Problems, Problems, Problems

Hey, I have been hearing back from quite a few of you that you are having a hard time either posting a comment, or joining as a follower... I don't know what the problem is, or how to help you... but I am glad to know that there ARE people out there reading! I hope you are enjoying yourselves... I AM!! Read on!!

Vroom! Vroom! BMW

Today we had the opportunity to join the high school students and tour the BMW (Barvarian Motor Works) production plant located in the outskirts of Regensburg. After 2 1/2 hours I was totally amazed and impressed by all that we saw. Due to some privacy law, we were not allowed to take pictures and that is REALLY too bad, because I could have shown you some incredible things! With approximately 900 robots working in the plant, I felt like I was in a scene from Transformers! I just stood there, totally in a trance watching those robots work. We began our tour in the Press Shop, where metal plates are stamped to form the body components. Then to the Body Shop, where all of the approx. 700 panels and metal components are welded together to form the body. Next up was Paintwork... there are 5 different coats of paint products that are baked onto each car. Last we visited the Assembly department. Here the body is transformed in about 100 steps into a ready-made BMW. Each of the areas we visited was enormous! It was not only the level we walked through, there were 2 or 3 more floors above us! This plant kicks out more than 1,000 cars A DAY! I'll take mine in purple, please... We left the plant to head to Goethe High School again. We had been requested for a encore performance... Herr Biermeier's 5th grade English class was just dying for us to come and meet them. Every day they were asking their teacher, "When are they coming? Are they coming TODAY?" So we arrived, and waited until their previous class had ended, and as we were standing outside the door, a couple of students caught sight of us. One of the boys who spied us, his eyes lit up like he had just seen Santa Claus! It was so cute! Then a couple of others saw us, and the kids were running to the door peeking out at us. We finally entered the class, and the children bid us hello. They had all written out questions that they wanted to ask us, so after a short introduction of ourselves, we proceeded to answer them. They ranged from, "Do you like our school?" to "Do you like Obama?" and everything in between... the hour went by very quickly and it was time to leave. As we were walking down the stairs towards the front door, one boy from the class came running up to me with a piece of notebook paper saying, "May I have your autograph, please?" Chuckling, I gave it to him. I felt like a celebrity! :) Then off to a beautiful biergarten in the park with Miriam. We sat in a partially sunny area, and I had my favorite meal again! Yes, I could probably eat it every day! Then we walked through the park back to the school where we had left the car. Home for a power nap, then blogging time! I have no photos today on the blog today, as Francisco has my cord so he can download some of his own photos... I will have them on tomorrow. Tonight is my "family" going away party, and it was absolutely a wonderful. Walter's mom came over to join in the fun. ´We had an amazing dinner, a special type called "Raclette ". Here is a picture of the gadget we used to cook with... it is kind of like a hot plate on top, with little individual trays below that you pull out, load up with whatever you want (meat, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, onions, and always top it with cheese!) then you put it in the slot, and it cooks it for you! So delicious... Walter went out and specially bought my favorite beer for me... Weltenburg Koster Barock Dunkel... such a sweetie! All of this along with salad, potatoes, and bread. Yes, you had to roll me away from the table. We then watched some of Uli's DVD about the Special Olympics she attended in Bremen. It was incredible! I had no idea it was so well supported, and celebrated. Looked like a fabulous time. We had to cut the video short, because it was time for the Germany soccer match, and we didn't want to miss a minute! Germany won!!! and so did the USA!!! So BOTH of my teams get to move on to the next round... early night - I was in bed by 11 p.m.!!!

A Change of Plans...

Francisco and I were supposed to go visit a school today where there are behaviorally challenged students, but I guess the students were REALLY having a tough week, and the teachers were not comfortable with us coming today. I am bummed, because I was really looking forward to seeing how they handled these children, and if there was anything that we could do at our schools to better meet the needs of OUR behaviorally challenged kids. So... there was a change of plans. Francisco just stayed at Michaels with Hariett, and I talked Miriam into taking me out shopping for the last few souveniers that I needed. She was happy to oblige me! We ended up going to a couple of different malls, and a few more stores, but finally found everything that I needed to get. (Including a van with Wagner on it! lol) Our last stop was in the inner city of Regensburg, so we parked at a lot that was free, but about a 10 minute walk to our destination. It was a beautiful day, and we had a nice walk along the tree lined Danube. The sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds... sometimes out, sometimes not. But it sure felt wonderful when it was out!! After our last store, we went to the famous Wurstkuchl restaurant and looked for a seat among the wooden benches. There were none open, but in Germany they just ask the people sitting there if they can join them... and they always say YES with a smile! So nice. We sat with an older couple, very amiable. I had my favorite meal, bratwurst and saurkraut, and a dark beer! Mmmmmm! Then home for a power nap, and after that, a ride on Max. Miriam borrowed a horse from a friend, so we actually got to ride TOGETHER! We took a long walking ride, and at one point she asked me if I wanted to trot again... well... OK. So I did. OK, here is Miriam in front of me trotting... UUUUPPPP DDDOOOOWWWNN UUUPPP DDDOOWWWNN, nice and gracefully on her horse. Here was me on Max... UP DOWN UP DOWN UP DOWN UP DOWN! I was slapping that saddle so hard my teeth were rattling and my helmet was knocking my head! I was cracking up and was amazed I didn't fall right off that horse! I was so glad Miriam didn't look back to see me, because I KNOW I looked like a complete and total idiot! Then more smooth walking (aaaaahhhh!) Later Miriam asked if I wanted to canter (that means gallop!) WHAT?? "It is so much smoother than the trotting", she said... so, yes, I did that to! Miriam got her horse running, and then Max just took off after hers. I was hanging on for dear life, he was racing along so fast! But it was such a smooth ride, I LOVED it, and I was so happy that I decided to go for it! (But I will be lucky if I can WALK tomorrow!!) Had a rare chance to read a book in the sun/clouds for a bit, then up here to work my blog. Tonight, a relaxing time at home. Had a wondeful dinner, where I tried a German specialty... Sülze... an interesting meat and jelly combination (Walter told me they made the jelly from bones... ?? pulling my leg, or telling the truth??) Or do I really WANT to know? I have a little more free time before the Nowotny's neighbor Olaf comes over. I am looking forward to meeting him, but I have been told that he LOVES to have a good time and that I better get ready to join him! :) Ciao!! And YES, we had a fabulously fun time!!!

