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Germany - May 2001 The Reverend Doctor James Wiberg
[Previously: Click on Countries - Denmark]
(we) left early for the trip across Denmark
to the Ferry which brought us from Gedser, Denmark to Rostock, Germany.
This ferry was only about a two hour trip, but it brought us closer to
Berlin and the Autobahn which took us to Dresden. This ferry
also had railroad tracks to transport trains.
In Dresden there was a big Dixieland Jazz
Festival going on, so it took us three hours to find a Pension (small
private hotels) about 5 miles out of the city which still had a
couple of vacant rooms. It was a recently remodeled Pension
so it was very comfortable. We then headed for the city and
enjoyed the band which was playing on a boat in the Elbe River. We
toured the old town area, walked along the banks of the Elbe and then
headed to the room. After breakfast in the Pension we headed for
Prague, arriving there for Mother's Day,
Munich, Germany - 1999 An American Jeweler Being 54 and Jewish, going to Germany brought some uncomfortable feelings for my wife and me. But, it was a business trip that we thought we had to take. 
We got off the airplane in Munich and heard over the loudspeaker our first German words; an eerie feeling, as TV shows of WWII kept flashing through my mind. As we walked through the airport, policemen carrying weapons further brought history closer to us. German was now, of course, being spoken all around us, as we stood in line to show our passports. I said "Guten morgan" and the attendant looked up, smiled, and said "Good morning, welcome to Germany". After a few more words were exchanged, my wife and I looked at each other with a little more comfortable feeling. He had just set the tone for our German experience. We got in a cab (a very new, clean Mercedes Benz, of course) and headed  into Munich, while having very nice chatter with the cabbie; a well dressed, well groomed man. We pulled up in front of our hotel and a very polite older man greeted us and took our bags inside. The front desk personnel all spoke English well, and we had a very pleasant check- in experience.Up in our room, we both started feeling much more comfortable and at ease. The rooms were spotless, the bathrooms, very modem with gadgetry we have never seen. After a 4 - 5 hour nap (we arrived at 7:30 a.m. after the usual all night flight), we got up, showered, and started exploring Munich. The old architecture was gorgeous; the streets were alive with young Germans; the shops, very sophisticated with an international feel to them; Weiss beer and veiner schnitzel were everywhere! We loved it! There was very little problem with communications, as English is spoken all over, though I always try to speak "their" language. We woke up the next morning, took a cab to the Jewelry Trade-Show and started conducting our business. American trade shows should be ashamed - this so far out classed anything I had ever been to. Sleek, contemporary, minimalistic, and very creative booths impressed us greatly. Most designers had built very cool bars, set up inside with flowers, candy, beer, wine and sodas. And the jewelry overall - fabulous! We are currently dedicating a section of our shop to the sleek German designs and they are being adapted to, very quickly here. Going back to Germany is a high priority next year, as we want to explore more of the country. It's quite amazing how a four day trip to Munich can cure a prior life time of fear. Munich, Germany Post Card from Alisa and Richard Seibert The first two days we
were cranky and tired and bailed out by staying in the We are learning to order in pigeon German but the learning is slow. Today we got sloshed in Munich where we quickly ordered "bitter svine bier". Tomorrow we'll cross into Austria to visit Salzburg. I took a picture of the whole street that includes this house, the window boxes of flowers are beautiful. We may skip Venice to do a tour of the Rhine wine valley on the suggestion of a Canadian couple we met at a cafe in Munchen; should be good! Alvetersein. Love, Alisa and Richard.
Bavaria, in southern Germany is well-known for storybook villages with spectacular mountain vistas. Shown is Watzmann Mountain, not far from Salzburg, Austria.
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But the
lad just winked, and he seemed to say V.
Blitz
THINK GLOBALLY - ACT LOCALLY - PRAY FOR WORLD PEACE
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BOQ of two Army Caserns (Bases). But now we are really roughing it
and staying in a real German place, actually this is a lot nicer and more
comfortable.
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