So, this is where my love of travel really becomes apparent...I jumped at the chance to be the secondary chaperone on my school's German Exchange Program...three weeks in Germany? Ja, danke!! As with all student trips, the focus wasn't so much on sightseeing as interacting with the kiddos and helping them navigate their (often) first experience abroad. In spite of my pathetic German, I hope that I was able to contribute to those aspects of the trip in a positive way.
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| Home sweet home Merkendorf |
The first week of a multi-week trip is often one of idyllic interaction with the host families, exploring new foods, recognizing cultural differences, and in spite of a few episodes of uncertainty or discomfort, congratulating oneself on the successes. This trip was no exception...we teachers were staying with a kind and generous couple in Merkendorf, a village about 10 miles from the school we were exchanging with. We lived right next door to the village church where our host is a pastor and were awakened each morning (and periodically throughout those first couple nights) by the church bells.
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| Rothenburg |
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| Würzburg Residenz |
Within the first week, we spent a couple days attending classes at Simon Marius Gymnasium in Gunzenhausen...and, no, fellow non-German-speakers, "gymnasium" doesn't mean it's a sports school. We also visited three lovely towns: Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber, aka. Christmastown (home of a famous Christmas ornament maker); Nuremberg, the capital of Franconia and the site of the infamous Nuremberg trials; and Würzburg, where we had an amazing tour of the Residenz (castle).
We also had PLENTY of opportunities to sample local goodies! Lots of giant pretzels, TONS of würst (sausage), enough different
types of cheese to put France to shame, and cakes...yum, yum! We had a few REALLY hot days, which made it kind of hard to even have much of an appetite...but we managed to sample plenty of types of ice cream!
My favorite thing that I discovered in the first week was that storks actually do build nests on the roofs of houses in southern Germany!! When I was little, we had a children's book whose title I don't recall that was about people installing wheels on top of their houses to encourage storks to come and build their nests. I hadn't thought of this book in years, so imagine my surprise when I spotted a HUGE nest on top of the Rathaus of Merkendorf within a day or two of our arrival. Sure enough, it was a stork...I really enjoyed keeping an eye on the storks of Merkendorf and watching out for nests in other towns. If anyone knows which book I'm thinking of, please let me know!! I'd love to reread it in light of my Franconian stork discoveries!
More on weeks two and three to come!
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