Take a Moment Please...

Hallo alles meine freunde! If you have been reading my blog, PLEASE take a moment to add a comment on this post and let me know. (just click on the pink word COMMENTS in the bottom right hand corner) Just your name, or whatever, I just want to see how many people are taking this Germany adventure WITH me! Danke!! Ciao!! **OK, just a note to let you know that even though only 10 people responded here, there have actually been over 50 people that I know of who DID follow my blog... :) Thanks for your support!

Train Trip to Munich

Heute ist Montag (today is Monday) and our day started out at the gimnasiam (high school)where Wolfgang and Heinz work. First, we joined Wolfgang and his English class of 5th grade students. We were very impressed with their reading and speaking skills. Many of them asked us questions about the United States, and our schools, and we were very happy to tell them all they wanted to know. Next, we were off with Heinz, and his 11th grade geography class. They were being introduced to the South American countries and their capitals. Very lively class, and the time went by quickly. We were only able to spend only a couple of hours at the school, but really enjoyed our time. Then we had to hoof it (yes, that means walking) to the Central Train Station in Regensburg, where we met up with Hariett and Michael. I get to go on my FIRST train ride ever! I am soooo excited!! It was 11:30 and being hungry already, we grabbed a slice of pizza, and ate it as we headed for our train. We found a very nice compartment with 6 seats, and settled ourselves in for the ride. It was so cool! Just like in the movies. Sitting by the window, watching the scenery go by... green fields, small villages, larger towns, and a lot of grafitti, I thoroughly enjoyed the peaceful 90 minute ride. Our arrival in Munich, or München as it is properly called, was met with rain. Good thing it only lasted for about the first hour or so, then stopped. Still totally cloudy, but no rain - I'll take it! We perused many, many shops, looking for the last minute souveniers that we needed to take home. The streets were crowded with shoppers and tourists. Michael was the guide/history teacher today as we walked through the city. There were so many amazing buildings to see and learn about. After a couple of hours, we decided to stop for a bite to eat. Michael knew of a great little cafe' (located on the third floor), where we could sit and look out over a huge plaza while we ate. I had a delicious tomato soup and a Weiße beer. Francisco and I tried a bite of something new today... white sausage. Michael had ordered it, and assured us that THIS was a traditional Barvarian food, and we just HAD to try it. Well, we did. And, you know the kind of meat they put in menudo? Well... enough said! After we left the cafe' we continued on our walking journey through Munich. Many more stores, historic and beautiful buildings, biergartens, churches, the Hofbraühaus (the most famous brewery in the world!) and our next stop was the University of Munich, where Michael studied to earn his English degree. He took us inside the beautiful building, and toured us around the school. It was late afternoon by now, and we decided to head (subway first, then walking) to the Olympic Park where we viewed the beautiful grounds. Next, we went up in the sky needle, and had a view of all of Germany! (OK, really just all of Munich, but it was sooooo high we FELT like we could see it all!) By the time we finished this activity, all of us were dogging it and decided to catch the subway back to our train, and head for home. That ended up becoming a mad dash, because if we missed the 7:00 train, we would have to take the next one that was took 30 minutes LONGER to get home due to the fact that it stopped at EVERY town on the way back to Regensburg. So, we literally started running... Michael in the lead, and the rest of us following behind. Weaving in and out of people, laughing, racing, and finally making it to the train with about 3 minutes to spare! OMG! I was so glad to sit down and relax for the trip back. Starving as we hit the Regensburg station at 8:30, and with Francisco and I craving a hamburger, we headed for an Americanized burger joint called Kullman's Diner. We ordered big, juicy (ok, not so juicy) hamburgers, complete with french fries, we chowed down! Had to walk back, past the Train Station and on to Michael's school, where he and Hariett had their cars parked. Saying goodbye to Hariett, Michael took Francisco and me. I was dropped off at home around 11 p.m., and since I only had 4 hours sleep the night before, I was a dead dog tired! So, no blog, just straight to bed. Später!

