Day 19 and then 20 - Homeward Bound

On Wednesday the Gods were not in our favor, we were up and ready to leave for the airport when we both got the dreaded text... "We're sorry to let you know we've canceled flight UA109 from Munich to Washington because of a crew-related scheduling disruption."

Oh Crap, there goes our connection in Dulles.  I spent an hour on the phone with United but there was no way to get home in one day.  We booked a a flight out of Munich airport at about 4PM, it lands in Newark around 7PM. Then we fly out of Newark at about 7AM on Thursday and get to BTV about 8:15AM, it is going to be a fun time...NOT.

We skipped breakfast but tried to burn up our remaining Euros at the Airport getting lunch. I will have about 50 Euros left that are useless at home, banks won't even take them. I will just put them away for the next trip....in a few years. 

We have had great weather the entire trip but when we boarded our flight in Munich it was pouring rain.

We got out of MUC about an hour late and into EWR about 8PM. The flight was  full including a bunch of Jewish men and boys, the ones with black hats and long curls, on some school trip. They were noisy and just would not sit down.  Everyone on the plane got to participate in their prayer session. The flight was uneventful other than we were in row 53, the cheap seats, because we were bumped onto that flight. I wanted to say  something like, I paid for better seats....but I behaved. Being in the back basically sucks, the spaces get smaller and when they run out of food you are screwed. When they got to us it was veggie only and it was pretty bad. First world problem, as Emily would say. 

When we rebooked I asked for a hotel voucher since we were going to overnight in EWR, they would not issue one at that time. When we landed I tried again and got a hotel voucher plus $15 each for something to eat. So we booked the Double Tree at the airport, got through immigration, got our bags and caught a shuttle which got us to the DT about 10PM. Boy, flying is so fun today! 

The DT restaurant closed at 11PM, so we dumped our stuff in the room and managed to get an order of chicken wings for a late dinner before retiring at around 23:30, and set the alarm for 03:30.

We got a shower and 4 hours of sleep which is way better than sleeping in the airport, so we did not complain. 

We caught the 4AM shuttle and did all the airport fun stuff in plenty of time for our flight.  We got breakfast at Starbucks, yeah not so great. Our flight to BTV was on time and uneventful.  Brother Tom was there waiting for us at the Airport, what service! We stopped and got a few groceries and were home by 10AM. 

I snapped this picture from the deck at Hidden Bluff, camp. 

After unloading, I set off for the Marina, June unpacked and did laundry....back to the grind stone for both of us. 

Overall we had a great trip, we packed a lot in to 20 days but had a great experience, especially being able to join our friends for their celebration. 

Day 18 - Back to Munich via Bad Tolz

 On Tuesday we started back in the general direction of Munich but really had no schedule since our flight out was about 12N on Wednesday. Our neighbors, Duane and Sue, lived in Germany in the 80's while Duane was in the Army.  They often speak of how much they liked the town of Bad Tolz which is about 50km south of Munich, so we decided to swing through and check it out. 

We found it to be very charming, the river Isar runs through it and it has the same green hue that we saw in the Berchtesgadener Ache. The water itself is very clear, it has something to do with the rocks on the bottom. 

From the bridge across the Isar you get a nice view of Kalvarienberg church on top of Mount Calvary. 

To the left is a chapel. Leonhardi-Kapple, built after the "Christmas eve of murder" it was a night in 1705, you will have to read about it.

The town market is very nice, we stopped and had our mid morning Kaffe as us tourists do.  

Everything is on a slope but no one seems to notice. :-)

After Kaffe we decided to hike up Mount Calvary to see the church. As you make the climb you come by the sleeping deciples and Christ with an angel, all made by a sculptor from Tolz.  This is just one of several. 

Behind the sculpture are beautiful views of Bad Tolz. 

The walk includes the stations of the cross, it is not a long walk but you could spend a good amount of time along the way. 

There are several small chapels along the way, inside and out they were beautiful. 

The church was not open but it is worth the hike just for the views. 

We hiked back to the village and roamed around a bit. If you get the chance Bad Tolz is worth the stop it is obvious why Duane and Sue have such fond memories of this town. 

We wanted to get lunch at a brewery, also recommended by Sue and Duane, so we set off for Klosterbräustüberl Reutberg in Sachsenkam, only a short drive away. Kloster Reutenberg got its start as a Capuchin monastery in 1618 but became a Franciscan convent in 1651. Like their male counterparts, the Franciscan nuns preferred beer to water and founded a brewery on their grounds in 1677. It has a long history, but we thank King Ludwig I for keeping it alive. 

