Treffen in Wolfsburg

By the time of my departure date for Germany, Mike had been away with Blue Lake for two weeks -- the longest we've been apart in years!  So, not only was I greatly looking forward to spending some time in Germany and seeing old friends again, but I was also very anxious to see Mike.

I have to admit that I was a little nervous, never having traveled abroad alone before.  Of course everything went smoothly and turned out fine.  Last year we always flew from Chicago to Munich before going back north to Hanover (we'd then take a taxi to Wolfsburg), but flying with Delta I had a flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, making the trip seem almost short!  The weirdest thing about Schipol Airport was their many announcements.  First they'd say it in English, which was fine.  Then they would repeat it in Dutch, the unfamiliar sounds confusing me.  It was always a relief when they would repeat the announcement a third time in German.  From Schipol, I had a short flight to Hanover, but by then I was exhausted and could barely keep my eyes open.

My first destination after landing in Hanover Airport was to my friends Christel and Alberto's new home in Wolfenbüttel, Germany.  Wolfenbüttel is about an hour southeast of Hanover and half an hour southwest of Wolfsburg.  Their new home is absolutely adorable and beautiful.  After settling in, I helped them hang artwork they had just bought for their walls.  Handling giant frames and drilling into brick and concrete is an adventure!

That evening we went with our friend Chisako and her twelve-year-old daughter Akari to the center of Wolfenbüttel.  Basically untouched by the Second World War, the town still has many of its original buildings that date back hundreds of years.  Unfortunately, I did not take any photos of the picturesque sights, so I took a couple off of the internet.

Wolfenbüttel originally housed the Dukes of Brunswick because Brunswick (Braunschweig) and Wolfenbüttel were part of the same territory.  Today, the ducal library is famous for having the largest and best known collection of ancient books in the world, including bibles, printed texts from before 1501, and books from the Reformation. 

We spent our evening having dinner at a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant.  Good food and lovely company.  Lovely multi-lingual company.  One of the attributes of my "German" friends that I've always greatly appreciated is the multitude of languages we use to communicate with one another.  We certainly were a curiosity for the waitress as our conversations were a fluid mix between English, German, and Spanish (Alberto is originally from Argentina and met Christel while she was living in Spain) with some Japanese (Chisako and Akari) on the side.  I was even more amused when we told the waitress where we are all from because none of us are from Germany!

The next day turned out to be a beautiful day for enjoying good company, sunshine, and warmth.  I was so pleased to sit down to a leisurely and wonderful German breakfast of breads, spreads, cuts of salami and meat, and pâté.  Alberto had planned to barbeque this day, so Akari had stayed the night and his daughter Michela joined us in the morning.  Before grilling, we hung up one last giant picture frame -- this time in the stairway of the house.  It took all five of us, a lot of shifting, adjusting, and sweat to get it in place.

Then it was time to prepare our meal.  Mmm... lots of German meat!

 Alberto is working his magic at the grill.

The house also had a lovely pond in the back with beautiful water lilies.

Christel and Akari are picking gooseberries from the many trees of fruit and berries.

 Father-daughter love.

Akari and Michela are ready for desserts of berries and cream and Christel's experimental apple-gooseberry pie later on in the afternoon.

Monday morning I went with Christel to school as she still teaches some French classes at the Waldorfschule-Wolfsburg.  It felt surreal to drive by our old apartment and walk the grounds of the school again, but it was very nice to see and chat with some of my old colleagues as well as meet the new English and music teachers.  It was also fun to talk to former students and marvel at how much they've grown and changed in a year.  I met up with Annette there (she served as chair person for organizing the Blue Lake visit again) and the two of us prepared for the arrival of Blue Lake (and Mike!!), who were coming from Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany. 

Finally they arrived (Annette and I had staked out two entrances, not knowing at which their double-decker bus would stop) and a sea of blue clothed teenagers began making their way towards the school, loaded with instruments and luggage -- all led by Mike.  It was wonderful to be swept up into his arms for a few moments before joining in on the task of helping the forty-some-odd students and the staff haul equipment and luggage in and settling down for lunch.

After lunch and before the kids went off with their Wolfsburg host families, two parents from the school had organized an art project for some of the German kids and the Blue Lakers to complete together.  They were to trace outlines of each others' bodies and fill this "frame" with images and words that shared impressions of their homes and the home of their foreign counterparts.  The finished product would be hung up for all to see during the school week and for the concert Blue Lake would play for the community Wednesday night.  As they worked, I enjoyed getting to know some of the Blue Lake kids and the staff as well as spending time with Mike.

Here are some of the finished posters.

Once all the kids had left with their host families, we went home with ours.  Mike and I as well as the band's director, Dennis Zeisler, and his wife Carol were all hosted by the Herths.  Back at the house, we spent the evening barbequing, drinking German wine and beer, and talking late into the night.

