Day 25: Stuttgart

We had a fantastic day of connecting with old friends in Stuttgart today! We started at the Wilhelma, (the zoo). We met Bettina, who ran the German side of the exchange with me the first year that I took it over (2006), at the Wilhelma, along with her husband, Hubi, and her daughter, Elina. It was great to see them, and the zoo was amazing as always. The children all had a chance to run around and climb at the many play areas, while the adults had a chance to catch up. We also enjoyed delicious Maultaschen (traditional Swabian ravioli) at the zoo restaurant for lunch.

After the zoo, we went to visit with Lars (who currently runs the German side of the exchange - since 2008), his wife Sabine and their three children, Tim, Nele and Jula. We were treated to coffee, cake and homemade Christmas cookies at their house. It took the children a little while to get over their shyness, but ultimately they had a great time playing together - they are excited to keep in touch electronically. We all went together to the Christmas Market in Esslingen, which is well-known for its medieval section - the booths are set up to look like they are from the Middle Ages, including listing prices in Taler instead of Euro and the 'merchants' are dressed in costumes and their interaction with the customers enhances the experience.

We were also met at the market by Benedikt Lux, a former exchange student at BBA (2007). He was familiar with this Christmas Market and made sure we had the opportunity to participate in all of the highlights, including hatchet throwing, archery, egg smashing and our personal favorite, Mouse Roulette, where the participants bet on which house a mouse placed in the center of the board would enter first. We tried more great food, including Quarkbällchen (small balls of fried dough flavored with German soft cheese) and roasted chestnuts.

On our way home, Bene invited us to a his family's apartment. He had worked for a local wine maker and had a selection of local wines for us to sample. The boys were delighted because Bene gave them a personal tour of the local fire station, where he is a volunteer firefighter and they got to have ice cream and fresh made apple juice (by Bene and his brother Simon). At the apartment, Bene's family made us feel very at home and in addition to the wine, we shared some great conversation.

It was great to spend the middle of our travels here in Stuttgart, where we felt very at home. The timelessness of the relationships that one makes while traveling was very apparent today.

Day 25: Worms + Stuttgart

We stopped at Worms on our way to Stuttgart today. We loaded our bags in a locker at the train station and spent about three hours exploring downtown. It was strangely quiet for a Saturday morning - although, as the morning wore on, it did get a bit more crowded at the Weihnachtsmarkt, although the rest of town remained quiet. Our first stop was the Luther monument, located on the site of the former building where the Diet of Worms met. The counsel offered Martin Luther a chance to recant his beliefs, to which he replied "Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise, God help me, Amen". It was actually Frederick the Wise who helped him, by spiriting him away to Wartburg castle while the Diet issued the Edict of Worms, declaring that it was neither a sin nor a crime to kill Martin Luther. In addition to Luther, the monument featured other Reformation stalwarts, like Huss, Calvin, Zwingli, Wycliffe, and Philipp Melanchthon.

A few hundred yards from the monument was yet another St. Peter's Cathedral. This one had been begun in the 600s as a church but really got rolling when Otto II took the helm of the Holy Roman Empire about 1,000 years ago. The coolest feature of this church was an elliptical entry way with two rounded wooden doors. Many of the prominent arch bishops were buried in the floor and walls of the church. Johnny and Nicky sat in one of the pews - we assumed taking a break from the endless succession of churches. However as we finished our visit and called the boys over we discovered that they had been discussing and comparing the art they had seen in the different churches. They were trying to figure out why guys like da Vinci and Michelangelo get so much praise when the works in each of the churches were just as impressive. We will see what they think next week after visiting Rome and Florence. We made sure the boys got a look at this interpretation of Christ coming down from the cross so they have a point of comparison for the Pieta.

Before heading to the Worms Weihnachtsmarkt, we made one last historical stop at the oldest Jewish Cemetary in Europe. Some of the grave markers were nearly 1,000 years old. They were weathered almost beyond recognition. A couple of the stones were so beaten down they looked nearly blank except for the moss which for some reason grew only where the letters had been carved out. We also stopped in the nearby synagogue as the boys have been asking lots of questions about religion and Judaism in particular.
 

We sampled more local foods at the Weihnachtsmarkt and boarded our train for Stuttgart. The ride was smooth. It has been remarkably easy to get around - even dragging four suitcases with us. The stations are conveniently located and the trains have been very reliable.

The Stuttgart train station is undergoing serious renovation (Stuttgart 21). The idea is to put all of the tracks below ground and to convert it to a pass through station. Currently trains pull into the station and then must back out before turning to continue along their course. The original set of platforms have been demolished and the temporary platforms are quite a long way from the actual station. The size of the project is unreal. It seems on par with the Big Dig in Boston in the number of opinions it has generated about its cost and usefulness.

