Auf Wiedersehen

 I am sitting on the airplane flying back to California. We only have 9.5 hours left of the flight before we land in San Francisco. Then it's a two hour layover and a quick flight down to San Diego. The nice part about this flight is I have a window seat and no one is sitting in the middle seat. Joe is sitting in the other window seat of this aisle and I don't think he has anyone next to him either. So that is very nice for both of us. The not so good thing, is I don't think we are going to get an actual meal on this flight. I think we are going to get three snacks and we just had the first one which was pesto bread sticks.

As we fly west toward home, I have some time to reflect on our whirlwind visit to Germany and our time with Zach. We did a lot. We saw a lot. We traveled a lot. We walked a lot. We experienced a lot. My heart and mind is full of many memories that I will be able to take out and revisit over the coming days. Zach asked me the other day what was my favorite thing we did, and I said, "spending time with you." He guffawed at that comment, but it really is true. I treasure the time I get to spend with my sons, and it has been a long 20 months since I have been able to hang out with Zach. It doesn't seem like he plans to return to the States any time soon, so my mama's heart needed that connection time even if on occasion, we were both a bit annoyed with each other.

Aside from the mushy mom stuff and the amazing sights and sounds we experienced, I really enjoyed comparing and contrasting the little and the big things between Germany and the United States. Here are a few of my observations.

1. Whether we were in the city or in small towns, public transportation was the main mode of transportation. Of course, there were plenty of cars, but I saw so many people walking and riding their bikes or scooters everywhere. Many people had baskets on their bikes and this was how they got around.

2. In Frankfurt, many of the bike lanes were on the sidewalk. The sidewalk was divided into two different colored bricks. One color for pedestrians and the other for bicycles and scooters. I think this is primarily because the roads are so narrow and filled with cars and trains. Even the crosswalks are divided for pedestrians and bikes.

3. Can we talk about bathrooms? In Germany, the restrooms are labeled WC for Water Closet which they must have gotten from the British. But when you ask about them, they are called Toilette. One of the rules both Zach and Marylyn taught us was always be sure to pee whenever you have an opportunity, because public restrooms are few and far between. Toilets in restaurants and malls often cost money, unless you have purchased food.

4. Another thing about toilets in general are they take up less room. The tank is very narrow and the bowl is not full with water like in US toilets. There is just a little in the bottom. In addition, there isn't a handle or lever to flush. Whether you are in someone's home or in a public restroom, to flush the toilet, it is usually a big square button that you push on one side.

5. Bathrooms and kitchens are very small and compact. In fact everything, is small and compact. In the United States, we are used to buying things in bulk at Costco or Sam's Club. But when you go to the neighborhood market, you buy smaller portions of things. For example, you can buy a half loaf of bread and the paper towel rolls are half the size of what you would find in the States. Zach and his minimalist philosophy fit very well in Germany.

Hey! I think we ARE going to get a meal, so I'll continue this later...

6. Smoking, lots of smoking in Germany. Does anyone remember cigarette vending machines? They have them all over Germany. Smoking cigarettes, cigars, and vaping was a common thing to see in outdoor restaurants and walking up and down the streets by young and old. Smoking was not allowed on the trains or inside restaurants which I made me glad.

7. Recycling is a big deal. Zach had five different recycling bins - one for paper, one for glass, one for packaging, one for food, and one for all the rest. I didn't really see any cans being recycled. Most drinks came in glass or plastic bottles. Zach always checked the plastic bottles, because certain ones were worth 25 cents. You could turn them in at the grocery store and then you got a little coupon that you used at the register when you were buying your food.

8. Like most first world countries, Germany has socialized medicine. You can get private insurance, but there is also national health care available to anyone who is a German citizen or is employed by a German company. Zach pays for private insurance through the U.S. because GEM is not a German employer. But he is trying to find out what he has to do to get on the German insurance plan since it is so much cheaper. Zach's roommate, Jon wasn't feeling well one day, so he stayed home from work. I asked him if he got paid sick leave. He answered, "This is Germany. Of course I get paid." If he is out more than three days, he has to have a doctor's note, but there is no limit to the number of sick days. He did say that if you are out for 6 weeks or more, then your employer no longer has to pay you, and you have to file a claim with your insurance to receive your pay. Sounds a bit like short term disability.

9. In schools, the student to teacher ratio is 12:1. In preschool, it is even smaller. Jon works in a nursery school with 0-3 year old children. I asked him about staffing. He said their are four groups at his school with 12 students in each group. There are a total of 16 teachers who work with those 48 students. So that is a 3:1 ratio for the very young ones which makes sense since they require so much more care.

10. German history is much longer than American History. Frankfurt was established in 764. The buildings are older, and the stories and legends are many. Because so many buildings were destroyed during the World Wars, the Germans have had to rebuild a lot, but they take great care in preserving their past.

11. Germany has a ton of political parties. Their ballots are extensive and the debates heated and often controversial. With a wide array from left to right, there are many choices in political representatives in the government. Although the US also has other parties, they never have any power or representation. Our country has been split between the two extremes and I wish we had more viable options like in Germany.

