This morning we toured the Westfälisches Freilichtmuseum Detmold (Westfalian Open Air Museum). One of my mother’s cousins, Anna Sawatzky, works at the museum and she gave us a tour. Anna’s son Viktor was also there to provide an English translation. I had visited the site five years ago and thought the kids would enjoy walking through the old farm houses and other buildings on the site, which I think they did. However, I think the highlight for them was feeding plums to the goats.
After lunch we said good-bye to the Penners and Esaus and we drove close to four hours east to Berlin, where we are staying at the new location of the Mennonite Brethren church in Berlin. Gary Loewen from Abbotsford is the site manager for the construction project and he helped to get us settled in to the guest room on the construction site. Today is Solomon’s 13th birthday, so for a treat we walked to a great ice cream cafe and splurged on various ice cream dishes.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
July 27, 2009
Today we spent the day touring around Detmold. In the morning we visited the Externsteine, a famous rock formation outside of Detmold. We then visited the school where Judith attends and the construction site of the new Mennonite church in Detmold. After lunch we went to Hermannsdenkmal where Abram and Solomon did a three hour high-ropes course. In the evening we visited with the Penners and Lena’s brother and his wife, Jakob and Tina Esau, came over to visit as well.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
July 26, 2009
In the morning Waldemar and Emma took us to see the largest radio telescope in Europe in Effelsberg. It is 100 metres wide and is one of the world’s largest fully steerable telescopes. We then drove to Bad Muenstereifel, an old walled town, where we enjoyed some ice cream and wandering through some antique stores.
After lunch with the Deleski’s, we drove around two and a half hours north to Detmold to stay with Heinrich and Lena Penner. Lena is my second cousin, and I had stayed here with my parents for a week five years ago. Their daughter Judith is going to stay with us from September to December while she attends MEI in Abbotsford.
The Penners took us to Hermannsdenkmal, where we climbed to the top of the monument and enjoyed the view. This year is the 2000th anniversary of Hermann’s defeat of the Romans in the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest in 9 AD.
After returning to the Penner’s house, Lena’s parents Heinrich and Lena Esau arrived (Heinrich is my mother’s double cousin) and also Johann and Lydia, Judith’s brother, along with their two children. We enjoyed watermelon and rollkuchen and then spent the rest of the evening seeing Johann and Lydia’s house, which is under construction nearby, and visiting. Later on, Judith’s other brother Jakob and his wife Rita and daughter Leni arrived back from Italy, and we visited with them a bit as well.
After lunch with the Deleski’s, we drove around two and a half hours north to Detmold to stay with Heinrich and Lena Penner. Lena is my second cousin, and I had stayed here with my parents for a week five years ago. Their daughter Judith is going to stay with us from September to December while she attends MEI in Abbotsford.
The Penners took us to Hermannsdenkmal, where we climbed to the top of the monument and enjoyed the view. This year is the 2000th anniversary of Hermann’s defeat of the Romans in the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest in 9 AD.
After returning to the Penner’s house, Lena’s parents Heinrich and Lena Esau arrived (Heinrich is my mother’s double cousin) and also Johann and Lydia, Judith’s brother, along with their two children. We enjoyed watermelon and rollkuchen and then spent the rest of the evening seeing Johann and Lydia’s house, which is under construction nearby, and visiting. Later on, Judith’s other brother Jakob and his wife Rita and daughter Leni arrived back from Italy, and we visited with them a bit as well.
July 25, 2009
This morning we headed off to Maastricht, Netherlands for our first stop of the day. It took us just a little over an hour to get there. We parked in the city centre and spent two hours grabbing a quick bite to eat and wandering around the city. Abram and I did some sight-seeing while Karen, Solomon, and Isaac did some shopping.
Our next stop was Liege, Belgium, about 25 minutes away. Even though the city is just over the border from the Netherlands, we found ourselves in the French speaking part of Belgium, as Liege is located on the eastern side of the middle of the country. Again we spent a couple of hours sight-seeing, including climbing the 400 step Montagne de Bueren to get a nice view of the city.
