TRAVELS in EUROPE 1997

TRAVELS in EUROPE 1997
By
Dolan and Lena Brown


March 2-12, 1997 Cairo, Egypt

I had to go to Cairo, Egypt TDY. TDY is a military term that is used when you go somewhere (usually overnight) away from your normal work area as part of your job assignment. Lena didn't go on this trip since it was job related. The American Government has an American Embassy in Cairo and the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) operates a commissary  there to serve the employees and military stationed there. We (I work for DeCA) were opening a new commissary there March 9. My job, while stationed in Germany, is to deploy and manage the Point Of Sale Modernization(POSM) computer systems for about 65 commissaries in Europe. The POSM system is like the cash registers, checkstands, and the computers that operate the entire POS system that you see when you go into any grocery store such as Winn-Dixie or Food Lion.
An Airport Shuttle service picked me up at our house 8:30 AM Sunday morning for the 1 1/2 hour trip to the Frankfurt, Germany airport. The long term parking at the airport is very expensive so I usually take the Airport Shuttle to and from the airport rather than leaving my car at the airport. My flight left at 1PM. This was my first flight on Lufthansa airlines. I had heard it is a better than average airline but I didn't find anything to convince me of that. Maybe the service in the Business and First Class is better, but as a Government employee I don't get to experience this since I am required to fly economy class. I bet our Congressmen from Washington that make the rules, get to fly in business or first class on long flights that is much more comfortable and the service is better.
The flight was uneventful until we started the approach into Cairo airport. They were having one of their very infrequent rainstorms so the pilot had to circle the airport for about 45 minutes until the storm passed. I collected my baggage and looked around for the driver from the commissary that was supposed to meet me. I did not know what he looked like since I did not know anyone that worked at the commissary. I finally found him. He was holding up a sign with BROWN on it. The commissary officer (head person in charge of the commissary) Mr. Holzhauser, was with him. He looked a lot like my Uncle Grady. The driver's name was Terek Morsy, an Egyptian. I was to learn that all the employees except Mr. Holzhauser were Egyptian.
Since Cairo does not get much rain they have no drains in their streets. The heavy rains had flooded the low areas of the streets and several cars had stalled out in the high water. It was a little humid so I started to open the window in the van only to find out that all the windows in the van had bullet proof glass about an inch thick covering them. The windows could not be opened. I thought to myself, what have I gotten into coming to Cairo, Egypt. I am in this strange country, with people I have never met, riding through some rather spooky looking parts of town in a van surrounded by bullet proof glass. To late now! I am here, so I had better take things in stride and make the best of things and enjoy this unique experience. It took about two hours to get me to the hotel. The normal trip would have been about 30-45 minutes. I would be staying at the Semiramis Inter-Continental Hotel. It was beside the Nile River. The hotel was very nice. It had 28 floors, 7 or 8 restaurants (one was open 24 hours a day), 3 banks, gambling casino, shopping bazaar, etc. Mr. Holzhauser got me checked in and told me to meet the driver the next day in front of the hotel at 8AM for the trip to the commissary.
Either Terek or Shamir, the drivers from the commissary, picked us (I was working with two other people on the project) up each morning at the hotel and brought us back each night. After witnessing the way the Egyptians drove I was really glad I did not have to drive. I do not have the words to explain the driving but I will do the best I can. Cairo is a city of 16 million people and it seemed that most of them were on the streets, either in cars, on donkey carts or walking. The main street along the Nile River was a divided street probably what we Americans would call a three lane road in each direction. Well, if there ever were any white lines dividing the lanes they were long gone! They did not even try to drive in straight lines. Each driver drove wherever he/she could fit their little cars. I do not believe they even know what a turn signal was. BUT they did know what a horn was and how to use it. Horns were constantly blowing as each driver jockeyed for position on the street. In all this bedlam there were donkeys pulling carts with a combination of people, vegetables, and some kind of cooking device that smoked as they rode down the street. I believe the cooking devices (looked like a small steel drum with a pipe for a smoke stack) were used to bake potatoes. I could see these little carts set up in different areas with what looked like small sweet potatoes stacked on them. People would cross the street with the cars flying by them. One morning I thought we were going to sandwich one man between our van and a bus beside us. He just walked out in the street and stood there as we fly by him. If he had been a fat person I am sure we would have trimmed him down some. Most of the streets have a sidewalk but most of the people prefer to walk in the street. I did not see very many street signs and hardly any traffic regulation signs. There was a policeman on almost every street corner carrying an AK-47 automatic rifle. I do not know why because they sure did not control the traffic. I guess they were there so they would be close by when a car accident happened. Most of the cars had bends on the corners where they had come in contact with other cars as they careened down the streets. During the day the policemen would step out in the street and hold up their hand at the few intersections where there was a traffic light. Some of the streets near the commissary were supposed to be one a way street and the Egyptians used them that way because they only drove on them one way at a time. Although not necessarily in the correct direction. We would be going down these streets and a big truck would be coming from the opposite (wrong) direction on our side. I saw some cars near the hotel that would pull out from a side street onto a one way street and then back down the one way street. Well, at least his car was pointed in the correct direction! At night about half the drivers do not turn on their headlights. They said it was discourteous to have your lights in another person's eyes. I guess it was okay to run over the people and donkey carts that were on the streets at night. If another car was in their way at night they would constantly turn their lights on and off and blow their horns to get the other driver to move out of their way. Terek was our driver most of the time and he really knew how to maneuver that van through town. One morning one of my co-workers, Sven, was setting in the front seat and put on his seat belt. Terek looked at him kind of strange and asked him why was he putting on his seat belt. It seems this was an insult to his driving ability.
Mr. Tate the European Region Director for DeCA and several other people from our office in Germany came in on Wednesday for the grand opening of the commissary on Sunday. Mr. Holzhauser and his staff had arranged for us to take a dinner boat ride down the Nile River on Thursday night. The dining staff on the boat served us at our table. I am not sure what some of the things I was eating were but they tasted good. One was supposed to be chicken but the drumstick was rather little. I heard later they cook pigeon in Cairo.....  We were entertained by a "belly dancer." She got our boss Mr. Tate up on the dance floor with him. After the "belly dancer" finished her show a man dancer started his show. He danced while turning around and around with several layers of colorful skirts that he took off one at a time. I would have gotten very dizzy turning around and around like he did for about 10 minutes. After the show we walked around on the deck of the boat and enjoyed the sights of Cairo at night. The city is pretty at night from the river. We were served dessert on the deck. This was a nice break from work and I enjoyed it very much.
The Egyptian people are very friendly to Americans. Everywhere we went they welcomed us to their country. I was disappointed to see so much trash lying around the city. Some places would have trash piled up in piles along the edge of the streets. There is not much grass or trees and this allows the sands from the dessert to blow everywhere when they have windstorms. The streets were in need of major repairs in some areas. Most of the buildings were kind of drab looking and several were in need of renovation.
The people at the commissary were wonderful to work with. They seemed to be a very dedicated work force. Twenty five of the twenty six employees had worked with the commissary since it first opened in 1982. They had worked for almost two months prior to the opening of the commissary with only one or two days off trying to get the new commissary ready for opening while still operating the existing commissary. Everyone that I talked to could speak some English. Most spoke very good English but of course with an accent. They seemed very family oriented. They wanted to know about our families, how many children, their ages, etc. I worked for eight long days getting everything setup and working. The Tuesday before I was to leave on Wednesday the commissary was closed. We offered to come in and provide more training, etc., but Mr. Holzhauser said his employees needed some time off so my co-workers and I took the day to do some sightseeing. What a day!!!
Mr. Holzhauser's wife, picked us up at the hotel and took us out to the Pyramids. There we were met by a guide that she knew. He had camels and horses waiting for us. I chose to ride a camel. His name was Michael Jackson. NO! He did not have on one white glove and he was not wearing a black cloth over his mouth but he did make funny noises and his nose looked kind of strange. You really have to be alert when the camel gets up and down or you will get thrown out of the saddle. I climbed up on the saddle and we were off. We took a winding path up to the first Pyramid, Keophs. We saw the Sphinx as we made our way up. We got off the horses and camels and walked up to the Pyramid and climbed up on the first row of stones. The outer layers of stones have deteriorated over the centuries. I found two small pieces that had broken off so I put them in my pocket for souvenirs. We mounted the camels and horses again and the guide took us up the sand dunes so we could get a panoramic view of the entire area and what a sight to behold. I'm not a historian but I have read about the thousands of men it took to build the Pyramids with nothing but brute strength and ingenuity. What an experience for a farm boy from Duplin County, North Carolina!! Our tour was about two hours. This is longer than the normal tour, but I think the guide gave us an extra good tour since he knew Mr. Holzhauser. I had left my extra roll of film in the van so I didn't get to take as many pictures as I wanted. We were a little surprised to see that the tours of Pyramids and the Sphinx were run by what appeared to be freelance tour guides. It was not like what you would see in the States, where you would have to get in line to get a ticket, then get in line and be herded through the tour like cattle. The cost was also negotiable. I think I paid both the guide and my camel driver, a young kid that should have been in school, the equivalent of about $15.
After we completed the tour the guide took us into a perfume shop. There they offered us something to drink, which is an Egyptian custom. We asked for bottled water. I was warned not eat or drink anything from the sidewalk cafes and street vendors. I understand the food will do strange things to your digestive system, if you know what I mean. The man talked about the perfume essence and demonstrated about eight different scents. The perfume is pure. That is to say it is not diluted with alcohol as it is when you purchase it in a store. I like the scent Lotus Flower so I bought Lena a bottle of it. The man told us you mix it 1 part perfume and nine parts rubbing alcohol. He was asking 200 Egyptian Pounds (EP) for it so I offered him 100 EP (about $30). After some haggling he finally agreed to the 100 pounds. The perfume is pure essence and not diluted it makes it worth about $300 when you dilute it with alcohol. He also had the Egyptian hand blown Pyrex perfume bottles but I had already bought Lena one at a shop near the hotel. It cost about $50. It is very detailed and trimmed in 18k gold. We left the perfume shop and the guide took us into a Papyrus Institute where they demonstrated the making of the famous Egyptian papyrus. Papyrus is used today in Eqypt mainly to paint Egyptian scenes on but was used previously as a form of paper. The Greeks are known to have used it as early as the 5th century BC. The Egyptians make the papyrus then they paint scenes on them, which is a very popular item for tourist. We didn't buy anything here. We had already purchased some at the shops near the hotel. I had purchased two very pretty ones. They wanted 60 E.P. each and I got them for 30 E.P. each. One of my co-workers had one painted with the picture of his little girl. The photo that the artist painted from was only about 1 1/2 inch's square. The artist did a great job. It was very life like. After we left the area of the Pyramids, the driver dropped us off at the Cairo Museum. We bought tickets and went inside only to find out that if the security guard saw your camera you had to either buy a ticket for your camera or leave it at the security office. The museum has all the artifacts that have been removed from the Pyramids. Some are covered in solid gold. This was very interesting. It especially would be for someone that likes Egyptian history (hi Kerri, wish you could have been there).
We walked back to the hotel, got something to eat and rested for a while before taking a cab downtown to an area called Khan El Khalili, a souvenir shopper's paradise. There must have been 200-250 shops maybe more, plus some vendors that were walking up and down the very narrow passageways between the shops selling their merchandise. These shops had everything from gold, sterling silver, leather goods, to hand made Mother of Pearl chess tables. They would accept any kind of money we had, dollars, German Marks, Egyptian Pounds, and of course Master Card. I bought Lena a 18k gold necklace and myself a 18k gold bracelet. I bought Robby a very nice hand made chess table. The vendor showed me his wood shop where he made them. He uses wood from Canada (Egypt doesn't have many trees). It was covered in Mother of Pearl inlay and the top folds over for storage. I agreed on a price of $90. He disassembled it so I could carry it on the airplane. I finally found a wooden camel figurine that I was looking for that looked like the camel I rode at the Pyramids. Of course I named it "Michael." By this time we were laden down with purchases and tired so we took a cab back to the hotel. I had to get up at 4AM the next day to catch my 7 AM flight back to Germany.
This was a very interesting trip in many ways. I got to see things that I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to see and I met some nice people. Lena wants to take a cruise down the Nile while we are here. Maybe one day we can do that.
I am including an article written by Gerri Young, one of the people that was traveling with Mr. Tate from our office in Germany. Gerri is the Public Affairs Officer and is a much better writer than I am. I though you might enjoy what she wrote for the DeCA Vision magazine.

