You don't know what you've got til it's gone!

When we arrived back to Dulles from Paris on Valentine’s Day, I was denied access to Global Entry. For those who don’t know what that is, I’ll tell you it is pure gold. It allows you to bypass the long lines at USA immigration and simply place your passport in a slot, put your hand on the glass - and bingo, you get a slip of paper to hand to the waiting agent and you are out of there. It also comes with TSA Pre which allows you to go to special lines where you don’t have to take off shoes or belts, you can leave your liquids in your bag, and your don’t have to take computers out of the suitcase. It is magic.

It appears my membership lapsed on my birthday while I was out of the country so I never thought about it until I was denied access. Fortunately there was a very kind immigration officer who brought me to a desk, asked a few questions and let me through without having to go back into the general population!  She said to make sure I renewed soon, and I applied the very next day but I am still waiting since it can take up to two months!  In the meantime, I’m without status and have to go though the normal channels at airports.

I had occasion last week to take a quick trip to Florida to see the girls and their families. The trip down was fine but coming home reminded me of how much I took TSA Pre for granted and how much I missed it. I had to arrive at the Tampa Airport security lines two hours before the flight because the night before there had been lots of cancellations due to weather in the mid-west and the airport was jammed.  The TSA Pre line was almost empty but I couldn’t talk my way into it, so I got in line with everyone else and just waited and waited. 

Since the airlines have started charging for checked bags, everyone tries to bring steamer trunks - or at least suitcases that look as large as steamer trunks - onto the plane. It also appeared that everyone in the line had at least three kids, all of whom were rather miffed at having to be somewhere at 06:45!  (I shared their concern.)  As we slowly moved toward the conveyor belt I had the chance to watch the tragic opera that was unfolding in front of my eyes. There were TSA agents reciting their mantra, “take out your fluids, computers, iPads and phones and place them in the baskets. Take off your shoes and jackets and belts and place them in the baskets; everything else must be placed on the conveyor belt. No keys or other metal in your pockets.  Now what do you suppose the most asked questions were to these polite agents?  Yep, “Do I need to take off my shoes?”  “Can I keep my computer in the bag?” “Can I keep my phone in my pocket?”,  and so on ad nauseam.

Finally through security, with an hour to spare, I made my way to a quiet place I know where there are small tables and electrical outlets and no people. On the way, I passed a rather long line for Chick’ Filet which wasn’t scheduled to open for another fifteen minutes; these folks must love their chicken. The line for Starbucks was twenty deep as was the line for Pei Wei, a fast food Asian fusion joint. I did a bit of writing and then purchased a bottle of water since the good folks at United don’t come around often with refreshments in coach. I still have my status with UA and was able to board the plane early enough to secure a space in the overhead for my suitcase and jacket. I settled into my aisle seat, which didn’t recline since it was in front of the exit row, and played the, ‘who is going to sit next to me?’ game with myself. It was a no-brainer however because the minute I saw this huge lady with a baby and two big bags start waddling down the aisle,I was sure it was her - so sure that I stood up as she got close - and of course I had picked correctly!  I kept praying for the door to close and get the flight underway (and over with), but that was not to be. Since the flight was full and everyone had lots of luggage there was no more room in the overhead bins, yet the flight attendants had allowed about twelve people on with luggage despite the fact that they knew the bins were full.  That meant that these good folks had to make their way back up to the jetway, tag the bags and get back to their seats while the ground crew took the bags to the cargo hold. Another fifteen minute delay!

Now I won’t bore you with details of the flight, except to say that it was a very long two hours in the air, and right in the middle of the flight I started to smell something rather nasty and looked up from my iPad to see my seat mate changing her baby on top of the tray table in front of her.  I said I would be happy to get up so she could go to the bathroom that has a changing table, but she didn’t want to get up while the plane was moving!!!  I dug out a ziplock that I always carry and gave it to her for the diaper but she didn’t seem to know how to seal it so I did that for her and placed it near her bag on the floor. Even if they had served food, I couldn’t have eaten!  The minute I got off that plane I took really deep breaths and did all I could to get out of the terminal and into fresh air as soon as possible.  Ah, the joys of flying!!