We are staying at a hotel that is know for its winemaking and its koi breeding. We have not sampled the wine yet but the koi are beautiful. One of the fish is valued at $15,000 Euro which in dollars is way too much money for a fish. Downtown Stuttgart is just as we remembered it, although new for us is the Weihnachtsmarkt covering Schlossplatz. We had a great dinner in town, browsed through the market and returned to our Hotel for an early bedtime. Tomorrow is a big day. We look forward to reconnecting with old friends.

Day 24 Mainz

We are still staying in Wiesbaden but spent most of the day in Mainz which is technically a different city and Bundesland (state)but is so close it is part of the same S-bahn system. For that matter so is Frankfurt- the starting point of our travels. This morning we brought a soccer ball with us so that we could play a little on our way to the train station. We had scouted out a particularly flat and wide open park the other day. Though the pitch was a bit muddy, we had a great time running around. I am not sure that the Germans were impressed by the level of play but we were laughing too much to pay them much attention. On arrival in Mainz we headed for the Altstadt. Along the way we passed a Schiller monument. Which was nice, but as far as we can tell, Schiller has no particular connection to Mainz, except for this monument. The North end of Schillerpatz had a much more interesting sculpture. Several sculptures had actually stood in its place - one was torn down by Nazis because it was built by a Jewish artist, the other was torn down because it was built by Nazis. The current one is from 1967 and commemorates the Fasching or Carnival season. The start of the season in Mainz is officially declared from the balcony of one of the mansions/palaces on the square. It starts November 11th and continues through to the beginning of lent. Though Mainz reportedly has one of the most enthusiastic traditions, we didn't get to experience it as they tone down Fasching to celebrate Advent. We have certainly gotten a great look at Advent as today marked the sixth official day that the Christmas Markets have been open and we have been to markets in six different cities. Each has its own particular style. Mainz was crowded, with a much higher vendor to food ratio than the other markets. Despite the celebration of Black Friday going on in the States, we did no Christmas shopping today. We did enjoy some traditional foods: roasted-candied almonds, Schneebälle (strips of dough formed into loose balls then baked and covered in an assortment of sugars, chocolates, and nuts), and some new types of sausage. Mainz does have a cathedral, started (turns out none of these cathedrals are ever truly complete as they are under constant renovation) over a thousand years ago. Though it is beginning to feel like the last thing we want to see is the inside of another church, we dutifully poked our heads inside this one. We were rewarded for our efforts with some very interesting sculptures. The clear winner in our book was a crucifix in the catacombs that depicts Jesus being removed from the cross. The overall winner in Mainz was the Gutenberg Museum. Stepping into the vault to view two of the original Bibles that Gutenberg printed was breathtaking. Equally chilling were the hand-copied Bibles that preceded these. The museum had a couple of printing presses manned by guides who explained the printing process from the creation of the individual punches and their assembly into the press through to the final product. We also found the history of printing pictures to be interesting. The displays showed how a picture was turned into a negative impression in wood, copper, etc. so that it could be copied over and over. We found this process to be mind boggling. Because we were clearly in the Gutenberg Museum in Gutenberg's hometown we were surprised to see the Asian printing wing which describes how the process of printing originated centuries earlier in Asia. We returned back to Wiesbaden for some homework time, a swim at the pool and a late dinner. Day 24 marks the midpoint of our journey and we have closed our circuit of northern Germany. From here on we are headed to points South - essentially making a big figure 8. It is hard to believe that we have other lives beyond this wild adventure. We are so deeply immersed in travel that it feels as if that is all we have ever done. The boys are quite proficient travelers; they conduct themselves well on the various methods of transportation, they have learned to read the maps, schedules, and train information boards, and they manage all of their own gear.

Day 23: Wiesbaden

We started the day with a breakfast of rolls and pastries from the bakery on the corner and a swim in the hotel pool. Then we headed into the Altstadt of Wiesbaden to look around. We started at the Marktplatz, where we visited the Marktkirche (Market Church) - built in the mid-1800's in the gothic style. Despite the decorative outside with three spires, the inside was remarkably plain compared to many of the churches we have visited.

Among other sites, we saw the Hessisches Staatstheater (the Hessian State Theater), the largest cuckoo clock in the world, and the Kochbrunnen (hot spring).  The 66ºC water from the hot spring has been believed to have healing powers for centuries. The boys had a chance to skate at the outdoor rink.

We decided to celebrate Thanksgving by going to the Spital restaurant, where they were offering a Thanksgiving buffet with turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie (among other things). They were also showing American sports, so we were able to watch the beginning of the Bears and the Lions. On our way back to the hotel, we decided to give the Riesenrad (ferris wheel) a try. The boys and I had never been on a ferris wheel - they loved it!

Day 22: Trier - Wiesbaden

Today was mainly a travel day. We were up and out of the hotel early and traveled back through Koblenz and then along the Rhine River to Mainz, where we made one more train transfer to get to Wiesbaden. This section of the Rhine is packed with vineyards and castles. The terraced landscape of the vineyards is a testament to lengths people will go through to grow grapes wherever the climate is right. Apparently some wine connoisseurs can even taste the difference between the various micro-climates produced by the twisting river and the steep banks which trap the humidity. The castles, though mostly rebuilt in the 1800s helped us to visualize the fragmented German kingdoms that existed throughout most of the last millennium. We had a quiet afternoon in the hotel - homework and some time at the pool.
In the evening, we visited the Christmas Market in Wiesbaden, which is called the Sternschnuppenmarkt (shooting star market). We all enjoyed more traditional German foods, including Reibekuchen - a deep fried potato pancake.