I could go on and on about my observations, but it is time to bring this blog post to a close. I came to Germany with some preconceived ideas. Germany was always the aggressor in the history I studied. In fact, they were basically the pariahs of the world. But as we began our exploration of the German culture and history, my opinion changed. This is a country that has made some serious errors and followed the wrong leaders with devastating consequences. But they have owned their history. They are not proud of it, they do not erect statues of war criminals. Instead, they have created memorials for the victims of the atrocities they committed. They were basically stripped of all respect and power after World War II, but they have risen from their ashes and built a stronger society and they are once again world leaders, this time setting the example for human rights and democracy. I admire a lot about modern day Germany and would love to see our own country follow some of these examples.

I didn't take any pictures today since all we did was go to Römerplatz to buy some souvenirs. This is a large plaza where the city hall is and it has a lot of cute German style buildings and plenty of cafes and touristy shops. What I did do before we left for the airport was record a video of Zach's flat. It's about a 10-minute tour of where he lives. 

You can view it here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LA16VuQv6eQHBD496

Also, if you want to see all of the photos I took on this trip, you can view them in my Facebook Album

It's Been Fun, Frankfurt!

 Today is our last full day in Frankfurt and tomorrow evening we will fly back home. So to finish off our visit we went to two Museums and walked around a lot.

We started the morning by taking a train to Mainz about 40 minutes away. Mainz is near the Rhine River (spelled Rhein in German). Mainz is considered the wine capital of Germany and every Saturday they have a Farmer's Market with food and lots of wine. Too bad I'm not a big fan of wine. This would be a good place to enjoy a little wine tasting. Instead we were on a mission to go to the Gutenberg Museum. Johannes Gutenberg was born and raised in Mainz. He is considered the man of the millennium by many and his invention of the moveable type printing press in the mid 1400's revolutionized mass communication in Europe. There was a lot of information about the history of printing and Gutenberg's life. Most of it was written in German and the museum was very dark to protect the manuscripts. There were some beautiful handwritten documents with gorgeous illustrations, but I wasn't able to read that much about them since I don't read German and the lighting made it hard for my old person's eyes to read the little bit of English.

Gutenberg printed between 158 and 180 copies of the Bible in Latin. 49 copies still remain. The museum had two complete copies and a portion of one. They are displayed in the "Strong Room" which is a fire-proof vault. The copies are displayed behind bullet proof glass and you are not allowed to take any photos while in the vault. Along with viewing the exhibits, we also watched a printing demonstration on a Gutenberg printing press reproduction. It was about 40 minutes long and the woman doing the demonstration spoke very enthusiastically in German. Fortunately, Joe and David had taken me to the International Printing Museum in Los Angeles for Mother's Day, so I had a good idea of what she was talking about.

We finished at the Gutenberg Museum and took the train back into Frankfurt and found our way back to our chosen museum along the banks of the Main, The Museum for Communication. This museum was fascinating. It had several floors with interactive exhibits about types of communication including letter writing, radio, TV, teletype, telephone, and the internet. We played with switchboards, listened to a variety of radio stations, read love letters from poets, and learned that fake news has been around forever. 

There was a special temporary exhibit about a well-known illustrator, Axel Scheffler. He is a German illustrator and animator who lives in London. He is best known for his drawings in The Gruffalo written in 1999 by Julia Donaldson as well as many other children's books. The exhibit was so much fun. Scheffler was known for sending his friends letters where he creatively drew all over the envelope often incorporating even the stamp into his drawings. We were able to view dozens of these amazing works of art.

We had an early dinner (6:30 pm) at Frittenwerk where everything is on french fries. I got Chili Cheese Fries, Joe got Pulled Pork Poutine, and Zach got Bolofritten which was lots of different veggies over fries with a chipotle type sauce. The chili in my chili cheese fries was more like a tomato sauce with onions and the cheese was similar to a nacho cheese but not spicy. Zach said the Bolofritten was the spiciest thing on the menu and that it ranked a 3 out of 10 for him. I guess Germans don't really like spicy food.

We are back at Zach's house now and the guys are playing some video games like Nintendo Switch Sports and Overcooked with Zach's roommate Jon. My suitcase is basically packed and ready to go tomorrow. 

We have had a good time with Zach exploring Germany. Joe checked his steps over these past few weeks, and each day we averaged between 13,000 and 15,000 steps except for the first day when we did the walking tour with Marylyn. That day we went about 27,000 steps. It's been some fun days filled with walking and riding numerous types of transportation. We have ridden buses, trams (similar to the San Diego Trolley), the S-Bahn (stands for Schnell or Street Train), the U-Bahn (stands for Underground Train), Regional Trains, and high speed trains. I now know how to read and understand "next stop" or "next station" although I still would not be able to find the right station or platform to get on the correct train!

Time to play Happy Little Dinosaurs and then head to bed.

Back in Frankfurt

It was another lazy morning so that I could rest up a bit after our late return to Frankfurt last night. I had trouble sleeping, so I wasn't ready to head out early this morning. After  breakfast and a bit of lunch, we headed down to the river to take a 100-minute cruise on the Main. On our way there, Zach took us to what he considers the best bakery in Frankfurt and we all got an Apple Cinnamon Roll. Zach's had almonds on top. It was delicious.

The boat took us up and down the river and a speaker pointed out various locations. We saw the financial district again, several bridges, harbors, and buildings on both side of the river. One of the buildings we saw the locals call the Apple Wine Glass, because it is a cylinder with diamond shapes and it looks just like a glass that they serve Apple Wine in. Apfelwein is an alcoholic drink that is common in Frankfurt. It is a bit like a sour apple cider. The cruise was relaxing and we got some nice views from the river.

