all the meals, drove me to all of these villages and made sure that I had a week that I would never forget. And she did that successfully. 

She took me to see many things around Stuttgart. On Monday we went train hoping. First we went to Bachnang and walked around for a while. I was shown many beautiful half timbered houses. Then we went to see the castle in Ludwigsburg. We didn’t go inside, but we walked around in the gardens. Irmi Früh (my grandmother is technically my step-grandmother, but that doesn’t matter to me.) is one of the most educated women in botanics that I have ever met. If you sniff a flower she can tell you it’s name in German, Latin and English. One of the flowers in the garden at Ludwigsburg, get this, it’s called the Chocolate Flower!!! Here pictured to the right, the flower does not look like it’s covered in chocolate. No, it gets its name from its scent. If you smell the flower it does in fact smell like chocolate! Mystery that… 

We left Ludwigsburg and went to Marbach. Marbach, like many of the old villages in Germany, has a wall (older than time) that surrounds the town. It was very much like the city of Rothenburg which I saw in September. Marbach had entered a contest of some sorts to win the most pumpkins on a street. They had pumpkins up and down this street that Oma and I walked on. They were all carved with the number 4, I forget why. They won the contest. This is just another example of Germany’s sense of unity. Nearly every house on this street had pumpkins out on their property. The contest was held a few days before, so it is very likely that during the contest, every house on the street had their pumpkins displayed. 

Now it is October 19th and it is my youngest brothers birthday! Happy Birthday Mikey! I can’t believe how old you are! Oma must have known that it was your birthday, because we went to Waiblingen (another city surrounded by a wall) we went to a church that was called “Michael’s Church.” The stained glass inside was very modern, and very colorful. This church was actually one of the only churches in my entire stay that had a door open so that you could go in and see the inside. Al of the other churches we tried to get in were locked. It was very disappointing.  Today (the 20th) we relaxed. I sat around and read some of a book for one of my classes and did some other homework.. My eyes hurt from staring at the computer screen. No offense computer, but it just hurts to look at you sometimes. After a good couple hours Oma asked me if I would like to go in a walk. I, like anyone, thought it would be a short 15 to 30 minute walk. We ended up being out for 3 hours. It was amazing! We took a walk through the forest that was 5 minutes from the house. We walked all through the woods on a road that was only for walking, hiking and horses. There were signs that said no cars, trucks, or wagons. I felt safe walking through this place. Oma pointed out a slug that was making its lowly way across our path. I wouldn’t have even noticed it, though it was the brightest shade of orange that I have ever seen a slug. He blended in with the fallen autumn leaves on the forest trail. It’s like stopping to smell the roses, noticing the small things in God’s creation and not just keeping your head up to see what lies ahead. Slow down. Look at everything around you! Sometimes you will be surprised at how beautiful it is. 

After we broke through the forest and walked up a grassy knoll, we were welcomed by a torrential downpour of buckets and buckets of rain. But that didn’t stop either of us, we had come prepared with umbrellas and a determination to explore. The wind threatened us as well, trying to take our umbrellas from us, or just make them useless by turning them inside out. But no worries, we got the better of the wind. Up ahead in the hazing distance was a city on a green hillside. Oma turned to me and asked if I would like to walk there and I thought why not! Another 30 minutes later we were in this small town at the top of the hill, looking down at the most beautiful view. Oma said it was like looking out of an airplane, and I agreed fully. On our way down we strolled through several vineyards and I did what I have always wanted to do… I took some grapes. Though it was cold and gloves were important to the survival of my hands, I sacrificed them for these grapes! They were delicious! So fresh, cold and juicy! My hands were slowly turning different shades of purple blue and after we made it down the hillside, I started to lose feeling in them. So to my sadness I had to throw the grapes (only half eaten, because it was a big cluster) into the bushes to save my hands. Gloves never felt so good on my hands! 

With the excitement over for the day we got back to the house and relaxed for the remainder of the day. I really enjoyed that walk. The next morning I revisited the woods in my morning jog. I ran in my Five-Finger shoes so that I could feel everything (good and bad) and work my calves (because the shoes force you to run in your toes, which is the proper way to run, but if you are not used to that then it can cause very sore muscles in the morning). What a way to start the day! After my morning routine we headed to the small city of Openwailer. In this city there was another Castle! It was at the top of the hill of which the city was built on and was not for tourist. The Castle was a housing establishment for the gifted. In the square there during the Holiday season they hold a Christmas market, though very small, it is something to keep their hearts attached with the rest of the town. The view from this location was amazing, though not as exquisit as the one from yesterday’s “walk.” You can see it in this picture to the right. 

