Invitation to Germany 1 of 7
Introduction
A vacation trip to Germany can be a trip through many different settings, representing many periods of history. Scenery, architecture, and the ambiance of the towns and villages, all change from one section of the country to another — seacoast and lowlands on the north, rolling hills in the center, to the majestic Alps in the south. Germany’s highest mountain, The Zugspitze, right on the Austrian border, is nearly 10,000 feet high.
Many of the great rivers of Europe flow through Germany, and combined with a network of canals they provide waterway channels for movement of ships, barges, and tourists from one part of the country to the other. The Donau (Danube), Elbe, Main, Mosel, Neckar, Oder, Rhein, Ruhr, Saar, and the Weser Rivers, among others, each play an important role in the commerce of the country. They also provide the tourist with points of interest, beautiful scenery, and a spectacular mode of travel.
We have explored Germany extensively on each of our nine trips to Europe. Germany shares borders with nine other countries, (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and Poland) and we have crossed those borders more than a hundred times.
Over three hundred nights have been spent at the homes of 10 different families (most, but not all, were Emmy’s cousins), and 115 nights have been spent in 78 other cities, towns and villages. During those more than 400 days and nights, we have parked and walked through hundreds of towns, and have driven through hundreds more, but each time we read another magazine article, or see a travel book or brochure, we find it inviting to note there are remarkable places we have yet to investigate.
As in other countries of Europe, the German people and the natural scenery will provide the tourist with fascinating days and nights. The cities, towns, and villages provide such diverse architectural styles the traveler can never tire of seeing “just one more.”
Our first several visits to Europe included two trips on the Autobahn (freeway) across what was then East Germany, to visit both East and West Berlin. One year we drove on the East German Autobahn from Poland, past Berlin, to West Germany, with only a stop for gasoline. Since the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, during two trips we have driven about 3,000 miles, and spent nearly a month in former East Germany, gathering information about the cities and the countryside, but of more interest, talking to people who had been under a very repressive government for all of their lives, or at least for the past 50 to 60 years of their lives.
Over the centuries wars have been fought time and again across much of Germany. Some cities, such as Worms, have suffered devastation in several wars. Others, for example Hameln and Bamberg, are said to have suffered little damage in any war. Nürnberg was flattened by the bombing in WW II, then beautifully rebuilt in its original medieval style. Its reconstruction has resulted in one of the most interesting cities in Europe.
Berlin was nearly destroyed during WW II, then rebuilt with little consideration to how it must have looked previously. Perhaps that doesn’t provide as much in the way of architectural attractions for the tourist, but it appears to be a pleasant place to live now that the Berlin Wall no longer separates East from West.
Former East Germany is filled with a thousand monotonous examples of “Modern Socialist” architecture: 12- to 20-story very plain, architecturally uninteresting office and apartment buildings. While it isn’t practical to tear down those buildings to build something nicer, in Berlin, for example, architects are working to combine redesign and renovation, so these buildings can be a “credit” to Berlin, which has again become the Capital city of Germany.
Look at a map, or a directory of German towns, and notice that more than one place-name is spelled the same, or nearly the same. The name of a river, an area, or the name of a nearby larger city is often used as a prefix or suffix so they can be distinguished one from the other. Hundreds of years ago people in one part of Europe didn’t know, or even care, what name others used for their hometown. Over the last thousand years, boundaries have changed and towns that once were in separate countries, now find themselves in the same country with towns with the same, or similar name.
For example, Freiburg im Breisgau is near the Rhein just 40 miles north of Switzerland; Freiburg (Elbe) is about 30 miles north of Hamburg on the Elbe River; Freiberg am Necker is between Stuttgart and Heilbronn on the Necker River; and just plain Freiberg is on the other side of the country, about 25 miles southwest of Dresden.
One Frankfurt is on the Main River in the middle of the country, the other is on the Oder River east of Berlin, at the border with Poland. With the establishment of East and West Germany after WW II, Frankfurt am Main (Frankfurt at the Main River) and Frankfurt-an-der-Oder (Frankfurt on the Oder River) found themselves in separate countries. Now that Germany has been reunited, the word Main and Oder, or at least M and O, are needed to distinguish between the Frankfurts.
In the United States the name confusion is kept to a minimum since, for example, the 16 (or more) towns named Springfield and the at least 22 named Washington are sprinkled among the various states. In the US we also have one or more towns named Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Heidelberg, Ulm, and Stuttgart, familiar names of major German cities.
A word about place names as used in this book: Names of some cities and towns are spelled one way in German, another in English. Two prominent examples are Köln = Cologne and München = Munich. We intend to use the spelling found on road maps likely to be found while traveling in Germany. Come to think of it, the word “German” is not in the German language either. They use the word Deutsch (German) or Deutschland (Germany), and the French say Allemagne, the Yugoslavians say Njemica, the Italians say Germania, the Spanish say Alemania, and on and on.
A tourist who is able to travel throughout the US in a car or an RV, or by bus or train, will be able to travel around Germany just as easily. Restaurants, hotels, points of interest and the route to the next destination are just as easy to find. The ability to communicate in German would be helpful, but with hand signals and a good German/English dictionary, the tourist will be able to find his way from place to place, and enjoy a thrilling vacation.
This book is not concerned with hotels and restaurants, neither is it about camping, although we have almost always traveled in a small Recreation Vehicle.
What will be discussed are the towns, the villages, the scenic points, and the people who added enjoyment and information to our travels. We’ll present travel anecdotes and recount events that occurred during our journeys. We’ll offer our observations of what makes travel in Germany so memorable to us. This is your special
“Invitation to Germany.”
RULES FOR TRAVEL IN GERMANY
To help you understand the rules followed by the citizens of Germany, you might consider the following:
In the US, everything is permitted,
except what is forbidden.
In FRANCE, everything is permitted,
even what is forbidden.
In ITALY, everything is permitted,
nothing is forbidden.
In GERMANY, everything is forbidden,
except what is permitted.
OUR TRAVEL PHILOSOPHY
WE ARE NOT CAMPERS, WE TRAVEL IN A
RECREATION VEHICLE BECAUSE —
Our clothes are on hangers.
There are goodies in the refrigerator.
We know who used the toilet last.
WE TRAVEL WITH THE IDEA THAT —
If we have no schedule, we aren’t late.
If we don’t care where we are, we aren’t lost.
If we have no itinerary we’re exactly where we ought to be.
If we can’t see IT this trip, we’ll see IT next time.
WHEN WE TRAVEL —
It’s amazing how many stupid, ignorant, inefficient people we meet when we are in a bad mood.
Chapter 1
Frankfurt Area
(Frankfurt to Bad Kreuznach)
%FRANKFURT
Each year millions of tourists from all over the world arrive in Europe at the Rhein-Main Airport (named for the two nearby rivers) just west of Frankfurt, Germany. Most of them rent a car, board another plane, a train, or a bus, or join a tour group and leave the area immediately, not returning to Frankfurt until they are scheduled to board a plane for their return home.
