Prague

Adam loving the gift I got for him, absolutely adorable boy
View from uptop near the castle
Heather and I near the castle overlooking the city.
Boy drawing the sights inside the amazing royal church
View of the church, many Czech leaders are buried here
Czech soldiers near the castle.
Cage where people were put into to humiliate them for crimes.
Entrance to castle
Why is he so serious? Doesnt he know he has a celebrity next to him, the Hoffs son. Had to be on the trip to Germany to get that one
I need to stop opening my mouth during the pictures, huh.
Lucia and Peter
Yes, we even have Steelers memorabilia in Prague

Famous clock built into the church, these figurines revolve around in a circular motion
Famous clock
Gunpowder tower, munitions and powder was stored here
flat we stayed at
there is my dinner, i never knew raw meat tasted so good.
when in rome, i am impressed with myself.
part of revolutionary square

Well I got into Prague Saturday evening around 7. I then proceeded to walk around Prague with my luggage trying to find an internet cafe to figure out how to get a hold of Lucia and Peter, my Slovakian friends. I walked and walked and walked. Very demoralizing and frustrating. I finally found a cafe, checked my internet, called them and got picked up. Whooo, what a day. I felt so bad for they were confused as to why we did not see each other at the train station. But everything turned out fine. They took me back to there friends flat where I washed up and we headed to the bus stop to get into Prague. Their friends live in a very nice, modern eco friendly section of Prague up on top of the hill not too far from the city. We headed into town and checked out the beautiful city. I absolutely fell in love with Prague. So beautiful and charming, full of personality and flair. We checked out Revolutionary square, the church tower clock, gunpowder tower and other sights. We then headed for the most amazing cultural experience, dinner. I told Peter I wanted to have some traditional Czech food. So he sure picked it out. I had raw ground beef with a raw egg on top of it mixed with pepper, mustard, onions, paprika and ketchup spread along bread grinded with garlic. When I saw it my face turned yellow and my eyes nearly burst through my head. Peter told me to stop looking at it and give it a try. He prepared it for me, mixed it around and showed me what to do with the bread and garlic. Next thing you know I am digging into some raw beef and absolutely enjoying it. We had a great evening in a traditional Czech restaurant. I loved learning more about the Czech republic and from where they come from Slovakia. They have done a lot of world traveling and I enjoyed every minute of learning about their views and experiences. Quality people that I owe a lot to. They are in the process of building their home and they will be married in two months. I look forward to continuing our relationship and know that they will have a wonderful life together.
The next morning we woke up and headed to the hotel Heather was staying. We picked her up and headed to see the clock change. It is a big thing in Prague this clock. We then headed to the famous Charles Bridge, Prague Castle and its amazing church and walked around town some more. We met some of their friends for lunch and I meet the lady who was allowing us to use her aparment. They are in the process of moving to London so her husband was not there. Her son was there though that I bought a couple of gifts for which he absolutely loved. That always makes you feel good :) I then said my goodbye to Heather and we headed back to the flat to head to Bratislava the capital of Slovakia to see where they live and visit another capital city. Whoooo exhausted is an understatement as far as how I felt. Incredibly busy couple of days.

Missed Train and Nazis

At the train station in the midst of the stare down with the Nazis. Notice the police in the background. Very awkward moment in which they were not happy with the picture being taken. The tall guy then took a picture of me.
Another weird moment with a woman, who´s shop is shut down do the demonstrations, trying to get some work done. Nazis are in the background.
It was heartening seeing the protests against the Nazis. Many more protested agains the Nazis and felt just or should I say more sick about seeing the Nazis in their town.
SAD!
Protests against the Nazis




