It really was that good. This is the traditional German feast we had for lunch today. The dumplings were "all-you-can-eat". This picture was taken immediately prior to the feeding frenzy.
Monday, June 04, 2007
The kids...
I've got a good group with me this summer. Here they are:
Jagoda is going into her senior year. She's originally from Poland, but they moved to Mississippi when she was kid and she's only very recently gotten her citizenship. This is a picture of her with her new hostmom, Claudia.
Gena and Samantha. They're in the same sorority and good friends. Samantha's family actually lives in Germany, but she hasn't used the language much since she was a kid. Gena is a business major and German minor who will be finishing her requirements this summer. She placed into the highest course Treffpunkt offers!!
Rachel is a freshman, and has pledged the same sorority as Gena and Samantha. She's very sweet, the daughter of a moderate Baptist preacher, and has friends and acquaintances in Kaiserslautern.
Darrel (front seat), Matt and Rocky. I think Darrel's really out, but Matt and Rocky seem to be faking. They're both in the same fraternity and a little ... impish. Darrel is a non-traditional student who until this trip had never been out of the U.S. He's a hoss -- 6'8", 270 pounds. He broke his foot on Monday, thought it was something he could just "walk off", and so walked around on it (with luggage, over cobblestones, miles and miles every day, etc.) for a week before telling me on Sunday, "Um, my foot kind of hurts. Do you think we could go see a doctor today?" -- there were bones protruding from the side at odd angles. He is now in a cast he'll be wearing for four weeks. But he has a good attitude in spite of it all. It may, of course, just be the medication...
Meredith with Rachel and Gena. Meredith is the quietest in the group, very shy. I can't get her to say much in English, let alone German. But she's incredibly sweet and very funny, in a sly, quiet kind of way. She's majoring in Biology.
And Wayne. He's a bit of a troublemaker, in a good way. He's a freshman and plays Baseball for our school and started 22 games this year. The German girls think he's pretty, and he's eating it up.
Seriously...
these things are too much fun. Check out the top 60 words used on my blog in the month of May:
' addendum around austin bad baptist best bunny caitlin care church claus cute days easter ever family favorite flights friends fun going happy hope hungry kids knows least life lost love morning music night nothing open people picture power quite really santa sense share someone something students texas thanks thee things think thirsty though trip truth visit work world year
created at TagCrowd.com
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Ah, Bamberg, how I love thee...
... wait for it ...
... my apartment. I know what you thought I was going to say, but I'm not (quite) that cheesy. Well, at least not always. Although I clearly thought about it.
Frankfurt
I arrived in Frankfurt on Wednesday morning (10:30). Rachel was already at the airport, so we met at the Treffpunkt and then made our way into the city. We found the hostel without any difficulty at all -- I was there last year -- and set about exploring everything.
On Thursday, Wayne, Meredith and Gena arrived, and on Friday, Darrel, Matt and Rocky made an appearance. It was nice to have everyone there!! Especially since I went to the airport twice on Thursday and twice on Friday, because of flight delays. I know Frankfurt airport like the back of my hand, now, so go ahead and ask anything...
It was nice to start the visit in Frankfurt, and explore the big city a bit. Here are a few impressions of the financial capital of Europe:
How I made it through Day 1 ... and every day since =). Not Starbucks every time, but definitely the coffee.
Model of the city of Frankfurt in the 1890s. This is the old city center, which is only a 7 minute walk from the hostel where we stayed, Das Haus der Jugend. As hostels go, I highly recommend it. The beds are comfortable and the breakfasts are excellent. You can sleep in a dorm-style room, or in a 4-person room with WC and shower in the room. Guess which one I chose?
Model of the city in 1945. Frankfurt was considered a "front" city, and bombed extensively by the Royal Air Force between October 1943 and March 1944. The bombs, as you can see, were quite effective. One of the docents at the museum did tell me that this model makes things look worse than they actually were (although they weren't great, based on photographs I saw), because the people who made it were arguing for the opportunity to raze the old city center and replace it with "modern" (1950s) skyscrapers and apartment buildings -- you know, those hideously ugly block things. I, for one, am really glad they didn't win and that people chose to rebuild the old city. Ok, so it's not "authentic", at least you get a sense of the old city, and some of the buildings/facades did actually survive.
The cathedral. You can tell from the model that the ceiling of the main section didn't make it, but the tower, originally built in the 12th century, survived the war.
A good thing that resulted from the bombing ... these Roman ruins (originally baths, later converted into an imperial residence), ca. 7th - 11th centuries, were uncovered.
Two Germans sharing our table for lunch ... and Der Römer - Frankfurt's city hall. It contains the "Kaisersaal", where lots of people like to get married.
Buildings around the main square. They were rebuilt according to old pictures.
Justice -- she isn't blind, and is carrying a big sword.
Giant Euro outside the European Central Bank, which is housed in Frankfurt. The students asked if giving it a swift kick would help the exchange rate. No, sadly.
Bull and bear outside the Frankfurt stock exchange. Last time I checked, the DAX was doing pretty well ...
"America" statue outside the Stock Exchange.
The group in front of the old opera house.
Me, looking almost as tired as I felt at that point, with the sun setting behind me over the Main river.
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