Final days

Serenity. The time we spent on the water today was some of my favorite time here. While museums, tours and history are all important aspects of the culture, I thought back to what Dr. Kleine was saying to us on the way to Weimar as we passed through the mountains, that the mountains are where the soul of Germans are, and although we did not have time to hike the trails of the forests where the brothers Grimm wrote, or see much of any smaller towns, I really enjoyed the opportunity for a slower pace and a look at the true nature of the country. It was also a nice change since my experience thus far with boating trips has been in the Everglades near my home and it was interesting to see the wildlife and plants of a completely different area, since what I was used to was swamps, sawgrass and alligators. The peaceful boat ride also provided a chance to get in some reflective time. Once the initial momentum wore off I appreciated the quiet as it provided an opportunity to think about all we've seen and done (and so much in the past few days alone) to appreciate the experiences we've had and look back on all our activities in Osnabruek, Koln, Weimar, Dresden, and Berlin. To me the trip signified a sort of end to our German experience. Not only was it our final experience with our counterparts, but it was a good separation between all our activities, learning and discovery, and the closing activities of tomorrow, as well as a reflection of our time here that will separate this trip from the adventures we will set off on on Wednesday.