The city of Frankfurt is on the north side of the river and on the south side is a district called Sachsennhausen. Sachsenhausen has about 13 museums along the river and we took a stroll to see what was open. All of the museums were closing within 30 minutes, so we picked one and made the decision to try to come back tomorrow. There is a quaint and older section called Alt (old) Sachsenhausen and we wandered through the area down narrow streets. There were lots of taverns and pubs as well as restaurants from many different countries, but we decided to stop at a German tavern and try out some more food well-known in Frankfurt. 

We ordered a bembel (pitcher) of Apfelwein and decided to share two dishes. One dish was two frankfurters with German potato salad and the other was cold hard boiled eggs and hot boiled potatoes with green sauce. I know it sounds really weird, but the green sauce was pretty tasty. Apparently, it is very popular in Frankfurt in the spring and the summer when the herbs used to make it are in season.

After our little dinner, we walked to a gelato shop that Zach recommended and had some dessert. The creamy gelato hit the spot. Then it was back to Zach's place. While we were walking around Sachsenhausen, we were discussing our favorite animated movies and books. Zach was adament that the best animated movie ever made was The Iron Giant, and he gave me his reasons why. I had never seen the movie, so now we are watching it. Then it will be off to bed for me. I am tired and we are going to be up early and headed to Mainz to visit the Guttenberg Museum tomorrow.

Berlin Day 3 - Museums

Today was our last day in Berlin, so we put our luggage in a locker at the train station and headed to Museum Island. This is a section of Berlin that has a number of museums including art and history. Our first stop was the DDR Museum. DDR stands Deutsche Democratic Republic or German Democratic Republic in English (GDR). The museum was all about what life was like in East Germany right after WWII until the Berlin Wall came down.

After the war, Germany was divided up among the Allies and the Soviet Union. It became four sectors controlled by the Americans, the British, the French, and the Soviets. Berlin, the capital was also divided accordingly. The Soviets formed the GDR promising freedom from the control of Nazis and power to the people. The philosophy was that everything was for the common good. And they promised the people a much better life as a result. They believed that once people experienced the satisfaction and reward of living in a socialistic society, they wouldn't want to leave. But things were not as rosy as the leaders promoted. Instead, people were leaving East Germany and escaping to West Germany, and that is when the Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 to keep East Germans in and everyone else out.

The museum was filled with so much information from education, to food shortages, from sports to politics,  from housing to holidays. There was a common theme - everyone gets the same thing and the community is more important than the individual. The idea of collectivism was promoted in everything that was done. For example, it started in Kindergarten when children first went to school. There was a room with a bunch of toilets and everyone went "potty" at the same time. The children sat there until everyone was finished. I also watched a propaganda film that talked about housing construction and how quickly apartments were being built for the people and how happy everyone was to have a new place to live. In fact, there were only enough new homes constructed for about a third of the population. Families had first priority and they had to often wait years before an apartment was available.

A number of other facts stood out to me. No one went hungry. There was always plenty of bread and essentials available to everyone. People had plenty of money, but there was shortage of most everything else. There was rationing of common food items and when the word was out that something was on the shelf, the whole family would go to the store so that they could get their allotted amount before the store ran out. 

Voting was another interesting situation. Pretty much everyone voted, but there was only one set of candidates. Voting was supposed to be secret, but when you went to the voting booth, what was expected was that you would fold your ballot and turn it in. If you chose to go into a voting booth, people thought you had something to hide and your name was recorded. You could line out a name on the ballot, if you remembered to bring a pencil, but there were no other choices. If you chose not to vote at all, then they would show up at your house with a mobile ballot. If you refused, you were blacklisted.

One final item of interest was the value the Eastern Bloc placed on physical fitness. Children did sports in school as a regimen and everyone including adults were expected to choose and participate regularly in a sport. I have noticed while here in Germany, that there are very few overweight people. When I see a chunky person (like me), they appear to be tourists. People are active. They walk or ride bikes everywhere. I wonder if this is a cultural carryover from the Cold War.

We spent a lot of time in this museum, but finally we left to get some lunch. Zach had seen and read about a taco shop called Dolores California Burrito. It had been started by a guy from California and Zach has been looking for a good burrito. The boys each got a burrito and I got a quesadilla. Lunch was spent listening to the two sons discuss the quality of the food and how it compared to San Diego Mexican food. They decided it was pretty good. Not as good as a true Mexican taco shop from home, but better than Chipotle. Whatever...

We only had a few hours left before we needed to be back at the Train Station to catch the high-speed train back to Frankfurt. After having missed a few trains, I am a bit paranoid about being early. So we chose one more museum to visit and that was the Pergamonmuseum. It was a museum filled with antiquities that had been discovered by German archaeologists, in the early 1900s. One in particular was Baron Max von Oppenheim. There were statues and architecture from Babylon, Assyria, and Rome. There was a note on one of the placards that explained that there has been some concern over the acquisition of these artifacts. Although the museum and/or archaeologists have papers showing that they purchased the pieces from the Turkish and other governments at the time, it is questionable whether it was really about those with more power taking advantage of those without.

