I do not know how I came to the end of this trip. The rate at which time has passed by never fails to astonish me. I remember laying down to nap in early September, exhausted and thinking "Enjoy even the exhaustion; before I know it, I shall be home napping in my other bed." So correct was I in that moment; before I could say "whoa" the end just sped up to meet me. This blog though has helped me to slow down a few moments enough to keep a solid connection with what this adventure really means to me. It is a challenge designed to force me into an area so unfamiliar and uncomfortable that I have no choice but to build up the courage and try to overcome every set-back with grace and intelligence. I like to think that I did all of that. I am sure there were a few less than excellent moment, and I have made a lot of mistakes, but I am damn proud of everything I have done. Life at home, in Guelph and in University, are going to be much more "doable" now, I think. No more wasted time, not after learning of its extreme value over here.
I still need to catch up on the very busy events of November, but I think that that will have to wait in light of a more recent holiday, Christmas! My Oma sent me a letter in November commenting on how Christmas time in Germany was such a wonderful thing to experience, and that she was happy I would get the chance to experience it and that she wished she could be here also for it. How very right she was! Germany knows how to celebrate the holiday. It is not all about presents; there are solid, old traditions to adhere to. At the end of November opens all of the Weihnachtsmaerkte (Christmas Markets) throughout Germany. Each features similar stalls full of food, jewelry, ornaments, clothing, or wood carvings, but each town also has a different way of presenting these stalls. I have been to several: Wetzlar, Giessen, Oldenburg, Bremen, Mannheim, and Freiburg. I could not say which is my favourite, although I found the Gluhwein in Freiburg to be the best, and the worst in Bremen (complete opposite ends of Germany also, mind you). On the 6th of Dezember visits a very important man, St. Nikolaus, to fill our shoes with candy, nuts, and fruit. Before bed on the 5th, Mia excitedly and carefully laid out our shoes, two-by-two, so as to make his job easier, and when I came upstairs the next moring, Mia ran to show me gifts left from the revered old Saint. I received a hand warmer for my pockets and a ticket to the Handball game the next day.
Speaking of Handball, Caillin and I went to a home game featuring HSG Wetzlar gegen TuS N-Luebbecke. We were both told over and over again that we absolutely must experience a handball game, as it seems that the sport is very popular here aside from perhaps Fussball. One of the team member on the Wetzlar team used to also rent a room from Oma Marietta, the Oma of the children that lives just around the corner from us here on Hohe Str. The game was really interesting, although Wetzlar lost, and I definitely experienced a different side to sports by watching it. Throughout game play there is a lot of grabbing and pulling and shoving, but the moment someone gets too forceful or a player is pushed/pulled down, the whistle blows (sometimes a time out is given), and irrespective of team, the players will help the fallen up. Some apologize for getting to pushy, pating each other on the back and shaking hands. It is a very "gentlemanly" game, I guess you could say; except the uniforms are horridly unflatering.
Back to Christmas time, from a previous post I of course went to Visbek to see family from the 16th to the 20th, was home in time to celebrate Tom's 38th birthday on the 22nd, and then set up the Christmas tree on the 23rd. The tree is real this year; lush and classically decorated. One thing that is very different though is that Germans use candles (real or fake) to light there tree, whereas we tend to use twinkle-lights. It is a traditional thing aimed back to the first instance of the Christmas tree when there were of course no such thing as twinkle-lights (although I am still not sure if I would have REAL candles on my tree). The 24th is traditional Christmas in Germany. At around 18.00 the 4 of us (Tom, Astrid, Mia, and I) went to the church for a children's Christmas mass. We actually had quite a lot of snow, and owing to his young age, Tim stayed home with Oma Marietta, were it was cozy and prehaps not so boring. Church was really nice. It was Evangelical, so certainly a different experience from my traditional Roman Catholic, but nice and interactive. We sang a lot, and there was a childrens guitar group there to provide the music behind our voices. We also opened the last Chritsmas window. Throughout Dezember, to celebrate the advent and also resembling those chocolate advent calendars (another very popular thing in Germany), different families each night would host a window. These windows were decorated and numbered all throughout Muenchholzhausen, and we would gather at each to drink Kinderpunch, eat some Lebkuchen, and to sing. Of course St. Nikolaus would meet us there with a little something for the kids. He was not there at the church, since I think then we would be mixing too many traditions.