Remember the movie, “If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium”? How about the cartoon that shows a lady leaning to the adjacent table in an expensive restaurant, “Settle an argument for us, is this the London Hilton, or the Paris Hilton?” For the tourist who is tired of traveling many hundreds, or perhaps thousands of miles across Europe during a two- or three-week trip, try a vacation near the point of entry in Europe — in whatever country that happens to be.
Take a good look at a map and a tourist guidebook of Germany, and see that a fascinating vacation can be enjoyed within fifty to seventy-five miles of this airport. Select a hotel or a Zimmer Frei (Room Available, or Bed & Breakfast) for a few days at a time, then take day-trips to other nearby places of interest. Farmlands, vineyards, mountain scenery, beautiful river views, hundreds of architecturally charming towns and villages; we don’t tire of visiting this part of the world as we tour from town to town.
These first three chapters describe a portion of Germany within 75 miles or so of the airport at Frankfurt.
FRANKFURT RHEIN - MAIN AIRPORT
While not a tourist sight in the general sense, this airport plays a part in many vacations to Europe. We have flown in and out of this airport many times, and have watched it grow and expand over the years.
In 1970 arrangements had been made for our new Volkswagen camper-van to be delivered when we arrived at the airport, but due to a major problem with the airplane, our flight was 24 hours late. As we tried to find our luggage, we heard our name (after a fashion) being paged over the airport speaker system, then saw a young lady with a handful of papers. She “guessed” we were the people who were to pick up the VW, so shoved the papers toward us and disappeared. We signed nothing, she asked no questions, she assumed we were the right people. Along with the vehicle papers we found a set of keys and a parking receipt, so after a few minutes search we were ready to travel.
This vehicle provided a month of sleeping and eating for four people, 4,500 miles of travel through ten countries, including sojourns in London, Paris, Rome and Berlin. At the end of the trip we shipped it home, and sold it a few days after it arrived.
While we were in Europe during the 1970 trip, a couple of airplanes were hijacked to a Mid-Eastern desert, and blown up. A few days later, when we arrived at the airport for our flight home, we were introduced to our first taste of airport security.
No one had yet invented metal-detectors and baggage X-ray equipment, but furniture had been arranged in such a manner that passengers were directed into small groups. Men and women were sent into separate rooms to be thoroughly, physically frisked. Our luggage was placed on the tarmac near the airplane, then we had to identify it and place it in containers. We were herded directly on the plane to make sure that if we had packed a bomb, we had to ride the plane.
During a return several years ago, we had one suitcase too many. We spotted a man carrying only one bag, and asked him to check ours under his ticket. He was glad to help, but that’s not something that would happen these days. No one would want to have their ticket associated with an unknown piece of luggage.
A couple of times in the past 30 years airport security was very good, but usually it was — at best — casual. We flew Pan American Airways from Frankfurt to Los Angeles just a couple of weeks before the terrible Lockerbie disaster. At that time Jim was carrying a lap-top computer that could, of course, turn itself off and on at any preset time, which means it could have been used to detonate a bomb anytime during the flight. We had telephoned a few days earlier and were told to put the computer in one bag, and the battery in another. At the Airport Jim identified himself and mentioned the computer, but no one cared as we checked our luggage and boarded the plane.
Hundreds of different airlines, from a myriad of countries, make use of this airport. New terminals have been built, and a small train is used to shuttle passengers from one place to another. There are two or three McDonald’s restaurants, and dozens of other places to eat or shop, but our wish is for someone to solve the rental car delays and inefficiencies — our biggest problem each year. On our last trip, in addition to a long, long wait, it cost about $10 just to rent a car at the airport. Not a parking fee, not a tax, not a rental fee. Ten dollars in addition to all of those other charges, just because they could.
CLEARING CUSTOMS, IMMIGRATION
Upon arrival at this airport the tourist must pass through the German version of immigration. Years ago they would inspect and stamp the passport, but on recent trips a glance at our passport covers sufficed. We arrive and leave Europe with the maximum amount of luggage, but the Zoll (Customs) officers have yet to inspect anything, coming or going. When we leave for home these days, we pass through the metal-detectors, they glance at the passport, but there are no other formalities.
Over the years, on our return home we have cleared US Customs in Baltimore, Bangor, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles (3 times), and Toronto. Contrary to what many people might think, going through US Customs and Immigration is often the most difficult and time-consuming bureaucratic process at any border. A couple of times, while crossing borders of former “Iron Curtain” countries in Eastern Europe, we were delayed for up to three hours, but that was more for purposes of aggravation.
While we have watched others undergo detailed luggage inspection at US Customs, we have had no problems at all. Perhaps it pays to look innocent, or maybe we look too dim-witted to be dangerous.
BERLIN AIRLIFT MEMORIAL
From June 26, 1948, to May 12, 1949, the Soviets and the East Germans closed all rail and road traffic between West Germany and West Berlin. The Allies decided that some way, short of war, must be found to supply at least a portion of the daily needs of Berlin’s citizens. During those 320 days, 689 airplanes flew 124 million miles, delivering 2.3 million tons of food, coal, and equipment to the beleaguered people of West Berlin. Those 276,926 flights included 18 flight crashes, with the loss of 79 lives. A lasting impression of that heroic epoch is the handkerchief parachutes that US pilots used to drop candy to Berlin’s children. With the Berliner’s unique sense of humor, they said, “If there must be a blockade it’s better to be blockaded by the Soviets and fed by the Americans. Imagine the other way around!”
The Rhein-Main airport was the main terminal where airplanes were loaded with food and supplies for Berlin. As a memorial to that Airlift, along the Autobahn (Freeway) at this airport, and at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, there stands the two segments of the memorial entitled the “Airbridge.” Next to the Frankfurt exhibit, a DC-3 airplane, the mainstay of the Airlift, is on permanent display.
%FRANKFURT AM MAIN
Frankfurt am Main (Frankfurt at the Main River) has been a money and banking center since the mint was founded here in the 1500s. These days, along with its position as a financial center, the machine tool, electrical apparatus, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries all contribute to the prosperity of the Frankfurt area, and are very visible in the skyscraper skyline of the city. The locals say this is “Mainhattan,” Main for the River, “hattan,” a reference to Manhattan skyscrapers. Several commercial fairs are held each year; perhaps the most famous being the Frankfurt Book Fair.
The Main River (pronounced “Mine” as in gold mine) flows through the center of the city. Nearby is the Römerberg Square, with the gable-shaped façade of the Zum Römer Haus, constructed in the early 1400s. The Gothic Dom, or cathedral, is built on foundations dating from 852 and was enlarged during the 1200s and 1300s. Next to the cathedral are excavations of buildings from Roman times. The forty-tone carillon can be heard three times a day from the St. Nikolai Church, built in the early 1200s.
