Photo dump

Hello!

I have a ton of photos I'd like to share from the last few days. There isn't really a consistent theme, although the sun was out during each of those days, so I guess they all have that in common! The weather here has been absolutely beautiful for the last week - I needed that! I even have a bit of a tan already....

So the first thing I'd like to share is from last Monday. Aengus has had his first couple of ticks already, which even the people who live here are saying is really early, so I went to the pet store to buy him some anti-tick stuff. While I was there, I saw this:

Yes, that's Hunde-Bier. Dog beer. Beer for dogs. I swear, only in Germany.

Moving along... I meet every Thursday with Anke, a neighbor here in Kasewinkel. She is a German teacher by profession, and is also interested in improving her own English, so we meet once a week to speak a little English, for her, and a little German, for me. She is really helpful. We usually met at her house, although this last Thursday she called and asked if I would like to take our meeting on the road to the Baumberge, or "tree mountains." I had driven by there - it's about 30 minutes away by car - but had never hiked there, and was excited to go! It was beautiful. Here are a few pics from our trip:

We walked for about an hour and got to this awesome restaurant/cafe where we sat outside for a bit on the patio:

It was great.

Then Friday was school again, but it was the last day before "Osterferien," or the Easter holidays. It lasts for two weeks (so I don't have school again until the 20th of April), and for the equivalent of high school students here, it marks the last day of classes before they head to University. They still have tests to prepare for and take, but their classes are now over. The diploma they receive is called an Abitur.

Martin picked me up after class on Friday, and we walked through the city with Inma, my friend from Spain, to meet John at the Stuhlmacher - that old bar/restaurant I have mentioned before. When we arrived at the Domplatz, where the huge farmers' market is held, we saw this:

It's traditional for the "seniors" from different schools to meet there after class on Friday, to celebrate being done with classes. They had whistles and were shouting and seemed to be having a great time. The German "Ordnungsamt," or state office that maintains order in German life, was there to be sure nothing got too out of control, but the students were living it up.

From there we walked to the Stuhlmacher, and encountered these students along the way:

Each group of students from each school had their own t-shirts made up for that day. This school's shirts say "Abibama - Yes We Can!" Their diploma, remember, is called an Abitur. I'm sure the rest is obvious...

A bit later in the day, John, Martin, Aengus, and I rode over to Handorf to visit Martin's dad in the cemetery. Friday was his birthday, and because Martin's father was a lover of schnapps, Martin goes there every year to pour a schnapps on his grave.

The day before was Aengus' first time walking next to a bike, and he did amazingly well - like he's been doing it all his life. It is so common here for people to bring their dogs along on the bike, and it looks like Aengus will fit right in! We'll still get our daily walks in, though.

And lastly, here are a couple updated shots of my garden:

I didn't finish it until dusk, thus the dark photo. So far I have carrot, leek, and tomato seeds planted, as well as zucchini and cucumber plants. Those tomatoes in the foreground will go in pots, as well as peppers. I'll keep you posted on the progress!

Hope you're all well!

Miscellaneous bits from the last couple days

Guten Tag! Hope this finds you well.

Unbelievably, the sun has been out here for the last three days! It has jump started my spirit a little bit. Today was the nicest of the days, though, and probably reached about 70 degrees. I'm so sorry to say that - I know it is snowing in Minneapolis today!

I went to a neighboring town called Wolbeck today, and took a few pics along the way. Here's a brief tour of our adventures:

I thought this was kind of a pretty doorway:

The gate into a pretty little park:

That building in the back was built a long time ago, and was the home for a relative of the Bishop, I guess. I'll try to do a little research and come up with a better explanation for you! It's a pretty building, though, and is now a museum. Here are a few photos of it:

From there, we walked to a beautiful wooded area, so Aengus could have his daily exercise.

And along the way, we encountered this little fellow:

It was Aengus' first experience with a frog. Once he got used to the (infrequent) hopping, Aengus was enamored.

A little further along he rolled in a dead fish, which really wasn't as pleasant for me as it must have been for him. Bath time again tonight.

After we returned from the park, and given the beautiful day, I dug in (wow - no pun intended) and started my garden! Martin and his mother have four big garden beds, and have kindly allowed me to make use of one of them for vegetables. I'm planning on planting tomatoes, red, yellow, and chili peppers, carrots, leeks, beans, green and yellow zucchini, and cucumbers. I'll probably have to do the tomatoes and peppers in pots, though. In addition, I have dill, parsley, and basil to go into an herb garden. I'm excited! Here's how the garden is coming along so far....

Awww....

Here's the finished bed, but I haven't planted anything yet. That's tomorrow's project!

