Bemidji, July 15 2007

We’re home! It is very good to be back to be with our Minnesota family and friends!

Our trip home was longer and more challenging than planned. Our departure from Paris, the flight to Minneapolis via Newark, New Jersey, was delayed by six hours; bad thunderstorms caused back-ups and delays in Newark, diverting our flight to Boston for refueling and a three hour wait on the tarmac (could not get off the plane!), resulting in a 10 hour late arrival in Newark. Bad logistical planning by Continental Airlines in Newark meant we did not get to our hotel until about 3:45 AM and we had to leave the hotel again by 5:30 AM to catch the flight on which we had been re-booked to get to Minneapolis! It was a nightmare finish to an otherwise absolutely perfect trip!

The welcome in Minnapolis/Minnetrista was great! Joined by Lisa’s parents and the Haines family, Martin's parents hosted a beautiful lunch before we took off on our drive to Bemidji. The cousins were happy to be reunited! A stop at Mr. Ed’s in Motley afforded us our first truly American meal at a diner in many months. The house at 3014 Rynders Ct. NW awaited us with running water (that’s good, since our water line had frozen last winter and we did not know the extent of the damage when we left) and food for dinner and breakfast, courtesy of our Bemidji friends, the Dehler-Seters! We had mountains of mail to sort through and we are happy to say that all of our house plants survived thanks to our wonderful neighbors, the Yosts! It is good to be back!

Within an hour of being home all three boys and Lisa had arrangements to meet friends the next day and Martin had an appointment for a hair cut! In the last couple of days Lisa has cleaned all the laundry and ventured out several times to start stocking up on food. Martin has freshened up the yard by pulling weeds and planting some annuals. Andrew has planted his first herb garden (based on the teachings of Ingrid in Schönwalde!) and played with three different friends. Carl spent time with friends practicing songs with his band and watching the new Harry Potter movie. Christian also stayed overnight with some friends, saw Harry Potter, and is now packing for his four-week session at the Norwegian Language Village. The Graefes are finding their way back to their ‘normal’ life! Bemidji is home!

Paris, July 11, 2007

Flying to and from Paris without spending some time to do the town would have been sinful. So, we cranked it up a notch one more time to take in the Seine, the Metro, Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur, the pigeons (even one missing a foot!), Place des Vosges, a stop by Jardin du Luxemburg, the Louvre and the Orsay museums (unfortunately both closed at the time we were there), the Conciergerie and Arc de Triomphe. A definite highlight for all of us was seeing and being on the Eiffel Tower during the early nighttime hours, truly a most impressive sight and experience. This was by far the biggest city of our three-month odyssey, allowing Martin to apply his French ‘skills’ one more time, and he did negotiate most transactions purely in French. It also offered all of us grand lasting impressions, not an easy thing to accomplish after all the sights, sounds, family and friends, castles, churches and museums, landscapes and cityscapes, hospitality and generosity we have experienced since mid-April. 93 days and 14768 kilometers (about 9600 miles) later, we’re now ready to go home, all enriched from what we have accomplished, cherishing many incredible memories. It is impossible to fully know and express how this once in a lifetime adventure has and will continue to shape each of us and our family as a whole. This was a wonderful time. We’re so fortunate and ever so thankful to have had this incredible opportunity!

Leonberg – July 8, 2007

It is fun to be back in Southern Germany for one last stop before heading west! We used this opportunity for our last shopping extravaganza, allowing Carl some extra rest to cure a bout with light fever, and a relaxed. fun visit with Martin’s oldest cousin Katrin and her boyfriend Konstantin. They hosted us for one last scrumptious Kaffee und Kuchen event, also celebrating Martin’s mom’s birthday. In the evening Katrin, Andrew, Christian, Martin and Konstantin joined thousands of others at the Lichterfest in Stuttgart, which ended with an amazing fifteen minute firework display synchronized to music – it reminded us all of a grand big July 4th celebration. What a beautiful celebration to cap off our stay in Germany!

Bückeburg/Detmold – July 6, 2007

While our days in Germany are numbered, the adventures continue with new and memorable experiences every day; there are yet more chapters to be lived and told. Our 2-night stay with Martin’s youngest uncle, Andreas, is combined with a day trip to Detmold and its surrounding area. Detmold is where Martin spent many vacation weeks year after year while growing up, visiting his grandparents. The boys got a snapshot glimpse of papa’s Detmold. He had many stories from visits with his grandparents. We traced the old daily walk from the grandparent’s apartment into town for errands at the market, into the shoe store with the indoor slide (for kids, while parents (= moms or grandmas) shop for shoes), through the Schlosspark, along the canals (where Martin used to feed the ducks… now verboten, as the ducks were getting too fat), and back ‘home’ via the Palaisgarten with the big stone table. Even Christian remembered the stone table from his last visit there about eight years ago. A visit to the Detmold area and the surrounding Teutoburger Wald is not complete without a visit to the Hermannsdenkmal – the original Herman the German (whose cousin watches over New Ulm, Minnesota). The historical Herman is recognized as the Cherusker tribal chief, who, in 9 AD lead the forces that pushed back and defeated the Romans in that region now just about 2000 years ago.

