There were many activities this week so get ready for a long and pictureful blog!

On Monday, I again went to language class. Nothing really new to report on that, but it was the first class with the other teacher, Jens, who is a portly fellow. I believe I like his style better than the other lady. He's quite funny and likes to laugh.

On Tuesday, I went to soccer practice again and was informed that because I listed that I was a part of a college team that I would have to wait four weeks to play after my papers actually went through, and by then it wouldn't be worth it for the club to pay the registration fees for me to play in one or two matches. I will still continue to go to practice because that's one of my only forms of exercise and places to hang out with people in my age group.

On Wednesday I got a package in the mail from Mom and Dad. In it were some Obama-Biden buttons that I had requested so I could get into the election spirit on the side of the Atlantic. I ended up attaching them to the strap of my messenger bag.



Walking on the street, standing in a line, or even at the train ticket machine people come up and say in either German or broken English supportive things backing Obama. Apparently about 80% of the German population would support Obama. One of my favorite quotes that I've heard is that, "If Germans were allowed to vote in the election, Obama would win in a landslide." That just says to me how much people care in this election, how powerful a person the President of the US is and how many people, not just Americans, his decisions influence.

Continuing Wednesday...I usually play with the 'old men' in a form of a pick-up game, however on this night they had a match with a neighboring city's 'old man' team. Heiko and I went well before the match to rake leaves off the penalty area and lines. Here's our damage:





It was right at sunset which was beautiful:



Thursday was a day I had been looking forward to for a while. My good friend Jordan, a fellow pilot and student at Bethel, came to visit me for the weekend.

Jordan and I went to Speyer on Friday where there were many statues which we took pictures of.





Also in Speyer is a Technical Museum. What are two pilots to do when there is a museum with airplanes?! We went to it, of course. There were many things of interest here, but what caught our eye was a Lufthansa 747 that was mounted high above the ground in a take-off position. We took a slide down instead of the stairs:









Saturday was another fully planned day. Soon after a brunchish meal of omelets, we took a driving tour through the vineyard's on our way to the train station, where we headed to Worms. After departing the train, we found an old Jewish cemetery. Many of the headstones date from the 11th and 12th centuries.



We found the statue of Martin Luther. (You may also notice in this picture I got a new jacket.)



Later in the afternoon we headed back to Wintersheim for in the evening was a Wine and Cheese event put on by the vineyard. A room in the tower was set up for 35 people and Jordan and I were two of those. We literally did not know what to expect and what the process was. Seemingly planned, Heike told us to sit at a table with four other people who immediately asked me, in English, if my name was Jon. The group of four had come from Wiesbaden for the evening and they consisted of a lady born in the Netherlands, an Austrian and two Germans. The conversation was great and they were very willing to explain the different cheeses as I was happy to explain some of the wines to them.

Heiko had been busy preparing for this week. I would normally find him sitting at the kitchen table with three or four wine glasses, many wine bottles, and many different cheeses surrounding him. Still working on Friday night, he had to select which cheeses went with which wines. It looked like a long tedious process.

Here are some pictures from the evening:











Today I accompanied him back to the airport. I had read on the internet somewhere that at the Frankfurt Airport, they have an observation deck that you can go out onto and watch the action of the airport. Being the pilots we are, you can bet on it that we were out there for a solid hour, snapping pictures and plane spotting.







It was a very fun and action filled weekend.

Until next time,
Jon
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Note to the reader: You can download the pictures I have posted here by clicking on the photo. On the page that pops up, look for the option "Download" above the picture.

To catch Jordan's version, click on this.