After a walk through the gift shop and and several souvenir shops, we were back at the train station with 60 minutes to spare. The boys rolled their eyes at me for wanting to be there so early, but we needed to get our luggage, purchase some dinner to take on the train, and find our platform. As it was, we got on the train with only about 4 minutes to spare. I have been typing this post for about 90 minutes and we still have over two hours left on the train before we arrive in Frankfurt at around 10:30 pm tonight.

With just two days left in Germany, I told Zach that I wanted to take a boat tour on the river in Frankfurt. I thought the river was the Rhine River, but Zach quickly and bluntly point out to me in true German fashion that I was mistaken. It is the Main (rhymes with Rhine) River. So my apologies to those I may have misled!

Berlin Day 2 - Films

 Once again it was another late night. It's crazy how late I am staying up, but the night doesn't feel like it
even starts until the sun goes down at 10:00 pm. We slept in and had a lazy morning so I could read and answer some emails. Around 11:00 am this morning we hopped on a train towards the Glienicker Bridge. For those who are Tom Hanks fans or history buffs, the Glienicker Bridge is the bridge of spies. Halfway across the bridge was the division between East and West Germany and it was used several times to exchange prisoners between the east and the west. I loved the movie with Tom Hanks about the prisoner exchange of Francis Gary Powers, the American pilot who was shot down while spying on The Soviet Union and Rudolf Ivanovich Abel, a top Soviet spy arrested in the U.S, so it was fun to walk over the actual bridge that was both used for the exchange and used in the movie.

Yesterday, Kate had told us we should go visit Potsdam if we had the chance. Potsdam is the city on the other side of Glienicker Bridge, so we crossed the bridge and caught a bus into town. We missed our planned stop, but serendipity allowed us to get off right in front of a film museum, so we went inside. Apparently, Potsdam is the home of Babelsberg Studios, a well-known film studio. It is the largest in Europe and is used to make many different movies and TV series. It has been around since 1910 and has survived through Germany's rocky history making films before during and after the World Wars for all political parties. The museum was filled with everything you want to know about film-making and Joe especially enjoyed this unexpected stop on our journey. Some of the American movies filmed at the studios included The Hunger Games, The Bourne Conspiracy, Bridge of Spies, Inglorious Bastards, some of the Avengers movies and more.

We had a late lunch at a restaurant near one of the train stops. One of the things I am noticing is that all of
these German restaurants offer homemade lemonade of many different flavors. I had Sweet Orange Lemonade, Joe had Watermelon Lemonade and Zach had Passion Fruit Lemonade. They were all very tasty. For lunch, I had Fruity Tomato Soup with some crusty toast and also a salad with a baked potato. The potato was covered with a thick white sauce called Quark. It tasted a lot like sour cream and according to Google it is a type of cheese made from warming milk until it curdles. Sounds delicious, right? It wasn't bad and it added flavor to the potato.

We took the train back to our apartment which was about 40 minutes away. Even though Potsdam is right on the border of Berlin, Berlin is a big city and we are staying in the city center. As we walked back to the flat, we stopped in front of the U.S. Embassy. We have seen several embassies around the Brandenberg Gate including the United States, British and Swiss Embassies. Gathered around there were a bunch of people wearing race number bibs in company shirts. A 5.5K race was about to start. It was the 20th annual Berlin Company Run. About an hour later, they various company teams ran past our apartment and we watched them out of the window while Zach called down to the runners "Schneller! Schneller!" which means "Faster! Faster!". It was strange to see a race happen so late in the day. By then it was around 7:30 pm, but it was also much cooler and definitely still light out, and after work.

Tomorrow is our last day in Berlin. We will take another high speed train back to Frankfurt in the evening. But before we do, we will be visiting the DDR museum as well as one or two others.

Berlin - Day 1

 We arrived last night at Apartments am Brandenburg Tor, the place we will be staying at for the next few days while in Berlin. We are renting a two-bedroom apartment not far from the train station and close to the Brandenburg Gate which is the only surviving historical gate was built in the 1700s by the Prussian king. Later it was was part of the division between East and West Berlin. It was inspired by Greek and Roman architecture and it pretty impressive.

It was a warm night and the apartment was especially hot with no fans or air conditioning, so we opened the windows as much as possible to try to cool everything off. Later in the middle of the night, it rained and that  helped lower the temperature a bit. The windows are interesting here. I haven't seen any windows with screens. The windows can swing wide open letting in lots of air as well as birds and bugs, or they can tilt back to only let in a little air.

Before we came, Joe had made a reservation for us at the Reichstag Building. This was also a historical
building that has gone through some destruction as a result of WW II, but  was rebuilt after the fall of the Berlin Wall. After reunification, Berlin became the capital of Germany again, and the German Parliament returned to the Reichstag. We attended a special lecture in the plenary hall since parliament is not in session this week. Germany is hosting the G7 Summit in Bavaria (where we just were). We learned about the history of the building and the German government including how Hitler and the National Socialist Party were able to turn a democracy into a dictatorship in just 5 short months and what the Germans have done to prevent that from ever happening again.

After the lecture, we walked up the Dome of the building which was pretty cool. The all-glass dome has a ramp way that takes you to the top. As we walked up the ramp, we listened to an audio guide that pointed out various buildings and landmarks as we traveled round and round to the top. The Dome has a cone in the center that is covered in mirrors. They reflect the light down into the building along with other cool engineering I don't completely understand, but the result is the building does not use any fossil fuels to heat or cool the building.