What can I say? Oh I know what to say I have some amazing experiences when they are least expected. I got up early Saturday morning and got my train to Regensburg to connect to Prague. Got there in plenty of time was standing at the right platform and got on the train. One problem it was the wrong train, ok no problem. I get off and head down to the right train. A train employee is standing on the steps so I show her my ticket, she looks at it, shakes her head and the train proceeds to leave. Turns out it was the right train but she was not happy with my last minute arrival. Even the other train employees behing me were shaking their had, surprised just as much as I was. It did turn out I was not the only one to miss this train because I saw some English people waiting for the same train and they missed it also. Alright so I find another route to Prague and head to a small town called Schwandorf. Miss another train by a minute. So now I am stuck in this small town with four hours to kill before the next train. I am stressed because first off I am meeting Lucia and Peter my Slovakian friends and also Heather who is getting into Prague an hour later than my original train. I decide to take a walk and check out the small town. I end up hearing all this commotion and music so I of course head for it. I see these people in the center of town gathered looking at people on a stage. There is music being played and I am thinking good times. However I feel there is something strange going on. When I arrived at the train I noticed a lot of policemen some in special uniforms telling me they were no local billy bob cops. I ask in my excellent German Sie Sprechen English a young guy tells me he does. I ask him what is going on today. He then tells me that they are protesting against racism. I think oh how nice then he proceeds to tell me that is in response to the Nazis down the street who are organized. Whoa are you kidding me, after all we have just learned and all that I have studied about Germany. Of course I knew that there were still neo Nazis around but I just happened to stumble across this. I head down to wear they are standing. There are policemen all around and fencing separating the nazis and the people protesting the nazis. Well I play stupid and try to get into the area where the nazis are located. Of course I am not allowed in just like anyone else, worth a try right. Story gets better, just wait
So I go to the other end and see a large number of people organized protesting against the nazis. I was fascinated and enjoying the activists protesting against the nazis. They were shouting and singing go Nazis go, we don´t want you here. Eventually the nazis leave the plaza and head for the train station. Huh, do you know where this is going? I of course follow the crowd and head to the train station. The police are blocking off the train station because the nazis are taking the train back to the town where they came from. Of course the reason the police are there is that they are worried there will be brawls in the street. Well if you remember I have a train to catch and I have police preventing from going. Now to be honest I am not worried I have two hours. My whole thinking is I want to see these Nazis up close and personal. I plead with one of the policemen show him my passport and train ticket and next thing you know I am walking up to the train platform where the nazis are waiting for their train. What a incredibley awkward experience. Here I am waiting for my train surrounded by police and nazis. They are staring me down and I them. I am shaking my head and getting a little emotional thinking about how misdirected these people are and what they represent. They are talking about me and I am showing absolutely no desire to back down or look away. It helps when you are surrounded by police. None of them say anything to me however and pretty much leave me alone. One nazi girl walks by me and I swoop in. I ask her if she speaks English and she replies a little. And I attempt to begin my conversion of the misdirected girl. She tells me they are protesting against Russian immigrants in Germany and gives me the name of the town where I am standing. She then heads back to her crowd where they proceed to whisper about me. Crazy, Crazy experience. Missing the train happened to turn out to be an amazing cultural experience. Funny how things work. After an hour they board their train, police follow them and the town returns to normal. Very bizarre!

Heidelberg

Our fun night at the end of our journey together. Go Chris!
The German gentlemen sending his friend off, quite touching.
Beautiful German waitress dressed up in the traditional outfit.
Heather and I on the bridge outside the imposing Heidelberg castle.
I am menacing and imposing!
People are people. Little boy enjoying his ice cream and life.
Story behind this one, girls messed with me by taking five photos in which none of them had the castle in the background. They enjoyed messing with me, I can handle it. Evidently not according to this photo :)
Cool view outside the castle bathroom of all places. Cool photos come from all around.
Some good looking guy that is amazingly photogentic.
Heidelberg castle, how about these picture taking skills. Wow.
Alright somebody is getting a little to vain with all these pictures of himself. I blame it on Emily who said I didn´t have enough pictures of myself.

After our meeting with Deutsche Bank we spent our last afternoon and evening in Heidelberg. What a wonderful town! I wished so much that we would have been able to spend the night here. Once again when I think of Germany these are the types of towns I think of Heidelberg, Lubeck, Schwerin. It was amazingly charming and wonderful. It had an amazing castle and cozy streets with nice shops and restaurants. The castle was overwhelming and a joy to see and experience. You know me I enjoy putting myself back in time and thinking about the things that transpired in the areas that I travel. This was one of those moments where I went back in time to yesteryears. Knights in shining armor, dukes and lords of the manor, moats and fortifications. WOW!!! After viewing the castle we went to town and checked out the charming city center. We stopped at a restaurant and saw the waiter and waitresses dressed in tradtional German clothing. We also went across a famous bridge that connected one area of the city to the other. Later that day we drove for a little while and stopped at a place that escapes me right now. It just so happened that at the time we were there a group of Germans eating at the same time were sending their friend off. One of the gentlemen played his trumpet and bid him adieu. Quite the cultural scene. After dinner we headed off to the town festival where people were dancing and having a great time. We of course joined and began dancing up on the stage with our new found German friends. Once again another amazing cultural experience. What a wondeful way to end our time in Germany. We had such a great last day in a country that welcomed us with open arms. I will definitely be visiting again. On our way home Chris went to the front and used the microphone and went over the funniest quotes or sayings people had during the trip. Of course I had a few. It was a great way for us to bond and laugh one more time before saying goodbye at the hotel.
Just briefly I would like to thank all of the participants on the trip. I learned something from everyone of you and value the wondeful times we had. You all are amazing people and teachers. Thank You!!! And I hope you know that my German is getting better, Aufwadeschen! Is that right? darn I guess I am not getting better :) Stay in touch