Best wishes, Cindy and Wm

Home Sweet Home

We have been home for a tad more that two weeks and into familiar patterns that we enjoy. By going to Europe for three months I had hoped to avoid snow and cold, but we returned two weeks early and the weather gods found out and dumped six inches of the white stuff on us about a week ago. It finally disappeared on Saturday when we got another dose of cold and white. Luckily, we anticipated all of it and had plenty of food, wine and water - as well as a high performance gas fireplace - so we were cozy and happy.  I still get a warm feeling sitting by the window with my hot tea watching Cindy shovel the snow off the driveway and walkways; it never gets old!

We attended a Mardi Gras gala last Friday night in support of the Friends of Music, the foundation that promotes musical excellence in the Eastern Panhandle (that’s us).  It was held at the Bavarian Inn and since we originally had planned to arrive back in WV the night before the event, we booked a room knowing that we would be really tired.  Glad we kept the reservation since it started to rain/snow shortly after the event started and we just had to toddle to our room and sleep out the storm. The Inn is a series of four freestanding buildings made to look  like Alpine Chalets, half timbered buildings, complete with the painted walls. They have a rather authentic Rathskeller with Spaten beer on tap and great Bavarian food.  (After dancing for two hours I must say that a half liter of Spaten went down with ease.)

We pulled together costumes from things around the house - see photo below - and ended up doing a fine job of ‘masking’ our identities.  I would guess there were about sixty people that attended and everything was handled very professionally. The food was really quite good for a group that large and the music was sensational. It was a six piece Dixieland Band and they actually marched into the room playing, which got everything off to a great start. Of course Cindy and I danced almost every number and had a marvelous time tripping the light fantastic. 

Cindy has gotten back into her music and attended her first orchestra rehearsal since September. I managed to get our taxes done and catch up on lots of emails that somehow never showed up on my account while overseas, not at all sure why, but no harm was done. Little things also needed tending, which is to be expected when you are gone for two months. One thing not expected was a flat tire on Cindy’s little yellow Aveo. I got a hand pump and filled it with enough air to drive to the tire store, which was closed for good, but there was a place nearby that was able to get it repaired quickly. The culprit was a half inch metal screw from the installation of the new gutters and downspouts last November. The tire guy said that they must get three or four of those a day and they always secretly thank the sloppy contractors that don’t clean up after themselves.

In order to complete our immersion back into USA culture, we took a trip to Costco. We were going to spend the forty bucks they gave me as a rebate and we were also going to buy one of their great roasted chickens. I forgot how big a big box store can be and after all of our shopping at mom and pop places in Europe, it was a shocker.  However, you can’t argue with their prices. We needed to replace one of our ‘cruise’ suitcases, a 25-inch that can hold suits and dresses. We had priced some of these in Nice, where they were having annual sales with more that 50% off, and yet they couldn’t come even close to Costco prices. So after purchasing the suitcase, storage containers, wine, cheeses, water, and odds and ends, our chicken ended up costing more than $380 and we forgot to use the rebate certificate. C’est la vie!

Best wishes, Cindy and Wm 

King and Queen of the Ball

An Unexpected Adventure, Part II

Our tickets also gave us admission to the Conciergerie and I figured, in for a penny, in for a pound, so we wandered over and took the tour. While very impressive, it should be done before Sainte-Chapelle. Louis IX knew what he liked and he did a fine job on both of these structures, but I was already in sensory overload and merely was going through the motions.  Besides, it is now best known as a prison for Marie Antoinette and I certainly don’t like prisons, especially those with no windows.  

