Dave Germany: 90-98 (Halfway & Heidelberg)

After a trip of a lifetime to Lithuania, I had the next weekend off.  And to be expected after a trip like that, I came down with a cold.  On Friday I had a massive headache, so I spent most of the weekend sleeping, relaxing, and getting healthy.  I knew summer would be ending soon, so I enjoyed a few slow-paced bike rides, and planned for my final solo trip of summer.  Next weekend I would be heading to Heidelberg and Kaiserslautern to visit some friends.

But during the week I also officially celebrated the half-way point of my internship.  August 25 made it 3 months.  Now some might say "already, wow that was fast".  But this has not been an easy 3 months, to say the least!  Also on that Wednesday, I was healthy again, and joined the adidas cycling group for a ride.  They depart every Wed at 6pm for a 2-2.5 hour ride.  It was probably my last chance to join them, so I said, heck lets do it.  And as to be expected at a major sports company, it was an intense 45 mile ride around the area, but I hung on.  I came home with a rejuvenated feel that maybe these next 3 months would be different.

On Friday August 28, I left from work with a full backpack as usual.  This time was a little different as I took the bus, and not the train.  It took 3 hours to get to Heidelberg, but it was a straight shot.  I was nervous about the bus, but it was clean, safe, and much cheaper than the train!  I arrived at 8pm, and a friend from Southern (Irene Gorman) was there to welcome me.  Irene graduated in 2012 and now works as a chemist at BASF.

We met her husband Brian & some local friends at a restaurant for dinner.  Everyone was from America, so the conversation was very easy.  I shared stories about my first 3 months, and everyone shared stories too.  We were constantly laughing.  We then headed back to Irene's apartment, where I'd be staying.  I would see them again on Sunday, but I would be leaving early on Saturday to meet up with an old High School swimming friend (Sergeant David Patterson).

Saturday morning I walked around the very romantic Heidelberg (as it is called).  It is known for its old castle (what a surprise, a castle in Germany??) and also for its University.  55 Nobel Prize winners have some history with Heidelberg Univ.  Einstein taught there, the guy that the Bunson Burner is named after taught there.  Even the bicycle was invented nearby.  Lots of scientific history for the area.

I walked all around the city, then headed to the train station for the 11am train to Kaiserslautern.  Kaiserslautern is the largest US base outside of America, and has 1000s of Americans stationed in Southwest Germany.  I arrived at 1pm, and David was there to pick me up with his car.  Big hugs & laughs!  I hadn't seen him since probably 2003, and it was great to see an old friend.  We rode around together, as he showed me the town the best he could. David & his family had arrived into Germany just 3 months ago, so he was new just like me.  It was neat to see the base, and we even went into a few stores.  Wow, it was so different.  It basically felt like America.  It was Americans walking around everywhere, and US groceries in the stores.  It was this bubble in Germany.

We got back to his apartment, and stayed there the rest of the day with his family.  We cooked, ate, and chatted a ton.  David had been deployed in Afghanistan & been stationed in Korea (where he met his Filipino wife), Hawaii, and Louisiana...so I asked him all about his travels.  Equally I told him all about Carnegie Mellon, my PhD Degree, and Australia.  For two Grandville boys, we were both traveling the world and doing pretty good.  We played a Filipino version of Rummy with his wife to end the evening, and then we all headed to bed.  Another great day.

I had to catch an early train, which was no problem in a military family.  I took the 730am train back to Irene & Brian's place.  We were headed to the Deutsche WeinStrasse (German Wine Road) festival, where they shut down the road, only on this day, to just bicycles.  We hopped on the train, and I have no never seen so many bikes on public transit.  It was crazy.  We hopped off, and joined a bigger group of Ex-Pats who were also doing the festival.  The roads were packed were 1000s of cyclists, and the idea was to ride 15 km of the WeinStrasse, then get on a train to head home.  It was an blue sky day, and we cruised around through vineyards, small towns, and cobble stone roads.  We had lots of the WeinSchorle (wine with bubbly water) but I had to hold back, since I was catching a 630pm bus back to Nuremberg.

I could have stayed there all day, but said my goodbyes around 4pm to ensure I would catch a train on time, to then catch the bus home.  I made all my connections, and locked up Irene's bike at the Heidelberg train station.  I passed out on the bus ride home (prolly bc of all the sun & wine!) & I made it back to Herzo late, but was safe sound.  Another weekend of great weather, made connections, and great stories.

