Wuerzburg- One day...Five trains

Friday was to be a special day, as we were traveling back down south to the northern tip of Bavaria (Franconia) to visit the beautiful city of Wuerzburg (Frau Stall's birthplace!). While we had fantastic weather and saw some incredible things while in the city, what really made the day stand out were unfortunately the train delays... it was quite the adventure with the Deutsche Bahn!

We started with a 90-minute delay on the way there, complete with a sprint from one track to the next due to a sudden schedule change. No need for extra exercise when riding the Deutsche Bahn!

The long train ride was well worth it, however, as Wuerzburg greeted us with beautiful sunshine and the warmest weather we have had yet in Germany. The city, known for its vineyards and delicious wine, has a very "homey" feel, and we very much enjoyed walking through the streets to the old downtown, taking in some unique architecture and churches along the way. As we had lost some of our time due to the train delay, we moved pretty quickly through the city to this picturesque bridge, which crosses the Main River. It's hard not to be impressed with the huge life-like statues, the gorgeous river and the fortress high above the city.

We then made the hike up to the fortress itself (I'm sure something no one will soon forget...just ask about the seemingly endless steep paths... that I repeatedly promised would pay off!). Inside there was a lot to explore, with tall towers, high walls, a deep well and a chapel, and eventually we made it to the outer gardens and one of the most amazing views you can find anywhere!

We took the time for some nice pictures, as well as some fun group shots.

Afterwards was a lunch break and then an official tour of the Residenz in Wuerzburg, the ruling prince-bishop's home completed in 1744. It is humongous in size and equally impressive! Unfortunately we were not able to take photos inside, but we definitely recommend a visit to anyone traveling to Wuerzburg. What we saw inside included: the largest fresco painting in the world depicting the 4 continents as they were known at the time (Europe, Asia, Africa and America- America being the "wildest" and most untamed); beautiful, expansive stucco work which made the paintings on the walls come alive in 3-dimensional works of art (it was genuinely difficult to decide where the paintings stop and the stucco work began!); and the Mirror Cabinet, which consisted entirely of mirrors in gold frames. 

We then explored the gardens of the Residenz which surround the palace- like a trip back in time!

It was then time to return to the train station, where we unfortunately discovered that our train home also had a 50-minute delay. We finally made it back to Hildesheim about two hours later than planned, after taking the delayed train to Göttingen, getting off that train, back on again, finally running to a new track to get on a local train, and transferring once more at Nordstemmen to get back to our home base. Quite the adventure-filled day!

Das Auto- A Day in Wolfsburg

Today was our first official day trip after arriving in Hildesheim and we spent it in the 'Autostadt' of Wolfsburg, visiting the largest car manufacturing plant in the world!

It was about a 1.5 hour train ride to reach Wolfsburg, where we were greeted immediately by the four towers of the VW plant, where over 3,800 cars are manufactured daily to be sold world-wide.

The plant and grounds encompass over 6.5 square kilometers and include the factory, an exploration lab with many interactive exhibits, and over 10 other buildings housing cars of various makes and models that VW owns (including Lamborghini, Porsche, Bugatti, and many others) which you can see and some of which you can sit in and explore.

After taking an initial look around and getting a bite to eat, we boarded a boat which took us over the water which surrounds and runs through the grounds to the factory itself. There we rode on a small bus which took us on a half-hour tour of the factory, where we saw specifically various versions of the VW Gulf being made. We witnessed the rubber linings being placed on the doors, the wedding of the cage and the electronic body, the windows and tires being installed, and the workers riding bikes to get from one place to another throughout the huge building. We learned about the history of the plant itself, which was built first in 1938 and whose original brick buildings are now actually protected as a World Heritage Site. Car production was halted during WW2, during which time the plant was used to make war machinery and trucks. Now the plant in Wolfsburg is the largest of the over 100 VW plants worldwide and employs over 70,000 people in the one factory.

We were unfortunately unable to take pictures inside of the factory, however here are pictures of some of the cars and exhibits we saw walking around the show buildings afterwards.

There was also luckily an outlet mall right across from the plant, at which those of us who had seen enough of cars (maybe for life...) went shopping after our official tour.

The bus ride back was also a new cultural experience, as most of us had to stand for the first leg of the journey due to being on a small train with lots of commuters. We also had an 18-minute delay, which led to an unexpected run across the station to catch our next train to Hildesheim. Herr Beste surprised us with some delicious Turkish donuts on the way home, however, which made the trip much more enjoyable. :)

The students otherwise enjoyed a first full day of school yesterday, during which they visited several different classes, including music, sport, biology, world geography, German and French. They each also did different activities with their host families, including bowling, visiting a nearby local castle, bike rides and, of course, soccer viewings!