Soon enough we were out in the sunshine again, happy as clams which reminded me that it was time for lunch.  I wanted to eat at the Terminus Nord, a restaurant that has been guarding the entrance to the Gare du Nord since 1925.  Getting there was not half the fun because we got lost in the Châtelet metro station. This is an enormous transit point for the Métro - five major subway lines and 5 regional (RER) trains run through it - so finding your way around can be very difficult. We finally found the right track only to hear that service was suspended for two hours and we then wove our way around hungry folks heading to food courts until we discovered we were in an entirely new station, Les Halles, having walked nearly forty minutes and gone though six turnstiles without ever getting on a train! I felt like Charlie, The Man Who Never Returned  and I wanted to go up to the surface since I was tired of feeling like a mole. However, Cindy prevailed, found the right track and we were soon at the Gare du Nord.   We were so happy that the agent at the airport had sold us day passes since we ended up putting our tickets through the automated doors 5 times without going anywhere!  We felt like such rubes but frankly Châtelet is just plain too big and we didn’t know how many rail lines we were facing.  

The restaurant Terminus Nord is a glorious fusion of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, bright with crystal lights and polished copper and filled with fresh flowers, crisp linens and shimmering silver. We had to wait a bit, having arrived at one-thirty without reservations, but it was well worth it and gave me a chance to look at the customers, a pleasant mix of travelers in a hurry and regulars who enjoy three-hour lunches.  We were seated at a fairly large table, unheard of in France, and soon had our ice cold Kirs and red hot menus.  They have a daily set menu which offers a choice of starter, main and/or dessert. Cindy started with a dish of mushrooms and herbs topped with a poached egg and I had a small Cesar salad, which in France has thick slices of chicken breast. I continued with the boucher cut, a small steak with french fries and a sinful Béarnaise sauce while Cindy opted for a healthy grilled chicken.  The waiter who brought me my food had a large sauce bowl filled with the Béarnaise and as I started to ladle it onto my plate he politely took it from my hands, this was his job!  Carafes of Rosé and Côtes du Rhône added a touch of elegance and relaxation to this fantastic meal, and don’t get me started on the fabulous bread. 

A few hours later, we reluctantly departed and forty minutes later we were at the entrance to the hotel, a magnificent day trip to Paris and a most pleasant unexpected adventure.  I went to the Club to get a glass of wine for us to share before our nap and the same gentleman from the night before was there. I told him what I wanted and he returned from his small kitchen with a bottle of wine in an ice bucket and two glasses, all on a lovely tray for me to bring back to the room.  How gracious!

The next morning we did our final packing, retrieved our two bags from the porter and proceeded to find our way to the shuttle train which took us to Terminal One for our United flight. While we were in Brussels I had gone into a Leonidas chocolate shop to purchase a large red silk heart-shaped box of chocolates to give to the United crew since we were traveling on St. Valentine’s Day. Since Cindy was in another shop, I also purchased a little red velvet heart-shaped box with one chocolate in it as well as a small bag of four crème fraîche confections, Cindy’s favorite.  I was trying to tell the clerk that I wanted those two items in a separate bag before Cindy arrived, but I saw her entering the shop and stuffed them into my coat pocket. The clerk looked terrified until she realized Cindy was my wife and this was to be the surprise I had tried to tell her about. She smiled!

Once settled on the plane, we gave the box of chocolates to the purser with the note that Cindy had written the night before. She was amazed and grateful and we received rather excellent service from everyone who appreciated the gesture.  Shortly after lunch, I went to the galley with my little box and four candies and asked for a tray and a glass since I had also brought a small flask of cognac. (United does not carry any brandy anymore in Business Class!)  They said they would take care of everything and I went back to my seat. A few moments later she came out with the tray and presented it to Cindy, who was truly surprised. Four of the other flight attendants were standing there because they wanted to see Cindy’s reaction.  It turned out to be a fun flight and a great way to end our unexpected adventure, not to mention a nice ending to our two-month sojourn in Europe. 

Best to all, Cindy and Wm

Cindy's Valentine' Day Surprise

An Unexpected Adventure, Part I

We spent a quiet few days with Meagan in Brussels, mostly grocery shopping and cooking big batches of things we could freeze so that Meagan would have lots of good, healthy and tasty dinners after her long days at work.  It was the least we could do to express our thanks for her hospitality. We had planned on driving to CDG on the 13th, drop the car and fly out the next morning.  On Monday afternoon Meagan told us that there was to be a complete transportation shutdown on Wednesday the 13th and that the roads would be a mess for our trip to Paris. I got on the computer and adjusted my reservation at the Airport Sheraton so that we would arrive on the 12th.