Uncle Andreas took us on a casual evening stroll and showed us a very unique arrangement of waterways in Minden, where the Mittellandkanal aqueduct crosses over the Wesel river assuring barges and other ships access from central Germany to the North Sea. No matter where we go, there are still unique and cool places to visit and learn about. We are thankful again for great hospitality, great conversations, and a great visit with Andreas.

Münster – July 3, 2007

We are fortunate that we can feel at home in so many places in Germany! After experiencing the more rural Roxel, we moved into the city of Münster to visit Sabine (sister of Martin’s mom) and Alf. Being in town, we focused more on the city itself, including a visit to the cathedral where Andrew, as he has done in all churches, lit a candle in silent reflection, this time beneath a statue of St. Barbara. Other highlights in the city were various sculptures (or non-sculptures… what really is a sculpture anyway?) that are part of an internationally acclaimed art event that takes place in Münster every ten years. Martin’s favorite, and he was sooooo excited to actually ‘find’ it, is the 5 kilometer long invisible string (like fishing line) that is strung around town, 30 centimeters to 15 meters above the ground, over streets, through buildings, through parks and over waterways. Its exact route has not been disclosed, so looking for it is a part of its appeal. And, we discovered it as we approached the castle, on our way to visiting some of the spots where Martin’s dad hung out while a student in Münster some years ago. Other highlights with Sabine and Alf included playing games of Blink and Mensch Ärgere Dich Nicht (Parcheesi), and eating Meterwurst (Andrew’s favorite), and a visit to the Rüschhaus, where famous writer and poet Annette von Droste-Hülshof wrote some of her most famous works. We earlier had visited the castle where she was born with Ulrich and had been in the city where she died, Meersburg, way back in April, the first weekend we were in Germany.

As during earlier parts of our visit, the boys keep remarking how much people are going out of their way, giving of themselves, to greet and welcome us! We are indeed fortunate to be able to experience this and only hope we can come close to being as hospitable to others some day.

Münster – June 30, 2007

Even before we got out of the car in Münster, both Christian and Carl announced that this was one of their favorite cities and places to visit in Germany. They each started remembering various details from earlier visits here. And for all of us these next days mean that we are with family. With all of Martin’s aunts and uncles visiting Minnesota last year, we’ve all gotten to know each other better and feel very comfortable around each other.

Our first days in the Münster area were actually spent in Roxel with Ingrid and Ulrich (brother of Martin’s mom). We all have been amazed and humbled again and again by the welcome and generosity bestowed upon us as we are hosted in people’s homes. Ingrid and Ulrich both took lots of time - Ulrich even took time off from work - to show us Münster and the surrounding area. Many of our adventures involved riding our bike; Münster, after all is Germany’s bicycle capital and bikes literally rule the streets and people’s way of life. So, do as the Münsteraner do, Ulrich guided us along streets, through the woods and along fields, over and under the Autobahn, past horses and horse-drawn carriages to the famous zoo and on special tours along the Aasee, along the promenade that circles the entire old town, and into the city. One morning Ulrich awoke Andrew with a tune on his concertina and the two of them took out their bikes for a run to get fresh breakfast treats from the bakery. We also enjoyed a hat-trick day of seeing and touring Wasserschlösser, castles around the Münsterland surrounded by big wide moats filled with water. The rest of our time was filled with great food, lots of ice cream, having fun with Sparky (Ingrid and Ulrich’s friendly bull terrier), and lots of laughs.

Hamburg – June 27, 2007

On our way from Schönwalde to Münster today we enjoyed a wonderful visit with Martin’s cousin, Tina Graefe, and her son, Demba, in Hamburg. We had not seen each other since the big 90th birthday celebration of our grandfather in 1995, so there was much to catch up on and we were able to reconnect while strolling to the harbor. We then walked through a tunnel under the river Elbe that was built in just after 1900. At that time horse drawn carriages would be lowered via elevators to the tunnel and then back up on the other side… today cars still enter and exit the tunnel the same way as can pedestrians like us. It was wonderful to meet Demba, a fun-loving energetic boy who quickly warmed up to his 2nd cousins from across the big pond. It was great to see them together. Congratulations also to Tina, who just very recently finished her Diplomarbeit (like a Masters thesis) in Geography! She hopes to combine this with her earlier training as a surveyor to land a job with a city planning office in or near Hamburg. Before departing we all enjoyed a wonderful treat in a Portuguese café. While a short visit, it was very nice to reconnect, to be together and to meet Demba.