This market had the most beautiful carousel that we have ever seen - elaborately decorated and a two-story set up! That was the extent of our adventures for the day - hopefully we will be well rested for exploring Wiesbaden tomorrow!

Day 21: Trier

We were up and out of our apartment pretty early to catch our train from Köln to Trier. As it turned out, our train was delayed about 20 minutes - that was okay, because it gave us a chance to get some breakfast at the train station. We had a transfer in Koblenz; the train station there felt very familiar from our many visits there with the German Exchange program. From Koblenz to Trier, most of the train ride was along the Mosel River, through the Mosel valley past the many vineyards. It was a beautiful ride.
We arrived in Trier and were treated to a look at the Porta Nigra on the walk from the Hauptbahnhof to our hotel. This ancient Roman gate has an amazing presence, especially as you try to imagine all of the history that its stones have witnessed.

After checking into our hotel, we walked back into the Altstadt, through the Porta Nigra. We took a city tour on the 'Römer Express' - it took us past the main sites of the downtown area, including the remains of a Roman bath house and the medieval city wall, that basically forms a square around the city.

Among the sites on the tour were the Konstantin Basilica- the only intact Roman structure outside of Rome,

and the Karl-Marx-Haus (his birthplace). It seems that the people of Trier still appreciate Marx's fashion sense.

We visited the Dom (cathedral) separately so that we were able to go inside as well. This is the oldest Christian church in Germany. Once again, we were blown away by the architecture and the resilience of these buildings.

Trier is the oldest city in Germany. It was a Celtic city long before the Romans occupied it just prior to the birth of Christ. In the 300s the cathedral was commissioned at the same time as it's namesake, St. Peter's, in Rome. The first arch bishops to arrive smashed the Roman idols. This statue of Venus was saved from being smashed so that it could be posted in the square on the way to the church. Passersby were encouraged to stone the statue. The inscription next to it is from Venus asking the good citizens to punish her for her sins.









 Trier, of course, also has a Weihnachtsmarkt in the main square. We walked around and enjoyed the Holiday spirit, as well as some of the specialty food items. A block over, there was a small skating rink set up - nothing compared to the track in Cologne yesterday - the boys opted to pass on this one.

Day 20 Aachen

Though still based in Köln, most of our day was spent in Aachen - the second oldest city in Germany. We head to the oldest one tomorrow! We began our morning with a family game of soccer down by the Rhine. From there we headed to the train station, intent on catching our train to Aachen. Inside the train station there was a nativity scene with the holy family placed in the bombed out shell of Köln. It was interesting to see and even more interesting to read the history of this creche. It has been displayed annually since 2005. The artist created it from a desire to "revive memories and also to tell young people about the experiences that their parents and grandparents had." The scenes surrounding the manger reflect the artist's recollection of his personal experiences. We were met in Aachen by Irmgard, the Oma of Aglaia, an exchange student at BBA. Irmgard greeted us warmly and whisked us off to her house for a delicious lunch. We were touched by her thoughtfulness and attention to every detail to welcome us and especially the boys to her home. Following lunch, we took a short car ride to the drielandenpunt, where the German, Dutch, and Belgian borders meet. We took turns standing in the different countries and and racing to see who could visit them all in the shortest amount of time - Nicky won. From there we went to see the cathedral in Aachen. It is not nearly as large as most of the other cathedrals we have seen on this trip, however the interior is astounding. Though it has been expanded and renovated over its 1200 year existence, some of the original church remains. It was here that Charles the Great aka Charlemagne aka Karl der Große was crowned emperor. It was used for coronations until 1562. The stone work and mosaics demonstrate the advanced skills of the craftsmen who painstakingly assembled the cathedral. Today was the first day of the Weihnachtsmarkt! Aachen's entire pedestrian zone in the town center was filled with huts and booths offering Christmas specialties. Everything from roasted chestnuts to handmade creches was available. We all tried the printed, an Aachen specialty. It is similar to gingerbread but clearly has some special ingredients that set it apart. We had a lovely time at the market and finished our Aachen evening with a tour of the rathaus. Once back in Köln we headed to one of several Weihnachtsmärkte in the heart of the Altstadt. This one stood apart from the others because of the enormous ice skating rink winding its way through the booths. The boys put on skates and Barb and I grabbed some Glühwein and headed up the stairs to a landing over the rink. We watched as the boys made their laps. It was a joy to see them skating with huge smiles plastered across their faces. It has been a long time since they last wore skates, and since they have been able to truly run free. The combination of both was evident in the exuberance with which they skated.