Blogs from Germany, Europe - page 687

Gutentag! I am in Munich right now, which wasn't planned but I am loving it nonetheless. Granted, I'm stuck in an airport for 5 hours but there is a food place nearby serving authentic German food and a little gift shop that I can use to kill some time. My first plane was delayed leaving New Orleans by nearly 3 hours so I missed my connection to Zurich, which brings me here. The plane rides were great. I sat next to some extremely interesting people. While waiting for my first flight to work out the delay I talked with this older man named Bill. He has family in Prague and he was telling me things I should do when I am in Italy. We talked about his family and college, and we talked a lot about ... read more

Got up and had about 500 more K’s for breakfast and arrived at Colditz—the computer got it fairly wrong and we ended up going down some very narrow roads, but no mirror clipping this time. The Saxony government had taken over the running of the castle and is doing it up - in a ten year plan. The bit of the castle of the castle where the German officers were housed is now a flash youth hostel, and some of it will be an arts centre and some a museum. The guided tour was really interesting. There were a couple of German women there - who spoke English with a beautiful upper crust London accent - who had never heard of the castle, but just happened by. The tourists by and large are English speaking. So ... read more

Blog #1 Monday, May 19-Our trip started at about 1:00pm with a ride from our neighbor, Chris, to the nearby Marta train station. The Marta ride went without a problem and we arrived at the airport about two hours before our scheduled departure. After clearing security, we proceeded to Terminal T to find our brother-in-law, John, waiting for us in the Delta Crown Room. After a brief stay with him it was off to the gate for boarding. We were successful in getting business-class seating, together. We were flying on a “Buddy pass” from Delta which means there must be space available on the plane before you board. The flight departed on time and was smooth. Jackie watched a movie and I read before dinner was served. We had a four course dinner with soup, salad, ... read more

5/19/08 I loved going to the court where the Nazi party leaders were charged! That was really an amazing experience. I want to talk facts about it for a little first. So, if you were the allied forces trying to think where the best place to charge those involved with some of the most heinous war crimes of the 20th century, what would be a place that would probably come to mind first? Most would probably say Berlin or Munich I would think. Nuremberg was chosen for a few reasons. First, they have a prison on the campus that is accessible through a series of tunnels under the court house, with an elevator connecting the tunnels to the court room. This way, prisoners would not be out in open areas. Plus, it is not in a ... read more

So I arrived in Berlin. The first thing to impress me was the fleet of taxis waiting outside the airport - every one was a Mercedes. Sure, they’re made in Germany, but it’s not exactly what you expect. I still like London taxis best though. I reached my hotel and after a small nap I headed out for a quick look around my hotel. It seems the hotel was in the middle of a major shopping district, which has little appeal to me (especially with my already full suitcase!) I was a little surprised by a couple of the places - a Head shop (marijuana paraphernalia) and an Erotic Museum. It was like being in Amsterdam again! But I settled for a delicious dinner of bratwurst on a roll and headed back to my hotel for ... read more