When Lyndee told me in December 2013 that she was applying for a scholarship that would allow her to live in Germany for a whole year, I never dreamed that she would be accepted (and she was), and I never dreamed that she would accept the offer (and she did) and that her bedroom would be silent for 11 long months. She comes home in 21 days, and I can't wait. It has been a looooong 11 months in one way, and in another, the time has passed quickly. It really helped that I had our Easter trip to plan and occupy my times of loneliness. I also passed the time by teaching myself German. I used the Rosetta Stone series, the Duolingo phone app, a CD audio series in my car, and several books. After five months, I could recognize about 75% of what I heard in conversation-- enough to be able to guess the meaning, given context clues. Speaking the language was more of a challenge... Of course, I had no one to help me practice speaking, except for occasional skype sessions with Lyndee when she would teach me a few new rules of German.
I began planning our spring trip in November 2014. After a few weeks, Rick and I convinced my parents that they should come, too, so they applied for their passports, and, never having been out of the country, they boarded the plane with us in Roanoke on March 27 and flew to Charlotte and then to London. Since Lyndee and I had been to Ireland, England, and France in the summer of 2013, I knew "the ropes" about airport security and layovers. Rick had been to London back in the day with a school group (pre-Susie), so he was familiar with Heathrow Airport. It was a huge airport... even back then!
Waiting to see Lyndee come around the corner at the International Arrivals was agonizing. Every young woman who came around the wall SHOULD have been Lyndee; I began to wonder if I would recognize her! haha. We knew she was in the airport because she had messaged me on "What's App" and said she waiting in some line. Finally... here she came! I had been waiting for that hug for 8 months. It was a tearful and satisfying reunion... before this year, she had never been "gone" for more than a week's time! We all hugged, and we hugged, and we hugged again.
We stayed in London for three nights and got to see some incredible sights. The St. Mary's Church in Shelton, England, was my favorite place. To know that my relatives came from those fields and built that awesome church building was incredible. Gave me chills. Read Lyndee's last blog for details and photos.
So I'll fast forward to where Lyndee left off...
On our fourth day, March 30, we rode the 186 MPH Eurostar train under the "chunnel" (channel tunnel) to get to Brussels, Belgium, and then transfer trains to Cologne, Germany. The train does have to slow to 60 MPH when it travels the 20 minutes under the North Sea to get to the mainland of Europe... or else, the windows of the train will implode. We had great views out the windows of the train, and we got to see the Belgian and German countryside. Lots of small villages with lots of fields waiting to be planted in the coming weeks. We learned that there had been an unusual spring storm-- named Niklaus-- with winds up to 190 km per hour (110 MPH) the day before. Trees were down across the tracks for some train routes. Luckily, our routes were clear, and our trains were "on time."
I was glad our trains were on time because I had been planning for months to meet my pen pal Martina from 1975. We lost touch around 1979, and through a series of strange coincidences, we were able to re-establish contact (see Roanoke Times news article from April 18, 2015, if you want the whole story).
Our train arrived in Cologne, Germany, about 3:15 pm, and when we exited the Bahnhof (train station), the most-visited German tourist attraction was in front of us. The Cologne Cathedral was massive-- very gothic in style. Construction began in the year 1248, and it took 632 years to complete. Finally, in 1880, construction halted. The cathedral is the tallest Gothic building in the world. World War II bombs hit the building 14 times, and the dints are still there; however, it was not destroyed. The surrounding buildings were flattened by bombs, so this gothic masterpiece looks a little out of place in the 1950's construction surrounding it. The inside is massive (it could hold 600 houses), and its claim to fame is that it was built to hold the bones of what Catholics believe to be the Magi-- the wise men who visited Jesus. A bright gold box (sarcophagus) inside the main sanctuary has a sign that says "This holds the remains of the Magi." The cathedral has 12 bells, including the largest free-swinging bell in the world.
What a happy reunion! Martina speaks excellent English (our letters were always written in English, although she tried to teach me some German many years ago). We exchanged hugs, introductions, and gifts. Then we all went to dinner at a restaurant that Martina and Birgitt had picked out. It was very, very, very, extremely odd to sit across the table and listen to my now-German-speaking daughter (this was the first time I had heard her speak so fluently) and my German-speaking friend from 40 years ago. They were having conversations and laughing... I had no idea what they were saying. I just sat there mesmerized, in awe of Lyndee's "progress" of learning a new language. It was evident how FLUENT she has become with a language that she hadn't studied in high school (not even offered at her high school). I had to video record some of it because it was so odd. It was then that I realized how proud I am of Lyndee for taking this huge risk of learning a whole new language and culture. I realized how brave and adventurous she is. I couldn't have done this as an 18 year old. She has embraced the challenge.
Our next stop would be Passau, the city where Lyndee attends school. After a six hour train ride through central Germany and gorgeous Bavaria, we made it to the end of the line-- Passau is the last stop before the country of Austria. Passau, with a population of 50,000 people, is the "City of Three Rivers" where the blue Danube River, the green Inn River, and the black Ilz River meet. Lyndee's school is on the peninsula between the two largest rivers. Her classroom window overlooks the Inn River that comes from Salzburg, Austria. The buildings are very colorful and OLD, although well maintained. The Germans don't seem to tear things down as much as Americans. Lyndee's school building used to be a monastery from the year 1612. Our yellow hotel was located next to the docks where the Viking River cruise ships dock. We stayed in the Hotel Am Paulusbogen for three nights, and enjoyed breakfasts of fruit, deli meats, breads, and jams each morning. Germans really know how to have breakfasts! We had choices of all types of spreads for our breads. They did have hard boiled eggs as well. Mmmmmm... and the peppermint tea was my favorite.
