Germany: 23 days ago

Ok. To start off with I will just say that this will have to be a condensed version of our trip. There were a lot of details and it would take me a long time to spell them all out for you. This was a whirlwind trip so everything was kind of cram-packed into four days. Here goes:

Thursday morning we got up around 4:00-4:30. If I remember right, the plan was to be on the road by 5:00, but we ran into complications. As I have said previously we only have a five seat car. You may rightly ask, so how could all eight of us go to Germany? A man from the church owns a company that is in charge of a number of semi trucks, some of which are owned by a company in Germany. One of these trucks was in a wreck so Karol, this man, had to make a trip to Germany to handle paper work. He suggested that some of us ride with him and the rest of us could just follow him in our car. So, back to the morning we left. When Karol got to the house where we live, we loaded up everything and were just ready to leave when he noticed that he had a flat rear tire. At first he thought it was just the valve stem that was broken, but then we found a pencil sized hole in the tread. He said he could drive into town and stop at an SOS auto place and have them fix it. We got there and found out that everybody was gone and only the owners wife was there. We ended up just changing the tire there on the spot, putting on the spare and driving on it until we found a place that could fix the tire. By the time we left the city it was about 6:00-6:30 (it's hard to remember exactly since it was a couple weeks ago).

We were finally on the road! Everybody got settled in, some falling back to sleep, while I tried to get a feel for how to follow Karol. After driving for about two hours, I still hadn't figured out how to follow him without letting him get away or without being right on his bumper (I can only explain it as being two different driving styles). We still had about 12 hours ahead of us by this time. Let me tell you, trying to follow someone driving at 140-160 kph (90-100 mph) with other cars on the road, some driving much slower and some still faster, is quite the experience! We were on the Autobhan so it was just up to all the different drivers out there to choose their speed. It didn't really seem like we were going all that fast, but I think that had mainly to do with the fact that the road is made for high speeds. Passing is the hard part to get used to - everybody is driving at different speeds. In the right lane the cars are traveling at about 100-130 (this will all be in KPH); in the left lane cars are traveling at anywhere from 110-220. I'm trying to keep up with someone who is driving at a speed in between all those numbers. I finally got down how to pass and how to judge the speed of cars coming up from behind, although it is still pretty hard to judge the speed of a car coming at you at close to twice your speed.

Getting lost on the Autobhan is kind of hard since exits for big cities are posted on big signs. Whenever I couldn't see Karol ahead of me, I would just head into the left lane and put the pedal to the floor (especially if there was someone coming up from behind). I just love a turbo diesel car! We made a number of rest stops during the trip. Only on one of these did I miss the exit. I then had to go to the next one to wait for the car I was supposed to be following. We were getting near the end of the drive and had just about an hour before we would arrive at our destination when somehow we got confused on which exit to take. We ended up taking three exits and making two U-turns before we got going in the right direction again. We finally did arrive in Gelsenkirchen while it was still light out (we were farther north).

We were warmly welcomed and given a good supper, just right to end a long, hard day in the car. That night half of us had to be taken to my Mom's cousin's house to sleep. It's always hard to find a place big enough to sleep eight people. (Karol and his daughter, who had come along for the trip, went on to where he had to be the next morning). It was M, O, G and I who were divided from the rest. We talked with Olly and Dagmar for a while after we got to their house. It was interesting to finally meet people that we had only heard about, and I think it was the same for them. We were shown to our room and let me tell you, we slept good that night.

The next day, Friday, after we ate a light breakfast (it was light because we didn't want to eat everything in the kitchen), Dagmar said she would take us (those of us at her house) out sight seeing around the city of Duisburg. We were told before that there really wasn't much to be seen in the area because it is mainly all industry, this city in particular, but we still enjoyed seeing the sights. We went down to the harbor, which just happens to be the biggest inland harbor in Europe, and watched the barges for a while. Once we were up on the bridges driving around, it was a little easier to see how big the whole network of canals is, but I, for one, would have liked to see more of it. After this, Dagmar took us to see an old ironworks facility that has been turned into a park. This was really neat because you could walk around underneath all the towering buildings and machinery, something that hardly anybody would be able to do if the place was still in use. The scope of everything was so big and we were so close that it was hard for me to take pictures. I ended up using my film camera because I could better use the wide end of my wide-angle lens. The whole facility is now turned into a learning center with signs everywhere telling about what different things were used for (too bad it was all in German!). They have turned the huge water tank (which was used for emergency cooling) into a diving tank where people can practice scuba diving. Climbers are given a chance to try out their skills at free climbing up the side of a huge blast furnace. One of the buildings has been turned into a concert hall and they also hold outdoor concerts there in the summer time. At night the whole place is lit up with colored lights and you can actually take a guided tour while this is going on. We weren't able to take the tour because for some reason the lights were not on while we were there.