Later that day Oma and I went to her sons house for dinner. Norbert and his wife and son (Victoria and Andy) live in a good sized house in Winnenden. We came over for the evening to have a home cooked German meal. And I am glad that we did. It was amazing! Victoria had cooked pork, sour croat and potato dumplings called “Kinuddles.” Usually I am not one for kinuddles, I think they are so boring I don’t see the point in eating them… But these were the best that I have ever had! I was so glad that I could taste what one was really supposed to taste like. I could then see why Germans like them so much. So thank you Victoria! 

The next day was the 22nd and we visited the city of Stuttgart. Oma took me all around to see the Gothic Cathedral (that of course was closed) but was beautiful on the outside. Next we took a tram up to the top of the hill to see the Stuttgart Tower. From this tower, which bared much resemblance to Seattle’s Space Nettle, you could see the entire city of Stuttgart and much more. The fall leaves really brought out the countryside and the woods that surrounded the city. After a visit to the top we took the incredibly fast elevator down to earth again. It was a good sight. After that we made our way back down through the city and visited a town market that was inside, rather than outside, where I couldn’t help but buy some chocolate… Mystery that. While snacking on this chocolate I took in all of the different scents in this covered place. There were the cheese booths, which reeked of stinky feet and worse, but you knew that the cheese was delicious; the spice stands which you can imagine smelled like a far away country like India or Asia (I guess those aren’t as far away for me as they are for all those reading this in America); the sweet aroma dried fruits and nuts. There were so many different fragrances in that building. As we ventured back out into the fresh air I ate the last few bites of my Chocolate bar, it was delicious. 

Our next stop was the Old Castle. The Old Castle is now a museum for all to see. It possesses a tomb where the King of Stuttgart was buried; a large and out of place collection of ancient Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age artifacts; a small collection of art; and a beautiful display of Crown Jewels. We left there and journeyed over to the New Castle just to look at the exterior. When my oma was younger she worked for a group that catered, set up and waited on people for parties, banquets and huge dinner occasions. She met many important people because she served them their food. While she was working this job she did many dinners at the New Castle. After that Oma caught the next train home and I went shopping in the city. I thought about getting a Starbucks while I was shopping but once I saw the line… I rethought my decision. The line was as long as the line for Slash Mountain in Disneyland! Okay, I am exaggerating a bit... 

After I felt like I had spent enough money, I returned back to the little familiar town of Winnenden, Oma was there waiting and we drove home. What a great day! 

The next day, which was my last day there (the 23rd), we hardly did anything. It was good. I tried to do some more homework, without much success and later Oma took me to her garden. She and her husband had bought this piece of land a long time ago so that they could go somewhere to relax and tend the flowers. We hopped in the car and 30 minutes later we were there, to the only land that was and is fully Irmi Früh’s. A few years ago Oma’s sister got really sick, so she went to live with her and take care of her. The down side to this was that she needed to find a tenant for her garden while she was away. She left simple instructions for him to follow, but man must have been the daftest in all of Germany. He chopped down her Hazelnut tree and hacked down the majority of her beautiful flowers. This place of refuge and rest for my oma was no more. Her Garden house that her husband had built was not how she left it. The wall paper was peeling off due to maltreatment, and the man was trying to grow crops in places where light wouldn’t even reach. I wished that I could have met this man. I just couldn’t understand how someone could be so selfish, pigheaded and insensitive! If I met him I would replace the handshake with the face slap. Okay, probably not. But I would give him a slice of my mind-cake! 

