Germany trip

“Following is a trip report of an awesome trip to Germany, with my cousin who I had not seen in 30 years. He is stationed in Germany, in the Air Force. We got a guided tour of some beautiful country.

Arrival. Well, we arrived January 2nd at the airport, and moved through fairly quickly. KC met us, with a hug, at the first area that she could as we exited the airport. Brad was waiting in the van, and we walked over there and loaded up. He also greets us with a hug. It was a 1 1/2 hour ride to their home. As we are riding, we are awake, having been able to sleep some 4-5 hours on the plane. We are excited to meet each other, and are quickly catching up. The countryside is beautiful. The homes here are all like what you see onsite at Sugarloaf and Sunday River ski areas. Wide roof overhangs, gable end balconies, plastered exterior walls, clay tile roofs, painted scenes on the walls around the windows. Religious icons are everywhere. We were to learn throughout the week that Germany is a Catholic country and devoutly observant in their beliefs.

Windmills. What really was interesting was the windmill generators. These were not what you would expect at Holland, but these were huge, hi tech, state of the art generators. Comparing these to our power plants, I fail to see the objection to them. Yes, you need more of them, but they are pollution free. The visual loss of scenery needs to be considered, and there are mountain photo opportunities that I would not have wanted with the windmills in them, but, it seems there must be a point of compromise.

Renewing aquaintences. Anyways, we get to their home, and set up the guest room. We chat with the girls, Ashley and Kaitlin. Then, after a while, we are all fatigued. Brad and KC got up early to meet us at the airport, and "it" is catching up to us. So we ask the girls to wake us after an hour and a half. They do so, and we force ourselves up, so that we may be able to get on their time schedule. We also visit the rental shop and rent some performance skiis and poles. We have all our other ski gear. Throughout the week, we were to peruse scrapbooks and photo albums of all six of us, anxious to renew our aquaintences with each other. This turns out to be a great week and we all develop our family ties with each other.

Cuisine. For dinner that evening, we head, literally, right down around the corner from their home. We drive, due the weather, a distance that would have been easily walked. We get an authentic German meal. Very reasonably priced, and portions that would leave none hungry. I, of course, order schnitzel as my first German meal, and they have croquettes, somewhat similar to a potato puff. Brad and KC are very fortunate to have such a restaraunt so close to their home. Jeannette (Skeetah Bait) and I (monkeyboy) are to sample many different meals throughout the week, and our belt lines are gonna suffer for it. But this is exceptionally good dining. The food is devoid of the grease so common in america. While american food can tax Jeannette's stomach, this German food does no such thing. It is all well seasoned, but not heavily spiced. Most often, we would all get a different meal, and sample from each others plates. Dining in Germany is, generally, a two hour event. Very relaxed, and almost always served with a salad and a nice house dressing. We ate a Greek restaraunt in Garmisch, ordering two different sampler plates. They have some 17(?) different portions between them, and they are huge!!! We are unable to finish them off. The quality of the food is comparable to the German food, excellent. Dining is also accompanied by smoking. We often strategically place ourselves far from the smoke, and it is tolerable.... The hostesses often seat us where we ask, with no problem. The dining rooms are often tastefully decorated, and there is little doubt that you are in Germany as you look around. Obviously, the Greek restaraunt was decorated in Greek fashion. Many waiters and waitresses are dressed in period outfits of Germany. One meal, at their home, Brad cooks us some schwank. All in all, it is a very pleasant and memorable experience!

For desert, we would often walk, one, to make room for desert, and two, to find an ice cream parlor. 80 cents Euro for a one scoop cone, and was it ever good ice cream, nice and smooth, well flavored. So there we were, wrapped up for the cold, and walking and eating good ice cream. American influence seems to abound. Pizza hut, McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell. We avoid all those, except for Taco bell, when it becomes very convenient due to the traveling we are doing. Mostly, we are eating German!

Travel. Traveling, we are well set up. Brad and KC have a Dodge Grand Caravan, seating the six of us well. There is an onboard DVD player to ease the time of the traveling. What a great option in a vehicle when you have children and you want to travel around Europe. On the trip to Garmisch, we were to watch 4 movies on the way there, and 3 on the way back. Bear in mind, that we are also taking in the scenery as we travel. Brad and KC have quite a library of Disney animated movies, and we were to watch them for the first time. A Thule ski box provides a great place for ski storage on the roof, to leave room inside the vehicle for occupents and more bags.The autobahn, what can we say about it. It is a first class highway system, similar to our interstate system. Actually, our system doesn't compare. Smooth surface, no potholes, no ruts. Well laid out for the speed. Shoulders are nonexistant in this country except on the Autobahn, and the lanes are narrow. There are speed zones on the autobahn, but often, there is no speed limit. We witness no accidents, yet see plenty of traffic. One wonders how this is so. Is it the better roads? The freedom to fly on the autobahn, better driving ability and training, or is it the better engineering of the cars to handle better? Brad informs us that while there may be less accidents, due to the high speeds, they are more serious. In any case, you can there from here, and very quickly!