We had hoped to visit Aachen as well, but ran out of time, so we headed back to Euskirchen and had a barbeque with Waldemar and Emma’s family.
Our next stop was Liege, Belgium, about 25 minutes away. Even though the city is just over the border from the Netherlands, we found ourselves in the French speaking part of Belgium, as Liege is located on the eastern side of the middle of the country. Again we spent a couple of hours sight-seeing, including climbing the 400 step Montagne de Bueren to get a nice view of the city.
We had hoped to visit Aachen as well, but ran out of time, so we headed back to Euskirchen and had a barbeque with Waldemar and Emma’s family.
July 24, 2009
Yesterday was basically a travel day for us, flying from Barcelona to Rome, and then Rome to Frankfurt. Other than an hour delay in Barcelona and a 90 minute delay in Rome, after already boarding the plane, the day was uneventful. We arrived in Frankfurt in the evening and made our way to Sasha and Elvira’s house where we spent the night.
In the morning we drove to Weierhof, south-west of Frankfurt, to visit the Mennonite historical library. I knew that the library director was not going to be around, but I assumed that the library would be open. Well, my assumption was incorrect. Karen and the boys took this as a sign from heaven that we should just keep driving. I however, knowing that I was right on the doorstep of the library, took this instead as a challenge. We walked a few buildings over to the Weierhof Mennonite Church and noticed that the pastor couple lived next door, which is where the church office was also located. By this time Karen and the boys were not wanting to have any part in what I was contemplating, but I insisted that we should knock on the pastor’s door and see if he could get us in to the library. Well, we met the pastor and after two phone calls we had a key delivered by a woman who lives across from the library. Mission accomplished. I only spent around 20-25 minutes in the library, but I was glad I had made the effort to visit it, and I even took some pictures to memorialize the visit!
We then drove north a few hours to Cologne, where we grabbed something to eat and then visited the Cologne cathedral. After a bit of walking around the city, we headed south to Euskirchen where another one of my father’s cousins, Waldemar Deleski, lives. I had met him and his wife for an hour when I was in Germany five years ago with my parents. They were willing to host us for two nights, so we were happy to have free lodging and to get to know some of Dad’s relatives a bit better.
In the morning we drove to Weierhof, south-west of Frankfurt, to visit the Mennonite historical library. I knew that the library director was not going to be around, but I assumed that the library would be open. Well, my assumption was incorrect. Karen and the boys took this as a sign from heaven that we should just keep driving. I however, knowing that I was right on the doorstep of the library, took this instead as a challenge. We walked a few buildings over to the Weierhof Mennonite Church and noticed that the pastor couple lived next door, which is where the church office was also located. By this time Karen and the boys were not wanting to have any part in what I was contemplating, but I insisted that we should knock on the pastor’s door and see if he could get us in to the library. Well, we met the pastor and after two phone calls we had a key delivered by a woman who lives across from the library. Mission accomplished. I only spent around 20-25 minutes in the library, but I was glad I had made the effort to visit it, and I even took some pictures to memorialize the visit!
We then drove north a few hours to Cologne, where we grabbed something to eat and then visited the Cologne cathedral. After a bit of walking around the city, we headed south to Euskirchen where another one of my father’s cousins, Waldemar Deleski, lives. I had met him and his wife for an hour when I was in Germany five years ago with my parents. They were willing to host us for two nights, so we were happy to have free lodging and to get to know some of Dad’s relatives a bit better.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
July 22, 2009
This morning we grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed for the tourist information office in the centre of town where we purchased train tickets and passes for the Santa Maria de Montserrat abbey, located a little over an hour out of Barcelona in Monistrol de Montserrat. It is the location of a large abbey and Benedictine monastery that holds the Virgin of Montserrat, Catalonia’s favourite saint. Once we arrived at the train station we took the cable car up to the abbey and then stood in line for around 90 minutes to see the statue of the Virgin Mary (frankly, if we had known it was going to take 90 minutes we would have never done it). The statue was carved in the 12th century and is located high above the altar. It is also one of the black Madonnas of Europe.