Cairo--the place and its people
By Gerri Young, DeCA Europe Public Affairs Officer
The Cairo Commissary sits on the edge of a community called Maadi which sits on the edge of Cairo, Egypt, a fascinating city of 16 million people and uncounted four legged beasts of burden.  Thousands of cars careen through streets 45 times more likely to create traffic fatalities than any street in the U.S., according to a recent National Geographic Traveler Magazine.
The city tapestry is an intricate weave of noise, dust, trash, and people wearing western, Moslem and Arab dress.  Women in modest western clothing stand next to women covered from head to toe in the traditional Moslem look.  Even the littlest girls cover their heads with scarves.  Men in white Arab robes and draped heads stand next to Egyptian men in their equally flowing, pale colored "gallebeyas" and close fitting skullcaps. .
Everywhere one is reminded of the unbelievably ancient and rich history of this land..  In "Cairo, The Practical Guide," published by the American University in Cairo Press, it states "...Egypt is a desert and Egypt is the Nile.  The Nile's banks and Delta are among the richest agricultural land in the world, and beyond is desert almost everywhere."  Nowhere is that more obvious than from the air where the rich green bordering the Nile is seen ending abruptly as it bumps into the monochromatic beige of the desert.  Once on the ground in the city, the green is harder to find and a fine layer of dust reminds city dwellers just how powerful the desert is.
One cannot easily cover all the many facets of life in Cairo in one simple article.  To me, the most fascinating aspect was that of the people.  Having visited about 17 countries on four continents, I must say, nowhere have I been welcomed in the manner I experienced in Egypt.
It started at the commissary.  Moments after arriving, our group was introduced to the many store employees who had worked so hard to prepare for opening.  The welcome was warm, instantly making us feel as though we had been there many times.  I was the first to commit a social faux pas by telling Mirvat Shehata, the store's accounting technician how lovely her earrings were.  Too bad I had not read far enough in the Cairo guide to know that excessive admiration attracts the evil eye and puts the owner of the possession being admired in the position of having to follow the Egyptian custom of offering the item to the admirer.  In the end of the expected "Oh, no I can't..."  "but I insist..." exchange, you will be the embarrassed owner of the possession.  I have since eased my mind about this event by sending Mirvat a pair of my handmade earrings as a sort of foreign exchange.  Her earrings go to Germany and America, mine to Egypt.
Surprised by cooler than expected temperatures, especially at night, I was staying chilled in my summer-weight clothing until Ola Gamal-Eldin, Commissary Officer Jimmie Holzhauser's secretary, loaned me a beautiful leather coat for the duration on my visit.  (This act of kindness prompted me to check out the leather shops and buy a leather coat of my own for $50 !)  A scarf handpainted by me and featuring the Egyptian Evil Eye of Horus (a good luck symbol) balanced the scale for that kindness.
Throughout the store, as we met the employees, they proudly told us of their work to prepare for the opening; of the fact this would be the third home of the Cairo Commissary and the best yet; of the fact that, with the exception of one, all 26 of the Egyptian employees were hired in 1982 by Mike Dowling, the first Cairo Commissary Officer and currently Chief of Logistics for DeCA Europe.  They told of sleeping at the store overnight while waiting for air shipments to land so they could drive to the airport to load the product and get it back to the store.  They told of romances begun and marriages made and of their respect for Mr. Holzhauser and Mr. Tate (DeCA Europe Director) and their disappointment at Mr. Dowling not being able to come for their big day.  This may be the only commissary in the world in which nearly the whole staff has worked together for the entire existence of the store.  The family feeling was strong and obvious.
A person we spent a lot of  time with was Terek Morsy.  Actually a stocker, Terek helps out wherever he is needed and he is renown for his abilities as a driver.  Throughout our visit, Terek was our driver, aiming the embassy-provided van through traffic which struck fear in our hearts.  We vowed to check our insurance policies before leaving home on our next Egyptian visit.  He knew how to get everywhere in this city of hundreds of traffic cops and only a half-dozen traffic lights.  With his nerves of steel and diplomatic license plates, he found parking places where none could possible have existed.  On foot, he helped us make a late night raid on a leather store and papyrus shop, keeping us out of trouble with the vendors and trying (sometimes in vain) to keep us from giving away too much money in the active bargain atmosphere of the shops.  He proved to be a great asset during our visit.
In addition to the people at the store, the people of the public amazed us.  One day while strolling through a park area, a young, handsome Egyptian boy approached me and asked in English what my name was and where I was from.  Within seconds I was surrounded by his entire group of family and friends, all chattering, all smiling and all happy to be meeting an American.  Throughout our stay, we were greeted with cries of "Welcome in Egypt,"  "America is wonderful."  Well traveled group that we were, we had never experienced anything like it.
Back at the store, Medhat Hanna, accounting technician, arranged for me to go to the top of the warehouse across the street to take bird's eye pictures of the store and its surroundings.  We crossed the dirt street, dodging the debris, and met with the Moslem woman who lives with her family in a little cramped room attached to the new, but empty warehouse.  They are the guardians of the building.  In her sandal-clad feet, flowing dress and covered head, she climbed the stairs to the top with us.  In return, I asked, what can I give her?  Some candy for the children and a photograph of them, was the answer.  The candy was easy.  The picture is in the mail.  I suspect it will be treasured for many years to come.
Each day, the Egyptian people impressed us with their warmth and ready friendship.  A smile was all that was needed to start a conversation.  Though we quickly learned not to do that with street vendors, the real people with nothing to sell, continually gave eagerly of themselves.
All the remote commissaries managed in DeCA Europe present special challenges.  Sitting in Region Headquarters, it is not easy to always understand why supporting these stores can be so difficult.  For those of us fortunate enough to make the trip to Cairo for the grand opening, it was an experience of a lifetime for us personally and professionally provided us with insights into the needs of our employees and customers which no amount of faxes, phone calls or policy letters could ever impart.

March 15, 1997 Brugge, Belgium

Lena and I boarded the bus at Landstuhl at 3:30 AM for the USO trip with our guide, Paula. We stopped for breakfast at the AC Restaurant in Belgium. We usually carry coffee and something for our breakfast on these early morning trips but we decided to go in and eat anyway. When I handed the cashier the Belgium Francs to pay she said something in French that I didn't understand and she gave me back 200 Francs. I finally realized that she was saying the money was no good. So I gave her some more and she took it. I found out later that some of the 100 Franc notes had been replaced by a new 100 Franc note and two of the ones we had could not be used to buy anything but  could be taken to a bank for replacement.
We arrived in Brugge at 0945. Brugge is a Medieval city from the Middle ages. The driver parked the bus outside the edge of the old part of town and we walked into town. The guide pointed out different places as we walked into town. The town has 32 kilometers (about 20 miles) of canals. The area is famous for its lace and there were several shops that sold lace curtains, etc., and of course the famous Belgium chocolate. The guide took us on a walking trip of the town. There are several old churches, an old hospital that was in use until just recently, and old houses. The town had the tallest brick building in Belgium until recently when another town (I don't remember which one) built a building just a little taller.
After the walking tour we had four hours of free time to explore on our own before we were to meet for a boat ride through the canals. We walked around town took some pictures and visited a flea market. Then we went to the Martinee' Restaurant for hot chocolate Crepes and coffee. Hummmm...... good!!!!! If you get to Europe try the crepes. Our favorite is with bananas and chocolate.
If you get to visit Europe you have to be alert when you go to the toilet. Yes, they say toilet or toiletten here, not restroom. You probably think of an old-time "outhouse" when someone uses the word toilet. Sometimes it is difficult to determine which is the ladies and which is the men. Sometimes there is only one entrance door as was the one in this restaurant. You go through the door and one side is for the women and the other is for men and you share the sink. The Europeans are much less bashful than Americans are about the human body. Their billboards, regular TV, newspapers, magazine, swimming areas, and saunas are proof of this. We went to a lace shop called Lace Paradise to get something that looks like a dollie that you hang in the windows of the house. They have different designs on them and are very popular in Europe. Lena has several already and we haven't been here a year yet. We went into one of the chocolate shops planning to buy some chocolate candy but we resisted the temptation. That took some strength since we both have a weakness for chocolate (Later a co-worker brought me back a small assortment from a trip to Belgium and it is great especially those with the soft centers).
There were several guides that have a horse and buggy that you could hire for a riding tour of the town. Also the town was full of bicycles.  The group met for the canal boat tour about 3PM. They use a long narrow boat that will hold about twenty people. The canal guide took us through several of the canals and told us about the history of the town and the canals. I should have taken my pocket tape recorder with me to record some of the information. This was the end of the tour so we all headed back to the bus for the ride home. On the way we stopped at a restaurant for dinner. In Belgium and France the restaurants beside the autobahns (same as the US interstate highways) are usually built across the road. Therefore one restaurant can serve travelers going in both directions.  We arrived home about midnight.     Cost $158

March 21-23, 1997  Poland

Lena left the Vogelweh Bowling Center parking lot around 10:30 PM for a shopping trip to Boleslawiec, Poland with several people from the office where we work. I had to work the weekend and did not go with her. One of the ladies in the office had arranged the trip with a local tour company. They ran into snow in East Germany. They had to wait 1 1/2 hours at the Polish border before they would let them across. The border guards collected all the passport to check and stamp them. When they arrived in Boleslawiec, Luke, one the lady’s 6 year old son wanted to know why everything was so gray. Lena said the buildings all looked alike and was a light gray color. Luke told his mother he was going to college because he didn’t want to live here.
Their first stop was to exchange American dollars for Polish zlotys, then they stopped at two pottery factories and a basket factory. After shopping they walked to the center of town to get coffee and use the toilets. It didn’t matter if you were a customer or not you still have to pay to use the toilets. After everyone had completed their shopping they boarded the bus for the return trip to Germany. It had snowed most of the day. When they got back to the border they had to wait 45 minutes before being allowed to cross the border. The bus arrived in Vogelweh 6 hours behind schedule. The bus company had not provided a second driver as required by Germany law on a trip this long, so the driver was very tired. He had to stop three times to rest and drink coffee. Lena said it would be the last trip she took a tour with that tour company, because the bus was not clean, the heat didn’t work properly and the guide was switched at the last minute and they didn’t go to all the places that had been promised. The tour company has since gone out of business.

April 12-14, 1997 Amsterdam Holland

Lena and I meet the Enjoy Tours transfer bus at Vogelweh, which is about 12 miles from our house. We departed at 0615. This bus took us to Mannheim where several transfer buses meet. This is where the tour company brings people from several areas on transfer buses and then all the people from the different areas switch buses and get on the one that is for their tour. This way the tour company doesn’t have to send each tour bus to all the different areas to pick up people.
Our guide was Joachim, but he said to call him Joe which is easier for Americans to pronounce. There was only about 20 people on the bus so Lena and I had the last two rows to ourselves. This gave us plenty of room to stretch out. The bus stopped after a couple of hours to give people a chance to use the toilettens and get a quick brunch. While we were waiting for everyone to finish eating another bus load of people came into the restaurant. Lena and I noticed that several of them were getting large bowls of Navy Bean Soup. We each made a comment that we were glad that we weren’t on their bus (You figure it out).
We crossed the Germany/Netherlands border at 1330. When we arrived in Amsterdam Joe began to point out some interesting buildings. One was only 1.5 meters (5 feet wide). Many years ago the rulers of the area taxed the people based on the amount of frontage they had on a street so the people built their houses narrow and tall. Most were three to five stories. Since the houses were so narrow the stairs also had to be narrow. This made it difficult to get furniture up and down the stairs. They solved this by installing a hook underneath the gable of the roof and using a wheel and rope that pulled the furniture up and then took it into the rooms through the window.
Our first stop was at Dam Square in Amsterdam. Joe gave us directions to Anne Frank’s house but asked us not to go in if the line was long because we were a little behind schedule due to traffic and needed to check into our hotel on time because we had dinner reservations at 7PM at an Indonesian Restaurant. Several of us went to see Anne Frank’s house but as expected the line was very long so I just took pictures from the outside. Three or four of our group got in line for the tour even though the guide had asked us not to. We walked around Dam Square and saw the outside of Koninijk Palace. Joe told us about the part of the sidewalk reserved for bicycles to ride on some of the main streets. You are not supposed to walk in these areas and if you do you can expect to get run over by a bicycle. I believe he said Holland had 18 million bicycles and it looked like half of them were in Amsterdam. People everywhere were riding bicycles. You could see women with two kids and bags of groceries all on one bicycle. We noticed one thing kind of unusual in town. It was rare to see a person that was overweight. Almost everyone was nice and trim. I guess that says something for riding bicycles. He pointed out one bicycle that is made in Holland. It is called a White Tail, because the lower half of the back fender is white with the upper half black. We have seen this brand in Germany and France.
Everyone got back to the bus when Joe asked us to except the people that got in line at Anne Frank’s house for the tour. They were about 15-20 minutes late. Not only was this going to make us later than expected checking into out hotel but the bus driver was taking a chance on getting a very expensive parking ticket since he was only allowed to park at Dam Square just long enough to pick up his passengers. When the people finally did come Joe meet them outside the bus for a “chat." They didn’t seem to care that they were late.
We checked into the Mercure Hotel and had a few minutes to freshen up and change clothes before boarding the bus for the ride to the restaurant. It was a three story oriental style building that was built over the water. It would seat about 800 people. Joe said our reservations were for a one hour seating because they serve approximately 3000 people each night. The food was delicious. It was served in what we would call family style, where large dishes of food is brought to the table and you get what you want and pass it around.
Joe took us back to Dam Square to see the city at night, along with its famous night life. He pointed out some interesting places such as the “Red Light District” and then left us on our own. Being the curious types, we walked down to the “Red Light District." Joe had told us it was safe as long as we didn’t try to photograph or take videos of the women that practice the “oldest profession in the world." Prostitution is legal now in Amsterdam and so is the selling of marijuana in what looks like a cafe setting where you go in and buy it and I guess smoke it inside the cafe. Lena and I walked down several of the streets and saw things you just don’t see in Duplin County, North Carolina. The “ladies of the night” set behind a plate glass window at street level in some very “skimpy” clothes to advertise their “goods." Most would be setting on a stool or velvet covered couch. This way the customers could “window shop” before deciding on which product they liked best. After seeing as much of this area as we wanted we decided to do a little more traditional shopping, so we went into some of the gift/souvenir shops.
The next day we departed early for a boat ride on the Amsterdam canals. Holland is below sea level so they use canals and locks to control the water levels. The people boast that they built Holland since it was reclaimed from the sea by building dikes and canals. Amsterdam is divided by canals into about 90 islands joined by about 400 bridges. Almost the entire city rests on a foundation of piles driven through peat and sand to a firm foundation of clay. Sixteen locks are used to control the water level in the city canals. During the 1950s there was a housing shortage in Amsterdam so people began living on boats that are tied up along the canals. Now there are over 3000 of these houseboats that people live in along the city canals. They cost between $75,000 and $150,000. I didn’t see any I though was worth that price but with a shortage of houses and land, prices are high. Our next stop was the Stoeltie Diamond Factory. Here we saw a demonstration on how diamonds are polished. Then they took us into a room where you could purchase their merchandise. Well, this stop cost us about $300. Lena found a nice ring that she just had to have. Well, it’s only money right and the ring was nice! As we stepped outside we realized why Joe had gotten us started kind of early on today’s tour. There were several more tours coming through and we were the first, so we got in before the crowd.
Our next stop was the Frans Roozen Nursery. This nursery exports tulip bulbs to 80 countries. They seemed to have any kind of tulip possible. We ordered dozens of different type of bulbs and they were delivered to our house in September. Near the nursery were some houses with straw thatched roofs. The straw thatch is almost a foot thick. This is not used much now but there are a few houses that are still using this for a roof covering. It probably is a good insulator in the summer and winter. We were told that the person that can do this type of roof work can make a very good living since the skill is not known by many people anymore.
From here we went to the famous Tulip Park of Keukenhof where they have the “Greatest Flower Show on Earth." This place was overwhelming. The weather was perfect and there was just a sea of flowers everywhere you looked. I sure wish my mother and sister could have seen this since they enjoy flowers so much. We took photographs and video but it is just not the same as being there. We walked around for two hours and did not see the entire park. The design of the park is redone every year. All of the bulbs are removed and then replanted each year. It is open only a few weeks each year.
We left the park and stopped to see the Hague where the war trials were being held for the people charged in war crimes from the war in Bosnia. It was not open. Then we went on to the town of Scheveningen that is on the coast of the North Sea. It was cold and windy but I had to put my foot in the water. I have done this in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans so why not the North Sea. Wow was it cold. We walked along the beach then stopped at a sea side Cafe for coffee and dessert. Europeans really enjoy going to a Cafe for coffee and dessert. We are becoming European in that sense. They have the best coffee in these Cafes, especially in Germany, I have ever had and their desserts are always good and not sweet like we Americans usually make them (Chuck is your mouth watering yet?). Their coffee is expensive (app. $2.00) and you don’t get refills on coffee or anything else you drink in a Cafe or Restaurant.
The next morning, Monday, we checked out of the hotel and went to a cheese farm. Here we saw a demonstration on how cheese and wooden shoes are made. From here we rode along the dikes and through some very pretty countryside and on into the old fishing village of Volendam. There were several fishing boats in the harbor and the village had very pretty Dutch houses. We walked through the village and stopped in a photography shop and had out picture made in traditional Dutch costumes. Wow are we cute!!
The next stop on our last day of the tour was the restored windmill village of Zaanse Schans. There are several working windmills here. Windmills are becoming less visible in the Netherlands so they have moved several to this village and restored them so they can be preserved. One is open to the public. It was being used to crush peanuts to get the oil out. As the blades are turned by the wind it picks up a huge block of wood that is then released to crush the peanuts as they turn on a wheel. It was very noisy and the young man that was working the windmill was not wearing any kind of hearing protection. I wonder if he will have any hearing in a few years. We climbed up to the top and walked out onto the platform around the windmill. You could feel the “whoosh” of the blades as they turned. The blades were a wooden frame with slates. The blades were covered with a canvas material. When they didn’t want the blades to turn they would stop them and roll the canvas material up so the blades didn’t  catch the wind. We stopped in one shop and bought some mustard that was made on the site at one of the windmills.
Joe had suggested that we try the pancakes at the village restaurant. We ordered one Brandy Raisin and Whipped Cream and one Cherry Jam and Whipped Cream. Yes, we only got one each because they were about 10 inches across. That was a treat. This was our last stop, so we boarded the bus and headed back home. This was a great trip. Cost $315 each plus meals.

