Sightseeing in Bavaria

The daughter of friends from Charlottesville has just married and gone to live in Bavaria. Since I hadn’t seen Helen for several years, had never met Niko and had never been to Bavaria, I thought it might be a good idea to visit them while I was in Germany. They graciously welcomed me.
It was a four hour trip from Rheinbach. I took the fast train (ICE), relaxed, read and watched a part of Germany I didn’t know from my window.

I arrived on Thursday evening and we spent a pleasant getting-to-know-you evening over a meal in an Italian restaurant.
The next morning everybody was out the door early. Niko and Helen had to work. My job was to explore Nuremberg. Helen works there so, as we travelled, she told me that the city – a walled city dating from the 15th Century – had been almost entirely destroyed by British bombardment at the end of World War II and been rebuilt using the original stones. I learned later that the reconstruction, undertaken by the municipality itself, had been completed in twenty five years. They wanted to preserve their history without making the town into a museum. It is now a city of about 20,000. History is everywhere but so are tourists and students. Nuremberg together with Erlangen, where my friends live, is home to one of the biggest universities in Germany.
I walked down the main pedestrian mall.

until I came to the market square.

I saw the Schöner Brunnen (Beautiful Fountain)

where people turn a brass ring for luck


I continued my touristly duty visiting various churches along cobblestone streets. Then, I went to meet Helen, stopping first to see another, more modern, fountain called the Marriage Merry-go-Round
It shows a marriage from courtship to death.

This is one of the more genteel parts of the fountain.


Helen and I had sausages and sauerkraut for lunch. Then we were off to explore more of the City. We stopped at the Albrecht Dürer house where Frau Dûrer herself, in an audio guide, explained the life of the 15th century artist. They still make copies of famous Dürer prints in his old studio.

Finally – just before ice-cream – we saw the Kaiserburg (the Imperial Castle).

A great day.
Saturday was just as pleasant. Niko and I went to visit Bamberg – about an hour’s drive away. It is one of the few German cities that survived WWII (because of a nearby Artillery factory) There is still a military connection today, as over 4000 American servicemen and women and their families live there.
Bamberg has been known since 902. We had a beautiful day wandering its streets (and we were not alone.) The following pictures will give you a tiny taste of all that I saw.
Arriving in Bamberg

Bamberg Rooftops

Rosegarden behind Cathedral

The Cloisters

Saturday evening, we had a farewell feast in one of Erlangen’s many restaurants. This university city of about 100,000 has been known for over 1000 years but, I learned, its real history began with the arrival of Huguenots from France. Louis XIV’s politics populated a good part of the world!
Sunday, we had time for a leisurely walk in the neighborhood



before I was driven to Nuremberg to catch my train back to Paris, tired but happy. Hope you’ve enjoyed the trip, too.

Sightseeing in Nordrhein Westfalen

Some of you must be wondering if all I did in Germany was muse about transportation and politics. Not at all. I hope my next two posts will convince you otherwise.
My first destination was the town of Rheinbach 18 km west of Bonn and 50 km south of Cologne. Its history goes way back as the Romans built an aqueduct through the area to supply Cologne in 80 AD.



I had come to visit friends I'd first met five years ago when Carola and her eldest daughter Anne came to Paris as part of a choir exchange with my choir. We sang a concert together in Paris in 2004 and another in Rheinbach in 2005. We’ve kept in touch but this was the first time I’d been able to go back.
I arrived Monday evening just in time for choir practice. It was fun to see everyone again -- and to sing music I didn’t know in a language I don’t speak. After practice, there was a small party in honor of two choir members who had just had babies. A good first evening.



The next day was bright and sunny. I took the train to Bonn, where Anne is a student now. We had lots to catch up on. While we did, we walked through the botanical gardens,


then,strolled to the edge of the Rhine for a drink at a rustic outdoor café in a park




Afterwards, we had dinner outside near the train station. Too soon,it was time for me to return to Rheinbach and for Anne to study for her exams.
Wednesday, Carola doesn’t work so we had all day together. In the morning we rode on a great bike path that wound through apple orchards and berry fields


to a town called Adendorf. There, we visited some pottery works and shops.


Carola loaned me her bicycle – easier to manage – for the ride back. I felt much more competent but was still exhausted when we arrived home. I enjoyed myself but fourteen kilometers is a lot for someone who usually does 0!
That afternoon, Carola took me (by car!) to visit another town called Ahrweiler in a nearby wine-growing region. We wandered around until nearly dusk.

