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Background: As Europe's largest economy and most populous nation, Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.

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By Edison Wildcats
July 15th 2008

Heide-Park

Europe » Germany » District of Hamburg » Hamburg

DSCN2358

Today was Heide-Park.... and it was pretty darn sweet! We met at the school at 8 and departed on a very nice charter bus for the 45 minute trip south to the park. The weather was pretty good really, overcast and around 70 with no real rain. The park itself was much bigger and more elaborate than I had imagined. You can view the park web site here : . Just click on the Union Jack on the right for an English version. The park features several very impressive rollercoasters including the "Colossos" which has the steepest drop of any wooden [View Full Entry]

By travelsincognito
July 11th 2008

Of birth places and sex orgies

Europe » Germany » District of Hamburg » Hamburg

Hamburg city hall
as seen from the Alster arcades.

10 July: AFTER THE SECOND NIGHT at the guesthouse I again get lucky. A small ground floor bedroom -- the only one with internet plug-in -- becomes available. I move... in a hurry. I now can post these scribbles with snapshots again, even in the middle of the night, if I wish. When my mother was pregnant with me after the war, she was warned about high infant mortality statistics at the hospital in Bergedorf where she lived, so off she went to deliver her baby just outside the boundaries of Hamburg. Today I am checking out Reinbek, this small town [View Full Entry]

By Edison Wildcats
July 10th 2008

Rock Climbing Pics and VIDEO!

Europe » Germany » District of Hamburg » Hamburg

Way Down

(Depending on your browser and connection, the video may or may not play. Please let me know if you have any trouble! Either send me a message, post a comment or email me directly.) This particular video will play sideways as that is how it was shot and I don't have access to any video editing programs here. Our students were quite busy Wednesday evening. A solid group went for a tour of Hamburg SV stadium (the local pro soccer club), and others were packed with other plans. Poor Jeff though was without anything to do. I had received an offer [View Full Entry]

By monoclaw
July 10th 2008

Hamburg

Europe » Germany » District of Hamburg » Hamburg

Here in Hamburg, they have a special name for their special weather. Schmuttelvetter. Even if you know no German, it works as an onomatopoeia to tell you what it´s like; grey, cool, air full of drifting drizzle that slowly soaks you without you knowing it. We arrived here night before last, after a late night short haul from Berlin, where we were supposed to stay. Since the only train we could catch was an Inter City Express (ICE TRAIN!), it was going to be really expensive, so we decided to use a day of travel on our rail pass. So we [View Full Entry]

By Edison Wildcats
July 8th 2008

Bergedorf and PICS

Europe » Germany » District of Hamburg » Hamburg

reflection

Today we took a great trip to the nearby town of Bergedorf. While there, we toured a castle, walked through the woods, stopped to play a bit, smapled the fare at a local street market, and thew kids shopped to their hearts content. We left in a sort of Seattle rain, more of a mist really. By the time we stepped off of the train in Bergedorf, it had stopped. We first stopped at a very old church for a look around at the old architecture and painting inside. After that, when we popped up to the castle, it was already [View Full Entry]

By Edison Wildcats
July 7th 2008

Students Weekend Stories Part 1

Europe » Germany » District of Hamburg » Hamburg

Here are some of the accounts written by our students of their weekend with their host families. I will post more as I get them, but this should be a good start. I just thought it would be fun for you to be able to see what all of the kids are up to over here. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Over the weekend I did a lot of swimming. On Saturday we went swimming for six hours at ,,Die Insel'' with Shelby and Maren. On Sunday we went to the Baltic Sea with Shelby and Maren. When we got there we went swimming at [View Full Entry]

By Edison Wildcats
July 6th 2008

Weekend Pics

Europe » Germany » District of Hamburg » Hamburg

Alster1

I spent the majority of the weekend in the downtown area as all of our kids are out and about with their host families. On Saturday, I made my way via S-Bahn to the city center. I spent the day scouting points for our "Amazing Race" and viewing the sights. It was a very warm day, and I spent a lot of time on foot in between stints public transportation, which is EXCELLENT here in Hamburg. I made my way by train, on the tube, by bus and by water taxi, which is all covered on one 5 Euro ticket! Today [View Full Entry]

By Edison Wildcats
July 4th 2008

Museum, St. Michaels Tower, and Labor Camp

Europe » Germany » District of Hamburg » Hamburg

Bismark

What a couple of days! Thursday we toured a museum that detailed the history of Hamburg. From its beginnings as a small settlement through its rise to prominance as a trading mecca. From pirates to nearly burning down in 1842, to a city of 2 million people today. The docent did her best to give the tour in english, and for that we were all grateful! After the guided tour, we walked a couple of blocks to the church of St. Michael, where we climbed the tower for excellent views of the city. It was a very hot and humid day, [View Full Entry]

By Edison Wildcats
July 2nd 2008

What A Day! And Pics!

Europe » Germany » District of Hamburg » Hamburg

It was yet another great day here today! We met as a group this morning and discussed how things were going with their families and at school. It sounds like things are really going well! We heard lots of fun stories from home and trips that they have been on around Hamburg already. Funny and interesting stories abound! After our meeting, the kids went to class with their partner or attended an English class with Ms. Herder and I in order to help some younger German students with their English language skills. Then it was off on a walk to the [View Full Entry]

By muckelchen
July 1st 2008

hamburg-calgary

Europe » Germany » District of Hamburg » Hamburg

heute, 1.juli 2008!!!!! so, heute gehts es dann zum dritten mal wieder über den grossen teich in richtung westen.die nächsten zwei einhalb monate werde ich dann in der sonne auf der terrasse sitzen und ,mit füssen im wassereimer den menschlichen körper in und auswendig lernen.ausserdem bleibt es dann ja abzuwarten und auszuprobieren, wie denn das kanadische leben n a c h 3 wochen dasein so ist, und vor allem wie denn d [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Europe » Germany » District of Hamburg » Hamburg