The Farewell party

Today we had a beautiful brunch with our host families at a ranch in the hills above Hemer. We were greeted as we arrived with a 7 foot replica of the Statue of Liberty and a giant American Flag. We had a wonderful brunch provided by the parents. Dagmar Freitag, the local member of parliament, dropped by before she jetted off to Berlin for the opening of the Women's World Cup. Peter, Lena's dad, brought his square dancing sound system and we gave it one more go. We played badminton and volleyball in giant horse training rink and Trisha and Zach even got up on a horse to take it for a spin.  (See the picture above with Trish on the horse) We said our second to last goodbyes, which are starting to take much longer. I said my final goodbyes as my plane leaves two hours before the kids. I told the kids that they were a fantastic group and they spoiled me for all future trips. They never complained , they always were up for a challenge, and they were as polite as you would have hope them to be.  I am sad to say goodbye to them but happy that I will get to see them next year. (I did  not tell them this but I went bowling the other night with all the kids not because I like bowling but I kind of missed hanging out with our gang.)The German students were equally as awesome. They were so great with our kids and with Jody and I and it makes me sad to think we could not take them home with us. The German parents were so hospitable and giving. They offered to keep our kids for the summer more than once. I told them that the parents back home have not spent so much time making these kids into great people to pass up on spending a summer with them.  I want to personally thank Hilde and Bernd, who put me up for the week and kept me entertained with their humor every second. I would also like to thank Sabine who gave Jody and I great tours on Thursday and Saturday and who helped coordinate the whole schedule. The were superb! I must thank John Hasbrouck for the excellent logistical work that made getting through the cities a breeze (Not to mention the posh hotels at hostel prices)  And last for me, I must thank Jody Whaley who came over here on her own dime and made my life and the trip go so much easier. She was an essential asset and a source of endless laughter. I will be updating this blog more in the future. I have tons of great pictures and video I will add when I get home to my fast internet connection and computer. I am off to Ireland and the kids will be home in less than 24 hours. Good travels and
Cheers!
Chris Bohney

Two more days :(

After months of preparation and two weeks of hard traveling, the time in Hemer seems to be slipping away at an alarming rate. Last night the kids were telling me that they could not believe how quickly the last week has gone by. On Wednesday night we were taken to a production of the show Starlight Express.  This is kind of a musical version of "The Little Engine that Could" on roller skates. The starlight Express has been running at this theater in Bochum for over 20 or 25 years. It is very popular and even on a Wednesday night the place was packed. The show was all in German but the plot was pretty easy to figure out and the special effects and rollerskating (which was done on tracks throughout the theater) kept us more than  entertained.

On Thursday the students had a free day with their families and did a variety of things. They went go-carting, played miniature golf, visited medieval markets and just had fun.

Cathedrals and being Square, In a Good Way

Yesterday the Germans students and teachers took us to Cologne. Exiting the train station you are greeted immediately by the monstrous Cologne Cathedral.   The Gothic structure, with it's twin spires, reaches 157 meters into the sky (The tallest building in the world at the time of completion. It took over 600 years to finish but is continuously being renovated. We saw artist restoring the the delicate woodwork and paintings when we took our tour.  After a tour of cathedral some of the students went off to the very interesting chocolate museum where they even had a small green house growing the cocoa beans. Last night we had a special American Treat. Lena's dad Peter is a caller for the local American Square dance club in Hemer, called the Hill Toppers.  The club started over 25 years ago and Peter has been the caller for 22 years. We met at a youth center where the club has weekly practices.   Many of the club members were on hand in full square dancing outfits to teach us the moves. First, they gave us a demonstration and they were fantastic. Square dancing is done as improv by the caller and the dancers never know what moves are going to be until the caller calls it. It takes a lot of concentration and quick feet. They were kind enough to let us have a go and all of the kids had a blast. We even got the Carsten and Fabian on dance floor and they showed us that they do not save it all for the football pitch or the badminton court.  We danced for two hours and were told that we might have to show our moves at the farewell party.
      Today we took a tour of the Grohe water fixture plant. We saw the leading developer of high end bathroom and kitchen fixtures in Europe. The factory was filled with robotic arms and computers, all making fine fixtures. It was very interesting to see the process from mold to finished product.  It was the first time in a factory for most of us, so the use of automation and the attention to detail was enlightening. We were all ready to change our shower heads once we get home. Tonight we are off to see the musical Starlight Express in Bochum. I am sure we will be hearing the tunes from our singers by morning!

