Family Blog

From Sunday on we spend a week in Berlin. On the first day we want to follow a guided tour but missed the German speaker. So we follow the international tour who was held by an American from Maine. Most of the explanations I understood and for the rest I asked Manuel and Philip.

20 years after the reunion of Germany and Berlin you see no longer the division between East and West. A short part the the Berlin Wall can be seen near Checkpoint Charly. When I was young I moved a few times from West Berlin to East Berlin because I have two aunts in both parts of Berlin. I remember that passing the border to the East side was terrible - you feel like a criminal when you see the many men in uniform, must show your passport and answer a lot of questions.

Nowadays you don't see any differences between East and West. And Berlin is an international city. When you go by the S-Bahn you can hear a lot of languages. And you have a lot of museums in there. Yesterday we were in the Jewish Museum where I was shocked about the personal stories of people during the Holocaust.

I was for two days on a board conference of the Java User Group Stuttgart. Yesterday I had to chance to fly for the first time in my life with a helicopter. It was a small helicopter, a Robinson R44, where you can feel the weather and each blast. It was a strange feeling when we lift up because it was a rainy and a little bit turbulent. The airport was near Mosbach and it was great to see the area from above. After 15 minutes the pilot flies back to the airport because the weather was too bad.

Manuel and Philip has gone with their class to Berlin. Cordula has to work today so I have now some time to continue this blog.

As you can read on Philip's blog we were for one week in Italy (Lake Garda) on vacation one month ago. Manuel was with the Hymnus Choir in Eastern Germany on concert tour at that time.

Two weeks ago Sylwia visited us. She is a Polish exchange student who had visited us end of March for two weeks. If you a facebook account you can see the pictures on her album.

Last week Cordula and I was on a concert of Foreigner. It was great - they were life better than from CD.

In two weeks the school year ends here in Baden Württemberg. Manuel and Philip (and also Carmen) has looked for a job during the vacation but didn't found some. Perhaps Philip will get a job which has something to do with roboter. It is hard to find a job these days.

Yesterday Kathrin and Jennifer leaved us. They wanted to go first to visit Strasbourg before they go back to Montpellier. The day before yesterday we visited the Old Castle of Stuttgart before Kathrin and Jennifer wanted to go shopping and to look for Birkenstock sandals. But before we visited the city hall of Stuttgart. I had never been there before but there is an old paternoster inside. It was a strange feeling when I stay with Jennifer in the lift to see what's happen at the end of the lift. But it was harmless - there's only a side move and you go on the other side down. The same procedure at the bottom end of the lift. But we had a lot of fun with this type of lift as you can see on the picture.

At the evening Manuel went with them to the carnival on the Constatter Wasen where they go to a beer tent to listen "German Blasmusik". I was not there (I visit my parent, see below) but I guess they see also women in dirndl dress and men in lederhosen. And probably people dancing on the benches.

One of the brake of our car seems to be broken so I visit my parents in Altbach to lent my mother's car.

On Good Friday Slywia from Poland left us. For a short time we will be again a "normal" family.

Yesterday grandpa arrived to celebrate Eastern and Carmen's birthday with us. He will leave us on Monday before the next guest will come: an American student who spends one schoolyear here in Germany (in East Germany). He will leave us on Thursday before Kathrin will visit us with her niece.

Happy Eastern

Carmen is back. She arrived today at 14:08 at the airport Stuttgart. We first did not recognize her because she had an Africain hair look. But then we realized that the girl with the dreadlock in the hair was our daughter. We are all happy that she's back.

Yesterday Kathrin, Manuel's host sister, arrived from Montpellier. Cordula picked her up from the railway station because Manuel and Philip gave private lessons and I was on the way back from Düsseldorf where I work since 1st April.

Before we picked up Carmen today we went to Stuttgart for sight seeing. At last we had to hurry up to come to the airport in time. And then their was a traffic jam on the highway. We reached the airport just after the airplane had landed.

Now we are more than complete. One week ago we had only two sons in our house. Now we have two sons and three daughters.

Since yesterday we have an exchange student from Poland, Sylwia. She will stay at us for two weeks. There is now much more life in our house than before.

Last week I was told to go to Düsseldorf from 1st April on. Probably for the next three months. Düsseldorf is about 400 km in the north of Gerlingen.

On Saturday Carmen will come back from France. She enjoys her last week in the Bretagne before she will go here to school again. But before Manuel's host sister, Kathrin, will stay at us. She will come this Friday. I guess we have to make a time table for the bathroom ;-)

Our kitchen is now complete (the lamps are mounted this week) and yesterday we painted Carmen's room. The weather is fine here and in two weeks Carmen will be back.

We called Carmen today and it seems that she enjoys her new life in France and the French cuisine. She said she put on weight. On the other side she is the best student in sports. We will see in two weeks when she'll back...

Since 4 weeks we are living with an empty kitchen. Last year we ordered a new kitchen and before it can be build in we had to upgrade the eletricity, the water pipes and the floor. But now all work is done and we are waiting for the new kitchen...

Three weeks ago Carmen was in Paris for one week. Since two weeks only a few emails arrived us from Carmen. The computer in her family was killed by a virus and now she must go to the next Internet cafe to send or receive an emai.

Today it is the first day after a long time which is sunny and warm (15°C). We hope that this weather will stay for a while.

One Week is over since Carmen left us. As you can read in her blog she had an adventurous journey (flight cancelled, snow chaos on the airport in Paris, trouble to find the host mum) but now she is safe in Rennes.

Her first school day was a special school day - she was nearly the first student on the school building. The other students struck because of some of Sarkozy's reform plans. But now the life in France gets normal...

Today Carmen started her journey to Rennes, France, where she will live and go to school for three months. But it was a start with some obstacles. The flight to Paris was cancelled what we saw in the Internet yesterday. But when we tried to phone to AirFrance it was too late - I was only connected to a speech computer.

Early in the morning at 5:00 AM we started our trip together with Carmen's girl-friend to the airport Stuttgart. Yesterday it has snowed the whole day, so it was a little slippery on the streets but there was not much traffic. At the AirFrance desk we found out that Carmen has to take the next flight, 3 hours later.

So we spent the next 3 hours with Carmen at the airport. Then the time came to say goodbye. This time it was not so hard for me as one and a half year before when Manuel and Philip left Europe. It is only for 3 month and it is not so far away - about 950 km westwards. But for Carmen it was hard - she flew alone to Paris where she got picked up by the organization (Travelworks). From Paris to Rennes she went by train. And tomorrow school starts for here in french.

Yesterday Manuel received a package from Wisconsin. He was very excited and happy about it and unwraped it immediately after the postman has closed the door. The package contained many reminders to his year in America.

This evening Manuel and Philip will go to a Silvester (New Year's Eve) party of AFS in Ludwigsburg. Cordula has to work today in the hospital till 9:00 PM and we will celebrate New Year's Eve twosome at home.

Carmen will go to France for three months. Now the last preparations for the journey have started. Today Philip shows her how to start a blog - and voilà, here it is: Carmen's Blog.

This evening Carmen will try to phone with France. She is very excited.

On Monday Cordula bought with Manuel a christmas tree. Yesterday Carmen got news about her new familiy in Rennes / France - she will leave us in January for three months to live in France and visit a French school.

Now our Christmas tree is decorated and Christmas Eve can come. At 3:30 PM we will go to the Stiftskirche in Stuttgart, where Manuel and Philip will sing with the Hymnus Choir.

After the church service we will celebrate Christmas Eve with all our children and will unpack our presents under the Christmas tree.

Merry Christmas to all readers of this blog