From 7 Oct to 24 Oct 2011, I was over in Germany, and stayed mostly with friends. I have to give credit to my friends Jonathan Schrader (American Active-Duty Soldier, Heidelberg Germany) and Gerhard Ringler (German civilian, near Goppingen Germany) for being so hospitable to me on my trip there. On the flight over, on Lufthansa Airlines, we were served dinner with those wonderful German brotchens, which is a type of round hard roll. Try as they might, German restaurants and bakeries in the USA just cannot make them taste the same as the authentic German ones.

Upon arrival to Heidelberg, Jon and I took the ICE (InterCity Express) train to Fulda Germany. This town is significant due to Holy Savior Catholic Cathedral there, built AD 1712, replacing an earlier abbey chapel, with tomb of St. Bonifatius (Boniface) in the crypt. He was evangelizer to the pagan Germans. Upon arrival, we walked to the Tourist Information office, got rooms at a nearby hotel, then went for beers and food. Amazingly, we found a gasthaus (restaurant) which had been celebrating October Fest, and still had some quantities of schweinshaxe (ham-hock / pigs knuckles), and weisswurst (white pork sausages with parsley, minced lemon & onion inside it). It was unusual to have this in Fulda, as these are usually only obtained in Austria and Bavaria. And we had tall glasses of German Lowenbrau pilsner beer, from Munich. Pilsner (Americans spell it pilsener) beer is the most common beer in Germany, and is a bottom-fermented pale lager. We also had kolsch beer, a top-fermented yellow specialty beer from the city of Koln (Cologne). Attending Holy Mass at the cathedral was one of my "must-do" items, since my mother's ancestry is German. The cathedral is beautiful, with a glorious altar area. St. Boniface lived AD 680-754, and was a priest of the Benedictine Religious Order. He was a Catholic Englishman sent by Rome to this area, after promoted to be bishop. He was martyred in Frisia. He evangelized primarily in Hesse, Thuringia, and Bavaria.

Also in short walking distance is another very beautiful church, the StadtphfarrKirche, (City Priest’s Church) named after St. Blaisius (Blaise). It is absolutely beautiful inside, built from 1771 to 1780. There is a large statue of a bishop holding long candle tapers to the side of the altar...I did not immediately recognize him as St. Blaise, but as you know, he used long candle tapers to bless persons' throats. He did this annually at the beginning of cold seasons... And there’s a beautiful City Hall (Rathaus), timber & plaster combination (called fachwerk) which dates back to very early 1600’s!

Coming back to Heidelberg, we had to transfer trains at huge Frankfurt train station. I had been there often during the 1970's and 1980's while stationed in Germany with the US Army. But this station has changed considerably. Back then there was a fancy sit-down restaurant with waiters in tuxes, along with a stand-up Imbiss (fast food, with tall tables to stand at, but no chairs). Now there is a large "food court" area with multiple kiosks selling food, drinks, etc. Even a Burger King and a McDonald's are there! I wanted to have a Henninger pilsner beer (made in Frankfurt), but it's not an international brand, and the kiosk for beer-on-tap only had Beck's beer. I did get to enjoy some later, however. It was the brand that I mostly drank while stationed in Hanau (30 miles east of Frankfurt, with 3^rd Armored Division) from June 1978 to Dec 1983. In Frankfurt, by the way, is the Henninger Bier Turm (Beer Tower), a tall tower with restaurant on top...I don't remember if it revolves or not...well worth a visit if ever in Frankfurt!

A few days later we drove to Koblenz to see the Deutsches Eck (German Corner), a beautiful monument dedicated to King Wilhelm I, and the unification of the German States. It is on a spit of land sticking out between the junction of the Moselle and the Rhine Rivers, and all the flags of the German states are there flapping in the wind. Right nearby is St. Kastor Catholic Basilica, named after a 4th century saint who evangelized along the Moselle River. The basilica dates to 817 AD. It is very impressive, and has a mosaic of Christ and disciples on the upper level of the apse, behind the altar.

I searched some nearby pubs for some alt-bier (translated “Old Beer,” meaning the old style of fermentation), a special top-fermented amber beer common to Dusseldorf Germany, but could not find any. Dusseldorf is not too far from Koblenz. . So we had some kolsch beer instead, from Cologne.

Back in Heidelberg, Jon showed me around the military posts there, and it was great to go to a movie at the AAFES (Army & Air Force Exchange Service) movie theater, and having food at a Popeye's Chicken place, as well as Burger King, on post. And one of my goals was to have a Schwaben Brau pilsner beer, and obtain a souvenir glass with said beer logo... Jon made sure that happened. This beer is only in the Baden-Wurtemburg area of Germany, which is where Heidelberg sits. Sadly, in some six months or so, all military bases in Heidelberg will be vacated and turned back over to the Germans...and the US military HQs will move to Wiesbaden, west of Frankfurt. While there, he also showed me the lovely old medieval little towns nearby of Dilsburg and Ladenburg, both worth visits if in the Heidelberg area.