The gods were still in our favor, the weather was amazing.  We were lucky to get a table on the deck overlooking the Alps and have a nice lunch. More sausage and beer for Fred. I normally don't like sauerkraut but here in Germany it is not as tart and I have been eating lots of it....but it does make me fart!

After a big lunch we made it to our hotel in Freising just north of Munich.  We took another nap, we are getting pretty used to our afternoon siestas, and then took a walk. Juergen recommended a place for dinner which we found, it was a good recommendation. I tried again to get an Octoberfest beer, I guess I will go home without trying one. 

One thing in Germany that is different than the USA is that in Germany, people, cars, trucks, bicycles, etc., all share the same space. You can sit at a table and traffic will pass by with less than a foot of clearance between the vehicle and your table.  It is unsettling at first but you do get used to it. 

We retired to the Hotel and it was still early enough to watch a movie.  When we were at Dachau the guide complained multiple times about how Hollywood misrepresents what happened in the camps during WWII.  I raised my hand and asked if there was a movie that got it right, she said that "The Counterfeiters" was very close.  It is German so we had to watch it with subtitles, but it was a pretty good movie, depressing but a good story.  The fact that it was based upon a true story makes it even better. It not only showed the brutality of the Nazi's but the heroism of some German citizens.  Watch it if you can spare the $3.99 on Amazon Prime. 

Tomorrow we go to the airport and fly out around 12N, all good things must come to an end. 

Day 17 - Eagles nest and Berchtesgaden

Monday we skipped breakfast (sort of, left over pizza) to get an early start driving up to Eagle's Nest, Kehlsteinhaus. It is one of those things we read about as children and we just wanted to see it for ourselves. We all know the story that it was built by the Nazi's for Hitler and his staff, which is all fact but it truly is an architectural marvel. 

The 6.5km road itself is a feat, with shear drop-offs, tunnels and switch backs. I think it is the steepest road in Germany, that is steep. It was built in about 1.5 years with all safety regulations put on pause.  Many workers were injured or lost their lives building it. 

From the ticket area it is a about a 15min bus ride to the entrance. The buses are fully Electric. They run 8 buses all day long, pretty impressive. 

The entrance to the tunnel says ERBAUT 1938, built in 1938. This tunnel is 124 meters long (407 ft) and leads to a 124m vertical elevator that brings you up to the house. The elevator is huge and all polished brass. 

It is said that when the Americans (The 101st Airborne Division "Screaming Eagles") arrived at the end of WWII the tunnel was full of wine. They and the French literally drank Hitler's wine. 

The views are just ridiculous, I doubt we could get any better views of the Alps without actually hiking up them. 

The building that the Nazi's built on top of the ridge was not damaged during the war, it is now a restaurant. 

It is an amazing setting. 

It was never a house, it did not have bedrooms, it was merely a place for the Nazi elites to meet and bring others to impress them. Hitler's summer house was close by in Berchtesgaden but it was destroyed in the 1950s since the there was fear anything of Hitler's left would be used as a shrine. Those that preserved Eagle's nest had to defend not destroying it. It is a pure money maker now. 

We did take the time to have coffee and a snack at the restaurant, it was such a nice day. 

We decided to skip the elevator and tunnel to get back to the bus pickup, we found the trail of switchbacks down the mountain. It was only about a 20 min walk with spectacular views all the way.  

We rode our prescribed bus at the prescribed time on our ticket. The Germans are very organized and you better be on your assigned bus at the assigned time.  

When we arrived the place was pretty empty, when we left it was  jammed with cars, buses and tourists. We made the right call getting there early. We were especially amused by this tour bus. 

At the parking lot we wanted to view the museum but it was closed so set off for the little town of Berchtesgaden to check it out. 

It was only 5km to Berchtesgaden, what a nice little village. 

We had a refreshment in one of the open area cafés. Yes it was past noon. 

On the drive back we went along Berchtesgadener Ache (river) that was so green I had to take a picture. Other than the rocks are light under the water,  could not tell why it was green, the picture doesn't show it like the human eye. 

We returned to our hotel and were quite lazy.  We took an afternoon nap and then went for a short walk that ended in Beers on the lawn looking at the lake. 

