If you want to see the photos in more detail... such as the one with the windtowers which aren't so wonderfully visable, I believe you can click on the photos to make them bigger.

Early Impressions

Two things that struck me were all the yellow fields and the wind towers!
Both are energy production related. The yellow crop they call 'raps' is for making oil ( like for salads and cooking I am told) The tall wind towers which with their tall white slender bodies topped with their tri-blade fixtures are wayyyyyy more frequent than in Canada and can be found here and there mainly in groups like so many strange beasts gathered to cut the breeze. I was told that 15% of the country's ?electricity? comes from wind towers! Floating through the air was the delicious aroma of the raps and due to the unusually warm weather , spring had come early which was a pleasant sight and a contrast from the Canada I had left behind. One other thing was that the van that Torsten ( the father of the first family I was at) was driving was a Mercedes Benz and STANDARD. Manual transmission here is very very popular! They know the way to do it! Also it is my personal belief that the drivers are crazier than back home haha. But the roads here I love, it's like your closer to nature and in some places they have what the call and Allie (probably not spelled right) but think 'ah-lee' which is basically trees lining both sides of the road and hanging over the road! It's wonderful! I should put a pic up some time. So, there I was , finally traveling through the place I'd wanted to visit! Not talking to someone from there while in Canada, not looking at pictures but traveling through it, breathing the air, and taking in he sights. The family first family lives at the end of a little stone village road in a tiny village called Augzin which is basically just a collection of houses but very quaint and lovely. Their house used to be a barn and house attached to each other but now is renovated and the whole thing is quite liveable. The walls are of red brick and the roof of warm, old tiles or 'dachsteine' - roofrocks - . Being the last house it's very nice to have houses only to the east side but it's not exactly a party street and it's very pleasant. In the family are 3 boys and 2 girls. The oldest 13 and the youngest like 2. The father is an electrician for solar energy and has his own firm which has three employees.

On the way to Torsten's house we stopped at a bakery! yum! Picked up a couple of his kids from school and one of his worker's children and at last we arrived at the house, my first stay in Germany, at the end of a bumpy little stone road. I had arrived! (more to come)

Maybe I should kind of actually give you all an interview of my trip:

I am in Europe and mainly in Germany for almost 5 months wwoofing, trying to learn german, having fun , and visiting different places. Wwoofing is just working on an organic farm or place without getting paid but getting your room and board and in my case living with families. (world wide oppertunities on organic farms) www.wwoof.de While I'm here in Europe though I'm going to be visiting some relatives, seeing the town where my Opa grew up, and visiting my friend in Garmisch Partenkirchen ( a nice place in Bavaria ). I have been in Berlin, hopefully will be going to Neurenburg, and will be departing on the airplane from Paris. My first 2 farm stays have been more in the northern part of Germany, and on saturday I leave for 2 months in 2 diferent places in Thuringia.

Man, I should have done this a month ago. Ah, regardless, I will try to fill you in on what's taken place in the last month and try to be a little better from now on. On April 24th 2007 I boarded a plane at Pearson International airport in Toronto and flew to Europe. The flight was about 7 hours or so long and I left in the evening and arrived in Amsterdam's airport the next morning (6 hours forward ) . Sleeping was difficult on the plane and possibly would have been better if I had had the window seat. As it was I had the centre. To my left was a man originally from Pakistan and to my right a lady originally from Nigeria. ( both don't live in their old countries anymore) Onboard the service was teriffic from the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines! To my own discredit I clumsily tipped part of my coffee over causing some soak into my jeans! Garrr... lol. When I was in the airport before my connect to Berlin I hit the washroom and worked away trying to get rid of the coffee stain. While It wasn't an entirely successful venture the result was at least better than before. Boarding the plane to Berlin I actually carried my guitar onboard with me annnd my backpack! They just found a spot for my guitar and I got it back on my way out. Now I know for any future travel that you don't have to pull teeth to get an instrument safely through air travel. Arriving before 12 pm in Berlin I wasn't asked any questions about what I was planning on doing in Germany...
There was no trouble finding my pickup and off we went... Before too long we we were whizzing along away from Berlin on the highway heading for the Bundesland (state or provence) of Mecklinburg-Vorpommern!

Hey everyone! So now I have a blog...you know one of those places you try to write a few thoughts down so people can connect to your wavelength every now and again. I will try to update it more than once every millennium but we'll see what happens because the next place I am at has no internet . 'clutches throat' NO INTERNET ... das ist nicht gut!! So I will have to go to an Icafe...or something. So... following this should be some more posts with writing and perhaps even... Bilder.... (pics)