April 16, 1997 Belgium Furniture Shopping

Lena and I decided to go to Belgium furniture shopping at Bell's Furniture. We had seen their furniture last year when they came to an International Bazaar at Ramstein Air Station near where we live. I should have called them before we left because after driving four hours to get there, we discovered they were going out of business and did not have what we were looking for. We were disappointed and I was upset with myself for not calling before we left.
We had to purchase gasoline before heading back to Germany. I filled the tank and it cost $62. The gasoline price in Europe is about 4 to 5 times more that the US. We can buy gasoline at the military installations in Germany for just a little more than the US prices. We also can buy gas coupons that we can use in German at ESSO and BP stations on the autobahns.
We came back into Germany and decided to stay the night in Trier. This is the oldest town in Germany. It is just across the border from Belgium and Luxembourg. We wrote about our trip there last year. We stayed at the Hotel Kappes, which is across the Mosel River from the main part of town. We had a nice dinner there and then went for a walk around the town. The next morning we went into the old part of Trier and walked around for an hour or so.
We left Trier and on the way home we stopped at the place where we had ordered two bicycles a few weeks earlier. They were ready for us to pick up but we had to go home and get the bicycle carrier put on the other BMW and come back to get them. They are multi speed bicycles, which you need over here, since there is not much flat land around where we live. Some of the villages here will block off a street through the village to just bicycles and people walking for an entire day. We plan to go on some of these trips. It gives you a chance to see the areas at a slower pace than riding through in a car. This is something I wish the towns in America would do.

April 19, 1997 to Krings-Maraite Mobel in St. Vith, Belgium

After our disappointing furniture shopping trip on Wednesday we decided to try again in another town in Belgium. This time we did a little research first. We found a furniture store about 10 miles from where we live that sells Belgium made furniture. We went there on Friday and found some that we liked. We had them give us the prices for each piece. Then we came home and called a furniture store that we had learned about in St. Vith, Belgium that is a two hour drive. The same pieces at the store in Belgium were about $300 cheaper. So we drove there on Saturday to look over their showroom. They had a very large showroom with everything from leather couches, which we would like to have but they cost around $2400, to bedroom sets. We were looking for furniture to make an entertainment center.  They have individual pieces that you can arrange in several different setups. You can pick the style and color of stain. They have the furniture made and then they deliver it to your house free and set it up. They delivered ours June 20th.

April 27, 1997 Riquewihr, France Wine Probe and Castle Tour

We departed Landstuhl  at 0730 with our USO guide Dave Wagner. Riquewihr means “rich village” in German. This is in the French Alsace region of France that borders Germany. This area was part of Germany at one time. It had been incorporated into Germany in 1871 but under the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 France acquired the area. Just before we arrived in Riquewihr we passed through a village that was home to several storks. NO, they were not delivering babies. Storks are believed to bring good luck, so the people in the area go out of their way to make it attractive for the storks to make nests on their houses. The people build a platform on the house tops to give the storks a base for building the nest. We saw several storks sitting on their nest. Some were flying around the village.
The village of Riquewhir is an almost perfectly preserved walled medieval town that has a Thieves’ Tower with a torture chamber, well-preserved ramparts, and many half-timbered houses that were painted with bright colors. The houses look much like some of the old well-preserved houses that we have seen in Germany but the German houses usually are painted with white or off-white, not the bright colors we saw here.
Half-timbered houses are constructed with some of the wood used for framing the house exposed. In between the wood, which is about 4-6 inches thick, will be brick, stones, or block with some type of plaster or mortar covering. The wood is usually painted or stained brown and then the plaster or mortar is painted. This style was used several hundred years ago but is not used much now except when an older house is restored. This is our favorite type of building here in Europe. We have taken many photographs of this type of building. Usually the buildings in the center of a village that were built several hundred years ago are of this style. The ground floor is normally used for some type of business and the upper two or three floors are used for living quarters. This is very common here is Europe especially in the older villages. We have seen buildings in Germany dating back to the middle 1500’s that are still in great condition and being used for businesses and living quarters. Just think, that is two hundred years older than the USA. Kind of puts things in perspective don’t it?
The guide gave us a walking tour of the village, then we went to the Saint Nicholas Restaurant for lunch. It is a family owned/operated restaurant as most are in the places we have been. You don’t see restaurants like Golden Corral, Western Sizzling, etc. in Europe. Each is unique. You do see MacDonalds and Burger King in the cities, but these aren’t restaurants are they? The menu was in French so we had to do some guessing about what we were ordering. We can order fairly well from a German menu, but French is another story. The food was great. After eating we walked around the village on our own, bought some souvenirs and tried some of the baked goodies that some of the shops were selling. Later we all joined the guide and walked to a winery just outside the walled village where we had a French wine tasting. We soon confirmed our belief that we do not like French wine.
We left the winery and took the bus up the mountain of Stophanberch to the Chateau Haut Hoenigsbourg. It was originally built in the 12th century but was destroyed during the 30 year war. Starting in 1900 it was restored to be used as a medieval museum. Denis Louchard guided us through the castle. He works at the castle and I believe he knew every inch of it and all the history that it contained. I enjoyed this castle as much as any we have visited. One thing that seemed to give everyone a laugh was the indoor toilette that was in one of the bedrooms. Remember this castle was originally built starting in the 12th century. The toilette was located in a bedroom that was probably 75 feet above the ground. The toilette was in a recessed space on the outside wall of the bedroom. Those of us that grew up using an “out house” can appreciate the “plumbing” that was used. For those that didn’t, it works like this. Whatever is discarded through the opening that you stand over or sit on “as the case may be” is “flushed” by gravity to the ground below.
We completed our tour through the castle and boarded the bus for home. The driver took us back a different way and we got to see some of the most beautiful scenery we had seen so far on any trip we had been on. The guide pointed out some fields that were covered in yellow flowers. It was a rape plant that is used for cooking oil and lubricates. The Alsace area of France is our favorite part of France. We had a great trip. Cost was $98 plus food.

May 11, 1997 Atlanta, Georgia

My job sent me back to the USA from May 4th to May 16th. I left Frankfurt, Germany on the 4th and flew to Zurich, Switzerland on SwissAir where I had about an hour layover before I transferred to Austrian Air and flew on to Vienna, Virginia (just outside the Washington, DC area) for a one week school. While there I visited the Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial that had opened to the public on May 3rd. It is located near the Lincoln Memorial. It is not like the other memorials in DC, which are normally giant structures with tall columns, etc. This is an open air memorial that has several waterfalls and inscriptions engraved in stone about the phases from President Roosevelt's term in office. I left on May 10 and flew to Atlanta, Georgia for another week of school. Sunday the 11th. I took the MARTA (subway) over to the World Headquarters of the CNN for a guided tour of their television news broadcasting. The guide took us around the building and showed us the news broadcasting rooms and the area where the news from around the world is gathered and prepared for broadcasting. I recognized two news anchors, Bob Crane and Jim Clancey, that we have seen on CNN news. CNN is one of two English speaking news program that we get in Germany. The other one is broadcast from Great Britain. CNN gives us most of the news we get from the USA.
After completing the CNN tour I got back on the MARTA and went downtown for a tour of the city with Gray Line Tours. The guide and driver took us down Peachtree street where he identified several buildings and historic locations including the house where Margaret Mitchell wrote "Gone With the Wind."  We rode through one of the "exclusive" (rich) areas in the suburbs of Atlanta. The guide pointed out several houses and told us who lived in them. One was the home of the second richest women in the world. She lived across the street from the Governor's Mansion.
Our next stop was the Jimmy Carter Center. We only had about 45 minutes here so we didn't have time to see everything. I thought the room that was identical to the Oval Office in the White House as it was during President Carter’s term was interesting. His Presidential Library is also at the center. From the Carter Center we went to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial. We stopped in front of Ebernizer Baptist Church, which became famous because of Dr. King. The congregation is in the process of building a new church across the street. We walked down the street to his birthplace. His birthplace and several houses on the same street are maintained by the Park Service. Then we went into a building that had six sets of wall panels that showed major events from his life and the civil rights movement with a tape recording telling about the events. I was approached in one of these areas by a black man begging for money stating he had aids and was homeless.  I could not help thinking this was a disrespectful thing to do in the memorial honoring the man that has probably done more for the advancement of the black race than any man in recent history.
The last stop on our tour was the Wonderful World of Coke. Here we were told about the history of CoCa Cola and saw a short film about coke and how popular it is all over the world. Some of the early bottling equipment was on display and you could sample the products that are produced all over the world. They had a nice souvenir shop, as all these places have. I bought Lena a CoCa Cola tin. She has started collecting tins since we arrived in Germany. At the rate she is going we may exceed our weight limit by the time we leave Germany (Just a joke dear!!!).
We were right across the street from the famous Underground Atlanta area.  I had planned to visit the area so I left the tour here since this was the last stop anyway. Underground Atlanta is an interesting place. I don't know the history of it but it looks like one of the old streets in the city that they have built over but did not destroy the buildings, etc., underneath. It is a haven of small shops, restaurants, etc. There is a MARTA stop at one end so it is very easy to get to. I came back during the week and ate at a restaurant called Micks. I ordered pork chops and they brought me two large ones. They sure were good but more than I could eat. There is another restaurant (I can't remember the name) in the underground that is built like an old ship. It even has water running around parts of it. They have live music and pictures in the entrance of many famous people that have eaten there. I didn’t eat there but they let me wander through the place to look at it. If I ever go back I plan to give it a try.

May 25, 1997 Happy Mosel Bike Ride

I loaded our new bicycles on the bike rack on top of the car and we headed to the Mosel River for a bike ride down by the river. At different times during the summer in different areas the Germans close off several kilometers of roads to cars and allow people on bicycles, walking, or roller blades to take over the road. All along the way the different villages will have some small event going on or just have refreshments to serve. Usually there will be a tent set up for bicycle repairs. The weather was beautiful and there were hundreds of people of all ages participating. We carried a picnic lunch and stopped during the ride to eat and enjoy the view. We rode out bikes about 28 kilometers (17 miles). This was our first long ride since we got the bikes in April and we were getting a little “saddle sore” before we got back to the car.
The Mosel River area is beautiful and is a very large wine producing area. We have tasted wine from all over Germany and France and our favorite comes from the Mosel area. There are thousands of acres of vineyards up the steep banks of the hills. We are still amazed how they can work the vineyards up these steep hills. I believe a mountain goat would have trouble climbing them. The vineyards that are not on the steep hills can be worked with tractors and other equipment, but those on the steep hills must be worked on foot.
The Germans are great believers in getting out on the weekends and walking or riding bicycles. Both the young and not so young in Germany ride bicycles. It is very common to see entire families out on a Sunday afternoon walking through the fields and woods or riding bicycles. Germany has thousands of miles of paved paths for walking and riding bicycles. In addition the woods have marked paths for walking or riding. They also enjoy having a festival. They seem to celebrate any kind of event with a fest. They really enjoy eating, drinking, playing musical instruments and socializing with other people.

