Germany was in our sites again. This time, we headed north to Schwerin. Where is Sherwin and why did we go there? Last year at West Ferris we had an exchange student, Anton, who told us that if our travels brought us near his home town, we should stop in and he’d show us around. Well, lesson learned Anton, don’t threaten the Robertson’s with a free tour.

On our way to Schwerin, we had a few stops to make. Our first was in Horn-Bad Meinberg (have your kids and husband repeat this name in a German accent for almost 2 hours in a car to re-live the experience I had) to see Externsteine. Extersteine is a place where these limestone pillars, the tallest is over 100 feet tall, are standing in the middle of a clearing in the forest. No one put them there, they are just there.They have held significance to different groups over time.

We walked the steps that are carved into them to the top where there is a circle in one of the rocks (the sun aligns through that spot on the summer solstice). Grace, once again bellowed “Neolithic”. No ones knows what the original purpose was, but the spot has been used for a variety of purposes at different times (a meeting point, shelter, a place of worship, Nazi propaganda). There are people who make a pilgrimage there each year (think Stonehenge types). When we were there we did see one woman sunbathing topless and doing some kind of yoga-like activity and there was a guy playing “mystical” music on a flute as we walked around. Wikipedia and Atlas Obscura both have lots of info on it.

The other place we had to visit was a “Traces of War” find. This time we travelled to Munster. (Funny side note: did you know there is more than one town called Munster in Germany? Did you know that the one we planned to go to was the wrong one? Did you know that this would have meant many wasted hours of driving and perhaps ignited our first domestic dispute of the trip? Thanks to the MAPS.ME app not being able to find the other Munster on the first try our crisis was averted). The correct Munster was on our way-ish and the home of the German Tank Museum, which houses over 150 tanks/armoured vehicles, 40 of them are from WW2. The girls got to see up close a German Tiger I & II tank (very rare – less than 10 in the world), a Panther, a Sherman and a Russian T-34. Also pretty exciting, Mark and the girls were both able to get inside a more modern Leopard tank.

Our day of stops and travel had us arriving in Schwerin late so we planned to meet Anton at his school at 9:30 the next morning. We were all really looking forward to seeing how schools operate in Germany. Goethe-Gymansium Schwerin, Anton’s school, is a Grade 5-12 school that has a music focus. To be accepted to this school in Grade 5 students must audition. I think the biggest surprise for us was that wherever you go kids are kids. I’m not sure what we expected, but these teens could have been teens in Canada. I guess the main difference is that all the students in Anton’s school have plans to attend university. Students are streamed to different schools for different pathways, instead of all being in the same school. We discussed the pros and cons of this with Anton and he expressed that he liked the way the secondary school system works in Ontario because it allows teens to meet all different kinds of kids. Anton’s school was also very new. The new wing was only 2 years old. There were very few lockers (kids just bring their stuff with them), and if a student did want a locker they needed to rent it. The halls were very wide with large bright areas for kids to hang out. They have longer breaks between classes (sometimes 20 minutes), so these spaces are used often. This does make for a longer school day. Some days Anton starts at 7:30am and other days he is there until 5pm. Meeting his teachers and seeing the inner workings of a school in a different country was interesting for us but especially good for Molly and Grace. It was neat to watch them take in the differences, but also see that in many ways people are the same wherever you go.

Later that day when his classes were done, Anton walked us around Schwerin, which is the capital of his “province”, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It has a beautiful old city centre, a castle and parkland with flowers, trees and ponds; all of this is set on the edge of a large lake. Schwerin was part of the former East Germany so we were able to see remnants of that time as well; old block housing, state communication towers and there is even a statue of Lenin that was erected during that time period that is still standing. It’s controversial because many people want it removed, while others think it should remain as a historical reminder. While the debate continues the statue remains standing and we saw it.

Anton gave us a run down of the history of the area and in between we peppered him with questions about life and school in Germany. But, Anton is actually Russian. His parents moved to Germany in 2003, when Anton was just a young boy. So, there was a whole other line of questions we had for him.

Lucky for us, during our stay in Schwerin, we were able to pay a visit to Anton’s home and meet his parents. His mom, Svetlana is an accountant and his dad, Leonid is a teacher. It’s important to note that both of his parents had to redo their education when they arrived in Germany before they could begin their careers there. The amount of work that was required to just get started in their new life is something most of us can’t imagine.

His parents, even with their busy schedules, managed to host a meal we will never forget for both the food and the company. Svetlana & Leonid speak Russian, German and English, and Anton was a great translator when one of us couldn’t get our message across clearly enough. A home cooked meal (that wasn’t one we threw together in a rental kitchen) was a welcomed change. For the second time on this trip I’ve heard Mark say “I couldn’t eat another bite”. The Rzaev’s made salad, bread, two main dishes and more desserts than even Molly and Grace could handle.

When it was time to say goodbye it seemed too soon. Again, it’s the people we meet along the way that leave a lasting impression. We are so thankful for the hospitality of Anton and his parents. They have invited us to come back anytime (which means Mark didn’t each too much and the girls had decent manners) and I hope they know they are welcome to visit us in Canada if they ever get the chance. Because of them we left Germany with warm hearts and full bellies.

Selfie time.