Someone... had scheduled an 8 am rehearsal for the band the next morning, so we returned to school bright and early.  Afterwards, the group was scheduled to meet the mayor of Wolfsburg at the Rathaus.  We all loaded the double-decker bus driven by their very kind driver Sven and headed downtown.  I'm sure it was quite a sight for the Wolfsburgers to see a mob of uniformly dressed students make their way into town hall.  

Blue Lake Northern Winds being photographed with the mayor.

After a short speech, we sat in the chambers where the political party members meet to watch a video about Wolfsburg.  The mayor then handed out a book about Wolfsburg to every member of the group.

The mayor and the Blue Lake Northern Winds staff holding their Wolfsburg books.

As a thank-you, the Blue Lakers sang the closing piece of their concerts, May the Lord Bless You and Keep You.  Mike gave their their starting pitches before joining the tenors/basses.

There was a bit of free time afterwards, so we took the kids to our favorite ice cream place in Wolfsburg, a little kiosk inside the City Galerie (the mall).   While the kids roamed for a while, we adults went out with our ice cream and walked along the pedestrian area of the city center.  Germany is the host for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, so there was soccer paraphernalia and soccer related activites everywhere.  In the center of the pedestrian mall the city had erected a huge temporary "sports bar" where people can watch the soccer matches on television screens outside while having something to drink or eat.  When there are no matches going on, there are live music groups playing on a small stage.  

One of the activities was a giant white soccer ball that people passing by could paint.  Carol and Kayla, one of the other counselors, decided to get in on the action. 

Their lovely artwork.

After joining up with the kids again and waiting for them to load up the bus, Mike and I stole away to have some lunch at one of our favorite Italian restaurants downtown.  Our caprese salad and pizza were excellent and it was great to have some time for ourselves.  We rode the bus back to school using bus tickets that I still had from last year and arrived just in time for the next big activity with the Blue Lakers of the afternoon.  

The last group activity of the day was heading down to Wolfsburg's Allerpark, which is a huge recreational area that includes the Volkswagon Soccer Arena, an indoor swim park, an outdoor wake board park, ropes courses, sand dunes... the list goes on and on.  One of the families at the Waldorfschule is on the board of the Rowing Club there, so they opened up the club house for Blue Lake and Waldorfschule students use.  We all spent the remainder of the afternoon swimming in the Allersee (Aller Lake) and soaking in the sun on their sand beach.  Our evening was spent having an incredibly huge dinner at Annette and Jo's favorite Greek restaurant. 

Wednesday's schedule was filled to the brim.  It began with sightseeing some major historical sites in the area.  I hadn't bothered to take any photos because Mike and I have visited both Hötensleben and the Kaiserdom in Königslutter many times and taken photos, so unfortunately, there are no current photos of either sites.

Our first destination was Hötensleben, a village that is situated on the former border between East and West Germany.  There, the "Hötensleben Border Monument Association" has preserved 300 yards of the original ten foot high wall that divided the east from the west for over twenty years.  All of our pictures are on Mike's camera, which is currently still traveling with him in Europe, but if you click here, you can watch a ten-minute video someone put together about the area as well as our next sightseeing spot. 

Nearby Hötensleben, there is a ginormous "hole" that is miles long and deep where the Germans have been mining brown coal for years.  We stopped at a viewing platform to see it (these pictures are also on Mike's camera).  At the stop, there was a large field of wild poppies.

From there, we went back north to Königslutter, which has a large Romanesque cathedral completed in 1170.  Annette and Jo are both tour guides there, so Mike and I have toured it and even attended its grand re-opening when all of its renovations were completed last year.  Annette gave us some history and we spent time looking around the beautiful building.  Click here for photos from their website.

Before leaving they sang The Lord Bless You and Keep You inside the cathedral.  You can view the video here.  

We arrived back in Wolfsburg late into the afternoon.  Between arriving and the concert that Blue Lake would perform that night was a few hours of free time as well as a barbeque put on by the school.  The downtime was nice and the food was delicious.  Soon everyone was getting ready for the performance.

Mike in concert dress.

Kids warming up on stage.

Annette gave the welcome and introduction to the audience that included school families, community members, and even a government official.

The opening piece of the concert was written by James Sochinski, an American composer and professor at Virginia Tech.  He just happened to be friends with Dennis and also just happened to be visiting Germany at the same time.  We were able to spend time with him and his wife over the week.  

Here is Jim conducting his piece for the concert.

There was a fervent request that Mike MC the concert.  He did an excellent job introducing all the pieces in German.

