Keely's World Travels

GERMANY! Off to Zittau...

As many of you know, I had never been to Germany before and I was very much looking to my first-time trip over to Lars' home country! Our plan for the 10 days that I was over there was to spend time in Zittau, the town where Lars grew up, then head to Prague, next we would drive to Dresden, then head to Munich, and finally drive back north to Frankfurt to fly out back to Houston. Because we did SO much in a small amount of time, I am splitting up my updates by the cities that we visited; first, being Zittau.

The original plan was for me to land in Frankfurt and Lars' aunt and her boyfriend would pick me up, take me back to their apartment so I could shower and change, then head to Zittau ... they live in Frankfurt and Lars had already been in Germany for a week prior so he was already home at his parent's house in Zittau. Frankfurt is located in the "Western" part of Germany and Zittau sits about as far "East" as you can go without leaving the country - Zittau is on the border of Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Typically, a train ride to Zittau from Frankfurt would take 8 hours but driving on the autobahn makes it a 5-6 hour drive. So, I get off the plane an hour delayed and Katrin and Jens are waiting for me with a sign that says "Keely" on it ... too cute! Next thing I know, Katrin is handing me her cell phone telling me that Lars is on the phone and he asks if it is okay that we go straight to Zittau now because my flight was late and we were bound to be in a lot of traffic since it was a Friday. No problem - although, I had not wanted to meet his parents after a 20-hour traveling experience and no shower, but what can you do? Unfortunately, it was raining and there were plenty of accidents on the autobahn ... so a 5-6 hour trip took us 8-9 hours by car.

Now, Jens speaks English okay but Katrin does not speak very much English at all. So, for the first few hours of the car ride, we literally communicated by pointing to a word in a German/English dictionary and passing the book back and forth between the front seat and the back seat - no lie! I don't remember much else about that road trip because I slept a good bit of it, but there are a few funny stories along the way but I will have to tell those in person! Katrin and Jens are two of the nicest people I have ever met - they had the car packed with food for themselves and 'special' food for me that I could eat on the way. They were very respectful of my intestinal disease and had no problem trying to talk to me about it and ask me questions. What is so funny is that Katrin is 8 years younger than her older sister, Diana, who is Lars' mom ... which makes Katrin 40 and only 11 years older than me!

Arriving in Zittau was neat - it is a small town and people live in small villages outside the town. Lars grew up in the village of Wittgendorf, which sounds like some Harry Potter name. When we arrived, his mother (mutti), father (vati), and his younger brother, Erik (20 yrs old), were all standing at the door waiting to meet me. Lars had taught me how to say "nice to meet you" in German so I took a shot and said it to all of them that led to a good bit of giggling! Apparently, we had just arrived for dinner. One of the German customs is to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together with family and all meals are homemade! All the foods are very natural and you don't find snacky food around the house. His mom had baked chicken, which she knew I could eat, and even though I didn't understand a word of German at the table, it was fun to see Lars interacting with his family (he did a good job of translating for me).

The next day, Saturday, was to be a big day ... one of Lars' friends was getting married, although I wouldn't call it a normal wedding by any means because the German girl was marrying a guy she met while spending time in Nepaul, India ... they both spoke some English and apparently fell in love and now he has moved to Germany to be with her -but they had to marry for him to be able to stay longer than a month. The wedding was at noon at the courthouse and it was a very nice ceremony. I did notice that there are no diamonds on the engagement ring in Germany and that most wear wedding bands on their right hands! After the wedding, we were to go to a place for cake and a few appetizers ... this part lasted for hours ... and Lars had to take me to his friend's apartment nearby for a nap because I was just exhausted. nice, huh? So, later that night after the wedding group finally moved on to the reception place, Lars picks me back up and we went to his relative's house for Katrin's 40th birthday celebration. Lars and I ate there because we were starving and that was where I met his grandfather (opi) and grandmother (omi), along with an uncle, aunt, cousin, and a few others. No one spoke a LICK of English except Lars' mom, who I chatted with for a while. Lars did a great job of trying to translate 20 conversations going on at the same time! But it was more that I was there to soak up the family atmosphere and I just enjoyed being a part of their family get-together. I did attempt to speak a few german phrases/words - again, got some good laughs and smiles ... German is the hardest language ever!!!