June 8 - 13 TDY to England

I had to go to England for a week for meetings at two commissaries. I flew from Frankfurt, Germany to London, England. When I picked up my rental car the clerk asked me if I wanted an automatic or standard transmission. I told her that I didn’t care. I had one of each and could drive either one. She discussed something with her supervisor and he asked me if this was my first trip to England and I told him it was. He said then “you want an automatic!" I soon discovered why he made that statement. I knew that you drove on the left side of the road in England and the steering wheel was on the right but I had not thought too much about how awkward it is to drive with everything being opposite than what I was accustomed to. With an automatic you don’t have to also shift gears with your left hand that only adds to the awkwardness.
I loaded my luggage and got in the car and just sat there a few minutes to kind of adjust to the different feel of setting on the right side of the car. I carefully pulled out into the traffic, telling myself ...... think left.....think left.....think left. I didn’t have to drive but a couple of miles before I got onto a dual carriageway road (four lanes divided highway). This made the driving feel more normal because all the cars near you were going in the same direction and I wasn’t as likely to pull over into the wrong lane since the lanes were divided. I had about a two hour drive to the hotel and the area I was staying for the first three nights. They mostly use round-abouts (traffic circles) in England rather than using intersections when multiple roads come together. They were a little difficult to get accustomed to also because you are exiting them from the left. I made it to my hotel with no problem.
I was visiting RAF Fairford Commissary, which is just outside a small village named Fairford, England. This is in an area called the Cotswolds. I really liked this part of England compared to some other parts I have been to since. There are many old houses in this area and most have a flat limestone rock exterior. The fields are bordered by rock fences using the same type of rock. The land is kind of rolling. The runway at RAF Fairford is reported to be the longest runway in the world and was used during the construction and testing of the Concord airplane. The base is put on alert whenever the Space Shuttle is launched because it is a backup landing strip in case the shuttle has to abort the mission in the first few minutes after launch.
I visited several antique shops in the area and had lunch by the Thames River the last day in the area on my way to Lakenheath, England, which is kind of North of London. After arriving at the RAF Lakenheath airbase I called my niece Chanette. She was living in the nearby Mildenhall area. I meet her and her father for dinner that night. I had not seen her in a year and she had grown so much I almost didn’t recognize her when she walked up to me.
When Barry met me at RAF Lakenheath we compared notes on our driving experiences in England. He had a standard transmission and he said he had opened his door twice while trying to change gears. Remember English cars have the gear shift on the left side of you, with the door on your right and American cars have it on the right with the door on the left. Are you confused now? Try it sometime! I had not done this, because the rental clerk did me a favor and gave me an automatic. I had trouble when I was leaving a parking spot remembering to stay on the left side of the road. I had driven down a one way street in the wrong direction. I didn’t know I was going the wrong direction until I meet another car and the driver was pointing to his head as if to say ....... you dummy. I drove back around the block to see where I had messed up. This time I saw the one way arrow that was almost hidden from view that I didn’t see before.
I departed England on Friday and arrived home late Friday night.

June 27, 1997  Dinner Out to Haus Sonnenberg Restaurant in Sausenheim, Germany

Lena and I joined the USO on a short trip called Dinner Out. The USO picks a nice interesting restaurant in the area and they take people there for dinner. Haus Sonnenberg restaurant is about a 45 minute drive from where we live. This restaurant had two unique things. First it was up on a hill in a vineyard overlooking an old castle. Our table was beside a huge window that overlooked the valley and the castle. The second unique thing is that some of the meat dishes come to your table uncooked. They bring a flat rock to your table that is about 8 x 10 inches and extremely hot. You place the meat on the rock and cut off pieces and it cooks right in front of you. Our guide, Christine, spoke and reads German very well. She was born in Ulm, German but had moved to the USA when she was five. She is in the US Air Force and works as a USO guide part time. She read the menu to everyone. Lena and I could read about half of it but it was hand written so it made it a little harder to read than if it had been printed. Lena and I ordered beef. We thought this was one of the meals that came out on the hot rocks but we were wrong. The man across from us ordered it, so I got to watch him cook his meal. Lena had a bad sinus headache and when the meals starting coming to the table the smell of the food made her sick so she had to go to the van and lie down. I asked the waitress to wrap her order up so we could take it home. Germans don't have "doggy" bags but they will wrap up your meal so you can take it home if you ask them to. The meal was great and I had a good time talking to the people sitting with us. The couple sitting across from us was visiting their son that is in the Army stationed in Germany. I found out the lady was at the Wonderful World of Coke in Atlanta in May the same day I was. By the time we were ready to leave, Lena was feeling better. She enjoyed her meal the next day at home. Cost $30 plus meals

June 30, 1997 Robby arrives in Germany

Lena and I went to the Frankfurt Airport to pickup Robby. We sure were glad to see him. I had not seen him since December 1996 and Lena had not seen him since May 1996. We loaded his suitcases and headed home. When you fly to Germany from the States you normally leave in the evening, fly at night and arrive the next morning in Germany. Germany time is 6 hours ahead of the States. In order to get your body adjusted to the new time you should not go to sleep until it is bedtime in Germany. Unless you sleep on the airplane this means that you will be awake about 30 hours. Therefore we had to try and keep Robby awake for several hours since he arrived about 7:30 in the morning. Robby works at night so his sleep pattern is not like people that work during the day. We took him home and set around and talked, ate, etc. He started getting very sleepy so we got in the car and drove to the Globus (similar to a Wal-Mart Super Store) store in Zwiebrucken about 20 miles from home. We walked through the store and showed him how the Germany stores are a little different than the American stores. They have a meat and cheese section in the store where you can get different kinds of either in any amount you want. It is on display in the counter and the meat is sliced. So you can ask for any amount of all the different varieties and they have many varieties. They have several kinds of wurst (sausage) which the Germans are famous for. They will cut off pieces and wrap it. Normally they have small samples in bowls along the counter for tasting.
We have been told that this “super store” concept is a fairly new concept for the Germans. They must like the concept because there are several within 15-30 miles around us. A new one just opened a short time ago. Germans don’t use large refrigerators and freezers like Americans do. The refrigerator in our house is only counter top high so it does not hold very much. The freezer section is only about 6 inches high. They don’t use ice in their drinks so they don’t take up space for ice trays. We have looked at several refrigerators in stores and they are making them a little bigger now but still not as large as an American refrigerator. They normally shop more often. We have been told the older Germans were accustomed to shopping every day for meats, breads, and other things. Most live in small villages so they walk down to the butcher shop and buy what they need for that day. Even now there are trucks that come through the villages daily selling fresh baked goods,  brot (bread), and brotchen (rolls). Once a week a truck delivers eggs. Once a month a truck comes by that sells frozen foods and desserts.
After Robby had toured the store and got some of the wurst samples we took him to a shoe store to show him German shoes. Their shoes are not much different than Americans shoes but they wear sandals more than Americans do. Some of the shoes have thick soles. Some are three to five inches thick even on tennis shoes. I think they are ugly and sure would not wear them.
Robby was getting tired so we went home. He stayed awake until about 8 PM. That was good since he did not get much sleep the night before he came.

July 1, 1997 Idar-Oberstein Spiesbraten Fest

Robby and Lena left Landstuhl with a USO tour group for Idar-Oberstein, known as the Metropolis of Jewels. They visited the “Felsenkirche” a church built into the side of a mountain high above the Marktplatz. It was built into a rock 165 feet above ground 500 years ago. A knight that had killed his brother out of jealousy over a fair maiden built the church by hand. The church is built on the exact spot that the brother landed after he was killed. You have to be in good health to get to the church because there are 300 steps to climb.
After they visited the church they visited the many gem shops in the town just below the church. Then they went to the Spiesbraten Fest and had lunch. Spiesbraten is a steak that is specially seasoned and cooked on a grill that swings over an open fire. It is a specialty of Idar-Oberstein. After finishing off their steak they walked around the fest that had rides and games similar to the fairs back in the states. They returned home late in the afternoon after a rainy but enjoyable day.


July 2, 1997 Freinsheim, Germany

Lena and I had to work today, so we left Robby home to rest and explore our village by himself. After we got off work and ate dinner we took a drive to Freinsheim a village on the Deutcsh Weinstrasse. Lena and I visited the village last year and found it interesting. It still has a large portion of the original wall from the 1600’s. Some houses have since been built that have incorporated the wall into the houses. Some of the original entrances through the wall into the village still remains. As you walk through the narrow passageways around the wall you can get a glance into the houses, which tourists usually find interesting.

July 3-6, 1997 Berlin, Germany

Robby, Lena, and I boarded our Enjoy Tours transfer bus at Vogelweh at 10 PM. From there we went to Mannheim to meet the bus we would take to Berlin. Some of the young American military people on the bus was very loud. They were going on the Paris tour. We sure were glad they weren’t going to Berlin with us. Twenty two buses met at the Mannheim transfer point. There were several tours going on this weekend since it was a holiday weekend for Americans. We boarded our bus and meet our guide Brigitt and our driver Lutz.
When we got into the former East Germany area (the part that was behind the Iron Curtain) you could see a vast difference from the area of West Germany. The roads were in need of repair. As we entered Berlin you could see the years of neglect for the building, streets, etc., in the part of Berlin that was behind the wall. We stopped for breakfast and then began our city tour. We saw the Rathaus Schoeneberg, the City Hall where on June 18, 1963 President Kennedy made the legendary “Ich bin ein Berliner” (“I am a Berliner” Note: We were told by our German Language instructor that this literally translates into “I am a jelly doughnut” A berliner is a jelly doughnut and by using ein in the sentence it changes the meaning ) speech, the Kaiser-Wilhelm Memorial Church, the Olympic Stadium, and the newly reopened Brandenburg Gate. We rode by the grass mound that is over Hitler’s bunker that is still completely intact. Brigitt told us that Germany has not decided what to do with the bunker. They don’t want to make it a monument to Hitler but it also has great historic significance, so they don’t want to destroy it either. We stopped for about an hour at Checkpoint Charlie Museum. It was near one of the gate between East and West Berlin. The museum told the story of how many of the people escaped East Berlin to freedom in the West. We were amazed at some of the methods used to escape from behind the wall. Some were hidden in very small compartments inside cars. One car that was used was a Volkswagen Beetle (like Lena and I once owned). They removed the gas tank and fixed a compartment so that one person could be hidden there and then used a small jug for the gas tank. All they needed was enough gas to get the car into East Berlin, get the person and then drive back, after being checked at the gate, into West Berlin. One young girl hide herself inside a record player that was being moved along with some furniture. Some dug tunnels under the wall. All risked death to escape from behind the Wall. Sure makes you think about the freedom we all enjoy and take for granted. Next we stopped beside a section of the wall that still stands and took photos (in the rain).
We took a boat ride through some of the city. We boarded the boat near the memorial for friendship from the USA to Germany that was built during the Jimmy Carter Presidency. They call it the “Jimmy Carter Smiles” building. From one angle the building does look like a giant smile from Jimmy Carter (you had to be there). The boat ride gave us a close-up look at all the construction that is taking place in Berlin. Brigitt told us that Berlin was the World’s largest construction sight now. That was easy to believe because everywhere you look there was construction taking place. There were hundreds of construction cranes erected. Robby said Germany should name the “Crane” the national bird. Germany is moving their capital back to Berlin and they are building a lot of buildings for the government. Some Germans I have talked to think this is a big waste of money. We checked into our hotel and then later several of the group boarded the bus to go to a restaurant where Brigitt had made reservations for us. The food was excellent, which is the norm at a German restaurant.
The next day we picked up a local guide. She was not German but had lived in Berlin for over twenty years. She lived in the free part of the city during the time the Wall was up. She told us stories about some of the people she knew that lived in the part of the city behind the wall. She said that they would send things like bananas and toothpaste to people behind the wall only to find out years later all they received was the peelings from the bananas. She pointed out parts of the city that had been restored and areas that still showed the decay of many years of neglect during the time the Wall was up.
We departed Berlin and went to Potsdam which for centuries was the favorite residence of the Prussian royalty. We crossed over the bridge where Gary Powers, the U2 pilot that was shot down, was released. Most of the buildings in Potsdam had not had any upkeep since 1944 until Germany reunified and were in desperate need of repair. We got lucky because our local guide was able to get us into the Cecielenhof Palace. This is the place where the Allied Conference was held in 1945. We stood in the rooms where the conference meetings were held and got to go into the rooms that the “big 3” Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and President Harry Truman used as private offices during the conference. We were in the room where President Truman made the decision to drop the Atom Bomb on Japan. This was a strange feeling to be able to stand in the place that so much history had taken place. Maybe if I had any idea that I would get to see such places when I was going to school I would have taken more interest in my history studies. Next we went to Frederick the Great’s Sans-Souci Palace. We didn’t get to go inside but was able to view the gardens and see the grave of Frederick the Great. We returned to the hotel and the remainder of the day was free time. Robby, Lena, and I went on a walking tour of our own.
After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and departed Berlin for a brief visit to Wittenburg where Martin Luther nailed his 93 reformation propositions on the door of the Castle Church. We got to go inside the church even though services were being held. We could stand in the back and look around the church. Most churches in Europe are huge buildings with very tall ceilings and are very ornate inside. Some have murals painted all over the ceilings. We left Wittenburg for our last stop in Leipzig, former East Germany’s financial center and once home to Bach Teleman, Mendelssohm, Schumann and Wager. We had reservations for lunch here. After lunch we were met by a local German guide. She took us on a walking tour of parts of the city. She seemed to know the history of every building in the city. She lived there during the time the Berlin Wall was up and told us stories about how things were during that time. She said that the Nazis would not bother the people while they were inside the church so the people would meet in the church to discuss their problems. Some of the Nazi soldiers would come in the church to listen to their meetings and eventually became somewhat sympathetic with their problems. She said that the Nazi Leaders made the comment during the end of the oppression that they had planned for everything except prayer. The city is going through restoration now and has completed some of the building. They are really beautiful and have what I refer to as “character."  We hope to go back and spend more time in this city before we depart Europe. This was our last stop so we headed back to Vogelweh and home. Cost $249 plus meals.

