Denese made brownies with ice cream (yummy) because Gerd is a great fan. We showed them pictures of our trip to Italy, and they showed us pictures of there vacation to Croatia. They even visited Dubrovnik for a day since they knew we were going there. It looked so nice there, and we are so excited to go there in September. Then they got some liquor from their house and we did shots. It was some very harsh stuff; I think it was very similar to Grappa (wine liquor). Anyways, I was just trying to get it down with out it coming back up! I think Denese felt the same way as I did (yuck). The evening was very enjoyable. Eric and I love to talk to Gerd and Sabina, they are very nice. On our previous trip here two years ago we couldn’t communicate very well. Now Gerd and Sabina speak a little English and E and I speak a little Deutch, and we can talk all night! It is a great feeling.
June 30: Eric and I took Denese to Weimar and Buchenwald today. Weimar was very nice, but Eric and I were not the best tour guides because we didn’t know much about the city. We walked to Goethe’s garden house in the park, and walked around the center of town. We got some Eis (Ice Cream).
Then we went to Buchenwald Concentration Camp. This camp was not open 2 years ago when Eric and I were here, but it was open today. They showed an informational movie (documentary) with commentary of a few survivors. All the buildings had been closed the time before and were now open to view. We viewed the crematorium and the room below where they would hang prisoners. When this camp was liberated the US solders walked many citizens from Weimar (because they were so close to all this inhuman treatment) through the camp. The solders wanted these people to know what took place here… there were still piles of dead bodies outside the crematorium waiting to be burned. This camp was not used primarily as an extermination camp, but rather a work camp. They still had many deaths due to the harsh conditions and treatment. The area is considered a cemetery for the family’s that lost loved ones, and there are many memorials through out the camp.
July 1: Eric and Gerd went on an early mountain bike ride to Inselsberg and back. It took them 2 ½ hours to cover 20 miles! I am pretty sure I would not be able to hang with them!
Sabina and Gerd had us over for lunch today. Lunch here means, champagne, soup, meat, potatoes, and pasta salad (and fruit). WOW… it was good though. Then Eric drove us all into town (Eisenach) to see some of the sites like the Bach House. We also drove through the ritzy area of the city were many mansions have been renovated by wealthy West Germans. Tonight we grilled bratwurst for Denese’s last night in Germany.
July 2: Today is my Birthday! We woke up at 5 AM to drive Denese to the Frankfurt airport. We were stuck in traffic for like 3 hours… but got Denese checked in just an hour before her plane took off! Whew! We were going to drop off the car first but didn’t have the time so we just took Denese straight to the airport. Eric and I dropped off the car and walked around the city for a few hours. We had lunch at a restaurant called Tequila (hoping for some good Mexican). It was not too bad, but not true Mexican. The waitress was so nice; we all did a shot of tequila after lunch (on the house) for my B’day. Then we ran back to the train station to catch our train back to Eisenach. When we got back to the house Sabina brought me flowers! They are very serious about Birthdays and will wish you a very happy, and lovely day with many more to come. Dense bought me a Christmas Ornament (hand painted) from Austria, and a small box of Cheerios! E bought me lunch and dinner (at our local pizza place). Randy gave me a card in German ☺ Then Silke painted a picture for Eric and I as a gift for our birthdays. Sabina Probst gave me some incense. Everyone was s nice, and it made my Birthday very special even though I was far from my family and friends.
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