scrapbook on the road

"finish Germany journal" has been on my "do-list" for weeks, and I've been completely avoiding it. perfection and a perceived lack of time settled in and paralyzed my progress until...

spencer planned a 'guy's Psych marathon" for saturday, which gave mom a few hours of creative time. over the past few weeks, I've been focusing on finishing the projects I have in progress instead of starting new. this project could be avoided no more!

in preparing for our trip to Germany, I knew that I wanted to have a documenting journal with me, but just wasn't sure how to put it all together. so before mark and I left, I purchased Ali Edwards' "Scrapbook on the Road" self paced class to gain inspiration from a scrapbooker whose I style I admire.

ali's approach of making the scrapbook a visual and emotional experience was just what I wanted. my goal was not to create a picture album but more of a visual written journal, so I could step out of my comfort zone and share my observations and experiences with words, not only photos. the photos are comfortable; the words are more of a challenge.

because mark and I were going to create an iphoto book of the trip when we returned, I wasn't concerned that this "scrapbook" be archivaly safe. I simply wanted a journal full of honest, moment by moment experiences with lots of local documentation added in. Ali's class helped me create just what I wanted.

finishing this project turned out to be the least rewarding thing about it. each physical item affixed stirred an emotional memory. it was like being there all over again. I learned so much about myself during our Germany trip. reading back over my unfiltered thoughts reminded me of the little joys, struggles and moments that I might too soon forget. if it were not, that is, for my finished Germany visual journal.

Heidelberg

Saturday in Heidelberg

today was our first day of exploring together, and it started off a bit tense. I had been traveling solo all week determining my path and recording memories at my leisure. mark had been working and interacting with co-workers all week. I was excited to have a companion. he was excited to be taking photos and being free from the office. maybe you can sense the conflict brewing.

our first sights of Heidelberg where just as I imagined Germany to be- lots of brick buildings, tight streets, and lots of people walking and talking. we walked over the Neckar on the "old bridge" to get a foggy view of the Heidelberg Castle.
then took over 700 steps up this path to reach the "philosopher's walk." the name of this path comes from the practice of Heidelberg's philosophers and university professors walking and talking here.
from the philosopher's walk we made our way through town to reach the incline that would take us up to Heidelberg Castle.

what goes up must come down. during our walk around the city streets we found:

:: the third oldest Hard Rock Cafe ::

:: a knit shop worth browsing through ::

:: flowers in the open market ::

:: and plentiful chocolatiers ::

the view from our dinner spot gave us a great photo of what's happening now, here and around the world.
while the day started off rough, we both made adjustments in our attitudes and expectations to make the day wonderful. Heidelberg left us yearning for more time, as it ended up being one of our favorite stops along the way.

Speyer

Friday in Speyer

"Today I am better... maybe because I got a nap in before Mark came home last night; maybe because it's Friday, and I'll soon have Mark with me; maybe because I now have a little more confidence, a little more bravery, a little more experience. I am better."

"Mark recommended I journey south to Speyer after his evening there last night. It sounds like a wonderful, small German city. Miriam agreed, so I'm off!"

:: Cathedral of Speyer ::

this is the second Roman Imperial Cathedral on the Rhine that I visited.

the first was in Worms and the third is in Mainz.

while the Cathedral was beautiful, the Jewish heritage of Speyer is what most captivated me. I visited the Medieval Jewish Court, which from 1104 to the beginning of the 16th century was the religious center for the Jewish community.

:: Speyer Synagogue circa 1104::

this is looking into the Synagogue via the Women's Prayer Hall. I was told the horizontal "brick-like" window was made by the women, so they could hear what was being said in the synagogue.

:: Speyer Mikvah, "Ritual Bath" ::

the ritual bath would be used for spiritual cleansing, which was achieved by whole body immersion in natural water. In Hebrew Mikvah means "collection of water." many of these ritual baths were built over hard to reach natural springs, thus collecting the 1,000 liters of water required for the bath.

:: city streets of Speyer ::

Speyer Observations:

~ lots of eating outside

~ outside tables are close together

~ street musicians playing

~ lots and lots of bikes with baskets

~ everyone pays with cash

tomorrow I'll share our trip to Heidelberg...one of my favorite destinations!

Koln

Wednesday in Ludwigshafen

"I haven't felt 100% for the past few days, so I laid low today in Ludwigshafen. I started late eating breakfast at 9:30 just before the restaurant closed at 10:00. I spent the day visiting the BASF welcome center and walking around town."

