kandern, germany

I've spent the past 5 days in Kandern, Germany for the ICEC Europe.  This conference is for international Christian schools, worldwide.  The content has been interesting, and it's been a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn and grow!  Plus, I've been in Germany- what a great excuse to get to travel!

Looking down on Kandern from the WWI and WWII Memorial.

Flowers are in bloom everywhere!  Today it was 0 and -1 degrees Celcius, so I have no idea how they're surviving.  They're beautiful!   

Last Saturday we flew in to the Basal Airport in Switzerland, and we exited towards the "France" side of the airport.  They didn't stamp any passports- what a bummer!  Then, within minutes, we were in Germany.  I was in 4 countries within a matter of 4 hours!  No one else in my group seemed to be nearly as excited as I was that we were in Germany and that we would also be in Switzerland and France.  I was hoping we'd be able to tell when we were passing from one country to the next, but there wasn't even a sign or anything.  If I'd been with my family we probably would've stopped the car to take a picture in each country and straddling the line, etc.  But anyway, I contained my excitement.  

That afternoon I walked around Bad Bellingen, a nearby town where the hotels are, after checking in at my hotel.  I don't speak any German whatsoever, so that's definitely been a little intimidating, but I've found that almost all people working in shops have known enough English or at least have prices on the cash register that I can figure out without any oral language.  This is one great advantage to having a common currency in Europe- when I see the price on a screen, I understand how much it is and didn't have to mess with converting money.  Side note: a friend who works at ECA in Spain is from Austria, and she doesn't even consider English to be a language that she speaks because "everyone speaks English."  And meanwhile in the United States...

I didn't buy any, but I'm guessing this is the German "crema al cacao" option.  Chocolate/nut butters speak the language in every country. 

My hotel was in Bad Bellingen, Germany, but we had shuttle service from the hotels to the conference each day.  Then, during the day at Black Forest Academy- the conference site, I had the chance to explore more in Kandern.  The conference shuttle left each day at 7:45 am and didn't return until around 9:00 pm each night, so other than Tuesday afternoon and Saturday afternoon when we first arrived, I didn't have much free time at all.  My hotel had fairly good wifi, included breakfast, and had employees that spoke English very well.  The room was like a miniature apartment or condo- I had a bathroom, a kitchen, a living room with dining table, and a separate bedroom... and I spent less than 200 euros for 4 nights (my Barcelona hotel is the same amount per night :/)

The main building of the hotel.

During the conference, we had about 3 workshops a day and had an opening and closing keynote speaker each day.  I've met a lot of very interesting people from all over the world.  I've also heard some interesting feedback when I tell them that I want to be in the United States and want to teach public school, or as they call it, "secular school."  Yikes!  I attended sessions on engaging learners, changing the perspective from "working for a grade" to "working to learn," using iPads in the classroom, ELL, and developing lifelong readers and writers.

I also had the chance to go on a hike through the Black Forest during a lunch break one afternoon.  We were able to hike up to the World War Memorial.   The Germans are very sensitive about any World War-related gestures, talks, or monuments.  For example, the woman leading the hike shared that Germans don't wave as a warm gesture or to get peoples' attention because it is too similar to the Nazi salute.  Many people in Kandern see the monument as like a bad omen looking down over the town.  For me, it was really neat to see just because my grandpa was in Germany while he was in the Army- just after the wars, if I'm remembering correctly.

The Black Forest

The WWI/WWII Memorial with a great view of Kandern and the mountains behind.

Downtown Kandern

Downtown Kandern

This afternoon- the conference ends around 2 today- I'm planning to go to a spa/thermal bath, hike to a castle, or wander around Bad Bellingen.  Evidently people come to this area of Germany for natural wellness and medicine, so there are baths and spas and massage therapy centers and apothecaries all over.  Also, there's a castle within about an hour of walking, but I have no idea what kind of castle or if we can actually go in or get close to it, etc.  I'd really love to just wander around the town, try some foods, look in shops, and relax a little too!  Tomorrow morning we will fly back to Madrid, and I'll have a few days in Camarma before I head back to Sevilla for a long weekend.