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 ...
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 ...
posted by Keely @ 11:57 AM
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