This statue of a grapepicker has his back to the vineyards and faces one of the gates of the walled town.






Lots of the buildings had statues like this. It reminded me of Florence.

We drove home along winding roads through other picturesque villages with vineyards all around.


Back in Rheinbach, Bernhard and Carola took me for a leisurely good-bye dinner at an outdoor restaurant. It was a little cooler than the night before but someone came to each table offering blankets for our laps. “Like an airplane!” said Bernhard. Yes but cosier. And the food was better, too.
The next day I was off to Bavaria. I didn’t get to see Cologne this time but waved goodbye to the cathedral from the train.

International Politics

For those of you who don’t know, Germany is having a General Election on September 27th. Even if I hadn’t known when I arrived, the electoral posters I saw everywhere would have been a clue.
People of different countries have developed an amazing array of methods for electing and organizing their governments. One of the fun things about having a double life is trying to explain the two systems you know best to people from the other country. On this visit, I got to ask the questions and try to understand the answers. If any part of the following information is inaccurate, I was probably drinking wine when it was explained to me.
I knew there were several major parties in the German federal legislature and that Angela Merkel was Chancellor -- similar to being Prime Minister in other countries.

Angela Merkel Ja

Angela Merkel Nein

There is a president who is, officially, the head of state, but it is the Chancellor who represents Germany abroad. (See how easy this is.) My friends confirmed that the Chancellor is not elected directly. People vote for their legislator. When results are counted, the leader of the party who won the most legislative races becomes the Chancellor. “That’s like the UK.” I said. My German friends pointed out that Germans actually get two votes. They vote once for the legislator they want and a second time for the party they prefer – which may or may not be the party the legislator they just voted for belongs to. (Are you still following?) So, in fact, it is the Party that gains the most votes whose leader becomes Chancellor though they may govern in coalition with one or more other parties. At present Angela Merkel’s Vice Chancellor is the leader of the party that is her biggest opposition. Think Obama as President with McCain as Vice President. Must make for interesting meetings.
A party has to receive a minimum of 5% of the votes cast to be represented in the Bundestag. This keeps the number of parties actually represented small – in the present legislature there are 6.

The Green Party Poster

Of the numerous minor parties running in this election, the one that seems most active is the Pirate Party. The main thing my friends knew about them is that they were against censorship on the internet. Sort of electronic libertarians.

Pirates poster to the left of one for the main right-wing party -- fitting

Thanks to all of this information, I’ll be able to follow the election results with a little more comprehension next week. But my favorite political event of this trip took place as my friend Anne and I were strolling the streets of Bonn, speaking French – which Anne prefers to English. We saw a young black woman in front of a German poster of which the only word I could read was “Obama”. She began to speak to us in approximate French. Anne said that she should speak English; that I’d understand. The slightly confused young woman started her spiel. She was from Zimbabwe and a member of the Worldwide LaRouche Youth Movement. Imagine – an American and a German speaking French in the former German capital are approached by a young woman from Africa speaking earnestly in the name of a rightwing American politician. Politics may be local, but today, they're also international.

Choices

I love trains. My friends often hear me cry « Why did the United States let its passenger trains die?! » Recently, one replied “It was Eisenhower. He built Interstates so the United States would be able to move troops easily like the Germans in WWII.” Shortly thereafter, another friend added “Before that, GM developed a strategy to replace street cars and trains by buses and cars.” I obviously missed out on part of my education. My recent trip to Germany showed me that Eisenhower had missed part of his, too.
I took the Thalys -- the fast train -- to Cologne. It has been linking Paris, Belgium, Germany and Holland for twelve years. We sped along at 170 km/hr (102 m.p.h.) on average. The business people were connected to the internet via the free WiFi. The rest of us read, looked out the window, or chatted. I reflected that, though the French and Germans love their cars and are proud of their roads, they had kept what so many Americans are fond of --- choices. This became more obvious as my trip unfolded. Ecology, economy and convenience were considered for every transport decision. The first friends I visited live in a small town between Bonn and Cologne. Bernhard and Carola have four children aged 14 to 21. Their garage holds a car (they bought a new one recently under Germany’s version of Cash for Clunkers) and 5 bicycles. The 6th is with Anne in Bonn where she is a student. Bernhard works in Bonn and takes the train. “It’s only one hour door-to-door”. Carola’s favorite mode of transportation is her bicycle. She goes to work, to language classes and to choir practice by bike. Since the supermarket is close, she bikes there, too. “If I have too much to carry, I go twice”.