What a great August.  Trips to Amsterdam, Lithuania & now Heidelberg.  But some of the best parts are coming next.  I will be meeting my parents in Poland on Thursday September 10, as we visit Krakow, Prague, Nuremberg & Berlin.  Then we'll say goodbye on Sept 20, as they head to Athens, and I head home.  The next weekend after that I'm thinking of heading to Oktoberfest in Munich, and then I get to fly home to Mississippi to see Nadine!  September will be an awesome month, to be capped with seeing my girl after 5 months!  And watching her become Dr Lippa!

Celebrating halfway done with a cold one

All the bikes at the Heidelberg Train station

Interesting Graffiti in Heidelberg

Alte Bruecke (Old bridge) in Heidelberg

Gate at the end of the alte bruecke

Heidelberg castle

The famous monkey in heidelberg

Neat poster of all the states of Germany

Dave & Dave

Dave & Janet's wedding photo from Korea

Some guy got arrested right outside the train in Kaiser on Sunday!

Irene, Brian, and Dave

Look at all the bikes!

Cruising along the vineyards

The bike I rode on the WeinStrasse

Just a great view on a Sunday

Relaxing with a Schorle

Dave Germany: 81-84 (Last Day Lith) 5/5

Other than the snoring man on the top bunk, I slept great on Saturday night.  Up early and out the door.  But this time the hostel had some local bread and spreads, so I had a tastier breakfast.

I found my car safely where I had parked it.  And I started my 3.5 hr journey back to Vilnius to catch my 230pm flight.  If I missed that one, the next flight was 6am the next day!

Once I reached the Lithuania border, I felt a sense of relief.  Nothing had happened to me while I was in Latvia with the rental car.  I had made it back safely, right?

My final special idea for our family, was to bring back some soil from Lithuania to spread on the graves of Benedicta & GPa Urbon.  I thought it'd be a great way to bring a little bit of home back to them.  So I found a nice pull off overlooking a farming field, where I imagined Benedicta could have been, and scooped up a little bit of the home country into a plastic bag.

I arrived into Vilnius safely, and had an extra hour to visit any last minute places.  I knew basketball is the main sport in Lithuania, so I drove over to the arena, and walked around a bit.  They had an Olympians walk, which also featured the Lithuanian girl who won 100 meter Breaststroke olympic gold medal at the 2012 London games.

I had a little spare time to find a souvenir shirt, so I headed near the city where I knew some shops were.  I quickly found a shirt I wanted, then looked at my watch and it was almost 1pm.  I had to move quickly!  Thanks to the GPS, I fueled up the car (at the 2nd gas station i found, cuz I couldn't figure out the 1st one worked!) and made it to the rental car place.  The check-in guy was right there, so I thought I could quickly head to the plane.

"You were in Riga yesterday", the man said "we has GPS on the car, so we know where it goes."  OH NO!  $@#!  I was caught!  So I just fessed up and said ok, I'll pay the fee.  I couldn't afford to miss the plane!

We walked into the office, and he gave a slip for 8 Euro.  I asked about the 300, and he said it is okay,  I don't want to charge you, you made small mistake and it was for just a day.  What a reversal of luck and emotions!  I was so thankful!  But I needed to run to the terminal.

I got checked in time, but when I went through the security, they picked me out for a security check.  Nothing was on me, so I was okay.  But they also wanted to swipe my bag, and remember I had soil from off a farm in there.  My heart rate went up.  After the machine did its thing, the lady said I was okay to go.  So I grabbed my stuff and headed for the gate.  They were boarding, but I made it!

I got on the plane, and exhaled.  I looked out the window, and we were flying over Kalingrad Russia. Wow, I was looking down on Russia!.  I landed inFrankfurt, then took a high-speed train direct to Erlangen where I biked home.

Oh my god, what a trip.  I would need lots of time to reflect.  The past 3 days were some of the most stressful, uplifting, emotional, you name it...days for me.  But worth every second.  Our family had finally made it back home : ) !!

Leaving Riga in the morning

Old border crossing of Lith-Lat

View of the fields from where I got the soil

The basketball arena

The Lithuanian gold medal swimmer

Russia from the plane

How locals know Lithuania

Dave Germany: 81-84 (Lith - Hill of Crosses & Riga) 4/5

The Hill of Crosses is probably the #1 place to visit in Lithuania, so I was very pleased that the trip had gone well, and that the day was gorgeous.  The Hill started back in the early 1800s, as a silent protests to the religious oppression by the Russians.  Catholicism was not allowed to be practiced, so this Hill became a symbol for the Lithuanians.  It got bull-dozed several times, but the stubborn Lithuanians kept building it back up!  And since the wars have passed by, the Hill is now preserved and considered THE place of pilgrimage for Lithuanians.