We left the garden after about half an hour and headed to another small town. It was called Schorndorf. It was another beautiful town with cute timbered houses and cobble stone roads. We went up to the church to see if for some reason we could get in… But not such luck. Mystery that… We wondered around for a while and then headed back to the house. That night for dinner Oma made the most amazing meal! Bratwurst, red cabbage and the softest, fluffiest, lightest mashed potatoes that have ever entered my mouth! I went for seconds on the cabbage and potatoes right away. They were magic in my mouth! My oma makes the best red cabbage in Germany, probably in the world! She starts by sauteing onions and letting them soften and brown in butter. Then she slowly adds the cabbage and water, but not too much. Then she cuts up a small soft apple and adds it in with cloves and other spices. It will slowly cook for hours, filling the house with this magical aroma that could make full stomachs growl as though they were empty! Then she adds some burgundy wine into the bucket of dreams and in a short while it is finished. The result is sheer perfection in a deep shade of purple. When we finished dinner we relaxed for one more evening and in the morning I got ready to catch the 12:58 train making my way back to Regensburg. Thank you Oma for a very satisfying week of relaxation. I cannot wait to do it again. 

Oct. 16, 2010

Ah the city of Heidelberg. There was so much to see I don’t think it is possible to do it all in one day. The group was getting smaller and smaller because everyone had their own travels to attend to. Hannah E., Aaron, Steve and Phil had already gone on their way to Amsterdam. So all that are left to see Heidelberg are us girls (Kirsten, Kristen, Kacey, Hannah D. and myself). We were given a tour of a few interesting things in the city. First we went to the University and were shown the “studentenkarzer” or in English, the “student prison.” This “prison” is famous to the students in Heidelberg.Originally it was used for a method of discipline. You would be sent there if you were misbehaving in or out of class. We were read a list of common reasons for a student to be sent to the prison, some of which were; tipped off the hat of a police officer, shouts and sings in the streets at night, is found drunk on the campus, and so on. But it soon became the “cool” thing to do, to see if you could get into the students prison. These dorm rooms were covered with the students graffiti and artwork. A tradition was to paint the silhouettes of each student that stayed there. 

We made our way from the university over to the castle, in a roundabout way (after wondering through the main street, and to a church or two. This castle was redesigned (foolishly) by a later king to make it “prettier.” He broke down many of its amazing wall and put in terraces for gardens and such. It was prettier indeed, but when war broke out, this castle was like a playground for the enemy. They climbed up the terraces like they were a jungle-gyms. So much for that brilliant plan, huh there king! This castle has an extensive wine cellar, in which the worlds largest (I am told) wine barrel resides. On the top of this wine barrel there is room for 25 people to dance, and those aren’t just statistics, I was up there, and there is definitely room for 25 people to move around, at least! 

After dinner at the Jegendherberge, we got all dressed up to go out to the Hard Rock Cafe there in Heidelberg. I would have to say that Heidelberg has the smallest Hard Rock known to man kind! Ha! There were so many people crowded in there you felt like you were having a heat flash and the music (which was primarily death metal, not even rock!) was way too loud. I sound like an old woman, but it’s all true. Ask any one of us and we will be happy to tell you the same. Though it was fun to get dressed up and go out for a change. We are always so busy and either too tired to go out in the evenings or we are studying through the night. Well Heidelberg, you have served us well, maybe not for your Hard Rock, but for your German culture. Thank you oh so much! 

Oct. 15, 2010

Today we journeyed to the city of Mainz. The main attraction (that we knew of at least) was the Guttenburg Museum. It was very interesting to go throughout this museum and think that  back in that time era these where printers. The long process of putting all of the letters together to for a line then to keep going until you had a page, that would take so much patience! And that would only have been one page. The process of putting a book together would take weeks, I’m sure. However weeks is much faster than how long it would take the fastest scribe  write the Bible. One of the many advantages to the printing press of that time was that you could print multiple things. When you put a page together you would print that mage multiple time therefore you would end up with multiple books in the end. To that century this was explosive for authors, students, and anyone wanting to make money, learn to read and so on. The printing press made everything so much more accessible. People that weren’t motivated to learn before, were motivated now, because learning was now accessible. I made sure that I got to see some of the original Guttenburg Bibles. They were absolutely beautiful! I thought it was amazing how embellished they were. I also thought it was amazing the amount of security there was involved. Each Bible was in a glass case lined with security wires, hence if the glass were to be broken into an alarm would sound. The room that the Bibles were in was actually a vault. Is that secure enough for you?

