Greetings all!

Let’s share pictures!

Upload your pictures to a flickr account and join the group:

www.flickr.com/groups/germany2008

(E-mail me if you want to just add pictures under a main account… I have the login information for you!)

This morning we got to sleep in for the last time (breakfast at 8 again) and then onto the bus for the 45 minute ride to the Frankfurt airport.

We arrived, got Ariel on the train to Hannover to meet her former foreign exchange student, and then we were off to Rekyavik and then to Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Thanks, everyone, for the fantastic trip. The kids were amazing and the trip was as tremendous as it was because of these fantastic kids!

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Our first stop in Rudesheim this morning was a grocery store so we could get chocolate and candy at a more reasonable price… I think we bought out the store! Then we ate lunch at a Schnell-Imbiss (ate bratwurst and other such things) and then it was time to find our boat for our Rhein Cruise!

We rode with the Bingen-Ruedesheimer company and got to ride on a beautiful boat called Vater Rhein. It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed our time relaxing on the boat! We got to see awesome things like the Maeuseturm and the Loreley as well as many amazing castles that dot the landscape on either side of the river.

Then to our youth hostel in Rudesheim… a beautiful hostel with an amazing view of the Rhein. We ate supper and then un-packed in order to re-pack for the trip home.

We finished the night with a debriefing of the trip and a good-bye for Toni. We ate some Moevenpick ice cream and just relaxed together for our final night together. Tomorrow morning to the bus and a final ride in Germany before good-byes to the country!

This morning we got up and said goodbye to our beautiful hotel in the Alpine town of Wilderswil. We stopped at Vogli, a grocery store, to pick up some food for lunch and then back on the bus to go to the Rhein Falls.

We got to the Rhein Falls around 11:00. The Rhein Falls is kind of like the Niagara Falls of the Rhein (on a smaller scale). It was beautiful!! We took a hike around the entire area and even got down into the mist of the falls. It was beautiful! On our way back to the bus, we stopped for ice cream and lunch.

Then it was time to say goodbye to Switzerland as we crossed back into Germany and into the Schwarzwald (the Black Forest) and found ourselves at the Titisee. The Titisee is a beautiful lake in the middle of the Black Forest. We rented electric and paddle boats and enjoyed some time on the lake. It was relaxing (except for the few rounds of bumper-paddle-boats or splash-o-rama) and truly amazing to just relax in a boat in such a beautiful atmosphere. Most of the kids were wishing for their cabins as we lazily paddled around.

After Titisee, we were back onto the bus to travel deep into the Black Forest and the city of Triberg. Triberg is home to many shops that sell one of Germany’s most well-known souvenirs, the cuckoo clocks. We went to the store called “House of 1000 Clocks“. It was awesome!

Then off to our youth hostel up in the forest and after supper we played cards, ping pong and watched the finale of the European cup… Spain vs. Germany.

This morning we woke up at Hotel Schoenbuehl in Wilderswil, overlooking the biggest peaks of the Swiss Alps, the Eiger, the Moench and the Jungfrau. We ate breakfast at 8:00 (sleeping in!) and then went down to the train station to take a train to Lauterbrunnen and then a cog-wheel train to Wengen. In Wengen, we got on a Lufseilbahn that went up the mountain to Maennlichen, the beginning of our Alpine hike.

From Maennlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, we enjoyed the most beautiful Alpine scenery and even a few snowball fights here and there! Se took some really beautiful pictures and hopefully we can add those for everyone to enjoy soon!

Once we reached Kleine Scheidegg, we stopped for lunch and ate the Swiss specialty, Rosti. Everyone thought it was delicious and really enjoyed the Roesti with the bacon, cheese and eggs on top!

When we finished in Kleine Scheidegg, we took a train back down and went back to the hotel for some more swimming. Supper time came soon as we ate rice, curried chicken, salad and tomato soup. Then back to the pool for swimming and once the pool closed, we spent the rest of the evening playing cards, ping pong, trivia (with the scottish kids) or even a few went to a truck festival that was in town!

Good night for the Alps!

We woke up this morning and, on our way out of Reutte, took a quick stop to take pictures of Neuschwanstein, another of Ludwig’s castles… and is most well known as being the Cinderella castle from Walt Disney world (and at the beginning of every movie)!

