Berlin is an amazing city. Unlike in Paris, there's no noticeable racial tension. There's a feeling of liveliness that wasn't present in Paris. N.. recognized very little of Berlin from 20 years ago. N.. had visited Berlin shortly after the wall came down and stayed in the former East side. The city had a very different feel today. Many of the drab Stalin architecture buildings are gone, or covered over. The majority of primary tourist attractions are in the former East side, and very easy to visit. Our new hotel was one street (block) East of the old Berlin Wall, very close to the old Checkpoint Charlie. Nothing, except for the Brandenburg Gate and the large TV antenna tower seemed the same. What a transformation! Evan the Reichstag has changed - it now has a giant ... read more

Clusters of windmill farms dot the German countryside. Modern windmills are quite elegant engineering structures and nice to look at. We were served wonderful chocolates on the train. The train was punctual at first but was 45 minutes late on arrival at Berlin Hbf. There were no announcements explaining the reason for the delay. German trains are usually very punctual. You can normally set your watch by them. The train speed is shown on a small screen at the back of the carriage, and it showed the train did over 250 kmh in certain sections to make up time. The main train station in Berlin, the Berlin Hbf is huge and very confusing. ... read more

Burg Rheinfels castle was called the unconquerable castle. In it's glory days it was much bigger and had much more Rhein tax collected, than tourists pay today. 28,000 French troops had laid siege to it for almost a year, and it survived, even if it got a little smaller in the process. W.. loved running around the whole fortress and discovering hidden passages and entrance ways around, into and in between the multiple layers of walls and defenses. We saw the fortress from the point of view of an invader, and realized why it was so difficult to attack. There were narrow passageways with hidden entrances at obscure points where ambush parties could lure strong opponents to kill them. Boiling oil spa anyone? How about torture techniques that makes water boardng positively welcoming? It's all so ... read more

Left the graffiti strewn Paris train station behind enroute to the heart of the Rhein valley. The German ICE or Inter City Express trains don't go quite as fast as the French TGV, but are very punctual, quiet and smooth. They indicate the current speed on a small screen at the back of each rail car. The maximum speed we noticed was around 160 kmh, but it probably went a bit faster on some of the straight bits of track in France before it got to the hilly German Rhein country. ... read more

The UNESCO world heritage site town of Bacharach was technically Germany's capital for a few years when the robber Baron of Bacharach was left in charge of Germany by his brother who was on his way to loot and pillage on another crusade. This is the same Baron who chose to elect an unknown Swiss castle owner to the title of Holy Roman Emperor in the hope of having a weak head of state. Turns out that Swiss Robber Baron was named Hapsburg, and he went on to found one of the strongest and longest running dictatorships Europe has known. Now Bacharach is a small village in the heart of the grape growing Rhein valley with picturesque and quaint castles dotting the countryside. Wine is an important part of the economy, but judging by the United ... read more