Guten Tag, Leute.
Internet access has been very limited for the majority of this trip, and im using my phone to make this post now.
After 2 weeks in Osnabrück and various cities in Germany with the USF brigade, i am now on my own, up in the north of Germany, in a cityy called Bremerhaven (port of Bremen). I had learned before that my great great grandfather was born in Germany before the trip, and I went to visit a museum here called Deutsches Auswanderer Haus. That is, German immigration house. Some 44 million people, Germans primarily but many others, came through Bremerhaven to travel to rhe new world, and I thought there was a good chance my forefather did too. I already knew his name, and tjat he was born in 1872 in Germany.
As it turned out, i was somewhat dissappointes to find out that the "family research center" was not much more than a computer lab with access to ancestry.com records. I already used that website to get as far as i had! Ah well. It was nonetheless an emotional experience for me as i thought that i amy jave been walking on the very ground that WilliamFranz had walked, when he was only about 14, to take the ship to America. Theres a good chance that it's the case.
Bremerhaven offers a fair amount of tourist spots: a Climate Museum, a "Land before time Dinosaur museum, and maritime museums, for those interested. It does not have the mass appeal of many larger cities like Köln or Berlin but for me so far it has been a nice experience. Bremerhaven has an interedting history: in the war it was essentially bombed to shreds and later rebuilt during the time of the Marshall plan. You can find neighborhoods with identical houses here for that reason. If you explore near the coast, you can find massive "Hochgaragen" which contain thoudands of cars, tractors, vans, and military vehicles waiting to be exported. Like many places in Geemany, there are many wind turbinslittered across the coastline; unlike some places, these turbines are pretty dang active, because the wind is REALLY strong here. On a cold day you should be careful if you do not wish to lose your ears. I had the priviledge of having a Polish-inspired dinner with our Osnabrück tutor Alexandra and her family yesterday and got a taste of not only Polish food but also a typical Bremerhaven home. They had a cool garden in the back, and a cool cat, whose name is Hugo.
I'm excited to consider what may happen next in my journeys. I may go to Bremen and/or Hamburg, but anything could happen.
Auf Wiedersehen,
Franz
No comments:
Post a Comment