JASON'S PICTURES

Overwhelmed, originally uploaded by extremeboh.

My buddy Jason titled this photo "Overwhelmed." Check out his other fantastic pictures on his flickr account!

LITTLE PIG, LITTLE PIG, LET ME IN!

Dan, David, and I took a country drive today and stopped by the Sniers Hus for a quick tour. Doesn't that name sound like a place Dr. Seuss would like to write a book about? We passed the museum the other day when we drove to the heide for our walk, so Dan knew I wanted to poke around and take some pictures. He picked a day when I was really zonked, though, so he drug me off of the couch and shoved me into the car. I perked up when we got here. It looks like a place our dad would really love, so I made a lot of pictures to show him.

The garden reminded me of pictures of Colonial Williamsburg. Looks like ol' Ben Franklin would feel right at home.

Straw roofs always remind me of the three little pigs. The Sniers Hus was built in the 17th Century, so it has some wickedly cool construction details. One of the barns was held together by wooden pegs.

We drove further down the country road and slowly passed a group of students learning horseback riding. They looked so proper in their riding outfits. Then we came upon this old house. It originally had a water wheel, missing now. Do you see the bridge on the right? A little stream flows by the house's side. The house, dating from the US civil war era, is sadly empty now. The family lives in a new home across the street.

Just a little ways down there was another mill. This one still had its wheel and still ground grain. It was built in 1758.

Opposite the mill was this building. I had to take a closer look, so Dan and Dave waited in the car.

When I stepped through the archway, this is the view that greeted me.

I quickly headed back to the car when I realized that I was standing in someone's private yard. I wouldn't want to disturb Sleeping Beauty.

THE AUTOBAHN, NEW FRIENDS, AND MORE WINDMILLS

photo credit

I thought you'd like to see what modern windmills look like here, since I've been showing you my pictures of the old ones, go I pulled this one off google. The new ones are about 10 stories tall. I always catch myself softly humming the Teletubbies song everytime I we pass them while driving the autobahn. Speaking of the autobahn, this guy passed us going about 150 the other day. Back home, only cops drive that fast! There's a saying that on the autobahn, you are either the hunter or the hunted. I saw a bumpersticker while we were driving once that read, "Don't hunt what you can't kill," or in other words, stay off my bumper if you don't think you can take me. Pretty much sums up the typical driving ethic on Germany's highways - and even on their sidewalks!

But not all Germans will mow you down. Many Germans I've met have been kind to me. Last night I visited Daniel and Annette's small group. It's an English-speaking Bible study. It was nice to fellowship with them and encourage ourselves in our faith. And tonight, I visited Dan's older friend, Herr I. again. He was hospitable, as usual. It was hard to say goodbye to him, but at least I will have one more week to visit the small group before I return home to America.

IKEA, A WINDMILL, AND A SOUVENIR KEY

After work today, Dan drove the kids & me to Ikea, a Swedish furniture store. This pair of lamps represents the style of furniture and housewares they sell. I was impressed that these were only 18 euros each. We had a snack at the hotdog stand while we were there. Everybody here seems to love sparkling apple juice. They mix half juice with half club soda. We actually mix it ourselves at the table, but today we bought it already mixed. I like it in bottles at holidays, but I'm starting to get used to drinking it every day.

On our way back from Ikea, we took a long drive around the countryside surrounding my brother's apartment. This is the second old windmill we've seen since I've been here. This one has almost completely been rebuilt as a meeting room where locals hold marriages and other events.

This old well marked the corner of a big farm. This country scene reminds me of a print my dad used to have in his home office.

The moss growing on the roof of this half-timbered barn is common around here. See the unmelted snow lining the street?

Right by this farm there was a little cottage that was being completely redone. A great pile of debris lined the curb beside the house. Mixed in with the old wood and carpet was an old chest. The antique trunk was way too big to salvage from the trash pile, but we pulled over so that I could remove the old skeleton key still stuck in the lock. I popped it into my pocket to keep as a souvenir of the day.

When we got home from our outing, David and I both pulled out our little gifts for Annette. In the store, most of the time I wandered around separately from David, so I was surprised that he and I both decided to buy his mom a little happy, since she didn't come with us. But I was even more surprised when, out of all of the things in that huge store, we both picked out exactly the same gift for her! What are the odds? I thought it was rather remarkable, to be sure.

DAY TRIP TO HAMBURG

Dan got off early from work again today, giving us more time for our escape from the house. Given the larger allowance of time, we decided to skip driving into Buchholz and caught the train to Hamburg.

At a deli in the train station, I noticed these open faced sandwiches made with raw ground beef. According to reputable sources, they are amazing popular around these parts. I think I'll stick to my standard cheese-bread. Thanks, anyway.

When we arrived at the city park, I couldn't believe how green the grass was, considering that the water was still frozen over, and small unmelted piles of snow were scattered around.

After walking in the park for a few minutes, we came upon a huge greenhouse.