Tomorrow is another school day and then tomorrow night will be one of the highlights of the trip- the Germany vs. USA soccer match! Each of us has an important decision to make... which set of colors will we be wearing?! Red, white and blue -- or schwarz, rot und gelb? Here's to a great match and another good day in Deutschland!

Finally in Hildesheim!

Liebe Gruesse aus Hildesheim!

We have finally arrived in our "home town" in Germany!

Yesterday was another day of firsts- our first train ride with the ICE (Inter-City Express) and our first time in Hildesheim, some of us just meeting our host families and some re-uniting with friends for the first time since September!

Our train ride was a long one- six hours through most of the length of Germany, traveling from south to north at an average speed of 150 km/hr. Relatively comfortable seats though, and lots of time for sleeping, chatting, card games and magic tricks (we learned Carly has mastered quite a few!).

At about 5:00 pm we arrived at the Hildesheim train station and were met by a huge group of friendly faces and a "Herzlich Willkommen" sign, welcoming us to our new home for the next 2.5 weeks. Everyone went off in their own direction, to spend their first evening with their new friends and family.

Herr Stall and I took in the Germany vs. Ghana World Cup game at a friend's home with our host family, the Beste's. Tying 2-2, the outcome could have been better, but the company and food was excellent!

Sunday will be spent with our individual host families and then Monday will be our first day at school. Looking forward to it!

Bis dann!

Salty Salzburg

Despite the rain that stayed with us most of the day today, we still had a great time south of the German border in our visit to Salzburg, Austria! Here's what we discovered today:

After a 7 am wake-up call and another try at the adventure of German breakfasts, we made the 2-hour drive to Berchtesgaden, enjoying some incredible views of the Alps, rivers and forests along the way. We made our first stop at the Berchtesgaden Salzbergwerk for a salt-mine tour. We got fitted in our very attractive outfits, took a train through 600 m of mountain, and walked through the hundred+-year-old facilities. Highlights of the tour were two trips down steep wooden slides (and the fun, yet slightly embarrassing photos taken mid-slide...) and a boat trip across one of the "salt lakes" complete with light show.

We then traveled to downtown Salzburg for some lamb burgers and cafe goods for lunch before meeting our tour guide. The tour was short and to the point due to some pretty constant rain showers, but we still were able to see some amazing things- the Dom (Cathedral) where Mozart was baptized, the Benedictine monastery, the Festung (fortress)- one of the oldest still maintained in Europe, the Mirabell palace and gardens- a gift from the archbishop to his girlfriend and family (whoops...), and several scene locations from the famous film "the Sound of Music." We also saw just some really fun modern things, such as giant pickle statues, a life-size street-art chess set, and the "love locks" on one of the central bridges- locks with newly married couples' initials chained to the bridge and whose key has been thrown into the river, locking the couple in love forever. Finally, we toured Mozart's birthplace and home for his first 16 years and ended with some shopping in the famous "Getreidegasse."

For dinner we enjoyed some pizza and Doener kebabs in Munich and enjoyed one last walking tour of the city. Tomorrow we head to Hildesheim to finally meet our host families!

Our New Friend- King Ludwig II (Louie Louie)

Today (Thursday) was another full day, a bit of an emotional roller-coaster.

We started the day at the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial site, where we became witnesses to the past terror and tragedy of the Holocaust in Germany during Nazi rule. Dachau served as the prototype for the other concentration camps and was the training site for camp guards. It is a very somber and emotional experience to stand in the place of such sorrow and pain, but important to learn about and testify to these events so that such horror never happens again. Please ask us to share about our own personal experiences in the camp!

We then took a 1.5 hour bus ride to the village of Hohenschwangau, near the city of Fuessen, to visit the castle Neuschwanstein. Built by "crazy" King Ludwig between the years of 1868-1886, it was to be a private residence for the king and a tribute to one of his heroes, Richard Wagner, but was never completed due to King Ludwig's untimely and mysterious death. The visit to the castle came with some amazing views of southwest Bavaria! It is easy to see how Walt Disney could be so inspired by the site, leading to his version in the form of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

We returned to Munich just in time for dinner at another world-famous site, Munich's Hofbraeuhaus (royal brewery). We ate at one of the large tables in the upper beer hall and were treated to a live polka band and some dancing and entertainment on the stage. Dinner consisted of bread and cheese, roasted beef and boiled potatoes and Bavarian creme with strawberry topping for dessert.

The night ended with a walk through the city, a visit to the beautiful St. Micheal's church- the burial site of King Ludwig, and a quick trip to the local grocery for some late night snacks. Other than a little bit of rain at Neuschwanstein, Germany has greeted us with some pleasant weather and wonderful experiences thus far!