Rothenburg to Munich

---

I had a little more time to finish looking around in this great little village of Rothenburg. When I first saw it, I immediately thought it looked like a movie set. It's just so hard to believe that a town this old is still intact after so much destruction in Germany's wars. Supposedly, American troops had bombed it during the war, but they missed the center of town. They were later ordered to bomb it again, but there was an American officer who's mother had visited Rothenburg in 1609 and brought back a painting of the old buildings. She told him stories of how much she loved the place, and that painting hung in their dining room during his early life. When word reached him that the town was to be destroyed, he called the right people and canceled it. The war ended a few weeks later, and Rothenburg der Tauber survived.

It sounds like a good movie to me. I wandered around some areas I hadn't been, and did a little shopping. Tourists were beginning to pour in via tour bus. The average age of most of the tourists in town today was probably 75. They all look so American, but they're speaking German! I am continually amazed at how much these people remind me of the older people of my childhood. I know Astoria wasn't a German community, but they sure looked like it! Maybe it was all of the red meat, gravy, and potatoes. I'm catching on to the idea of dragging my suitcase everywhere...that's what taxis are for! So I took a taxi back to the train station to head to Munich. Over this last week, my legs, feet, and arms have developed stamina and strength; it's a good thing, because as I shop my suitcase gets heavier. I lugged up and down train station stairs, and again, I made all of my connections! Simple pleasures. On the second train, there were 3 young Asian girls sitting in front of me. A middle-aged man and woman approached them, flashed a badge in front of them and announced that they were federal agents. They asked to see their passports, and they questioned them about their reason to be there. I thought I was going to witness something exciting, but I guess it was just routine. The man and woman glanced at me and walked on to harass someone else. Apparently, they knew I was a small-town school teacher and couldn't possibly be of interest. The agents were definitely in plain clothes. The guy was kind of heavy and wearing very worn blue jeans. She looked a little better, but definitely like a tourist. Random observation: Germans who are traveling in their own country seem to almost always have a dog with them. They go in stores and even restaurants with them. Last night, there was a big dog under a table in the restaurant, and there were a couple of guys in a banquette next to me. They had a small dog, and it was lying up on the padded bench seat. I like animals, and so it doesn't really freak me out, but the health dept in the U.S. would find a lot of citations over here! I arrived in Munich this evening. I was originally going to stay in a guest house across the city, but this morning I canceled the reservation and booked a modern hotel (read “elevator and key cards”) that is across the street from Munich's large train station. That was a good move, because I'm just using Munich as a homebase for day excursions. My tiny little room reminds me of a cruise ship cabin...it's cozy and perfect.

---