Frankfurt’s architectural devastation left only 8,683 of an estimated 44,559 buildings standing by the end of WW II. The area around the Römerberg Square and the Cathedral, and Goethe’s House (and the Goethe Museum next door) a couple of blocks west of there, were beautifully reconstructed. Römerberg Square is the location of many fairs and celebrations during the year. Perhaps the most picturesque is the “Christkindlesmarkt,” held in December. We visited this market one year, and were amazed at block after block of small temporary buildings overflowing with food, gifts, and a myriad of Christmas decorations.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), the poet and author, was born in Frankfurt, and is perhaps its most famous “favorite son.” He studied law at the University of Leipzig for three years, and his experiences in nearby Wetzlar resulted in one of his most famous novels, The “Sorrows of Young Werther.” Perhaps his best-known work is “Faust,” that became the score of Charles Gounod’s opera of that name. In 1832 Goethe died and was buried at Weimar, near Leipzig.
An der Hauptwache, a replica of a baroque town sentry’s guardroom, is at the heart of the city, and is a “meeting place” on two levels, above and below ground. The underground shopping center includes conveniences such as restaurants, beauty salons, telephones, restrooms, tourist information, and S-Bahn (streetcar) and U-Bahn (subway) stations. As an example of humor in construction, the U-Bahn station Brockenheimer Warte (next to the University Library), the third U-Bahn station from The Hauptwache, consists of an old-fashioned streetcar that appears to be just bursting from the underground tube, surrounded by “broken” concrete slabs.
“Zeil,” the pedestrian shopping area and Frankfurt’s number one shopping street, is just east of An der Hauptwache. Large department stores, specialty shops, and block after block of stores and food markets of all kinds, are located along these pedestrian streets. One time we were here, streets were torn up and construction was underway. While we can’t say exactly what the result has been, it appeared they were constructing more pedestrian shopping streets; that is, people and stores only, no vehicles allowed.
The Stock Exchange and the opera are nearby, and a particularly attractive area, Grosse Brockenheimer Strasse, is known as “Fressgass” (gorge-street) because of all the good restaurants, wine shops, and delicatessens located here. Many book stores are near Goetheplatz. Visit Braubachstrasse (near the Römer) for engravings, antiques, and old books. Alt-Sachsenhausen offers more antiques, art galleries and the famous Saturday Flea Market.
One year at this market Jim bought a cane for his collection, but then a few weeks later accidentally left it in a bank in Split, Yugoslavia. Another year we found an attractive copper pot that now serves as a planter, and we also bought a short-wave radio that still provides hours of news and entertainment.
%HEUSENSTAMM
Emmy’s Cousin Klaus and his wife Helga live in Heusenstamm, a few miles southeast of Frankfurt. Many times our first familiar sight in Europe is the lovely Helga, who usually plays hooky from her office and comes to meet our plane. Klaus and Helga not only provide a bed to help us overcome jet-lag upon arrival in Europe, they provide a place for us to stay our last night, so there is just a short parade to the airport for our flight home.
One year we decided to spend our first night in Europe at the Sheraton Hotel, in the Frankfurt Airport. We hoped that jet-lag would disappear over night, if we did nothing but rest. Well, we were wrong, and since then have always accepted the invitation to Heusenstamm. This is not a one-way street, Klaus and Helga have visited in our home in California, including twice making themselves at home while we were out of town. In addition to visits to Chicago, Los Angeles, and other cities, they have especially enjoyed the desert in the western part of our country.
One thing we enjoy is Klaus’ model train display. In a room in the basement of their apartment building, the large layout is complete with many scale models of real buildings in Germany, such as the Hauptbahnhof, the chief railroad station in Bonn. A realistic exhibit.
%WIESBADEN
A few miles west of the Frankfurt Airport, Wiesbaden and Mainz sit astride the Rhein just past its junction with the Main River. The twenty-seven hot springs (117° to 150°) in the spa hotels and in the public baths of Wiesbaden, are highly advertised for the treatment of rheumatism and other ailments. When the Roman Empire was at its peak, the Romans seemed to spend a lot of time enjoying thermal springs — we have visited Roman baths in Italy, France, England, and other parts of Germany.
Not far from Wiesbaden’s mid-town market area is the Kurpark (Spa Park) where there are some 100-year-old trees, a gambling casino, concert and exhibition halls, a theater, and an international meeting place called the Kurhaus (Spa House). This is all found in what is called the Kurviertel (Spa Quarter).
A friend who has a world-record-size collection of gambling chips from casinos all over the world, asked us to get chips for him in Wiesbaden, and at other casinos we might discover during one trip. At mid-morning we arrived downtown during a slight rain, long before the casino opened at 1:00 PM. We spent time shopping in the street market and looking through the stores and enjoying the city.
Casinos in Europe are more formal than in Las Vegas or Reno; ties and jackets are required at all times. Jim didn’t want to gamble; he didn’t want to get all dressed up for just the few minutes required to buy the chips; and he couldn’t find his one and only tie in the first place. He talked to the doorman who was kind enough to get a handful of chips for our friend.
The doorman probably wondered why anyone would buy chips and not gamble — for them it was pure profit. Well, come to think of it, had Jim gambled, they would have gotten the chips back too.
%MAINZ
The cathedral in Mainz is a huge Romanesque edifice, in many ways similar to the ones in nearby Speyer and Worms. The multiple massive towers, thick walls and small windows are an amazing contrast to the lacy towers, huge stained-glass windows, and walls supported by flying buttresses, found in the Gothic cathedrals designed and built in later years.
Mainz’s most famous “favorite son,” Johann Gensfleisch Gutenberg, the inventor of printing with movable type, was born here in 1400 and died in 1468. The Gutenberg Museum is open to the public with a reconstructed printing press and a 1284 page Gutenberg Bible (with forty-two lines to the page), available for viewing. The Bible is the first substantial book known to have been printed with movable type, and 185 copies were printed between 1450 and 1455.
Thirty-six of the copies printed on paper are known to exist, and there are twelve other copies printed on vellum (calfskin especially prepared for writing or printing). Only twenty-one are complete volumes, and a copy of Volume I (Genesis to Psalms) sold for $5,000,000. One Gutenberg Bible is at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California.
%BAD KREUZNACH
A few miles southwest of Mainz, nine miles from the Rhein, the city of Bad Kreuznach spans the Nahe River. Several years ago, on the island just below the Alte Nahebrücke (Old Bridge over the Nahe), we visited an unusual church structure, then in the process of renovation. Craftsmen were installing wood paneling and trim, and the interior was beautifully painted. It appeared to be two churches in one long building; perhaps Catholic at one end, and Protestant at the other.
The door was locked the next time we were in town, so we couldn’t see the result of all that effort. Since we had just arrived in Germany and were still under the spell of jet-lag, we didn’t spend time trying to find someone to unlock the door. As we often say, “The next time we are in _____, we must be sure to ______ .”
