Jun 9, 2011 - Susan's Diary June 9th

Susan Velazquez (looking at a ride): I think I can do this...Yeah, there's no weird drops or anything. Today we visited the local amusmant park, Heide Park. Oh my God, it was so much fun but my feet hurt from all the walking and standing in line. In our original group, it was me, Adam, Joseph, Adam's host Daniel, and Daniel's friends. We first went on a ltitle ride but at first I was scared that the boys were tricking me onto a scary one but Joseph told me to open my eyes and it wasn't so bad. It wasn't very high but pretty fast. The...

Jun 8, 2011 - Day 3 June 8th 2011

Hello Well today was intersesting. I posted individual information on out Todo Aleman site. Today we woke up after a great night sleep. It rained and the tempurature dropped. We rode into school with out host - Jutta. She is very nice. We met with the kids from the group and the German students. So we did not have much alone time with individuals. We learned that many of out students need to attempt German - especially those who have taken German! We learned that the kids were tired even after many hours of sleep. It was the first time...

Jun 8, 2011 - Susan's Diary June 8th

Chris Wallace: I don't like being abandoned...especially in a different country. I woke up today first at 5:30 and I had trouble keeping my eyes open. I thought I was still jetlagged but I knew today was my first day at school and I wanted to get up. But strill, I was tired so I decided to close my eyes just for a minute... Half asleep, I dreamt that I started to get dressed. I was standing up, holding up a burnt orange shirt against my pants, trying to decide if it matched when I realized I didn't bring a burnt orange shirt on the trip....

Jun 7, 2011 - We made it!

Hello, Or as they say in Germany "Hallo!" Well after amny hours of flight and more on the Coach. We made it! All of us safe and sound. When we pulled up to the airport, we found out the air bridge was broken, so we were all escorted off the back of the plane onto waiting busses. I am jealous of Joy - she and Capitain Herr were allowed to ride the really cool lift to a special bus. I have never seen one that worked that way. We then took a bathroom break and headed through customs. We recieved our first stamp of the trip. The kids were...

Nov 29, 2010 - Weer thuis !

Hallo allemaal, We zijn weer thuis en het sneeuwt !! Ruim een week geleden zwommen we (uh.....Bert !) nog aan de kust in Griekenland en nu vriest het dat het kraakt en begint onze wereld hier in Duitsland aardig wit te worden. De cv doet de nodige moeite om het huis weer warm te krijgen en wij hullen ons in truien en vesten ;-) Geen schijn van kans om de camper van het reisstof te ontdoen, want overal zijn de autowasplaatsen gesloten ivm de vorst. Dat wordt dus alleen aan de binnenkant schoonmaken. Dear all, We're home again and it's...

Sep 24, 2010 - Bound for Deutschland

Today we got up, packed and went down for breakfast. It was extremely busy in there, but while lining up for a drink I got talking to a girl on our tour. She was there in a group of eight, family and partners mainly. Surprisingly they were from Montrose, Croydon North and Kilsyth! After breakfast we left Amsterdam and headed east, passing Enschede and Osnabruck. We had a quick toilet stop and I stayed on the bus to write a postcard for my workmates. Next stop was in a town, I forget its name, where we had to stop due to Fabio's driving...

Sep 6, 2010 - Getting ready for the next big trip ;-)

Dear Friends, I've set up a Personal Trip Journal at MyTripJournal.com. As I travel, I can send you an email notification each time I update it. However, you need to agree to receive my Update Notices. Regards, BertEnDiniZwerverEnRoute Lieve vrienden & familie, Net als tijdens onze reis naar Marokko zullen wij proberen een website bij te houden. Uiteraard is dat afhankelijk van de mogelijkheden om het internet op te gaan. In Marokko viel dat erg mee, en hadden we door het hele land internet dekking, maar vooral in Syrië zou dat wel...

Aug 8, 2010 - Bäslestreffen - Day 2

A quieter day, as the cousins started packing up tents and began heading home after lunch. A hike to the observation tower was attempted, but was cut short by rain. Board games and photo viewing took place instead. The Bäslestreffen tree was handed off to the next potential hosts, and plans were already starting to form around timing and location for the 2011 fest. I think Mareile and Martin went to bed tired, but pleased to have hosted such a terrific event. Note, we've added all the pictures from the Treffen to the previous day's page!

Aug 7, 2010 - Bäslestreffen (Cousin's Reunion)

This was the first morning of the Baslestreff. Cousins from all over Germany had arrived overnight and into the morning, and a feast was laid out in the garden. Sister Lorraine was also there from Canada! The kids pretty much disappeared for the day, and some of the adults went on a long bike ride through the idyllic German countryside. Dinner was also a feast, with locally caught trout barbequed in the backyard. The party continued even after our family headed to bed at midnight. Hugo was likely even more tired than the kids! The multitude...

Aug 6, 2010 - Marburg to Dissen

We woke up and after a quick breakfast, headed into Marburg, where Carl had lived for 5 months in 1980. 30 years later, it was amazing to actually meet up with former exchange partner Christian, his children, and his mother. After a wonderful 2nd breakfast, Christian took us on a tour of the school he and Carl attended, and then the old family home. The new owners of the house actually welcomed us in, and we all had a tour of the house where Carl learned the Rubik’s cube, and played table tennis in the basement. Christian had not been back...

Jul 24, 2010 - German travels

July 15, 2010 Marianne: Leaving Berlin, the drive on the Autobahn was scary. Steve had to cope with cars going too slow, while others screamed by at over 100 mph – all while he was driving on the right for the first time in almost half a year. Steve: Germany is many interesting things, but it is also (a) the "land of second-hand smoke," and (b) the land of crazed driving on the autobahn. The former: There is a lot more public smoking here than in the U.S., and all of the outdoor cafés (and some indoor ones) allow patrons to smoke, which...

Feb 7, 2010 - Preparing for the trip to Morocco

Dear all, We're getting ready for our trip to Morocco. The camper, our RV, is ready & serviced, all spare parts arrived and tomorrow I'll have to store them away in the double bottom of the big rig ;-) Beer and wine are stored also in our RV cellar, and some tinned meat as well..... We hope to leave on the 1st of March and we have to be in Algeciras on the 11th. There we'll meet the group and we'll go on the ferry on the 12th of March. Then the big adventure on the African continent will start. First we'll travel east along the coast. Love...