We departed Brussels on the 12th in the early afternoon.  It took forever to get out of the city since Sybil insisted on trying to take us down one way streets. Cindy finally took over with her phone GPS and an hour later we were tooling down the highway heading back to France. It was an easy trip; there was even a gas station close to the airport so that I could fill the tank one last time. We thought we knew where the cut-off was for the hotel entrance but we couldn’t find it even though we drove around Terminal Two twice.  I finally gave up and we just decided to dump the car and walk to the hotel from inside the terminal. The agent at the car rental was wonderful and after checking for gas and damages took some time to ask about our trip since we had put three thousand kilometers on the car, about nineteen hundred miles. That is a lot of driving for twelve days.

We managed to get to the hotel with all of our luggage and the check-in was a breeze.  We also found out that there is no longer a place to drive up to the hotel lobby, so dragging our luggage through the terminal to the hotel was our only option.  The hotel clerk told us we had been upgraded to the Club Floor, which meant free breakfast as well as snacks, water, beer and wine. Music to my ears after four hours of driving.  Since we had organized our luggage before leaving Meagan’s we left the two large bags with the bellman and went up to our room for a quick nap before cocktails in the club. I went to the club before Cindy, who stayed in the room to practice the violin. (Yes, she carried and played the violin for the entire two months; now that is dedication!)  In the club I grabbed a glass of lovely French white, bien sûr, and one little warm spinach roll. The gentleman supervising the lounge thought that was not enough but I told him I was waiting for my wife. He said, with a smile, “What if she doesn’t come?”  I touched his shoulder and gave him a wink and said “Oh, she’ll be here.”  Well for some reason he thought that was hysterical (perhaps it was my French that he found hysterical) but in any event he said to follow him and he led me to a private room with a window overlooking the runways and if you stood in just the right spot you could see the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur, quite the sight. 

A little while later I heard Cindy talking to aforementioned supervisor so I started to go out to tell her were I was, but our host brought her to the room after having told her that I just left! (From Cindy:  I was still wondering how he knew who I was or that I was looking for Wm.)  The guy was a cut-up, that is for sure. He plied us with food and wine for the next ninety minutes and all thought of going downstairs for dinner evaporated. As we left he wanted to make sure we had had a good time and handed me a glass of wine to take back to the room. I already had a five-Euro bill in my hand for him, so we made a subtle exchange which made both of us happy.

Armed with an extra day in Paris I decided I had to make amends to Cindy for having blown off the visit to Sainte-Chapelle during our first week in Paris in mid-December. We had actually gotten as far as the ticket window that day when I saw long - very long - lines of folks waiting to get in. I hate lines!  So we left and had a lovely walk around Paris instead, but it was clear that Cindy had really wanted to see Sainte-Chapelle.  I now had a second chance so the next morning we proceeded out the hotel door, down the escalator and into the ticket office for a one-day pass at senior rates to Paris.  The very nice agent directed us downstairs to the proper gate and after about a five-minute wait we boarded the fast train and thirty-five minutes later we were emerging in brilliant sunlight to the sight of Notre Dame hard against the Seine and a dazzling blue sky.

It was a short walk to Sainte-Chapelle and there were no lines; we just walked up to the ticket counter, got our tickets and right into the chapel. At one point in my life I was a sales representative for Hauser Art Glass, one of the largest makers of stained glass in the USA, so I know a bit about stained glass. Nothing however could prepare me for the sheer drama of these windows, which seemed to soar from the earth to the heavens. We spent a marvelous hour wandering from window to window. Periodically one of the docents would command silence reminding all of the visitors that we were in a house of worship, and the place would fall completely silent for a few moments - to the point that I thought we were the only two people in the entire building.

More later, Cindy and Wm

Bingen am Rhein

We had one more overnight before we would be back at our daughter-in-law’s lovely apartment in Brussels. We simply found an area that was about halfway to Brussels, on the Rhine and on the same side as we wanted to be, no bridges for us!  We chose Bingen am Rhein since we knew that area rather well but had never been to this particular village. It was a good choice!

