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Donauschwaben in den USA |
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VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE JULY 2008
Jugendgruppe
European Trip 2007
By Renée Stein American Aid Society
On
July 18th, 2007 the Jugendgruppe set off
for their much anticipated trip to Europe.
After a year and a half of fundraising and intense practicing, the day
had finally arrived. Our flight on
Air India was to take off at 7 P.M. However,
we were delayed by three hours due to a thunderstorm.
So we sat on the very cramped airplane and hung out.
My dad and I did not mind the wait since we were lucky enough to be
bumped up to first class. I guess
it never hurts to be the leaders of the group.
We
finally took off and arrived in Frankfort the next morning.
After most of us claimed our luggage (some member’s luggage was left in
Chicago) and we found our bus driver Klaus, we were off to see in Rudesheim
on the Rhine. The weather was a bit
rainy, but it cleared up as we were walking throughout the town.
Of course, the girls went shopping and the boys went to the pub for their
first beer. It felt good to stretch
our legs for a bit before we had to head back to the bus for our two hour ride
to Karlsruhe. Karlsruhe
was our first host family stop. They
welcomed us warmly by serving us drinks and homemade Salz
Kipfle. They
were delicious. We were introduced
to our host families and then left with them for dinner and sleep.
At least that is what I did, but I hear some Jugend
went to the bar to meet the Jugend members of the Karlsruhe
group. The next morning we were off
to see the sights of Karlsruhe.
Our first stop was a meeting with the mayor in the “Rathhaus”,
where we had a wonderful reception. Then
we were given a tour of the Rathhaus and a bus tour
of the city. That evening we had a
wonderful grill party with homemade wurst and
various salads. On Saturday, we
headed into the Black Forest. We
stopped in many different towns and did some sightseeing as well as shopping.
Most of us shopped for dirndls, “still” water (everything is
carbonated) and my personal favorite “hazelnut” ice cream.
That evening was our first performance.
The Jugend was a bit nervous but they did an
awesome job. We had many
compliments and so many people were surprised at how well they can dance and
sing.
After
many tearful goodbye’s from the Jugend (many of
our Jugend really bonded with the Karlsruhe
Jugend), we hopped on the bus for Ulm.
Upon our arrival, we were served homemade chili.
Not your typical German meal, but it was still very tasty.
In the afternoon, we visited the Donauschwaben
Museum, the city of Ulm and the Donau
River. In the evening, we had
dinner, played games and went home with our host families for a good night’s
rest. The
next morning we left Ulm for a stop in Sindlefingen
to visit the Donauschwaben research center. We were
only supposed to stay here for an hour, but the Jugendgruppe
was so impressed and interested that we extended our stay a bit longer.
Our next stop was the town of Singen.
Upon our arrival, we were greeted with goulash and homemade krapfen
for dessert. Thank goodness for
such a hearty meal, because we then went to see a castle and had to walk up some
steep hills to get to the top. After
we made it to the top, we rested and took some pictures.
Later that afternoon, we headed into the town of Singen
to meet the mayor. Once again, we
had a lovely reception with delicious sandwiches and drinks.
After meeting with the mayor, we were given some free time to walk around
Singen. Unfortunately
it was raining, many of us just went to a restaurant
to have our first Schnitzel. Can
you believe we had not had a piece of schnitzel yet?
Later that evening we had a very nice party in our youth hostile. While
we were in Singen we had the opportunity to visit
Switzerland. Our first stop was a
small town called Stein am Rhine.
Here we were given some free time to shop and have a bite to eat.
We then drove to the Rhine Falls, where we took a boat ride to see the
waterfalls up close. They are not
as big as the Niagra Waterfalls, but they are just
as gorgeous. We headed back to Singen
after this and got ready for our second performance.
This performance went just as great as the first one.
The Jugend did great especially since the
stage was rather small. On
Wednesday morning, we left Germany and drove to Austria with our first stop
being in Innsbruck. Along the way
we stopped at Schloss Linderhof
and in Garmish which were both very worth while to
see. Once we arrived in Innsbruck
the whole group went out for a nice dinner and later hung out at a pub.
The next morning we headed off to the top of Mount Patschekopel.
We took a suspended cable car to a certain point and then we had to walk
the rest of the way up. In the
wintertime, they usually have the ski lifts running, but not in the summer.
We were told the walk up would take about a half hour, but it turns out
that it took about an hour and a half. It
was a tough climb, but so worth it! The
view was amazing and we had a perfect clear day.
Once we were back at the hotel, many Jugend
took naps, while the others did some laundry.
Friday
morning we left Innsbruck and stopped in some small towns in South Tirol,
Italy before reaching our final destination of Klagenfurht,
Austria. Here we stayed in a very
nice youth hostile which was about a half hour walk from the city center.
That evening, some of us decided to head into town for dinner.
I was a bit disappointed in the city.
Everything was spread out and many stores and restaurants were already
closed or not serving hot food. We
finally found a place and were very happy because they were serving liver
dumpling soup and Kaiserfleisch.
Saturday was a very low-key day for everyone.
