A Young Gentleman and Wire Art

So I returned from the Southern Germany trip with my host Rotary Club on Sunday night. I've been catching up on sleep for the past two days and as it turns out also losing much of the sleep I have gained, but that comes later...

So I'll start where it's always best to start at the begining. The begining happens to be early in the morning on October 2nd. Getting away on time when you are leaving on a trip never seems to be my forte. I'm always packed the night before and all that jazz, but I always seem to be scrabbling at the last minute. That morning was no exception, except this time there was no way I could be late. The Germans are very punctual and I didn't want to make Lutz and Marion late. So I was ready, just in the nick of time and wolfed down my breakfast.

We got to the bus with time to spare and as usual the sky was overcast and there was a light drizzle of rain. Often, I am starving for the vast blue skies of Alberta. Today was no exception. The bus was filled with Rotarians and their spouses. There were probably about 50 of us. The President's two sons also came along, but I'll talk more about them later.

When we stopped for lunch there was a blue sky! It wasn't completely clear, but it was certainely wonderful to see. I ate my first Knodel and I couldn't help, but think of you Shannon. (Her last name is Knodel.) This was the first time I had a Knodel here in Germany. I have to say that I wasn't particularily fond of it. Sorry Shannon. It was rather plain. I also had rouladin and I couldn't help, but think of Tannis and her family. They had made this German speciality for me before I left. We also ate red crout, which was really really good.

We ate this meal at a kloster and after we finished eating we toured the kloster and an old children's toy mueseum. I have to say that the dolls weren't all that wonderful to look at, but OH MY GOODNESS the doll houses were incredible. There were also some really neat trains and an old school children's fuse ball table like thing. Pretty cool. I tried to take some pictures here, but something is wrong with my camera.

That's right reader, I have no pictures from the trip. I'm not really sure what's up with it, but Lutz thinks he has an idea so he'll take it in to get fixed this week. It's not a very old camera and of course I paid for it, so I am a little crushed. I hope it can be fixed and the cost to get it fixed isn't brutal.

We spent a bit more time in that town before reaching our final destination Trier. It is a beautiful city which the Romans conquered a long time ago, so there is a lot of history here. We arrived at the hotel and I was pleasantely surprised when they gave me my own room. I don't think they had any idea how much that really meant to me. I was speaking in German all day and I was completely immersed in German. Many of the Rotarians wanted to talk with me, so I had to concentrate really hard to try to understand them. I did this from early in the morning until late in the evening. Having my own room was great, because I was able to have a break from all of the German. I appreciated it so much.

That night we went out to a palace to eat. Needless to say it was an expensive meal with many courses. We were there for 4 hours. The food of course was exquisite. We ate another Knodel, but this time for dessert. It was the only part of the meal that I didn't think was done very well. It was still very plain,. (The Knodel.) I also spoke to the President's sons for the first time. One of the boys is 17 and his name is Dennis. The younger boy, Marvin, is 13. Both boys look very German. The blonde hair, the blue eyes, you know what I mean. They were both awesome. They both talked to me a fair bit and made sure to include me into conversations. I ended up spending a lot of time with them over the whole weekend. I was able to understand the youngest boy quite well because he used very simple vocabulary.

I think Marvin was also really thrilled to be able to help what he saw as a "grown up". So he made sure when ever he was talking to me that he would talk slowly and clearly. He would explain things when it was very clear I didn't know what was going on. He also wouldn't revert to English. He would explain something to me in different words when I didn't understand. Usually after he explained it a second time in different words I could actually understand him. It was a great feeling for me.

The next day we went on a walking tour around Trier. It was quite cold, eight degrees celcius and it rained. It's a different kind of cold here. We looked at the Porta Nigra from the outside, went into churches, and all of that jazz. We ate a really good meal for lunch. I sat with the President, his wife, and his two boys.

One of the side dishes were more Knodels. This time they were really good. They had spices in them so they weren't nearly so bland. The dessert here was the best part. There were all sorts of little things. There were small slices of lemon pie, a nut ice cream, fruit dipped in chocolate, and these little banana filled pastries that tasted just like Moxies Chango's without the caramel. I miss those....

Later we had free time and I was able to have some time to myself. It was the anniversary of the German Reunification so all of the shops were closed. The only time we had set aside to shop and the President made it on this day. His wife was also a little unhappy. ANYWAYS...it all turned out to be awesome, because there were some street vendors out taking advantage of the closed shops situation and the tourists eager to spend money.

Most of the stuff wasn't anything I was interested in, but one of the stands drew me. It was a man making trinkets out of wire. Now this doesn't sound amazing, but believe me they were beautiful. There is no other word to describe them, each piece was a piece of art. AND they were only 2 Euros. So I debated for a while which ones I wanted. I could have taken a dozen of them! There was a crowd around this stand watching him work. I ended up buying a long stemmed rose piece, and a smaller one which was a bike. I will tie a ribbon on the bike and use it for an ornament on my tree at Christmas.