July 7, 1997 Landsthul and Pirmasens

We got up kind of late since we had gotten home late the night before from Berlin. After breakfast we drove to the nearby town of Landsthul. There is a castle there called Burg Nanstein that we had not seen. We found when we got there that it is not open to the public. The current owner is doing restoration on it. The view from the castle yard was nice and you could see all over Landsthul and part of Ramstein Air Base. A US Air Force base about 15 minutes from where Lena and I work. This is a very busy Air Base. Airplanes are constantly flying in and out of there. We can see the airplanes coming in from our office. They fly supply/support missions for such areas as Bosnia and other outlying areas from here.
From Landsthul we drove down to Pirmasens which is about 17 miles from our house. This town has a nice pedestrian shopping district where we like to go sometimes and shop. They have a real nice cascading water fountain in the shopping area. Many of the towns we have been to have the main shopping areas set up as pedestrian areas. No cars except for deliveries are allowed on the streets. This makes shopping nice. The shops set part of their merchandise out in front of the shop and the Cafes and Restaurants will have small tables and chairs outside when the weather permits. I guess they don’t have as much trouble with shoplifters as we do in America. The crime rate here is very low. You can check into a German Gasthaus (Hotel) here and they don’t ask you for your name, telephone number, home address, car license number, payment up front, imprint of your credit card, “first born child” or anything as they do in the States. All you do is ask for a zimmer (room), they show you the room, and give you a key. You pay when you leave after you have had frühstüch (breakfast), which comes with the price of the room. By the way a German breakfast here usually consists of various hams, brochen (rolls), coffee, cheese, juice, jelly preserves and marmalade, boiled egg and sometimes fruits and cereals.
We completed our shopping and sightseeing and headed back home to rest for the remainder of the day

July 8, 1997 Bitche, France

Robby, Lena and I packed a basket of food and headed for a “day trip” into France. We are about a 45 minute drive to the Germany/France border. Our main stop was The Citadel in the town of Bitche (pronounced beach), France. The Maginot Line is near Bitche. The Citadel is on top of a large hill. It is a fort that was used during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. It was also used during other wars by the people that lived nearby as refuge from the bombs. Most of the fort is underground. With your entrance fee you get a headset and as you walk from room to room you can hear the history of the room. As you walk into some of the rooms, scents are automatically released that depict what the room was used for, such as a kitchen or stable. This is to make the tour more realistic. It took about two hours to tour the fort. At leaving the fort we drove to a nearby village that has a glass blowing factory. The village was kind of small but we had trouble finding the factory even though it was on the main road. It did not have a sign. We arrived during the lunch hour so no tours were going on. We visited the church in the village. Almost every village/town will have a large church, usually near the center of town and it usually is up on high ground. Even if it isn’t you usually can find it and the center of the village/town by looking for the steeple. Most are not locked and you are allowed to go in and look around. This is something in America that is not possible now due to crime and vandalism, even in the country. We have to lock our churches to keep people out. Think about it! Robby seemed to be amazed and enjoyed seeing the churches in Europe. We drove up into the hills and ate our lunch out of the trunk of the car. We do this often while taking day trips around the country. We just open the trunk and spread out a cloth. German roads, especially the Autobahns, have a place to pull off the road every few miles and most have picnic tables and trash cans. After lunch we went back to the Glass Blowing factory for a tour. We had to wait a few minutes for them to get an English speaking guide. We believe he came over from a bank to give us the tour. I guess they use him when English speaking people come. He gave us a very interesting tour. First he showed us an exhibit of the history of glass making and the tools used, then we went right into the factory where the people were making all types of glass objects. I was surprised to see them still blowing the glass with their mouth. I thought they would use some automated process but everything was still being done one piece at a time. We left and drove through some small French villages that had houses with paintings on the sides of some. This part of France was part of Germany at one time. The houses in this area looked just like the typical German house. The houses further into France look different.

July 9, 1997 Triberg, Germany

Robby, Lena and I once again packed a basket full of food and headed for the Black Forest area of Germany about 2 hours drive from the house. We stopped at the open air museum Vogtsbauernhof in Gutach. This is a village of authentic restored houses, barns, lumber mills, and shops depicting life in this part of Germany many years ago. Lena and I had been on a USO tour here exactly 1 year and 2 days before. Look at the write up from last year for more details. We stayed inside the museum area about four hours and came back to the car to get our picnic lunch we had brought with us. Robby also bought a plate of local German food from one of the grills that was set up at the entrance to the museum. One of the things he got was called suffa noodlen (this probably is not spelled right but this is the way it is pronounced) which is kind of greasy and looked like a raw hush puppy. We have him on video eating this so if you get to see the video you can see what it looks like.
Then we stopped at a Cuckoo Clock factory so Robby could buy some souvenirs. Then on to Triberg where the highest waterfall in Germany is located. Robby and I walked almost all the way to the top to take some photos before we joined Lena at a Cafe for coffee and the famous Black Forest Cherry Cake. This is probably my favorite German dessert. Then we headed back home because Lena had to work the next day.

July 10, 1997 Sinsheim, Germany

Lena had to work Thursday so Robby and I drove to Sinsheim, which is about an hour drive from the house. There is a technics museum there. It has a Omni movie theater where we saw a 3-D movie. They also showed scenes from an underwater 3-D movie and it seemed like you could just reach out and touch the fish in the movie. It sure would be nice to have 3-D TV. The museum was very interesting. It had all kinds of cars (even American cars), trucks, motorcycles, airplanes, steam engines, sewing machines, chain saws, trains, and had areas setup with soldiers from World War II like they would be during the war. We stayed in the museum about 4-5 hours until our feet hurt from all the walking.

July 11-13, 1997 Munich, Germany and Bavaria area

Robby, Lena, and I boarded our Enjoy Tours transfer bus at Vogelweh at 10 PM. From there we went to Mannheim to meet the bus we would take to the Bavaria area of Germany.  We had booked a two overnight trip but there was not enough people to sign up for this trip so we took the one overnight trip. We were disappointed because the two overnight trip went to Salzburg, Austria. Our guide’s name was Gerti. We stopped at a restaurant near the town of Füssen for breakfast. The air was very crisp as we stepped off the bus and the sky was nice and clear. They served us what I would call a German version of an American breakfast. There was only two men running the restaurant, doing the cooking and the serving and a USO tour bus came in just behind us. Even with the large group it didn’t take very long to get served. The tour guides must have stopped here before because they went into the kitchen and helped serve the plates when they were ready. We boarded the bus for a short ride over to King Ludwig II’s famous Neuschwanstein Castle. This is the castle that Disneyland used as the model for their castle. The castle is at a much higher elevation that the parking lot so we took another bus up the hill to the castle. The group got in line while the guide got our tickets. This is a very popular tourist attraction for people all over the world. We had arrived early and already there were longs lines of people waiting to get in. They give guided tours in many languages so we of course got in the line that showed the British flag that is used here to indicate the English language.  It is impossible to describe the castle, except to say it was very beautiful inside. We didn’t get to stay in any room very long because the guide takes you through and they have so many people they have to keep the groups moving. I guess the most interesting room to me was King Ludwig’s bedroom. It had the most elaborate wood carvings. The guide told us it took 40 carpenters 4 and 1/2 years just to complete his bedroom. Several rooms had painted murals all over the walls and ceilings. King Ludwig II had several castles built during his short life but this one is the most famous and the only one that we have seen so far. He died under somewhat mysterious circumstances. The people had come to believe he had gone “mad” and was unfit to rule. Shortly after he heard what the people were saying about him he was found in a small pond of water dead. It’s not known if he drowned himself or was “assisted."  After the tour of the castle was completed we walked back down the hill to the area where the bus was. In addition to the bus that we took up the hill they also had horse drawn wagons you could ride up and down the hill so we had to be careful where we stepped on the road back down the hill.
Our next stop was at the Wieskirche. Which is called the church in the field because it appears to sit out in a field or meadow when you are driving up to it. Basically it does because it is not in a village. There are a few farm houses nearby. This is an extremely ornate rococo style church. It’s not so special looking from the outside but when you step inside it almost takes your breath. The murals that are painted all over the ceilings just amazed us. It is an active church but it is open for to the public as most churches here are.
Oberammergau was our next stop. This village is famous for it's Passion Plays and intricate woodcarvings. The Passion Play only takes place every ten years. Another thing we found very interesting was the paintings on the exterior walls of the houses. We took several pictures of this. Some had scenes painted in themes like Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, and Biblical scenes, etc. This little village is a must see if you ever get to this part of Germany. If you like wood carvings and have the money this is the place to come. They also have several shops that sell the Bavarian style clothes, such as leterhousen (leather shorts with attached suspenders) that men wear. They seem to be worn now more on special occasions, but I guess in the past they were part of the normal attire for men. They also have leather skirts and vest for women. Some of the women’s dresses and men’s shirts have flowers, deer, and other designs that are stitched into the material. I’m not talking about some stamped on picture. The artwork is stitched in. Something like what my mother does on pillow cases if you have ever seen her work. The clothes are very pretty but also very expensive. Some outfits cost around $600.
Next we stopped at the 600 year old Ettal Monastery where we had the opportunity to sample the klosterliquer. The klosterliquer (liquor) is made by the monks to sell for support of the monastery. I think Robby may have tasted it but Lena and I didn’t think we wanted any. It was rather high in alcohol content.
We left Ettal for Munich where our hotel was. We were on our own for the evening so we rested for a while then headed for the Marienplatz in the old downtown Munich. We took the U-Bahn (subway). We were having a little difficulty reading the ticket machine so a German man helped us. He could speak a little English. We managed to get the tickets and get on the correct subway with his help. What we found strange was that tickets were purchased somewhat on the honor system. You could get on the subway and ride without a ticket. It was not like the subways in America that we have ridden. On those you must have a ticket to get through the turnstiles to get to the train. Well, these were not like that. You could walk right past the ticket stamping machine if you wanted to and there was no one on the subway checking for tickets. We were told if you were to get caught the fine was rather expensive. We were not prepared for what we saw when we got off the subway in the main square of the old town part of Munich. As we were coming up the stairs we began to hear music. So I thought great, we will get to hear a good German band. Well, when we got out into the square we were a little shocked. There was some kind of festival taking place which is a very common occurrence in Germany. But this one was a Gay Festival with men in “drag” (dressed as women). I mean they were in high heels, skin tight party dresses, makeup, wigs, etc. If you did not look to close they would pass as women. They definitely had “come out of the closet." We saw two men that were not dressed as women but were all hugged up and kissing like two long lost lovers. This was about as much as we could take so we went looking for a good restaurant. Robby picked one out and we had a great meal and then stopped at the festival for a few minutes on our way back to the subway. There was one man that looked like he probably was homeless and lived on the streets. He was feeling “no pain," if you know what I mean. He was dancing to the music by himself. He tried to get some of the passing women to dance with him but he got no takers. He was wearing those slipover booties like a surgeon wears over their shoes in an operating room. The bottoms were worn away so all he had was the tops and sides remaining. His feet were bleeding where he had stepped on some glass but he did not seem to notice. Like I said he was feeling no pain. We departed and took the subway back to the hotel and got a good nights sleep.
After a good breakfast the next morning at the hotel, (German hotels provide a full breakfast buffet with the room) we started a tour of the city. The guide pointed out some of the important buildings in the Marienplatz where the festival was held the night before. We were a little surprised to see everything from the festival cleaned up. Everything including the trash was gone and the square was spotless almost. We walked down to a church. I think it was the Marienkirche. We stepped inside and they were holding Sunday services. We stayed a short while and then went back to the center of the square to wait to see the action of the world’s largest Glockenspiel. The best way I can describe the Glockenspiel it is an animated scene of people dancing,  jousting, moving around when the clock strikes 11 AM. The figurines in the movement are all life size and the entire thing is in the tower of the New Town Hall that is less than 100 years old. That’s fairly new for most buildings in the old part of towns here. The top half of the Glockenspiel represents the wedding celebration that took place in the square of Wilhelm V and his bride in 1568. The lower half represents the Cooper’s Dance that was first performed in the 1600’s by barrel makers at the end of a plague. The coopers came out of their homes to celebrate the end of the plague. In fulfillment of a promise they made, the dance is performed every seven years since to keep the plaque away.
From here we rode over to the Olympic Grounds. Everything was closed up but we walked around for a few minutes.
Dachau was the next stop. It is about a 30 minute drive from Munich. This was the first concentration camp that Hitler used to imprison political opponents, intellectuals, gypsies, and Jews. About 90% of the population were Jews. It was one of many to be used. It is now used as a memorial to the atrocities of the war. The main camp has been restored and there is a large exhibit of pictures, etc. Many of the pictures on display are very disturbing. Gas chambers were built at the camp but never used. Ovens were used, however. There was a guide in the building where the ovens and gas chambers were that told how they operated. He said that the first ovens that were built in a separate building were not large enough so one of the prisoners that had knowledge of the building trades was put in charge of constructing a larger building with more ovens. He was given men as workers that were not skilled in building. He deliberately delayed the construction through several means as long as he could to keep the ovens from being completed thereby saving hundreds of lives. The building remaining that was used for living quarters had row after row of simple wooden bunk beds stacked two high and placed very close together. About 35,000 people died at this camp.
Dachau was our last stop so from here we boarded the bus for the long ride home. We arrived home about midnight. We had a great guide, bus driver, weather, and really enjoyed the trip.
Cost was $259 each plus meals, etc.