After lunch we took a funicular (inclined) railway to a spot above the monastery and walked around a bit, enjoying the view. The monastery is located in a section of the mountain that is quite unique compared to the rest of the area. The rocks are smooth and look like the hoodoos but on a much larger scale. Once we came back down we toured the museum which includes artworks of a number of Spanish artists including Picasso and Dali.
We headed back to Barcelona around 5:30 p.m. and went back to the city centre to enjoy strolling around the streets, which were packed full of people enjoying the warm summer evening.
Tomorrow we fly back to Frankfurt while Karen’s parents fly back home to Abbotsford. It has been great having them with us during these two weeks.
After lunch we took a funicular (inclined) railway to a spot above the monastery and walked around a bit, enjoying the view. The monastery is located in a section of the mountain that is quite unique compared to the rest of the area. The rocks are smooth and look like the hoodoos but on a much larger scale. Once we came back down we toured the museum which includes artworks of a number of Spanish artists including Picasso and Dali.
We headed back to Barcelona around 5:30 p.m. and went back to the city centre to enjoy strolling around the streets, which were packed full of people enjoying the warm summer evening.
Tomorrow we fly back to Frankfurt while Karen’s parents fly back home to Abbotsford. It has been great having them with us during these two weeks.
July 21, 2009
We docked in Barcelona early this morning and left the cruise ship around 9 a.m. After twelve days you almost assume that you just belong on a cruise ship. By the time we had waited an hour for a taxi, reality had set in – the cruise was over and we were back to reality. Well, almost. We were now in Barcelona for a few days, so I must admit that life is still pretty good.
We got to our hotel after a few minutes and settled in to our rooms. We took the metro to the centre of town and decided to purchase tour bus tickets and spend the rest of the day driving around the city and listening to the audio tour. These are the double-decker buses that are open at the top that you see in all the major cities in Europe. They aren’t cheap, but they are a good way to see the city. Barcelona has two one-hour routes and a third shorter route. We drove around most of the two longer routes so we saw quite a bit. We were able to get off and on any time we wanted, so that was great.
Barcelona is a beautiful city. It is well known for its unique architecture, and in particular, the buildings of Antoni Gaudi. The most famous building is the Sagrada Familia, a huge cathedral that is still about one hundred years from being completed. We saw many of his other buildings as well, along with famous buildings by other well-known architects. Of course a tour of Barcelona is not complete without passing by the stadium and museum of the Barcelona Football Club, which is like a cult here in Barcelona – kind of like the way Montreal thinks of the Canadiens. We also saw the Olympic Stadium and various other facilities built for the Olympics, and several buildings and parks built for various world fairs that have been held in Barcelona.
For supper we cave in to demand from the kids and ate at McDonald’s. It helped that the coupon books we received with the tour bus included McDonald’s coupons. We strolled around a bit more and then headed back to the hotel for night.
We got to our hotel after a few minutes and settled in to our rooms. We took the metro to the centre of town and decided to purchase tour bus tickets and spend the rest of the day driving around the city and listening to the audio tour. These are the double-decker buses that are open at the top that you see in all the major cities in Europe. They aren’t cheap, but they are a good way to see the city. Barcelona has two one-hour routes and a third shorter route. We drove around most of the two longer routes so we saw quite a bit. We were able to get off and on any time we wanted, so that was great.
Barcelona is a beautiful city. It is well known for its unique architecture, and in particular, the buildings of Antoni Gaudi. The most famous building is the Sagrada Familia, a huge cathedral that is still about one hundred years from being completed. We saw many of his other buildings as well, along with famous buildings by other well-known architects. Of course a tour of Barcelona is not complete without passing by the stadium and museum of the Barcelona Football Club, which is like a cult here in Barcelona – kind of like the way Montreal thinks of the Canadiens. We also saw the Olympic Stadium and various other facilities built for the Olympics, and several buildings and parks built for various world fairs that have been held in Barcelona.
For supper we cave in to demand from the kids and ate at McDonald’s. It helped that the coupon books we received with the tour bus included McDonald’s coupons. We strolled around a bit more and then headed back to the hotel for night.
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