After church we walked back to the house, the other three throwing snowballs at each other, since snow is, again, such an anomally this early in the season. I continued to walk on, keeping in mind that while beautiful, there is still a lot waiting for me back in Kanada. And it has been beautiful; snow for Christmas was a wonderful gift. Oma Ingrid and Opa Hubert (Tom's parents) came a little later and it became all of our jobs to keep Mia occupied in the basement playroom so that the Christkind (baby jesus) could bring presents to our loving house. Yes, baby Jesus brings us present over here. Apparently Santa is too busy over in North America. He did come, none-the-less, and an unbelievably excited Mia was very careful to come up the stairs without scaring the baby Jesus away, lest he take present back with him in his fear. He rings a bell when he comes.
We opened presents right then. Mia jumped around looking for everything with her name on it. I remember that excitement well; tearing everything open, and then looking frantically around for what else might be left for you untouched. For me, I received Asbach filled chocolates from Oma Ingrid and Opa Hubert (finished one box, delicious!), a hand knit scarf from Oma Marietta (a beautiful purple colour), and from Tom and Astrid, "Die echte Deutsche Kueche" (an amazing cookbook!) and a calendar featuring pictures of the family. I do not know which present was the best. Every single piece has a meaning behind it; a strong memory. It was one of the most wonderful Christmases that I have ever experienced, although I know that it is not over yet. There is still Christmas in Kanada. The excitement for the day as a child is unequatable, but the meaning that forms behind the holiday as an adult is my favourite part.
Dinner followed (it was amusing to watch an antsy Mia, told to eat while her new toys awaited her), for which we had Raclette. I had tried the cheese before on bread down in Freiburg, and while it is a very smelly variation, it tastes fantastic heated up. In the middle of the table was set up a raclette grill. On the top part was the grill, more for meat, and underneath the grill was six individual pans. In these pans you would fill up with mushrooms, fruits, shrimp... you name it... and a slice of cheese (maily raclette, but we had others), let it melt together, and eat it while warm with a side of potatoes and salad. The concept is similar to fondu, actually, just perhaps heartier since you can make so much more food quickly. I really liked the concept, and Tom gave me a small, individual raclette cheese heater, so I can make the cheese and bread piece whenever I would like to now. Following dinner I did quite a few shots of potatoe schnapps (unbelievably good) with Tom, Astrid, and especially so with the two Omas. In fact, when Tom and Astrid stopped, the Omas continued, feeding me schnapps all along the way. I can not say that I minded; it was fun and I heard a lot of stories.
The 25th was my day off to celebrate Canadian christmas a little. I called family and friends back home.
And now here I am, waiting on Leslie to arrive and finishing up a bit of packing here and there. Yesterday was my last official work day, and today I get co-op paper work completed before celebrating with the family. We are going to have a small party here for my leaving, making Schnitzel, Pilzsauce, Kraut, Kloese, and Strudel; a very hearty German meal. Leslie will be here for it, the family, Oma Marietta, and my dear Au-Pair friend Caillin. Afterwards Caillin, Leslie, and I will go to a grill party hosted by Caillin's host family, and then maybe further after that we will go to the local bar at the Tennishalle for one last drink together. How bitter-sweet it all is.
-Candles
Beatus Est Pisciculus
29 December 2010
21 December 2010
Wenn ich nur konnte...
Today I rode my last DeutscheBahn train of my entire time here. It was a bitter-sweet experience, since every train in Western Germany seems to be running a perpetual 30 minutes behind (if you are lucky, that is), but it is still a luxury to be able to travel so easily within Europe. I was visiting my dear friend and frequent travel partner, Leslie, as she prepares to pack up and leave Mannheim. She is flying back to Canada the same day that I am, just at a 10min difference on another plane with several stop overs. Have fun, Leslie. My flight is direct.