Some people went to swim in the Woertersee,
some people went shopping and others went to Minimundos.
Minimundos is a park that has famous
miniature buildings from around the world.
For example, they have the White House and the Statue of Liberty.
It was very neat. In the
evening, the group went out to dinner and enjoyed some drinks at the bar. The
next day we left for Hungary. It
was a long ride but once we arrived in Bawaz, we
were greeted with cake and schnapps. Boy,
do those Hungarians love their schnapps! In
the evening, we performed, had some delicious bean soup and then went home with
our host families. The next day we
were given a tour of Mohacs and then went to Pecs
for some shopping. In the evening,
we had a Wine Cellar party. The
winery is family owned. They gave
us a tour of the cellars, and they told us how all their wines were made.
Of course there was some sampling and they provided us with an excellent
meal. When we arrived back at the Babarc
clubhouse, they provided us with, of course, more Schnapps and a great dance
party. We left at 8 the next
morning to go to a Puzta program.
Here we were given food, carriage rides, a horse show, and some of us
even got to ride the horses. After
the Putza program, we arrived in Szigetufalu
where they had rented a guesthouse for us.
The guesthouse provided us with all of our meals and drinks.
In the evening we had another outstanding performance from our Jugendgruppe
and then had a party with the Szigetufalu group.
The next day we were given a tour of Budapest.
We stopped at St. Mathias Cathedral, the shopping street, and the indoor
Market. In the evening, we had a
wonderful dinner and then a party. At
the party, the Szigetufalu group had their 13-piece Blaskappelle
play for us. They were fantastic! On
Thursday, we left Hungary for my favorite city, Prague, Czech Republic.
It was one of our longest rides but so worth it.
Once we arrived, we went out for dinner and just walked around the city,
which was lit up; it was like a fairy tale.
On Friday, Joe Stein gave us a walking tour.
He took us to the Castle, Old Town, St. Charles Bridge, and Venceslas
Square. In the afternoon, we were
given free time to walk around and go shopping.
That evening the Jugend planned a big night
out at the Disco. By the looks on
their faces the next morning, fun was had by all. It
was very difficult to leave Prague and head back to Germany but the trip must go
on. We arrived in Speyer,
Germany in the late afternoon and had a wonderful Schnitzel dinner.
Speyer always serves the best food!
We had an evening performance and then many of us went with our host
families to an outdoor festival. In
the morning, we were given a walking tour of the city of Speyer
and the famous Speyer dome.
For lunch they served us vegetable soup with wurst
and awesome Dampf Knoedel.
You could choose what kind of sauce you wanted with your Knoedel.
After lunch we headed to a castle that was having a Medieval Festival.
For our evening meal, the Speyer group had a
grill party for us. Then we had to
get ready for another performance. This
performance was on a River Boat Cruise ship.
The ship cruises to various towns along the Rhine.
Even though the stage was very small, it was cool to perform on a river
boat cruise. After our performance,
we headed back to the Speyer clubhouse for a
farewell party. As
we left Speyer for our final destination, we drove
through the wine country and shopped in Heildeberg.
We arrived in Mosbach for dinner and an
evening of relaxation. The next day
we went to Rothenberg ob der Tauber
for some major power shopping. This
was the last day to get that final gift or in some cases a dirndl.
It was a great day to be able to wander on our own.
In the evening, we had our last performance.
You could really tell it was the last performance because the Jugend
were so relaxed and they seemed to really enjoy themselves.
They were even asked for an encore!
Later that evening we had an awesome dance party with the Mosbach
group. They taught us some new, fun
dances. Our last full day turned
out to be a bit of a bummer. It
rained non-stop all day long. In
the morning we stayed at the clubhouse, some of us packed, read, or watched a
movie. In the afternoon, we walked
around the city of Mosbach and went to a very small
mall. Later that evening we had a
farewell party. The next day we
left bright and early for Frankfort airport.
Our flight on Air India left at 2:15 and we arrived back in at O’Hare
Airport at 4:15. Overall,
it was a great trip. It was a
wonderful opportunity for all the Jugendgruppe
members. Many had never been to
Europe, let alone out of the U.S. “It
was really neat to see where many of our “Schwob”
traditions came from”, said Erika Neumayer.
In addition, Mike Schneider said, “I love the breakfasts with all the
different wursts!”
Ingrid Lisauskas wants to know, “When are
we going back?” The
Jugendgruppe would like to thank the following
people for making this a successful trip: all
of our parents for their support, anyone who donated financially to our trip,
Ron Farland for helping us meet our goal, Joe Stein
for being my co-leader and a very awesome tour guide and the Verein
for always encouraging us and for always being our number 1 fan. Article and Pictures by Renée Stein HEIDELBERG GERMANY 2007
INNSBROOK, AUSTRIA 2007
SINGEN, GERMANY 2007
ULM, GERMANY 2007
KARLSRUHE, GERMANY 2007
SWITZERLAND 2007
BAWAZ, HUNGARY 2007
SZIGETUFALU, HUNGARY 2007
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