I will include some photos from days past. Sleep seems to be calling me, so count yourself blessed, if you don't like all the commentary!
Clearly we already left the Orlando airport, had a layover in Atlanta and flew all night to Frankfurt. Early morning and a chill in the air woke up us right away!
I knew it was going to be a fun group when they started out with a game....this one was one foot tram balance, or something to that effect
I wish I could crop and zoom in on these things! This is the financial district in Frankfurt. They have a bull and bear just like we do on Wall Street.
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| The little arrow does not seem to mean rotate tonight! Just turn your ipad (or neck) to the side. Oh the things we have in the USA that they don't have in Europe. The rotate tool would be one. This is a little house in Rothenburg. |
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| Always on the look out for local artwork! This is woodburned onto scrap lumber and painted. Recognize the castle? |
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| We use a European touring bus for getting from destination to destination. |
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| We learned the difference between a Fortress, a Castle and a Palace. Guess which one this is? It is in Nurenburg. Daniel, our tour guide is a delight. I have a better picture also and will dedicate a single post just for him! |
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| Group shot in OldTown Frankfurt. |
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| Albrecht Durer was born and created artwork in Nurenburg....so I could not pass up the opportunity to show of his rabbit! |
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| That rotate tool would be nice! We keep finding mouse doors for Olivia. She gets so excited when she finds a door to fit her! |
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| Do you recognize this symbol? It is the Euro sign...like our dollar sign. Franfurt is the center of banking for the European Union and in the background is the European Central Bank....it is the big one! |
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| Had I known that the rotate tool would not be happening, I would have shot everything vertical! This is not any old building, it is the BMW tower in Munich! We could not make it to the far away Mercedes plant, so BMW was a near second. We enjoyed seeing the newest cars. Some of these kids will now need jobs. |
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| Oh happy day! The snow started falling while we were at breakfast. At least some of it stuck to their clothing, though it did not stick to the ground for long. This tells you it was right about 32 degrees this morning!
These photos do not even begin to show what we have accomplished in the last few days but they are a start. Students have been reminded to let parents know that they are fine. Of course, 'fine' is relative when you are a bit homesick, or find that sausage does not settle too well when you do major push ups and crunches for dessert, or you need to save up to pay the postage on your ipad that will meet us in Heidelburg, or you thought that skipping dinner might be a good idea until your blood sugar dropped by morning.....but all in all, these are simple things, recoverable things, life skills that need to be experienced. So far everyone has been a remarkable traveler, listened to direction, learned to deal in European currency, visited the old, and enjoyed the new of Germany, and been rewarded with freedom they did not expect. That reward, of course, was earned.
I believe their journaling will show mature thinking and some keen insight into what they are experiencing. As we discussed tonight....traveling changes you. It challenges you to not just accept at face value what you have been told, but to go out and see for yourself. We have found that the German perspective on many things is not the same as our perspective, and that sometimes our perspective is skewed. We have seen a number of churches and been saddened that they are not filled with believers who worship joyfully. We also found that most Germans are happy people, and have made it a point to learn from many parts of their painful past...to be determined not to let the bad things of history repeat themselves. Wow...what a lesson...what an observation!
Today we also visited to Dachau, but again, that deserves a post unto itself. It is one of those things that I can't really express in a blog, and the kids can not really express in a journal. It is something that hit at the very heart of us and we are still sorting things out. It was a heavy part of the trip, but may well turn out to be one of the most meaningful. I will share more later.
Meanwhile...keep us in your prayers. We travel to Austria tomorrow. We can't get to the Eagle's Nest due to the climate and steep, narrow, road, but we have alternatives planned! We will visit the salt mines....which means that we will go....underground!
Blessings to each of you as you go about your days and many thanks to the parents and grandparents who made this trip possible for some very special young people.
Gute Nacht!
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