After that we drove some more and stopped for lunch (with our groceries) in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is known as the “Postage Stamp Country”. That is for two reasons: 1- on the world map, it is hardly even the size of a postage stamp (it is a very small country), and 2- One of Liechtenstein’s biggest markets is postage stamps! People love to send postcards from there because it is such a hard stamp to find for all of those stamp collectors out there.  We didn’t do any shopping here because we didn’t have time, so we just ate our picnic lunch outside the city and kept on our way.

After Liechtenstein we were into our third country (really fourth if you count the quick stop into Germany for the pictures of Neuschwanstein), Switzerland. We drove to Luzern, Switzerland and had a moment to take a look at the Löwendenkmal and the Kapellebrücke (two well-known attractions in Luzern that also have a great historical significance).  Then we had a bit of time for shopping, but Switzerland is very expensive. A McDonald’s value meal costs $15.00!

Once we were finished in Luzern, we had a beautiful scene to watch out the bus window as we drove to Wilderswil… beautiful turquoise lakes surrounded by Alpine mountains.

Finally we made it to Wilderswil, where we took up residence for the next two nights at Hotel Schönbühl. This hotel is situated so beautifully… we woke up every morning to the three biggest mountains in Switzerland: The Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau. This hotel also has a pool and we took advantage of it right away after these hot and muggy days. We ate another delicious supper and then almost everyone hopped into the swimming pool right away. Everyone played water volleyball and then did some chicken fighting… and then a gaggle of 13 and 14-year-old girls from Scotland (they were on a school trip) hopped in and everyone played along. It was a fun time… and very refreshing.

We got up this morning and got onto the bus for a ride to Oberammergau. Oberammergau is the home of the famous Passion Play. We saw the theater where the Passion Play is performed and learned that you can only perform in the passion play if you are a resident (or descendent of a resident) of the city of Oberammergau (the next play will be performed in 2010). Oberammergau is also well known for its wood carvings. The wood carvings are beautiful and they are all over the place. (There is also a song about Oberammergau that is kind of a tongue twister… but fun to sing!) In Oberammergau we got to eat some delicious “German” pizza (my favorite) and everyone bought a bunch of souvenirs. (Sam bought a Knut the polar bear hat… so we have been calling him Knut since that day!)

Next we got back onto the bus and went to Linderhof, one of King Ludwig II’s castles. It is the only completed castle and the one where he spent the majority of his time. It is truly beautiful. It even has a manmade grotto as a theater!

Once we finished at Linderhof, we were back onto the bus and drove to Reutte, the home of our next hotel. We first stopped in Reutte at the Hofer (the Austrian version of the German Aldi) for some groceries that we could use for lunch the next day. Then quickly to a bakery so we could buy a cake… today is Ariel’s 17th birthday!  Then off to the beautiful Gästehaus am Graben. This hotel is known worldwide thanks to Rick Steves… it is his favorite hostel/hotel in all of Europe! We found out why. They make the food by hand for their guests and we eat family style. The food was Schnitzel, salad, delicious soup, and awesome potatoes. Everyone was marvelling at how amazing the food was. Sam even said (in the theme of the Alps and the Sound of Music), “My plate is alive with the taste of deliciousness!” Chad said that it was the “Best food in Deutschland!” (and then changed it to the best food in Europe!). Frau Reymann is the original owner and she makes it feel like we’re at grandma’s house. It was amazing and beautiful. Everyone wanted to stay there an extra night or two! Before and after supper, we had a ping pong tournament! It was a good time and almost everyone played… they even made a bracket for it!

To finish off the night, we celebrated Ariel’s 17th birthday. We purchased pieces of 7 different Torten for everyone to try. It was delicious and a lot of fun. How cool to say that you got to celebrate your birthday in Europe!

This morning we got up early and got on the bus in München for a ride to Salzburg, Austria.

On our way there, we stopped at the salt mines! We had a fantastic time and the kids really enjoyed their time. We got to dress up as salt miners and go down deep into the mines (first with a sit-on train and later on a slide). We saw how the mines worked and see everything that goes with salt mining. It was nice and cool down there… We have some pretty fantastic pictures! Afterward we came back up to the heat and we sat at a restaurant and ordered lunch.