After an ample and lovely breakfast (lit candles on the table and fine china for breakfast at our Augsburg hotel) we hit the road at ten and headed towards Bingen, passing lots of cities and towns were I had taught for Boston University for ten years. We arrived later than planned due to lots of traffic and Staus (traffic jams) despite it being a Saturday. We arrived with the rain at about three and were quickly settled into our lovely room overlooking the Rhine, the Mauseturm and the vast vineyards across the river. We put on our raincoats and headed for the main part of town which was across the railroad tracks. 

We were lucky and the rain let up enough for us to enjoy walking the pedestrian street, filled with shops touting Hildegard von Bingen materials, as well as little wine shops, gelato shops and bakeries, lots and lots of bakeries.  We stopped by a little Stube for a glass of the local white and some marvelous soup for Cindy and small sandwiches for me, both of which hit the spot. Cindy was so enamored of soup - puréed yellow peppers with a dollop of fresh cheese - that we thought about coming back for dinner until the heavens opened up after our return to the hotel. It is really a lovely little town and we were grateful that we could enjoy it without the tourists which swamp the place every summer. It is a jumping-off spot for Rhine cruises, lunch/dinner cruises, wine cruises, well you get the point, it is a thriving place from late April to late October.

We had a well-deserved nap and took a short walk in the underground garage, which while being underground, still had open windows so we could breath clean, moist air and have periodic views of the river on one side and the train tracks on the other while avoiding the rain.  While Cindy practiced her violin, I went to what I was told was the bar, but which turned out to be a room with a TV and five overstuffed chairs.  A waiter came and took my order and then returned with my drink and that was that, not a lot of charm, but all was made right when we went in to dinner. We were given a lovely table for two overlooking the river and the illuminated castle, towers and monuments on both sides of the river, even with the rain, was magical. 

Soup must be a big thing in Bingen since there were several on our menu, but only one that really intrigued me: Mustard Soup.  It was, as best I can figure, a clear chicken stock thickened with Dijon mustard with bacon and croutons floating on top.  It was fantastic!  We left the wine choice to our waiter, who either was afraid to get it wrong or really well trained, and he brought us two samples of very dry, local Rieslings.  Both were good but one was better and he was pleased with our choice.  It was a lovely meal, a great setting and a nice way to end our short time in Germany.

After a morning run for Cindy along the river and a walk for me through town again and then to the river, we had our breakfast and hit the road at ten.  It was pouring rain when we left and just seemed to rain harder and harder as we drove. It turned out to be a blessing since it limited our view of the rather nasty Ruhr Valley; that industrial wasteland that still is an eye sore. 

By three we were on the outskirts of Brussels and Cindy and Sybil took over directing me hither, thither and yon.  Finally, after a nerve racking thirty minutes, we arrived someplace that looked familiar and with my uncanny sense of direction, two missed turns and an overshoot, we were home!  Meagan was patiently waiting for us in the garage - not minding our navigation delay - and her smiles and hugs were a grand welcome.

Best wishes, Cindy and Wm

Augsburg, Part II

Our 2 days in Augsburg were FABULOUS - it is not a well known city but it is extremely interesting and beautiful.  As you may have gleaned from a previous blog, I kept asking why we were returning to Augsburg after all these years and Cindy just smiled knowingly.  As reported, we had a great first night on our own and then at 11 am the next day our former landlords Erich and Elisabeth met us in the hotel lobby and our real adventure began ...

Martin Luther was in Augsburg and there is much evidence of that in the various churches, plaques, and statues. Augsburg has the first onion dome in all of Germany, and one of the churches has the oldest stained glass in Europe (they hid the 4 panels during WWII when Augsburg was 80% destroyed).  The Rathaus is gorgeous - the largest in Germany - and the pedestrian shopping area is almost endless with many fancy stores as well as many normal ones. On an early morning walk I went through the city market, which is as old as it is beautiful with all manner of meat, fruit, vegetables, and fish including trout still swimming. It was so early that I was the only customer; all the others were vendors setting up. I saw a small truck with a tank on it next to the fish market and upon closer inspection found two men dipping nets into the tank and removing fresh trout to place in the tank of the fish market. There is fresh and then there is FRESH!   Parts of the market are indoors but much of it is partly outside with little shops that have awnings on one side that are open to the pedestrian streets within the market area. 