Off to the Garden

Today we started off by being greeted by the deputy mayor and Dagmar Freitag, the local parliamentarian .  Then we attended classes with the German students. A number of students enjoyed the art class where they made watercolor pictures.  The others were a little baffled in  the German only classes but had a good time being the "stars"of the campus. I was lucky enough to spend sometime in my hostess Hilde's classroom where some very cute fifth graders asked me "Do you like our country?"  I resoundingly said "Yes!"

Museum in Hemer

There were enough steps that they had this on hand

Top of the Tower, Hemer

Zach and Kortney going for it

Camille, Tanner, and Caroline lost in the maze but in good spirits

After class we took a walk to the new park built in Hemer for a statewide Garden Show that took place last year.  The park was built on an old army tank training ground that was decommissioned in 2007 and also held a prisoner of war camp during World War 2. There was a great little museum that showed the sad history of the site. The new park was beautifully landscaped during the garden show and had exhibits and flowers from all over Germany. We climbed the tallest hill above the park where a tower had been erected. There were a lot of steps and they even had a defibrillator at the bottom! On the way down we toured the fitness exhibits and played on the trampolines and got lost in a hedge maze. The park was amazing. Tonight we have a welcome party with all the folks who want to greet us. The weather is a little rainy but our spirits are high!

Arrived in Hemer

Another quick update for everyone. We arrived in Hemer to a large group with an American flag and signs saying "Welcome". Before I knew it the kids were off to their respective homes and our new adventure has begun. Tomorrow we attend classes and meet the mayor or Hemer.  Tuesday we are off to Cologne to see the cathedral and square dancing lessons at night. It is going to be a great week.

We are Berliners!

This is why I love trains. Finally some time to write in the day light hours. We are currently on our way from Berlin to Hemer with our German Friends. The German countryside is rolling by and it is time to look back on the weekend that was Berlin. We arrived in the evening and made our connections and long walk to our hotel. It is funny to be walking at 10pm and still be in the twilight. Our hotel was a well appointed business hotel which had comfortable beds which were welcome after our long journey. The morning brought good weather and another great bike tour. Our guide was tall Mike from Manchester. He gave us a thorough look around and caught us up on many of the historical events that have made Berlin a star in many of our history book stories. We visited many sites related to World War 2. We saw the location of the famous book burnings that took place under the NAZI regime. There is a poignant monument of a hole looking into an empty library. The university across the street holds a book sale every Friday now and always tries to have some of the books that were burned for sale. We then went to the site of Hitler's bunker. Strangely (or maybe appropriately) there is little to signify the final moments of this evil man's life. A simple sign, and a parking lot for some expensive condos now sits where his reign ended. An inglorious end for sure. We visited many sites in both the East and West of Berlin. Two things I noticed about Berlin; first it is hard to tell the East from the west anymore. 20 years of construction has blurred the lines of what was once communist and what is now a capitalist mecca. Sure, if you go beyond the city center you can find the communist block style architecture rising in the East like tombstones to a bygone era, but in the city center, where the wall once stood, you can look at “Checkpoint Charlie” through the glass window of McDonald's 15 feet away. You have to be careful when you take a picture not to get the giant Ipad 2 billboard in the background or the Starbucks down the street. The wall, or walls as we found out, stood as a 100 yard barrier and no mans land between freedom and oppression. Today it is all but gone, most of it covered by new developments that took place on the new cheap land that came available. The former wall goes through shopping malls, apartments, and plazas that have obliterated the physical and metaphorical past. We visited the a museum dedicated to those who escaped past the wall. The our group were amazed at the techniques used by people to get out. They included ultralights, hollowed out cars, improvised scuba gear, zip lines, balloons, tunnels, fake luggage and surfboard racks, and just plain courage (one guy was shot 20 times and made it. It was amazing.

