My cousin, Erik and I traveled with Grove City High School’s German Club to Germany for about a 5 week educational trip from 8 June 1999 to 11 July 1999. This was part of an Exchange Program between Max Planck Gymnasium (MPG) in Heidenheim Germany and Grove City High School (GCHS). MPG kids were here from the end of April to mid-May and were partnered with students from GCHS with whom they stayed while here & who would later travel to Heidenheim to stay with them. MPG sent 14 kids here and we sent 21. Because we had so many more, not all the Grove City kids were able to host German students and extra host families were required to house our kids once in Heidenheim. Another girl from GCHS, Molly, and I stayed with Meinrad Reichel and his family in Heidenheim (Meinrad stayed with Molly’s family in while in Grove City).
After about 3½ weeks in Heidenheim, we said tearful goodbyes to our host families and traveled by train for 4 days in Berlin and when the rest of the group left for the US, Erik and I boarded a train for Hameln to spend another 5 days with the Henkel Family, whom Eriks’s mom (my Aunt Mary) stayed with in 1973 when she went to Germany with Grove City’s program.
This page is likely to be under construction for quite a while but I hope you enjoy what I’ve done so far.
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This is most of the exchange group (German & American) at Port Columbus preparing to see our Heidenheim friends off. I’m not in this photo. May 1999
This is our American group in Berlin – with the statue, Mother Russia – shortly before returning home. (See the kid in the back row – right end – in the red shirt and white cap? That’s me standing right in front of him.) July 1999.
First some sight-seeing…
For your reference – so you can see approximately where it is located - Heidenheim (An der Brenz) is the little red spot in the yellow highlighted area.
Reichels immediately swept Molly and me to a Renaissance Festival in nearby town where we got to try real German saurkraut. Here we are with “Margret” – our German “Mutti” (mom) and here is also the fork I ate my kraut with. June 1999.
I was able to travel quite a bit into the state of Bayern (Bavaria). I visited places like Giengen An der Brenz - where we toured the Steiff Factory (this is where they make the world famous Steiff bears and other stuffed animals) - München (Munich) and Ulm with the whole group and the likes of Schloß (castle) Neuschwanstein and Rothenburg with Reichels. This is a “Bierdeckel” which I got on my visit to Neuschwanstein with Reichels and Molly.
This is a sculpture of a fish in München. (My mom & I love the sculptures and fountains in Germany.)
Burger King and McDonalds in München. You may have to hunt for McDonalds as the “golden arches” aren’t prevelant like they are in the USA.
Das Rathaus Münchens. (Munich City Hall.)
Me and Jenny with Arnold at the Planet Hollywood München! ;-)
We watched the artist painting this great animal scene on a sidewalk in München.
To save you having to pick your computer up & turn it sideways, here it is from the side so you can see better what it looks like.
The Ulmer Münster (Cathedral at Ulm) is said to have the tallest steeple in the world and you can climb almost all the way up!
Here are Jenny and I attempting to climb to the top of the steeple of the Ulmer Münster.
And here are Brent and I during the same attempt…almost there!
At the top! We made it! This is one of the gargoyles at the top of the Ulmer Münster...with Ulm in the background, of course.
A view of the Donau (Danube) River as it runs through Ulm.
Another fountain. This one is in Ulm.
Reichels also took us to tour the famous "fairy tale castle" Neuschwanstein. Here are Meinrad, Margret, me & Molly with the castle overhead.
We didn't tour neighboring Hohenschwangau but had a beautiful view of it (on the right) and the town below (on the left) from Neuschwanstein.
In Rothenburg. Margret, me, Molly & Meinrad.
Rothenburg again. Molly, me, Meinrad, & Margret.
Bodensee (Lake Constance) between Switzerland and Germany.
Another fountain - in Konstanz on the Bodensee (my mom likes this one).
Margret, Molly, me and Meinrad - with the church at Wies behind.
Brigette and Molly…in awe of the magnificence of the church at Wies. Look for the sculpture of Christ in Chains.
These next photos are from in and around Heidenheim.
One of the first things you notice about Heidenheim is it's castle. Centrally located, Schloß Hellenstein now houses museums and was often used as a meeting place by us while in Heidenheim. I took this photo of it from
the roof of the Heideneheimer Rathaus (City Hall) during our tour of it when we met the Bürgermeister (mayor). There is a better picture of Hellenstein on Heidenheim 's homepage. And also a picture of the Rathaus here.
