Paradise in Bodensee

From the left to right: Margarite, Beth Ann, Tammy, and Claudia.


On Tuesday, I took the train to visit my friend Claudia. Claudia and her family lived near Ann Arbor for 3 years. She has been inspirational in encouraging us to travel to Germany.

Margarite, the girls former German teacher, inspired Emily and Allegra to love the language. We all had spent time togehter in the states. It was a mini-reunion. We had a lovely time sitting along the lake shore talking old times and catching up on each other's families.

And why do I say paradise? Well, my photo does not show you, so let me tell you. The view is breath taking! Lovely ferries and sail boats float about and one feels like they are in a very magical vacation spot. It's so beautiful, I will return alone to visit and with the family. And hope to take more photos too!

Burg Hohenzollern

Burg Hohenzollern is a castle owned by the family of last ruling German King. The King lived in Berlin and used the castle as a vacation home and show piece.

Ruth kindly offered to drive us to the castle on Sunday afternoon. The castle is about a 20 minute drive south of Tuebingen. We soon post photos of the castle. Here is another aeral photos on the website and more historical facts.

Singen - Hohentwiel

Hohentwiel is an ancient volcanic mountain at the edge of the village of Singen. Though the city is relatively new, the mountain has been inhabited for at least 1000 years. At the top of Hohentwiel is the biggest castle ruin of Germany.

We took a train to Singen on Saturday. On the train ride a man came and told us about Hohentwiel and how to follow the signs through town to the walking path up the mountain. Allegra was enamored by the people only streets of the city and the sculpture park. Also included is a photo of the store H&M - not in a mall, but in a lovely old building - which the girls find just amazing!

And true to the town's name, Singen means "to sing", the church bells rang loud and long, a music festival in the park provided song that we could hear singing most of the way up the mountain as it echoed of the rocks. Even nicer were all the birds singing....Allegra actually video taped the woods with the church bells and birds singing. (i do not know how to put that on yet)

We were also delighted by the snails and slugs that came out after the heavy morning rain. We hiked about half-way up the mountain, enjoyed the views while we picnicked, took in the info center, then needed to return for our train. At the top, we are told are great views of Lake Konstanz and the Alps...perhaps another time we'll enjoy this view. We we all tired and a bit achy by the end of the evening.

Sister/Partner Cities

Here is a photo of Tuebingen's town hall. Wouldn't it be lovely if Ann Arbor constructed such a town hall?

I was recently searching about the Sister City Relationship between Ann Arbor and Tuebingen.

I found this lovely article written for the Ann Arbor News. I thought you might enjoy it, I did !http://www.concentratemedia.com/features/annarbortubingen0058.aspx

Fritag abend

The Klassenkonzert/Class Concert 10a was held in the music classroom on the 5th floor of the Gymnasium. It was warm and most of the windows were closed, thus, we were warm! The class specializes in music and this was their end of the year concert. As mentioned previously, Emily was invited to participate in this concert. The concert was a mixture of music history reports and biographies. They performed works from Monteverdi, Handel, Gluck, Mozart, and Bizet.

There are about 20 students in the class. Each week they sing, study music theory, music history and play their instruments. The format is completely different than at an American High School where performance in large groups is the main goal. We were "warned" by those who had visited High School in Ann Arbor, that the level of proficiency is "not as high" here in Tuebingen. I found the performances musical and appreciated the different focus. It was another wonderful lesson on letting go of "perfection". We all enjoyed the concert and the reports given by the various students. And Emily had a great time jumping in and performing after 3 days in the class!

After the concert we discovered our way to an area of town we had not yet visited. Our goal was to find the Theatre where the Progressive Americans of Tuebingen andFriedensstadt Tuebingen held a Peace/Anti-War Evening of music, speeches, and famous people.

Here is a link to an interview with Andre Shepard who spoke that evening...he is a US Army deserter requesting asylum in Germany (note: the YouTube has upsetting photos at the beginning and the end, but not during the interview of Andre).

For more info: www.connection-ev.de/en_aktion-usa.php

I came home to read more about those who participated and what they stand for, since much was spoken of course in German. I was and am amazed by the experiences of these people. Here is what I found out:

Theodorakis-Ensemble

Felicia Langer

Ismail Khatib und Marcus Vetter - "das Herz von Jenin"

Federico Mayor

Gisela May

Gloria Cuartas

Woche erst/Week One

***I'm trying something new today...I have some of the items with links to their websites, for fun. You can translate online through Bing, or copy and paste on the Google translator. If anyone has an easier way, please email me.

Montag - So tired that we slept beyond the alarm clock to renew ourselves after the busy arrival and weekend. Then we rushed to the Bioladen/Organic Market to purchase all the perishable foods eaten over the weekend. Stores are closed on Sunday(which I think is marvelous), and the traveling and walking made us hungrier than usual. We really like Der Marktladen

Dienstag - We began washing our clothes by hand today and hanging them to dry. I was not looking forward to this task, not having a washing machine, and the laundry so far away, but really I have enjoyed the physical task of scrubbing, rinsing and wringing out the clothes. It takes me back to my Waldorf Kindergarten days! Everyone is responsible for washing their own clothes....so a full time washerwoman, I am not!

Mittwoch - Allegra and Emily attended schule/school at the local Gymnasium for two classes today. The class dismissed early as class 13 celebrated completing their exams with a party on the front steps of the school with music, beer, water balloon and great excitement! Both Allegra and Emily felt very welcome by the students and teachers. They have been invited to visit daily.

After schule, we went to the Musikschule to rent a cello for Allegra. Now she can play cello all summer!

Donnerstag - We visited and received a tour of the d.a.i./duetsch.american.institute. They have a large library, teaching rooms, meeting/concert hall and a kind staff. Carolyn, one of the instructors and also president of the sister city organization, is the kind person, who has assisted us in finding housing and welcoming us to town.

Fritag - We purchased Deutsch Bahn 25/discount train passes for the summer. Each time we purchase tickets with this pass, we will receive a 25 percent discount for 3 of us, Allegra being 14 or under (13) travels free. We are starting to plan our weekend travels...more soon!

Tonight Emily will play the violin with the schule orchestra and sing with the chorus. She was invited to rehearsal on Mittwoch, as soon as they found out she played the violin and enjoyed singing. She is excited and thrilled to be so quickly involved.

Schloss Hohentuebingen

The oldest record of Schloss Hohentuebingen dates back to 1078 to a former medieval castle.

At the beginning of the 16th century, Duke Ulrich ordered the old castle to be torn down and a new modern Welsh style castle to be built with moats. Many additions were added throughout the years. In 1816 the castle (which is more like a palace in many ways) was given to the University of Tuebingen. Until recently, it housed the University Library and Observatory.

Now an Archaeological Museum is located in the castle. We toured the museum on Sunday/Santag. We have shared some of our favorites from the display - most are of Greek/Roman origins....enjoy the tour!