Seat of Our Pants » Germany

Thanks to the Klotz Family

Jaime — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 08:37:00 +0000

We flew in from Delhi – dirty and travel worn. In five days, you fed us more pork than we’ve had in the last ten months You reminded us what good beer tastes like. You were kind when I embarrassed the hell out of myself. You helped me figure out where my family came from. And you let us play with your kids.

Thank you, Juergen, Annabel, Jacob and Josephine for a fantastic stay in Germany.

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One Night in Schönau

Martin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:22:52 +0000

We had planned to spend the weekend in Schönau, in a cabin our friends keep as a summer retreat. During my other visits this place has been a lush oasis – the perfect place to relax and unwind for a bit. I guess in my mind, it is always summer in Schönau, and the weather is always perfect. Well, allow me to inform you that it is now March, and the weather is pretty grim.

We cut our stay out there by a day, but we still had a great time. Here’s a little video of the cabin and its surroundings.

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It’s The Simple Things in Life

Jaime — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 19:32:33 +0000

Simple pleasures, such as eating fresh vegetables and unpeeled fruit, were a staple in my life before this trip. Granted, I didn’t usually give them much thought. Why bother being grateful about eating a freshly washed lettuce leaf or unpeeled carrot? It’s no big thing, right?

Well, no, actually it’s a privilege. You see, we haven’t been able to eat fresh vegetables for eight months, for fear of potential pathogens. Fruit is the same way. The old traveling adage goes: If you can’t peel it, boil it or cook it, you shouldn’t eat it.

So we didn’t, until now. Martin was able to catch me eating my first apple, as pictured above. I know it sounds lame, but I’d forgotten how great it feels to eat an unpeeled apple. I was like one of those babies that carries around their apple core for hours after they’ve finished eating it. I was in fresh produce heaven.

It doesn’t take much to make me happy these days – a welcome side effect of this trip. It’s the simple things, like the crunch of an apple, that bring a smile to my face.

Life is good.

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First Impressions – Not My Strong Suit

Jaime — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:08:42 +0000

A smart person once said, “Discussing poo makes a bad first impression.” It’s sound logic. A first impression immersed in toilet talk is generally bad for business. Well, today gave me not one opportunity, but two to test that theory. Let me explain – without getting into too much detail, for obvious reasons.

This is my first time meeting Juergen (Martin’s travel buddy during his time in Australia) and his family. They’ve been nice enough to house, feed and entertain us for five days. Things were off to a good start – we’d spent a great first evening eating sausage and drinking good German beer. I woke this morning, had a nice cup of coffee and headed to the bathroom. It was business as usual, until disaster struck: my new necklace (the only jewelry purchase I’ve made this entire trip) fell into the toilet bowl. This was before I flushed.

OK. I had two choices. I could wave goodbye to my new necklace and try to forget about it, or I could break the cardinal “no poo talk” rule and ask for a glove to fish out my necklace. Yeah. I went for option number two. I’ll only tell you that my necklace is now safe and sound in two plastic bags, waiting for a thorough cleaning in Sweden.

Feeling like the worst was over, I took a second cup of coffee and tried to laugh off what had happened. Martin and I went for a walk with another cup of coffee. This was followed by a car ride to Gauersheim and a fourth coffee drink. It was only after the fourth drink that I realized I was in trouble. We’ve been drinking tea for months and this girl’s system wasn’t ready for the full caffeine assault I handed it today.

I squirmed around in the back seat of Juergen’s car, drenched in my own sweat until I broke, telling him that he needed to pull over this instant. He found a suitable spot (on the Autoban, no less) and I ran from the car into the bushes.

I mean, what the heck! I’ve just spent months traveling in India and Nepal. The first time I’ve had not one, but two stomach emergencies is in Germany – while busy trying to make a good first impression with one of Martin’s close friends.