We had dinner at the hotel and retired to our room and watched a movie, Downfall. It is a German movie about Hitler's last days, we watched it with subtitles. It is not uplifting but is noted for the best account of what transpired in the closing weeks of the war.

It was a bit more of a relaxed day, we are winding down our vacation. We will make our way back to Munich tomorrow and fly out about midday on Wednesday. 

Day 16 - Moving onto Lake Chiemsee

Sunday we had a good breakfast at the hotel and headed for Bavaria's largest lake, Chiemsee.  The drive was an uneventful 4 hours, we hit some traffic but in general we moved right along. 

We booked a few nights in the Aiterbach Hotel.

It has beautiful grounds with access to the lake.  

We will not likely use the lake but it is nice and close. 

We took a short walk and then drove into Rhimsting to see if we could get dinner. We found a pizza place, ordered takeout and took it back to the hotel, it worked perfectly. We stopped at the store and got other supplies (drinks) and had a nice evening on the deck pretty much by ourselves. So we had our drinks and I even got to enjoy a cigar, check that box, a cigar in Germany.

Tomorrow we plan to leave early for Eagle's Nest, probably pizza for breakfast. It is a just over an hour drive. 

Day 15 - A 150 celebration, 60 years of life x2 and 30 years of marriage...

 We started the day slow, a bunch of us met at the local lake for the same walk we did the day before, it was another picture perfect day. Yesterday we walked around the lake, today we strolled. There was a lot of conversation and goofing off. 

It really is a beautiful walk. We walk right through the vineyards, if you look closely at this picture you will see a lady in pink riding her bike through the vineyard....very nice. 

This is Juergen sampling the grapes, I sampled them also, they were quite sweet. 

They are definitely ready to harvest. 

Friends followed us around the lake on their paddle boards with their dog.  They are camping on the lake, very convenient to the celebration. This is Monica and her very well behaved dog. 

We even stopped to swim, unfortunately we did not bring suits...it was a perfect day, June waded. 

I watched the crazy kids on this strange water pump bike. It is called a Hydrofoil Water Scooter, it looks like fun but seems like it would be exhausting.  You have to pump it continuously or you will sink. 

You can buy one here: https://www.hammacher.com/product/hydrofoil-water-scooter.

After swimming we went to the hotel to freshen up before the main celebration starts. 

We met again at about 2PM for the wagon ride through the vineyards. What a great time we all had.  We don't speak the language but we still had a great time, the Germans know how to party. 

We boarded the Lowen Express, a wagon pulled by a massive tractor, to get a tour of the vineyards.  

There is some serious skill required to pour wine in a moving wagon but they were pros for sure. 

I kept thinking we need to build one of these for our Marina...take it up to Edgemont and back, it would be a hoot. 

The views were awesome, we could see the lake we walked around the last two mornings. 

The ride took us right through the working vineyards.

At one point we stopped to inspect the grapes, the owner explained that they have been hit with unexpected warm weather and the grapes are ripening too fast and turning into raisons...they are in a hurry now to harvest. 

The grapes are definitely ready.

The tractor took us up hills so steep we had to hang onto our bowls of food or they would slide down to the other people, we could not have that! 

It is an impressive tractor. 

It was a fun time, when we returned we had time to get back to the hotel and freshen up for the next round of celebration....

We arrived at the celebration around 17:30, the setting is just spectacular.  

Juergen and Sabine know how to throw a party. They have many friends that despite the language barrier made us feel welcome, it was a fun time. They all know how to speak English!

I think it is obvious who the honored couple was!

It was a fun time, we left the party around 22:30 but the celebration went on into the next day, the German contingent.... 

We will be eternally grateful for being included. Congratulations to the Hilsbergs. 

Day 14 - Heilbronn

Friday morning June and I strolled the hotel property a bit before Juergen, Sabine and Marlis met us to take a walk around the local lake, Breitenauer See.  

The plan for the day was to take a quick walk for exercise and then head downtown to see Heilbronn and meet a bunch of other 'out of towners' for a guided tour of the city. 

At the hotel, a tractor appeared with a flail mower and began mowing around the trees.  It is clearly old but ran like a champ. It is good to see the Germans like their old tractors. 

It is a Schuler, they still are in business today. 