After our bike tour the group waited not so patiently for the Germans to arrive. They had numerous plans of surprise and trickery for their arrival that included hiding in bushes, sitting on a bench hidden by newspapers and even going as far as to concoct a fake relationship story about Tricia and Tanner to fool the German kids. All of this was to no avail as the meeting turned into a running and screaming and hugging festival. We had a great meal with the Germans in the Sony Center which is a crazy out door mall filled with space like architecture and changing lights.

The next day we did a number of tour with the Germans. Our group had been hardened by a week of strenuous walking. The Germans found our pace a little exhausting. Our kids were now ready to walk miles without tiring, and we did. We had an amazing visit to the Reichstags, or the Bundestag, which is the seat of the German government. We saw the incredible modern architecture of the ancillary buildings mixed with the grandness of the main building. We were treated to a free meal and a very informative talk by Ryan, assistant to Dagmar Frietag, who is the representative to parliament for Hermer. Ryan is an American who is interning in the Bundestag. He was funny and spoke fluent German so the German kids got his jokes.

The last days in Berlin the students got some shopping time and socializing time between tours. It is amazing to see how quickly the groups melded from two groups to one. Right now on the train Camille is teaching how to make friendship bracelets, Lena and Zack are exchanging funny pictures of themselves, they are looking through the Nordhoff Yearbook, and having as much fun as one could have on a train. They all wish you a happy Father's Day and hope that all of their families are doing as well as they are. I hope to post pictures soon. We will also post a lot of pictures once we get home . Until later... Auf Wiedersehen !Two things I noticed about Berlin; first it is hard to tell the East from the west anymore. 20 years of construction has blurred the lines of what was once communist and what is now a capitalist mecca. Sure, if you go beyond the city center you can find the communist block style architecture rising in the East like tombstones to a bygone era, but in the city center, where the wall once stood, you can look at “Checkpoint Charlie” through the glass window of McDonald's 15 feet away. You have to be careful when you take a picture not to get the giant Ipad 2 billboard in the background or the Starbucks down the street. The wall, or walls as we found out, stood as a 100 yard barrier and no mans land between freedom and oppression. Today it is all but gone, most of it covered by new developments that took place on the new cheap land that came available. The former wall goes through shopping malls, apartments, and plazas that have obliterated the physical and metaphorical past. We visited the a museum dedicated to those who escaped past the wall. The our group were amazed at the techniques used by people to get out. They included ultralights, hollowed out cars, improvised scuba gear, zip lines, balloons, tunnels, fake luggage and surfboard racks, and just plain courage (one guy was shot 20 times and made it. It was amazing.

After our bike tour the group waited not so patiently for the Germans to arrive. They had numerous plans of surprise and trickery for their arrival that included hiding in bushes, sitting on a bench hidden by newspapers and even going as far as to concoct a fake relationship story about Tricia and Tanner to fool the German kids. All of this was to no avail as the meeting turned into a running and screaming and hugging festival. We had a great meal with the Germans in the Sony Center which is a crazy out door mall filled with space like architecture and changing lights.

The next day we did a number of tour with the Germans. Our group had been hardened by a week of strenuous walking. The Germans found our pace a little exhausting. Our kids were now ready to walk miles without tiring, and we did. We had an amazing visit to the Reichstags, or the Bundestag, which is the seat of the German government. We saw the incredible modern architecture of the ancillary buildings mixed with the grandness of the main building. We were treated to a free meal and a very informative talk by Ryan, assistant to Dagmar Frietag, who is the representative to parliament for Hermer. Ryan is an American who is interning in the Bundestag. He was funny and spoke fluent German so the German kids got his jokes.

The last days in Berlin the students got some shopping time and socializing time between tours. It is amazing to see how quickly the groups melded from two groups to one. Right now on the train Camille is teaching how to make friendship bracelets, Lena and Zack are exchanging funny pictures of themselves, they are looking through the Nordhoff Yearbook, and having as much fun as one could have on a train. They all wish you a happy Father's Day and hope that all of their families are doing as well as they are. I hope to post pictures soon. We will also post a lot of pictures once we get home . Until later... Auf Wiedersehen !

Dresden- A Blur

Notice blackened columns or blackened portions of stair case, part of the re-used burnt rubble.

