Falmouth, MA (USA)

[watched Andy at Falmouth Road Race]

Art & Architecture Trip - Day 44

I woke up early and said my goodbye's to the Johland family. I will miss them - and I promised to write everyone as soon as I could. Frau Johland took me to the Koln-Bonn airport and I met up with everyone for the flight to Frankfurt. It was good to see Christa again - she knows what it is like to lose a parent (her dad died a few years ago). We got to ride on a Boeing 747 on the way from Frankfurt to New York (better seats that the DC-10). I saw with Christa and talked to her for most of the flight - I never told any of the other girls about Mom dying. I took a little nap, but the sun was out for the whole trip (it was hard to sleep). We arrived in New York around 1900 - and I said goodbye to all the kids from the Program. The fun part of the day began when I realized that I had no time to get from the Lufthansa terminal (international) to the domestic terminal - on a SLOW bus. I made it, but by then my seat had been given to someone else. I was a little mad (also tired) and tried to convince them to get me on the plane. I knew that someone would be coming to the airport and I would have a hard time getting ahold of them. Luckily, I made it onboard and was on my way to Boston before 2030. At Logan, Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Mike met me - I was surprised. They told me they were helping Dad out because the funeral was going to be in a couple of days. It was a long ride home but they were very nice to me. I arrived at the house around 2300 and talked with Dad, Katie and Carolyn for a long time before going to bed. This chapter of my life - an important one - is now completed...

Art & Architecture Trip - Day 43

This program will end tomorrow. I will not be the same person when I return as I was on the day that I left home - and Mom. This was my last day with my host family - it was mostly uneventful. I went to Koln for the last time, I met Jeanne and Emily there and I played my last games of Skat and backgammon. I got up at 0930 and skipped breakfast. At 1100, we left (late) for the Koln Stadium. We arrived at 1230 - but Emily arrived at the same time (we were supposed to all be there at 1200). We got to swim until 1400. I did several racing dives (that I had learned last year at lifeguard training) and the girls laughed a lot at that. At 1400, we went over to Ute's (where Jeanne lives) and ate lunch. The girls started to fight a bunch at this point (not sure why) and it seemed wise to stay out of the way. They still found time to laugh at me about my choices of music when we went to the Saturn music store with Ute. They have some funny ideas about how I should act. I was disappointed about how the day went - it was supposed to be a fun get-together. Stephan and I went home at 1900 - after I took one last look around at the Romanesque churches of Koln. From 2000, I finished packing, played cards and talked with Stephan and Christof. Goodbye, Germany!

Art & Architecture Trip - Day 42

I had some fun today: I slept late, went to a festival and played games. I woke up at 1230 and ate breakfast. I tried to call Jeanne & Emily, but they were not home. After laying out in the sun, playing Skat and soccer (board game) with Stephan, we left for Bergisch-Gladbach town-center to go to a fair (like the Barnstable County Fair). We had a lot of fun there - from 1730 to 2000. Cheesy and I walked around and rode on the bumper cars and a space ship. We tried to get watches and other things. I bought a clock and three watches, but they fell off the hook and broke (after I had paid 10 DM - oops). When we came home, I got a call from Jeanne inviting me and Stephan to eat lunch at her host family's house. We also get to go swimming tomorrow. I went to bed at 0100 (I need to wake up at 1000 in the morning).

Art & Architecture Trip - Day 41

Today, our last day in Berlin, was rather uneventful, but we did do several things that were noteworthy. We awoke at 1000 and Sabine met us at noon. We then walked to Schloss Charlottenburg, a place near her apartment. It was very exquisite and we went in the huge, ornate gardens of the palace property. I also saw a vault where Wilhelm I of Deutches Reich II is buried. At 1500, after more Berlin ice cream, Stephan and I rode the bus to Berlin-Fegel Airport. We left on British Airways at 1730. Frau Johland met us at the Koln-Bonn Airport and drove us home. Andi, Stephan's brother, was back from Italy when we arrived. After supper he took me on a 200 KPH ride on his motorcycle. It was fun, but a little scary. I am almost through with this trip. I will leave for the USA on Tuesday (morning). I thank God for such a good trip.

Art & Architecture Trip - Day 40

Today, I went to the Brandenberger Tor (gate) and the Reichstag. Both are several kilometers from Sabine's house - and I walked alone. Even though I had been up late, I woke at 1100 and went to the S-Bahn station. Then, after riding to Tiergarten, I walked along 17 Juni Strasse to the end of the British Sector. I saw the Brandenberg Gate and the Berlin Wall (Maur). Across it, I was able to see people in the DDR. From the Gate, I walked to the Reichstag (closed) and then to Schloss Belevue. I finally arrived back at Sabine's at 1600 (after riding the S-Bahn home). Stephan and I played Skat again and at 2000, we visited the Pub where Sabine works. We came home at 2200 (by way of Kurfurtendam Strasse) and played more Skat. I went to sleep at 0045. Tomorrow, I will return to Herkenrath. I don't think I can accept Mom's death for a few more days. I got Katie's letter (dated 25 JUL): Mom thought she had seen me a few days before. I hope she died thinking this. I love you, Mom...