I have a few more things in mind to post here, in addition to the too many updates on the garden you'll probably get, but dinner is calling! I'll write more soon.

Take good care! Spring is on the way!

Thursday

Greetings once again from soggy Deutschland.

I had my first ever day of paid manual labor today. It was fantastic! I know a man - I could probably even call him a friend - who is a landscaper/gardener, and he agreed to let me help him on occasion. I moved a ton of wood (in logs), removed the dead foliage and leaves from in and around a small pond, raked a bunch, bagged up what I had raked, and trimmed a few bushes. We worked for five hours, and it only rained for two of them! Once it started raining a bit harder, we quit, but really, it was good for both my body and mind. I wish I had a bathtub to soak in, though - as you all probably know, that kind of work uses many other muscles than walking does! It was good for me, though. I may go back tomorrow after class, and then again as he needs help.

So, as I was working, I was thinking more about the German language. There are so many things here that are so normal for German-speakers, and that have become normal to me now, but if I really think about them, I still find humor in them. Gloves, for example, are called "Hand shoes," an airplane is called a "Fly thing," and when they refer to their hair, they refer to it in the plural, as in "My hairs are dirty," or "I had my hairs cut." In a way, it makes perfect sense, although I still snicker to myself sometimes.

Anyway, I have no pictures to show for today's work. Not that it would be that interesting to you, anyway. Hopefully it'll stop raining soon so I can get out and take a few more photos. Things always look better with a little sunlight.

Hope you're all well.

Heavy

It is raining here. Not really raining anymore, actually. The skies are dumping out water with too much force for it to be called rain. And the winds? Wow.

With fewer than ten exceptions, every day for the more than 180 days I have been here I have taken Aengus for a long walk through the countryside. Not today. I have freedom, free will, and the determination to use it today. Something tells me he would rather be snoozing as he is now on my bed than out in the current weather, anyway.

I am lucky to have a roof over my head, though, and to have that free will I spoke of. These people did not:

They were Albert and Sidonie Sander. In 1942 they were taken from their home, on Salzstrasse here in Muenster, and were brought to the Warsaw Ghetto, where they died. Albert was 73 at the time, and Sidonie, presumably his daughter, was 40. Muenster commissioned an artist to set these brass cobblestones into the streets in front of the homes from which Jews were taken, as a solemn reminder of the atrocities that occurred, and as a tribute to those who lost their lives.

There was never a large Jewish community in Muenster; before WWII there were only around 700 Jews. Of those, 247 were killed during the war. It's not exactly known what happened to all of the others, although 28 are known to have survived the deportations, and 264 successfully emigrated.

The community, while still not large, has revived itself. The synagogue that exists in the city today was rebuilt on the exact plot of land where the previous one had stood, before it was burned to the ground in 1938. Incidentally, (please note the irony - it's far more than incidental) the Jewish community had to pay for the gasoline that started the fire.

I know there are a few German readers here. The Holocaust and the war in general remain emotional topics, and it's not my intent to offend, stir the pot or place blame. I am fully aware that my own country has a history of performing and being complicit in devastating acts. Sadly, we continue to abuse our power and have not yet learned our lessons, as you have.

I only hope to share a little of the history and atmosphere of this place with the people back home who have not had the pleasure of being here.

Wow, miraculously, during the time it has taken me to write this, the storm has passed and the sun even peeked out from behind the clouds for a couple minutes. Maybe Aengus and I will get out after all.

Perhaps something a bit lighter for the next post?

Wishing you well...

Today

Since we took a little tour the other day from my bus stop in the city to my school, I thought it only fitting to take another one from my bus stop near Kasewinkel, back to the house.

Oh, but before I hopped on the bus, I stopped at the Stuhlmacher for a cup of tea outside. The sun was shining again today, and it was one of those days where it's a bit cold in the shade, but in the sun it's fairly warm. Or, at least it felt that way. Here is the view from my chair:

The Stuhlmacher is relatively significant in Muenster. You may have heard of the Peace of Westfalia? It ended the 30 Years War, and was the first time a war was ended diplomatically, rather than by overpowering force. Well, that treaty was signed in 1648 in Muenster's city hall, two doors down from the Stuhlmacher. The building where the Stuhlmacher is was built in 1470, and the restaurant has been there since 1890. It was all of course destroyed in the war (WWII), but has been re-built with amazing attention to historical detail. Almost all of Muesnter has been, actually, which makes it a rather remarkable German city. Anyway, to this day, many diplomats stop at the Stuhlmacher while in town. Henry Kissinger paid a visit, as did Bill Clinton, and the Secretaries of State/Foreign Ministers under Reagan and Gorbachev "celebrated" there after the wall came down.