Frankfurt

Outside an organic farm where we had dinner. We had a wonderful time with our guide and owner of the farm, Bobo.
That would be me looking like a fool in some ancient Roman ruins. Not sure what is up with the pose, gotta wonder about me sometimes.
Memorial to the young Iranian woman who tragically lost her life standing up for what she believed in. We are lucky to live in such a wonderfully free country.
My good friend that I became very close to, Tom. We are standing up top of St. Nicholas church, what a view.
Pastor Meyer allowing us into his church and being very candid and honest with us about the German church system.
Famous plaza in Frankfurt, unfortunately it was damaged during the war and recreated.

Well I am obviously going backwards on my travels but it has been a crazy few days to say the least, more to come on that.
Frankfurt? Huh what do I say about that. Gotta be honest, not one of my favorite cities. To me it was rather blah compared to Berlin and Hamburg. However there was the charming city square and city government. Other than that I could have done without and stayed in Heidelberg. However Deutsche Bank is headquartered there so you gotta go where the people that pay the bills tell you to go. Alright on to it.
Before we left for Frankfurt we had one more meeting. This meeting was one of my most enjoyable. It was with Der Spiegel, Germanys largest newsmagazine. It was started in 1947 and has continued to grow. I have always had the desire to be a writer and I came away from the meeting with even more of a desire to write. I think when I get home I will try to pursue a job writing for our small town journal. We spoke with a writer and editor. I found it to be fascinating how much work goes into the stories and development of the stories. I asked a few questions and feel like I came away understanding the inner workings of a magazine. We then had some free time which is always nice. Nick and I walked around town for a bit and soaked in our last afternoon in Hamburg. I really enjoyed our stay in Hamburg our guests did a great job showing us around and making us feel comfortable in the big city. However one can say that the local laundry business enjoyed my company even more. Dropping 67 euros on laundry was not a pleasant experience, cheaper than the hotel though. Another source of laughter for the group!

Our first day in Frankfurt was rather interesting. We got all dressed up to go to Deutsche Bank, styling and profiling. Well we get there and they tell us that our meeting was scheduled for the next day. There was a mistake made by our tour guide in Frankfurt. No big deal we just switched days. So we went back to the hotel, changed and went on a walking tour. Always nice walking around and learning then sitting in a room with no lights and no air. We went to an ancient church, St. Nicholas, and met the pastor. His name is Pastor Meyer and he is originally from the US. He was very welcoming and quite a nice man. When we entered the church we were serenaded with organ music played by one of our guides. Quite the scene. The church is one of the few buildings not demolished during the bombing of Frankfurt. Some interesting things we learned about the churches in Germany. People pay a church tax which is about 80 to 100 euros a month. However this tax supports the church, kindergartens and social programs for the poor and homeless. Also you have pastors and clergy teach in the public schools. I thought this was interesting since we of course have nothing like this. We then went to St. Pauls Church which was the site of the first German Parliament in 1848 and also was site of a famous JFK speech. A lot of important historical events have occured in this church/meeting place. We continued to walk around and ended up at the Goethe House. Goethe is a famous German poet and writer. Our trip is sponsored by the Goethe institute. The house like almost all of the city was destroyed during the war so it has been recreated.