July 15, 1997 Bike trip and Junking

On Tuesday Robby and I loaded our bicycles on top of the car and drove to a bike trail at Dahn about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the house. We carried some fruit and sandwiches for lunch and snacks later in the day. When we got to where we wanted to unload the bikes Robby spotted several deer. One of the bucks had a large set of antlers. They were enclosed in a small pasture. Lena and I have seen several herds of deer in Germany that are raised domestically. There is one about a mile from our house. The bike trail was nice. Most of it ran beside a stream that looked to be about 2-3 feet deep where several young people were paddling canoes. In one place there was a wooden bridge over the stream. There were planters on both hand rails that were full of flowers. The Germans really believe in keeping things neat and orderly and using flowers to spruce things up. There were several other people riding bicycles. We stopped at one of the many benches along the way and had our lunch. There was a campground beside a small lake. The Germans like the water as much or more than Americans do. They don’t have ocean beaches like we do but they take advantage of any lakes they have. We have seen several campgrounds and most are near small lakes. They use more of what we call travel trailers and not very many of the “popup” campers or tents. They call the travel trailers caravans. After we had ridden about 30 kilometers we loaded up and went home.
After Lena came home from work we ate dinner and then went “junking." Two times each year in each village the Germans will set anything they don’t want out beside the street. Anyone that wants to comes by and sorts through the “junk” and takes what they want. The Americans call this “junking." What remains will be picked up by the garbage crew the next morning. As we say one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. We have been “junking” several times and have found a few things such as old snow sleds that need minor repair (these sell for about $50 in the antique shops if they are in good condition), a couple of nice end tables, some old hand saws, a coat rack, etc. Lena found a beautiful small German hutch but I was TDY in the States and she could not load it by herself. She still talks about how pretty it was. We have seen a van from Poland in our village picking up old bicycles. They had the inside and the top of the van loaded down. They must have had 75 bicycles. I guess they were going to repair them and resell them in Poland. Robby found a small exercise bench that had nothing wrong with it. I use it several times a week in the morning to get the “kinks” out of my back.


July 16-17, 1997 Trier, Germany; Luxembourg; Belgium; Berkastel-Kues, Germany

We departed the house on Wednesday to drive to Trier, the oldest city in Germany. Lena and I had been here a few times before. The old part of the city is interesting, as are most German cities and villages. Trier was a walled Roman city at one time and is the site of several important Roman remains, including the Porta Nigra (a well-preserved gate), an amphitheater, an imperial palace, and baths. Among the medieval monuments of the city is a Romanesque cathedral whose chief treasure is the Holy Coat of Trier, which is said to be the seamless coat of Jesus and the 13th-century Gothic Church of Our Lady.  The Porta Nigra was used for the base for a church in years past, but most of that part of the structure is gone. The Holy Coat of Trier is put on public display every ten years. You are permitted to go up and look at it through glass and mirrors where it is kept in a climate controlled room but it is difficult to distinguish its shape. The Cathedral or DOM itself is very elaborate. Part of it was destroyed during WW II but has been restored. Lena found another church that we had not seen on previous trips, so we went in it for a few minutes. It was not as elaborate as the DOM but still interesting. The local people come in all during the day to pray. Constantine’s Basilica was open so we looked around inside. It is a large open structure with a very high ceiling. It is used as a church now. It has rows and rows of simple wooden pews and several chairs, like what we would call ladder back chairs. From here we walked down to the Roman Baths, paid the admission and went in. Several of the underground passageways are still intact. From here we walked over to the Amphitheater where the public gladiator fights were held during the Roman times.
We departed Trier and drove into Luxembourg. This is a small country between Germany and Belgium. We drove into the city of Luxembourg to take a look at the old fortresses. The main parts of the city are on a high hill and you can see some of the many castles that are in the area. We didn’t have much information on the interesting places to see here so we didn’t spend much time. We would like to go back with a guide to learn more about the area. From Luxembourg we drove into Belgium with plans to stay overnight and visit a museum that had a collection of airplanes, etc. When we arrived at the museum we discovered that it had been closed to the public so we stopped at a restaurant and had dinner. We decided to drive down the Mosel River and find a nice German Gasthaus and stay the night, then visit Bernkastel-Kues the next day. After stopping at three or four we found one that had a room that could accommodate three people. After settling in we took a walk down along the river. There was a camp ground beside the river. We have been campers in the past so we compared how we camped to how the Germans go camping. The Germans normally have what we would call travel trailers that they set up in a campground kind of permanent. You don’t see as many being pulled up and down the roads as you do in the States during the summer.
After we had breakfast the next morning and paid our room bill that was about $52.00 including a full German breakfast for all three of us, we drove down the Mosel River to the village of Bernkastel-Kues. This is probably Lena and my favorite village that we have been to. Bernkastel-Kues is actually two villages divided by the Mosel River. There are several two name cities here. We like the Bernkastel village the best. It has some of the most interesting old buildings and some date back to the 1500’s and are in great condition. Most are three or four stories tall and are the half-timber style. There are grape vineyards on the hills behind the village and you can walk down the streets right into the vineyards. The village is a very popular tourist attraction and most of the ground floors of the buildings are shops that carry items of interest from Germany. There are several restaurants and Gasthauses. In the summer most of the restaurants have outdoor tables. You can board a boat from the docks for a tour up and down the river.

We drove up the winding mountainous road out of the village and stopped at a roadside picnic area to have lunch before heading to Idar-Oberstein. Robby wanted to buy some items here that he had seen when he and Lena took the USO trip the day after he arrived. Idar-Oberstein is another one of the two name cities. Years ago there were a lot of gems mined here but today most are brought in from other countries and prepared for sale here. There are several shops that sell some very nice jewelry, etc., set with gems of all types. Robby completed his shopping and we headed back to the house.

July 18, 1997 Robby departs Germany for North Carolina

We took Robby to the Frankfurt Airport for his flight home. He checked his bags and we walked upstairs to the area where he had to go through the security check before going to the boarding area. We were all a little “misty” eyed at this point. Lena and I sure enjoyed his stay with us. We promised him we would keep him busy and show him all we could during his time with us. I think we accomplished that. He is looking forward to returning before our time is up here. Lena I have discussed some places we would like to go if he does get to come back. So we will see.

July 20, 1997 Ulm City Tour and Water Jousting Tournament

Lena and I met the USO guide, Christine, at the Kaiserslautern Train Station for a tour to the city of Ulm, the birthplace of our guide and Albert Einstein. She was born in Ulm of German parents but has spent most of her life in America and is in the American Air Force stationed in Germany. The city was celebrating the 600th anniversary of its first democratic city constitution. Upon arrival Christine showed us Albert Einstein’s monument. If you didn’t know whom the monument was dedicated to you sure would not know by looking at it. There was nothing on it to indicate what it was for. About 40 feet away was a figure like a half bust of Albert Einstein. Then she gave us a short city orientation before the parade started. The parade was very colorful with people in traditional German attire, bands, and horses. After we watched the parade we went to a Gothic cathedral with the world’s tallest steeple. It has 768 steps to the top. For a small fee you can climb to the top of the steeple but we declined.
Lena and I joined the guide and part of our group at a restaurant where she recommended trying their pancakes. They had several different types. We each ordered a different kind and when they came we weren’t sure we could eat it all. The pancake was about the size of a large pizza with several different toppings. They were very good. After lunch we all went down to the Danube River were we had reserved seats to see the Fisherstechen jousting tournament. The water in the river was very high and the current was very strong because of heavy rains. The tournament had several different characters from the 16th century. They used long narrow boats that they controlled in the water with long poles that the oarsmen pushed down to the bottom of the river to push the boat along. A boat would come from each side of the river and on the bow  of each boat would be the jouster. They used long wooded poles that were padded on the end to try and push their opponent into the water. There were twelve different events, each one representing some event from the 16th century. Just before the event ended we had to leave to catch our train back home. We had a good time even though it rained part of the time during the tournament. Cost $59 each plus meals.

August 1 - August 15, 1997

One of Lena’s friends, JoAnne Newton, from Colonial Heights, Virginia and her sister Sandy Hatfield, from Oolitci, Indiana came to visit us and do some touring in Europe. We met them at the Frankfurt Airport on Friday August 1st. As we were driving back we began to point out road signs, etc., since they planned to drive to some of the places they planned to visit. I was driving about 80 mph down the autobahn, which is not very fast on the German autobahn, when Sandy said “do we have to drive this fast." Sorry Sandy, but I had to throw that in. Lena and I have become accustomed to the speeds on the autobahn but when you are not accustomed to them I guess it can be a little scary. We stopped in Vogelweh on the way back home to get them some German and French money and something to eat. We tried to give them as much information as we could on the customs and what to expect while traveling in Europe. Lena took them back to the house to get them settled in and I went to the office to work for a few hours.
Saturday morning we packed a picnic basket of food and we drove to our favorite village, Bernkastel-Kues, which is setting on the banks of the Mosel River. As noted in other places in this report this is a large wine producing area. Lena and I like this village as you can probably guess, since we have been there several times. We strolled through the village and checked out all the shops and interesting buildings. There were musicians playing in the center of the pedestrian area. Later we went back to the car for the basket of food and found a bench to rest on while we ate our lunch. After lunch we took a leisurely drive down by the Mosel River to the city of Trier, the oldest city in Germany. On Saturdays they have a lot of vendors out in the pedestrian area selling their wares, but by the time we got there most had closed up and gone. We got some ice cream and just enjoyed the weather and the scenery. We had planned to take them to the DOM where the Holy Coat of Trier is but arrived too late and they had already closed the doors. We walked around to look at some of the other interesting things in the city and then headed home. We stopped on the way for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, The Sickengerhof, in the village of Queidersbach that is a few kilometers from our house.
Sunday morning we packed our picnic basket again and headed to Strasbourg, France, about two hours drive from the house. The route took us down part of the Deutsch Weinstrase (German Wine Street). It starts at the France and German border and runs for many kilometers through one of the largest wine producing areas of Germany. We stopped at the beginning of it to take some pictures. We stopped again before we got into Strasbourg to eat our lunch at a road side picnic table. After we started putting our stuff on the table we discovered it had hundreds of little bugs on it so we had to use the trunk of the car as a table. I guess you could say we were having a “tail gate party."
We all had a good time in Strasbourg. We bought tickets and took a boat ride through the city. We didn’t know when we bought the tickets that they were only for a particular time, so we decided to do a walking tour of the old part of the city and get something cool to drink. When we got back to take our boat ride we went down the walkway to board the boat only to be told in French that the tickets were for the wrong time and we had missed our boat. Well, we just played the dumb tourists and said we didn’t know. It worked because they changed the tickets and let us on the boat. After the boat ride we headed back home.
Monday morning I took JoAnne and Sandy to the train station in Kaiserslautern on my way to work. They took the train to Heidelberg for the day and I picked them up after work at the train station.
Tuesday JoAnne and Sandy relaxed at the house and got ready for their bus tour that night to Paris, France that Lena had booked for them. They returned late at night on Thursday.
On Friday after work we took them to Freinsheim. Refer to same trip with Robby. On the way back we stopped and had a light meal outside at a restaurant near Frankenstein.
On Saturday afternoon we went to Vogelweh to meet an Enjoy Tours bus for a trip to the Rhine River to see what is called the Rhine Aflame. The bus took us to the town of Bingen, a city on the banks of the Rhine. The Rhine Aflame is a boat ride down the Rhine River where there are several castles that are illuminated, the villages have lights around the buildings, several places have fireworks and there are about 70 passenger boats in a parade down the river that all are lit up with different colored lights. The boat ride was a nice leisure ride down the river to the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein on the cliffs above where the Mosel and Rhine rivers come together. We were a little disappointed at the final fireworks because we were on the opposite end of the boat and could not see most of the fireworks, but we did get to see those as we were going down the river. We got off the boat at the city of Boppard. There was a mix up between the bus driver and guide because the bus was not at the meeting point when we got off the boat. After about a 20 minute wait our bus arrived and we headed home. Normally the guide passes out a critique sheet for everyone to fill out about the trip but for some reason she forgot it. I guess she thought it would be easier to explain to her boss that she had forgotten to pass them out than to explain a lot of bad critique sheets. She would probably have gotten some bad ones even though we enjoyed the trip we didn’t view her as a very good guide.
We didn’t get back to the house until about 0430 Sunday morning and Sandy and JoAnne were due to leave on a train for Garmisch and the Bavarian area of Germany about 7 AM. Rather than going to bed for an hour or so they decided to go on to the train station and wait for the train, so I took them to the train station. They returned on Thursday. On Friday the 15th. I took them back to the Frankfurt Airport for their return flight back to America. I believe they had a great time in Europe. We sure enjoyed showing them some of out favorite places and enjoyed their visit with us.


August 16, 1997  Wittlich Pig Burners’ Fest

Lena and I drove to the village of Wittlich for the Pig Burners Fest. This is a festival that commemorates the time centuries ago when the village was under attack by the Huns. Walls with heavy gates kept out the invaders, but on this occasion, a guard had lost the iron pin that held the date closed. He substituted the only thing available, which was a carrot, and he ran away. According to the story, a pig ate the carrot, causing the bar to drop and the gate to swing open for the Huns to enter and sack the town. The angry townspeople took their revenge by gathering all the pigs and burning them. To this day, the pig burner’s festival is held in retribution. It features a Saturday morning parade, a carnival, wine tasting, beer, and of course roasted pig. It seems to me they should have taken their retribution out on the guard, not the pigs. I guess that wouldn’t make as good a story. They had a nice parade except I thought it would have been smarter to have all the horses near the rear of the parade not in the front ahead of all the bands that were busy reading their music and could not always watch where they were placing their feet.