Lyndee had arranged with the school custodian to meet us so we could see the inside of her school. They have year-round school in Germany, so this was their two week Easter break. She attends school with about 400 other students, grades 6-12. It was clean and spacious. The art work on the walls was welcoming, and the classrooms were inviting. They don't have a cafeteria but a "snack room," complete with vending machines and tables for conversations. I, of course, noticed the "lost and found" area! It looked just like Auburn Middle! haha. There was no counseling office since they don't have school counselors; the school secretary serves as the schedule-master! Lyndee says she always has a difficult time telling her German classmates that her mother "helps students with their feelings..." I think they are amused that the US has a career that helps students with their emotions. :)
Lyndee provided the translation for our dinnertime conversation. She sat in between her two families, and we laughed and did a lot of sign language. Nadja knows a lot of English, so she was helpful with the translations as well. We gave the Kufners our gifts from America-- American coins for Marcel's growing coin collection, an American scarf for Nadja, a soft blanket for Lorena, a CD of bluegrass music (Gravel Road!) for Christian, and American dog biscuits for the seven dogs!
We ended the day at the Wirsthaus Seeufer Restaurant where Marcel is a chef! Lyndee's Oma and Opa (host grandparents) joined us for dinner, too. Marcel is quite the chef. We ate schnitzel and spätzle, jagerbraten and kartoffelknodeln (basically, pork, noodles, sausage, and potato noodles). Christian enjoyed ordering "ein salat" for Lyndee (secretly) and watching her surprise when the waiter brought her a green salad (NOT her favorite!). I think he teases her a lot about the lack of greens in her diet. I must say, however, as her mother, that I was very impressed with the new items she has added to her diet. She has been rather particular with her food (since birth), and I never thought I would see her eat like she did. She said, "Mom, you'll never have to worry about me being picky again!" Well, then... this German adventure has been worth it! And she even picked up some domestic skills that I am hopeful she will use in her American home!
Sorry this blog entry is lengthy... are you still with me??
Easter is a BIG DEAL in Germany where most families observe the Catholic religion. We visited St. Stephen's Dom, the cathedral in Passau that houses the world's largest organ with over 17,000 pipes. It was impressive with its vaulted ceilings and paintings on the ceiling that resembled Michelangelo's work. Easter is such a big deal in Germany that all the stores close on Good Friday. Lorena had warned us about this, so we knew to catch a train from Passau and head to Salzburg, Austria, where it is not a national holiday and the businesses would be open. We loved Salzburg, home of Mozart and many of the great musicians of old. It is also the setting for The Sound of Music. Its baroque architecture is at the base of some impressive and imposing Austrian Alps. The city's fortress, the Festung Hohensalzburg, sits on the hill above the city; it was built in 1077. We rode the tram up the hillside to visit this fortress. It was strange to me to be visiting something so... well, old. In America, something is "old" if it has lasted since the 1700's. Here we were walking the halls of a castle that is almost 1,000 years old. And still standing. Un...believable. We walked along the Salzach River, known for the salt transport down to the Inn River and then to the Danube. We enjoyed our five hours in the old, old city of Salzburg.
After church services, we decided to end our visit with a trip to Dachau Concentration Camp north of Munich. Mom and I were leery about going and facing a sad chapter in human history. I know how my three visits to the Holocaust Museum in DC (on school field trips) affected me for days and weeks afterwards, and I wasn't sure that I wanted to end our trip on that note. However, Dad and Rick wanted to know the history, so we agreed that we needed to see Dachau, which is the model prison camp after which all other concentration camps were built. It opened in 1933 and operated until US forces liberated the camp in 1945. It was sobering to be in the same buildings as so many who died. I was pleased that the museum was appropriately somber, not too graphic, and honored the lives of those who passed through the main gates. We arrived an hour before closing, so we didn't get to see the entire grounds, which were, by the way, huge. I was glad to revisit history and left resolved, "Never again."
On our tenth day, we had to say good-bye to Lyndee. This was the hardest day of the trip, and I knew it would be. I had prepared myself for the tears... and it was harder to say good-bye than it had been in July eight months earlier. Lynd came to the airport with us and watched as we stood in line for baggage. Then we had one last hug, and I watched her leave to go catch her 2 hour bus and train ride back to Neukirchen. She looked back only once and we exchanged one last wave. We had had so much fun together for the previous nine days. I will treasure those days forever.
Looking back, I am proud of the confident, thoughtful, and intelligent young woman she has become with beauty inside and out. I'm not sure what the future holds for her... I know she is a better person for this Bavarian experience. I'm thankful to CIEE and Experiment (the companies that oversee this exchange program) and the Kufner family. She has been blessed beyond measure to live with the Kufners. I'm a little worried about her re-integration into American living. She will be in reverse culture shock for a few days, I'm guessing. I suppose we will need to let our dog Zeke sleep in her bed with her... so she can continue her newfound love of dogs...?! I'm not sure how we can re-create the German cuisine that she is used to... perhaps some trips to Edelweiss near Staunton. LOL. All I can say is... I can't wait ’til we pick her up at Dulles Airport on June 21st!
Liebe Grüße, Susie