We left the birthday party and then headed back to the wedding reception, which was in full swing (I guess) with a limbo contest! We stayed there until about 3 AM and I had a blast getting to know all his friends a ton better. As the night wore on and people had more drink in them, they were much more willing to try their English with me, which helped a GREAT deal. Most of them speak very well but they are embarassed and think they don't speak it well at all. I also tried out my German and it was hilarious ... there were some interesting German traditions at the wedding but again, this was not entirely the "norm".

Sunday was our day to tour Zittau and spend some time with his family. We woke up to lunch, which was venison and just an amazing assortment of fresh food. I ate some chicken that Lars' mom had specially cooked for me with some steamed vegetables - she really went out of her way to accommodate me - and that was typical of what I noticed about the German people ... very warm, friendly, giving, and hospitable! Later in the day, Lars took me driving through the mountains of Zittau and I was able to see what a BEAUTIFUL place he grew up in. The mountains were very green yet there were ski lifts for when it snowed in the wintertime. I just can't describe the beauty of this place, it far outweighed my expectations! I did get to see Lars' elementary school and high school - but one thing I found out was that Lars was recruited to an Athletic high school when he was 16 for track and field. He left home to finish up high school at the Athletic high school over in Dresden, a few hours away from Zittau. Lars did remember standing in the courtyard at his elementary school where they would line up and do "drills" during Communism days. The Athletic school was also very common in Communist countries to recruit young boys and girls when they are very young to make them competitive on the international scene or at the Olympics - but by the time Lars went at 16, the "Wall" had fallen and East Germany and West Germany were one - Communism was over for East Germany, thank goodness.

Monday, Lars and I had planned to leave for Prague but his mother, who teaches English, had asked that I attend 2 of her classes and speak English to her students. Of course I wanted to do it - I thought it would be very interesting! So, I met her at the school that morning and walked in to a class full of 17-18 year-old boys - maybe a few girls. I introduced myself and spoke normal pace and then as they started asking questions, I slowed down so that they would have a better chance of understanding me. I had 2 classes - both asked interesting questions ... mostly about Hurricane Katrina, Bush & the Iraq War, did I like Germany, what was spring break like (hiliarious as I am sure they have seen advertisements for videotapes like "Girls Gone Wild"), and even about the United State's role in ending Communism, as well as what did I think about the dealth penalty being from Texas! I loved every minute of it and afterwards, we said goodbye to his mother and Lars and I were off to Prague ...

Picture of Ho Chi Minh City from my hotel room.

Vietnam!

Heading to Ho Chi Minh City in South Vietnam, which was called “Saigon” before the North Vietnamese renamed it after they took over the South in the Vietnam War, I once again failed to do my research on the currency in this country. I went to the ATM because I had nothing to exchange into Vietnamese Dong and proceeded to cash out 2 MILLION vnd, which equaled around $125. Getting in a taxi in HCM City was the most dangerous thing that I might have ever done in my life to date! I thought the driving was bad in Jakarta … this was FAR worse. In a city of 8 million people, there are 4 million motor bikes and only 300,000 vehicles. It was crazy – honking is something they do virtually the entire time they drive – forget taking a nap on the ride! My taxi driver’s horn was so used that it sounded like it a dying cat. Unreal … the pollution in city is overwhelming with all the motor bikes – most people wear masks over their faces to breathe better and keep the dust out as much as possible.

As I was kept awake by my horn-happy taxi driver, I saw a great buzz around the city – it seemed as if they were preparing for some type of big festival. Vietnamese flags were everywhere and there were stages being constructed and people planting flowers; I thought “lucky me, I have managed to pick a week to come to Vietnam where there will be special things for me to see beyond even the normal activities of the every day." With that said, I never have quite received the type of welcome to any place like the one I was given when I arrived in Vietnam to my hotel! I was checking in at the front desk and as I am looking around soaking up the atmosphere, the outfits, the musicians in the lobby, I politely asked the lady, “So, what is the festival for?” She grins from ear to ear and replies back, “Freedom!” A bit confused, I asked her back, “From who?” … she says, “From America!” … at this point I nearly fell over. FROM AMERICA – ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Yup – they were celebrating their 30th anniversary of when Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese. Apparently, it is technically called “Liberation Day” because the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam in 1973 and for 2 more years the South Vietnamese fought the North on their own. On April 30, 1975, Saigon officially fell to the North Vietnamese and the country was all under Communist rule at that point. Trust me, seeing or being in a Communist country for the first time REALLY does open your eyes!