Soon it was time for me to take the train to Goppingen (southeast of Stuttgart some 45 miles) to visit my old friend Gerhard. I had met him way back in 1974 while being stationed there with the US Army, and the last time I had seen him was in 1986, after a NATO exercise in Germany with my unit from USA. He drove me around the town, and we walked alot. It is much bigger today than I remember. We even visited the old Cooke Barracks area, where I was stationed (with 1st Infantry Division), but now it is all privately owned. One thing that was really ironic for me was that when I was stationed there, some of us soldiers would take a Saturday day trip by train down to Munich just to eat at the McDonald's there...Big Macs were that good back then! In the 3 and 1/2 years I was there (Mar 1973 through Aug 1976), I went at least six times on this journey. Well, now at Goppingen, there is a McD's right there in the train station! Gerhard and I went there for breakfast often, and to read the Bild Zeitung, an easy-to-read, somewhat sensationalist newspaper with lots of pictures. Goppingen is right there at the foot of the Schwabian Alps and one can drive up to a mountaintop little town called Hohenstaufen (yep, named after the famous family) where centuries ago there was a castle owned by the family. Up there is a great little restaurant with a magnificent view called the "Honey-Do." Worth a visit if ever in the area!

Gerhard and I took the ICE train to Munich, and stayed at an inexpensive hotel across the street from the HauptBahnhof (Main train station), called the Europaisher Hof. It was only 45 Euro for room with TV and sink, and a community restroom & shower in the hall. Fortunately, this community restroom/shower had a door that could be locked from the inside! Included in the price was a great breakfast, including weisswurst! I particularly enjoyed the music shows on German TV on friday evening. They have groups that play German folk and pop music, often called Schlager Music. One of the programs was titled "Das Super Talent" and is like our American Idol show. Great entertainment!

In Munich, we also visited Marienplatz (Mary's Square or Place) which has the Catholic cathedral there. Called "FrauenKirche (which is often mistranslated as "Woman's Church"), the official title is St. Mary, Our Lady of Munich Cathedral, and was built AD 1468, replacing older church built 1100’s. We attended Sunday Holy Mass. This cathedral should not be missed if in the Munich area! It is beautiful. I asked Gerhard if he ever sees any Russian Orthodox or Ukrainian Eastern Catholic churches. He said they are around, since so many Russians/Ukrainians came after the fall of communism.. But we did not see any the whole time I was there in Germany. Probably out in the suburbs...(Sadly, I had seen a large Muslim mosque in Frankfurt as we were pulling into the city by train…Germany has too many Muslim Turks)

At Marienplatz, in Munich, just a couple of subway stops from the Hauptbahnhof, is the RatHaus (city government building) with historic clock tower & coo-coo clock with moving figurines. And also the famous HofBrauHaus, the city beer hall for Munich's Hofbrau beer with those big one-liter glass steins and “oompah” music. However, I only wanted to go to Donisl, there on Marienplatz, which is a smaller beer house, to eat dinner - I had been to all the other things before. We had schweinshaxe and those big half-fist-sized Munich dumplings along with a mixed salad, and a tall glass of Alt Munchener (translated “Old Munich”) weiss bier. This type beer, sometimes called weissen, literally means “wheat” and is another top-fermented specialty beer, with low alcohol content. We also visited the nearby SiegesTor (Victory Arch) commemor-ating the Bavarian Army, built in 1852. It is similar to the Arch de Triumph in Paris. These structures were so popular back then that there is even one in Prospect Park in Brooklyn NY!

Later, going by train to Stuttgart, I enjoyed a few Stuttgarter Hofbrau pilsner beers, the beer that us soldiers often drank when I was stationed nearby in Goppingen. And Gerhard helped me obtain a souvenir glass with this beer’s logo on it. From the Hauptbahnhof, we walked down Konigs Strasse (King's Street) in the fussganger zone (foot traffic only, no cars) to the Schloss Platz (Palace Place). This is a beautiful park, with statue to King Wilhelm I, and two large water fountains, with the palace in the backgrounds. Worth a walk to! The palace today is the government buildings of the German State of Baden-Wurttemberg. The Catholic cathedral is on this street also, but it is somewhat modern, having been built in 1950 after the city was destroyed in bombings during WWII. If looking for it, ask for the "Dom." Not very big.

