texans on the autobahn: December 2005

Christ is in my Christmas!

Our good friends, Tom and Vera, invited us to church on Christmas Eve at their church in Oberschleissheim. It is considered to be something very special when a German invites you to their church, though I know that Vera would do that anyway and she wouldn’t think any thing of it. We were really excited and of course accepted the invitation to her German speaking worship service. The pastor, David, is originally from Texas and we had met him many months ago at a dinner at Tom and Vera’s home. There were probably no more than 30 people there, but it was held in a beautiful small building decorated for Christmas. That’s right, I said Christmas, not “holidays”. Part of what I could understand of the sermon was about the Christmas traditions around the world. In Canada for example they eat steak and lobster for their Christmas meal; in the US we might eat turkey or ham, and in Germany they eat goose although David admits to eating sausages – a very German tradition. He also talked about the tradition of stores like Macy’s in New York staying open until midnight on Christmas eve for late shoppers, but that would not happen in Germany, at least not in Bavaria. Shops and restaurants were closed promptly at 2 pm today so that families could get home. In Germany, the tradition is that families open their presents on Christmas Eve. There are many traditions in Germany that are unique to Germany as well as those traditions that are unique to where you and I come from. But the one thing that is the same – we can worship with other Christians in places around the world and share the common bond of the birth of Jesus Christ which we now celebrate. Tonight we sang common Christmas hymns together (although the German words were difficult for me to pronounce, and so I reverted to singing along but with English words.) It was a beautiful Christmas service. David also talked in his sermon about the problem, particularly in the US but certainly not limited to it, of trying to be politically correct about Christmas. This issue is in the media a lot, and we see it also when watching CNN or FOX or even jokes on US late night shows. In a country, like the US, where nearly 85% of the nation is Christian why is it that we allow small, though vocal people to say we can’t say “Merry Christmas” but only “Happy Holidays” or call our beautiful Christmas tree a “holiday” tree. Why do we allow others to take the Christ out of Christmas? While listening to David’s sermon, and filling in a lot of blanks between the words I didn’t understand I came to the conclusion that no one can take Christ out of Christmas for me or other Christians. For Christians around the world, Christ is Christmas and that’s our common bond!

The Joe Implosion!

While Sam and Deidre were vacationing in sunny Barcelona, a complete failure on my part to leave Joe a key to our house, sparked in Joe a terrible implosion. Perhaps the implosion was aided by the long wait in the garage in sub freezing temperature. This gave him more time to spiral into this negatively charged bomb. And how lucky was I to be the target of the bomb that was apparently voice activated to “get ready for soccer practice.” Yes, Joe was cold. It was -7C and it had snowed for two days straight. Yes, there was still outdoor practice and I detonated the bomb.

I hate the snow. KABOOM! I hate this house. KABOOM! I hate football. KABOOM! I hate Germany. KABOOM! I hate my school. KABOOM! I hate everything, and everything hates me. KABOOM, KABOOM!

I knew immediately what to do. I called Deidre! We skipped soccer practice, and went to McDonald’s. We had to get Joe something familiar, something almost American. On the way there Sam even helped by calling and talking about Joe’s new Barcelona game jersey. Slowly, Joe began to rebuild. And then after nine McNuggets, he commented. I don’t really hate everything, I even think the McNuggets are better in Germany than in the US. Joe was back.

It was -5C on Friday when he went to practice without a fuss. Good thing the indoor season starts next week.

Beautiful Barcelona!

Sam and I just returned from a school language trip to Barcelona, Spain, the second largest city in Spain. It is a Mediterranean city because of it’s location by the sea, history, tradition and culture. When the trip was announced at the school Sam immediately knew he wanted to go and I immediately knew I wanted to go as a chaperone if that was allowed. Of course, I had not figured into the planning that I would have had knee surgery just a few weeks prior to the trip. However, I managed to go and although I enjoyed everything I saw, I have asked Robin to shoot me if I ever volunteer to go on another school trip!

We arrived in Barcelona via a short 2 leg flight from Munich to Palma Mallorca then to Barcelona. The flight was uneventful for the most part, but I have to say that many of the students use bad language a lot, and I had to remind one of the German boys that his jokes and his language were inappropriate. As it would turn out, there were many things I had to remind students of in regard to their conduct.

Once we arrived at the airport in Barcelona and gathered our luggage we headed towards the train that would take us into the city and closer to our hotel. Our hotel was situated on the other side of Barcelona. I don’t think that I could ever travel this way without having a guide familiar with the area, as was Senor Lopez, the Spanish teacher who is from the Barcelona area. The train or Metro into the city was one thing, but then having to navigate the subway terminals with luggage up escalators and often stairs (yes stairs!) was not easy. Upon arriving at the stop where we needed to get off to get to our hotel, we then had to walk up a street much like one of the lower hills you might find in San Francisco! Remember. . I am still wearing a knee brace, without full function of my left leg, carrying a large suitcase on wheels that I’m sure is overpacked for a European holiday, and I’m walking up a hill for about 1 kilometer. All I could think of was the children’s book “I think I can, I think I can. . .” I made it up the hill and was thrilled to be able to rest and catch my breath. . .this was only Monday!!!

