Letter: Mom's three-week visit a Crailsheim highlight

• Kayli Kuhl

Kayli Kuhl
• Kayli's birthday in Germany 1

Kayli's birthday in Germany 1
• Kayli's birthday in Germany 2

Kayli's birthday in Germany 2
• Kayli's birthday in Germany 3

Kayli's birthday in Germany 3
• Kayli's birthday in Germany 4

Kayli's birthday in Germany 4

Talk about it

Greetings from the beautiful city of Crailsheim! I say beautiful because in the last few weeks the spring weather has enriched us with beautiful flowers everywhere.

The last time I wrote, it was a week before Easter. For Easter we get two weeks off from school, and in this time my mom visited me here in Germany. It was a fast and furious time, but very enjoyable. We spent holy week in Crailsheim, meeting with my many friends and families. During holy week we attended church services at the Johanniskirche (St. John’s Church) in Crailsheim. After the services we met with the church organist so my mom could practice the organ for Easter Sunday. She was very honored to have the opportunity to play the prelude and postlude in such a beautiful church.

In the time between we made two day trips. On Wednesday we went to Regensburg, which is where my current host family used to live. It is a beautiful old city on the river, with a magnificent Catholic cathedral. The next day, on Maundy Thursday, we traveled to Ludwigsburg. I have been here many times because the grandparents of my second host family live here. In the city, we went to the beautiful castle of King Ludwig and took a 90- minute tour. We really enjoyed the day with my second host family and extended cousins and grandparents. Later in the evening we went to the grandparent’s church, which is right across the street. This is the same church I went to for Christmas.

On Good Friday, we made it a double family day. We had brunch with the Binders and Reinings and had a fabulous day together.

While my mom was here she got to meet the family of the new exchange student, Sophia. They are a wonderful family, and I cannot say enough how excited she is to be coming to Worthington.

After another short organ practice at the Johanniskirche, we were ready for Easter Sunday. We first went to a sunrise service in Satteldorf (my first host family, the Etzels). It was a beautiful service, but later at 10 my mom started up the organ. It was a huge honor for her to play on such a beautiful organ on such a special Sunday, and we thought it was remarkable to be able to take part in such a special service despite being visitors.

After Easter Sunday, I traveled a few days to Berlin with my mom. I had such a good time here. Some of our high points included seeing the TV tower, which is the tallest tower in Germany, and going in the Reichstag Building, which is similar to our capital building. We saw a lot from the culture and learned about a lot of history from the war. We also spent two days in Munich before we made our way back to Crailsheim for a few more days.

In the last days, my mom roomed by Etzels (my first host family). In the last few days, it was nice to just be in Crailsheim and be with my host families. After about three weeks my mom left to go back home, but things for me did not slow down. That next weekend I went to Europa Park (similar to Valley Fair) with the Binder family. There we met with their cousin, who is actually from Canada but is spending time in Switzerland. It was a fantastic time!

In the week after, it was back to Berlin, but this time I went with my school. We saw many similar sights, but also a pair of new museums. It was a fabulous time with my classmates! Then, on May 8, I traveled to Paris, where I met my sister and her friend. We spent a few days in Paris and saw once again many cool sights — things we only ever dreamed of seeing. Highlights for us were the Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower (both of which we climbed stairs to reach the top), the Mona Lisa, various famous paintings and artworks, and the Versailles.

After being in Paris we came back to Crailsheim and did many day trips to various cities in the area, including Rothenburg, Nurnburg, Dinkelsbuhl and Swabisch Hall. We also went one day to Ulm, which is home to the tallest evangelic church in the world. After winding 768 steps, we were at the top!

On May 17, I had my 18th birthday. On the evening of the 16th, I thought I was going to the Binder family for supper for Bayern Evening. Because the theme was Bayern, I was very excited to wear my Bayern dirndl dress. However, right before I left, my host family blindfolded me and said we would be doing something special. After driving around a while I got out of the car and, when the blindfold was taken off, I was surprised with around 45 people all dressed up and noisemakers. It was the best feeling of my life to spend the evening with my host families, the committee and all of my friends I have met in Germany. I am so blessed to have had such wonderful people come into my life.

This evening made me realize how hard it is going to be for me to leave here, but I am going to spend the next two months enjoying it and taking in every last possibility. Coming up in June, I am looking forward to going to the island Reugen with my host family for a week on vacation.

Tags: opinion, letters, worthington, education, crailsheim