Back to our fabulous day:  Erich and Elisabeth are very interested in history and architecture wherever they go (we met them once in Padua) and of course they are extremely knowledgeable about the city where they were both born and raised.  One of the highlights (in addition to what is mentioned in the previous paragraph) was the Golden Room on the 3rd floor of the Rathaus - which is aptly named.  Seemingly everything is covered in gold on the walls and ceilings. There was a long line of people waiting to pay to visit the Golden Room, but Erich just told us to follow him - and we did, to a rather well hidden elevator. Upon getting out on the 3rd floor we were greeted by a ‘keeper of the gate’ who tried to tell us to go back down to the line, but Erich pulled out some kind of card and the next thing we knew the keeper was all smiles and polite greetings. We found out later that Erich is one of the members of the society that keeps the Rathaus in good shape.  Nice to be with insiders.

While we were at the Rathaus Elisabeth pointed out some wall art by Kager, an artist from the 1500 -1600’s who was born in Munich but lived and died in Augsburg.  Elisabeth told us that we were looking at reproductions - but just wait - we’d see the real thing at their house.  And sure enough, several years ago they had purchased a very old house that was in ruins so they completely refurbished it and saved the paintings on the walls which were done by Kager!  In 1600-something!  It was jaw-dropping and they did a beautiful job of fixing up the house while maintaining its historical significance.  

I need to point out something regarding communications.  Erich does not speak much English and so he just spoke - sometimes rather fast - German. The remarkable thing is that I kept up with the conversation and actually was using full sentences with verbs and everything. Amazing what you remember with just a little study and practice. If I had taken the time to study French I wouldn’t be sounding like Tarzan in Nice.  And as luck would have it, we usually separated into couples as we walked - and Elisabeth speaks rather good English.  Yet Cindy is the one who REALLY studied German and figured she’d be practicing it all day since when we lived in Augsburg Elisabeth seemingly spoke no English at all (no doubt because she was encouraging us to learn German). 

Before we left their house their daughter Steffi left work to come and see us; the last time we saw her she was still a teenager and it was fun to see her as an adult.  She took photos of all of us and one is posted below.  

That night we were invited to a dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant that they know well. We were joined by their son Erich Jr, his wife and one of their sons. Again, we ended up mostly speaking German and Italian and English was just the fall back. Turns out Erich knows a lot more English than he let on - but maybe he, like me, needed a bit of wine to loosen his tongue.  It was obvious that they were very well known since everyone was rather solicitous to them.

From Cindy:  I graduated from Augsburg College, which is named after the city, so I feel a special connection and was tickled when we had the opportunity to live there back in 1984.  I may not have remembered a whole lot about our 3 1/2 months in Augsburg so many years ago, but I do remember going to the same city market and buying potatoes.  We had only been in Germany for about 4 months and I was still adapting to the concept of ordering things orally by weight, in grams no less, so I asked for 100 grams of Kartofflen.  The clerk became very crabby and I quickly realized that I wanted a whole lot more than 100 grams, but she was not nice about it so I stuck to my guns and paid for just 1 potato.  So there!  

We heard that Rick Steves gives Augsburg about a sentence in his guide book on the area so that may be why it remains relatively unknown to Americans.  Put it on your list if you go to Germany.  

Best to all,  Cindy and William

 

Our lovely Augsburg Hosts

Augsburg, Part I

True to our pledge we were in the car and moving by ten AM after a very fine breakfast at our hotel in Trento, the best we had had on the trip to date. We took a few goodies from the breakfast buffet for snacking and headed north to Austria. Whereas the trip from San Marino to Trento was mostly flat though wide open spaces, this one was through narrow mountain passes and many, many tunnels. While Cindy assured me the scenery was beautiful, I was laser focused as our trusty car headed up hill. Sharing these narrow roads and tunnels with 18-wheelers is a challenge and by the time we reached Innsbruck and the roads opened up, I was one tired puppy.  Augsburg was getting closer but we surely were not there yet.

