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Angelika In 2001, for the first time in the history of the Bundeswehr, women can join armed troups. In April, the first tourist flies into space: American Dennis Tito spends 20 million dollars on the experience. In June, representatives of the federal government and the energy industry agree on the gradual phase-out of nuclear energy. The so-called same-sex marriage law comes into effect in Germany. The Jewish Museum in Berlin opens ceremoniously. On September 11, the USA experiences the worst terrorist attacks. Terrorists fly two planes into the World Trade Center in New York. The towers subsequently collapse, killing 3,000 people. Another hijacked plane is directed at the Pentagon. The fourth crashes near Pittsburgh. Osama Bin Laden is considered to be the mastermind behind the attacks. Shortly thereafter, letters contaminated with anthrax spores appear in the USA. Several people die from inhalation of anthrax. In October, the first American airstrikes on Afghanistan occur. Bin Laden's terrorist organization is to be dismantled. In November, Gerhard Schröder calls for a vote of confidence and ties it to the vote on the Bundeswehr's participation in the anti-terror campaign. In December, the lowest temperature since the beginning of weather records in Germany is measured at Funtensee in the Berchtesgaden National Park, -45.9 Celsius. Michael visits Germany for the first time in over four years. Angelika has a photo exhibition with her photography group at the San Francisco City Hall. We start learning Japanese. Michael runs the San Francisco Marathon.
At the beginning of the year, the Euro replaces the familiar Deutsche Mark as cash. In Cuba, the USA establishes a detention camp called Guantanamo Bay for Taliban and Al-Qaeda terrorists. In February, Salt Lake City in the US state of Utah welcomes athletes from around the world to the Winter Olympics and tries to shed its image as a conservative Mormon city. In April, a 19-year-old former student of the Gutenberg Gymnasium in Erfurt kills 17 people in a school shooting. At the FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, the German team makes it to the finals but then loses to Brazil. August brings a once-in-a-century flood on the river Elbe, causing significant damage in eastern Germany. Chancellor Schröder manages to defend his chancellorship in the fall, although the SPD and the Greens win with only a slim majority. In Washington and the surrounding area, the sniper John Allen Williams keeps the population on edge, randomly shooting people from his car. In November, Germany mourns the death of Spiegel publisher Rudolf Augstein. At the end of the year, it is announced that former US President Jimmy Carter receives the Nobel Peace Prize. In April, we receive the American Green Card. We discover Japan in May. Starting in September, Angelika works as a substitute at the Tenderloin Childcare Center and no longer as a volunteer.
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