Breitenauer See is a man made lake.  Sabine said it was drained for 2 years to irradicate invasive species. I wish we could do that with Lake Champlain, but it is a bit large for that. It was a nice walk of about 4.3km (2.7mi). 

After our walk we took two cars into downtown Heilbronn. It is only about 30mins. Juergen ran some errands and the girls, June, Sabine, Marlis and I went to downtown for a walk around. It was another beautiful day and the city was active but not too crowded. 

We had Currywurst for lunch, I think it was even better than what we had in Berlin. Of course we then had to have coffee before our tour. Juergen met us for coffee. 

We met our guide and the other out of towners in front of the Town Hall. There is no way we will be able to remember, much less pronounce, the names of Juergen and Sabine's friends but despite the language barrier we enjoyed their company. It is a bit humiliating being the only couple that did not speak German or at least one additional language..but we are the dumb Americans. 

The Heilbronn Town Hall facade has a 16th-century astronomical clock that has been running for over 500 years. It is an impressive piece of engineering. 

We enjoyed the tour and the guide did much of it in both German and English, so we did not miss it all. Heilbronn was completely destroyed during WWII. When they built it back they did not build it as it was, they did restore the historically significant buildings, but the rest of the city was planned for the future, wider streets etc. 

We ended our tour of Heilbronn on top of the tower overlooking the city, sipping local wine.  It could be worse. 

After our tour we passed through the center of town where they are holding their annual wine festival from the 7th to the 17th of September, yes...we nailed it. This is German wine country and all the local Wineries setup booths with their wine. We did sample a few. 

We eventually moved onto dinner at Heilbronn Brauart.  It was an interesting place, it is a non functional brewery, but that does not seem to dampen their business. We had a great meal.

We made as stop at a bridge on the way back to fetch our vehicles. Sabine and Juergen placed a locket on Goetzenturm-Bruecke bridge, the Heilbronn love bridge. 

A very nice way to commemorate their 30th anniversary. 

It was a full fun day, we retired to our hotel looking forward to the celebration tomorrow.

Day 13 - Headed to Heilbronn Area

 Thursday we are shifting gears, we are moving into visiting mode. We have been touring Germany, but we will spend the next three days visiting with our friends and moving at a slower pace. 

Arrived at our hotel around 1PM and were able to check in early.  When we walked into the lobby of the hotel they had a motorcycle on display and everyone knows I have a weakness for two wheeled vehicles. It is a 1912 NSU. 

We were hungry, so we headed towards Neckarrsulm where the NSU museum happens to be located, NSU is short for Neckarsulm.

Our hotel is in the country and our room has a balcony with a nice view.

It was a short 20min drive to Neckarsulm and of course we found a brewery for lunch, Neckarsulmer Brauhaus.  I ordered a Tarte Flambee or Flammekueche. It is kind of like a pizza only it has a sour cream sauce, ham or bacon and onions. Of course I ordered mine without Zwiebeln, the waiter looked at me like I was nuts..  It was very good and June helped me eat it. 

After lunch we set out to find the NSU museum. To be honest I have never heard of NSU.  The short version of the Story is that they manufactured bikes, motorcycles and Autos since the late 1800s. They were acquired by VW in 1969, merged with Auto Union and eventually became part of Audi. 

We found the museum, it was 12 Euro for the both of us (Senior discount), and the lady was very excited that we came from the USA and stopped at her museum. She asked if she could take our picture. When I got back to the hotel, I looked on their FB page and there we were.. :-). 

They have a movie hall where they show a movie and you can sit on one of the antique bikes while you watch it...pretty cool. 

The museum is much larger than I thought it would be. They have 5 floors of bicycles, motorcycles, cars,  scooter etc.  They even have a few other brands sprinkled in like the Peter Fonda's Easy Rider (replica). 

They even mad tracked vehicles in WWII.

The name NSU no longer lives on but the Manufacturing of Audi vehicles still utilizes their factory space in Neckarsulm and after touring the museum we took a short walk to the Audi Forum where hard core Audi fans can see models from the past and future.  

You can even pickup your new Audi there. We browsed but did not buy.  June really like this one.  

We met Juergen, Sabine and a friend, Marlis at the hotel and drove about 5 mins to a local restaurant (Gasthaus Rößle-I think) for dinner.  Of course Juergen knew the owner. We had a very nice meal while we caught up on each other's lives.  

We will get together again in the morning for a bit of a stroll and then a tour of Heilbronn.