There are three little teetering, sturdy stone buildings constructed on the piles of the Alte Nahebrücke. They are large enough for only one or two rooms per floor, and since each floor is larger than the one below, these captivating ancient buildings appear to defy the law of gravity. That is difficult to describe, but imagine the bridge piles (the foundations, or towers that hold up the bridge) holding little three story buildings perched at bridge level, hanging out over the river.
We can remember others built in a similar manner on the bridge over a stream in Esslingen, south of Stuttgart, and a charming tiny chapel on the bridge over the Nagold River in Calw, east of Baden-Baden.
In the German language “Bad” means “Bath,” and the name of many towns promote their hot springs and mineral waters as the remedy for certain medical complications. Cures are advertised for all kinds of ailments (claims that would not be allowed in the US) and the German government’s health insurance will pay for a patient’s doctor-prescribed visit to a Kurhaus.
Since millions of people have spent a lot of time and money visiting baths for the last couple of thousand years, it must do some good for the person spending the money, in addition to benefiting the people who collect it. It’s certainly not difficult to find one of the 250 registered Spas and Health resorts in West Germany.
Bad Kreuznach’s tourist brochures show pictures of people sitting in tubs of water, others coated with mud, some exercising in large pools, and still others relaxing on chaise lounges lined up inside a tunnel. The brochure says something like “The oldest radiation (Radon) bath tunnel in the world.” In the US, Radon gas is considered a health hazard.
Chapter 2
Near Frankfurt
(Idar-Oberstein to Heidelberg)
%IDAR - OBERSTEIN
About forty miles west of Frankfurt, on the Nahe River, is the unusual town of Idar-Oberstein. The area is known for cutting and polishing precious stones, and the manufacture of costume jewelry. The Heimatmuseum and the Deutsches Edelsteinmuseum both have extensive displays of minerals and precious stones.
Idar-Oberstein is located in a deep, narrow valley cut through layers of volcanic rock by the Nahe River. The heavy traffic on the narrow main street created unbelievable traffic jams, with the resultant noise and pollution threatening to bring local commerce (including tourist visits) to a complete halt. Major construction was underway in the middle of town during one visit, and that demanded we see the completed project on our next trip to Germany.
Since there was no room to widen the street, or to add another, they built a bridge, not across but length-wise covering the river as it goes through town. This was a drastic solution, but if properly done the improvement in traffic flow and the reduction of automobile-generated pollution, would compensate for the loss of the river view for a few blocks in the center of town.
Well, today Idar-Oberstein is a much more pleasant place to visit. Perhaps they could have been a little more careful with the river view, mostly obscured by the bridge, but they can’t do everything to suit the tourist.
The 1400s Protestant Felsenkirche (Rock-Church) is built right into the face of the cliff 214 steps and 165 feet above the Oberstein Marktplatz, and just below the Old Castle of the Earl of Oberstein that’s perched on the very top of the hill. Legend says Wyrich pushed his brother Emich out of a castle window, then built the chapel on the ledge where his brother’s body had landed. They had — what else! — fought over a beautiful lady named Bertha.
%WORMS
The country-side around Worms (pronounced “Vorms”) is rolling hills and attractive farmland, and the shopping areas — both the pedestrian shopping streets and the outdoor marketplace — are pleasant places to browse. One year Emmy and Cousin Toni had a taco for lunch at the local Wendy’s restaurant. We didn’t say everything in Worms was centuries old.
The Reformation began in Germany on October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther posted 95 theses on the Wittenberg church door. At the Diet of Worms in April 1521, Martin Luther refused to recant his theses and concluded his defense with the statement, “Here I stand, I can do no other.” Near the city center, the Luther Monument is a set of twelve larger-than-life-size statues of Martin Luther and other religious figures involved with the Reformation. All are beautifully coated with the green patina of aged copper.
Nearby, a cathedral and palace were built (in about 500 to 600 AD) where the present cathedral now stands. Parts of the foundations of the earlier church still exist, but the present church was built, starting in about the year 1000. The Worms Cathedral is, as are those in Mainz and Speyer, designed and built in the Romanesque style. Jim finds each cathedral extremely fascinating and looks forward to visiting the next several dozen, but Emmy thinks that after she has seen a hundred or so, she has seen enough for a few days, or even a few months. Our Travel Journal contains the names of about 200 cathedrals and large churches we’ve visited in Europe, and Jim can relate something about many of them.
When visiting these exquisite old buildings we highly recommend the purchase of one of the guidebooks — they contain so much useful information. Usually guidebooks and picture postcards are available in the cathedral’s bookstore.
For example, in the back of the guide for the Worms Cathedral, there are four pages of dates and information, starting with the Roman market that already stood at this spot in the year 100. Churches were built, burned, and collapsed several times; major donations were accepted; a Pope was elected; bishops were buried; the church was robbed and looted; it was used as a warehouse; windows, organs and bells were installed; it was bombed (February 21, 1945); and the latest renovation, started in 1961, took six years to complete.
Sounds like a lot of activity, but then nearly 2000 is a lot of years.
The famous King Charles (Charlemagne) visited Worms more than twenty times, and his marriage to Queen Fastrada was celebrated here. The Judenfriedhof (Jewish Cemetery) is the oldest in Europe, with 2000 headstones dating from 1076. During the Thirty-Years War (1618-1648), the six kilometer (3.75 miles) outer wall and fortification was destroyed, and in 1689 French troops destroyed the city and the surrounding countryside. Worms lost its impressive silhouette when the steeples of twenty-five churches and monasteries were toppled.
%MANNHEIM
Just a few miles south, Mannheim is an attractive city called Quadratstadt (Squared Town), with the downtown laid out (unusual for an European city) as a checkerboard of 144 blocks. Each block is identified by a number and letter to designate an exact location. Mannheim has a National Theater with an opera-house and playhouse, churches, a Baroque Palace, shopping streets, and lots of park land. In Friedrichplatz, there is the unusual Wasserturm (Water Tower) with ornamental fountains, and a nearby conference and convention center.
Mannheim sits between Die Bergstrasse (The Mountain Road) on the east and Die Weinstrasse (The Wine Road) on the west. Woods and hills, castles and cathedrals, vineyards and river-meadows, all easily accessible on Germany’s excellent road system. Mannheim is also a port-of-call for the tourist boats on the Rhein and the Neckar Rivers, which join in Mannheim. Die Burgenstrasse (The Castle Road) celebrates a string of more than thirty fortified castles and palaces from Mannheim east to Nürnberg, a distance of about 200 miles. (In German, Berg means mountain, Burg means castle)
The local US Army Base, called Benjamin Franklin Village, is located on the northeast side of Mannheim, near the Autobahn (freeway) from Darmstadt and Frankfurt. A Holiday Inn and a couple of shopping centers with department stores are nearby.
