2008 Central Europe

There are reasons why people go to Europe in the summertime; reasons like nice foliage, flowers and beautiful sunny weather. But we had our reasons for going in early spring, and they seemed like good ones at the time. These included fewer people, lower costs and maybe half-way decent weather.


We got the fewer people part right – the crowds were very much on the low side. Lower costs? The package price for the tour, lodging and a few meals wasn’t bad at all. But the near-worthless dollar for everything else put the cabash on any thoughts of saving money. And this brings us to the weather. I had to keep telling myself that it is spring, and the day before Easter, as we endured leaving Cleveland in the snowstorm. At least it would be sunny and warmer in Europe, right?


Frankfurt
Frankfurt was cold. It turned out that this would become a recurring theme. We took a long cold walk around the town, especially in the river area. Then we ate at a very nice small traditional German restaurant. The local specialty was "green sauce"; it wasn't bad. In the evening we met our tour director, "Wentz" Wenceslas.

Berlin
The drive from Frankfurt to Berlin was longer than expected. With the stop in Weimar, it took most of the day. Weimar is the intellectual and artistic home of such Germans as Schiller, Goeth and Bach. It was lunch and a nice cold walk around town for us. We also stopped at the old border between East and West Germany. It was interesting to see the guard towers that were left standing for the sake of history.

Berlin is huge. The contrast between east and west is striking, as the east is dominated by old Communist era starkly ugly architecture. The west is park-like. At our first dinner in Berlin we ate at "Fat Paula's" and learned how she became so.

The bus arrived, with all of us in it, at 8:29, exactly one minute before our scheduled time to meet Ben, who was to take us on our local tour of Berlin. Ben wasn't there. But then, just as the clock turned to 8:30, Ben suddenly showed up from nowhere. Wentz observed, "Such is German punctuality… that Ben would be nowhere to be seen at 8:29, and then appear at 8:30."

We continued to learn about the fascinating history of this incredible city. World War II left the city almost entirely destroyed; only rubble remained. East and West separated after the war, but the West had to be supported by the airlift until a roadway to the rest of West Germany was built. Reunification came in 1989, and the changes thereafter are most profound. The new architecture is stunningly modern. The entire city is alive and vibrant. We saw Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate, the parks and the interesting architecture.

Potsdam was rather interesting, especially with the history of the peace conference there. It's a small village 15 miles outside of Berlin; we arrived by train. Most of our time was spent in the famous Sans Souci gardens and palace. The palace itself was a bit on the small side as far as palaces go. Of course the gardens were only beginning to come alive; the calendar still said March, and our bodies told us it was January. The off and on snow didn't help.

Everywhere we went in Germany we saw wind turbines. There are 50,000 of them, and you absolutely can’t miss them. I’m not sure what percentage of Germany’s power comes from wind, but I keep asking myself, wind power is such a no-brainer - why can’t we do this?

Warsaw
The trip from Berlin to Warsaw was broken up with a stop for lunch in the medieval Polish village of Poznan. This town exceeded expectations, since we didn't have any. The town square and church were quite nice. The trip also saw some crazy driving, as drivers coming the other way would be passing others and not seem to worry at all about being in the oncoming lane with a busload of tourists hurtling towards them. Of course we'd move aside, but Wentz needed to reassure us: "Don't worry; this is Poland. It's the way things are here."

It was snowing as we arrived in Warsaw. This wasn't just a few flurries, as we'd been experiencing. This was big-time snow; almost white-out conditions. It was fun to watch it from our hotel dining area, once we had finally arrived safe and sound. Some of the Australians were fascinated with the storm, and one, Skye, went out to make a snow-angel.

It feels like we're living in history. It's like we are, in some small way, a part of it. Warsaw has its own fascinating place in history. Did you know that the word, "ghetto" only meant Jewish neighborhood before World War II, and that it only received a negative connotation after the war started? The Jewish Ghetto had been walled in by the Nazis, but the Jews rebelled in 1943, fighting with everything they had. The rebellion was finally put down months later, and the Ghetto was completely destroyed. Then the non-Jewish Poles rebelled in 1944, only to have their rebellion put down and see the remainder of the city destroyed.

