A New Perspective

Hey Everyone!  It's Lindsey guest blogging this week to share a little about my experiences in Germany over the last two weeks.  My mom and I arrived on Thursday, June 14th (her birthday) at 8:30 in the morning Germany time.  I was so excited to see Amber and Nate but even more so to see the adorably cute little face of Baby Landon for the first time!  After working very hard to stay awake for the entire day (the car threatened to put me to sleep almost as fast as Landon), getting our base passes, having my first schnitzel and taking a trip onto base for some Euro and other supplies our adventures in Germany really began. 



 On Friday, we took a USO train tour to the town of Ider-Oberstein.  I needed a crash course on German train travel before I did it by myself later in the week.  This quaint little town is home to an international gem cutting school and other gem producing shops.  Landon got to go on his first train ride along with us.  Mom and I also hiked up to a castle and church built on the side of a hill.  It was a long climb but the view from the top down onto the little town was well worth it.  It seems no matter where you go, the view is like a fairy tale.  In a little restaurant in the middle of town, we tried spiessbraten, a spiced pork steak. 

Saturday was a pretty quiet day at home, but in the afternoon we were able to baptize Landon.  Even though it was on base and in English, we had to concentrate very hard to follow what our German priest was saying to us.  I am very honored to have been asked and participate in the baptism and now am a godmother to my second little godchild and my nephew.  We celebrated Nate's first father's day on Sunday and talked to my dad on the phone.

On Monday, we visited the town of Heidelberg and I got to see my first castle that wasn't in ruins.  It was a lot of hiking uphill but was an amazing sight to see once we were there.  Its amazing that you can just travel a little ways and look around and you can usually find some kind of castle or something of historical significance that is hundreds of years older than our country.  Once you stop and think about the ingenuity and hard work that went into building these places without modern technology, it's even more amazing! 

Wednesday brought a whole new experience for me.  I hopped on the train in Mannheim and traveled 4 hours to the city of Hamburg in Northern Germany.  I was lucky enough to visit my friend Stephan who was a foreign exchange student when I was a sophomore in high school and I have been in touch with off and on for the last 12 years.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see an old friend and travel Germany with someone who could speak the language and translate for me.  I was very nervous to travel on the train for the first time by myself in a foreign country but I made it there and back in one piece and it really wasn't so bad!

On Thursday, we jumped in the car and traveled to Berlin.  As much of a nerd as I am and as much as I know about history, I can't say I really knew what I would see in Berlin.  For the most part, Berlin is a city like any other, but if you walk the tourist filled streets you can still see remnants and reminders of war throughout the city as well as the new construction that is inevitable when an area is destroyed by war.  Stephan and I visited the remnants of the Berlin wall, the Reichstag (parliament building), Jewish Memorial, Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie.  Simply looking down at the street, provides a reminder of where the wall used to be.  Bricks follow the path along the street where the wall once stood even though the vertical portions are gone.  Probably the best place to visit was the observation platform at the TV tower which was built on the East side of Berlin for residents to see into the West side.  Although there was a lot to read and learn, it was very nice to have someone from Germany to tell me about all of the places I could see from up above the city.  For all I know, he could have made it all up and told me and I would have believed it anyway, but I'm sure it was all accurate since he's almost as nerdy as I am.






Friday brought a tour of the city of Hamburg which is a major port in Germany and also where I was staying.  We visited the port, walked underneath the river through a tunnel and observed the city from the other side.  Even with new construction throughout the city, you can see many of the reminders of the history of Germany throughout town.  Stephan showed me some of his favorite places around the city before going home to prepare for Fanfest Hamburg.  At Fanfest, 70-80,000 people gather to watch the European soccer championships on a big screen all together.  The excitement began as people crammed onto the subways singing, celebrating and enjoying the atmosphere as people prepared to share in the game between Germany and Greece.  Although Germans are taught not to show pride in their country by displaying their flag, everywhere one could see black, red and yellow for the event.  I even joined in the fun, becoming German for the night!  Unfortunately, about 5 minutes before the game started, the skies opened up and the rain started, so we crammed back onto the train with thousands of other wet people, traveled back home and watched the second half of the game on TV.


On Saturday, we traveled to the North Sea and checked out the town of St. Peter-Ording.  We walked along the beach, watching the wind surfers for a while.  Although everyone was dressed in coats and hats (except for the section of nude beach we had to walk past to get to somewhere with coffee) and we were less than prepared, the water was surprisingly warmer than expected.  It was nice enough to walk along without shoes.  We walked through the seaside town, taking in the sights and enjoying the view. 

I hopped back on the train the next day, sorry to see this new adventure end, but so excited I was able to do it.  I'm enjoying my last few days with Amber, Nate, my mom and of course little Landon before I head home tomorrow.  It has been a wonderful trip, I am sad to see it end but so grateful I have the opportunity in my life to be able to travel!