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!