One year, in the PX parking lot at Benjamin Franklin Village, we found a Dodge camper van with a “For Sale” sign in the window, and bought it from a Colonel in the US Army. This RV provided nine months of living, many nights of sleeping, and nearly 28,000 miles of driving through twenty-four countries before we sold it a year and a half later, at the end of two trips. It was parked in a garage, near Cousin Toni’s home, between trips.
Since we have no connection with the military, we don’t know (and we don’t intend to ask) if we are permitted to spend money in any of the stores on the Base. Over the years we have bought (and donated) dozens of books at the US Army Thrift Shop; we’ve eaten lunch in the PX snack-shop; and more recently at the big new Burger King on the Base. US dollars are required for these purchases, and no one has yet asked what we are doing there.
We do know we are not allowed to enter the PX, the Army version of a US shopping center filled with US products — identification is carefully checked at that door.
%HEIDELBERG
About ten miles east of Mannheim, along the Neckar River, is the splendid city of Heidelberg. There are numerous churches and museums, the University (1386), the Alte Brücke (Old Bridge), and the Schloss (Castle 1200s) spectacularly perched on the hill, permitting a wonderful view of the city.
The Schloss was ransacked by the French in 1622, 1688 and 1693, and badly damaged by a storm in 1764. What remains is an immense ivy-covered ruin; portions are in excellent condition and still used for tourist activities. The Royal Chamber for example, can seat up to 700 people.
There are three ways to visit the Schloss. There are narrow switch-back streets (watch out for big tourist buses); there are steps and paths for pedestrians; and the Schloss is accessible by the Bergbahn (funicular railway) from near the Kornmarkt to the “Station Schloss.” (The Bergbahn continues on to a station higher up the mountain.)
The setting for the operetta “The Student Prince,” is this same Heidelberg Schloss. One year we noticed an advertisement for its performance on the Schloss grounds, two days hence. We try never to travel with a schedule, but that time our daughter had a plane to catch in a few days — well, next time!
And there was a next time. A few years later we visited the Castle grounds at sunset, and were admitted to a dress rehearsal of “The Student Prince.” What a delightful evening. Singers would appear on this balcony and that, flood lights appeared as if by magic, and the orchestra filled the old castle grounds with glorious music. And what a contrast from the last time we saw this operetta, at the High School Auditorium in Palm Springs.
One year they had a “fraudulent” art exhibit on the castle grounds. If a group of visitors to this Castle did what the so-called artists were doing, they would (should) be arrested. We aren’t official art critics, but believe it, we criticized this clutter. Jim went to the Exhibit office and to the Rathaus (city hall), and let them know we did not appreciate the graffiti and quasi sculptures being installed on the grounds of this historic landmark. Our questioning of Heidelberg citizens resulted in about 99% agreement with our opinion, and the shopkeepers on the castle grounds said they disapproved of the outrageous mess, but dared not publicly express their opinion.
One evening we were strolling along the Hauptstrasse (Main Street), enjoying the atmosphere of the Kornmarkt and the Marktplatz, spellbound by the flood-lit Schloss high above town. As we neared the lovely old Heilig-Geist-Kirche (Holy Ghost Church), we heard music coming from somewhere inside. After walking around the church, trying all the doors, we finally found one that was open.
Ignoring the signs, we climbed the circular staircase and went through several doors that we carefully checked to make sure they were not going to lock behind us. (We wanted excitement and enchantment, but not entrapment.) As we arrived at the very top, there under the eaves a choir and a large orchestra were practicing for a concert. A delightful experience — makes it worthwhile to conveniently not be able to read the signs that must have said “Keep out!”
During the day and the early evening, many kiosks (tourist’s shops), built between the buttresses against the outside wall of the church, are open for business. They’ve been here since the 1400s, but we wonder what they sold in those days. Certainly not sunglasses, straw-hats, printed T shirts (names and colors of US universities seem to be very popular) and other tourist gadgets found in abundance these days.
As we wander down Heidelberg’s Hauptstrasse (Main Street), the contrasts are enormous. The lovely old stores and restaurants, churches, the University buildings, and the Platz or market squares all project the special utopian atmosphere that tourists enjoy. Some people are dismayed to find a McDonald’s restaurant (however small the Golden Arches) in this environment, but we find it a great place to have French Fries, a Coke, and sometimes an ice cream sundae. Keep in mind that while clean restrooms are often hard to find in Europe, they are always available at McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and other familiar fast-food places.
Whether we are a customer or not, often a restaurant or bar will expect a sum of money to use their facilities. But at McDonald’s we can buy an order of French fries for about that same price, and since we are now a customer, we can use their restrooms for free — and we get to eat the French fries, too. (Of course we really don’t have to buy the French fries.)
At the west end of the Hauptstrasse are two modern multi-story department stores that look like they were designed to be built in Chicago. The builders can’t be blamed though, what would it cost in today’s money to build a department store that would copy, or at least complement, that old Schloss on the hill?
There is a difference between “architecture” and just a plain “building.” Sir Henry Wotton in “The Elements of Architecture” (1651) declared that to be architecture, it must possess “commoditie, firmeness, and delight.” In other words, it must be conveniently planned for its purpose; it must be built of good materials; and it must give pleasure to the eye of the discriminating beholder.
When we see these lovely old towns with beautiful homes, churches, castles, bridges, and shopping streets, we often wonder if the builders specifically designed the elegance, or if they just built in the style of that day, and the beauty “… is in the eye of the beholder.”
Our very first night in Europe years ago was spent at a campsite just a couple of miles east of Heidelberg, on the left bank of the Neckar River. Our flight from Los Angeles had been a day late, so consumed with jet-lag, the four of us, Jim, Emmy, Daughter Linda, and friend Linda (Pupa), all napped for an hour or so in the middle of the afternoon, in spite of the river traffic noise. Over the next twenty-five years, we’ve spent seven nights in hotels or nearby campsites, and have visited, or just driven through this glorious city, a dozen times.
Chapter 03
More, Frankfurt Area
(East and North of Frankfurt)
DIE BERGSTRASSE
North from Heidelberg towards Darmstadt, the tourist brochures show about twenty lovely little towns and maybe a dozen castles in the adjacent mountains, along Route 3, Die Bergstrasse (The Mountain Road). Weinheim, Bensheim and Zwingenberg are just three examples of towns with block after block of attractive timbered buildings and pleasant shopping streets. These charming villages, with castles on nearby mountain-tops, are not to be missed.
Heppenheim has a most interesting market square with renaissance half-timbered buildings and St. Peter’s Cathedral, with the Starkenburg castle high on the hill above. The Lorsch Monastery is nearby.
One night, while Cousin Toni was traveling with us, we visited with Emmy’s Cousin Ulrich, his wife Ursul and daughter Christine, in Rodau across the Autobahn from Zwingenberg. Their home was one of three units in a rather new building, and as usual in Germany, it is built of stone, cement, and terrazzo — looks as if it will last forever.
