Playing Catch-Up

Hello everyone! Sorry we have been negligent in our blogging duties, but there has been so much to keep us occupied that it has been difficult finding the time to log on. This blog post may be more of a bulleted list than previous entries in order to fit everything in within a short time period. Here goes...

We had a nice final weekend in Jena, touring around at farms, preschools, castles, and other cultural locales. We had met so many wonderful Rotarians and friends and many of them came to say goodbye and wish us well. On Sunday we traveled the short distance to Weimar, home of many great artists and Universities.

Since we've been here for 4 1/2 days or so now, here are some things that we've seen and done:

• Belvedere Schloss - a castle with beautiful gardens and very old trees in the large park
• Ate at a Turkish restaurant named Divan - there is a large Turkish population in Germany. We enjoyed the falafel, lentil soup, and other delicacies.
• Traveled to Eisenach to attend a Lutheran service honoring a retiring Bishop, then went to the Wartburg castle where Martin Luther translated the Bible into German. This castle was very beautiful and included many works of art, including a room of sprakling mosaic tiles.
• Moving back and forth between the Hotel Leonardo and the Hotel Amelienhof because the hotels are booked solid due to a possible visit by President Barack Obama this weekend! And speaking of that, it's neat to be here with such a President in the White House. All the German people we've spoken with seem to like him and think he'll do good for the US and internationally. There are posters hanging up for him and wer were giving "American" cookies with his image printed on it. Yum! There are secret service agents all over the place, including at our hotel! It was funny/interesting to walk into the restaurant for breakfast one morning and hear 90% of the guests speaking English. Not what you'd expect.
• We visited the Buchenwald concentration camp (also a destination for Obama). It was a very sobering experience but one I'm glad we did; everyone should see something like it to honor those that were impacted by this terrible time in history.
• We also visited the Amalia Library - an old and art-filled library that unfortunately partly burned down a few years ago, damaging many valuable books.
• We've strolled through two local Universities: Bauhaus Universitat Weimar and the Hochschule fur Musik Franz Liszt. One is well known for its art and architecture classes while the other is a highly respected music school with students from around the globe.
• Last night we attended a piano concert of a wonderful Russian/Canadian pianist, then socialized at a local pub.

It's not all touring around though. Our time in Weimar is work too. We had another Rotary presentation on Tuesday night and yesterday we attended a 5th grade English class and helped them with their language studies. Today we're stopping by the International School in the morning and visiting a solar panel manufacturing plant in Arnstadt in the afternoon. We get to see so much of the state of Thuringen - it will be difficult to leave on Friday for Bavaria.

As we approach the end of our 3rd week I just wanted to say another thank you to all the people that have welcomed us into their homes, businesses, and lives. People have taken off work to show us around and for that we'll be eternally grateful! Your cities are magnificent and we've had the trip of a lifetime. Danka! - Jessica