This visit had the added bonus of another friend from back home, Nicholas Wuestefeld. Such a German last name. He has only been here for a week, and if flying back to Canada tomorrow from Frankfurt. He decided to have a mini-vacation (and apparently his first) while the lot of us are over here completing a semester or year abroad. Together the three of us visited the main Mannheimer Weihnachtmarkt, which was beautiful, large, and really not all that packed with people, although it is a Tuesday. As we stuffed our faces with Flammkuchen and Pommes, I could not help but notice that it is significantly warmer in Mannheim. Is it only Hessen and all that is north that has been hit by Winter? I doubt it, but man, is that not fair. I am freezing my arsh off up here. That winter came so quickly is quite a surprise to every German here. Normally in Hessen there is not a lasting layer of snow until late January. Evidently I brought the snow over with me from Canada, or so I am told. I could have done with the delayed snow fall, but I guess a white Christmas is in order. Hopefully it stays until then, while over the next few days the temperature is set to get a little warmer and it will rain a lot. Snow leading up to Christmas, but then gone by that day?
I feel as though I have been doing a lot of travelling this past week. First there was Visbek from Thursday until Monday, and then today, Mannheim. I can not begin to count the number of trains that I have hopped to and from with connections. The final two days of Visbek were unbelievably wonderful. On the Saturday I went with my cousin Franzi and her new beau to Oldenburg for the Weihnachtmarkt. I have never seen Oldenburg before, and while it was very, very cold, it was so beautiful. The Markt was set up in the Aldstadt (old part of town), around the church, and stretched on in so many different directions. We looked around a bit, drank some Gluehwein, which tastes pretty good in Oldenburg - the worst that I have had yet was in Bremen during the time I was waiting for my connecting train - and ate by a little chain restaurant called "Hardy's." It may be fast food there, but the atmosphere is very classy. It is themed around the turn of the 20th century. I ate currywurst, which I knew that I had to try in Germany at least once before leaving since it seems to be pretty popular. Actually, the Germans cook often with curry.
The Sunday following I had forgotten to set my alarm, and so I slept until about 11.00, which is ridiculous considering that I went to bed at 22.00 the night prior. I have been sick for the past 5 days; just a regular cold, but I have not slept that long in ages! My cousins Franzi and Niklas slept in quite late also, and Louisa was not there that night. Sunday was a quiet day then, a much needed quiet day, and I think that the rest really did me well. That night I visited more family down the street (everyone seems to live so close together) and answered questions about how everyone back in Canada is, what I have been doing, and how I have found my time here in Germany. That last question is answered with a simple whine about how I am not ready to go back.
With school supposedly on Monday (it ended up "snowed out"), I said goodbye to my cousins and wished them well, encouraging them to come visit and stay by Monique and myself when they get the chance. It was my first real taste of the goodbyes I am going to have soon, and I did not like it at all. While I was anxious to get the travelling back to Wetzlar over with, I could have stayed there easily another day or two without question. It was really too short. Life started up again for my family on Monday though, with errands to run and the cousins having a day off of school. I spent the morning getting some fresh air around tiny Visbek, and taking pictures. I had almost forgotten how adorable the town is. The locals probably are sick of how small it is, on some level, but to my foreign eye, it was heaven brushed with snow.
Franzi, Uncle Werner, and Tante Afra drove me to my train that afternoon, and I hugged them tightly before hopping onto the train. It is a painful memory, thinking of their faces through the train window as it pulled away. Afra mentioned that she had wished they had done more with me while I was there, but in all honesty, the rest was what I needed. I am so fortunate to have such an amazing family, and one that only would speak German with me to boot! The practice did me wonders also.
The trip to Visbek I had been waiting for since I got here. I knew that it would be wonderful to see the family again, but I also knew the once the visit was over, I would only have a week and a half left in Germany. That is the point that I am at now. When I left Visbek, time sped up again. Six hours on trains to Wetzlar can eat up an afternoon in the blink of an eye. I was home by 20.00 Monday night. Mia was still awake, and she ran to welcome me home and tell me about her weekend. I am going to miss that little girl's tiny arms.
