Strasbourg and Odendorf; Home-Stay Experiences...

Guten Tag,

I am currently in Odendorf, Germany which is a small town of approximately 5,000 people southwest of Bonn. Here I am staying with good family friends, Peter and Wiltrud Ahrens. I arrived on Sunday via train from Strasbourg and have been enjoying getting to know the surrounding area.

Before I write about the past few days I am going to tell you about my time in Strasbourg, France. I arrived on Friday and got in contact with a girl I had met in Killarney, Ireland during my first week of travels. She told me that if I was near Strasbourg to call her, so I did. We met up on friday evening, went to dinner with her friends and ate traditional Alsatian food which was similar to flat-crust, thin pizza and was very good. And of course, some Belgian beer to wash it down... I then toured the bierstubs (taverns/pubs) of the city until the wee hours of the morning.

The next day we walked around the city and saw its main sights: the cathedral and Petite France. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Strasbourg contains both French and German influences in its architecture and style, but it also has a cutlure entirely its own. After spending the morning in the city we went about 40 minutes away to Neewiller, France which is a small town of about 500 people right on the German border; this is where Anne's family lives.

I met the family and had a great evening and night talking and learning about many different things. Most of our converstations were about American and French perceptions of each other, French President Sarkozy and Europe so of course, we enevitably turned to politics which I loved and found very interesting. It was good to get some view points regarding Europe and the US from French and European citizens. Additionally, I was able to hear different opinions on the state of France because when I was in Edinburgh, Scotland, I talked with a middle-aged French man who had some pretty pessimistic things to say about France, Europe and the United States... Nothing is ever in black and white, there are always many shades of gray, or is it grey? What I can say that applies to French, European, and American politics that is the same is that in hard times like we all face currently (economic downturns, energy issues, war/conflict and more...) change is difficult to bring about and difficult to accept but if people and institutions don't change with the times and new developments, things will never improve and may even get worse at the very least maintain the status quo...

Enough with politics and on to the best part of my home-stay with the Garcia Family: the hospitality and kindness which was incredble! My visit was something you never could have planned, which is why day by day living while traveling has its benefits. The meal was, wow... First we started with appetizers and some drinks (Port and some liquer). First course was shrimp the size of baby lobsters with Champagne from the Epernay region to drink. Second course was steamed mussels (one of my favorite dishes) with white wine, next was bread and cheeses with two types of red wine, followed by rice milk for dessert and Gran Marnier for an after dinner drink. A three-hour long meal with great hosts and good conversation. Merci Garcia Family! One other note re: my visit; through conversation we discovered that there were some families in their small town that have my same last name (Litt) which was a surprise. Although these families are probably not related to me for too many reasons to explain, it is neat to think that somewhere over here in Europe, there are relatives/ancestors who I am related to. Maybe even somebody who looks like me? But that would be too good to be true and I am not sure that ladies could handle another similar looking individual...

The following day I took trains to Odendorf, Germany where Peter and Wiltrud live. It was nice to see familiar faces again; Peter and Wiltrud visited my family and I in Sheboygan last summer as we continued a 15 year friendship and exchange. I had another great meal and a very comfortable bed.

Yesterday we went to nearby Maria Laach (lake) which was very beautiful and serene. The lake is formed in an old, extinct volcano much like Crater Lake in Oregon, USA. There is a beautiful church nearby and a monastery/abbey as well.

Today I went gliding in Dahlemer Binz at the Flugplatz (airport). Peter is in a gliding club and I enjoyed accompanying him on two flights that took us up to about 400-500meters in the sky, sailing quitely over the German countryside. Gliding is like flying an airplane except the glider doesn't have an engine and you travel by the wind and the rising thermal currents coming off the earth's surface. We were launched by a a cable that was pulled by a winch powered by an Audi 8 Turbo engine. Take off is like a roller coaster! When you land you just touch down in a grass field... Unbelievable.

I am not sure what the next few days will bring although I will stay in this area with the Ahrens family for a few more days. It is nice to have great hosts to show me the area, good meals, and a comfortable bed to catch up on some sleep. Tentatively, the plans for going forward are: Berlin, Nuremburg, and then Munich for Oktoberfest, ja?

I have also been spoiled here to have free and regular internet access so I promise I will get some pictures posted within a day or two after I go through the almost 750 pictures I have already taken...

Today and tomorrow is the one month mark of my travels since departure. It is hard to believe that I will be starting my fifth week abroad... Time flies!

Prost!
Nathan