 |
|
The latest Newsletter is available for downloadSee details by clicking the Home link. |
Wolfsburg Exchange and Motor Tour 2004
On our first official day, we all met at the Autostadt within the confines of the Volkswagen Plant grounds. The Autostadt is a museum, not just about cars but a museum about understanding mobility. The museum buildings, pavilions and park landscapes with extensive water surfaces, covers an area of 25 acres. Olaf had arranged a tour of the VW plant on a “train-like bus” with an English speaking guide. The ride allowed us close-up views to watch the plant workers build cars. After the tour we went to one of the restaurants in the main building for lunch. There was a wide variety of food and drink and upon entering, one received a card, like a credit card, then at each food stop, the clerk swiped the card for the charges and on leaving, the cashier swiped the card and your total came up on the screen. The food selection was amazing. After lunch we all went to our host’s home. Two of the newest members of the Wolfsburg FF., Reiner and Eichen Stein, had a dinner party for 11 members from Lincoln and their hosts. In the garden, Reiner and Eichen flew an American flag from their tall flag pole. In the downstairs dining room, long tables were set, beer was served and then Reiner and Eichen brought in two platters of roasted and then grilled fresh pork hocks with sauerkraut and hot mustard. We were first served a wedding soup with dark German bread. Dessert was a blend of white grapes and kiwi in a fruit gelatin base topped with a special sweet cream sauce. After the meal, Buddy and Inge Manfred played guitars, sang and led us in a number of songs. On Saturday, we all met at the museum in an old castle in Bad Bodenteich which featured a toy collection, flax preparation and other relics from the past. Then to Bauerncafe in Luder where we visited an old coach stop and farm. Host families brought lunches and we sat under an overhead roof due to the light rain. Then the owner took all of us in a long covered wagon drawn by two Belgium horses, on a tour of his farm. He explained the farm in German and Olaf translated for us--very funny and colorful jokes. Back to the farm cafe for coffee, hot tea and choice of cheesecakes. In the evening we gathered at the Fair Grounds for the Shooter’s Festival. This is an annual event where shooters vie for the best shot. The winner is crowned king and his wife queen for the following year and can mount a huge bull target on their house or barn. In the huge tent, there were 4 tables reserved for the Friendship Force. Beer, beer and more beer, along with listening to several brass bands, members dressed in typical German costumes. One of the singers, carrying a microphone, mingled among the crowd and even got Buddy to sing a verse. The king and queen and their group (like an association or union) in German costumes of gray with green piping were seated in the center section. We met them and some of us had pictures taken with the group and king and queen. Then we explored the large carnival on the grounds--all kinds of rides, side shows and food, food, food. Sunday, May 16 was a day with our hosts. Some went to the Windmill Museum where there were windmills from various countries and also an indoor museum of scale model windmills. There was a beautiful wooden Russian Orthodox Church constructed without nails. In one of the buildings, a cafe, there was a bakery where the men were baking sugar cakes in old fashioned wood burning ovens. Coach trip to the Harz Mountains on Monday provided us with the opportunity to see Scotch pine and oak trees with berries growing wild here and there. We stopped at several small villages that were developed when the area was rich in silver mining. Our lunch was in a hotel--a beautiful shiny wood structure. Then to the old middle age town of Goslar where we walked to the town square to wait and watch for the glockenspiel. Bells chimed as miners, horses and princes came out of the inside on a circular track. Many of the buildings lining the cobblestone streets were built in the 1400 and 1500’s. Tuesday, May 18 was our day at city hall. After an explanation of the history of Wolfsburg and viewing the floor diagram in the lobby representing the surrounding districts and seeing the 28 Crests of Armor depicting the coat of arms of each of the boroughs within Wolfsburg, we were ushered into the council chambers for an additional talk by one of the vice mayors. We each received a book on Wolfsburg signed by the mayor and Chuck presented him with a proclamation from Lincoln’s Mayor and a key to the city. Then it was on to the Brome Museum, housed in a former castle with an extensive exhibit of artifacts relating to the history of traditional crafts and trade. We ended the afternoon with a four o’clock tea and sucre kuchen (sugar cake) at Liio and Friedel Weber’s home. Our last day in Wolfsburg, May 19, we spent the day with our host families, shopping, additional sight seeing, etc. In the evening we all met at Aller Dorfkrug am Kanal for a beer garden pot-luck. We were served brats on the grill and hot sauerkraut. Of course there were many other items to choose