Blogs from Amberg, Bavaria, Germany, Europe

Amberg is a nice little city. We love the old city and the church on the mountain. After breakfast of camembert, bread, yogurt and a leisurely visit over coffee with Dieter and Inge, we were ready to stroll about the old city. I was especially hungry for some German sausages and gluhwein from the Christmas market. Of course, the Christmas markets were canceled this year but food booths are set up for the traditional sausages and wine so we did not need to miss out entirely Unfortunately, we found that the sausages being sold all contained gluten. Alas, I was not to eat the good German food. We found a little restaurant nearby that had outdoor seating with heaters and they made me some fried eggs and potatoes, not really sausage, but it was food. Dieter ... read more

We had planned a trip to Europe 2-years ago, postponed to last December, postponed to this year. The main reason for this trip was to go to Stonehenge for Solstice and be with the Druids. We had paid for a sunrise inside of the stone circle with a private tour guide and then the remainder of the day with all things Stonehenge. That was, of course, postponed until now. In the course of finding concerts to attend while in Europe this winter, we found a concert, Mozart’s Requiem, in Vienna. They would play the music then toll the bells at 5 seconds after midnight, the time when Mozart died. We thought we had to go and bought tickets. The plan was to fly into Frankfurt, visit our friend, Dieter Peperl in Amberg, then go to Gauting ... read more

Dieter and Inge (his girlfriend of 20+ years) wanted to take us to Franconian Swiss, a place they go canoeing in the summer. This area is a valley surrounded by cliffs and forests named Franconia for the region and Swiss because it resembles Switzerland. Because it is spring the flowers are starting to bloom and the trees are green. A river runs thru the area so that one road follows the river for a way. The river runs quite quickly; Dieter said that they once had a canoe accident on a bend and American soldiers who were nearby assisted Inge when she was injured. The Franconian area is hilly and has several small towns, where many of the houses are made with timber framing, something that is stereotypical of a small Swiss chalet. Castles or fortresses ... read more