After quick room assignments, the group of 21 headed back to the metro for a short walk along Las Ramblas, a tree lined walk way with flower vendors, bird vendors, and performance artists. We then walked to the harbor and I learned that the bridge architecture was used in a Tony Hawk skater video game that one of the boys had on his PSP as we were walking. Up to that point, that seemed to be the most interesting thing for the kids. . .the use of real places in a make believe video game. . .perhaps our trip to Barcelona wasn’t so much about cultural differences of different nations but that of teenagers and adults?

Sam in Barcelona!

The bridge to the harbor which is also used in the Tony Hawk skater video game.

A statue of Christopher Columbus near the harbor.

This performance artist scared us by jumping at us!

Performance artists on Las Ramblas.

Sam on the beach of the Mediterranean of Spain. . .I was so tired I just laid down on the wooden walkway for about 20 minutes!

Architectural masterpieces in Barcelona.

La Sagrada Familia. . .

One of many facades of La Familia Sagrada. . .

The whole group at Park G�ell, a creation of Antonio Gaudi.

some of the mosaic artwork in the ceilings by Antonio Gaudi. . .we were told to look for Snoopy in the art and we found him!

Park G�ell, a creation of Antonio Gaudi.

Taking a small break on this incredible bench made to the form of the human body - it felt great on our backs - I'd like to have something just like this built around the pool of our next house! This beautiful park overlooks the city of Barcelona.

La Sagrada Familia and Antonio Gaudi - The Walking Tour

On Tuesday we took off on a walking tour of the city that started out with a large amount of uphill walking. . .I requested that Sam please stay with me at the back of the pack because I knew it would take me a while. When we finally reached the summit of our walk we were at Park Güell where we had an incredibly breathtaking view of the city of Barcelona, the Garden City.

We then took the public bus to the La Sagrada Familia also known as “The People’s Church.” Sam had told me about this church because he had studied it in his Spanish class. This church is truly a work of art and is a continuing work of art begun in 1882 and continues today, with a completion date scheduled for 2028. One year after the construction started, Antonio Gaudi took over as head architect. In what would turn out to be the final year of Gaudi’s life, the architect moved in to live in the building so he could concentrate more fully on the construction. His death in 1926 slowed the construction but did not stop it. When completed, La Sagrada Familia will be the 8th Wonder of the World. Construction of the church is funded by donations. Sam has planned to return when it is complete, and as the completion is ahead of schedule, there is no doubt that Sam will be able to do so.

Our walk continued throughout the city to see famous buildings such as La Pedrera , another architectural masterpiece of Gaudi, as well as Casa Batllo, Casa Melo and Casa Amatller; all masterpieces in their own right. The architecture in Barcelona are more unique than anything we have seen in Europe so far. Unbelievably beautiful!

We ended the day with a visit to the Pablo Picasso museum. By the end of the day, I was so incredibly tired! My feet, legs and hips ached. The kids were complaining about the same thing. I don’t think I have ever walked so much in my life. I was so tired, that I woke up several times in the night feeling like I had a hangover, but I had not had even a glass of wine!

Celler Joseph Montserrat. . .this company also has vineyards in California. . .

The entrance to the basillica. . .

The whole group. . .

The monastery where a hotel is also located. . .

Sam, Sebi and Ben. ..

Montserrat rock formations. . .

The Pyrenees Mountains of Spain.

Monterserrat Monastery and Champagne Cellar

Wednesday was a day my body looked forward to, as we took about an hour and half bus ride to the monastic city of Montserrat for a tour of the Benedictine Monk retreat. The mountainous views at the top gave us incredible sites of the Pyrenees and Catalunya. The history of the monastery and this area began in the year 880 when a small group of shepherd children saw a bright light descending from the sky in the Montserrat mountin, and then heard angels singing, filling their hearts with joy. The children ran home to tell their parents, and being skeptical as parents can be, they also went to see if they could have the same experience, and they did, knowing then, that these were signs from God. Not long after, a religious man was brought to the same place in a cave and when it was explored, they found an image of the Virgin Mary, and from that moment on the cave became a holy sanctuary for religious pilgrims. It was quite cold on top of this mountain and for a short time, we thought we had been mistakenly been transported back to the frigid temperatures of Munich! But after a short lunch and some hot cappuccino, we headed back down to the mountain and to a local champagne cellar, where we took a tour and learned about the process of making champagne. The kids seemed most interested in the “assembly line” where the bottles were being corked, labeled and packed for shipping. My favorite part was when Senor Lopez and I were given a free bottle of champagne and then I was able to purchase some Spanish wine to take home! My feet were somewhat recovered, and we headed back to the hotel.