October 23, 2008

Germany... I don’t even know where to start!

I had the most wonderful time in Germany!! I felt like I was home.. and it was probably because i was staying in the german countryside and it looked a lot like home to me but mainly because I stayed with an incredible German family!! The sweet family took us into their home in the breathtaking countryside. The Village we stayed in is about an hour and a half outside of Berlin. 

Our 6 days there were packed with trips to Hannover, Berlin, and exploring the countryside. I relearned a lot of history that I have forgotten over the years. We went and walked along part of the Berlin Wall that separated West Berlin from East Berlin. When the wall was taken down, artists came and used the parts that were still up as their canvas. The wall now tells stories about what the wall stood for, how people felt when they were stuck on one side of the wall and how they feel now that it is down. It was an amazing site for me to see. 

One day while exploring the countryside, this older man yelled “Hallo!” along with other German words that we did not know. He had the biggest grin on his face and he motioned for us to come over. He asked if we spoke German (Well, we think) and we said no... but that did not stop him. We had no clue what was coming out of his mouth but we knew he was telling us a story and he wanted to show us something and we knew it had something to do with hunting because he made a shooting motion and wanted us to follow him. So, we did! He took us to the back of his house into this other little house that was filled with all of the game he has shot! All I could think about while I was in there was, “My brothers and dad would love this!” This cute german man told us stories about all the different animals in his little house and then took us to the main house and showed us more and told us more stories. Keep in mind, he spoke zero English and we understand only a few german words, but it was so awesome. I felt like I knew every word he was saying. I loved it. 

Germany was an incredible country and I am happy to say that I have another trip planned before I leave to go home to the USA. I am very excited!