-Candles
This visit had the added bonus of another friend from back home, Nicholas Wuestefeld. Such a German last name. He has only been here for a week, and if flying back to Canada tomorrow from Frankfurt. He decided to have a mini-vacation (and apparently his first) while the lot of us are over here completing a semester or year abroad. Together the three of us visited the main Mannheimer Weihnachtmarkt, which was beautiful, large, and really not all that packed with people, although it is a Tuesday. As we stuffed our faces with Flammkuchen and Pommes, I could not help but notice that it is significantly warmer in Mannheim. Is it only Hessen and all that is north that has been hit by Winter? I doubt it, but man, is that not fair. I am freezing my arsh off up here. That winter came so quickly is quite a surprise to every German here. Normally in Hessen there is not a lasting layer of snow until late January. Evidently I brought the snow over with me from Canada, or so I am told. I could have done with the delayed snow fall, but I guess a white Christmas is in order. Hopefully it stays until then, while over the next few days the temperature is set to get a little warmer and it will rain a lot. Snow leading up to Christmas, but then gone by that day?
I feel as though I have been doing a lot of travelling this past week. First there was Visbek from Thursday until Monday, and then today, Mannheim. I can not begin to count the number of trains that I have hopped to and from with connections. The final two days of Visbek were unbelievably wonderful. On the Saturday I went with my cousin Franzi and her new beau to Oldenburg for the Weihnachtmarkt. I have never seen Oldenburg before, and while it was very, very cold, it was so beautiful. The Markt was set up in the Aldstadt (old part of town), around the church, and stretched on in so many different directions. We looked around a bit, drank some Gluehwein, which tastes pretty good in Oldenburg - the worst that I have had yet was in Bremen during the time I was waiting for my connecting train - and ate by a little chain restaurant called "Hardy's." It may be fast food there, but the atmosphere is very classy. It is themed around the turn of the 20th century. I ate currywurst, which I knew that I had to try in Germany at least once before leaving since it seems to be pretty popular. Actually, the Germans cook often with curry.
The Sunday following I had forgotten to set my alarm, and so I slept until about 11.00, which is ridiculous considering that I went to bed at 22.00 the night prior. I have been sick for the past 5 days; just a regular cold, but I have not slept that long in ages! My cousins Franzi and Niklas slept in quite late also, and Louisa was not there that night. Sunday was a quiet day then, a much needed quiet day, and I think that the rest really did me well. That night I visited more family down the street (everyone seems to live so close together) and answered questions about how everyone back in Canada is, what I have been doing, and how I have found my time here in Germany. That last question is answered with a simple whine about how I am not ready to go back.
With school supposedly on Monday (it ended up "snowed out"), I said goodbye to my cousins and wished them well, encouraging them to come visit and stay by Monique and myself when they get the chance. It was my first real taste of the goodbyes I am going to have soon, and I did not like it at all. While I was anxious to get the travelling back to Wetzlar over with, I could have stayed there easily another day or two without question. It was really too short. Life started up again for my family on Monday though, with errands to run and the cousins having a day off of school. I spent the morning getting some fresh air around tiny Visbek, and taking pictures. I had almost forgotten how adorable the town is. The locals probably are sick of how small it is, on some level, but to my foreign eye, it was heaven brushed with snow.
Franzi, Uncle Werner, and Tante Afra drove me to my train that afternoon, and I hugged them tightly before hopping onto the train. It is a painful memory, thinking of their faces through the train window as it pulled away. Afra mentioned that she had wished they had done more with me while I was there, but in all honesty, the rest was what I needed. I am so fortunate to have such an amazing family, and one that only would speak German with me to boot! The practice did me wonders also.
The trip to Visbek I had been waiting for since I got here. I knew that it would be wonderful to see the family again, but I also knew the once the visit was over, I would only have a week and a half left in Germany. That is the point that I am at now. When I left Visbek, time sped up again. Six hours on trains to Wetzlar can eat up an afternoon in the blink of an eye. I was home by 20.00 Monday night. Mia was still awake, and she ran to welcome me home and tell me about her weekend. I am going to miss that little girl's tiny arms.
-Candles
17 December 2010
Visbek
I realize that I have failed to write for the remainder of November, and while much has gone on since I last wrote, I am choosing to focus first on my current situation. I will have to recount the numerous events of November later.