Trip to a Castle

Woke to rain (are you kidding me? Still??) We were REALLY hoping for it to clear up a bit, but that just was not going to happen... so, we got ready, packed up our stuff, and headed to breakfast. Then after a short drive, we parked and had to wait in the rain for almost half an hour until we went by boat to the island Herrenchiemsee, where we purchased our tickets to visit König Ludwig II's castle. We had about a half an hour walk through beautiful green forested (wet) areas before we came upon the immense castle. Flanked on either side of the plaza were 2 huge fountains, probably the nicest I have seen. We entered the castle, and were just in time for our 11:15 English tour. OH MY GOSH!!!! I said that as we entered EACH and every room! Never in my LIFE have I seen such oppulence! There was more gold, ornate decor, paintings, furniture, chandeliers, mirrors, busts, and tapestries in one place than I EVER could have imagined! We were not allowed to take pictures inside the castle, but I have a spy, and was able to get a copy of his photo... albeit only one, you can begin to see what I was talking about. Being surrounded by such wealth and the show of said wealth and power was just mind boggling. But it was also very cold and impersonal... Even after seeing it, it still seems surreal. Just unbelieveable! After the tour ended we headed for the museum to get a little deeper look into the life of this King. And more of the same wealth, and status seen in every item that was on display there. The next item on the agenda was walking back through the wet forested path to our awaiting boat and trip back to the mainland. The hunger pangs started to hit, so we stopped at a restaurant right near where our car was parked. I had some wonderful currywurst and pommes. Then settled in for the long ride home. Thank heaven we arrived without any situation... I caught up with Uli... her special Olympics team won 2 gold medals, a couple of silver, and a bronze... way to go! Then her mother in law stopped by to say hi, and then her brother, as well. He had dinner, conversed with us for a while, had Miriam and I dancing, then finally off to bed at 2 in the morning... hasta luego!!

Off to Austria!

Since it was night when we arrived yesterday, I didn't get a chance to get a good look at the alps... well, today proved no different. Because it was STILL raining, the beautiful Alps were totally shrouded in clouds! Beautiful, white, fluffy clouds! So we could see some of the mountains, but the higher peaks were completely engulfed in the clouds and mist. Maybe later we thought... so Michael had planned for us to visit the Salzbergwerk (Salt Mountain Plant) where we had to first dress in a mining jumpsuit. Very sexy... NOT! It was the most incredible plant! I had no idea how salt (white gold) was mined. We got to ride a little train like contraption deep into the mountain (picture Thunder Mtn. at Disneyland), and it was chilly so I was glad for the ugly protection I had to wear. We reached the bottom, and were ushered into a large cavern where we would begin our tour. There was some explaining done, and Francisco and I had our English headsets on, so we could understand as well. Our next direction was to sit on this "slide" of sorts, Michael in front, then Hariett, me, then Francisco. We leaned back and SLID down this slide to the next level! It was a blast! Saw many amazing sights, heard tons of interesting facts about salt mining, and even floated in a boat across a salt water lake that was 100 meters below the earth's surface. Just incredible! Upon the completion of our tour, we were given a little container of salt! :) Our next stop was Konigssee (King's Lake), where we decided against taking a boat ride, so we would have more time in Austria! We crossed the border into Austria at 13:00 (1 p.m.) Yea! My second European country to visit! After driving a little longer, we came to Salzburg and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring (walking, in the rain) the many historical and fabulous sights it offered. We visited Mozart's birthplace, saw the massive Salzburg fortress, viewed many squares with bubbling fountains, an enormous church with such ornate embellishments, walked over the bridge to visit Mirabelle Castle (where there was a firefighter's wedding going on! Complete with a fire hose arch as the bride and groom came out!), and many streets with musicians playing their tunes. After a couple of hours we went into a restaurant for a much needed sit down break. We all ordered something to drink, and I had the opportunity to try an Austrian beer! It was good, but NOT as good as German beer! After that we walked and looked some more, then decided to call it a day and head back home. We stopped at Burger King (I know, I know, but Paco was craving fries!), and they had a big screen TV so we were able to watch part of a soccer game as we were munching away. Once we were back at the apt. everyone took a nap while I read my book. Francisco and Michael both got up after a bit, but Hariett just kept on sleeping... the three of us were hungry, so we set out in search of some pizza. Around the lake we found a great Italian place, and we had some red wine and a delicioso pizza. We wouldn't let Michael order for us, so Francisco and I were on our own. It was hilarious! We were speaking a mixture of German, Spanish, and English trying to get our point across. We sat and ate and watched a soccer game on the big screen. The cook was making eyes at me (he was like 70!) and I was cracking up! Left there with a bottle of red wine, and back to our room to hit the sack! Until Morgen!