Sick to my stomach, I went up to my hotel room and figured I would go explore a bit Monday afternoon after getting some work done that morning. I knew there was a very big market to go to so I headed their first around noonish. On my way, I was asked time and time again if I wanted a motor bike ride – uh, not so much! Although, crossing the street was an absolute nightmare because you just had to dogde the motor bikes as you made you way about. On my way tot he market, I noticed a girl in front of me that was obviously not Vietnamese and she realized I was headed to the market as well - so we figured it would be better going in together than alone. Her name is Nina and her mother is American and her father is German; she lives/works in Berlin but was touring Vietnam for the next 3 weeks on her own - brave girl!!! Nina and I went into the market and I have never felt so claustrophobic in my entire life. There were people selling things left and right, but they would pull at you and push things in your face as you walked along – desperate for you to buy anything. There was a food market there as well and Nina hadn’t had lunch, so we sat down for a quick bite to eat. Now, I have been in heat before – I have been in 100% humidity before (obviously living in Houston and New Orleans both) – but I have to say, this was a type of humidity/heat that I have NEVER experienced and am not sure I can quite describe adequately. It was the type of humidity where you are just sitting there and every few seconds, you are wiping down your face and your clothes are soaked. It is not like drips of sweat exactly but just absolute wetness – good detoxifier I guess! Nina and I headed out and about to walk the city. I saw 2 Catholic Cathedrals, to my surprise, and a Buddhist temple. The temple was very intriguing - very ornate and was two stories high. After touring the temple and about 4-5 hours of walking through the city, Nina and I headed back to our hotels and agreed to meet up for dinner Tuesday night. One thing that surprised me was to see that lots of things are still referred to with the “Saigon” name. I’d have thought the government would have gotten rid of all references to the old title of the city but apparently not.

Keely standing by one of the MANY celebratory signs around town that signified the 30-year anniversary of Saigon's Liberation Day.

Nina & I at the Market

Picture of me in front of a huge statue of Ho Chi Minh ... the plaque reads, "Father".

Picture of the market - absolute NIGHTMARE!

I had to take a picture of the traditional dress - it really was beautiful!

Picture of the traditional Vietnamese way of carrying things.

Picture of Ho Chi Minh - in his younger days.

Keely standing in front of a place to pray just outside the doors of the Buddhist temple.

Keely standing in front of the top of the Buddhist temple.

BP Office

Tuesday morning, I made my way to the BP office. Again, it was a very pretty campus and it was fun to meet more of the people that I had talked to and emailed with so much with prior to my visit. They serve free lunch to employees at the office - all Vietnamese food of course, so I had a salad and lots of greens ... not much else for me to eat there - but then again, I am usually not looking for a big meal anyways. Later that night, I met Nina for dinner at a restaurant that was suggested to her by some friends who live in Berlin who are from Vietnam. The place was packed, and this was a Tuesday night! We didn't really know what to order but figured I would go with spring rolls (which came with all the ingredients and you wrapped it yourself) and soup. There was a Vietnamese family next to us and they had all kinds of neat food and the father could tell we were looking to try to figure out what half of it even was! He spoke English - he asked us where we were from ... Nina said Germany and then they looked at me and for the first time in my life I was a bit nervous to say what country I was from - although, everyone who knows me knows that I would NEVER not say America (or pretend to be from somewhere else), so I tell them I am from American and the wife next to me gives me a look of absolute TERROR, no lie. Of course, they start speaking Vietnamese and constantly keep staring at me - ironically they offered us some of their food to try but kept the conversation towards Nina but were watching me the whole time. It was very interesting - I didn't mind leaving that joint ... we also couldn't believe that despite having big fans in that restaurant, our clothes were again wet and that we would need to shower again before going to bed! Wednesay came and I was ready for a big training day. I put on my suit that morning; however, I knew that I wouldn't be wearing my jacket because of how hot it was even inside the BP office --- uh ... slight problem ... the shirt I had on underneath my suit jacket was short-sleeved. Usually, this would be no big deal but after I put on my suit and was buttoning up my shirt in the full-length mirror - I just busted out laughing - my temporary tattoo was in STYLISH form! Again, normally that wouldn't be a problem IF I was at home and had my entire closet of clothes to change into; however, obviously that was not the case (a little thing I didn't think about when getting the tattoo the weekend before in Bali). Luckily, I had another outfit I could wear - not a suit - but it would do. I conducted training to two groups that day and it was very enjoyable. The Vietnamese people were VERY nice and appreciative. I was given shopping tips from the locals and was invited by my clients out to dinner with them that night to a fancy restaurant. Later that night, I met two of my clients out for dinner and Dung ordered for all of us - he was extremely respectful of my diet and ordered appropriately. The restaurant was beautiful and the food was very good; however, about 20 minutes into the meal, I started not feeling well. Now, this is not unusual given my gastrointestinal disease and the fact of the matter is that I don't usually feel all that great when I eat food anyways - however, this felt a bit different to me. I felt rude because I started to just taste things and not really eating them. I essentially left in the middle of dinner to go back to my hotel and was sick with food poisoning for the next 1.5 days ... uh, not so much fun!