Today I find myself in Visbek, the birth place and childhood home of my dearest Opa, and the small town in which much of the Wuebbolt family still lives. I have been here once before, two years ago when I was 20, and while there are small changes to the structures here, the feel has remained much the same. I do not know how or why it happened, but the moment I entered the small town I felt an immediate affinity with it. Perhaps it is because the memory of its streets runs through my blood. The Wuebbolts have been tied to this place for centuries (since the 1600s, if I do not stand corrected), and only recently, with a previous generation, has the Wuebbolt family not lived in the same house as always before. I can still see the house where my Opa and his 8 other brothers and sisters were born and raised. It is now covered in a dark red-brown brick and is divided into several apartments, but before it was part of a gloriously fruitful piece of land, with a large garden and also once a factory building from when the family tailoring business had expanded. They made beautiful clothing there, and my Oma and mother both have a few dresses that were made there. The factory building is no longer there either, having been replaced with two smaller apartment buildings (fortunately not high rises), and while they are very clean, presentable structures, they are just not the same as those buildings that held so much personal historical value. My Opa's childhood home is not as beautiful as I imagine it once was; it looks a little run down. I would love to take it back and give it life again, but it is not mine to have. The garden is gone also.
I am actually quite in the middle of nowhere, being far up in the flat, northern atmosphere of west Germany. Did you know that Germany is only divided in conversation into as West and East? I mentioned "central Germany" once and was informed that there is no such thing. It is likely a run off from the days when Germany actually was divided into an East and into a West, although perhaps they should start to adopt the idea of there being a central area, and in that process emphasize that it is a whole. As it were, I am actually in the West and very close to the Netherlands (close in Canadian terms; an hour drive seems close to me, and incredibly long to the Germans, but it is all a matter of personal opinion in the end), and am staying in my family's hotel, Hotel Wuebbolt. Interestingly enough, my cousins live in a hotel. It is beautiful; fresh, clean, with a comfortable feel and several gorgeous Christmas decorations throughout. It is really close to the centre of town, and from my window I have the most amazing view of the church tower. I count myself as one of the luckiest people right here, sitting at my little table in my cozy little room. Snow has coated everything. It is a complete and utter "winter wonderland," complete with shining Christmas lights.
And my favourite part, aside from my adoring family all close by: time has stopped. In Wetzlar time has been going by too fast. Always too fast, and picking up continually, but here is has stopped. The hours trickle by as if I were watching every grain fall through an hourglass. I have talked to many back home about my growing aversion for the return to Canada. While I miss my family and my friends so much, along with the comfortable familiarity of being within Guelph and on my gorgeous campus, I cannot help but fear the return of the mundane; I fear when things will become too familiar again. I have been bitten by the travelling bug, and there is still far too much to see. Certainly I am begining to loath the German's unfamiliarity with snow. A trip to Weimar was cancelled this past Tuesday because bus drivers did not know how to handle 5cm (if that) of snow. The Canadian bus driver balks at that much snow. And yet despite all of that, I want to stay so badly. It took me 8 hours to get here by train due to a major snow storm along the way, when it really should have taken under 6 hours, but I can truely say that I hardly cared. Being an hour late into Bremen for my connection to Rechterfeld Station (by Visbek) meant that I had an extra hour (waiting for the next train) to use in the tiny Christmas market runoff outside of the Bremen station. I had some Gluhwein and talked with some very drunk locals. People seem very eager to talk about life in Canada with me. They do not have stereotypical misconceptions, but they are very taken aback by the nature and space that we have. I, along with others, take it for granted I guess, and to the everyday German, starved for space in such a densely populated space, we Canadians are pretty darn lucky. Yes, I have been exceptionally fortunate as of late. A wonderful family in Canada, a wonderful family here, a fantastic group of friends worldwide, good health, the sensation of being alive again, and the opportunity to travel with neverending support and encouragement. Much in me has changed, and now I will need to determine how I can incorporate this greater, new view of life, into my old structure back in Canada. Nothing seems too big to handle though. Coming home will just take a little work.
Tomorrow is a day to visit Weihnachtsmarkts in Northern Germany. Combined with my friend Leslie (here also on her Fall semester abroad from Guelph Uni), I think we will have covered every Weihnachtsmarkt that there is to see in West Germany.