This was my family while I was in Heidenheim: "sister" Molly, "big brother" Eberhard, "dad" Rainer, "mom" Margret and Meinrad. (Rainer & Margret's other (real) daughter, Johanna, was away at school most of the time we were there and unfortunately I never managed to get a photo of her.) This was taken in Reichel's back yard.
Another Bierdeckel.
This is where I slept while staying with Reichels. Meinrad gave up his room to me and moved into the attic and Molly stayed in Johanna's room as she was away at school.
Me, Meinrad and Molly at home, eating dinner on the patio. June 1999.
Me - outside the Hut Ecke (Hat Corner) modeling a hat. No, I didn't buy it.
Me and Meinrad at school (MPG).
Kaugummi (chewing gum).
Some of the American kids I hung around with: Brent, Jenny, Sondra, my cousin, Erik, in the back - me in front - Gretchen and Andy.
This is a flower bed outside the Henna Restaurant where Reichels took Molly & me to dinner. Sorry my picture of the restaurant didn't come out.
We toured, among other things, a brewery, a factory where they make boxes and the Steiff toy factory while in the area. This is obviously, the Königsbräu Brewery (notice the side of the truck outside)?
This is the smoking area at Max Planck Gymnasium (high school). I thought this bike rack was cool.
Another Bierdeckel.
Molly, me and Meinrad at home at the kitchen table.
During my stay with Reichels, they took me to see Heilbronn, which is where MY mom stayed in 1972 when she was the first of us to make the trip to Germany with a Grove City High School program. Margret's brother, Roland lives there & was our tourguide for the day. These next few photos were taken there.
Meinrad, me, Margret and "Onkel" Roland in front of the Heilbronner Rathaus.
Meinrad, me, Margret and Roland at the bridge over the Neckar river (obviously not seen in the photo). In the background is the steeple of Kilianskirche (Evangelical Lutheran church of St Kilian) in downtown Heilbronn which is right across the street from the Rathaus. My mom told me later that to get to downtown Heilbronn from the home she stayed in, she would walk along the foot/bikepath that ran along the Neckar River till she got to this bridge where she would emerge onto the street walking right past this point where we stood, toward Kilianskirche & the Rathaus!
En Route to visit Flein the small town just south of Heilbronn which is actually closer to Somerhöhe, where mom stayed with the Schühle Family, Roland stopped to take this photo of me with the city limits sign. Rainer picked this daisy & gave it to me while we were out of the car. Mom says if we'd done this while she was there, she could probably have looked out her bedroom window (at the back of the house) and across a field, and seen us!
On July 2nd, we left Heidenheim for Berlin. There were many interesting and important things and buildings to see in Berlin. Here are some of the ones I shot during our 4 days there. I hope my notes about them all are right.
This is the Siegessäule (Victory Column) in Tiergarten park. (In case you're thinking this looks a little odd, this is the back of the column.) The column celebrates military successes in the Franco-Prussian war in 1871 and against Denmark in 1864 and Austria in 1866. The Tiergrten is not a zoo, but rather a park that had once been forests where the princes of Brandenberg hunted deer and wild boar. It was cleared out and made into a French-style park by Friedrich the Great.
The Berliner Dom (Cathedral of Berlin). Have not yet been able to find out what religion this cathedral is.
Kongresshalle. Despite its misleading name, the Kongresshalle, built by the Americans in 1957 for an international exhibition, is not Berlin's congressional building, but a convention center.
Reichstag - seat of German parliament before the country was split by the war.
Zeughaus (arsenal).
The arrow pointing out the front window of the tourbus designates the infamous "Checkpoint Charlie".
Facade of the bombed out Anhalter (train) station.
During the war, this was a concentration camp, now it's a museum.
Another Bierdeckel.
Schloß Bellevue (Bellevue Palace) - the current official residence of the Federal President of Germany. (Notice the flag is flying meaning he is at home.)
A view of the Berlin Wall.
Aerosmith! In Berlin! The same time I was in Berlin!
And finally this last set of photos is from our stay in Hameln.
Hameln's legacy - Der Rattenfänger (The Pied Piper)…literally translated: The Rat Catcher.
My cousin, Erik in Hameln with the last of my fountains. This is my mom's favorite! July 1999.
And the last of my Bierdeckels.
Erik at the city limits to Unsen - just outside Hameln - which is where Henkels live. (It's hard to tell, but he's walking Henkel's dog, Jerry.)
This was my bed at Henkels. I had the same room Aunt Mary had when she stayed here in 1973.
I can't remember what the formations in these photos are, but they're located in the Hameln area. I'll have to check with Aunt Mary & see if she knows what they are.
I brought Tigger some German Whiskas Kitty Treats!
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