Art & Architecture Trip - Day 39

I will remember today for as long as I live. I will not forget the date - or what happened. This morning, after a troubled sleep, I awoke to the sound of the radio - Stephan had turned it on. I ate breakfast (at 1200) and we prepared to go to East Berlin. We went alone at 1500. After a ride on the S-Bahn to FredrichStrasse, we got out and prepared for the surveillance. We got split up - Stephan went through the border one way and I had to enter another line. I met two people from England who were staying in East Berlin on vacation. Later, I enterd a small, cramped hallway and had to show my passport. I was requried to exchange 25 DM into East German DMs and then pay 5 DM for a visa. It took nearly 45 minutes for me to get through - and the border guard asked me if I knew how to speak German or Russian before finally talking to me in English. Back with Stephan at last, we went to a museum in the city that had artifacts from Sumer, Babylon, Greece and Rome. It was really interesting. We spent several hours there and then proceeded to the TV Tower. We went up to the top - and got a beautiful view of the city below. We could even see the old city, which (minus the wall) seemed similar to Berlin before 1945. We also got a look at the Berlin Dom, which (like all the churches in East Berlin) was closed. In the TV Tower, I bought many souvenirs - mostly to use up the 25 DDR DMs. After this, Stephan and I walked around the city. I enjoyed the area around Alexanderplatz. There was a church there that had a cross on the top - when the sun angle is just right, the cross appears on the side of the TV Tower (much to the annoyance of the East Germans!). We had plans to visit a cemetery, but it was closed (at 1900). At 2000, we returned through the checkpoint again - a little faster. The men saw my USA passport and waved me by. One thing that made me nervous in East Berlin all day was that there were lots of police walking around everywhere... We arrived home around 2100 and ate supper with Stephan's dad. Then, Stephan and I played more Skat and squirted more people in the street. We then were going to play Skat with Stephan's dad at 2230, but the game was interupted by my dad's phone call from California. Mom had died. I am at a loss for words about how it felt at that moment - I cried, of course. My letter never reached her, but I hope she knows how I feel. I was sad, at first, but then I was really angry. I left the apartment and went downstairs - with no destination in mind. I encountered lots of happy, partying people. There were hookers everywhere, it seemed. And, when I really needed them most, I couldn't find one church that was open. It seems that all of the churches around here are museums... I don't know what I am going to do now, but it seems hard to imagine life without Mom.

Art & Architecture Trip - Day 38

We did not do much today - we just went to a citadel outside the city and looked around Berlin. At 1200, after a restless sleep with the loud noises of the street below, Stephan and I got up and prepared to go to the Spandau (an old part of Berlin) with Sabine. We took the U-Bahn to Spandau and got off to walk there. Inside, we saw the remains of a 12th Century fort, a 16th Century citadel and an 18th Century Prussian stronghold. I learned (from an English description on a sign) that the fort was built to defend an old bridge, but that it never served its purpose. It was always surrendered before a shot was fired. The tower on the south-west side is from the 1100s. From it, one can see the Olympic Stadium - and even into the Eastern Sector (DDR). From the citadel, we walked in the city and saw Joachim II's statue in front of one of the first Berlin Protestant churches. We ate supper at 1900 at Sabine's. We went out to a plaza cafe for supper again (2300) when Stephan's father arrived from Herkenrath. I learned tonight that he was a German POW in WWII. Stephan said that we will go to East Berlin tomorrow!!!

Art & Architecture Trip - Day 37

Today, our first day in Berlin, we slept very late. At 1230, we got up to eat breakfast. We took our time getting ready and played Skat some more. At 1500, we left Sabine's apartment and walked down the street to a bank where I changed my money. The rate has now shrunk to 2 DM to 1 dollar - it was 2.34 DM to 1 dollar when I arrived in the country. I only cashed $40 (these were my last travellers checks). Next, we walked to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. It is in the eastern end of the Western Sector and is still pretty much a ruin from World War II. It used to be a beautiful, large, Gothic-Romanesque church, but now it is just an empty, hollow hunk of stone. Some of the paintings have survived inside, but they are mostly cracked. They are inlaid with gold and still possess some element of beauty and value. A new, modern church was built on the site of the the church - in the area where everything was destroyed. From 1700 to 1730, we looked around in WOM (World of Music), a huge record and tape store. At 1745, we went on the S-Bahn that we thought would take us home. Instead, we ended up going the wrong way - into East Berlin. We saw the Wall - from the wrong side! We finally did get home, and had dinner at Burger King. Stephan and I went back to Sabine's apartment after this and played more Skat. At 2100, we decided that it was time for some fun. We got a squirt bottle with water and started to squirt people on the street (three stories below). They didn't know who was squirting them - and it was funny to see their reactions. One man stayed for a long time and we kept squirting him. He never did figure out who it was! We went to bed around 0100 (this is the third night in a row...).

