I am on sabbatical this semester, so we decided this would be a great opportunity to take the kids to Germany for a couple of weeks. We wanted to take them to see the tourist sights, but we also wanted them to have the experience of immersing themselves in a whole new culture, if only for a short time. So we sublet an apartment in Augsburg -- a city Austin and I have known and loved for years -- and settled in for some research time (for me) and adventure time (for Austin and kids).
As you can see, Gavin really got into the spirit of things . . .
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| My Bavarian boy. |
I did my research at the city library. I am finishing an ongoing project on the history of the Lutheran Holy-Cross church, as well as other projects relating to religious spaces in Augsburg. As always, the staff at the library were wonderfully professional, helpful, and patient with my creaky German. I found some cool stuff, including church seating charts (men, women and children sat separately), lists of who owned which houses in various neighborhoods, and materials from important anniversary celebrations in the city. It was fun to discover specific details about where various people fit into the physical fabric of churches and streets, but also to explore more theoretical concepts like "Erinnerungskultur"(culture of rememberance). I love my job.
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| Self-portrait with Holy Cross Church |
We rented my doctoral advisor's place, in the heart of the old city on Baekergasse (Baker's Alley). It was interesting to take the kids from a rural town in Vermont to population-dense life in a small 2-bedroom apartment. They actually did fine with in the little apartment, but missed being able to run around outside "like free goats" and begged to be allowed to climb trees and roll on the grass whenever we found ourselves in any kind of natural setting. Who knew the thing they would miss most was trees, grass and dirt?
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| We lived on the 3rd floor of the pink building. |
My children are both extremely picky eaters, so I had some concern that Lucy, in particular, would starve to death in Germany. But she managed to make do. Our favorite place to eat was the Fleischhalle (Butcher's Hall) off the city market because everybody in the family could get their favorite thing. Lucy could get an enormous plate of french fries with all the ketchup she could eat, Gavin could get fresh German Semmel (bread rolls), Austin could eat Doner Kebaps, and I could get Schnitzel with kraut and potato salad. Other than lunches at the Fleishhalle, we mostly cooked at home, experimenting with interesting new items we found at the grocery store.
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| Lunchtime! |
Even though I study lots of important historic Augsburg churches, I am especially partial to this lovely little Mormon church in the suburbs. The people there are simply wonderful. Austin and I made dear friends among the local Mormons when we lived in Augsburg fourteen years ago, and they welcome us back with open arms each time we visit. It was great to introduce our kids to our friends, and to catch up on changes in their lives. We were touched -- but not surprised -- by their special kindness to Lucy and Gavin, who were a bit nervous at the prospect of interacting with so many German-speaking strangers. They weren't strangers for long. As Gavin observed, it felt like a family. And Lucy became fast friends with Sophie, the daughter of our friends Jarek and Corinna. Turns out you don't need to speak the same language to get along famously.
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| Gemeinde Augsburg. |
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| Baby blessing party after church. |
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| Nobody does sweet treats like Germans. |
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| The universal language of chess. |
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| Doing each other's hair. |
When we weren't going on day-trip adventures (more on that later), we fell into a nice routine. I went to work at the library, while Austin and the kids worked on homework, explored the city and did the shopping. Germans generally have tiny refrigerators with shoebox-sized freezers, so they shop for fresh food pretty much every day. (Such an adjustment for my Costco-obsessed soul!) We had fun wandering the grocery aisles, looking for ingredients both familiar and totally foreign. Unsurprisingly, Lucy's favorite aisles were the two devoted entirely to chocolates, followed closely by the gummi aisle and the two aisles full of different fruit juice formulations.
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| Loved: a whole grocery aisle dedicated to Gummi Bears! |
There were plenty of things the kids found just completely weird. They weren't fans of Spezi, the mix of cola and orange soda that Germans like so much. (Though Gavin drank gallons of Apfelschoele, a mix of apple juice and selzer water.) They found their euro-style square feather pillows odd, but got used to them pretty quickly. Clothes dryers are uncommon and the kids did not like putting on clothes that had been hung to dry (Gavin: "my clothes are crunchy!") They were especially offended by the fact that public restrooms required an entrance fee, even though I pointed out that they were quite clean as a result.
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| Didn't love: having to pay to pee. |
Other than a brief taxi ride, we did not get in a car our entire trip. But we logged hundreds of miles on busses, streetcars and trains. I think we have the kids converted to the idea of public transportation. We met lots of nice people in the course of our journeys, especially German grandmas in love with Gavin's adorable Denker hat, or FC Bayern Muenchen soccer fans expressing support for his scarf. Lucy met a wacky Austrian lady who wanted to tell her all about meeting Tom Cruise and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Austin got recruited to be part of a bachelorette party challenge.
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| Thank goodness for Kindles! |
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Lucy lost a tooth on the train.
Unsure whether the tooth fairy made stops in Germany,
we just paid her off. |
In all, it was a wonderful trip. The weather was clear and felt like spring (in contrast to Vermont, which got two feet of snow in our absence). People were friendly, kind, and helpful. Lucy did not starve. We managed to understand the language and make ourselves understood. We visited some beautiful places, and we can't wait to go back. Though both kids are determined to be German speakers next time.
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| "Free Goats" in the Alps |
Gavin made some videos for his school class, giving his perspective on the whole thing. They are at the links below:
