Germany!

Wow - what a trip so far! The Y and the Z are in different places on this keyboard, so typing is not as easy as it should be! Today we are in Oldenburg, which is the home of our host Wilke. He is walking us ragged - bound and determined to get us all in shape before we come back to the states. We flew into Hamburg early Sunday morning, got off the plane and through customs within 30 minutes...let's just say that only two flights had come into the airport that morning. We were in Hamburg until Tuesday morning, and in that time, we saw the Dom Market, Botanical Gardens, Miniature Wunderland, and lots of old buildings with wonderful history. There are lots of historical places documenting WWII, and I am humbled by the pictures of the destruction. I know why America was in the war, but we don't always get all sides of the story when we get taught history.

Tuesday we took the train to Bremen, once again walking all over downtown. The architecture is so beautiful here, and I have taken over 600 pictures so far (yes, that is from Sunday to Tuesday). We then took a tour of the Beck's brewery - and we were certain to get our money's worth when we got free samples. :)

Today we are going to a museum and into the city of Oldenburg. We will have a picnic for lunch, and then out to dinner with Wilke's family. They have borrowed a sports bus for today to haul us around, and they have just arrived. So, time to log off and hit the road once again. If I have a chance to post again before we leave, I will do so. I think our hotel in Hamburg has a hotel, so I can check in one more time before we depart.

We are having a wonderful time, and we all still can't believe that we're actually here.

love and peace
Denise