from and a fine array of desserts. Beer, beer and more beer was served for the occasion. Following dinner we were entertained by two costumed men playing an accordion, drums, and cymbals. With Buddy on the guitar, they sang and entertained us some more. Then Inge Schneider played the guitar and led many German songs. The finale was “Mad Max” (Max Schneider) acting as a child. He was behind a curtain and only his face and arms that were made up like legs and feet were showing as Petra Berndt had him do a number of things, i.e. drink fluid, wipe his face, He was too funny for words. We ended the farewell with Chuck presenting Olaf with a a pictorial book on Nebraska and he in turn presented Chuck with a pewter plate and a CD with 200 pictures that he took during the exchange. A sad morning as we bade farewell to our hosts and boarded the coach for our drive to Salzburg, Austria. Allen and Barb Boettcher stayed behind to visit friends in the area. The Friendship Force Club members were extraordinary in their quest to give us beautiful experiences that would long be remembered. A thank you is not sufficient to express our appreciation for an exchange of exceptional merit. The country side was beautiful -- gardens, hay and rape fields, hills and valleys and picturesque villages. Through a number of tunnels before we arrived at our hotel; dinner and the evening were at leisure. Although there was a slight rain, it did not stop our 1/2 day city tour of Salzburg on Friday. High on a hill was the Hohensalzburg Fortress built in 1077. Walked through the Mirabell Gardens and saw the palace across the lake. It was the site for parts of the movie “Sound of Music.” Mozart was born in Salzburg and his home is now a museum. Visited the Dom (cathedral) which was built in 1628 and has the second largest organ in the world with 10,000 pipes. Mozart was baptized here and played the organ in the church. Most of us walked through Old Town, then back to the hotel for a buffet dinner. A light rain was falling as we boarded the bus for the drive to Innsbruck. There was fresh snow on the mountain peaks, but the sun finally came out for us to see the snow capped mountains and the numerous waterfalls cascading down the slopes. As we entered Innsbruck we saw the ski jump from the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976 and then to the bus platz to meet our guide for a 1/2 day city tour. On a walking tour, we walked through a garden where a large birch tree from the 15th century was standing--actually it was three conjoined trees. On to the government building, theater, and an old Gothic Church. We entered Old Town where we saw the Goldenes Dachi (Golden Roof) with its gold-plated roof. The house was built in 1420 for Duke Friedrich and the balcony was constructed later for Maximilian I to view tournaments in the square below. The Dom (Cathedral of St. James) was awesome and the main attraction in the church was the high altar painting of the Madonna by Lucas Cranach the Elder dating from about 1520. After checking into the hotel, many ambassadors walked back to Old Town and then to the hotel for dinner of wiener schnitzel with potatoes and vegetables; yummy apple strudel for dessert. On the highway to Interlaken, Switzerland, we went through many tunnels and passed through green areas where hay was being harvested with sickle bar mowers. Interlaken is between the waters of Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. Interlaken is the longest established holiday resort in the heart of Switzerland in the Bernese Mountains. Along the way there were mountains, covered with snow, with numerous waterfalls tumbling down the mountain side. All of us, at one time or another, walked along the main promenade, the Hoheweg to people watch and to view the awesome Jungfrau Mountain in the distance. Many fine shops and hotels lined the promenade along with a casino and even a “Hooters.” We saw a number of para-gliders floating down off the low mountains. Monday our guide told us that tourism started 150 years ago and Interlaken was the first to cater to the tourists. We went to Wilderswil, a small farming town close by and stopped at an old church called the Church of Gateig, the parish church with its late Gothic tower dating from 1471. To get there we crossed over an original covered bridge over 1000 years old. We made stops to both lakes where the birds found the tourists to be of quality entertainment and supplemental food. Later, some ambassadors rode the cog-wheel train up the mountain side to Lauter-brunnen, then a train to Klein Scheidegg for lunch and beer. The views were magnificent--snow peaks everywhere. After dinner some of us gathered in the hotel’s restaurant to listen to two accordion players sing and use the alpine horns. Three of our group tried their skill on the alpine horns--they did make some sounds. Leaving Innsbruck, we traveled through beautiful country for our three hour drive to Tesch where we took a short cog-wheel train ride to Zermatt. Being the noon hour, most shops and offices were closed for two hours. We finally got in touch with the hotel by telephone and they sent a large electric cart to pick up our luggage and to