Greetings once again! It's been a busy week, I'm not really sure where to start describing it. Last saturday after Chris's party I took the van and trailer and headed south. Rachel had told me that she wouldn't get off work until 10 so I was planning on getting to Thomashof (where she lives/works) around 10 or a little later. I thought better of it on saturday though and decided to leave here earlier so I could get to Thomashof while it was still light. That was one of the best decisions I ever made.
Thomashof is a small Mennonite village northeast of Karlsruhe. In this village is a Mennonite retreat center also called Thomashof. To be fair, the village doesn't have much more than the retreat center, a church (which is connected), and a few houses. Still, the first time I drove through the place, I didn't find the place I was supposed to go. Luckily just past town is a parking area that gave me plenty of room to turn around and head back in. I found the retreat center and, after a while of searching, found a parking space big enough for my oversized vehicle. It was 7:30 and I had two and a half hours until Rachel got off work and could show me where I would be spending the next three nights. So I took a walk to kill some time and discovered the amazing beauty of southern Germany. Unfortunately, I left my camera in the van so I don't have any pictures 'but,' I thought, 'there are more days for taking pictures.' It rained the rest of the time I was in Thomashof. At 10 I met Rachel and crashed for the evening. There was a wedding at Thomashof that weekend and Rachel had to work every day I was there but evenings gave us some good times to talk and laugh and have a general good time.
Tuesday I left Thomashof and drove 20 minutes to Pforzheim where Chris was. The house is an old farm house that is falling apart and worthless. Chris and Claudia are renting it from three sisters and putting between 10 and 12.000€ of their own money into it to remodel and renovate. It makes absolutely no sense to me but here I am and here I'm helping. While I was there we gutted the kitchen and bathroom (they're about the same size).....(not small). In the kitchen we tore up what I thought was a perfectly good sub-floor and Chris had wood ordered to replace it. In the bathroom we took off all the tile, scraped plaster off the walls, cut out the floor under the shower where it was all rotten, and replaced all the plumbing. Chris readily admited that he didn't have much experience doing this kind of thing and I tried to offer a few helpful tips whenever I could but he's not the kind of guy to take suggestions easily.
Friday I traveled around to different houses picking up goods for GAiN. I am continually surprised by what the Europeans refer to as a passable road. A very narrow 10% down grade winding through houses for 3km is not my idea of passable but I made it safely and in one piece. After my last pickup at Oberamstadt I decided that rather than head to Weierhof, I would cut my trip short and go back to Giessen. I did this......well because I could. There were a number of reasons. First, I still didn't know whether anyone would be in Weierhof or if everyone had gone to Wintersheim and I didn't know if they were expecting me in Wintersheim. Second, when we finished loading at Oberamstadt I am guessing I was one and a half times over the legal weight for my vehicle not to mention my liscense and I didn't want to hang around waiting for the police to stop me and ask how heavy I was. Third, this was Uli's last week here in Giessen and I was trying to get back here to tell him goodby before he left. I didn't make it in time but I'm still glad I'm back. I have all weekend now to recover and work starts again Monday morning; it will be interesting to see how things change now that Chris is gone.
To all of you: Health and strength and joy for the journey
David
Thomashof is a small Mennonite village northeast of Karlsruhe. In this village is a Mennonite retreat center also called Thomashof. To be fair, the village doesn't have much more than the retreat center, a church (which is connected), and a few houses. Still, the first time I drove through the place, I didn't find the place I was supposed to go. Luckily just past town is a parking area that gave me plenty of room to turn around and head back in. I found the retreat center and, after a while of searching, found a parking space big enough for my oversized vehicle. It was 7:30 and I had two and a half hours until Rachel got off work and could show me where I would be spending the next three nights. So I took a walk to kill some time and discovered the amazing beauty of southern Germany. Unfortunately, I left my camera in the van so I don't have any pictures 'but,' I thought, 'there are more days for taking pictures.' It rained the rest of the time I was in Thomashof. At 10 I met Rachel and crashed for the evening. There was a wedding at Thomashof that weekend and Rachel had to work every day I was there but evenings gave us some good times to talk and laugh and have a general good time.
Tuesday I left Thomashof and drove 20 minutes to Pforzheim where Chris was. The house is an old farm house that is falling apart and worthless. Chris and Claudia are renting it from three sisters and putting between 10 and 12.000€ of their own money into it to remodel and renovate. It makes absolutely no sense to me but here I am and here I'm helping. While I was there we gutted the kitchen and bathroom (they're about the same size).....(not small). In the kitchen we tore up what I thought was a perfectly good sub-floor and Chris had wood ordered to replace it. In the bathroom we took off all the tile, scraped plaster off the walls, cut out the floor under the shower where it was all rotten, and replaced all the plumbing. Chris readily admited that he didn't have much experience doing this kind of thing and I tried to offer a few helpful tips whenever I could but he's not the kind of guy to take suggestions easily.
Friday I traveled around to different houses picking up goods for GAiN. I am continually surprised by what the Europeans refer to as a passable road. A very narrow 10% down grade winding through houses for 3km is not my idea of passable but I made it safely and in one piece. After my last pickup at Oberamstadt I decided that rather than head to Weierhof, I would cut my trip short and go back to Giessen. I did this......well because I could. There were a number of reasons. First, I still didn't know whether anyone would be in Weierhof or if everyone had gone to Wintersheim and I didn't know if they were expecting me in Wintersheim. Second, when we finished loading at Oberamstadt I am guessing I was one and a half times over the legal weight for my vehicle not to mention my liscense and I didn't want to hang around waiting for the police to stop me and ask how heavy I was. Third, this was Uli's last week here in Giessen and I was trying to get back here to tell him goodby before he left. I didn't make it in time but I'm still glad I'm back. I have all weekend now to recover and work starts again Monday morning; it will be interesting to see how things change now that Chris is gone.
To all of you: Health and strength and joy for the journey
David
posted by davidweaverking at 9:20 AM
2 Comments:
Sounds like a blast. How much is gas now in Germany?
How's the food?
Learning German?
Have you made any cultural faux pas?
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