Soon enough, Stars and Stripes Forever was played and the audience gave the Northern Winds a standing ovation.  Their clapping and hollering for an encore was rewarded by the kids singing The Lord Bless You and Keep You, which surprised and amazed at least the audience members around me. 

After the concert, everything but luggage was loaded up onto the trailer of the bus.  Everyone went home and we had one final night of wine and snacks (Mike was gracious enough to accept the role of slicing serrano ham with a rather dull knife) with good company.  Before long, it was very late and time for the guests to leave.  Mike, Dennis, and Carol had to pack up their things before going to bed.

The next morning was hectic as we had to arrive at school extra early and make sure everyone had their luggage and belongings.  Once everything was ready for Blue Lake to take off, everyone headed back into the school for one last gathering.  A recorder choir (with flutes and violins) played a song for the group.  Then Frank, a good teacher friend of ours from last year, brought his class (now class 7) up to sing the school's traditional "goodbye song", Möge die Straße.

This beautiful song is an Irish blessing that essentially wishes the traveler(s) safety and luck while they are away.  This video is quite close to what we heard that morning.  Music, words, and translations can be found here. 

Following that were tearful good-byes and hugs as we saw them off to their next destination.

Although Blue Lake had left Wolfsburg, I was still in town for another two days.  I spent the remainder of my time staying with Chisako and Akari.  Chisako, who taught in the Waldorfschule-Wolfsburg last year, still has an apartment in the center of the city.  While she and Akari were at school during the day (Chisako in Hanover and Akari in Wolfsburg), I caught up on sleep, reading, and wandering our old city.  Of course I had to hit up some of our old favorites.

Oven-baked pasta from another local Italian restaurant.

San Pellegrino (gotta have the bubbles in Germany).

A cappuccino from Cadera.

Strawberry cake.

Besides the coffee and cake from Cadera, all of my meals and treats on the entire trip thus (besides breakfast) far had been non-German.  Asian, Italian (ice cream from our kiosk and Spaghetti Eis from an Eiscafe), and on Friday evening I knew we were going out for sushi.  So, for lunch on Friday afternoon I decided to seek out some German food -- actually surprisingly difficult to find in Wolfsburg. 

In one of the smaller side streets there is a little German cafe.  Looking at the menu, I saw that they had Bratkartoffeln, so I said, "why not?"  I was rather proud of myself thus far for getting by on my German skills.  I ordered a dish that included the potatoes and what I thought would be a lightly fried fish.  

This is what came to my table. 

The potatoes were correct (though I've had tastier), but along side of the Bratkartoffeln were two large pieces of cold pickled herring. 

It was alright though.  Thanks to a visit to the Gasthaus in Stillwater, MN with Mike and his parents, I've had pickled herring before and it's not so bad.  I like it in small amounts, anyway, so I had a good portion of my meal.  I also had a nice chardonnay afterwards as I read my book and it made for a nice afternoon.

Akari and I spent a lot of time together since she usually got home before her mother did.  We played games that tested my very limited knowledge of German geography, played Monopoly on a Japanese board, colored together, went grocery shopping, and watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the Johnny Depp version).  She also had me listen to her practice violin (though not the clarinet, because it is apparently far too easy to practice).  

Chisako had a presentation to give on Japan in school, so she dug out one of her old kimonos that now fit Akari.  She looked lovely in it.

Friday night we had sushi at a restaurant in Braunschweig.  The actual sushi itself hit the spot, and I liked my miso soup as well.  I also got myself a beer since I figured I should have at least one German beer before going home.

It was also another "international" gathering of my "German" friends.  Celine, a French teacher at the Waldorfschule picked up Akari and me.  We met Christel, Alberto, and Chisako at the restaurant.  Since Celine and Christel are both French and Celine is married to a Spaniard from Italy, there was even more French and Spanish flowing with the mix of English, German, and Japanese with an occasional slip of Italian.  

It was a lovely way to spend my last evening in Germany.  We had a great time together laughing and eating.  

The next morning went pretty smoothly.  Chisako, Akari, and I went out to the farmer's market in the city center to get some groceries for them and breakfast for us.  I also made a last stop at our ice cream kiosk making it so that we had ice cream with our breakfast (I couldn't help myself... it's too good to pass up.)  

My taxi to the airport came late because of traffic, but the driver definitely made up for lost time going back.  The flight to Amsterdam was easy enough.  I was a bit nervous about getting my connecting flight, as my layover was just an hour, which meant they were already supposedly boarding the second plane when my first one landed.  But, except for a little bit of hurrying down the length of Schipol Airport, I made it without a problem. 

It was a very nice trip to Germany and I was so glad to see Mike and our old friends again.  To quote our beloved Schlusslied... "Und bis wir uns wiedersehen, halte Gott Dich
fest in seiner Hand."