Maulbronn Abbey

Grüße Keaton!!

Hey everyone! Before I detail our exciting day, I should let you know that the keyboards in Germany are very frustrating. The y is where the z should be and the z is where the y should be! So there may be some spelling mistakes because this keyboard is making me CRAYZ!!1!

We started off the day at the Porsche Gymnasium as we did on Tuesday. First period I had English, where we learned about the history of the European Union and why Britain is adversive to the whole system. The teacher really liked my "pure English" so he asked me to correct everyone's pronunciation. Then he asked me to stand in front of class where I was told to talk about St. Louis, American vs German culture, and my political views. I ignored the last request but I talked about the difference between private and public schools in America and how everyone in Germany takes public transportation and walks as opposed to driving everzwhere. Then, I had math with Herr Schmidt who happens to know Mr. Brinkhorst (a physics teacher at Burroughs) and we learned some new algebra. For lunch we had some delicious stuffed noodles, similar to ravioli, that had cheese and pesto in it with tomato sauce and some katafersalate.

We then took three trains and a bus to Maulbronn Abbey, a really neat monastery in a small town about an hour outside Stuttgart. Maulbronn Abbey was built in 1147!!! Our tour guide, who once taught at the Porsche-Gymnazium, led us through the building and told us some interesting facts about the architecture of the place and the life of a monk in the 12th century. I really liked how from the center yard of the abbey you can see the changes in architectural styles along the walls. The first architect had an early Gothic style; his arches were very elongated and without much detail. The second architect, whose arches form the second wall of the square, had floral motifs in his work, like later Gothic sculptures, and the third and fourth walls, made in the 14th century, were even more extravagant. The life of the monk seemed pretty strict. They were punished for every single thing they did wrong, like coming late to a service or speaking in the hallways. Also we learned about some pretty friendly robbers who came to the church as it was being constructed, demanding the money that was being used to build the church. The monks asked in their kindly way to return once the building was finished, and the criminals agreed. In one corner of the room below there is an unfinished wall, and the rumor is that the wall was never finished because the monks didn't want want to give the robbers their cash.


The abbey is also a very religious boarding school; we tried to chat up some of the students there but they weren't very talkative.

After our educational trip to the church, we made the long trip back to Stuttgart. Grace and I scoped out German babies that we wanted for our own, and Frau Russell told us not to call her Мать Россия (Mother Russia). We're having über fun in Germany I want to give a shout out to my mom and my dad and my dog Wolfgang and meine Geschwister!

Auf Wiedersehen!! :)