Then off on the bus into Salzburg, home of the Sound of Music, for a city tour. Salzburg, home of Mozart, is a beautiful city. Our guide told us today that 70% of the city is based in tourism.

After our city tour, we had a bit of time for shopping and then we were off to the youth hostel. We had another delicious supper and then a few went off to the laundromat and other stayed around to relax, shower (from the heat) and others were planning on watching “The Sound of Music” which shows every night at 8:00. Others are being sure to watch the big soccer game tonight.

The European Cup is happening right now and they are in the semi-final rounds… and Germany is still in the game! Tonight’s game is Germany versus Turkey. We’re hoping for Germany!

This morning we got up and went to the Marienplatz to meet Tony, our tour guide, for Mike’s Bikes Tours. We met up with a group from Rochester, MN! They were on their last day in Germany.

We went on Mike’s tour and learned so much about the city of München. It was founded by monks and has quite a rich history. We got to see things like the Marienplatz, Odeonsplatz, the Friedensengel, the Residenz, the Ducker’s alley, the Theatinerkirche, and many other things.  If you would like to get to a linked list of everything that we saw, check it out here: Mike’s Bikes Tour Highlights.

After our trip with Mike’s Bikes… and plenty of laughter and smiles… the pendulum swung to the other end of the emotional spectrum as we went to Dachau. It was a sobering experience and everyone walked away with some pretty deep reflections. We spent some time reflecting on the bus and really had a great discussion.

Once back to the youth hostel, we had a delicious supper. It was truly German: Schnitzel and Spätzle!

After supper a larger group of us went on an U-Bahn adventure! We bought group tickets for the U-Bahn and went on our way. We went first to the University in München where we could see the Hans and Sophie Scholl Platz. There are even still copies of the brochures printed into the ground outside the university to show where Hans Scholl threw all of the pamphlets out.

Our next stop on the U-Bahn was Frötting… the stop of the World Cup stadium in München, Allianz Arena. We took a couple pictures and then turned around and went back to see the Marienplatz at night and eat a bit (more) Eis.

The kids that came along all figured out how to use and read the U-Bahn information. They could bring you along next time and bring you anywhere you want to go by using the public transportation that is so prevalent and awesome here in Germany!

§ A quick note: Many of the students cell phones are having touch-and-go service… so if you are not hearing from them as often as hoped, it is probably due to the service.

This morning we decided that yesterday we hadn’t had enough time in Rothenburg, so we stayed for a while longer and did some shopping. Yesterday was Sunday and in most German cities, stores are closed on Sundays. In Rothenburg (a tourist city) there were some open stores last night, but not all of the stores that the kids wanted to see… so we spent an extra two hours in Rothenburg this morning looking around, shopping and enjoying our time. A few of us even went to the Käthe Wohlfahrt Weichnachtsmuseum (a famous Christmas store).

After our time in Rothenburg, we left and took the 3-4 hour drive to München (where all of the students fell fast asleep for almost the entire trip). When we first arrived in München, we went to the Olympic Stadium (where Mark Spitz won 7 gold medals in the seventies! We hit the bathroom, ate, and then walked around the ponds, saw the swimming hall and enjoyed the sun (but not necessarily the muggy weather).  Then it was back on the bus and off to the city center… where we could do some shopping.

We started at the Marienplatz, the square in front of the “new” city hall, where the infamous Glockenspiel is. Then we went off to places like the Kaufhof, Karstadt, the New Yorker, Pimkie, and many, many more. So far we have been able to fulfill needs as they have come up (more camera memory cards, towels, usw.)… so that is fantastic.

Finally off to the next Youth Hostel, where we ate a delicious supper (one of the best so far, I think), and then a few of us went for a walk to find an Eis-Cafe (surprise, surprise).

It has been a great time so far… we’ve had a few run-ins with minor bouts of stomach-y type things… and it seems to be making the circuit… but everyone is well (today) and tomorrow we have an awesome bike-tour of München planned and then off to Dachau… it is quite the juxtaposition of emotion.

But your kids have been fantastic… they have been early for everything… they have been very thankful… very kind and just downright awesome. We have gotten comments from so many people on how great they are as they are polite, flexible, trying new things, and using their German! Feel free to be as proud as we are.