Guest Blogger-Jody
      Greetings and our apologies for the delay of another blog entry. Also having problems with internet access, so hang on a few more days and we promise to upload many more pictures!!!!
      We have been in three cities in three days....pretty exhausted, I can honestly say our feet hurt!!!! Today, the anticipation of finally hooking up with our Hemer "brothers and sister" has definitely brought back the energy level.....but, first let me back up a day or so to get you caught up.....After leaving the spider web streets of Prague we enjoyed a two hour train ride to Dresden.  Tanner, Kortney, Zack, Camille, Dustin, and Mr. Bohneyto, stood much of the trip, not because we didn't have seats, but because the windows to the train could open, so we enjoyed the sights and transformations of the Czech Republic with a stiff breeze in our faces, the cool air felt great as it was warmer in Prague.  The Czech countryside was markedly different than the eminence city that we had just left. The train largely followed a fairly wide river, and Tanner and Jody noticed that no Czech's were on the river enjoying it....no fishing, no boating, no sailing.....Tanner couldn't believe no one was out wake boarding even with the ideal conditions we witnessed for so many miles. It was noticeable that we were not in Germany. The towns  and homes were either more run down as a rule or, out of nowhere, a multi-story box like apartment building would pop up, both were obviously from a communist influence.... Then rolling farms fields, alfalfa fields, wooded areas, similar to Germany, but then we would spot a big plant of some sort with multiple towers, even a nuclear power plant, one plant gave off an odor of marshmellows, or as Dustin said, "rice crispy treats"....
     Arrived in Dresden and had quite a trek to our hotel, kind of got lost, sort of, had to right ourselves a couple of times....but succeeded in finding our hotel, found the one restaurant in the area at 10:30pm, luckily it was open! Checked out of the hotel early in the morning, rolled all the way back to the train station, we figured out a more direct and shorter return route, thankfully.....locked our luggage in storage lockers for the day ( we are getting "pro" at trains, subways, and such by the way! becoming quite the world travelers) and set off to explore Dresden. We were amazed at the rebuilt state of the city, all of which was pretty much destroyed in the last two months of WWII by a three wave Allie bombing that ended with horrible phosphorous incendiary fire bombs....If you are not too familiar with this part of history, you should research it.....very interesting, but you will need a strong stomach! anyway, many of the rebuilt buildings had occassional black bricks used, which were recycled from the burned rubble.  Some the the salvaged precious decorative statues that adorned the buildings were blackened as well, giving further reminders of that dark day in history. Took in the rebuilt main Chapel, sculpture museum, classical period art museum, and Chris Bernard's favorite , a weapon's museum, in which Chris was deemed tour guide as he has better knowledge than all of us on the museum's contents, everything a knight could want.....One of the world's largest collections of suits of armor, swords, cross-bows, etc....Chris was in heaven!!!!! a cool trip to the top of a rebuilt tower (221 of spiraling staircase steps up, yes, Kortney and Tanner counted them) for an incredible full city vantage point had the camera's clicking as well. Really great ice cream from a street vendor fired up the blood sugar levels for our musical stroll back through the city ( Tricia, Trevor, Caroline, Camille, and Kortney singing, harmonizing, dancing, giggling and trying to remember lyrics as Chris, Tanner, Zack, and Dustin attempted to walk further ahead as fast as they could as to un-associate themselves from such an "embarrassing" ordeal) Fact be known, the strolling musicians did receive numerous grins, looks and nods from pleasantly entertained witnesses....and as Mr. Bohneyto mentioned, the group made it back to the train station in record timing as the pace matched the upbeat cadence of the songs.
     A hot train ride to Berlin, the windows did not open, unfortunately, arrived late again, hiked what seemed like half way across Berlin, but easily found our fantastic, luxury hotel (thank-you John Hasbrook!!!)  and basically collapse in bed, late again........had a fantastic history learning day complete with a wonderful bike tour, culminating with a much anticipated reunion with our Hemer friends, (which I got on video for all of you back home to witness) but, there is already so much to tell from our first day in Berlin, and I know tomorrow will add volumes to the blog, but you will have to wait, as it is again past midnight and tomorrow is another early day......we'll get back to you!!!!! (with pictures as well, as soon as we can)

Jody

PS. You're children are all so wonderful! what a great experience I am having, never a dull moment!!!!

Prague!!!

