Day 2: Arriving Hopefully

We woke up pretty early on the morning of the 13th. Actually, very, very early. After sleeping for a short four hours, it was already the next day (since we were travelling "against the sun"). Unfortunately, all the rest of the plane was filled with folks who felt like they needed a few more hours of sleep, rather than being all bright-eyed and ready to get started.

At around noon (3 AM our time), the lights came on, the rest of the passengers woke up, breakfast was quickly served and eaten, and we prepared to land at Frankfurt am Main. At 2:30 PM local time, (5:30 AM according to our bodies and the clocks back in California), we walked down the gangway to Germany.

Before we left, David Guzik, the director of the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Siegen Germany offered to put us up at his house, and to send someone to pick us up at the airport. We were to meet at the airport "Tufftpunkt" or meeting place. Unbeknownst to all of us, the Frankfurt airport actually has two meeting points, one for those with checked luggage, and another for those, like us, who carried our luggage on board.

After a bit, when we didn't immediately find our ride, Kathy went and purchased a phone card and called the Bible College. It turns out that Ben Vizcarra, who was meeting us, had spent the last hour just a few meters away, anxiously examining each arriving passenger. Once we got connected, we hopped in the car and set out for Siegen, about an hour and a half north-west from Frankfurt.

Traffic was light and we made good time on the Autobahn. We arrived in time to get a quick tour of the "Villa" where most of the fifty-five CCBC students live. David Guzik's wife, Inga-Lill, met us and showed us around.

The CCBC Villa

Inga-Lill is from Sweden, but she spent a few years of her childhood in San Clemente, where her family was introduced to Calvary Chapel. Later, as a young adult, she attended the first Calvary Chapel Bible School at Twin Peaks. There she met another Bible School student, David Guzik.

David and Inga-Lill eventually married and went on to found and pastor both Calvary Chapel Oxnard and Calvary Chapel Simi Valley. Four years ago, they felt called to leave Southern California and take over the new Calvary Chapel Bible College extension campus in Siegen Germany.

The CCBC student Villa is located immediately below the Autobahn bridge near Siegen. I'm told that this one of the largest single-pillar bridges in Europe. Here are a couple pictures of the facility from two different angles.

The Villa has three stories of dorm-like rooms. (At least that's what I've been told; men aren't allowed on the top floor where the women students are housed.) The guy's rooms all have bunks for four to six students, kind of like a very high-class, very clean youth hostel. (Or, I guess, like a college dorm.)

On the ground floor there are common rooms, game and meeting rooms, and offices. Here's a photo showing the student computer room. There is no dining room in the Villa, though. Instead, the Bible College converted a bar next door into a coffee bar cafe-bistro type student dinning. (The students all eat at the same time, though; they can't just stop by and order whatever they want.)

As you can see from the pictures here, the ambiance is quite a bit different than your typical student cafeteria.

Siegen and Schnitzel

After our visit to the Villa, David and Inga-Lill took Kathy and I on a drive up to the Siegen castle in the center (and, at the top of) of the old part of town. We walked through the gardens, talked to a nice Siegen lady who originally though that we were British, and asked about the earthquakes when she found we were from California. We then got to look out over the city.

After the tour, we met up with Ben for our first dinner at the "Black Sheep" Schnitzel house, where we had a huge, (and delicious) meal. I originally planned to photograph everything I ate, but it was so good, I couldn't wait.

By 10:00 PM we were both back at the Guziks', and sound asleep. At 1:00 AM I found myself completely wide awake. I found this so novel, that I thought I should wake up Kathy to discuss it. She prayed with me, and, after a bit, I fell back asleep 'til morning.