I cruised along the country side in silence after I left Kaunas, seeing farms and forests, and again with my thoughts going to family.  The only 'experience' along the way was stopping for gas.  It was my first time fueling up in Europe, so there were a few nerves.  But all went well, and I was back on the road.  After 2 hours, I arrived to the site.  It was a small site, but very busy on Saturday afternoon.  I parked the car, and first walked over to an area where things were being sold.

During all of this timing of thinking, I had thought of a very special, very powerful idea for our family.  I wanted to purchase a cross for our family, and place it on the Hill of Crosses.  I wanted to symbolize our return as a family.  I wanted the Urbon blood line to always have placed a cross on the Hill.  I would quickly learn how emotional this would become.

I first set out to find a cross for our family.  Luckily they sold crosses on site, as several old ladies were making them on site.  If you know me, I looked up and down each one, thought and thought, until finally the right one called to me.  Again, this wooden Cross had to be special.  I paid the lovely old lady, and then asked for a picture with her.  At first she didn't understand (she didn't speak English!), but a younger girl translated, and the old lady got all excited.  I came around the table, and she grabbed me around the ribs like I was family.  I asked the girl to translate why I was here, and the old lady smiled.  Pretty neat.

The next step, was to personalize the cross.  After lots of thought, I wanted to put everyone's name in the family, starting with Benedicta, and ending with me.  And also wanted to include the partners/husbands/wives too.  I took a marker and slowly put everyones name down on the back.  Then I wasn't sure what to say with the extra space, but then it just came to me, and when I read it back to myself, I started to tear up.  Wow, this was becoming very real.  There was also a spot for a message on the front, so again, I wrote what came to me.  Words can't fully explain how I felt.

I collected myself, and then walked over to the Hill with the cross in hand.  The hill wasn't huge, but it was very powerful.  As you got closer, you realized there were probably over 1 million crosses of all different sizes.  i took the time to walk around the whole place, and paused to read several messages.  I was hoping to find an "Urbonas", but no such luck.

I then needed to find a place for our cross.  We're not a family that wants to be up in the front, thats not Gpa Urbon!  There was a nice creek in the back of the hill, and I thought how important water was to our family.  Gpa loved to fish, we all love to fish, we all love to swim, and Benedicta had to cross water to come to America.  So I found a special spot, with a clear view of the water, and placed it in the ground.  I sat there for a while, soaking in the view and just reflecting.  I was very proud.  Even years from now, when the cross itself is gone, our family spirit will always be on the hill.

I could have stayed there all day.  But I walked back to the car, even feeling a little guilty for leaving, but I had to keep moving.  The next stop was to be a rebel, and cross the border and head to Riga!  Crossing the border was just like the states, just a sign.  But I pulled over, and snapped a photo.  The funniest part was that a guy was mowing his lawn, and of course stopped mowing at the border.  You think the property line between a neighbor is intense...imagine cutting the grass of another country!

I used the GPS to get into Riga, but only used the maps feature, just to make sure the car company had no evidence I was there.  When I got there, a major festival was happening, so I found a parking spot in a big lot, did my best to read the sign and pay, and then grabbed my bag to 1st head to the Museum of the Occupation.  Tanya had been in Riga in 2005, and recommended the museum.  It was free, and helped me a lot to learn about the Gulags (Russian Work Camps) and how Russia & Germany ruled over these people in the 1900s (very sad).  I then headed over to the hostel and checked in.  Again it was cheap, but very nice.  I rested a bit, then headed out to walk around the port city.

I thought a lot about Tanya, and how I was re-tracing her path from 2005.  Pretty neat for a little brother.  The city was having a major festival & it was Saturday night, so I had plenty to walk around and see.  I hit all the top sites recommended for travelers, then walked over the main part of the festival along the water, and grabbed dinner, and of course a beer.  I true Baltic meal!   I was pretty exhausted from the day, so it tasted great.  I sat there, watching people celebrate a summer night, listening to music.  I wanted to stay around until dark for fireworks, but my body was too tired.  Sunday was 3.5 hour drive back to Vilnius to catch my 230pm flight.

The old lady that made the cross

The hill from the road

The main entrance to the Hill

A main statue as approaching the hill

The Hill off to the left

The Hill from the side

Up close view

Crosses on crosses

People get very personal and creative...here's a bike wheel

On top of the Hill 

Back of our family cross

Front of our family cross

Our family's view of the water!!