Well, Prague what can I say... Very busy, old and a sight for sore eyes! Yesterday the group had a "free"" tour of Prague, but the group was split 6 and 6. Mr. Bohneyto had Camile,Caroline, Chris, Dustin and Trevor. Jody had myself, Kortney, Tanner,Tricia and Zack. Unknowingly we took two different tours; my tour guide Clara took us up to the castle. Clara is a local volunteer that only gets paid in tips. It was refreshing to hear from a local about local opinions such as her perspective of previous wars, governments and even religions. To bring life to the history of Prague, she had "volunteers" re-enact scenes from history. I myself was a "volunteer" for one of her entertaining stories. I played the Virgin Mary, who was supposedly magical. Legend has it that people would bring gifts to the Virgin Mary of St. Nickolas' Cathedral; one being a precious necklace around her neck. Well one day a thief decided to take the necklace, but before he could sneak away with the precious gift, Mary grabbed his arm and would not release it. When the monks discovered the thief they called for an executioner. The thief's arm was cut off, and hung in the church for all to see the Virgin Mary's power. And today a gross black object hangs from the ceiling today!
Our tour ended by seeing the magnificence of the Royal Castle of Prague, which took 600 years to build and finish! Because we had split into two groups, my group spent most of the day walking around looking for the other group (getting loads of beautiful pictures). 
Later our group split again; Caroline, Kortney and Zack (who sadly got stuck in the hostel bathroom for a good five minutes) enjoyed the tower of the astronomical clock, I the classical music in one of the many catherdrals, and the rest shopping around in Old Town. 
Later after meeting up again, we all went to a Jazz bar (that Caroline and myself accidentally discovered on a bathroom run) and listened to two amazing Jazz musicians! I enjoyed a nice ginger ale and the others had various (non-alcoholic) drinks! After that we all went back to the hostel and crashed.
Today we walked (back) up to the castle, sat at a random park that we found, and then later separated into various groups of three. Some going to a local market with interesting gizmos and gadgets, others back to the Old Town Square, some for food runs, and others to the hostel to relax. Here at about 5:30 PM we should be living Prauge and off to Dresden. From there Berlin, were we will see all of our German friends and have a grand time!!
For all parents of friends following, we miss and love you all very much! Hugs and a million kisses!
xoxo,
Tearney

An Evening in Prague

Guest blogger: Dustin

Yesterday, after another fine breakfast in our hotel in Salzburg, we began the next part of our journey and headed off to Prague. We took a train back to Munich (where we only stayed for about a minute as we ran to catch the next train as previously mentioned), then from there to the next city where we caught our double-decker bus. After a few hours driving through the beautiful countryside, we finally arrived in Prague. We found the hostel where we are staying, then we each grabbed about a thousand Czech crowns (which is only about 50 US dollars) and found a very nice restaurant for dinner. After the headache of trying to figure out how to pay for our meal when everyone only had thousand dollar bills, we caroused the streets and saw a few of the magnificent  towers that filled the air above the Czech city. We then returned to to the hostel for the night, where we recharged our batteries for the adventure just ahead of us.

The Sprint...

Live blogging now on the train. (This is Mr. Bohney again. Thanks to our guest bloggers we will have more soon!)  We just wanted to let you know about our train adventure. We had a tight schedule coming from our train from Salzburg to meet our connection in Munich. We had 8 minutes to get from one train to next. This was going to be a tight squeeze and we were prepared for an orderly and quick transfer. However, were not prepared for our first train to be running 6 minutes late. With two minutes to spare we hit the platform in a full sprint. The wheels on our luggage barely stayed on as we blew around the corner. Zack lost his tube of Pringles all over the platform, but there was no time for recovery. We would leave no man behind but chips were just going to have to be a casualty. We could not make it to our car so we jumped on the nearest car, walking through first class , the dining car, and eventually second class. But then there was a door. We could not get to or car. Do we jump off and risk it to go around? Jody and Tanner jumped off but then the door closed. They were stuck on the outside with us pressed against the windows looking out. Luckily the door was reopened and they got on in the nick of time. So we made it. Were in the wrong car but we made it. Next adventure, the ten minute transfer to the bus at the Nuremberg train station.!  Good thing we have already warmed up.