Lenox 2000 - All Good Things Must Come to an End

Thursday Evening, 9/22/00

I arrive at 9PM at the home of my former exchange student, Bente Weidmann. The apartment is large and is situated directly over several stores in downtown Leichlingen, a suburb of Cologne. After a bit of hugging and kissing, we spend the next couple of hours catching up on each other's lives. I give the family gifts that I have brought from the US, including chunky peanut butter, ziplock bags, a photo book of the US (the same book as I left at Zum Sternen), and the last nerf football for Nicholas, the 10 year old.

Friday, 9/23/00

The next morning I am served the same breakfast I have eaten every day on this trip, and I love it each day. I leave with Bente's cousin, Sandra, and sit in on her advanced English class, the first class of the day, at 8AM. The desks are aligned in a rough square and everyone faces each other.

We speak in English and the students have a good command of the language; many of them have been exchange students to the U. S. for a year. The teacher teaches the Queen's English, and some students are tickled by the differences, such as Z or Zed, crisps for potato chips, etc. We speak briefly about the upcoming American elections and about the Germany Bulletin Board on AOL. I also mention Ben's Bauernhof and would not be surprised to to see some new posters. We talk about the fact that most U. S. tourists travel south and few get to the northern part of Germany. After an hour or so, the class ends and I drive back to the Weidmann house, where Benjamin is just waking up.

Bente works until 3PM, so I am escorted by her twin brother, Benjamin, to Cologne. We drive a short distance to the Leichlingen train station

and wait for the the train to Cologne, a trip of about 30 minutes. We exit the bahnhof (the main train station), in Cologne, and emerge across the street from the "Dom,"

a large church built in the 1300s or so. It is quite impressive, but it badly needs a pressure washing. We hoof over to the fussgangerzone, the pedestrian area,

and search for art galleries. The yellow pages we have brought with us helps us locate a couple, and we find more by chance. Our mission is to find an oil painting of a street scene or village in Germany, but we are unsuccessful. After an hour or so, we stop for lunch at a brauhaus, a "traditional Cologne restaurant." I can't really say that I could detect the differences between traditional and any other, but it doesn't really matter. Ben has a salad, and I eat 1/2 a roast chicken mit pommes (fries.)

We continue our search, but surrender after an hour or two and avail ourselves of Italian "eis," which is ice cream. We head for the "U-Bahn," or subway, and meet Bente, who has just gotten off work. Four stops later we are at her apartment, which is a studio. Kitchen, sofa, bed, and TV all in one room.

After 20 minutes, we head back to the U-Bahn and take it to the Bahnhof to catch the train to Leichlingen. We get to the Bahnhof and have time to spare before the next train, so i take some photos at the Dom, including this one of Ben & Bente, and I buy some souvenirs for my daughters.

Soon we are back at the Weidmann house and after saying hello, Bente and her cousin, Sandra, who lives with the Weidmanns, accompany me across the street to the supermarket where I buy a German can of Coca Cola for my daughter Megan, as well as a can of Pina-Colada soda, and a variety of chocolate bars, including 6 Ritter Sport Coco, and 5 Lindt Piaztazi (pistachio.)

At about 7PM, we take a short ride to a beautiful restaurant on the Wupper River. There are 8 of us altogether,

from left to right, Gabi (Bente's mom,) Bente, Benjamin in back, Ribke (Bente's sister,) Nicholas (Bente's brother,) Sandra, Frank, and me. We have also brought the dog, Uhle, a German Shepherd mix, who sits under the large table the entire time and doesn't disturb us once. This is the only time I have seen a dog in a restaurant, despite being aware that it is common practice in Germany. We had also expected Herr & Frau Karmazin to join us. Herr Karmazin is the man who brought Bente to the U. S. with the other exchange students 3 years earlier, but alas, he never shows.

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We depart the restaurant at about 9:30PM and Frank and I drive Bente to her apartment in Cologne. She has to get up at 3:30AM to get to work at 4:30AM. We drop her off and hug good-bye, promising to meet again, either in Florida or Germany. Hopefully both! I am teary eyed on the drive back to Leichlingen. I wonder if it's because I'll miss Bente or because my journey nears it's end. Probably both. After an hour of conversation at the dinner table, it is time for bed.

Saturday, 9/24/00

I wake just before 7AM, pack my bags, and eat my last brotchen. I don't know what I will miss most, but I know I must return soon.