Munich, Frankfurt, Darmstadt, and Heidelberg

This morning we visited a pre-school in Munich that was quite amazing. The youngest child was 2 years of age and the oldest was 6 years old. All I saw was happy children who interacted freely with the visitors. The rooms were small but each room had a loft with clear bubbles and other openings that the children could use to play with classmates and use their imaginations. There were huge glass windows that ran from the floor to the ceiling. These windows allowed for the outdoors to become a part of the indoors and make the room appear much larger.

The children were from many different countries. They had paper flags hanging from the ceiling. It reminded me of what I do with my second graders when we have Heritage Week. Each child had two flags. On one side was the mother's flag and on the other side was the father's flag. They even raised tadpoles just like we've done in class. Great minds think alike!

I got down on the children's level and greeted them and then asked them their names. They were the cutest children. They smiled and giggled. When I asked them for their names they told me and asked me my name. Then they asked me how old I was. I answered indirectly and told them that I was old enough to be their grandmother. I proceeded to ask them if they would like to be my grandchildren. The first boy laughed and said "yes". The next child, also a boy, smiled then ran away. They loved being asked their names because that question always attracted more children. I loved seeing a group of children who were exploring and interacting in positive ways with each other. Each classroom had a huge bathroom with several sinks as well as commodes. But the interesting thing about these bathrooms is that they also had individual toothbrushes belonging to the children to not only talk about dental hygiene, but to also put it into practice.

This school is unique because its goal is to teach good nutrition by serving only organic foods and educating their parents on how to prepare healthy meals using organic foods at home. Parents are invited to school to learn to cook healthy meals. We saw one class where parent and child were interacting by measuring and mixing ingredients in a bowl. The school has a complete kitchen and even a child-size stove where parent and child can cook together. This has become such a popular school which teaches not only a pre-school curriculum, but healthy eating, as well. They have a waiting list each year.

In Frankfurt we met with Deutsche Bank officials. It was a refreshing experience, to say the least. How often do you get to meet with corporate executives who encourage ethical responsibility and feel that it's education, not money, that makes the world go round? That is exactly the philosophy of this, the world's third largest bank. This corporation has been around for a long time. It was founded in 1870. The thinking of the executives is so extraordinary. They encourage nature over machines, rethinking of "crazy ideas", and they're involved globally to help people help themselves. What an incredible model for corporations all over the world!

We traveled to an organic fruit farm in the evening to sample not only the organically grown food, but the apple wine they produce. The owner of the winery can be seen in the photo above. He is explaining the process and which type of apple was used in the first wine we tasted. There were several other wine samples that graced our lips, but most of us preferred the first apple wine made from crab apples. After enjoying the organically grown meal, we all exclaimed, "Das ist gut"!

Tomorrow we visit a graduate school of philosophy and theology run by the Jesuits. Two research assistants will speak to us about economic and social ethics. Later we will travel to another university in a town named Darmstadt. Here we will learn about the designs that a team of graduate students engineered and fabricated to win international awards for energy efficiency. They were the winners of the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon in 2007.

Our last full day together will be Friday, July 25th. Our two weeks will end with a visit to the city of Heidelberg. After viewing the castle and spending a few hours in the old city we will stop at a winery to sample the wine and spend our last evening meal together before going home on Saturday.