Treir - Konz

We spent the day on the train in order to rejoin the group. It was roughly a 7 hour 'ordeal' but was worth it. Munich was AWESOME! I hope to return for another visit to explore Bavaria. The night in the hostel was interesting to say the least. It is an experience. Dorm style living with strangers. Our room had 8 beds but I think we counted 15 bodies in the room. We arrived back to the room after closing down a beer tent, a wine tent, and a bar. (One thing I have learned with this group is we are very good at closing things down.) Lights go on when ever anyone enters the room so sleep is really great. One of my travel buddies was so tired that she yelled at a group of the guys to shut the light of in Spanish. Too fuuny.

After catching back up with the group, we boarded the bus to head to dinner. Dinner took us to the town of Konz. Dad was in heaven! I have never seen him so excited. He proudly proclaimed Konz 'his town.' We stopped at the local fire station to take some pictures. Talking with the firemen, we found out there was a Konz on the squad but he was not working, It was cool to be in a place that bears your last name on buildings, parks, and such.

Octoberfest

Three of us seperated from the group and headed to Munich from Hiedleberg. The rest spent the day around Hiedleberg and Speyer. We hopped aboard a train for a 3 hour trip. Upon arrival, we went to Mike's Bike Tours and joined the 4 hour tour of the city. I highly recommend this if you have a short time to spend in a city. We saw a lot of the city and drank beer along the way. The city of Munich is beautiful. We went to a couple platzs. Platzs are squares. The first was one dedicated to the ruler who started Octoberfest. Octoberfest is actually a marriage anniversary celebration rather than a harvest celebration. The second was the square where Hiler held many of the rallies and speeches. It was kind of surreal being there. The history that you have read about can now be brought to like. The building that impressed me the most was the white church. It is a huge church constructed out of white marble. Words nor picture can describe this. We saw the Hofbrauhaus. This is the largest beer hall in Germany. It holds 2000 inside and 700 outside. Hiltler held rallies here as well. Even though he didn't drink beer. Other places that were included on this tour were the English garden, the nude park, and the Chinese beer garden, the memorial to the white rose, the former war ministry, and an art museum that bears some of the only visible nazi symbols in the country.

Octoberest is nothing like you can imagine. I liken it to a state fair on massive doses of steriods. It is beer tents, food, and carnival rides. The tents aren't tents but buildings that hold 1000's of people. The Lowenbrau tent is by far the rowdiest tent of all. So, that was the one we hit. People inside are drinking, dancing, and singing. IT. WAS. AWESOME. The band played mostly older American pop/rock tunes. And, everyone sang to every song. We closed that tent down but were not ready to go back to our room. A lady who were chatting with told us the wine tent stayed open much later. So, off to the wine tent we went. Again, it was packed. More singing. And, definitely more drinking. We think our beverage total for the day was 4.5-5 liters. Yes, you read that right. 4.5-5 Liters

Medieval Times

The adventure today took us to Rothenburg and Dossenhiem. Rothenburg is tourist city that has embraced it's medieval roots. You can walk the battlement wall. Mom, Dada and I walked around the entire city. The views to the valley were beautiful. The leaves are beginning to change. We went to St. Jakobs's church. The church is known for the wooden alters. They are very detailed carvings. Another stop found us in the the criminal museum. This museum contains the history of torture during these times. Holy crap. The person or persons that came up with these devices and techniques were very twisted.

We went to a local festival at night in Dossenhiem. We saw the beginnings of a bachelor party. The groom and friends were dressed in tux and top hats carrying a funeral pire. The proceeded through the street.

Things of note:
German showers suck. They are water conservative nation. The showers last approximately 60 seconds before automatically turning off.
The popular hair color is purple.
German ice cream IS awesome
German pretzels are AWESOME

Heidleberg Castle

Today, we began the day with a tour of the Heidleberg Castle. The ruins overlook the city. It is pretty impressive when you consider the time at which it was built. The grounds are massive. It actually has the castle and terrace area. The moot had a small stream that ran through it but also housed animals. The castle boasted the first theater to conduct Shakespearian plays. There are two pictures of it below. One is from the inside. The other is from the old bridge.

