Day 15: Home, Sweet Home

Flying home was not nearly as difficult as flying there. We arrived at the airport early and bumped into some familiar faces (Mandy and Hannah from our trip there) as well as meeting some new ones. There were a total of 5 couples with (small) kids on board, so Erich definitely had some playmates. It was also the first time since the beginning of the trip that we once again saw Canadians so we were happy to converse with them in English.

Day 13, 14: Life in Germany

We spent the remainder of our vacation in Germany with extended family. We wanted to give them opportunity to fall in love with get to know Erich (and he them). We had some endearing chats over the dinner table and got to eat a lot of sausages, bread and cheese (German staple diet).

Much of this time was spent on the sofa sipping glasses of wine or bottles of beer (yes, it is really cheaper than water in Germany). Erich must have picked up on this too because soon after we got back, he began jokingly referring to his milk as "bier". When asked "was ist das?" (what is that) he would say "ein bier! ein milch bier!".

Great-grandpa and great grandma were delighted to have the chance to know Erich and are even thinking of visiting next year. We can't wait. :-)

Day 12: An old old castle

A visit to Germany, and indeed Europe would not be complete without at least one visit to a castle. For our visit, we decided to visit the castle Geilbahn Burg. It took us almost 2 hours by transit to get there, but it was worth it. For the most part, simply admiring the age of the castle was awe-inspiring enough. From what I could tell (and I am no expert), the castle was built during the middle ages and many of the period's relics adorned the place.

Erich had fun looking at the various exhibits, but soon grew too tired from all the traveling to appreciate the full magnitude of what he was seeing. He did, however have lots of fun running around the various hallways of the castle.

I had considerably more fun practicing photographic skills. After visiting the torture and execution chambers, I decided I could do some interesting "scary" pictures at the castle with off-camera flash. I experimented with the flash set at 1/4 power shot from a low angle at camera right.

I also shot this photo atop the castle's tall lookout. Flash set to 1/8 or 1/4 power from subject right. It was a bit risky: I set my camera on self-timer, placed it on a wooden ledge (hundreds of feet above ground level), took a few steps back with my flash and waited for the shutter to click. Had a big gust of wind come along, my camera would have been toast, but hey at least I got the shot! I love how the light from the flash falls off nicely just in front of the camera and reveals subtle texture of the surrounding wood.

Day 11: Jaded Cuisine

We stayed near our grandparents place on Wednesday. Some out of town relatives were in town to have dinner with us. We went out to the local Chinese restaurant (Jade Garden) in Bochum-Linden. This was a most interesting experience.

We filed into the restaurant one by one, each saying "Guten Tag" to the host, except Karen and I who decided we'd use our more natural tongue and said "Knei ho" in Cantonese. The host, rather surprised, answered back in Cantonese but then had a rather distressed look on his face. Perhaps he was worried that we might overhear conversations in the kitchen or perhaps he was worried we might have undue expectations on his restaurant.

Actually it didn't take long to figure out what he was worried about. It was quickly exemplified when I tried to order Chrysanthemum tea. The look on the waiter's face was priceless. It was one of "what do you think this is, a chinese restaurant?!" To my tea request, he replied in Chinese, "we only have the stuff the white man orders". So I said, "fine" and received Chamomile tea.

Well tea mix ups aside, it was quite amusing to watch as we ordered what we considered more traditional Chinese dishes, and most of the other guests ordered what it seems most Germans liked to eat. In hindsight, perhaps we should have caved and ordered the popular dishes too as ours looked like it was a bit out of practice.

In all fairness though, restaurant owners really do have to cater to their guests tastes. This case is no different even if it does mean changing the meaning of "chinese cuisine". We did have a fun time getting to know the staff (as the only other chinese in town) and Erich got to know his great granduncle and aunt (seen in photo).

Wii: Get off the couch!

My father-in-law is a funny character. Sometimes he comes up with the most hair brained ideas, we wonder whether we ought to take him seriously. So when he suggested he get his parents a Wii, we thought he had gone completely mad.

(You need to understand that Erich's great-grandparents usually sit around the table after dinner and play Uno... sans TV on.)

Anyhow, after much coaxing, we managed to get them to try it. Off the couch they went and into the virtual bowling alley. They had so much fun that Nintendo should have been there to film a commercial. :-)

Day 11: Hello Mr. Beethoven, may I please come in?

We traveled to Bonn, Germany on our 11th day of our trip. Those of you who are musically inclined will know that Bonn is famous because it is the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven. It also has some of the best shopping in the Westphalia area of Germany, so you can guess who did what. Since shopping isn't terribly interesting to blog about, I will share briefly about my run-in with Mr. Beethoven.

We went to the house where he was born. Erich was especially keen and knocked promptly on the door (as shown in the photo). Once inside, I explored the various rooms. Though I had actually been here briefly once before (on tour with the VYSO), I finally had the chance to see the museum in detail. I found particularly fascinating the collection of Beethoven's actual instruments that had been amassed. To hear actual pieces as they would have been played on Beethoven's own instrument is certainly a rare occasion.

Day 10: Off to the zoo!

Germany is known for is its abundance of world-class zoos. We went one nearby called ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen where they had a "real" African Safari. (We put "real" in quotations because they also had a section on the Pacific Northwest where some claims of authenticity were somewhat questionable...)

Nevertheless, we had a lot of fun touring the landscape and seeing animals not normally seen in North America. We saw hippopotamuses, giraffes, lions, tigers and even zebras. Erich especially liked the pink flamingos. :-) What fun it is to actually see animals we previously only identified in books!

Of the many stories that came out of this trip, one animal encounter was particularly memorable. Midway through our African safari tour, we were taken on a 'boat ride' through a man made canal. Just as we rounded the bend, a flock of birds decided they would use our (open) boat as a potty... you can guess the rest.

Day 9B: The Evangelical Church in town

One thing I forgot to mention in my previous post was that it was a Sunday. Being a Sunday, and realizing that we were going to be staying mostly in town that day (going to the eisenbahnmuseum), we decided to attend a church service that morning at the local evangelical state church. Grandma seemed pleased that we desired to go to church, and grandpa promptly asked his neighbours when the service times were.

Although they did not attend with us (to my knowledge, they are not believers), we had an enjoyable time nonetheless. Three things struck me about the church:

1. It is very much about community: unlike North America, German towns for the most part still close shops on Sundays. Therefore, at church service, you meet the local baker, the local shoe repairman, even local chinese food restaurant owners.

2. Though there are language barriers, Christians worship the same God, read the same Bible and believe in the same Saviour. At its most basic form, worship can be understood regardless of language. At this particular service, there was confirmation and an entire trumpet band perched secretly on the balcony to announce it! One's heart was overjoyed at the sound of the trumpets blasting throughout the sanctuary.

3. State churches create an interesting (though not necessarily healthy) dynamic. Toward the end of the service, some kids (who had obviously not been around earlier), came in, sat down and kindly asked if I was going to keep my bulletin. Puzzled at why they would want my bulletin, I said they could have it, and the boy thanked me profusely. It was only after did I realize that the kids went to get their bulletins stamped by the pastor. I wonder if it allowed them some sort of thing (free transit perhaps?) in return?

Comments regarding state funding of the churches also came up a few times in conversation with grandpa. In particular, there was some bewilderment as to why they still take offerings and donations in light of (big) state funding. As I said, it creates an interesting dynamic.