Taking a few minutes to reflect

Lith-Lat border

Inside the museum of the occupation

Main square of Riga

The iconic statue for freedom

Cooking up meat the old school way!

Walking around the festival

Dinner in Riga

Capped off the night with a pastry on the water

Dave Germany: 81-84 (Lith - Kaunas) 3/5

With the help of my GPS I rode along the country side towards Kaunas.  I had booked a hostel here for Friday night, and after my parking ticket at Trakai, I would need to be a little more careful with where to park the car.  I got to the city around 7pm, and luckily found a parking garage near my hostel.  I parked the car, and simply hoped it would be there in the morning!

My 2nd night was also in a very cheap hostel, the Monks Bunk.  And as I walked up to it, I could tell why.  But I walked inside, and was totally wrong.  It was clean, and the receptionist spoke great English.  The walls had flags painted from around the world, they also had a shelf of Lithuanian beers.  Of course I picked one out.  And the best part was that she gave me a great recommendation on where to find local food & a great walk afterwards to take in the city.  So I cleaned up, and headed out!

As I walked around I saw more evidence of oppressive times.  Kaunas was a blue collar city, and so certain streets and buildings were still pretty run down.  I then passed a sign that said "Georgia on my mind".  I read it and got a little emotional.  For me, it wasn't Georgia...but Michigan, South Carolina & Mississippi.  I had been thinking about family non-stop during the day, and I strangely felt this message speak to me, as if it knew what I was thinking about.

For dinner I walked to Bernuliu Uzeiga.  A great Lithuanian feel.  I sat down and ordered Cold Beet soup for an appetizer.  The tour guide had talked about it all day, so I had to try it.  It looks a nasty pink, but tastes very good!  For the meal, I looked the menu up and down, and wanted to try several dishes.  But since I was alone, I had to choose one.  The server recommended the troskinta jautiena (see the picture!).  Again, it was delicious.

During the meal, there was some old time music playing in the background, and I started to have thoughts about Mom, Gpa Urbon, and Benedicta that I hadn't had before.  Benedicta left a farm in 1905, and ended her life in a house, wow she must have felt like a queen!  What about her husband, what was my Great Gpa like?   My mom never knew her Gpa Urbon, as he died when she was young.  And my Gpa Urbon, he didn't grow up with grandparents, since they were back in Lithuania.  How did that change the family dynamics?  And what was it like when my Gpa Urbon was younger.  What was a Christmas morning in 1930 in Grand Rapids Michigan like for their family?  I imagined my Gpa and his mom playfully dancing together to music, like every mother-son should.

These were some great thoughts, and carried me the rest of the night.  It was a lovely evening, so I strolled down a walking mall to the center of the city for about 2 hours.  It was a Friday night, so the street life was in full force.  And while walking around, I saw lots of tall, thin guys that looked just like me!  Again, it was a warming feeling.  Since I had an early morning again, I headed back to the hostel and rested up.

I woke up early again and showered up (this time they had towels!).  It was breakfast bars again, and out the door again by 8am.  I arrived to find my car where I had left it, with no tickets (woohoo!).  The next stop was IX Fort (Ninth Fort) just outside Kaunas.  It was an fort, but was better known as a huge memorial to the 10000s of Jews killed during WWII.  It captured the struggle and pain of so many years and so many people.

I arrived at 9am, and was the only one there.  Surprising, but I ended enjoying it all to myself.  Once again it was a blue sky, and the birds were chirping a little bit.  The park was huge, and you could see the epic structure from the parking lot.  I walked up to it, and it captured my mind by design.  The pictures are the only way to describe it.  I walked the grounds, and read all the plaques.  A lot of Lithuanians had suffered here, and all within the past 100 years.  The Russians & Germans of early 1900s were pretty cruel to the Lithuanians.  I could see why Benedicta decided to leave, and didn't want to go back.

It was after nearing 11am so I walked back to the car, headed for my next stop 2 hrs away, the Hill of Crosses.

Outside of Monks Bunk

Wall of Flags

Lithuania Beers!

Svyturys local brew

Massive empty cement structure, reminder of recent oppresive times

Mich, SC, and Miss on my mind

Front of the restaurant

My view inside the restaurant

The menu and what I had for dinner

Cold beet soup (in pink with potatoes for an appetizer)... very local

The servers recommendation... so good!

walking mall in Kaunas

ninth fort - very solumn feel to it

A sign on the wall of the nearby ninth fort

the monument capturing the struggle

zoomed in you can see the faces and the fists