Oh, and that's Lambertikirche in the background. I'm not sure if you can see them, but three cages hang toward the top of the spire. In the 1500s a group of Anabaptists tried to change the religion here from Catholicism toward their own beliefs, but the Catholics wouldn't have it. No-sirree. As a reminder to other people who might think of trying such a thing, the Catholic church took the bodies of three of the leaders of the uprising and hung them in the cages up there for all to see. Since that time, Muenster has been fervently Catholic.

So, back to Kasewinkel. I get technically get off the bus in Handorf, which is the nearest town to where I live. It's about a 15 minute walk back to the house from there. Here's the road I walk along (or bike, but today I was on foot):

Kasewinkel is technically a "Bauernschaft," which basically means a community of farmers. There are no businesses, other than the farms. The sign on the top there says Landschaftschuzgebiet, which means we live basically in a nature preserve. It doesn't stop the hunters from killing things, but it does prevent any further development in the area.

This is the oldest farm in the area. It dates from the 1100s, and has been in the same family since then, although obviously didn't look this way then.

It's a beautiful farm. I'll try to get better pictures up soon.

More bike-friendliness, although this is a rather quick, narrow road with traffic in both directions. Not a good choice for recreational riding.

Here's the "intersection" at which I go left:

A self-portrait of me:

I've noticed I look older and more tired lately.

The third-oldest farm in the area, dating from 1462 (and in the same family since then):

It's a huge dairy farm, with 150 cattle, a couple horses, and a mean German Shepherd. As with almost all of the farms here, several generations live together. The man running this farm now is 36, and a super fellow. He has agreed to give me 10 liters of milk and a starter kit so I can try making my own cheese! (Dad - this is Leo's farm, where we visited while you were here.)

Continuing on, and getting closer to the house I live in:

And finally, my driveway:

I turn in there, walk through this gate:

Into this...

...and an awesome dog who is always happy to see me.

Thanks for joining me on the tour. I love living in the countryside, especially with such a beautiful and historic city so close. Now if only people here would smile a little bit!

Hope you're well. My best to you all.

Walk with me...

Hi there,

I shot a few photos during my walk from the bus stop to my school yesterday, so you could follow along and see a few of the things I see....

I get off the bus behind where I was standing when I took this photo, and a bit to the left. It's across the huge Domplatz, where the big farmers' market is held every Wednesday and Saturday.

A bit further along... That's Ueberwasserkirche in the background (Over Water Church).

Here's the water that actually flows next to the church, not under it. It's a river called simply the Aa (named by the Romans, or so I hear - I think they could have done better), and flows into the Aasee, or Aa Lake, in English.

Moving along...once I cross the Aa, I see this, although in this shot I turned around and took a photo of what I'd just passed:

That's the Dom in the background. Looking forward from where I'm standing, or, rather, in the direction I need to go to get to my school, I see this:

I don't actually walk down that street, but take a narrow little road to the left of the pink building for about a block and a half, and I'm at school.

Notice the lovely gray skies. Somehow, miraculously, the sun came out a bit later in the day. The sun! I spent all afternoon outside, and soaked it in. Hopefully it charged me up for a while.

Hope you're all well!

Guten Tag

Greetings once again from Deutschland. Guess whether is the sun is shining today! If you guessed no, you're 100% correct. I spoke with a man from England during the break from my class today, and even he said the weather here is depressing, and England isn't known for great weather. I don't know why, but somehow I believe the sun will eventually shine here again. I'm fully prepared to admit I'm wrong, though.

There's not a ton going on here, really. I had my first full commute to school on my own today - bike to the bus stop, bus to the city, walk to school, walk back to the bus stop, bus back to Kasewinkel, bike back to the house. It made me feel a bit like a local, although there are many reminders that I'm not.

I walk past the cathedral on my way back to the bus stop, and stopped in on Friday to light a candle for Mom. Here are a couple pics:

It's a nice church, and one of over 70 in Muenster.

Michelle Obama is still getting press here. The Sunday newspaper had a full-page article about her yesterday, with the headline, in English, "Isn't She Lovely?" The sub-headline, or whatever it's called, said something about how she's educated, popular, and has great upper arms. That's oddly not the first article I've seen about her arms. I guess we haven't come to expect much in that regard from our First Ladies, but certainly her political and social contributions to the country are more important than her biceps.

I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in English the other day with Martin. Not a bad movie at all. Funny, though, Martin asked after it was over whether that was Brad Pitt's real voice. Something I hadn't thought about before, but all the American movies and tv shows here are dubbed, so no one knows what the real actors sound like.

Umm....I don't have much else. I hear it's supposed to be 60 there today?? Good for you guys! Enjoy it!

Until next time....