In the late afternoon, we met up with another GEM-mer who lives and works in Berlin. She is Zach's boss's boss or something like that. Her name is Kate and she has been with GEM for about 17 years. Her sister and family were visiting from Pennsylvania and they allowed us to join them on what Kate called a "ten cent walking tour." I thought it was great and told her it was more like a 100 Euro tour. She took us to a number of places zig-zagging around East Berlin where the Berlin Wall had once been. We walked by a large park (think Central Park in New York), a Memorial to the Murdered European Jews, many historical buildings, a number of cathedrals, Checkpoint Charlie, and we even stopped in a store to buy some German chocolate. It was three hours of fun and learning.

We said so long to Kate and family at a U-Bahn station that had a cool 24-hour clock showing the times around the world and caught the train back to our apartment. Dinner was a favorite Turkish food among the Germans called Döner Kebab. You see little cafes and restaurants that sell it all over Germany very similar to the many taco shops you find around San Diego. Right now, it's 10:05 pm and the sun is just setting. I hear the cars going by and people walking and talking through our wide open windows from our flat on the 5th floor of this apartment building. The city is still alive with activity below us, but I am ready to crash. 

Hopefully, my room has cooled off some and I will get a good night's sleep for tomorrow's adventure in Berlin.

Mosaik Nord, Friends, and Zoo

On Sunday, Joe and I caught the "ICE" Inter-City Express train which is a high-speed train with few stops. It goes fast and we were able to get back to Frankfurt from Munich in less than 4 hours. The train also had intermittent internet which allowed me to write my blog about our excitement on Saturday. Later that day, we attended Zach's church Mosaik Nord. He was playing on the worship team, so he had to get there early. Zach left us directions and Joe and I took a U-Bahn and a bus to the service which started at 4:00 pm. We got to see the end of the rehearsal and then Zach introduced us to a few people including the two pastors Pascal and Simon. 

The service was in German and they didn't have anyone to translate in English that day. They did have a Spanish translator and Farsi translator. Joe pulled up an app on his phone that translated and transcribed what was being said during the sermon and announcements. It did a pretty good job and we got the gist of the message which was about how we practically live out compassion to strangers in the city. Here are the three main points.

1. What does the Bible say?

2. How can we apply the Biblical principles in our society?

3. A practical example from Acts 3

Before the message there was singing, prayer and worship. I recognized most of the tunes, so I tried to understand what the German words meant since I was familiar with the English version. Here are some words I figured out with Zach's help.

Alles: everything

Gott: God

Jesu: Jesus

liebe: love

die: the

wie: how

preist: praise

After church, there was a time for fellowship where people drank coffee and tea and stood around and visited. Then a group of us ordered food from an Italian restaurant and went to Paul and Hanna's house. Paul is a good friend of Zach's who recently married Hanna who is also a GEM missionary. We spent a few hours hanging out and visiting. There were about a dozen people there. I had some great conversations with several from Zach's church. One of the worship leaders, Esther (another one from GEM), shared about her childhood as a missionary kid and how she ended up in Germany and speaking German even though her parents are Czech and were missionaries in India. She was very fun to talk to and her friendly spirit was heart-warming. I also got to talk with Jana a young woman who is in her second year at a university in Frankfurt. She is majoring in linguistics and may possibly join Wycliffe. She is still uncertain which path she will follow, but she knows that she loves linguistics. She's only been at the church for about a year and she shared her story of how she came to attend Mosaik Nord. One couple that was at this gathering were brand new to the church. This was their first Sunday attending in person. They had been watching online and had attended a small group, then decided to come to in-person church that day. I enjoyed talking to the husband, Johannes, who told us funny stories of his time visiting L.A. and Orange County. Zach appeared at home and very comfortable with his new church family. I am glad that he has found a group of friends who care for him.

This morning was a lazy Monday morning. I finished up some laundry and packed for our trip to Berlin. The train wasn't leaving until 6:15 pm so we had time to go visit the Frankfurt Zoo. The Zoo is in the middle of the city and people live in flats around the complex and since many buildings have 5 stories, people can see into the zoo from their homes. It's a nice zoo. Most of the walkways and enclosures are filled with trees and water. There are some buildings that appear older from when the zoo first opened. They are what you would imagine zoos from 60 years ago looked like. Not terribly animal friendly, but it also appeared that now they were more of a place to eat and sleep for most of the animals. We spent about 3 hours at the zoo and then headed back to Zach's place for an hour or so before we left for the train station. Our train was delayed, but now we are on it and will soon go have dinner in the dining car (if it is open). We should be in Berlin in about 4 hours.

Berchtesgaden and the German Alps

 Yesterday was a long day so I wasn't able to write this post until after I had a little sleep. Let me explain.

Joe and I were up early, said our farewells to Zach, and caught the U-Bahn to the East Munich Train Station. Although we left our hotel at 6:20 am, the trains don't run as often on the weekends or early morning, so we barely made our 7:05 train, which meant we didn't have time to store our luggage in a locker at the train station. The train was crowded and there was really no where to sit during this 90 minute train ride, so we stood. After about 30 minutes, a lady spoke to three teen boys who were taking up five seats, and they made room for me to sit. Joe had his eye on the first class seating and eventually we both moved into that section since no one was actually checking tickets. This trip was fairly uneventful and on time which was a good thing because we had to change trains and only had 6 minutes to do it when we arrived. Whew! We were on the second train and headed to Berchtesgaden which is right on the border of Austria.