Trier. Our first excursion is to bring us to Trier, an hour away. Germany's little Rome, complete with the ruins of the Roman baths. Very nice village. All you'd expect in an old European village. We visit the museum there. They have set up many mosaic floors and statuary of the area. The detail is absolutely incredible. And this was all done by hand!!! This detail is seldom found today. The open market area is very nice, dare I say quaint. Street side stores, and carts. We purchased a few items from the local shops. We visited Porta Nigra, a gateway preserved from the old wall around the city. A huge wall it must have been, including several levels. It is closed this day, but you can often venture up into the wall. A visit to the Catholic and Gothic protestant churches are in order. Everything about them is grand. They are huge, replete with stained glass and pipe organs and religious icons. The shear abundance and opulence is mind boggling. They are all one would expect of an old world church. Dining is, of course, at a local eatery and followed up by ice cream. Very reasonably priced in Germany, I might add.

Garmisch. Sunday, we are packed and heading to Garmisch, in the German alps for a couple days of skiing the Zugspitze, and a trip to Nueschwanstein, the fabled castle that Walt Disney model his after. We arrive after 6 hours on the road, including a diversion through Austria, line up snowboard lessons for Katie, then head to the hotel and set up our rooms. What a nice little hotel, run by Herr Meyer. A friendly fellow, we were to learn that he had skated in the hockey world championships with Wayne Gretzky. He directed us towards several restaraunts over the next several days. We have our own room, complete with balcony overlooking the main road, and towards the mountains. It is truly a mgical experience for us. Brad, KC, and the girls have the family room, which works out really nice for them. The first night there, we eat at a greek restaraunt, of all places in Germany!!! But as stated earlier, this exceptionally fine dining. Followed with a trip through the shop areas, all closed now, for window shopping, and of course, a stop at the ice cream parlor.

Monday morning, we are up early and eating in the hotel, a traditional german breakfast, consisting of rolls and cold cuts, cereal, yogurt, OJ, coffee, milk, various breads and jellys and Nutella. Nutella was developed in the war, due to lack of peanut butter. It is made of almonds or nuts and chocolate, and used like peanut butter. We enjoy several breakfasts of this over the next few days.

Then on to the mountain. We are ever taking in the scenery. The countryside is clean and beautiful. Germans earn high marks in the litter control areas. The cable car, due the storm, is not running today to bring us up the mountain, so we take the cog train instead. Through the forest, it is so beautiful, that one can not imagine a destructive war ever took place here. The last half of the trip up the mountain is accomplished through a tunnel burrowed out of solid rock, occasionally widened out for trains to pass and maintenance stations. The ski lodge is typical, with the rustic heavy log beam construction. There are all the amenities, ski shop, cafeteria and bar. Cigarette smoke is prominent, this is Europe....

The slopes. We gear up and head to the bunny slope to check out conditions and gear. It is snowing steadily, and visibility is very limited. The snow is a foot deep or more, and is causing difficulty. We are still hesitantly enjoying it, however. T-bars are the uphill motivator of choice in Europe and there are plenty here. There is a 6 person detachable high speed lift, not in service today. Most of the mountain is shut down due to conditions. After several runs, we are fatigued and head into the lodge. It seems to take forever to regain our energy, then we realize we are some two miles up. The altitude was to challenge us throughout the trip. Brad and I decide to venture off the bunny slope, and head down the mountain, following a groomer. All is very good, until he goes one way (uphill) while we continue downhill. We are challenged by the deep snow and poor visibility. Several more runs, and we are shot.

We enjoy our lunch and on mountain cuisine, then decide to head to head to the downtown shops for souviniers, followed by a meal at a nice German eatery. The next two days are holy days, Three Kings Day, in this German province. We learn the shops will be closed the next couple days and are grateful we shopped today. At the restaraunt, we observe a small band and a child dancing the (phonetically pronounced) shoe klaupin dance, as well as a couple of children, traditionally garbed in king's robes, reciting German poetry about the three kings and asking for donations. We all plunk some Euros in their cups.

The next morning, we are up early (as seems to be the norm for this vacation), and heading to the mountain again. There are few cars in the lot, and we are able to take the cable car over the forests and mountain to the top, and another down to the ski area. The top half of the ski area, where the bunny slopes are located, are shrouded in the clouds. Jeannette and I head to the lower area for more challenging skiing. It is all groomed and the sun is out at the lower altitude!!! We are having a ball. We meet up with Brad, KC and the girls and invite them over there. The slopes are steeper and all are concerned for Katie, struggling with the snowboard. Eventually all, except Katie are able to ski to the bottom for some epic skiing and scenery. As I looked back up the mountain, skiers and boarders are skiing off piste everywhere. There are few untracked areas around the ski mountains. We stay on the groomed trails, except Brad, who has a snowboard, and he goes off piste several times. I ski ahead often and use my camera, wearing out several batteries in this cold weather. The shots of the Alps are magnificient.

Lunch includes our packed lunch and what they call a dumpling up there, well recommended by the girls. It is a grapefruit sized, light dough pastry, bathed in a vanilla sauce and sprinkled with powdered sugar and poppy seeds. Jeannette and I are fighting over the one we share. They don't have this back home!