August 24, 1997 Adventure day in Lauter Valley

On Sunday August the 24th. the counties of Kaiserslautern and Kusel sponsored the third annual adventure day in Lauter Valley about 45 minute drive from our house. A 35 kilometer (21 mile) route along the Lauter creek is closed to car traffic so people on bicycles, roller blades, and walking will have full access to the street. The German railroad company, Deutsche Bahn, had a special train that can be boarded at any train station along the route as many times as desired for DM 5 ($2.75) per person. We loaded our bicycles up on the car rack and drove to a parking area near the route. Each village along the way had some kind of event going on. Sulzbachtal had a fossil exhibition. The exhibition included works of art cut from stone that had all types of fossils in them, such as fish, snails, etc. They were quit unique and also very expensive. Frankelbach had displays of jewelry, leather, stone, ceramics, and wooden items, including furniture and musical instruments. We rode 25 kilometers (15 miles). This is good way to get to see upclose some of the interesting things the different villages have plus it is good exercise. Something the small towns in the States should start so people will get out of their cars, slow down and enjoy things around them and get some exercise at the same time.

August 29 - September 1, 1997 Three Country Tour to Switzerland, Austria, and Liechtenstein

Lena and I boarded our Enjoy Tours transfer bus at Vogelweh at 10 PM. From there we went to Mannheim to meet the bus we would take on the tour.  Our guide was Ute and the driver was Klaus. The driver was the youngest driver that we have been on a trip with. As we discovered when we got up in the mountains of Switzerland he was a very capable driver. He took that bus around some very sharp hair-pin curves and through some streets that were barely wide enough for the bus and he never had to backup.
We arrived in Switzerland about breakfast time so we stopped at a restaurant to eat. It had snowed on the mountain the morning we arrived so we could see the white snow caps from the restaurant. After breakfast we drove across the border into Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is only 58 square miles and has about 30,000 citizens and is one of the smallest countries in the world. The driver stopped in one of the villages so we could take some photos of a castle and then we walked around a church and the cemetery. The view was great looking up to the mountains around us as the morning fog lifted. From here we drove up to an area called Heidiland that is famous for a girl called Heidi. There was a monument there to her.
We continued up the mountain to Triesenberg where we got a breathtaking view of the Rhine Valley. Then we went up to the ski resort of Malbun.  Some of the group took a chair lift up to the 2,000 meter (6,500 feet) peek. Lena and I walked through the village and did some shopping. The village was very quit since this was not the time for skiing and only a few of the local people were around.  We noticed that the houses here had more wood on the upper level of the outside than did the houses in Germany.
Our next stop and the fourth country we had been into in about 13 hours was Feldkirch, Austria, site of the 12th Century Schattenburg Castle. We were given a guided tour by a guide that actually lives in the castle. We ate lunch in the castle restaurant then walked down the hill to the main part of town. There were not many shops open so we just enjoyed the walk and the view. By this time everyone was getting tired and it was beginning to rain so we boarded the bus for the drive to the hotel.
We ate breakfast the next morning and boarded the bus for a day trip into the Swiss Alps to the ski and vacation area called the Klosters. We were reading the brochure about this being a favorite place of the Royal English Family and where Princess Di often visits with her children when we heard the news that she had been killed in a car accident. From Klosters we continued on to Davos. It had beautiful mountains all around it. Then we drove over the 8,000 foot Fluela Pass and down into the Engadine Valley where we stopped at St. Moritz. This took us up through some very rugged and beautiful mountain areas and along some of the most winding and crooked roads we have ever seen. As we drove along the roads we could look out the window at the valley stretched out hundreds of feet below us. This gave me two reasons why I was glad I was not driving. The roads and I got to look at the view. We took a cable car up to the top where the ski slopes were. This was the last day that the public could take the cable car up because they were going to close for a month to get ready for the skiing season beginning in October. The slopes had a lot of snow on them and people were not skiing but just out hiking in the snow. Several were just lying around outside of the ski lodge with very little clothing on, considering we were on top of a snow covered mountain, just soaking up the sun. It actually was nice in the sun. We ate lunch in the restaurant. I got Gulash soup, which has become my favorite soup since arriving in Germany. Other than some photo stops along the way this was our last stop for the day. I noticed the houses in this area had the windows installed different than in Germany. Even though the walls were thick like in German houses they mounted the windows on the inside edge of the wall rather than in the middle of the wall as the Germans do, which gives a nice ledge on both the inside and the outside of the window. By installing the windows on the inside edge the thickness of the walls are apparent. The guide took a count of those that wanted to eat in the Hotel restaurant so they would be ready for us when we got back. The plan was to eat and then have time to walk down to the city center near the Hotel before bedtime. That was the plan but the plan didn’t work because the service was so slow that it was too late by the time we finished our meal and paid. The guide had a talk with the manager before we left the next morning.
After breakfast and check-out we drove back into Switzerland along Lake Constance and stopped to visit the Island of Mainau. This is a garden paradise with an abundance of colorful flowers, plants and palm trees, owned by the Swedish Earl Bernadotte. From here we went to Stein am Rhine. A city that is often compared to the ancient German city of Rothenburg. This was a nice city with many beautiful old buildings and it sets on the banks of the Rhine River. After a quick lunch we continued on to Schaffhausen to view the spectacular Rhine Falls. Up to this point the Rhine river is not very deep and is actually rather shallow in some areas. But at this point it changes. The falls are tremendous. They are not tall, only 70 feet, but the awesome power of the water as it cascades over the rocks is something to view. Most of the group took a boat ride up to the base of falls. This was quit an experience. The guide told me that the water was about 70 meters(227 feet) deep near the base of the falls. If you had a sea worthy boat you could leave here on boat and travel all the way to America by water.
This was our last day and we were now on the way back home. We drove through the Black Forest area of German and stopped in Triberg for dinner where we had reservations at a restaurant near the base of the tallest waterfall in Germany. This was the final stop before we met the transfer bus at Mannheim for the short trip to Vogelweh and home. We had a good guide and driver and a great trip. Cost $239 each plus meals and some entrance fees.

September  13 - October 8, 1997

On Saturday September 13th my sister Janet and husband Charles “Chuck” Purser came to visit from North Carolina. Lena and I picked them up at Ramstein Air Force base, which is about 20 miles from our house. Chuck is retired from the Air Force and is eligible to fly “space available” on military airplanes so they took a “hop” from the States to Germany. These flights don’t have all the comforts of commercial flights but the price is right (free). They were stationed in Germany 26 years ago and had always wanted to come back. When we picked them up Chuck wanted to go to a German restaurant and get a German brötchen and some breakfast but since it was fairly early Saturday morning there was not any German restaurants open that we knew of. We settled for a ham and biscuit at the local Burger King on base. Their timing was perfect because the annual International Bazaar was taking place in two of the airplane hangers on base. The International Bazaar is when vendors from all over Europe come to the military bases in German to sell their products. You can get anything from Holland cheese, to Oil Paintings, to furniture. This is a good time to purchase gifts for Christmas and is always a popular event in September. We ate and then went to the hangers to look over the items. Lena and I individually spotted an oil painting of the medieval city of Rotenberg that we both really liked. We had talked about getting one good German painting while we were here and this was what we had been looking for. It was painted by Rommel a family member of the famous German General Rommel, the Desert Fox. The painter had died about two years ago and this was supposed to be the only painting he did like this. The vendor sweeten the deal a little by giving us smaller painting to go with it. After we had finished all the shopping here we drove to Landsthul, a village between Ramstein and our house. They were having a small festival so we stopped to check it out and to get some coffee and dessert. Then it was on to the house to get Jan and Chuck settled in and to try and keep them awake for a few more hours until bedtime. Since Germany is 6 hours ahead of the States and you fly all night to get here the best thing to do to get your body accustomed to the time change is try to stay awake until the normal bedtime.
Sunday the 14th we went to the Bad Dürkheim Wine Fest. This is called the largest Wine Fest in the world but it is more like a sausage fest. They have wine, beer, sausage, roasted ham hocks, roasted chicken, brass bands, carnival rides, fest tents, etc., and just a general good time. We toured the event and ate some of the ham hocks and listened to the bands that play in the tents where the food is served.
Lena and I had to work all the following week so one day Jan and Chuck took one of our cars and went to Weisbaden to find the place they had lived 26 years earlier while stationed there in the Air Force. They found the house and even found their next door neighbor that had since gone into the restaurant and Gasthaus business. In the evenings we took short local excursions and took walks through our village.
Saturday we all went on a USO trip with guide Dave Wagner and driver Baltemoor to Bernkastel-Kues for a dinner and wine probe. The boat ride down the Mosel was kind of chilly since it was still fairly early in the morning. The guide pointed out some interesting places about the two villages we didn’t know. After touring the village we boarded the bus to go to our dinner and wine probe. Lena and I thought when we booked this trip that we had been to the place where the dinner was going to be before but as it turned out this was a different place. It was farther down the Mosel River in a small village named Neumagen-Dhron, Germany’s oldest wine village and one-time summer residence of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. The restaurant was named Grafenkeller and was located in the keller (cellar) of the Wittgenstein Haus. A 200 year-old Manor House that once belonged to the noble family Sayn-Wittgenstein. After the dinner and wine probe we went upstairs to a small museum that was open. The owner of restaurant, Tom Graham, was from Great Britain, he married a German lady and settled here. He offered to give the group an unplanned walking tour of the village. It was a great tour of the village. He seemed to know the history of every building there. The walking  tour ended a really nice day so we boarded the bus for home. Cost  $58 each.
Early Sunday morning the 21st we loaded up the BMW with suitcases, food, maps and four excited people and headed for Scotland. After crossing into Belgium we stopped at a rest area restaurant to use the facilities but there were about twenty buses of senior citizens all trying to do the same thing so we decided to leave for a less crowded place. I had been driving for a few hours so we switched drivers and Chuck got behind the wheel. He had not even gotten out of the parking lot and a Belgium policeman stopped him and wanted to see his drivers' licenses and car papers. We got some laughs on that one. Lena and I have been driving here for about 1 1/2 years and have never had to show our drivers' licenses to anyone and Chuck drives 1 1/2 minutes and gets stopped.  Everything was in order so we continued on our way. We drove the car into the Le Shuttle for the English Channel crossing at Calais, France. The Le Shuttle is a train that goes under the English Channel. After driving the car inside the train we got out and had a picnic lunch on the hood, or bonnet as the English say, of the car. It didn’t take but 35 minutes to get across the channel. When I drove off the train I had to switch my thinking to English driving since they drive on the left  or wrong side of the road. I had been to England earlier in the year for a week so I had kind of got accustomed to it except this was a little different since my car has the steering wheel on the left and the English cars have it on the right. Its kind of embarrassing when you go to England, rent an English car and get in on the left to drive away. Oh well, such is life. We stopped for the night at Alconbury Air Force Base outside of Huntingdon, England. We had driven for 9 1/2 hours and been in 5 countries. We checked into our rooms and inquired about purchasing fuel on base only to find out I was not allowed to purchase fuel in England on the military bases like I am in Germany even though I am a U.S. Government employee. That took us by surprise since that meant we would have to purchase fuel from the English gas stations that is about 4 times more expensive than purchasing fuel on the military bases. We drove into Huntingdon to get fuel and to find a place to eat dinner. We stopped at one pub only to find out that the restaurants and pubs aren’t allowed to serve food until after 7 PM. They can sell beer and wine before 7 PM but not food. Huh!! So we strolled through town and found a great fish and chip shop. This was Lena’s and my first experience with the famous English fish and chips but Chuck and Jan had lived in Scotland 35 years earlier so they knew good fish and chips. The fish is a fillet rolled in a batter and the chips are large french fries, both deep fried. A lady that Chuck struck up a conversation with told us that this was the best fish & chip place around. She must have been right because we tried several more during the next 8 days and none were as good.
We departed the next morning for Scotland. We stopped for the night at a Bed & Breakfast (B&B) that overlooked the town of Peebles just a few miles from where Jan and Chuck lived 35 years prior. The next morning after a full Scottish breakfast we drove the last few miles to the cottage on a sheep farm in Pentland Hills where Jan and Chuck had lived for 3 1/2 years while stationed in Scotland. There was no one home but the lady next door came out. Jan and Chuck introduced themselves and explained they had lived there 35 years ago. The lady had the key to the cottage so she let us go in. I’m sure this brought back a lot of memories for Jan and Chuck. After we saw the cottage the lady asked us to come into her home where she introduced us to her husband and a friend that was visiting. We sat around and drank coffee and ate biscuits (cookies) like we had known each other for years.
From here we drove on into Edinburgh to look for a place to stay for the next two nights. We had a little difficulty finding a room because of a large convention in town but we finally got suitable rooms at a B&B. The next day we boarded a double decker city bus and went to Balerno, a small town just outside of Edinburgh. Jan and Chuck live there for 6 months when they first got to Scotland. This was their first home after getting married. Chuck was stationed at Kirk Newton, a base nearby. The house they lived in had been torn down, so we strolled through town and stopped to eat at the Grey Horse Inn. We ordered Scotch Broth, Shepherd’s Pie, Breaded Haddock, and Apple Crumble. Muumm good! Then we went back to Edinburgh and visited the cemetery at Greyfriars church where John Gray is buried. He was the master of the famous shaggy terrier dog name Greyfriars Bobby that the movie was made about a few years ago. It tells the story of the dog that slept on his master’s grave for 14 years each night after the master died.
Thursday morning after a full English breakfast of cereal, fried eggs, ham, fried mushrooms, sausage, tomatoes, beans (yes beans), toast, coffee, and tea at the B&B we departed Edinburgh for the Highlands of Scotland. This is some rugged but beautiful country. A person that likes solitude could fall in love with this area. We stopped near Glencoe at a visitor center to take photos and relax for a while and soak up the beauty of the area. We would have liked to driven on to Loch Nesh to see if we could get a glimpse of Nessie the famous mysteries monster of the Loch (lake) but it was farther up into the Highlands than we had time to drive. We decided to stop in Fort William, a small town of 8,000, for the night. We found a really nice B&B called the Voringfoss B&B. We got reservations at McTavish’s Kitchen for dinner and a Scottish Show. We had a great meal and the show was really nice. It was Scottish music with a fiddle, bagpipes, accordion, singers and a dancer. The price was less than $15 for the meal and the show. This was the last night the restaurant and show would be open for the season so we were lucky.
The next day, Friday, we drove to Perth to meet Jan Newberry-McCloud, a friend of Jan and Chuck’s that had lived in the next cottage to them when they lived in Pentland Hills on the sheep farm. She lived in the same cottage as the lady that let us go in the cottage that Jan and Chuck had lived in. Now we have two Jans in the story so I’ll call the friend from Perth, Jan NM. Jan NM is a teacher at Kilgraston, an all girl private school. We meet her at the school. She took us to the lunch room where we ate then she showed us around the school and her small apartment at the school. We were to stay with her three nights at a home she had just recently purchased in Kirkcolm on the west coast of Scotland. She gave us directions to the house and told us she would meet us when her school day was over. Her house was built in 1830. She was in the process of remodeling it.
On Saturday we drove down to Cairnryan and boarded a P & O European Jetliner Ferry to go to Ireland. This ferry was more like a cruise ship than what you would think of as a ferry. It could carry 600 passengers and 250 cars. It only took 1 hour to cross over to Ireland. We landed at Larne and took a train down to Belfast. We did a brisk walking tour of part of the city and stopped at Kelly’s Cellars, the oldest Pub in Belfast. It was established in 1720 and is the oldest continuous licensed premises in Belfast. We stayed in town for a few hours then took the train and ferry back across to Carinryan. We learned that the Titanic was launched from Belfast.
Sunday morning we drove around the area where Jan NM lives and stopped in Port Patrick. This was a nice little coastal village. It had some old interesting buildings and several nice shops. The wind was really wiping and the water was really choppy but still there were people going out in their boats. They were braver that I would be. That afternoon Jan, Chuck and I walked up the hill to the church in Kirkcolm to look at some of the old tombstones. In the cemetery was the Kilmorie Stone Cross that is estimated to have been made between the 8th and 10th century. We had a nice visit with Jan NM, she was a good hostess. Our last night there she made us Sticky Toffee Pudding. It was great and I enjoyed hearing her say Sticky Toffee Pudding with her accent. Her accent is not near as strong as some of the people from that part of Scotland. They speak English but it might as well be Greek because their accent is so pronounced it is very difficult to understand them. Chuck and I talked to one man and I only understood one word he said.
Monday morning we started our journey home. On the way we stopped at Gretna Green the last town in Scotland before crossing into England. Scotland and England have different laws about marriage so some people come across the border to Scotland and get married. The place we stopped at had a marriage chapel. We made our picture under the arch that is used for photographs. While there we met a couple that lives about 5 miles from where we lived in Virginia. We stopped for the night at a hotel in England just a few miles from where we were to get on the Le Shuttle for the crossing of the English Channel back to France. The next morning, September 30th, was Lena and my 30th wedding anniversary. We ate breakfast at the restaurant next door. The food was not as good as what we had been getting in the B&Bs we had been staying at. It was almost as bad as the dinner we had on our one night honeymoon 30 years earlier.
We crossed the channel and drove to Brugge, Belgium so Jan could buy some Belgium lace. Lena and I had been to Brugge earlier in the year and really enjoyed it. After buying some lace we were walking along and Chuck caught the scent of Belgium waffles. We went in the cafe and placed our order. I guess he has a good nose because the waffles were great. They made up for the breakfast that morning. The waitress could not believe we had been married 30 years.
Brugge was our last planned stop so we headed back to Germany. We got home about 10:30 PM. If someone asked where we spent our 30th anniversary, we can say in a BMW with my sister and her husband in England, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany.
We all rested on Wednesday but on Thursday we were off again. This time we visited several villages in Germany that some of Chuck’s ancestors came from. The villages include Dürrn, Bretten, Stellen am Heuchelberg, Schwaigern, and Bad Wimpfen. I believe Dürnn had some of the best preserved half timbered houses we have seen in Germany except for Bernkastel-Kues. Still others were in the process of being remodeled.
Friday we loaded our suitcases up and drove to the Black Forest area of Germany to see some other areas that some of Chuck’s ancestors lived. At Buchenberg we had kaffee and Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (coffee and Black Forest Cherry Cake). The village had a small museum next door that was closed but when Chuck asked about it the lady behind the counter called someone and a man came and opened it for us. They had a nice professionally displayed collection for such a small village. We had trouble finding a place to stay that night but finally found one at Nussback just outside Triburg. The next morning we walked through Triburg did a little shopping and decided to go to Strasbourg, France. When we got there we discovered the old part of town that we wanted to go to was so crowded we couldn’t find a parking place so we left and drove down to the Alsace towns of Soufflenheim and Betschdorf that are well know for their blue salt glaze pottery. We checked out all the pottery shops that were open, bought a few pieces and then went back home after stopping in Waldenfischbach for dinner. They had some great pizza.
Sunday we rested again. Monday we packed a picnic lunch and were gone again. We drove back to Bernkastel-Kues to do souvenir shopping. On the way we stopped at a winery that Lena and I had been to with the USO on a dinner and wine probe. The owner meet us and let us sample several of his wines. After leaving Bernkastel-Kues we drove down the Mosel River to the town of Briedel where Lena and I had also been to with the USO on a wine probe. The owner meet us and let us sample some of their wines. We bought some from each place. Chuck and Jan wanted to take some back with them because it is very difficult to find German wine from the Mosel River in the States. From Briedel we drove to Simmern another of Chuck’s ancestors' towns. This town was damaged so much during a war that most of the old buildings were gone. The visit was not a waste because we found a nice cafe where we had coffee and dessert.
Jan and Chuck had to leave on Wednesday so we took them back to the airport on Ramstein Air Force Base for their flight back home. We had a great time. Sure was good to see family again. Jan and Chuck had always wanted to come back to Germany and Scotland since they left many years ago. Hope they can come again before we move back to the States.

