What bad German weather?

It's Sunday afternoon and as I sit here updating the blog, the sun is shinning everything is green and the European weather continues to impress...I am assured however that this season has been rare! All I can say is that our first day here it was snowing and since then it has been grand!


The city of Aschaffenburg has provided us with a nicely paced program to sadly conclude our exchange here in Germany. Not too crammed and plenty of opportunity to enjoy living the German lifestyle.


The team presented at the Rotary District 1950 conference yesterday and although the time window for the presentation was brief I believe we put on a good show. A great evening with the host club last night, thankyou Harald and Isabel.

Wurzburg - The living city!

Like all of our stops along this amazing journey, the departure comes too soon. The same is so true for Wurzburg, what a beautiful city. Positioned on the River Main with winding streets, romantic bridges and castles positioned on hill tops. Sure, having amazing weather helps out but I all the places we've visited have just exceeded expectations.

The vocational day was a real treat for all, speaking for myself spending the day at Knauf was amazing. The efficiency of their logistics program was remarkable and I learn so much.

Thankyou to our amazing hosts, throughout this journey we have all been so lucky with the people we have met and stayed with. I'm sure I speak for all of us in saying thankyou for making this trip unforgettable. 

Germany - the express way...

Saturday 21 May 2011

So as I type this blog post I’m sitting on the steps of a castle built  around 1740, that’s before Oz was even discovered. It’s where I’m staying whilst we’re here in Hasfurt. Remarkable!

Today we visited the world heritage listed town on Bamberg which was beautiful and with the assistance of our tour guide we touched on the large history of the town which is now largely a university based town.

Returning back to Hasfurt at 250km/h on the Autobarn certainly kept the trip interesting. Tonight we dine at the castle with my hosts preparing an Italian extravaganza! 

Farewell Thuringia it's been magic!

Thursday 19 May 2011

Just concluding the second of our two rest days back in Weimar. Sitting in the Goethe park, the sun breaking through the trees, people just relaxing about, church bells ringing in the background – could it get any better…?

So since the last posting we were based in Arnstadt and again met some wonderful people who went well out of there way to make us welcome and show us around. We toured underground tunnels, walked amoungst 1400 year old buildings and explored the tree tops at the Hanich National Park. Our stay in Arnstadt was concluded with an old style dinner at a fully restored forest cabin.

Our vocational days were shared amongst the team and although not necessarily specific to our profession I feel that we all got something out of the experience.

Tomorrow we leave Thuringia bound for Bavaria state. Thuringia has been a remarkable experience, great Bratwurst, delightful brews, beautiful cities and fast cars!

Altenburg!

Saturday 14 May 2011

As I type away we’re sitting on one of the famous Autobarn motorways, ticking along at a lazy 140km/h in our Mercedes van bound for Berlin!

We’ve been based in Altenburg  since Wednesday and our GSE experience continues to provide insight and fond memories with each minute. Altenburg is the most eastern based place we will visit and you can sense the Slovak and Russian influence.

Arriving in Altenburg on Wednesday afternoon we lined up to present to the local Rotary club, and it was by far our best presentation to date. As a group we were much more relaxed and our natural personalities shone through. We’ve adapted our presentation to now include detail around both ourselves and a brief on all things Australiana. We received a series of questions around the population of  Australia and climate.

Our vocational day provided a variety of options for all with Bruce spending some much missed time with his four legged friends, Rebecca discussing HR with an IT company, Justin visiting a company that produces fire protection equipment, Emma working with the Altenburg tourism section, Adam exploring the local brewery and myself touring the country side visiting Bio-gas plants and a Mercedes-Benz central company.

Last night we dined under the stars in the grounds of the Posterstein castle as we ate goulash – prepared by ourselves! At the end of the evening a small presentation was made by Adam and Justin (aka Barbarossa) with the lads managing to get themselves in the local paper (see image).

Farewell Weimar!

Tuesday 10 May 11

Having just returned from our final function in Weimar it’s easy to say that both the Rotary Clubs of Weimar and Weimar Bauhaus also know how to put on a show.

They have shown us the in’s and out’s of Weimar from the concentration camp – Buchenwald to a roof top lunch’s atop the Wurtburg castle, both unrepeatable  and remarkable experiences.

Vocationally we’ve all got some strong insights into our relevant professions, with team members spending time at breweries, forestry organisations, fire stations and event management companies.

Our presentation to the joint meeting of the two Weimar Clubs was a great success with the team proudly representing their relevant clubs.

Again a big thankyou to our host families who made our Weimar experience that little bit more special!

Next stop – Altenburg.

Farewell Erfurt - Bring on Weimar

Saturday 07 May 11

Today our time in Erfurt came to an end. What a wonderful start to our Germany experience, none of us could have asked for a finer time, vocationally, culturally or with our host families. Last night was rounded out with some cocktails and then dinner at the Golden Swam, I must say however that after a couple of 1 litre steins’ I awoke a little sore this morning!

Our journey now takes us up the road to Weimar, a much smaller centre still in the former East Germany district. Speaking of which, it’s been fascinating discussing with people the history around east / west, seeing the old and new mix and so on.

Thankyou to the Rotary Clubs of Erfurt and Erfurt Krammerbruke for a great program, you have a beautiful city that is inviting, clean and fascinating! If the remainder of our time here in Germany is anything to go off we will be over the moon!