Thursday in Koln (Cologne)

thursday's travel to Koln was trying. I journeyed from "Lu" to Mannheim main station, where I purchased a ticket to Koln. I then made my way to the platform to wait for departure at 10:35 am. when the train arrived, I boarded, found a seat and started knitting...all too soon I'm afraid. I was sitting in the reserved seat of a German man unable to understand my apologetic english.

the German businessman sitting next to me asked, "you did not buy a seat? you have to have a seat!" totally flustered and embarrassed I exited the train and returned to the ticket office, where I learned: "1. having a ticket to a destination does not equal a seat on the train you choose; 2. you can travel without a seat assignment on the ice train, just find one without a reservation; 3. want a guaranteed seat? pay 4,50 euro extra for one!" I paid the 4,50 euro to have a guaranteed seat on the next train...departing 11:35 am!

"Koln is definitely a large city. It lives up to it's fourth largest in Germany status. It reminds me of the streets of Chicago- lots of people and lots of cameras. Finding the Cathedral was no problem. As soon as you walk outside the main station, it's there!"

"The Cathedral was worth the ninety minute train ride. It is amazing!! I spent a good while walking through the Cathedral taking photos and watching visitors."

Interesting Cathedral facts:

:: the beginnings of the Cathedral reach back into the fourth century.

:: the cornerstone was set in 1248.

:: the construction of the entire Cathedral was completed in 1880.

:: the spires are 157m high.

"After an hour in the Cathedral, I made my way over to the Information Center. After hearing the descriptions of the bus tours, I chose the ninety minute "Open Air" bus...and sat on top! The narration was in German and English."

"After the bus tour, I spent some time shopping downtown. Farina cologne for me, 4711 cologne for Kathy, and an Edelweiss Pandora bead for my bracelet." then I realized in all the train confusion this morning, I had missed lunch! I was hungry and in the mood for something from home. lucky for me this was just around my next corner:

today was really hard for me. I felt like crying most of the day.

this was my final journal entry for the day: "I really miss home. I want to talk to someone in English! I want to drive my own car and know where I am going. I want to know what the street signs mean. I want to not worry about where I will go to the bathroom, and if I'll have the money for it when I arrive! I want to eat and not be sick after. I want to take care of my boys! I want to go home!"

I feel better tomorrow. Check back to see my adventure in Speyer.

Worms

Tuesday in Worms

today I take you to Worms (pronounced "Vorms"), also know as "Little Jerusalem."

"Today Miriam began printing out the train schedule for me. Having the Bahn schedule with times and platform numbers gave me a bit of confidence. If I needed help and had difficulty communicating, I could at least share this sheet with my home station on it- Ludwigshafen Hbf ."

"As I walked down Wilh-Leuschner-StraBe, I paused at a tailor shop and street vendor. The flowers for sale made me think of Christine and Miriam, my kind young friends at the hotel. For without them, I fear my entire trip would have been spent walking around Ludwigshafen. The flowers would be a great gift for them. And at 1,00 euro, they were a great price. I hoped the shop would be open on my return trip to the train station. It was, and the shopkeeper (who didn't speak English) and I were able to communicate enough to complete the sale."

:: Luther Monument::

It was here in Worms, where Emperor Charles the Fifth brought Dr. Martin Luther on April 17/18, 1521 to recant his writings. He refused. The monument shows Dr. Martin Luther in the center along with other earlier reformers, electors, and friends.

:: Imperial Cathedral of St. Peter ::

"St. Peter's Cathedral...oh my goodness...the massive size of it! I was overwhelmed with emotion. It was cold inside. An older man sat inside a glass cubical. I smiled at him and gently waved my camera asking, "can I take pictures?" he shook his head "yes." this was just one more example of the many "conversations" I'm having."

:: Holy Sands ::

this is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe, approximately 2000 graves, dating back to 1076. mark and I think the papers and rocks are prayers left by family members or visitors. (maybe you can help us with that Larissa?)

"Before heading back to the station, I stopped by Vannini for an ice cream. I chose a pink flavor hoping it was fruity. It tasted like raspberry. The young man who served me understood my order:

"One, very small, .80 euro."

"Cone or dish?"

"Cone, please."

I paid.

He said "thank you" with a smile.

I smiled and said "danke."

another clock for my collection...this one my mom will appreciate!

I hope you'll visit Koln with me tomorrow.