They were happy to see us and prepared a delightful Abendessen (evening meal). Their evening choir practice was forgotten so we could visit as best we could, in spite of the language problem. Although Ursul had to leave early for work the next morning, Frühstück (breakfast) was waiting when we finally awoke.
%MICHELSTADT
A drive across the mountains, east from either Heppenheim or Bensheim, leads to the village of Michelstadt with a delightful town square, and the Town Hall with its two symmetrical oriel (bay) windows with candle-snuffer roofs. On a Friday in early October we saw signs advertising a “Floh-Markt” the following day, so we spent the night at the campsite in nearby Amorbach, and returned to Michelstadt early the next morning.
Jim learned one of the most important rules of flea market shopping: “Once you have ‘it’ in your hand, do not put ‘it’ down for any reason.” He had admired a large book filled with photographs (photos pasted in the book, not printed ones), taken from the dirigible Graf Zeppelin during its trips to various parts of the world in 1928 - 30. There were pictures taken from above Washington, DC., New York City, Rio de Janeiro, London, Jerusalem, Moscow, the pyramids near Cairo, and many pictures of Germany and other countries. Jim put the book down to get his wallet, and a woman (she was no lady) picked it up and would not let go.
Fifteen years later after another visit to this charming town, we told the story of the “book that got away” to Klaus and Helga in Heusenstamm. Klaus quickly got up from the table and returned with a copy of the exact book Jim was telling about. Klaus said that a man in his office, who had recently retired, threw this book in the trash can and Klaus retrieved it. In the early 1930s the makers of Club and Liga cigarettes published a book on Zeppelins, but without pictures. If they mailed in enough coupons from packs of cigarettes, customers would be sent one or more of the 265 pictures needed to finish the book.
That Christmas a package arrived in La Quinta from Klaus in Heusenstamm. It contained a Xeroxed copy of the book.
%AMORBACH
A few miles east of Michelstadt is Amorbach, with its Abteikirche (Abbey Church) and Klostergebäude (Abbey Buildings), built in the mid-to-late 1700s. Originally built in the Romanesque style, they have since been covered with a baroque facing. The interior is trimmed in a rather plain baroque style — subdued, and not as ornate as many such structures, but well worth our visit.
That’s not quite enough to say about this beautiful old masterpiece, but then sometimes it’s difficult to find the needed words. Neither of us are fluent enough in the German language to understand tour guides, and this time we were able to visit inside just as a Sunday service was ending. We could see what we wanted to see, and did not need to follow a guide, but we also did not hear the explanation of this attractive work of art. Since the tour guide most likely spoke only German, we wouldn’t have learned much anyway.
%MILTENBERG
We continued to Miltenberg, to the triangular shaped Marktplatz with its Renaissance fountain, and the distinctive Fachwerkhäuser (half-timbered houses) which line the Hauptstrasse (Main Street). From here the Main River flows to Wertheim, where the Tauber River joins the Main.
This area is dotted with one charming little town after another. Tauberbischofsheim and Bad Mergentheim (believe it or not, names like these roll off the German tongue just as easily as we can say Minneapolis and Philadelphia) are just east of here, near Würzburg.
%GELNHAUSEN
Emperor Frederick Barbarossa built Gelnhausen on the side of a steep hill about twenty miles northeast of Frankfurt, and it is still encircled by fortifications. From the Marktplatz, the Kaiserpfalz (Imperial Palace) ruins can be seen above the town.
%BÜDINGEN
Ten miles away, Büdingen’s main street wanders here and there among old red-stone buildings, and the town is surrounded by fortifications that are decorated with fine detail. We walked along the narrow curvy lanes and visited the Jerusalem Gateway with its special squat towers. The Ysenburg Princes Castle, still inhabited, includes buildings dating from the 1100s.
%FULDA
Continue northwest to Fulda, a town with Baroque palaces, towers, flights of stairs and balustrades, and of course a cathedral. This might sound like what we have already seen, but each town is really unique and quite different from all the others.
When we first arrived in Fulda the sky was dark with low clouds, and it was cold and raining. The weather sure makes a difference in what we see and how we see it, and makes a difference in what we think and what we remember about a town. But if we stopped looking just because the weather was not what we preferred, we wouldn’t get to see very much.
In 1980, from Fulda (about ten miles from the East German border) to Alsfeld, we followed a US Army convoy on an excellent country road that wound through picturesque farmland. It was a beautiful, by-now partly cloudy morning, but for some unknown reason a US Army tank hit a tree, then slid across the road and hit a tourist bus (very little damage) and completely blocked the long convoy, and the rest of the traffic.
Since the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, we see less and less of the US Army in Europe, and are completely happy they are not needed these days, as they were in the past.
%ALSFELD
Alsfeld’s town hall consists of stone arcades on the first floor (where the town market was originally held), and half-timbered upper floors. Oriel windows (projecting bay windows) peek out from under slate covered twin turrets, with high pointy roofs that match the remaining steep slate roof.
A nearby building still has a metal ring used years ago as a place to tie and discipline lawbreakers, or perhaps punish people who were having too much fun. (Jim says that these days, maybe a wedding ring serves that purpose.) The marketplace and the streets of timbered buildings are sights to be seen. One year we were here at noon, and after the clock had struck twelve, church bells continued to peal in glorious harmony for the next 15 minutes or so.
%WETTENBERG
For a couple of days the starter on our Dodge RV had not been sounding right. At our request Chrysler Corporation had sent us names of repair shops that most likely could solve such a problem, and one was in Wettenberg, just north of Giessen, a few miles west of Alsfeld. We have spent many months in Europe in two different Dodge RV’s, and believe us, it is not the easiest (and cheapest) thing to get repaired. In the previous four or five months of this particular trip we had been in Amsterdam, Paris, Venice, Rome, Dubrovnik, Zagreb, Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, Poznan, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and more than a dozen countries that most likely didn’t have Dodge spare parts. It sure was wonderful to be within a few miles of maybe the only Dodge starter in Europe, just when we needed one, even if it did cost three times as much as in the US.
Parts for the Dodge Vans were sometimes difficult to find in Europe, and repairs took longer when performed by mechanics who had metric tools, and were not familiar with US vehicles. One year we had work done by a young mechanic who had never seen an auto air-conditioner. He was very careful not to disconnect the wrong thing as he removed and replaced the water pump. This time, parts and labor cost four times the price in the US.
We had no major problems with either Dodge RV, but for example, the Dodge requires a tire size that is not used in Europe. The Michelin tires (a French Company) we were able to buy for one vehicle said “Made in the US.” In Nice, France for a different vehicle, we were able to buy two Firestone tires of one size for the front, and two Goodyear tires of another size for the rear. Each time the four tires cost about $700, much, much more than what they would have cost in the US.