Something to eat was next on the list, as well as somewhere to sit down and rest, so we went to the city center and had ice cream. It was good ice cream, but a little more than any of us expected. We then went to an area where there are a bunch of man-made lakes. These were made because huge pits were dug to take out gravel and what remained was not pretty. Now the lakes are used for everything, from swimming to water skiing. We walked around for a while until we were tired.

That evening we went to another one of our Mom's cousins and had dinner with the rest of our family. It was nice, but at the same time a little awkward because there were all these people that Mom & Dad know, but we don't know. It ended up being a fine time and a good way to end that part of the trip. The next morning Karol would come and take us on to Giessen.

Saturday. Giessen is where my parents lived while they were in Germany a number of years back (I'll let them say how long). We went there mainly just to see where and what they used to know as home. We drove out into the country and found the mill that they used to live in. It was really nice and the new owners had kept it up. We were let into the inner yard to look around and take pictures, but the people in the house only spoke French (?)

There was only so much we could see there at the mill, so after Dad enquired about the previous owner at a nearby restaurant, we went back into the city. We then went looking for the church/coffee house and finally found it after we got directions from a man who talked to us from out his window. There really wasn't much to look at again, especially since the building is not used as a church anymore.

Giessen was our last stop in Germany before we arrived home. We spent the night there in a hotel and left somewhat early Sunday morning for home. We didn't have any more problems with cars or anything; Karol got his tire fixed or replaced. We all arrived home plenty tired and even though I can't remember, I'm sure we all slept well that night.

That's it for our trip to Germany. If I remember anything I left out then I will try and add it in when ever I get the chance.

Where am/are I/we?

I feel as though we've been everywhere and done everything and still not everything has been seen or done yet! Plans change and this summer has been no exception. I don't think anything here happens on any kind of schedule so this means the name of the game is flexibility. Add onto that patience, long-suffering, and self control. I admit, I've almost blown up a couple of times in the past few weeks. It's not easy to be partially responsible for seven people, besides myself, and it has all been a new lesson for me to learn.

I've been acting as the driver and have been driving everybody around (we've got one five passenger car at our disposal) and this, plus the traffic, really helps wear me out. I've had to follow other people who drive at 160kph (100mph) and fight my way through traffic with everyone else, plus trying to dodge people walking and riding bikes on the side of the road. Driving here is quite the experience, and I enjoy it, but sometimes it can get a little over-bearing. I'll leave it to my family to fill you in on how crazy it is; they've had a pretty good taste (and my dad's got video).

There have been many more things that have added to these past few weeks, which in turn have made me feel like I'm in a whirlwind. I won't go into all the details, but I will try and give updates on these weeks as soon as I have the time to do it. I hope that in my next few posts I'll be able to give a taste of what it has been like for me. I can't really say what it has been like for my family since I know that they have to be seeing things differently. I was the way they were when I was first here; now it's my turn to watch them from both sides. It would be different if I were just watching from the perspective of someone who lives here, but I'm not. They are my family and so I see more than what most people see. It's kind of hard to explain.

Imagine you had lived away from your family for more than a year and a half, seeing them off and on during a three year period. You've learned to live in a different country and have had some of the rosiness of your glasses rubbed off. You see things differently than when you first looked out on this foreign land. Now you have the chance to see you're family in the same environment as you have lived in. They get a taste of what you've by now had by the mouth-full; it's hard to explain what it tastes like. They look around and see things; you look around and see them. They're not exactly out of place but on the other hand they are not exactly in place. It makes me feel kind of awkward because I am attached to both and am yet not really a part of what they are experiencing. Needless to say, if I come up with a better explanation I'll try and write it out so it might make more sense.

I'm (we're) back

Ok. So I've been back now for almost a week. I've still not written, as you can see, but hopefully I'll find time in the next couple days. We've been quite busy with all kinds of stuff so I've not had time to write since we got back.

Next week

I'll try and write some here when I get back. I'll be in Germany until Sunday.

...still

Ok, I'm back. I think I've kind of cooled off a little. Last time when I was trying to write I was (getting) frustrated with a number of things going on.

Anyway... rain water. We're still working on finishing the drainpipe that we were working on. Now we're waiting on the actual drains that need to be put in. This seems to be how things go here; something getting halfway done (for one reason or another) and then getting finished sometime later. The "break" between the work lasts for a day and sometimes dragging into weeks.

I guess I'm just learning how to wait; to be patient. Some things happen "like they're supposed to" and somethings just don't.