Candles
Today I find myself in Visbek, the birth place and childhood home of my dearest Opa, and the small town in which much of the Wuebbolt family still lives. I have been here once before, two years ago when I was 20, and while there are small changes to the structures here, the feel has remained much the same. I do not know how or why it happened, but the moment I entered the small town I felt an immediate affinity with it. Perhaps it is because the memory of its streets runs through my blood. The Wuebbolts have been tied to this place for centuries (since the 1600s, if I do not stand corrected), and only recently, with a previous generation, has the Wuebbolt family not lived in the same house as always before. I can still see the house where my Opa and his 8 other brothers and sisters were born and raised. It is now covered in a dark red-brown brick and is divided into several apartments, but before it was part of a gloriously fruitful piece of land, with a large garden and also once a factory building from when the family tailoring business had expanded. They made beautiful clothing there, and my Oma and mother both have a few dresses that were made there. The factory building is no longer there either, having been replaced with two smaller apartment buildings (fortunately not high rises), and while they are very clean, presentable structures, they are just not the same as those buildings that held so much personal historical value. My Opa's childhood home is not as beautiful as I imagine it once was; it looks a little run down. I would love to take it back and give it life again, but it is not mine to have. The garden is gone also.
I am actually quite in the middle of nowhere, being far up in the flat, northern atmosphere of west Germany. Did you know that Germany is only divided in conversation into as West and East? I mentioned "central Germany" once and was informed that there is no such thing. It is likely a run off from the days when Germany actually was divided into an East and into a West, although perhaps they should start to adopt the idea of there being a central area, and in that process emphasize that it is a whole. As it were, I am actually in the West and very close to the Netherlands (close in Canadian terms; an hour drive seems close to me, and incredibly long to the Germans, but it is all a matter of personal opinion in the end), and am staying in my family's hotel, Hotel Wuebbolt. Interestingly enough, my cousins live in a hotel. It is beautiful; fresh, clean, with a comfortable feel and several gorgeous Christmas decorations throughout. It is really close to the centre of town, and from my window I have the most amazing view of the church tower. I count myself as one of the luckiest people right here, sitting at my little table in my cozy little room. Snow has coated everything. It is a complete and utter "winter wonderland," complete with shining Christmas lights.
And my favourite part, aside from my adoring family all close by: time has stopped. In Wetzlar time has been going by too fast. Always too fast, and picking up continually, but here is has stopped. The hours trickle by as if I were watching every grain fall through an hourglass. I have talked to many back home about my growing aversion for the return to Canada. While I miss my family and my friends so much, along with the comfortable familiarity of being within Guelph and on my gorgeous campus, I cannot help but fear the return of the mundane; I fear when things will become too familiar again. I have been bitten by the travelling bug, and there is still far too much to see. Certainly I am begining to loath the German's unfamiliarity with snow. A trip to Weimar was cancelled this past Tuesday because bus drivers did not know how to handle 5cm (if that) of snow. The Canadian bus driver balks at that much snow. And yet despite all of that, I want to stay so badly. It took me 8 hours to get here by train due to a major snow storm along the way, when it really should have taken under 6 hours, but I can truely say that I hardly cared. Being an hour late into Bremen for my connection to Rechterfeld Station (by Visbek) meant that I had an extra hour (waiting for the next train) to use in the tiny Christmas market runoff outside of the Bremen station. I had some Gluhwein and talked with some very drunk locals. People seem very eager to talk about life in Canada with me. They do not have stereotypical misconceptions, but they are very taken aback by the nature and space that we have. I, along with others, take it for granted I guess, and to the everyday German, starved for space in such a densely populated space, we Canadians are pretty darn lucky. Yes, I have been exceptionally fortunate as of late. A wonderful family in Canada, a wonderful family here, a fantastic group of friends worldwide, good health, the sensation of being alive again, and the opportunity to travel with neverending support and encouragement. Much in me has changed, and now I will need to determine how I can incorporate this greater, new view of life, into my old structure back in Canada. Nothing seems too big to handle though. Coming home will just take a little work.
Tomorrow is a day to visit Weihnachtsmarkts in Northern Germany. Combined with my friend Leslie (here also on her Fall semester abroad from Guelph Uni), I think we will have covered every Weihnachtsmarkt that there is to see in West Germany.
Candles
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