The children get around by bike or on foot. The three girls have learned to drive but only one of them likes it.
They’ll pick up Julia, returning from Canada, at Frankfurt airport soon. It’s about 150 km (85 mi) away. “Let’s just go by train,” said Bernhard. When reminded that she arrived at 7 a.m., he thought maybe the car could be used! During the four days I was in Rheinbach the car was pulled out only three times – for my convenience.
The end of the week I spent in Bavaria with other friends. Helen and Nico live about 20 km from Nürnberg where Helen works. She bikes to the station and takes the train. Nico often bikes to work ‘It’s only 11 km”. Again the car was used basically to chauffeur me to and from the station and on a visit to Bamberg.
Of course, for people to have choices there has to be infrastructure. Germany not only has the good roads Eisenhower emulated. The local trains are comfortable and convenient. Trains stop at Rheinbach (population 26,000) 8 times an hour from 5 a.m. until midnight. The Intercity trains are fast and frequent. Ingenious fares abound. If you have a commuter ticket, a friend can travel with you free after rush hour. There are passes for two adults, one child and a bicycle.
Ah the ever-present bicycle.
You can ride to the station and leave it until evening.


You can take it with you on the train.

Or you can forget the train and just take your bike since, every town and village seems to be linked by bike paths.
My North American friends often speak of the freedom their cars give them. My German friends feel that real freedom is having a choice.

La rentrée

As the taxi taking me home from the airport wound through the streets of Paris at lunchtime on Wednesday, we passed clusters of young teenagers in eager conversation -- proof, if I had needed it, that the "rentrée" had begun.
The primary meaning of “rentrée” is “return to a place one had left”. But its most common meaning is “the starting up of activities after an interruption”. There are many "rentrées" in September but the first and biggest is the “rentrée scolaire.” All children in France "make their rentrée" on the same day, though, this year, in a spirit of innovation, the 13 -15 year olds went back on Wednesday and all others a day later.
For those who don’t know, let me give you a brief explanation of how French schools are organized.
The first step in a child’s education is “école maternelle”, which has been a non-compulsory part of the school system since 1881.It is open to children from the year of their third birthday for 3 years. “Ecole maternelle" teachers receive the same training as elementary school teachers and often split their career between the two.
L’école éléméntaire”, the start of compulsory education, begins, in a different school, when children are 6 and is completed in five years.
Afterwards, at the age of 11 or 12, tweens begin their 4 years of “collège”, followed, sometimes in the same school, often in a different one, by three years of “lycée” culminating in the revered “Bac”. ”"Lycées" often also house a number of two year programs leading to a diploma called “BTS” (Brevet Technique Supérieur) which students can take after the “Bac”. This is more professionally-oriented than University, similar to Community College in the United States.
As some of you know, I have been a volunteer story-reader to a class of 3 year olds in an inner-city “école maternelle” since 2005. I planned my return to Paris so I could attend their “rentrée”, a big event for both children and parents, as you can imagine.
Christine (all the children in “maternelle” and, often, the first years of Elementary School call their teacher by her or his first name) had set up her tables with activities and games the day before to occupy the children while she greeted their parents individually.

Then, sometimes with a little difficulty, she got the parents to leave and began gathering her new class together. At this time, the teaching assistant’s job was to block the escape of any child seeking to run after his or her “maman” or “papa”. My job was to rock and cuddle the most unhappy of the children. I tried to calm them down or, at the very least, give them some comfort in their hour of despair. My main candidate for cuddling this year was a little boy who, eyes closed, moaned “Maman,maman,” for over an hour, tears streaming down his face. He stopped during Christine’s story time and, from my lap, pointed excitedly to the book and named the animals in the pictures. When the story was over, his grief overcame him once more.Not even recess helped.

I kept him on my knee during the entire time and added a little girl from another class who sobbed non-stop while about 50 children from three classes ran, whooped and giggled around us. When I see them again in two weeks, they’ll be experienced school-goers, no longer babies but proud inhabitants of Classe 1 until the end of June.