Dear Reader(s) of my blog. It has been awhile. Since Carnival time I have gotten married. Hitched, as they say. It was a wonderful wedding. Of course not everything went exactly as planned, but it was planned that something would not go exactly as planned. I must say that those things that were unexpected only added to the flavour of the event. Furthermore, there were so many wonderful surprises that I can safely say that our wedding was something way beyond what we had dreamed of. My parents, Grandma Jean and Glennys were the first to arrive. They flew into Frankfurt and we immediately put them to work folding church programs. As so many hands made such light work, we very quickly had time to explore Frankfurt a bit. Ken and Kevin Oltjenbruns joined us as well for our explorations. It was a very busy time, particularly for Carola, but we had a great time, and really enjoyed showing people around Frankfurt. Frankfurt also seemed to enjoy it, as she was showing her best face with respect to the weather. It was warm and sunny, with many spring flowers popping up everywhere they could. This was not the Frankfurt one knows during a rainy/snowy/sleety winter day. I am glad everyone else got to know the better side of this bi-polar city.

Over the next few days, we accumulated various Americans who had made their way across the pond. To this day we remain so pleasantly surprised by the number of people who made such an effort to find their way to this corner of the world. Furthermore, between the boat trip, polter abend, ceremony and reception, the two cultures and languages came together amazingly well and I have heard only positive comments about how nice it was to meet such kind and interesting people from so far away.

After the wedding, Carola and I spent several days with Cousin Jenna and Cousin Christian touring through the rugged beauty of the German-Austrian Alps. It was very relaxing and it also allowed us to catch up on some sleep.

Jenna and Christian dropped us off at the main train station in Munich, and we started our honeymoon journey. Carola did not know where we were going, so with each mile, her curiosity was fulfilled or invigorated. You will have to ask her which one was dominate. After switching trains and walking through an underground passageway, we were able to take in the skyline of Halle (an der Saale). The skyline is impressive – for how ugly it is. Mind you, Google Maps in Germany does not yet have the ability for one to view the skyline online. Therefore I was a bit lost as we emerged to behold giant communist structures, empty and forlorn, through years of depopulation and neglect. Mind you, the infrastructure was wonderful. The roads were perfectly paved and the sidewalks newly reconstructed – as the former GDR has had plenty of money for public works for quite some time. But however well-built the roads and sidewalks were, the train station and surrounding area maintained a mist of depression and listlessness that could not be scrubbed away.


With much happiness, and after much trepidation, I can say that the area surrounding the train station is not representative of Halle as a whole. As we walked toward the city center, new life was breathed into us as we began to see how pretty the city could be. The downtown has a wonderful square with a lively market. The university brings a youth to the city that can be felt in the cafes and shops. However, the city is also unlike any that can be found in Bavaria or Hessen. In many ways it reminded me how Tallinn must have felt 6 or 7 years ago. Less that one block away from the Halle’s main city square, remain a few abandoned buildings that look as though they have not been occupied – though they surely have been – since 1944. This contrast made Halle a very interesting city to relax in and wonder around. We took a tour of the main Lutheran church. This church was unique because it has four steeples. Previously, two church had stood on this spot, with two steeples each. However, a long time ago, the four steeples remained and a new church was built between the four existing steeples. In one of the two taller steeples lived a family whose job it was to watch out for fires and alert the fire department so that they could take the necessary action. The steeple was occupied until the beginning of the 20th century. It was a very relaxing few days in Halle and Leipzig, days that Carola and I will never forget.




Now I am on a high-speed train from Rosenheim to Frankfurt. A little while ago we were traveling 300km (187mi) per hour. Carola and I are returning home after spending a long weekend in Rosenheim. However, I have had a bit of a longer journey to Rosenheim than Carola. I first had a layover in Serbia, Novi Sad to be exact. I was there for my employer’s annual meeting. After months and months of working for the European Fund for Southeast Europe, I finally had a chance to see the Balkans in person. It was completely engrossing. While I learned a lot about microfinance during the meeting, I tried as hard as I could to learn about the Serbia outside the conference hall. It was not so easy as my knowledge of the language is somewhere between null and nada. However, I was able to get a good impression of things from talking with some of the locals, and listening to our tour guide. It is way to early for me to draw any real conclusions, but from what I saw, I have the impression that Serbians are very honest and proud.