The weather cooperated nicely, thank goodness, and a short time after passing Innsbruck we crossed the border into Germany. Our car, a Nissan X-Trail, had some lovely features but the one I liked the most and used the most was the posted speed limit right in the middle of the speedometer array. Speeds change all the time in Europe and depending upon the country, you can be photoed and issued a ticket multiple time within fifteen kilometers. I grew heavily dependent upon this feature so you can imagine how I felt as we got on the A8 towards Munich and the speed indicator just became a white circle, no speed indicated.  It took me awhile to realize, mein Gott in Himmel, we are in Germany and there is NO SPEED LIMIT!  My first clue was all of the cars passing me at great speed, so I put the pedal to the metal and in no time was at 180 kmh (about 110 mph).  That was plenty fast for me but still it was like I was in the slow lane; amazing how fast they drive. These were actually not long stretches of road that had no limit - perhaps ten kilometers and then it was 130 kmh - then another five without limit and then back to 80 or 90; it was really crazy. 

Our GPS Navigator - who we called Sybil since she had an English accent - took us around Munich to the north, which we think was the long way, but we also think she knew something about the traffic that we didn’t so we followed her directions. By now it had started to rain and yet there were those who still kept speeding by us. There was a lot of road construction and merging of lanes, which I must say the Germans do with exemplary skill. They are all taught the ‘zipper method’ of lane change in which each driver allows the one in the merging lane to enter ahead of them allowing all the traffic to keep moving.  It makes so much sense and SHOULD be universal.  

Sybil got us close to our hotel in Augsburg just before dark. It was still raining quite hard and we think that Sybil still harbored ill will with the Germans because she kept taking us in a circle. She would say, “Your destination is on the right” and it was a post office so we went forward and she said to take a right and the next thing you know I’m driving right down the pedestrian street. (I know I’m going to get a ticket for that.) She tried to do it again but we were not to be fooled. We pulled over next to a taxi stand and Cindy was about to get out and ask for directions when she noticed our hotel was across the street from where Sybil thought it should be.  Several illegal U-turns later, I pulled up as close to the hotel as possible and Cindy ran in to find out where their parking garage was. Turns out they didn’t have one and we were directed to a city garage where we finally found a space and then schlepped our luggage (in the rain) to the hotel.  We left a lot of luggage in the car but nevertheless we had plenty to drag along - a person gets lazy about packing when traveling by car.

Upon further reflection as to why I chose a city hotel without parking, I realized that we were recreating the September trip that we had had to cancel due to Cindy’s broken wrist, and on that trip we had planned to take the train.  Rest assured that our hotel without parking was indeed convenient to the train station!  

After checking in and changing rooms (the first one was mighty small), we were ready to take a walk and didn’t care that it was raining. We realized that we didn’t really know where we were, nothing looked familiar at all even though we had lived nearby (well, it was only 3 1/2 months and only 35 years ago, but still). We just couldn’t get our bearings, so when in doubt, drink beer. We found a small beer bar close to the hotel and I ordered what I had been dreaming about for months, a half liter of helles beer and a brezel; Cindy had wine. It was marvelous and all the tension just melted away as we sat and sipped. It was to be my only beer on the trip, but it was memorable and a second one would not have been twice as good.

That night, on the recommendation of staff, we found a Bavarian beerhall that we were told served the best Bavarian food in town.  It was housed in an old armory and was enormous, not like the Munich beer halls, but really quite large. There were long tables of young folks drinking beer and a few other tables of white-hairs having dinner. Cindy, ordering lightly (so she thought), had two appetizers that could have fed one of the big tables.  I had a pork schnitzel covered with the dried must of the grains used to make beer.  It was the size of a tennis racket and was placed on top of a huge plate of fries, with a half lemon for health. It was delicious and I ate it all, but not all the fries.  Cindy tried hard to finish her yummy huge salads but I needed to step in so she wouldn’t look bad.

More on this later,  Cindy and Wm