Weekend in Germany

Every year on May 28th, we celebrate 2 birthdays in my family - my aunt Sally (Happy Birthday, Aunt Sally!) and my cousin's husband Helmut.  This year I happen to be in Germany to celebrate with Helmut.  Apparently they do not sing to people here on their birthday, but I sang to Helmut.  He said it was the first time anyone had ever sung to him on his birthday!

Jeanette preparing the potatoes

My cousin Jeanette prepared lots of delicious food for the party - a German potato pie of some sort, a salad with carrots and a yogurt dressing, a cucumber/tomato/feta salad, and a special meat/vegetable wrap.  For dessert we had a delicious cheery cake coated in chocolate.  I think out of all the party guests (10 of us total), I probably had the most fun.  Why? you might ask...because for 4 hours, there was no English spoken.  All the party guests - Helmut's sister, brother-in-law, niece, and Jeanette's mother and friend - do not speak English at all.  Hence, I got to speak in German the whole time!  I was so proud of myself that I was able to actually have conversations in German, even though I speak poorly.  At least I was able to communicate with people and we could laugh and have a good time together.  Even when I spoke with my relatives (who speak English quite well), I spoke in German and they reciprocated.  So, it was nice to know that all the work I have put into learning this language for the past 3 years has not gone to waste.  I have a long way to go, but it seems like my German has improved immensely just from being here for a week!

This morning I went to church and met Helmut's sister/brother-in-law/niece there.  The Pfarrerin spoke slow and clear throughout the whole service, so I was able to understand the sermon, for the most part.  It fit right into where I am at in life right now.  She said that God wants us to pray to Him, and that this is a gift.  God gives us hope through our prayers, so why not go for it?  Everyone needs to have hope in their lives.

Helmut and I inside the watchtower

This afternoon Helmut, Jeanette and I visited a small town about 20 minutes away from Hof, called Mödlareuth.  The American nickname for this village is "Little Berlin."  When the Wall was erected to separate East Germany (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) from West Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland), this poor town was divided in half.  They could not even wave to each other over the Wall!  Of course, the west side of the Wall only had a couple of military people patrolling it - Americans and West Germans together.  However, the east side of the Wall was heavily guarded, with a "no man's land," huge searchlights and another fence.

Looking toward the DDR - 1960s

Same view today

We watched a video about the effect of the Wall on this particular village, and the joy they had when it was opened and they could celebrate together again.  I cannot imagine growing up in a small village, losing half my friends, co-workers, and church family for 20+ years, and then being re-united with them after having to pretend they did not exist for so long!  It was a very interesting place to visit, and see the effect of the Occupation on this small village of only 250 people.

Standing in "no man's land" on east side