Berchtesgaden is in the German Alps and gorgeous. Our second train headed up the mountains giving us breathtaking views as we climbed higher and higher. We arrived at the small train station and looked for lockers with no success, so it seemed we would be carrying our luggage. Joe had a pretty big backpack, and I had an overnight bag and a backpack, so I felt like a pack mule. The train station is also the hub where you catch buses to the different locations around the area. There is a bunch to see, and Joe really had two things on his list. Kehlsteinhaus also known as Eagle's Nest was our first stop. We took a 15-minute bus ride further up the mountain along a one way windy road. I kept thinking my friend Wendy would hate this. Once at the top, we enjoyed the views overlooking the area including Salzburg, but it was time to go even higher. We walked through a 126-meter tunnel that went into the side of the mountain until we reached a brass and mirror embellished elevator. The elevator took us another 131 meters to the top of the mountain where we arrived at the Eagle's Nest for more amazing sights.

The Eagle's Nest was a secret hideaway and retreat for Adolph Hitler and the Nazi leaders. The entire area

of Obersalzburg was where they would spend time strategizing. Hitler only visited Eagle's Nest about 14 times but Eva Braun, his mistress used Eagle's Nest a lot. Hitler spent most of his time at Berghof, his private home in the valley. At the end of the war, the U.S. Army used Eagle's Nest as a military command post. It was the only building that survived bombings from the allied forces. Eventually, the Eagle's Nest became a restaurant and tourist attraction, but it was very clear that they did not want it or the area to become a Nazi shrine, so there were strict regulations about what could and couldn't be sold.

Joe and I spent about 2 hours at Eagle's Nest which included getting a bite of lunch at the restaurant. We both had an open-faced Ham sandwich. I didn't much care for it, but the chocolate torte we split was yummy. Then it was a wild and crazy ride on the bus back down the mountain. There were no seats available, so I was standing in the aisle holding on tightly to avoid lurching into the laps of the people around me during each hairpin turn. Back at the main hub, we waited for a different bus which would take us to Königssee Lake. We had to wait about 40 minutes for that bus, but it was only a short drive to the lake once we got on the bus. We then took a boat out on the lake and oohed and awed at the mountainsides towering over the clear water. It was so beautiful. At the widest part of the lake, our guide played a trumpet toward one side of the lake and we could hear it echo off of the other side. It was pretty awesome. About halfway, we stopped at St. Bartholomew church located on the shore of the lake. You can only get to it by boat or a long hike over the mountain. Joe and I looked around for about 15 minutes and then took a boat back to the starting point. We didn't have time for the full trip which takes nearly two hours.

By the time we got off the boat and back to the train station, it was 5:45 pm. We had two options to get back to Munich. We could take a bus to Salzburg and then take the train to Munich which would get us there around 9:15 pm. The other option was to take the same route we had taken to Berchetesgaden on two trains with a very short connection, and we would arrive in Munich at the same time. Since the second option had us leaving at 6:30 which was 15 minutes after the bus option, we chose that and looked for a place to eat nearby. Our best option was a Burger King, so Joe had a pastrami burger and I ate some of his fries along with a Coke Light without ice which is the only way they seem to serve drinks in Europe.

When we got to to the train platform, there was a message in German, and we deduced that the train we were waiting for would be about 10 minutes late. Well, that meant there was no way we would make our connection and we didn't. We arrived at the transfer station and had about 45 minutes to wait for the next train.  When it arrived, they wouldn't let anyone on the packed train. The police went from car to car asking to see the passengers' passports while the rest of us looked on waiting for the doors to open. Earlier, we saw a lot of police escorting a large group of what appeared to be gypsies off another train and over to the police station. Eventually, we were let on to this train, but not on the five or six empty cars. We all had to cram into the front cars that were already full. Apparently, they were disconnecting the back half of the train. Too bad, because once again, we were destined to stand. After about 30 minutes, someone near us got off the train and Joe and I were able to sit down for the remaining 60 minutes of the ride. Others had to stand the entire way as even more boarded the train at different stops.

During the month of June, you can travel anywhere on a regional train or bus using the 9-Euro pass. This is a great deal and it has allowed us to get around to various places without worrying about train fare. It also has been good for the rest of the country and I think everyone is using the trains to go on their holidays. As a result, the trains are crowded and delayed more than usual (according to Zach and two ladies I was talking to on the train). Public transportation in Germany is very impressive. We can go pretty much anywhere inexpensively, but there is a downside. You have to plan very carefully and it takes longer to get where you want to be.

We arrived in Munich at 10:40 pm and had a short walk to our hotel. Joe had made the reservations and it was a nice hotel. We each had our own room and I quickly removed the extra pounds I had been carrying most of the trip and was in bed by 11:15 for some much needed rest. Our stay included breakfast in the hotel lobby. Breakfast had a variety of foods including breads and pastries, meats and cheeses, vegetables and dips, fresh fruit, soft-boiled eggs, and cereal. I wanted to make sure we were back at the Central Station in plenty of time to catch our train back to Frankfurt. So we ate breakfast quickly and caught the high speed train. This train we had to pay for, but it was worth it. With a quiet car, reserved comfortable seats, and  occasional internet, I feel like I am traveling in luxury and our trip will be a little less than four hours instead of the 5 1/2 hours it took on the regional train. Frankfurt, here we come!