%MARBURG AN DER LAHN
St. Elizabeth’s, the first Gothic church in Germany, was completed in the 1200s, and is located in Marburg-an-der-Lahn River, about forty miles north of Frankfurt. Usually the nave, or central portion of a church, is much higher than the side aisles, but not here — all three are equal height. This architectural style is called a “hall-church,” a form said to be particularly characteristic of German Gothic, but we have seen the same style in several cities, in other countries.
The attractive marketplace, with City Hall and houses dating from the 1500s, is situated on steep hillsides below the castle high on top of the hill. We followed a narrow Einbahnstrasse (one-way street) up to the marketplace, found a place to park, then walked around the charming town. When we were ready to leave the only street out of the marketplace that appeared large enough for the RV, was the pedestrian shopping street. We did get some surprised stares from the shoppers, but the Polizei (police) didn’t seem to care — or maybe they just didn’t notice.
Later that evening we parked on the castle grounds and ate dinner in the RV, while we looked over the town below — a carefully selected scenic dining spot, no restaurant has that view. The sun was setting, the castle floodlights were taking effect, the lights of the town brightened, we heard clashes of thunder and saw huge flashes of lightening as the dark storm clouds gathered. We soon felt as if we were going to cascade down the hill in the frightening downpour that followed.
%WETZLAR
The Lahn River continues south and a little west to Wetzlar, the location of a Law Court in the early 1800s, and where the young lawyer Goethe met Charlotte Buff. Lotte’s parents’ house (Lotteshaus) displays furniture, showcases of mementos, and thirty translations of Goethe’s, “The Sufferings of the Young Werther.”
Most unusual is the Collegiate Church in Wetzlar. The Romanesque portion (dark limestone) dates from the 1100s, the nave and chancel were finished in 1200s Gothic style (light stone), the Gothic flamboyant tower (red limestone) was built in the 1300s, and the central doorway opens onto a wall.
%NAUBORN
Just outside Wetzlar, in Nauborn, we visited with Emmy’s Cousin Gerd, his wife Monika, and their sons Kurt and Silvi. They have been our hosts and guide in this area on more than one occasion. One year Kurt’s girlfriend (also named Monika), from Poznan, Poland, was surprised and pleased that Jim could so accurately describe her hometown. Who said he isn’t amazing. So modest, too.
One Sunday Emmy bought a decorative brass pot in the Wetzlar flea market. While Gerd can’t imagine what she will do with her “fleas,” that hasn’t stopped her yet. (Well, Jim bought something too.)
%BRAUNFELS
Continue in the Lahn River Valley to visit the museum in the family-occupied castle in Braunfels. This family owns and operates large farms in this part of Germany. In recent years, the streets and buildings near the castle entrance have been rejuvenated.
There’s almost no limit to the number of old towns with a castle on the top of a hill in the center of town, that can be seen without seeing one too many. There are many hundreds in Europe that meet that description and all are different, many are colorful, and most are worth some time and effort.
%WEILBURG / RUNKEL
The compact baroque town of Weilburg has an unusual entrance gate. Many times we’ve had to detour around the arch in a town gate that was just not high enough or wide enough for our RV to pass. While this arch is wide enough, it is perhaps three or four times higher than normal. There always seems to be something unique in each of these old, old towns.
What is not unique? Well, a Schloss and Schlossgarten await our visit in Weilburg, and yet another old castle is built into the rock face above the nearby village of Runkel. The best view is from the bridge across the Lahn River. By the way, these are just a few of the many castles in this area, we haven’t mentioned all of them in this part of Germany. One brochure gives information and pictures of about 257 German castles that await a visit.
%LIMBURG
The Altstadt mit Fachwerkhäusern (old town with half-timbered houses) has been renovated and is crowded with houses and shops with festooned gables. One year Emmy again visited her favorite brass and copper shop in Limburg, and if Jim thought she was going to buy a brass pot, he was half right, she bought two. One was a gift for Cousin Toni.
St. George’s Cathedral in Limburg has stood in “Gothic Transitional Style” for 750 years on a spur of a rock high on the hill, and makes a picture-perfect reflection in the Lahn River below. We have seen several other churches with similar style steeples, called the Bishop’s Mitre, but of the hundreds of churches and cathedrals we have seen, this one is matchless on its perch on the hill.
In the early 1980s, in the local market in Limburg, we selected bags of fruit and vegetables and placed each on the scale. We then pushed a key labeled with the picture of that item, and it printed a bar-code label showing the product code and the weight. We pasted this label on our purchase, and the machine at the checkout counter read the bar-code and supplied the price. As years have passed, this is more or less commonplace in Europe, but we have yet to see it in a store in the US. (In recent years, in Italy they supply disposable plastic gloves that must be worn while selecting fruit and vegetables in the produce section of the supermarket.)
%BAD HOMBURG
About fifteen miles north of Frankfurt, Bad Homburg is filled with baths, spas, casinos, and of course castles and churches. Right in the heart of downtown is a very large modern building with many stores and offices. When Jim was about to take a picture of this building, a passing resident suggested that he point his camera the other way, and not remember her hometown with a picture of “… that monstrosity.”
Along with the scenery, the buildings, and the charm of this old town, the tourist brochure lists dozens of diseases and maladies that can be cured, or helped by the application of their “waters.” Just to select a few: Ulcers, constipation, hemorrhoids, cirrhosis of the liver, gallstones, obesity, diseases of old age, and “… the effect of all these diseases upon the heart and blood vessels.”
%NIEDER - ESCHBACH
One year we needed repairs on our Dodge camper van, and had been given the name of a mechanic who could repair “foreign” vehicles, at Niedereschbach, just north of Frankfurt. When we telephoned, we were told they were so busy they could not make a repair appointment until a month from now, but then agreed to look at our problem “tomorrow.” Upon arrival we found a large new repair shop with room for a dozen vehicles, but only two sections were in use.
After the mechanic fixed our minor problem Jim asked why he didn’t hire more people, and make better use of his building. His response, “If I hire the wrong person, the law makes it almost impossible to get rid of him. Since I can’t hire another ‘me,’ I have less problems if I just do it myself.” We hear similar comments concerning apartments for rent. One of Emmy’s cousins had a troublesome tenant in upstairs rooms for 15 years because it’s almost impossible to evict even a problem tenant.
Rather than rent to the wrong person, many apartments are left empty. Rather than hire the wrong worker, many jobs are not filled. Too much government control explains at least some of the unemployment and housing problems in Germany.
VACATION NEAR FRANKFURT
Only a few of the hundreds of interesting sights near the Frankfurt airport have been mentioned. It would be folly to attempt to name them all, and a name we left out could be the one that will make a vacation. If a traveler expects only one trip to Europe in his lifetime, of course he must see Paris, Rome, the Alps, and all those other exciting destinations, even if only for a few hours each. But if the trip is one of several, do plan to see something other than hotels, airports, train stations, and freeway on-and-off ramps.