While in the area, I was able to imbibe in many glasses of spezi, a distinctive only-in-Germany drink composed of cola and orange soda-pop. The only place I have ever seen it in USA was at the Atlanta Coca-Cola Museum tour, wherein they have differing types of cola drinks on tap from around the world for sampling, and it is listed as “Germany.” Gerhard says it is mostly everywhere in Germany today, but in the 1970’s, I could only find it in Stuttgart/Goppingen/

Augsburg area. It is sold in stores under differing names: Cola-Mix, Mezzo Mix, Schwip Schwap, etc. In Goppingen, one evening Gerhard and I went looking for a German restaurant (a Tuesday evening) and all were closed (Ruhetag - Quiet Day). We found one in the little town of Bartenbach, and I kept wondering why that name sounds familiar. Then it came to me: I rented a room from a family there in that township for about six months, before renting one in downtown Goppingen. This little township has the smell of farms, "fertilizers," and animals. We found a little farm restaurant and had great sauerkraut and leberwurst sausages. I had never had these type sausages. They were off-white in color, with heavy skins, and little metal clips on the ends holding the skins closed. Gerhard said these type sausages are only made when a pig is slaughtered, and the ground-up meat with spices gets put into the sausage skins. Then when it is on the plate, one holds it down by one end with a fork, cuts the other end of the skin with a knife, and then use a butter-knife to squeeze out the ground-up meat. It was VERY TASTEFUL! This meal, with some Stuttgarter HofBrau beers, really made my last night there memorable.

After returning to Heidelberg, my friend Jon joined me for a Saturday French TGV train ride to Reims France. This train travels at speeds about 200 Miles per Hour. Unbelievably fast, much faster than the German ICE (InterCity Express)! Overall, the trains in both France and Germany are much nicer, more modern and cleaner, than I remember them. And there is NO SMOKING on these today. And wherein one used to have to reach up, and yank the door handle down, then swing the door open, now one only needs to push the button at the door, on the outside of the train, and the doors slide open automatically. Anyhow, we got to Reims, found a Tourist Information booth outside the train station, and got a city map and directions. Took city bus (#6) to St. Remi Catholic Basilica, named after the saint who baptized Clovis, on 24 Dec 496. He was King of the Germanic Franks which he had unified, and was father to Charles the Great (Charlemagne). The basilica is very old (built AD 500’s) and beautiful...and I understand that in the crypt, St. Remi is buried. However, the lady there said the crypt is closed. Using the same bus ticket, we rode/backtracked to the Notre Dame of Reims Catholic Cathedral. It is very impressive, and it rivals the Catholic cathedrals in Paris and in Chartres, France. There is a plaque in the center aisle identifying that “upon this spot, Clovis was baptized.” The cathedral was there in the fourth century, but in AD 1200 or so, it burned, and was rebuilt to even grander and larger dimensions. My goal was to attend worship there at the cathedral, but there was no Saturday Vigil Holy Mass. (And the Sunday worship started at 9:30am, but our train was to pull out of Reims at 10am…so I did not get to do this....)

Then a short walk of a few blocks to the center of old city, wherein the streets are closed to traffic, we stayed in two rooms at the Quality Inn hotel. We walked down the street a couple of blocks, and marveled at the number of shops, restaurants, and pubs. We found Le Grand Cafe (I had found it on the internet earlier, searching for steak tartare in Reims) and had dinner there....he had a plate of mussels, and for me a plate of steak tartare. This is very lean & raw ground-beef-steak, with minced onions, ground black pepper, seasonings and a bit of Worchestershire sauce blended in. Very delicious, and a Parisian delicacy. A shared plate of escargots (farm-raised snails), and a basket of French baquette breads (similar texture to German brotchens, but a bit longer)and a shared bottle of dry red French Rhone wine really made the meal memorable. Great breakfast at the hotel next morn (not included in room price of 56 EUR), including French cheeses (especially my beloved Camembert), meats and eggs, and French baquette breads. Then we walked the couple of blocks down to the train station to catch our train back to Germany.

WARNING: NEVER DRINK TAP WATER IN EUROPE IF YOU ARE JUST VISITING AS AN AMERICAN! I do know better, but that night in that French hotel, I drank a couple of cupfuls of the sink tap water, and the next day had the "runs" for 24 hours. When living over there, you do get used to it, but as a tourist, you will get the "runs." And, I remind everyone that hotels over there do not stock wash-cloths, only towels. You are advised to bring your own. Also, bring a rolled-up rubber mat for the tub, since they don't have them. The tubs can get very slick with water... Easy to fall down.

At the Frankfurt airport, I was able to purchase a bottle of Frankfurter apfelwein (apple wine) which is popular around Frankfurt in the late fall (Oct-Nov) in the pubs, made from fermented apple juice. It sometimes has the slang names apfelwoi, or apfelmus.

All in all, it was a great trip, and I got to eat plenty of bratwursts (pork sausages), rindswurst (beef sausages), schnitzils, and spaetzle (short egg noodles, a Schwabian treat). And plenty of German beers! I was impressed of how much cleaner everywhere seemed to be, including the restrooms at pubs, restaurants and train stations. They used to be much dirtier, and often had no toilette paper. But they are much cleaner and well stocked today - didn't need to carry my own roll of tissue! And I noticed that many of the German women wear skirts with dark color hose, and short high-heels... as opposed to American women who seem to all wear blue jeans and sneakers. It was good to see women looking feminine for a change! And most important, it was a great chance to practice German language again…

I hope you enjoyed reading this write-up. Auf wiedersehen, meine Deutschland!