Art & Architecture Trip - Day 36

Frau Johland woke me this morning (0930) with news that she had arranged for tickets to Berlin and that we needed to leave for the airport in less than five hours! I was very surprised, but I got ready and we left the house at 1415. Only Stephan and I were going - his dad will meet us in Berlin later. The plane ride was relatively short - one hour. We went via British Airways flight 3016 at 1505. On the way, I saw the Berlin Wall from the air. We landed at Jegel, one of three airports in the Western Sector, and were greeted by Stephan's sister, Sabine. She lives in the middle of the city - in an apartment - less than a mile from Kaiser Wilhelm Church. We walked in the shops nearby before having a pizza for supper. Then (between 2000 and 0100), Stephan and I played Skat and listened to the radio. It rained hard - and we had to cancel plans to go to an ice cream parlor. I hope to have a good time here - we won't be going back to Bergisch-Gladbach until Saturday night!

Art & Architecture Trip - Day 35

At 1200 (!!!), I got up and ate breakfast. Then, at 1330, Stephan and I went with Christof to the Bensberg Wave Pool. We had lots of fun floating in the water. It was good exercise, too. At the same time, Christof tried to get the attention of a girl he had met. It seems that he, like I, have had some difficulties with women... All this pool and lake stuff is really helping my tan (not my usual burn...). I had a lot of fun today - it is fun to be out in town alone with other kids. At 1930 - after several wave swims, Skat games and more (unsuccessful) attempts by Christof to meet with this girl - we finally went home, walking from Bensberg to Herkenrath. After another delicious ice cream at a shop, I came to the Johland home. I went running for four miles in the forest. I felt alright, but today was extremely hot and it affected my breathing a little. After supper (tonight at 2100), Stephan and I went to Christof's house and played Skat some more. We finished at 2330 and then I talked to the others about school and parties in the USA. Stephan was interested and impressed to hear about such things as Prom, Homecoming (etc.). We also spoke about how my German speaking sounds - I guess I have a pretty funny accent! Bed around 0100.

Art & Architecture Trip - Day 34

Someone tried to call at 0400 this morning - I hope it wasn't Dad... Besides this thought, I had lots of fun today. After breakfast - and after we dropped Stephan off at Bensberg, Frau Johland and her mother drove me to Olpe. It is a large, old town from the 1200s that is situated on the Biggesee (a river, actually, that was dammed up several years ago to form a large lake). We then drove to a special swimming center and I swam in a natural water area for the first time this summer (I miss the ponds and lakes from home!). After I had fun for awhile, we went to a castle across the lake. It was actually built by Engelbert II, Count of Schlossburg (see earlier part of trip). We had pie there and enjoyed the pretty view and weather. I think this was the best day, weatherwise, that I have seen since I got here. After a delicious supper at home, I went over to Christof's to play Skat again - I am learning quickly.

Art & Architecture Trip - Day 33

I did not do much today - just relaxed and had fun. I got up at 1130 and ate breakfast. Then, at 1300, Frau Johland took Stephan and I to the Bensberg Palace museum. There, we saw many artifacts of the palace and a mine (still being worked in 1953). We were at the museum until around 1500, when we stopped for some ice cream. After we returned home, I wrote a letter to Mom (I finished at 1700). Frau Johland told me several interesting things today: about her escape from DDR and some of her trips back home - and that we might go to Berlin next week. I hope we do!!! After some pizza for supper, we went to Bensberg station and took the train to an open air concert. Christof, Stephan, another friend and I arrived at Koln Messe (convention center and Rhein park) at 1930. The talent show, which is a yearly event, began at 2000. This was no ordinary talent show, however. People came to it prepared to distract the performers - who put on quite wacky acts - and help them mess up. The audience had posters, firecrackers, horns, nooses, banners and other items. We all helped out with noise and with a long, snake-like dancing procession to the front of the stage as the performance ended. Christof said, however, that this show was not as exciting as last year - when people threw oranges, eggs and tomatos at the performers. While at the concert, I saw one of Frau Scheuch's friend's daughters (I met here at a previous open air festival). We left the concert at 2300 and Christof waited vainly for a new-found girl to show up at the train station. He was distressed that she did not, although he admitted that he did not have any real information about her. We tried to cheer him up on the train ride home. Bed late again...