A Somber Day

Last night, we decided to change our plans a bit. Today's forecast was thunderstorms and rain and we were supposed to go to Berchtesgaden, a national park. It was important to Joe that we go this park and that we be able to enjoy it. So we decided to wait a day and go tomorrow. The problem with waiting is that Berchtesgaden is close to the Austrian border which is 2 1/2 hours east of Munich, so that would mean that getting back to Frankfurt would require an 8-9 hour train ride and we would not be able to stay very long in the park. So Joe and I will go to the park tomorrow and stay at another hotel in Munich and take the train back to Frankfurt on Sunday. Zach needs to be back home to take care of his dog, so he will leave for Frankfurt tomorrow and visit Berchtesgaden another time.

Once we made the decision to delay the trip to Berchtesgaden, we decided to visit Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. The memorial is not far from Munich so we didn't feel a need to rush. We got to Dachau around 11:00 am and picked up an audioguide and proceeded through the iron gate into the camp. The site is large with a wide open space called Roll-Call Square. On one side of the square are the foundations of the 30 barracks in two rows lined with trees. The first two barracks have been reconstructed with exhibits inside. Each barrack was designed to hold 200 people, but by the end of the war, the Nazis were squeezing 2000 people into each of the barracks. There were several timelines that showed how conditions got worse over the years. It was horrific.

On the other side of the Roll-Call Square is a memorial sculpture and an extensive museum filled with many
exhibits. In addition to the barracks and museum, there are also a bunker where "criminals" were kept, the crematorium and several religious memorials. We visited all of these locations and spent about four hours reading, listening, and mourning the mistreatment and loss of so many lives.

After leaving Dachau, we took the train to Marienplatz to catch the last performance of the Glockenspiel in the New Town Hall. Then it was time for a traditional Bavarian meal at Hofbrauhaus. It is a restaurant brewery and beerhall with long tables and benches, an Oompah band, and a loud crowd of eaters and drinkers. Joe got roast pork with a potato dumpling and gravy. He also ordered a couple veal sausages to try. I had roast chicken and potato salad along with a bread basket of several types of bread. Zach ordered a vegan meal of a dumpling in a mushroom cream sauce. We all enjoyed our meal and this was the first place I was asked if I wanted to give a tip. My choices were 5% or 10%. Tipping is very unusual in Germany. They pay their wait staff a better living wage. On the other hand, waiters don't hover over your table and you have to get their attention to just pay the bill.

It was still light out when we finished our dinner, so Zach suggested we visit the English Garden. It is really a large park similar to Balboa Park with trails, streams, lots of trees, sports fields and restaurants. We even saw some people "surfing" on man made rapids. It was very interesting. We walked for a little while and then found our way back to the hotel via bus and train. Our time here in Munich has been full and tomorrow will another long day filled with beautiful scenery. I am sad that Zach won't be able to join us, but Joe and I should have a good time as long as we make our train connections!

Schloss Neuschwanstein (schloss means castle)

Today's plan was all about castles. Our plan was to take the train to Fussen which is a small town about 4 km from two Bavarian castles. We had purchased tickets to tour Hohenschwangau Castle, Neuschwanstein Castle and the Museum of the Bavarian Kings. Joe wore his Disney shirt, because Neuschwanstein is the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland. All was going according to plan until it was time to change trains at Buchloe, but our train arrived 10 minutes late and by the time we got off and found the platform, we had missed our connecting train. So we had to wait an hour for the next train. The hour delay caused us to miss our first tour. That was a disappointment, but we were happy to have made it. We had a few hours before our next tour, so we walked the 200 meters uphill to wander around the exterior of Hohenschwangau Castle.

Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein are pretty close each other. Hohenschwangau was built many years before and then renovated by Maximilian II as a summer home. It has a lovely view of a lake with mountains towering over it. We walked down to the lake enjoying the view and Zach spent some time wading in the water.

Next we went to the museum and learned about Bavarian royalty. Maximilian died unexpectedly and his son Ludwig II became king at 18. He loved science, the arts and stories of medieval times. He was also heavily influenced by Louis XIV and the opulence of his palace in Versailles. Ludwig decided to build a castle that represented all that he valued and the work on Neuschwanstein began. Ludwig had some political troubles and ended up being declared insane which led to his removal from the throne at the age of 40.  A few days later, he was found dead in the lake and the cause of his death remains a mystery.

I was feeling lightheaded and needed to eat, so we had a quick lunch at a cafe and then it was time to catch a bus up to Neuschwanstein. Our reservation was for 3:30, and we we told to be at the castle 15 minutes early. The bus ride was less than 10 minutes and we got to the bus around 3:00 pm thinking we had plenty of time. Even though the bus was full, the driver waited 20 minutes before he left for the castle. I never saw a schedule posted, but I began to worry that we were going to miss our second tour! When we got off the bus, we had to walk another 600 meters to the castle. By this time I was certain we would miss the tour. The instructions were very clear - No Refunds or Exchanges. We got to the castle at 3:40 and the attendant told us to go to info center to see if we could change our times. The great news of the day was that our reservation was at 3:50 NOT 3:30. Hallelujah! We had made it in time.

