What do you expect?

Often times, the anticipation of a trip is as equally exciting or more exciting than the actual trip. Our junior year in high school, the year we had the exchange, was the best year of the four. No doubt this was in large part due to our exchange experiences. In fact, after our Germany trip, senior year was somewhat anti-climactic. 

I don't recall much of the time between the Germans visit and our trip to Mainz. I do remember that many of us had to schedule final exams early so that we could leave for our trip in early June. I also recall getting our yearbooks on the bus, so we brought those along. 

One thing I have slowly become used to with travel is that what you anticipate and what you experience are often very different. I really can't recall what I imagined beforehand. With the experience in particular, there was so much to figure out, comprehend and understand, there wasn't a whole lot of room for reflection. A journey might be better or worse than you reckon, but it will never be as you imagined. 

I think it's safe to say that our expectations were high and that for most of the month we visited, our expectations were exceeded. Perhaps nowadays, travel between the U.S. and Western Europe is very similar, due to the shrinking of the globalized world. Thirty nine years ago, globalization was much younger. Yes, McDonald's was there. Yes, music had long transcended the Atlantic. Other things, however, we still quite distinct. Germany, in fact West Germany at the time, still used the Deutschmark. All the little things that were new to me and most likely all of us. German cars, like the Opel. Yes, there were a few of those here in the 70s. European style door knobs, bedding, windows without screens, streetcars and busses, toilets and tiny refrigerators. It was very difficult to find ice or still water.

I'm not sure what happened to the clipping, but there was a small story about our exchange in the local paper while we were there. They relayed the story of Peter and I, desperate from our class instruction to validate our tickets when we boarded public transit that we tried to stamp our fare cards in the ashtray of the train.

One thing I vividly recall was how unsure and disoriented our exchange partners seemed, especially the first week or two of their stay. So much of everyday life was new to them. That really hit home when I observed the same students, just a few weeks later as they so confidently navigated places that were so familiar to them. In my sixteen year old mind, the Germans seemed 'uncool' when they were in the States. What I understand now is that they were just experiencing a bit of culture shock and it upended their confidence in themselves. 

No doubt it was the same for us. And of course it went beyond understanding the pepperoni meant something different there. How do you use the telephone? Where do I pick up the bus to go home? 

I'll attach a scan of some of what the Germans wrote in my yearbook that June, as we departed for our flight back to Chicago.

Daytrips - Germany Style

 I think I recall we had a calendar that made it clear where we were going on which day. Our teacher, Herr Bergren, despite the controlled chaos of his classroom, was a very good organizer. The big trip we had planned was a few days in Berlin. Before that, however, Herr B wanted to show us the culturally significant sites that were within closer reach. 

Among the first day trips we made was visit to Heidelberg. I recall being blown away by how pristine the old town was. Mainz is on the middle Rhine region, where the Main River meets the Rhine. Heidelberg is on the Neckar and about an hour and a half south and a bit east by train, which is how we arrived. I was impressed with the train ride, the condition of the town, and the fact that we had a sizable chunk of time to do what we liked. The castle is primarily a ruin, so it seems like it's main appeal is as a backdrop for the old town. 

Here I am among the rolling hills of the Neckar Valley

Among the first things we did, of course, is buy a beer at an outdoor cafe. From what I recall, these were the first moments we were left alone in a country where we could buy beer at age 16. It was also good fortune that the dollar was historically strong against the Deutschmark then, so our money bought a lot of beers. 

I remember keeping this bottle for far too long

The beer wasn't very good, as I recall, or at least it wasn't like any beer I had tried before. It wasn't ice cold, like I understood beer to be. It was a warm summer day and I probably would have been happier with a Coke, but I didn't want to let my homies down, nor, more likely, have them tease me because I didn't really want a beer. In the days ahead, I did find German beer that was more to my palate. 

I recall that Clint was amused because the streams appeared urine-like

According to Rick Steves guides, Heidelberg has become over-touristed. However, it's hard not to imagine that Anna and Lisa will enjoy a few hours here, so I think we have to make a point to get there in June, even if it might be kitschy. 

Brenda and Ann on the Old Bridge over the Neckar.

About six months out

 Reckon I'd better get back to this. Since the last post we've had a Delta wave and an Omicron wave of the virus. I know for sure people back during the Spanish influenza epidemic weren't sitting around talking about virus mutations. They weren't even sure that influenza was a virus. Anyway.

I have been pricing tickets to Germany for the 2nd half of June. No great deals yet in regular coach. I hate flying 'basic economy'. As if regular economy flights weren't lousy enough. Nothing with good connections cost much under $1k. Guess there's no rush. We're ponding the possibility of adding a stop to the first part of the trip. I've priced Oslo, Warsaw, and Copenhagen. Any of those would be great. The one thing that would be nice to avoid would be to skip taking the train to Berlin all the way from Mainz before we fly out again. 

I guess I'd better hold up looking forward so I can look back for the blog.

We arrived in early June, which is a great time to be in northern Europe. Germans like to hang their bedding out their screenless windows during the summer. The weather is beautiful and the days are very long and no bugs. Hell, it's January here and I still have some kind of bug buzzing around my monitor as I write this. Early on we met our families, visited the school, and oriented ourselves to how our day to day would be for the next few weeks. Herr Arno and Frau Rita Besch were fairly typical, middle class Germans. Arno worked somewhere nearby - some sort of industry or manufacturing. He might have been an engineer? Other people's jobs are generally hard to understand and his German was very hard to grasp. Rita was a stay at home Hausfrau. They lived on the first two floors of a three story building. I'm not sure who rented the other space. Now that I think of it, it's very fuzzy in my mind, although I seem to recall that they didn't occupy the entire house. If I'm not mistaken, another family lived on the middle floor. The place was on a quiet street in Bretzenheim, a close bedroom community beside Mainz, just to the south and west. The bus took about fifteen minutes from downtown and it was even closer to the University of Mainz. 

Some of my classmates stayed with families in the city, generally in more close quarters. Others lived a bit further out. I recall being jealous of those who had access to the city on foot, but looking back, I had a very good situation. I shared a large bedroom with Rudiger and his slightly younger brother Jurgen. The three of us also shared a small bath. Rudiger had a nice stereo system in his room, which was an especially big deal at that age. 

Rudiger at his desk in the large bedroom we shared.

Turns out that the school part of our trip was rather minimal. Often we would begin our day there before heading out on a day trip elsewhere. I recall visiting a class of mostly Turkish students (Germany long had a guestworker program) studying math with a very exasperated German woman. The students found my presence a welcome diversion. 

One thing that was unusual about our exchange was the fact that most American high schools pair with German Gymnasium schools, which are considered college-preparatory. Instead, Bergren matched us with a 'middle-level' school, which worked out better because, for one, we could related better to these students and, two, they had time to show us around. They weren't under the pressure that most gymnasium students endure. Of course, some of the students were got to know also went on to gymnasium, including Rudiger. In fact, when I visited him five years later, he was studying at the University of Mainz. 

Well, it's late. More on daytrips next time.