Visiting My Old German Host Family

In high school I participated in the German American Partnership Program and went on exchange to Germany. My host family lived in the village of Trebel near the town of Lüchow. The only international claim to fame that the region has is a radioactive materials storage facility. But boy is the area ever beautiful. Several hours of trains from my home base in Karlsruhe got me to a town with a train station near Lüchow. Half an hour in the car put me in Trebel with my old host family.

The little pond outside the living room.

The side of the house near the pond.

The front of the house.

At a little village several kilometers away.  A famous prince came from here.  There is also one of the few surviving pre-war synagogues in this village.

Up on the hill where a castle once stood a thousand years in the past.

Looking out across the Elbe River.

Looking down into the little village below the castle site.

My old host mom.

My look.

The road to the next village.

On the main road through Trebel.

The local church.  It has an absolutely beautiful organ inside.

My old host father.

A teacher from my high school in America that was visiting with the latest group of high school exchange students.

Dinner on the patio.

Heidelberg

In Heidelberg I caught a couple of the popular tourist sites such as some of the cathedrals and churches, the castle, and some of the old town.  It sure was nice of the Americans to not bomb the town very heavily during the Second World War  Here are a few pictures of the town and surroundings.

Visiting the Mercedes Benz Museum

As part of the program that brought me to Germany I got the chance to tour the Mercedes Benz museum in Stuttgart.  At the time it was still housed in the old museum facilities while the new museum was under construction.  Being an engineer I had way too much fun checking out all of the wonderful cars and other motorized contraptions that Mercedes Benz has made over the years. Here are a ton of pictures from the museum.