We rode the Funicular to the pedistrian zone (fussganerzone} for lunch. It is basically a walking outdoor mall from 10-5. Deliveries to the stores are made prior to 10 after cars are not allowed. Lots of interesting shops. European stores, tourist shops are the main ones. But, American stores are present. We were surprised to see a Claire's. We had our first chocolate and ice cream of Germany. Pretty good. The German's claim its the best in the world, Torrow, we had to what supposedly does serve the best in world.

For dinner, we headed to Ladenburg to eat at the die Kartoffel. The coolness about this place is how your meat gets cooked. They bring a rock slab that is heated to something just below molten lava. The rock is supposedly 700 degrees F.  You cook your meat to your desired doneness and the ya go. You know this would never happen in the US of A. Why? Cause people sue for slipping hot coffee into their lap. In Germany, it's your responsibility for things that happen to you. It was pretty cool though. We wandered the city prior to that looking at a catholic church, a protestant church, and a former to,an basicillica that is being used as school. The city of Ladenburg had been inhabited since Celtic times. It is a pretty cool history, The third picture is of the square in Ladneburg

Our tour guide/organizer told we walked just over 10 miles today.

The Fun

We arrived in London after a long flight. We killed the 8 hour layover by talking, napping, and wondering. Heathrow is a huge airport teaming with We all seemed to have our travel woes. I was seated next to a larger male. He was pretty clueless on the space bubble thing. Also had a nasal thing were he snorted every few minutes to deal with nasal discharge.

Brits have an accent similar to the Southern accent. They seem to be able to be stern with you. you would thank them for it cause it was a pleasant experience.

Heathrow had better get it's crap together in customs with 2012 looming less than a year. It took quite a long time to get through. I kept hoping that the end was really a ride on the 'Terminator.'  Heathrow Terminal 5 , where we made our home for 8 hours was a mini city. Stores of every type. People of many different cultures.  We met a young man from Denmark. He was on his way home from the USA after a job interview. I felt bad for the poor chap from Demark.  He made the mistake of sitting next to our group.The midwesterners in the group were friendly, inquisitive, and chatty with him. We ate at a place in the airport. Mom and I split some fish and chips. Quite good. The beer was awesome! I had a magners golden. A lite and fruity flavored beer.

We got to Frankort about 10 PM. Once the choas of room assignment was done, we headed to a place that translates into the Swiss Bar. I think we overwhelmed the bartender. What wouldn't? 15 louad crazy Americans in a very small place. We literally cleaned out the kitchen of most of the food and possibly the beer. It was a great way to finish a long long travel period and to begin our time in Germany. We met and chatted with a gentleman who is the care taker of the church nearby. He and his wife were fun and pleasant.

Til next time

Off we Go

All the planning is done. It's been almost a year in the making. All the arrangements set. Bags are packed. Mail is held. Pets dropped off at the kennel. Travel for everyone on the trip to Germany and Luxembourg is commencing. 

My parents left with Shirley K. and Julie from Primghar early this AM. They are enroute to MSP for their flight to ORD and then on to London. I am leaving in a couple hours. I will meet up with my mom and dad at ORD. Others in the group are leaving from Denver and will meet up with us in London at Heathrow.

We will be visiting Frankfort, Heidleberg, Munich, Colgne, and Konz in Germany. Yes, there actually is a town that bears my last name. In Luxembourg, a visit with family in the Luxembourg City area is on the agenda. The trips finishes up with several days in Paris.

Now, comes the "fun"....security, check-in, more security, layovers, delays, annoying passengers, and more security.  But all this early "fun" is a means to getting to the real fun. Hopefully, frustrations will be minimal for all.

Until next time!  Have a great day! And, pray I survive the travel leg.