In January, my good friend, Mary Powell , brought the two exchange students that are living with her in Flint, Michigan, north to experience a little of Canada in Sault Ste. Marie. Lukas Kaulen was from Neuss, Germany and Fero Smatana was from Slovakia. It was extremely cold when they visited. We rounded up some cross country ski equipment downstairs for the boys and in temperatures of about -28 degrees celcius , we headed to Hiawatha Park. After a quick lesson, we were off on the Pinder 4 km trail. I couldn't believe Lukas. He is a sweater like my grandson, David. Every 5 minutes , he was taking off clothing and adjusting apparel to get cooler. Fero was busy taking photos of the snow on the trees and the morning sun trying to break through. Both boys did very well and deserve a great compliment for doing so in those temperatures. In the evenings, we played games and ate German Ritter chocolate. When they left, I told them both about my plans to maybe bicycle in Europe next spring and if I did so and was near their home, I would come and visit. Now I was making it come true by visiting Lukas and his family in Neuss. So sorry Fero but Slovakia will have to wait for another trip.
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| Lukas, Mary and Fero |
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| Lukas herringboning the hill |
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| It was a crisp, cold ski day. |
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| Well done! Hooray! |
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| Lukas, Mary Ann and Fero |
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| Meeting Lukas at his home in Neuss. It's much warmer here! |
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| Lukas' mother, Maren-a friendly, energetic, happy ,and caring lady |
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| Delicious treats to choose from |
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| The family--Rainer, Maren and three children , Silja,11, Nils, almost 18, and Lukas, 16 |
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| Maren gave me a tour of their lovely home. The living room area |
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| The TV and shelves across from the living room |
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| The dining area and shelves for her many photo albums |
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| The piano which Silja plays. She can use headphones and you don' t hear anything when she practices. |
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| The kitchen |
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| My Room is a special room for Maren. This room was one of the 3 requests Maren made of Rainer before Silja was born. |
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| I get the privilege of staying in "My Room" |
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| What a nice touch--a chocolate butterfly left on my pillow. Thank you |
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| Lukas and I spent some time looking at the photo album that Mary made of his stay with her in Flint. |
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| Silja with Ulla and Norbert, Maren's mother and father |
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| They were shocked to see the size of my bicycle. |
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| In the absence of his father who was away on a trip with friends to Bavaria, Nils became the head barbecue chef and he did an excellent job because the meat was delicious! |
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| We enjoyed a delicious supper outside on the patio. |
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| Afterwards the ice cream truck came by and Silja and I had an ice cream. |
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| Silja is very flexible! |
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| Lukas is very handsome and strong. His English is excellent and the whole family is improving their English due to his time in America. |
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| Later in the evening, maren's brother, Jan and his wife Janina, came over to say hello. |
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