Jaime = 0 Bad first impression = 1

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The Ancient Land of Greenamyer

Jaime — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:59:20 +0000

As I mentioned in my post about my German roots, my ancestors are from Gauersheim, Germany. Yesterday’s trip there revealed it to be a surprisingly well-to-do farming town, complete with a little church and a town cemetery.

Gauersheim graveyard

We searched the gravestones, hoping to find some hint of the past. A Blomeier gravestone was as close as we got but blue is the wrong color – so we moved on. We found nothing that referred to my relatives – the Grunemay family. So sadly, no long-lost relatives were waiting with open arms and unclaimed land plots.

No, joking aside, it was a great little town – one that I can be proud of. It must have taken real guts and a serious adventurous spirit to walk away from this pleasant little nest. For that, I’m giving a shot out to the Grunemay brothers of Gauersheim, circa late seventeen hundreds. Your risk enabled hundreds, no thousands, of future Greenamyers to live a full and free American life.

Thank you.

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Visit to a Strange Place

Martin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:02:30 +0000

I never expected to find myself on a Jewish cemetery in Germany, but today I just did just that. It is a crazy, spooky and beautiful place. Fairly recent tombstones mingle with thousand-year old grave markers, creating a very strange and ambient location.

It is of course impossible to visit this cemetery without thinking about the eventual fate of the German Jews. We could not find any markers younger than 1936 – after that, the Jews had either fled or were being slaughtered in the camps. A thousand years of Jewish presence was snuffed out in just a few chaotic years.

A strange and beautiful place.

Today the cemetery is well-tended and lush. Young people walk among the tombstones, looking at the memories of what once was.

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The Great Cathedral of Worms

Martin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:56:28 +0000

There are many things to see and do in this part of Germany: anything from ancient Celtic graves and Roman fortifications to World War II memorials and natural wonders. Today, our focus was the ancient city of Worms.

The very beautiful cathedral was one of the standouts. There has been a church in Worms since the 7^th century, but the cathedral was begun only in 1018 (!). It’s easy to let your mind wander in its presence – just imagine the challenges it has withstood over the centuries: burned by the French in the 17^th century, and bombed by Allied forces in WWII. It has seen untold glories and sorrows, the Plague, the Reformation, the industrial revolution and pretty much anything you’d care to mention.

Worms cathedral

Some people say that if you’ve seen one great European cathedral, you’ve seen them all. I think the one in Worms is a clear exception to that rule.

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Checking Out My Roots

Jaime — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:19:32 +0000

Before marrying into a Swedish family and taking Martin’s last name, my maiden name was Greenamyer. Though I’m technically an American mutt (German, Serbian, French & Welsh plus many more, I’m sure), the Greenamyer name is of German descent.

We’re currently visiting Martin’s old travel buddy Juergen who lives in Lampertheim, Germany – which happens to be exactly 30 minutes from Gauersheim, the town my ancestors came from. It’s a genealogical twist of fate – one we’re taking advantage of tomorrow with a trip to check out my German roots.

We’ve done some preliminary research on Gauersheim. Its population is a whopping 620 (coincidentally near the same population as Martin’s home town). We’re heading there tomorrow to see if we can find any trace of my family. I’m pretty much expecting to find a long-lost will granting me a huge estate from a distant relative. That, or I’ll snap some nice photos to send to the Greenamyers. Either way, I’ll be happy. (But I’m rooting for the estate).

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From Chaos to Calm in Eight Hours

Jaime — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:47:14 +0000

It’s official. We believe that it’s impossible to take as big a cultural leap as we just did: India to Germany.

Delhi street

We’ve gone from the crazy streets of Delhi to the spotless, eat-our-lunch-off-the-sidewalk streets of Lampertheim in southern Hessen, Germany.

We’ve stuffed ourselves with pretzels and cheese. Sausage and beer are on tonight’s menu. The internet is lightning fast and the showers are hot. Now, as long as we can keep ourselves from stealing our gracious host Juergen and his lovely family’s toilet paper, our time here will be a success.

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