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Strasbourg

Erin, Julia, Carl, and Lauren had a chance to go on a field trip with their host student to Strasbourg.  This city is the seat of several European institutions such as the European Court of Human Rights and the  European Parliament.

Strasbourg is an important centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as of road, rail, and river communications. The port of Strasbourg is the second largest on the Rhine after Duisburg, Germany. 

The oldest building in town.

Strasbourg Cathedral

Smart Cars are EVERYWHERE!

Heidelberg

Heidelberg lies on the river Neckar at the point where it leaves its narrow, steep valley in the Odenwald to flow into the Rhine valley.  


Here is a group shot of students with hosts.

To get to Heidelberg we took a train and then a boat ride on the river Neckar.  On the way the boat passed through 2 locks.

First sighting of Heidelberg

Once in Heidelberg we had lunch in the Heidelberg Cafeteria and the proceeded to a train station for the short ride up the the Heidelberg Castle.  Our guide was worth the price of admission!

Here is a model of the finished castle

The castle contains a wine barrel that can hold 265,000 liters of wine (70 005.5939 US gallons).  There are a few bigger barrels but NONE have ever been filled.  The wine barrel here has been filled and emptied 3 times!

Chris

My first Saturday in Germany started out bright and early. I woke up at 7AM and my German family and I pilled into a car and drove to Mainz. The drive was about an hour long and when we arrived we had breakfast at a small cafe in a pedestrian square. It turned out that we had gone during a big street fair so at 9AM the streets were fairly quiet. Following breakfast we went to look at some Roman ruins which were still remaining from the time when Rom occupied what is now known as Germany. Over the years the ruins have been barried and lost and it was not until a new shopping center went under construction that the ruins were found. Now the museum of the ruins lies under the shopping center.After visiting the ruins, we went to visit the Gutenberg-Museum, where the first movable type printer was invented. The collection in the museam hosted a number of printers ranging from the origonal, invented during the 1400's, to a collection of bibles, printed with the early presses. After the museam, the church congregation was over and we could finally go into the Dom Sainkt Martin. This catheadrol was massive and housed and a large church and many smaller chappels, which I was told were used for different artisans. I was also told that during World War II much of Mainz was bombed so many of the sights have had to be reconstructed, following the plans of the origonal. The cathedrol was still impressive and also hosted a museam of historical church artifics, all were alaboratly decorated with gold and gems.

Finally, it was time to head back to Bad Dürkheim. Mainz was only the begining of my night. After returning I took a quick nap and then went to a Lion Club dinner (which my host father member of) and had my first Pfannkuchen. Pfannkuchen is a delecasy known in the area. It's like a think crust pizza, but with no tomato sauce and various vegtables. Following dinner, we went to my the dance school where my host student and her brother both dance. Here I was able to learn (or attempt to learn) how to walz, Tango, Salsa, and Cha-Cha.Learning to dance in another language with a partner who doesn't speek english and who german is a second language to turned out to be quite difficult. However, the night turned out to be loads of fun, and I am now a much better dance because of it.

To conclude, Germany has been and while be great experience!

Trier

Trier is the oldest seat of a Christian bishop north of the Alps.  In the Middle Ages, the Archbishop of Trier was an important ecclesiastical prince, as the Archbishop of Trier controlled land from the French border to the Rhine.  He was also one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Porta Nigra is the large Roman city gate in Trier.  It is today the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps and has bee designated a World Heritage Site.

Kaiserthermen is the best of Roman Baths, with winding underground passagess you can negotiate of get lost in, depending on your sense of direction.

Dom und LiebFrauen

Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe is a city in the south west of germany, located near the French-German border.

There is a wonderful zoo and botanical gardens in Karlsruhe that some of us were able to visit.

Can you find the frog?

This marks the 49 latitude

Jeff's superman pose

Trying to figure out my next move...

After the zoo and lunch we moved on to the natural history museum.  

One of the new displays at the museum are some great aquarium tanks housing many tropical species.

Trying to cross-species communicate.

Lauren

Friday (25.6.10)

Getting up in the morning gets a little bit harder ever day because there is so much to see and so much to do, that when I get to bed, I fall right asleep.  Today, I got up, had breakfast, and enjoyed another hot, sunny day. It was American day, so we had set up a PowerPoint about New Hampshire and one about Vermont earlier that week.  I was in the New Hampshire group, and we went during the first break.  I would call the presentation a success because people seemed interested, especially when we explained how to make maple syrup. After the presentation, I went to a double English lesson and tried my best to translate Shakespeare into an understandable form of writing.  Groups of German students acted out different scenes, and they did very well.  Then, Karen and I went for a run, which was made worse by the hot temperature and bright sun.  We ran for a half hour, then went home to get ready to go to Karen's grandparent's house to drop off her younger brother.  When we got there, we had coffee, or milk, and cake.  It was delicious, but I couldn't understand most of what her grandparents said because of their thick accents.  After meeting them, we went to the outlet mall to do some shopping.  After that, we went home to get ready to meet Julia and Karen's best friend.  Laura, for dinner.  We had a lot of fun at dinner, and I discovered my new favorite drink is Fanta, which tastes more like a more orange-y version of orangina.  Then, after dinner, we went and got some ice cream, chocolate and hazelnut for me, which was creamy and delicious.  By then, I was so tired that we dispersed, and Karen and I went home. I relaxed and then fell asleep quickly.  The day was very exciting and fun, but again, by the end, my eyes were drooping. It was definitely my bussiest day so far.

A bit of home (Mr. Lavigne)

So today I was able to participate in some chemistry classes...yeah my kinda people.  At Hanover High I teach chemistry.   Just opening the door and being splashed with the pungent aroma of a poorly ventilated chemistry room brings me back to many labs.

Nothing like it!

I was greeted by chemistry teacher Herr Kraft with a very warm smile and firm handshake.  Before we even had a chance to discuss the lesson or topic I was whisked away to view the chemistry departments prized possession.  NO not a medieval caldron but the high school department has grown a 60 kg copper sulfate crystal.  Let me review...A 60 kg COPPER SULFATE CRYSTAL!

That's it on the left.

This copper sulfate crystal is a Guinness World Record.

After the crystal viewing and photo session I was able to participate in the solubility of weak acids lesson.

Hambach (Mr. Lavigne)

As the teacher on this trip I am also staying with a host family in Hambach, and not in a castle as promised.  Sliding into my best Mr. Roger's sweater...I though that I would share my neighborhood with you.

Here is my host home

Yeah that is a 19yr, 250,00+ miles toyota sitting in the yard.

Neighborhood

World Cup Fever is Everywhere!!!  Next American game: Saturday and German game Sunday!  At least they are not playing each other...this might have gotten a bit tense. 

:-)

The neighborhood also has some terraforming ideas!

Here is a view of the vineyards and castle in the back yard.  

That's where I wanted to stay.