Once inside the castle we were told not to take photos or touch anything. We then proceed to walk up a spiral staircase. I have to admit that I am a little tired of climbing stairs, but there were even more stairs after that. In fact, half of the 40 minute tour was spent climbing up or going down about 5 flights of stairs. The tour was interesting and we learned some more about Ludwig, but we still had to walk back to the bus stop and this time it was uphill. After huffing and puffing up the long hill, the ride down the mountain turned out to be much faster than the ride up.

We took the bus back into Fussen where we had about 75 minutes before our train back to Munich departed. We found another restaurant where Joe and I split a yummy strawberry ice cream dish. Zach bought some snacks to eat on the train and now we are riding the train back to Munich for two hours and should be back at our hotel around 9:30 pm.

I am glad that we came to Munich. It is our central hub so that we don't have to take our luggage everywhere, but we are definitely spending a lot of time on trains.

Gardens, Towers, and Trains

 It was a late night for me after such a busy day. I finished my blog post around 1:00 am, but I couldn't fall asleep so after uploading a bunch of photos to Facebook, taking some Nyquil, and downloading a white noise app, I think I fell asleep around 4:00 am for a few hours. Hopefully, I will sleep better tonight. I am writing this post on the train to Munich, so I will be able to crash once we arrive at our hotel.

This morning we walked to a Botanical Garden called PalmenGarten. It was about a 15 minute walk to the garden. We walked through several greenhouse type buildings with tropical plants and succulents. It was
already a warm day and it was even warmer in these glass buildings. They also had a building with butterflies, as well as many areas filled with flowers, trees, and assorted plants. It was lovely and peaceful. Zach commented that Germans consider gardening a treasured pastime and even those in the city often have gardens on their balconies.

After the PalmenGarten, we hopped on a train to visit the Dom Tower or Domturm in German. This is a very tall bell tower where from the top you  get a 360 degree view of the city. After climbing the spiraling staircase with 300+ steps, our hard work was rewarded with a spectacular view. We were able to point out many of the places we had visited yesterday from our bird's eye view. This tower is part of the cathedral that survived the bombing of World War II. I wonder who had to climb it to ring the bells each day. It was quite a grueling task to do it just once!

Once we returned to the ground it was back  to Zach's home so that he could walk Suki, his dog, and we could gather our food together for our train trip to Munich. To take the Express Train, it would have cost us 50 Euro each, but during the month of June, there is a special deal. For 9 Euro, you can purchase a pass to ride any of the regional trains in Germany. So we are riding three different trains to get to Munich. It is going to take about 75 minutes longer, but it isn't too bad so far. Each train ride has been one to two hours long. Occasionally, we have internet, but not very often. Usually, it is only when we are sitting at a main transfer station.

It has started to rain. Sadly, the next few days while we are in Munich are supposed to be rainy days with some thunderstorms. We have a lot planned so we will see how our sightseeing goes while getting wet.

Out and About in Frankfurt

Today we got to meet Marylyn, Zach's best friend. The first thing she said when she met us was that she wanted to make it clear that she and Zach are just friends. Apparently, they have a mutual friend who is a bit of a matchmaker and she has tried to put them together as a couple, but they have been very resistant. 

Marylyn was delightful and she was a great tour guide as she took us on a walking tour of downtown, through the financial district, inside some beautiful churches, and along and across the Rhine river. She kept us entertained with fun facts, historical stories, and glimpses of beautiful architecture. We even stopped in a Faber-Castell art store where we went into a secret room and tried out the different markers and pencils. We each drew a picture and explored our inner artist.

Marylyn only had a few hours and it was lunch time, so she took us to the rooftop of a building where during the summer they have an outside bar and restaurant called City Beach. It was decorated with boats, wading pools, and even a sandy area where you could take off your shoes and be served your drinks on lounge chairs. During the winter, the rooftop is transformed into an alpine chalet called City Alm. For lunch we had burgers and fries except Zach who had a salad with goat cheese. We said our goodbyes to Marylyn and started back to Zach's flat so I could rest my foot. Last night on the walk from the train station to Zach's place, I twisted my foot and my pain meds were wearing off. 

On the walk home, we took a quick restroom break at the North Gate which is one of the few original buildings. It is the oldest building in the city, constructed during the 1400s. It was, at the time, a part of the city gate. There is restaurant now on the bottom floor and we had to climb 42 spiraling steps up the tower to get to the restroom. Once home, I iced my foot and rested for an hour while the boys took Suki (Zach's dog) for a walk. We then headed back out into the city, rode the train and walked to see the house where Anne Frank was born. It is still a residence so we just read the plaque and then headed back to walk the Park Ring which is a series of parks that surround the city center.

Dinner was at a Thai restaurant and then it was another quick train ride back toward the river to watch the sunset. Zach lives in the city so he is close to several train stops which makes it pretty easy to get around. 

During one of our many walks through his and other neighborhoods today, Zach pointed out these metal markers in the cobblestone. Each one has the name of a Jewish person who had lived in that neighborhood before they were taken to a concentration camp during the Holocaust. The marker also has their date of birth, date of imprisonment and date of death. I love how the German people have memorialized those who were murdered during such a horrific time of their history. They do not want to forget or minimize the horrific acts of their country.