Saturday night Oct. 11, 1997 Ramstein Air Base for Tops In Blue

Lena and I went to Ramstein Air Base for a free concert by Tops In Blue ‘97. They are a musical group made up of active duty Air Force personnel that perform free concerts all over the world. Every year thousands of active duty Air Force personnel compete in talent contests and the best are chosen to make up the group. They go through a 45 day intense training period at Lackland, Texas to learn all the songs and dance routines. The group consisted of 8 musicians, 8 female and 8 male singers and dancers. They performed music and songs from the 40’s all the way up to the 90’s. The performance was fantastic. It was worth the 45 minute wait in the rain before we could get into the airplane hanger where they performed. If you get the chance to see them, you should. We both thought they performed as well as any professional group we have seen.

October 16-18, 1997 Rota, Spain

I had to go on a TDY trip to a meeting at the commissary in Rota, Spain. I flew from Frankfurt Airport to Madrid, Spain then on to Rota, Spain. When the airplane landed in Rota I realized that it must be a small airport when the airplane turned around and taxied back up the one and only runway to the terminal. On the flight to Rota I realized I had not asked  the people at the commissary for directions from the airport to the military base or to my hotel. The car rental clerk gave me a map to Rota and I headed off. I found the town without much problem but I soon realized that finding the hotel would require stopping at a gasoline station and asking for directions. I had forgotten most of the Spanish I learned in school, but the man I asked spoke fairly good English so I got the directions and was soon at my hotel. When I got out of the car the smell of the air reminded me of the air around the ocean back home. I knew that Rota was a coastal town. The next morning when I went to the hotel restaurant I discovered the hotel was setting right on the coast line of the Atlantic Ocean with the surf lapping up against the bulkhead at high tide. It sure was nice to see the ocean again, only this time it was the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean.
I was told that they did not get any hurricanes here, which explains why they could build the hotel so close to the surf. Saturday after I finished my work at the commissary I headed back to the airport but I had a couple of hours before my flight so I did a little bit of sight seeing on the way back to the airport. They grow a lot of cotton in the area and it was harvest time. I passed several fields that had just been picked and could see the trailers that were loaded down with cotton on the way to the gin. There were also several grape vineyards in the area. They looked different than what grows in Germany. I also passed small herds of sheep that were being tended by a shepherd. They were not in a fenced in area, just roaming wherever the shepherd herded them, looking for something to eat.  The main industry in the area between Rota and the airport seemed to be farming.

October 26, 1997 Trip to the USA

I had to return to Ft. Lee Virginia on October 26th for a week of work for the project that I am working on. I flew on a military contracted plane. All the passengers were either military families, civilian government employees or retired military. I guess there were about 20-30 small babies on the flight. They took turns crying almost the entire flight. The airline showed two movies so I used my headset to listen to the movies and this blocked the sound of the babies crying. I departed Virginia Friday night the 31st. and drove down to North Carolina to visit Robby and the family. Sure was nice to see them again. This was my first trip back to the states since December 1996. Lena has not been back to the states since we departed May 1996. I visited the family on Saturday and Robby and I went to Topsail Island Saturday night to fish for puppy drum from the surf but the wind and waves were so rough we didn’t even try. Sunday Robby and I attended church with Mama and Daddy and then went to a family reunion of Lena’s mother’s family, the Halls. Monday morning I departed for the Raleigh-Durham airport and the trip back to Germany. I stopped on the way and visited with Janet and Chuck for about an hour in Garner. Arrived in Germany the morning of Tuesday November 4th.

November 23, 1997 USO trip to Speyer

Lena and I took a train trip with the USO to the 2000 year old city of Speyer. Paula, our guide, took us on a walking tour of the city and then to the famous DOM a Gothic cathedral that dates back to Germany’s Roman era. There were church services going on so we had to wait until after the services to go inside. After the first part of the walking tour was over Lena and I went looking for a cafe so we could get some coffee and warm up. It was rather cold outside. After we had our coffee and dessert we went to the museum. They had a really nice museum. One you could spend several hours in but we didn’t have several hours so we saw what we could and then joined the group to walk over to the Technik Museum and IMAX 3-D Theater. The Technik Museum had over 3000 different items such as steam engines, aircraft, cars, motorcycles, boats, helicopters, fire engines and even a Soviet submarine. The movie was not in 3-D but interesting. It was about the space program. After the movie we toured the museum and went into the submarine. I decided quickly I didn’t want to be a submariner. It was cramped in there. Then we boarded the train for the trip back to Kaiserslautern and home. Cost $25 and meals.

November 27-31, 1997 Garmisch Trip

Lena and I had a four day Thanksgivings weekend, so we decided to go to Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Bavarian area of Germany. We were near this area on the Munich trip with Robby. We had been told how pretty the area was in the winter. We took the train from Kaiserslautern to Garmisch. This took about 5 hours and was more expensive than driving but I could set back and relax and take in the scenery. It would have been about 7-8 by car. The German trains, especially the faster trains are very comfortable. I reserved seats in a six person compartment. This is usually a quieter area and gives you a little more privacy. You can take food on the train or go to the diner car, which is expensive. Upon arriving in Garmisch we picked up our rental car at the Bahnhof (train station) and got directions to our hotel. I had called for reservations but forgot to get directions. The Armed Forces Recreation Center (AFRC) operates two hotels in Garmisch for US military (active and retired) and civilians. Our hotel was the General Von Steuben that is only about 5 blocks from the Bahnhof so we were there in about 5 minutes. After checking in we took a ride around the village and then a short ride outside of the village to get some photos of the mountain tops. Garmisch is setting in sort of a valley surrounded by mountains. This is a very popular area for skiing in the winter.
We returned to the hotel and went to the restaurant where we had Thanksgivings dinner reservations. After finishing (almost) our four course dinner we “waddled” up to our room to get a good night sleep. On Friday we took the cog wheel train up the ski sloops of the Zugspitze. The train uses a narrow gauge track and it has a spoke wheel underneath that fits into a special track between the regular train tracks. I guess this is what really pulls the train up the mountain because the climb to the top of the Zugspitze is rather steep for a train. The trip takes about 75 minutes and  travels almost 12 miles and climbs almost 6200 feet up the mountain.  The last mile or so is all in a tunnel. The view at the top is great. There were many people skiing. We didn’t ski but enjoyed watching those that did. We ate in the ski lodge restaurant and took several photos before taking the train back down the mountain.
On Saturday we went on a AFRC tour to Innsbruck  Austria with Jessica our guide and Karl the bus driver. On the way we passed the town of Mittewald that has a famous violin making school. The guide told us this town is where the famous Stradivarius classic violin came from. The encyclopedia states that  Antonio Stradivari the maker of the Stradivarius was Italian, but I guess he could have migrated. Our guide took us on a short walking tour of the old part of Innsbruck. The last stop on the walking tour was the Swarovski Crystal Factory. An employee gave us a brief talk about the crystal then we were free to browse. Lena and I bought two small crystal long stem crystal goblets. When we paid for them the clerk gave Lena a small crystal stick pin. They didn’t give me anything. Oh well, I guess they know whom to cater to in a crystal shop. After leaving the crystal shop we were on our own until time to meet the bus. We stopped in several shops to buy Christmas presents including an Austrian leather vest for Robby.
Our next stop was the Olympic Ski Jump that was used in the 1976 Olympics. On the way the guide told us about some people that were killed on the ski jump. They attempted to come down the ski jump In a rubber raft. Now I have heard of some dumb things but I think this probably tops them all, especially after I climbed the steps from the bottom of the jump where the skiers stop to the bottom of the actual jump and then looked back down and realized how steep it was. I thought I was in fairly good shape until I climbed all those steps. My legs felt like rubber by the time I got to the top. Other than a quick stop at one of the churches in town this was our last stop so we headed back to Garmisch. On the way back we stopped at a small souvenir shop just before we crossed into Germany. The shop owner introduced us to chocolate rum balls. You sure couldn’t eat many of these at the time. This was our last day in Garmisch so Sunday morning we boarded the bus back home. We sure enjoyed the weekend.