When ever my parents go travelling they always buy something which they use as an ornament on our tree. So naturally our tree is really ecletic and awesome!! So I wanted to follow in my parents footsteps. It's the first ornament I have ever purchased for myself. I was over the moon happy. So I ended up paying 4 euros and I was sooooo happy! They are so beautiful. When my camera is alive and well again I will take pictures!!!!

Then we went back to the Porta Nigra which is an old Roman building in Trier and this time we went inside, but with a professional actor. Oh my goodness he was a HOOT! I understood some of what he was saying, but Marion translated most of it for me so I wasn't in the dark. Bless her! Lutz also did this for me during the trip, because the tour guides were speaking in German vocab which was too sophisticated for me to understand. I really appreciated both of them doing that.

That evening we also ate well, but the best thing we ate was something called Flammkuchen which is an appetiser. The bottom is a very very thin crust and on top there is ham, cream sauce, and onions. Oh man is it ever good.

The next day we went to Luxemburg! I know!!! It was cool, although it was a very short detour. We spent only half the day there. The buildings are gorgeous and old! The meal here wasn't very good which was a bit disapointing, because with all of the French influence in Luxemburg I was expecting something a bit more memorable. I ate with the boys again and I have some really cute stories about that!

So I had finished what I was drinking and Marvin turns to me and asks me in German if I want something else. I told him I thought I would have a water. I thought he was just starting a conversation, but no after I told him that he got the waiters attention and ordered a coke for himself and a water for me. When it arrived, Marvin then poured it in my glass and even did the little twist of the bottle thing!! It was soooo cute. He is such a little honey. He also looks a lot like my friend Teddi in Canada. Now when I say this I mean that he looks like a boy version of her if there ever was one. I am in no way implying that Teddi looks at all like a boy or Marvin looks anything like a girl.

This resembelence was sometimes a huge comfort to me, because I thought of Teddi and her sister Steffi. Sometimes it was quite painful because looking at his face reminded me so much of home and the Sisterhood. (The Sisterhood is not a cult, just so you know. I'll explain it to you briefly. My sister, Teddi, Steffi, and I have known each other forever. We all read the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants books and wanted to do that ourselves. There was no way we could all fit in the same jeans, but we decided to the same thing with a hoody. So we are the Sisterhood of the Bunnyhug. Bunnyhug is a Saskatchewan name for Hoody.)

We did some more site seeing and returned to Trier. We had a bit of time to go shopping, but nothing jumped out screaming BUY ME, so I didn't buy anything. I only had 10 minutes to change for dinner, and let me tell you I did a very good job! I'm sure you can tell that I was really pleased with myself. So believe me when I say I was dressed to kill! And in 10 minutes!! I don't think it'll ever happen again in that short of time so I have to feel proud of it now!

We at a traditional Roman meal. The waiters were dressed up in traditional Roman clothing. It was sooo awesome! The meal was pretty good. There were some wine bread buns which were really amazing! Again the meal was about 4 and a half hours.

The next day we went to the Nürburgring which is a really famous race track with lots of Porshes, Ferarri's, that sort of thing. We had a tour and for most of it we were outside. It was sooo cold and wet. I'm also not really into cars so it was quite cold and boring. The guys LOVED it. Haha it was pretty funny.

I tried to sleep on the bus ride back. It didn't work out to well and my back is still sore from the attempt! I got in on Sunday at about 8:30 pm and rushed in to call my mother, because it was her birthday. Renato was the one to answer the door. (He is the other exchange student in my area.) Needless to say I was floored. I had no idea he would be there. Well anyways I talked with my mom, sister, and dad for two hours. That was great.

Once I was off the phone with them I found my two host brothers and Renato. We played a German board game like Settlers of Catan, but we were settling in space. Random I know, lol but it was fun. We were up until 2:30 AM dang and I had lost so much sleep in Southern Germany. I was beat!

I slept in until 1 pm yesterday and then Stephan took me to the library! I got more DVD's. I'll have a ton of time to watch them, because I am now on my holiday's from school. The icing on the cake was that he helped me set up my own library card!!! I was beyond thrilled! Now I can go and get stuff when ever I want. I was soo happy. We shopped for groceries and went back to the house.

We made and ate a casserole and then Stephan, Renato, and I played another German board game. It was pretty fun. Later on we played another German board game. It was pretty fun. I called it a night earlier, because I was soo tired.

So that brings me to today. I got up before Renato so I watched one of the movies with Stephan that we had rented. It was a film about the First World War that Stephan really recomended I watch. He said that all the students watch it a few times during school and it is based on a really famous German novel. It was an incredible film, maybe a bit of a heavy movie to watch first thing in the morning, but it was very good.

Then I went for a run in the forest. I came back had a bit of lunch with Renato and then he left. Now it's just Stephan and I at home. It will probably be a pretty lazy day. I've just finished all of my computer stuff, so I'll probably watch another movie, but first I will go on a nice long walk with Anton.

Well that's all I have to report. I hope the sky is blue and the sun is shining where ever you are. I also hope you are all doing well. I am doing well. I definetly need some more sleep and my back still hurts a bit, but I am in good spirits. As always I love and miss you all. Until next time reader...