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Good morning mein freunds. It's a rainy morning here in the motherland so we've decided to lay low following our Oktoberfest blow out yesterday and get some schooling in with the kids. All of Celeste's friends have been telling her much much work they have so we're feeling a tad guilty. Germany has been fantastic through and through. It has so much to offer - rich history, incredible beauty, and great parties!
In Berlin we met an outstanding tour guide, Mort Ehudin. He hosted us on a Third Reich tour of the city. Mort had the most intruging background and past. He was a former dentist who sold his practice, had a stay in the army, moved to Berlin and became a renowned author in Germany of spy and thriller novels. He was married a woman who had renounced her Dad for being a Nazi and then converted to Judaism. Oh yeah, along with that he delivered a stirring tour through the streets of Berlin.
What really gets you in Berlin is there's so much construction going on. Berliners will tell you that the east is getting all the love right now and not the west. So you have all this building going on, but then you have this buried treasure of history. Oh, on that parking lot was Hitler's Bunker. Where this strip mall was the Reich Chancellery Building. Over where that condo is was the dividing line between east and west Berlin. Talk about the most non-descript spot in history - in the parking lot which now covers Der Fuhrer's bunker, a resident honks his horn when driving in and out letting anyone who wanted to know, "he doesn't live here anymore."
On the tour we met a great trio of people from Longmont, CO of all places. They have traveled extensively in their lives. One of them told me how he and his wife purchased a camper to live in Europe in the '80's. I marveled at his stories and just shook my head on how he got around in Europe's cities without a GPS. He went on to tell me they spent many nights in illegal areas or parks since they had no idea where they were. After their journeys they kept returning to Longmont and still live there today.
Along with being an author and former dentist, Mort also liked to sketch and draw. I've attached one of his stories that he put together in a book about his favorite places in Berlin. Just one of those people you could spend a day with and still want to hear more of his stories.
From the building and buried history of Berlin we made our way to the mystical history of Germany in Rothenburg and Wurzburg. The beauty of these two towns was off the charts. But for me the highlight was the tour with the Nightwatchman in Rothenburg. Along with the tour guide giving you a real feel of what it was like to live during Medieval times and the 30 Year's War in this village, he had an outstanding sense of humor. I encourage you to look him up on YouTube and watch his stories (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze7WkEdQYQc&feature=related). His accent and delivery alone will have you smiling.
The perfect way to cap off some serious history and gorgeous beauty is pure debauchery of Munich's Oktoberfest. We had a stroke of good luck and had first class train tickets riding into Munich from the 'burbs as the train was packed. Coming to Munich during this time would be an outstanding Bucket List trip. There's so much to take in at the festival and you could easily couple it with taking in a Bayern Munich game at the nearby Allianz Stadium. Bayern won yesterday BTW so everyone was in even greater spirits.
Of course there's plenty of beer at Oktoberfest, but it's somewhat tricky to attain as you can only get some when you're in the beer tents. And even once you're in the beer tent you still have to grab a spot at a table. Luckily we snuck into a lower-profile Paulaner tent in the family area of all places. The main tents are where the real action is. We went into one - the Hippodrome - and it was the decibel level of a Led Zeppelin concert. Band playing. People singing. Glasses clanging. Meat on large bones being served up everywhere.
So you have all this partying going on in the tents and then on the outside you have these great amusement park rides; roller coasters, bumper cars, and plenty of rides where you're spinning in multiple directions at once. The most entertaining from a spectator sport looked simple enough, but getting to the top of it provided great laughs for those watching. Getting on the ride required you to hop on a bunny-slope type lift to get to the top of this ride to slide down. Easy enough right? Well, the lift was going quite fast and when people jumped on, especially after a few biers, there were some great flops and falls. No waivers. No safety belts. No protection. Just hop on and hope you can get to the top to slide down. If you weren't capable these big no expression helpers would lift you up by the back of your shirt to carry you up the lift. All without breaking a smile. Check out the photos I'll post. I could've sat there all day - many people do park out and just watch this for the laughs - and taken bets on who would and wouldn't make it up. We went back around 6:00pm before leaving and things we're really getting crazy as most people already had a full day of drinking under their belt. In the US, Sol Goodman would've had a field day here (http://www.bettercallsaul.com/).
AG
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Kathy Essma Thank you all for the wonderful and amazing tour of the world through your eyes and your beautiful smiles. Love, Aunt Kathy Essma