We drove on from Mainz and the Guttenburg Museum all the way for a short stop in Worms see the Church there and where Luther’s famous “Diet of Worms” was. I noticed that inside this church the back of the church did not have an organ. It was located on the wall to the right. I wonder why it was this way. Another thing that was vastly different with this church was it stained glass. There weren’t many stories of Saints, or of Christ and the Scriptures. They consisted of larger chunks of colored glass not in any shape at all really. We walked to a Reformation monument and on the way over to it I noticed that all throughout Worms there are statues of dragons. Some of them more vibrantly painted than others, and all posing differently. Very curious. 

Our last stop the day was at a Jewish Cemetery (also in Worms). It was interesting to see such a large cemetery all for Jewish people. We learned about the significance in stacked rocks on a grave stone. It meant that the person was very significant and loved. It is a tradition for the Jewish people to do this rather than put flowers on a grave. I wonder why. All in all, there was a lot of traveling today and I am glad we made stops in these two cities. 

Oct. 14, 2010

Today was my little brothers birthday! He turned 12! (For the fifth year in a row) I can’t believe that I wasn’t there to see it happen again. Sorry Alex, but we went to a castle. The Castle Wartburg is built in three sections that show everyone the time eras that royalty added on and on. The earliest buildings were built in 1067. The actual building of the castle began in 1156 and was finished around 1172. King Ludwig IV and his queen Elizabeth lived there in 1221-1227. The first section was made form sandstone and the middle out of brick. Both were built in the Romanesque style with columns in every window. The newest section of the castle was done in the half timbered style. It was here that Martin Luther would hide in safety and translate the New Testament from Greek into German over a span of a year. The castle originally consisted of 200 columns and was artistically crafted. Today it is one of the most preserved secular buildings of the Romanesque era on this side of the Alps (says the nifty English guide we were given that tells us about the castle). What an amazing site! 

Oct. 13, 2010

We made a stop today on our way to Eisenach. We stopped in Erfurt (Germany’s “Rome”) at the Monastery where Luther became a monk. It was very interesting to see the place where Luther lived and studied. However it was an authentic remake due to the Monastery’s destruction in WWII. We spent a large portion of our time in the Church there at the Monastery. The stain glass windows, which were under repair, were the oldest in Erfurt. They dated back to when the church was built, which was the year 1340. Even though we could not see the actual windows, there were large banners that displayed pictures of what they looked like. Then we were able to see the size of them and we could also study them in great detail. I thought it was very interesting how much detail and meaning there was in the windows. I knew there was meaning in them of course, but I had no notion of to which extent. We paid particular attention to the left window displaying the lions, roses, birds and lilies. The lions were representations of Christ. A rose was considered the queen of the flowers, therefore they were a representation of Mary. Curiously enough the design of the rose was quite significant. We noticed that it was very much like the design of Luther’s Rose. It is possible that Luther did design his rose after the roses that are in this stained glass, but then there is no way of knowing. The birds (which looked like parrots, but weren’t) and the lilies both were representations of purity. In a monastery purity a main idea. Monks are to be celibate. However Luther went against this when eh married his run-away-nun.   

Going to the Bach house was an awesome experience. One of the things that I enjoyed most was being able to hear some of the instruments from his collection. I actually got to take part in one demonstration of a house organ. There were these leather straps, rather like the size and length of a belt you would loop through your pants, and you were to tug on them in alternating motions to pump the air into the organ. The sound was soft, and it made sense that it was called a “house” organ. It was smaller than that of a church organ and it was not as grand sounding, because it was for practicing in your home. The room where we all were had many instruments. Just a few of what were in Bach’s musical collection. Bach’s collection consists of over 500 instruments. Some of which are not made anymore or are rare, such as the violin trumpet, the 7 stringed cello, mediaeval flutes, and bassoons the shape of a slithering snake. Another instrument that was in the museum was created by Benjamin Franklin. It was called the “Glass Harmonica.” I thought that this was one of the coolest things I had seen in a longtime. Have you ever filled up wine glasses and wetted the tip of your finger then ran it around the rim of the glass? You know that sound? That is what this instrument sounded like. That was actually how you played it was well. It was so clever, but that’s Franklin for you. My favorite instrument in the entire museum, however, would have to have been the double bass. It was so beautiful! I play the bass, so naturally I really wanted to take this home with me. I noticed that the strings weren’t how they are made today (which is copper cords with a silver metal wrapped around them). These strings were made of what seemed to be hide, or possibly intestines. Then wrapped around the two lower strings was some sort of metal. I wonder how it would have sounded, had I played it.