The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

Anticipating a visit by German guests Stefan and Millie (Hall) Walter and their son, Lukas, from Nuremburg, Germany, the Chinook Senior Center's Director and "guest chef for the week" Ginger Hansen took the opportunity to help seniors learn a bit about Germany. Millie Walter is the daughter of Ben and Patty Hall. Millie and her husband, Stefan, met when he was an exchange student at Turner High for a year. Their nine year old son, Lukas, created a slide presentation titled "Germany from Above" to show after the lunch. Guest cher Hansen put together a German lunch.

For lunch about 40 guests enjoyed cabbage rolls, "runza" (a bread pocket with a filling of hamburger, cabbage, onions, and seasonings), a cucumber-based salad with yogurt dressing and German chocolate cake. I asked Stefan Walter about the "Germaness" of the meal and he said, "Germany is like the U.S., there are variations of every dish in each region. In Germany the cake usually has a chocolate icing and no coconut." Who knew?

After lunch Lukas and his mother, Millie, teamed up to show "Germany from Above"-an original slide presentation created by Lukas to teach his American hosts a bit about Germany. Millie explained that Lukas, who will begin "fourth class" (like our fourth grade), recently completed a computer course in school. One of the skills learned was how to make a power point show and he combined that new skill with his love of maps to share some information about Germany. Asked why his interest in maps Lukas wisely said, "With maps you can go anywhere!"

The first few slides were about Germany in general-where it is located in Europe and what countries surround it. He also showed a map of the "counties or states" of Germany and showed where he lives in Bavaria, the largest and southernmost county in Germany. Millie noted that the country of Germany, land-wise, is just slightly smaller than the state of Montana.

Lukas also showed maps of train routes in his home country and a map with the famed "autobahn" routes displayed. Millie said train travel in Germany has recently gotten very popular with a program where a ticket purchased for 50 Euros (about $45 Stefan said) allows one to travel for a month anywhere in the country by train. About travel on the autobahn, she explained, "It's true you can drive as fast as you want but you can only go as fast as the vehicle in front of you. That does set some practical limits on speed."

One section of the show explained, with pictures, some of the things Germans like to do for recreation. Lukas had a picture of a "climbing forest," described as "an obstacle course up in the trees." Climbers are secured in a harness and safety rope, then climb into the trees and work their ways through the obstacles-it appeared much like American ROPES courses with zip lines, now very popular over in the touristy areas of the Rockies.

Germans enjoy skiing, sometimes in the nearby Alps for the Walter family. Millie said there are many hiking and biking trails in German, often connecting towns so one can hike or bike for long distances. There are also campgrounds but not so many tents or American-type pull campers. In Germany campers sleep and eat in what are called "camping kegs"-looking much like a giant barrel on its side with a bed toward the bottom and benches and a table toward what would be the opening of a barrel. Lukas' photos showed campers very close together in campgrounds.

Millie said Lukas was currently on his "six week summer vacation" from school. She added, "There are other two week vacation periods that students take throughout the year." Lukas will be spending part of this vacation in Chinook helping grandpa Ben at the Lions Club's pronto pup stand during the fair. Lukas' specialty is making snow cones. If you see a blonde-haired boy with very blue eyes making cones, it's likely Lukas. Greet him with "Guten Tag," he'll know what you mean.