Our last meeting was with Deutsche Bank. The bank is one of the worlds leading financial institutions doing business in over 130 countries. Suprisingly enough they have not been impacted by the financial crisis, in fact according to them they have benefited due to lack of competition. We also were told about Deutsche Banks commitment to corporate social responsibility. They believe that their employees should volunteer and that their company should invest in the arts, education and the environment. The discussion was interesting but long and lengthy. For the social responsibility I counted 37 slides with too much info on the slides. However they are the ones paying for the trip so whatever they wanted to do was and is fine by me.

Safe in Bratislava

Hello all, it is hard for me to put into words the experience I have just had. I can only say that once again I have had a life changing experience traveling around Germany. The people I met both on the trip and around Germany have impacted my life and outlook. I am very much looking forward to traveling on my own. I liked traveling in a group but I look forward to the freedom and the lack of a schedule.

I am now in Bratislava staying at my friends flat. I will be off to Vienna tomorrow and I will be able to post more info on the last couple of days. I have spent the last couple of days in Prague and absolutely loved it. I now understand why it is called the Paris of the east, although how can I compare when I have never been to Paris :) I am so thankful to my friends for making the last couple of days unbelievable. Time for me to hit the hay but I will post pictures and describe my experiences tomorrow.

Last Night in Hamburg

What a cool bike, looks like a motorcycle huh.

A lot of kids skateboard just like in the states. However the police dont bother them over here.

Public relations guy for Hafen city, you can see all the construction in the background.

The spot where we had a cup of coffee.

The artistic, bohemian section of town. Look familiar? Dr. Seuss

Greg at dinner last night. Raw fish, yummy.

Victims of war memorial, located in a bombed out church.

I have really enjoyed the stay in Hamburg. We have been able to do a lot of sightseeing which is always fun.

Yesterday we had a busy day. It feel like a Monday, back to the busy schedule. We first started off at the Federal Institute for Training of Teachers and School Development. WOW, thats a mouthful. It was very interesting learning the similarities and differences as far as teacher training is concerned. I feel like we have a good understanding now how the German education system works. We have had four separate meetings on this issue and in three states. The education standards and practices vary in each state. Germany is very much in the midst of a reevaluation of their education system. I believe it is about time. If some of you want more clarification feel free to ask. We later went to the University of Hamburg where we listened to an expert on the history of the university and also from an American professor that works with Smith college. Smith college was the first university to offer a transatlantic partnership with the university. Now about 20 students from Smith study in Hamburg. Well as you all know I am fascinated with history so I enjoyed listening to the quirky historian discuss the history of the university. We then had lunch in the cool part of town. A place where the artists and writers hang out. Certainly had a different feel than the rest of the city, much more artistic. Our last activity was centered around environmental research. This company evaluates how much pollutants and chemicals are in certain produce. We learned about their goals and their hopes for the future. They produced a movie in the states that one of our participants Kristi saw. They would like for materials to be chemical free and reusable. Some of the information went over my head but I nevertheless enjoyed the presentation. At the end of the night we went to an incredible restaurant where every meal was served with potatoes. Potatoes are always good in my book. We once again had another great and busy day in Hamburg.

Today was much more of a chill day. Always nice in our books. We met with a man that works with the Korber foundation. The foundation was setup by a German man with boat loads of money that wanted to give back. He also wanted to give back to the US in appreciation of the Marshall Plan. The Plan by where the US gave tons of cash to Europe to help rebuild it after the destructive war. The foundation offers money to people that come up with ideas on how to help Germany in various ways. For example Big Brothers and Sisters were given money to start up in Germany. The idea is to work from the bottom up, people coming with the ideas rather than the government. There is also a foundation to help the elderly in Germany. After the meeting we were given about three hours to explore more of the city. Tom, Kristi, Emily, Henry and I went to an outdoor cafe and had a cup of coffee. It was nice being able to relax, enjoy the city and people watch. We then walked around the port and river and had a relaxing afteroon, as mentioned. Our last activity of the day was a discussion and tour with a public relations worker for a company in charge of the Europes largest urban development project. All I can say is that this portion of Hamburg is amazing and when done will be unlike any city in the world. I will be back. The name of this portion of the city is Hafen City, google it. The planning started in the early 1990s and construction has begun and will continue until 2020. I was impressed with the planning, architecture, thought and beauty of this area. I would love to live there, never will happen with the amount of money needed. However the area has many activities for people outside of the city. Gotta go, getting ready to go to our last dinner with our guides in Hamburg. Our guides have been great sources of help. Without them this trip would not be nearly as amazing.