Our journey is over. It is sad to leave Germany. We have made many new friends here. All of the Rotarians and their families and friends have been such gracious hosts. We have many wonderful memories of our visit. This was the trip of a lifetime, truly! It is time to return home to America to be with our own families and return to our normal lives. Vielen, vielen dank to Rotary Distrikt 1850 and the Rotary Clubs of Bremerhaven-Nordsee, Wilhelmshaven, Norden, Papenburg, Vechta, and Bremen Buerger Park! Tschuss! (good-bye) Bis bald! (until we meet again)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
The Mercedes Benz THE ROCK is AWESOME!
On Monday we visited the Mercedes Benz production facility in Bremen. We were told the complex has over 10,400 employees. The first part of the tour we saw robots welding the body parts of the cars together. The large building had very few people, so one had to wonder where all the employees worked. Well, we found many of them working on the assembly line. It was impressive to see the working conditions. Mercedes makes great efforts to make sure its people do not become injured. The assembly works change work stations every couple of hours, which helps them to be more interested in their work.
The highlight of our trip to Mercedes Benz was an awesome trip to THE ROCK! We were given the chance to test drive the new GRK, a rugged four wheel drive vehicle. There are many special features to this vehicle that allow you to drive on adverse off road conditions. Check out these pictures!
Vehicle drives on Extremely Bumpy Road
Driving up and down the Mountain (80% grade)
Bremen, Our Final Station
Bremen is the final place we are visiting during our GSE program. We will go to Hamburg for the day on Tuesday. Bremen is a wonderful small city of about 600,000 citizens. We see fewer cars here because so many people walk, use bicycles, or take the tram to move around town. It is a clean city. When you walk down the street and see a red brick path, WATCH OUT! A bicyclist may be approaching.
Meet Roland! He is in the Town Square and Other Places around Bremen
This is the Bremen Symphony. Ask a Team Member When they are Home
The downtown area has a large pedestrian only district. Only service vehicles are allowed. It is a nice place for us to do some shopping on Saturday morning. In the afternoon we have a guided tour of the historical area. We saw the Rathaus (town hall) and Dom (cathedral), two of the oldest buildings in the city.
About 80% of the buildings in the city were destroyed during the bombings of WWII. Some of the buildings that survived were moved to the city center. Many of the buildings were rebuilt new in the 1960’s but retained their original architectural character. So the city has been able to retain much of its original ‘feel’. There are many newer structures, too.
The weather is unusually warm for this area and much like we experience in Virginia, but with less humidity. Air conditioning is generally not used here, as people are energy and environmentally aware.
Bicycling is a lot of fun in Bremen. It is easy to drive a bike into the countryside or thru the city. There is a delightful drive along the Weser River. One can see people playing, sunbathing, or otherwise enjoying the weekend.
Vechta is a Quiet and Charming Community
Last week we visited a rural community called Vechta. Vechta is a county between Oldenburg and Osnabruck along the primary autobahn that connects Southern Germany to Bremen and Hamburg. The area has a quiet charm and a lovely town also called Vechta.
Enjoying a piece of home at Bocklage's home near Vechta
GSE Team Tours Vechta
On Tuesday May 31 we visited the Grimme Farm Machinery Factory. Christine Grimme, a leader in the firm and a Rotarian, gave us the tour. It was a rainy day, so it was good to be indoors. Grimme is a family owned business that manufactures different farm equipment. The most important is a potato harvester. We walked the assembly, saw the automated warehouse, and visited the offices. The firm uses modern business practices for logistics management, communications and other techniques to be competitive. We are impressed by the many small/midsized family owned German businesses that are located in small towns and primarily export their goods to other countries.
We also visited the Andreaswerks organization that has a mission similar to Goodwill Industries back home. We witnessed people with disabilities being trained to do work locally in Vechta. The program is very impressive. Some of the trainees live nearby in housing especially for them. Other trainees live with their families. Later in the week we ate lunch at a restaurant that employed some of the graduates of the program. The restaurant is operated by Andreaswerk. In the same building there were a gift shop and a picture framing business, all having handicapped workers.
Most of the places we have visited in Northern Germany are lowlands. We heard stories of how some of the land was first settled. Peat bogs or moors were and are common. The peat was used for home construction and for fuel, like firewood. Eventually, canals were built to drain the wetland and create a means for transportation. The canals are still evident today, especially near coastal areas, along with dykes to keep the water from the sea out.
Well, we had a fun day visiting a moor. There were exhibits telling us about the nature in a typical moor. The many plants and animals cannot survive in a moor, but special species can. It was a beautiful place to enjoy. We had fun watching Jaime climb across the water on a rope bridge. Ken Frantz watch out!
Jaime Becomes Adventuresome Cross the Water
On Thursday we witnessed the Ascension Day procession in the town of Vechta. The procession was a religious service to commemorate Christ leaving earth after the resurrection.
One of the highlights for our visit to Vechta was our dinner at the Vechta museum. The Vechta Rotary Club joined us to celebrate our visit to Vechta. After a presentation by the museum curator, we had a small meal, a little wine, and lots of singing. Thank you to Robert Eilers for leading the Rotarians, family members, and GSE team in song! Everyone had a great time singing German and American folk songs from the 1960’s.
Robert (right) and Friend Play Guitar
We All Sing at our Vechta Farewell Social
Marion Wendt, GSE Team from Germany, Enjoys the Vechta Social, too!
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