Brad and Katie's legs are shot, and they head back an hour before we do. It is fun to watch Ashely ski, still a beginner, using no poles, skiing down the entire mountain to the bottom. She did very well skiing. We ski until the last car down the mountain beckons us. The first car is huge and 3/4 full. The next car is half that size and we are all crammed in it. Can you say sardines? Ashley and I are nose to the door windows, several hundred feet up over the mountain, and, sadly, I can't reach my camera. I suggest to her that if these sliding doors were to pop open, it would be just like flushing the toilet. The girls say be quiet and we hear a german repeat something in German and everyone laughs. That evening, we enjoy yet another German meal and pack for a trip to Neuschwanstein.

The Castles. Once again, we are up early, and heading to Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein, King Ludwig II's boyhood home and the castle he was to comission. We start at Hohenschwangau, and while it is elegant and elaborate, we are disappointed, all of us having seen Disney's shows too often and our expectations are high. Neuschwanstein would not disappoint us so. It is truly elegant and grand. In his bedroom alone, 17 wood carvers were to work for 4 1/2 years carving the intricate woodwork. Work is expensive on this and most of the exterior is completed, some many years after his apparent suicide. Of the 200 rooms inside, only 17 are completed. The throne room does not even have the throne built. Electricity is available in the castle, as are running hot and cold water. On each trip to the two castles, we take a horse drawn carriage up to the castles and walk back. Katie is often found near the horses petting them. Then, the sight seeing is over, and we must return to their home in Metterich.

Thursday, is a well earned down day. Brad and I go to the base and get a haircut. We take the Porsche 944 Turbo, on the autobahn!! How fast is 265 km in mph??? A very comfortable ride, actually. While we are on the base, we visit the tower, and watch several F-16's take off, as well as getting a primer on how the tower operates. We do little except sit, chat, and watch Armed Forces TV. Jeannette and I take Katie and Ashley for a walk around the neighborhood. There is a deer pen and we feed them yesterday's lunch. Across the street, we visit the local graveyard, looking for the oldest grave. We find cats and pet them, then move to the horse stables. They enjoy the apples we brought. Then onto the sheep and billy goats. The sheep are skittish, but the goats are hungry. We continue around and suddenly are back home. We still continue to notice how neatly coiffed and groomed the countryside is. All is well taken care of here.

Belgium and Luxembourg. Our final day was the coup de grace to a great week. In the morning, KC and the girls visit the dentist (No cavities). We go with Brad to return the skiis, then head to a furniture store in Belgium. We are awed by the quality of European furniture. Your grandchildren may well enjoy your furniture, long after you are gone. After meeting at the house, we head to Luxembourg. First stop is the Spaghetti Shop for some huge servings of various types of spaghetti. Then to the American and German graveyards. The American graveyard has the white crosses lined up similar to Arlington. Jewish soldiers have their posts in the shape of the Star of David, and we notice that each has a white stone setting on them. The 2 Medal of Honor winners have gold inscriptions on their crosses. Patton's grave is prominately alone up front, without further fanfare, still commanding his troops. A trip to the German graveyard was somewhat different. The black crosses were spaced further apart, and we found four names on each cross. While there were no trees in the midst of the American graves, shade trees were abundant over the German graves. It is a study of contrasts.

One final sightseeing ride back, and we are still observing this beautiful countryside. All the fields of this agricultural coutry, intersperced with small villages and larger more modern cities continue to amaze us. We look, once again, upon the windmills, and the many grape fields for their famous wines, and again to the mountains and castles. We try to burn the memories into our minds, one last time, then sadly return to their home to pack. In the morning, everyone is up early to accompany us to the airport. We exchange hugs, and Brad and I agree not to wait 30 years to see each other again.

I am loading some pics to Webshots, at Twigeater's suggestion, I had forgotten about webshots.... I'll post a link as soon as it's available...dial up....”

“Great trip report, glad to see you posted it!”

“THIS(!) is a trip report!”

“Great trip report. Almost like I was there. Heehee, did it scare you driving that fast on the autobahn? I had to get used to it again, it's much different then driving on the american interstate :)

going to the pics now....”

“Great trip report. Ich liebe Deutschland!”

“Great trip report! I also enjoyed seeing the pictures. It reminds me of a trip we took to Austria in late Dec.-early Jan. two years ago.”

“Nice!”

“Damn it. I want to go to Germany.”

“it's not fair. If I go I am not able to see all the cool stuff. I will have to stay with my family, visit friends and stuff like that. That's nice for a while, but I WANT TO SEE STUFF!!!!! WANT TO VISIT PLACES!

A secret trip maybe in order? LOL”

“Gemini, we went to visit family, and they took a vacation while we were there. We got to see pu-lenty....”

“lol, i think I took a picture of those smarts. I think they are made by mercedes, aren't they?

That's the funniest car.”

“I am not sure who made that little car. Europeans, maybe.”

“not sure if you're serious... :)

not who made the car, but by what company... I think it's daimler Mercedes-Benz. I really don't know though, thought my sister told me once”

“Just joshin, I really didn't look..... I can't believe it, I never looked.”