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My Germany Experience

8 März - 25 Juli 2005

I traveled to the city of Jena in the former East German state of Thüringen to complete my college education and my B.A. in German Language. While working at a JD dealer in Jackson, Missouri, I was conversing with an aftermarket parts supplier's account manager about my study abroad in Germany. She mentioned that it was ironic that just a few days prior a German man inquired about parts for his 630 row crop tractor! She sent me his email address and I proceeded to contact him. He was in Idaho at the time interviewing with a potato equipment company for an engineer position when I first contacted him. He invited me to come and visit him and see his 630 whenever I wanted. He and his parents own a Gästhaus and were very kind to let me stay there when visiting. I spent several weekends in Wilstedt, a town of about 3,000 people located northeast of Bremen, visiting with other tractor enthuisaists.

Marcus from Wilstedt, Germany with his 630 JD tractor... not exactly the Autobahn. It was better!! This was the only driving that I did in Germany!! Marcus and the whole town of Wilstedt really made me feel at home 4000 miles away from Missouri! I can't even begin to say how much it meant to me to hear that familiar JD put put sound in a far away place!!

When my brother, Alex, came to visit me for my last 3 weeks in Germany, we visited Wilstedt. Marcus and his brother-in-law, Wilfried, traveled to the largest Agricultural-Equipment show in northern Germany in the town of Tarmstedt. We saw many interesting things including a wide array of PLOWS! They still plow like mad in Germany (of course when it rains in Germany, it occurs more often in smaller amounts unlike the USA).

After my return to the USA, I've kept in regular contact with Marcus and Wilfried. Marcus stays plenty busy with his engineering career and Wilfried is quite busy with his own Masonry construction business but they still manage to find time to play with tractors. Wilfried must have told me a hundred times that his dream tractor is a 830 diesel. He likes the 30 series and said the bigger the better. I told him before leaving Germany that I would help him get one. Well, not even a month past my return home I was able to get an 830 that was in pretty nice condition. After nearly 5 months of working out the details and gathering up a good deal of parts to go with the 830 and for other JD's and Farmall's the 830 was on it's way over the 'pond'. The tractor arrived in early June much to the expectant delight of Wilfried and Marcus. I've posted a couplet of pictures below.

 

Teresa and I stumbled across this JD compact tractor in Berlin after our tour of the Reichstag (Capital building).