Huge pond in the center of the complex.

BP office in Vietnam

Eating out with Nina

Shopping & Museum

After recovering from the food poisoning, which I believe came from the ice in my drink at lunch that day, I managed to go out to Dong Khoi street and do some shopping mid-day Friday. The Vietnamese silk is just gorgeous and I fell in love with so much of their art as well; they are very well-known for their lacquer work, but it is very expensive. Everything else, however, was very cheap! I bought some of the usual souvenirs (I already have birthday and Christmas gifts for all my family by now) - but one store caught my eye. I was looking in their display case and saw what looked like American GI dog tags from the Vietnam War. I asked if I could look at them - she had about 15 of them on a chain. Years ago, I had watched a Dateline special that featured 2 Vietnam Vets who were telling their story of returning to Vietnam to find that American GI dog tags from the Vietnam War were being sold in stores here and there. They essentially bought up all the ones they could find and were returning the dog tags to the families of the men that they belonged to back in the States. I remembered this story because it touched me and as I was looking at all those dog tags in this store, I decided I would buy one to see if I could return it to a family back home. Well, after looking through all of them - you can't just pick one - so I bought all of them! I obviously have a LOT of work on my hands to see what I can do to find the families or send them to an organization that will return them to the families for me ... whichever will work, but it was an emotional experience for me that I won't forget. I do believe they are authentic, if they are not - no worries - but I couldn't leave them there, it just didn't feel right to me. It was a moment of reality for me, that is for sure. After a bit of shopping, I headed towards the War Museum, or as it used to be called, the "Museum of American War Crimes" - if that tells you anything. Yep, it is basically a museum that shows all the atrocities that the Americans did to the Vietnamese during the Vietnam War ... one-sided doesn't even begin to describe it. Now, you have to understand my view about war and a bit of my political views before reading on - so I suggest you stop now if you are sensitive to those sort of things. I am just going to be honest and tell you what I saw and how it made ME feel - you can make your judgements accordingly if you'd like, it's up to you. I admit that there were horrible things that the Americans did to the Vietnamese; however, war is 2-sided and I think that it should be obvious that there were atrocities committed by the Vietnamese towards the Americans too. A lot of the stuff I saw didn't really phase me - I have a very pragmatic opinion about war - I know it is evil and submits people to the worst possible conditions by which anyone could or should be subjected to; however, I feel it has been around as long as man and it is inevitable as long as mankind is going to still be around. Granted we should do everything possible to prevent/avoid war, but I do think that is certain cases is it necessary and justified. I looked at pictures of smiling American GIs holding the heads of Vietnamese soilders they had killed - this would disgust many people - I agree that it is disgusting, but it is war ... kill or be killed I figure. I refuse to judge any soilder who was being hunted on a constant basis - I cannot say myself that I would be in the 'right' state of mind under those horrible conditions to know what kind of monster I could turn into. Anyways, I felt more sadness when I was there because of the fact that the entire war even had to take place. I do find it interesting that the Vietnamese believe they are the only ones who have ever defeated the Americans (even though we lost the Korean War, it was the Chinese who came down into North Korea to help preserve communism and defeat our military forces that were well on their way to taking care of the North Korean army on their own). Some of you already know certain things about the Vietnam War; however, I didn't know or remember specific facts - there are a few that I learned that I thought were extremely interesting. For example, I didn't know that we were not allowed to cross into North Vietnam during the war. We could fight the war only on the grounds of South Vietnam; therefore, the North Vietnamese could essentially fight us and then run behind the lines and we were not able to attack them once they passed back over the border. It was also the first war that had reporters with video cameras embedded in with the troops. These pictures of war that were shown back at home were what triggered the huge anti-war movement and the terrible treatment of Vietnam Vets when they returned from fighting in Vietnam.