transport three of our members who could not walk the 6 blocks. Most of the ambassadors explored this “walking-city,” checking out the shops, restaurants and museums. The sun was out in the afternoon and we had a superb view of the Matterhorn Mountain. May 27, Thursday was a day at leisure and many ambassadors took the cog-wheel train to the 10,000-foot-high Gornegrat Station, then walked about another 600 feet to the restaurant and outdoor patio. It was cold outside, but warm inside. Numerous ravens flew about the out door patio looking for hand-outs. Most of the peaks were snow covered and the clouds moved into obscure our view of the Matterhorn. Nevertheless, it was thrilling to be there, to see the mountain goats gingerly picking their way from rock to rock, and breathing the exhilarating air. Again, the hotel electric cart was put into service and the luggage, with three of our ambassadors, traveled to the train station to board the train back to Tesch. Our bus was waiting for us and after a short drive, we drove onto a train with flat beds and piggy-backed to Kanderstag going through a number of long tunnels. We continued our travels with breath-taking scenery and occasional waterfalls flowing down the mountain sides. We stopped at a road-side restaurant for lunch. After eating we boarded the bus and it wouldn’t start. Eventually our driver had to call a mechanic, giving some of us time to stretch our legs and to explore an antique (second-hand store). On our way again and into Lucerne. The street we were to take was blocked by the police, but our driver convinced them we would drive a different way to get to the bus platz to pick up our guide. It seems, that for the first time in the history of Switzerland, an official demonstration was allowed to occur. The workers (plaster’s union) wanted shorter working hours, earlier pensions, etc. We found our guide watching the demonstrations and in a few minutes it was over and we proceeded on our city guided tour. We saw Mt. Rigs, “Queen of the Mountains,” which had the first cog-wheel train in Europe. Drove past the Chapel Bridge, built at an angle across the river to prevent easy access to the city, and skirted the old Roman walls and past the Gothic style church, St. Peter. Off the bus and walked to the Lion Monument, started in 1820 by the famous Danish sculptor, Thorwaldsen. It was dedicated to the hundreds of Swiss Guards who were killed at one time. The Red Cross was started in Switzerland and the cross symbol came about because many Swiss soldiers served other countries, and not wanting to kill their own soldiers, the men wore white crosses on their clothing to identify themselves. After the tour we checked into the hotel and had dinner. On the last day of our grand trip, Sunday, May 30, it was off to Zurich, Switzerland. This was the largest of all the cities we visited with approximately 300,000 inhabitants. Some ambassadors toured the botanical gardens with over 15,000 specimens to see; some went on a trolley tour of the city followed by a boat ride on the Limmat River. Early in the morning, we picked up our sack breakfast and boarded the bus for the airport at 6 a.m. Being a holiday, there was little traffic and at the airport in 30 minutes. Checked our luggage and up and away at 8:30 a.m. to Frankfort to board our flight to Chicago. Arriving Frankfort there was a gate change, but several of the Lufthansa personnel didn’t know it. Finally to the waiting lounge, but had to leave it and and go to the counters to have our passports and tickets rechecked in the hallway--what a confused mess, but we were soon up and away at 12:45 p.m. A seven hour change of time then walk, walk, and more walk when we arrived in Chicago to go through customs and agricultural check. Severe storms were west of the city so all flights were canceled. Some of us were booked on the next open flight, Tuesday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m. We were on standby for the 4 other flights, but only several Ambassadors got out early. After moving from terminal to terminal and gate to gate all afternoon, we finally lifted off at 7:45 p.m. and into Lincoln at 9:30 p.m. where our luggage was waiting. THE END OF A WONDERFUL EXCHANGE AND TOUR. |
©2008 Friendship Force of Lincoln. All Rights Reserved. |
|
eventeen ambassadors embarked on a grand expedition to Wolfsburg, Germany, Austria and Switzerland on May 12, 2004. Arriving in Hannover, Germany May 13, after stops in Chicago and Frankfort, Germany, we were met by our hosts at the Hannover Airport. They were holding a green Friendship Force banner “Welcome to Wolfsburg” and name tags for each ambassador. With hugs, open arms and smiles all around, we were soon united with our hosts and off on the Autobahn to Zuir Erhjolung, an authentic German restaurant in Vorsfelds. This was our welcome dinner with roast pork, red cabbage, sauerkraut, dumplings, potato, mixed vegetables of peas/carrots/white asparagus, bread and butter, wine, beer, and coffee. The exchange director and president of the club, Olaf Kliefoth and the Vice President, Renate Batsch welcomed us to Wolfsburg. Then, all ambassadors went with their hosts to their respective homes.