Chapter 4
Saar River Valley
SAAR RIVER VALLEY
When we first arrive in Germany we immediately head to Mettlach, in the Saar River Valley near Luxembourg and France. Our first goal is always a visit with Emmy’s Cousins — but of course the delicious food and comfortable lodgings have nothing to do with the selection of our destination.
Favorite spots must be re-visited each time we arrive in Germany, and while the Autobahn (freeway) goes more or less directly from Frankfurt to Mettlach, we try to take the back roads and see the beautiful German villages and countryside, even while jet-lag still has us under its control.
SAAR RIVER
The Sarre River leaves France and becomes the Saar River as it enters Germany, just south of Saarbrücken, a name derived from the bridge built over the Saar River by the Romans, a couple of thousand years ago. Saar, for the river, Brücken means bridge. A few miles east is Zweibrücken; Zwei means two, for Two-bridges in German, Deuxponts in French, and the Romans called it Bipontium. One of the beauties (?) of the German language is the way words or syllables are added one upon another, creating a huge word that looks impossible. When we must look in the dictionary for the meaning of a long German word, we try breaking it into “pieces” first.
From the French border the Saar flows first through the heavy industrial area of Saarbrücken, Völkingen, Dillingen, and Saarlouis. Between Merzig and Mettlach, the Saar-Cloef (Curve) makes a U-turn around a densely wooded promontory on which sits the Montclair Castle ruin. The area around the Montclair Castle ruin has recently been renovated, a cafe has been added, all just a short walk on a well identified trail through the woods from Mettlach.
From Saarbrücken to its junction with the Mosel River near the city of Trier, the Saar River was recently widened, deepened and dammed to become a navigable river. Let’s hope it doesn’t take too many years to heal the scars resulting from changing the formerly shallow Saar River with grassy tree lined banks, into a canal with rock and concrete retaining walls.
Every few miles they’ve built a dam with two locks, one small and one a little larger, to permit barges and small boats to pass up and down the river. Boats and barges are now able to travel on the Sarre from France, pass Saarbrücken, then join the Mosel River near Trier, then on to the Rhein at Koblenz.
At the Rhein River, the boat/barge can turn left for a visit to Bonn and Köln, then into The Netherlands and past Rotterdam to the North Sea. Or turn right at Koblenz and stay on the Rhein past Wiesbaden, Mainz, Worms, to Basel, Switzerland. Perhaps branch to the left on the Neckar River at Mannheim to visit Heidelberg and on to Stuttgart and Tübingen. Or make a left turn onto the Main River near Mainz, travel through Frankfurt and Würzburg then sail the Main-Donau Canal through Bamberg and Nürnberg to join the Donau (Danube) River and continue through Wien (Vienna), Budapest, Belgrade, and on to the Black Sea.
This “River and Canal Superhighway System” presents the tourist a variety of choices for sightseeing, either from nearby highways, or from boats that travel on these rivers.
%SAARBRÜCKEN
Over the centuries the city has changed from French to German a couple of times. Coal mines and steel mills line the countryside for miles around Saarbrücken. Jim once asked a friend if he had ever been to Saarbrücken, and he responded, “Yes, I bombed it many times from my B-24, during WW II.” Damage was extensive, and most of the stores and office buildings in downtown Saarbrücken are of modern design. Away from downtown there are buildings that were obviously built prior to WW II.
The gambling casino is located in the Saarlandhalle, next to the Stadium. One day Jim, dressed in tie and raincoat (well that’s not all he had on), rode the train from Mettlach to Saarbrücken and walked to the casino, in the rain. He checked his raincoat, paid the money required to become a member of the club, and bought a handful of chips for his friend’s world-record collection of gambling chips.
Quite a different scene than in a Las Vegas casino. Here, in early afternoon in a rather plain room, the players each wore a coat and tie, and the “dealers” wore tuxedos. In addition to the dealer, a man (pit boss perhaps) sat in a chair high above the roulette table (the only game in play) watching all. Jim did spend a few minutes looking around before he claimed his coat and left the casino. He just isn’t all that excited about gambling.
Beside the Autobahn, northwest of Saarbrücken, are towers of a broadcasting station of some kind. They have placed a quarter-mile long net of large cables as an electronic shield across the Autobahn, so the radio waves will not disturb a pacemaker worn by someone who drives by.
%MERZIG
A few miles from Saarbrücken, Merzig is the home of some of Emmy’s cousins. On several occasions we have obtained license plates for our RV at the government offices located in Merzig.
Since we were not Germans we needed to visit both the Automobile license office, and the Zoll (Customs) office. One year we saw a caricature of German officialdom, just like in the movies and cartoons. In the Zoll office there were three large desks, each well supplied with long wooden-handled rubber stamps, but there was but one official. We had to stifle our laughter as he sat himself behind each desk in turn, came to attention, and applied, with gusto, the needed approvals.
Several years later, after numerous visits to this office, the official extended his hand and in a booming voice said, “Ah, Mr. Humberd, jede drei Jahre.” (Every three years.) How on earth did he remember our name. We were flattered, and Cousin Josef was delighted.
In recent years, after a change in how they did business, we took our paperwork across the street and a license plate was made to order, while we waited.
For two years we owned an RV mounted on a vehicle built by Renault, and we patronized the dealership in Merzig when repairs were needed. Once we needed to replace the radial brake pads on the front wheels. The owner of the Renault garage had said he was going to visit the US in five years, but as Jim paid the larger-than-expected bill, he said to the owner, “US in two years.”
When we arrived at Cousin Josef’s home in Merzig, we would be welcomed by the Stars and Stripes flying from high atop Cousin Josef’s flagpole. When his visitors were from France the Tri-Color was displayed; when German friends arrived, they were welcomed by their flag flying high above Josef’s house.
One year we had dinner in a restaurant in Merzig that cooked the steaks on a round grill suspended by a chain, above a very hot fire of hard-wood kindling. As the waiters went past, they would nudge the grill so it would slowly spin and swing back and forth, through the flames. Cooking in this manner seemed slow, but the result was excellent. We have also had “swinging barbecue” at a Cousin’s house, but have not seen it anywhere else.
%METTLACH
Several of Emmy’s Cousins live in Mettlach (near the Luxembourg and French borders), where their ancestors have lived for several generations. During our two to six-month trips we travel around Europe for a couple of weeks or a couple of months, then return to spend a few delightful days in Mettlach. We certainly enjoy our visits with all of Emmy’s Cousins.
The miles of forests, the expanse of beautiful farmland and the quiet little villages in the general area of Mettlach, make the Saar River Valley a choice spot for tourists. People have lived in this area for a couple of thousand years, but there may have been more changes to the little town of Mettlach in the years between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s, than in any other dozen years in the 900 years since it was founded.
For many years there had been a dam with an electrical generating plant just up the river from Mettlach’s bridge across the Saar. Starting in the mid-1980s they removed this plant and installed two locks that are used to raise and l
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