We saw the completely rebuilt Royal Palace, and this *was* impressive. It was huge in scale, and the rooms were ornate to an incredible degree. The gold leaf was especially impressive. We've been doing several of these sightseeing excursions with our friends from the UK, Allan and Susan. It is saving us some money to do them on our own rather than take the organized tour.

Krakow
It rained in Krakow. A very cold, hard rain. This was very unfortunate, because it is a wonderful city. You can’t appreciate it, however, when you spend all your time trying to stay dry and warm. We did manage to see the royal castle and cloth market.

Two other things about Krakow. It is home to these salt mines that must be seen to be believed. 300 kilometers of tunnels. Huge open areas. Lakes. Chapels, Statues. I could go on. Did I mention that the mines are also dry, and reasonably warm?

And then there was the “Polish Folklore” dinner, show and dancing. Audience participation, you know. Yes, some of this included your faithful blogger, himself.

Auschwitz
Nothing can prepare you for Auschwitz. It is far beyond any capability I have to describe it, but I will try anyway. We arrived first at Birchenou, just a few kilometers away. I learned later that this is "Auschwitz 2", and that there is also a "3". It is a huge complex, stretching as far as you can see in each direction. Some of the wooden and brick buildings remain. Otherwise it is a lot of chimneys from all the furnaces, railroad tracks and barbed electrical fencing. Miles and miles of it.

We had a guide for Auschwitz 1. She was extremely informative, and took us into several buildings and described their parts in the killing process. All the buildings together were made into a large museum, and our guide showed us important parts of it. The combs, shoes, suitcases taken from the Jews and other prisoners were hard to take. The quantities were also hard to take. Hardest of all for me was the incredibly large mounds of human hair. It was to be used for pillows and beds. Unbelievable. Finally we walked into one of the gas chambers. Words fail to describe it.

Our guide told us of her two uncles who had lived in the area before the Nazis completely evacuated everyone within several miles. These uncles tried to shelter some Jews from the Nazis, and did so with some success. For a while. Then one of the Jews was re-captured and, probably under torture, told the Nazis of all the locals who helped him. The Nazis placed several hundred Poles, including the two uncles, into the camp and tortured them as well. At least that was the fate of the one she could find records on; there is no word on the other. She is still trying to learn more.

There are people on this earth who doubt or even deny that the holocaust occurred. Those people need to come here.

Częstochowa
Częstochowa was also supposed to be a spiritual experience, but most of us thought it was just plain weird. We lined up along with lines from gobs of other busloads of people, and then "snuck" into church *while mass was going on*! We wound through the churchgoers and monks (it is a monastery) and in back of the altar in order to catch a glimpse of the bejeweled Black Madonna. She was pretty cool, but the whole thing just seemed so wrong for some reason.

It didn’t take long. Lawrence from London, who’s in his early 20’s was traveling alone. Jen from Michigan but who’s studying in the U.K., and who’s in her early 20’s was traveling with her Mom, Louise. By this point in the trip these two were seen holding hands. And sitting together on the bus. And resting one another’s heads on the other’s shoulder. Everyone enjoyed the concept of this budding relationship.

Budapest
Budapest was lovely, as always. It helped that the weather cleared up, and it even felt warm. Since I had been there, I became the defacto tour guide and led a group to the central city to see the sights at night. They were, as always, stunning.

Budapest was just as spectacular by day. Along with Allan and Susan, and sometimes a few others, we walked for miles and miles. We saw Heroes Square, Castle Hill, including the changing of the guard by the presidential palace, the famous Jewish Synagogue with all its associated history, and of course the Chain Bridge and OF COURSE the Danube River.

It had been a long, long day, but it was not over. My work client-associate Istvan, and his friend Vera picked us up and we all went to dinner at a traditional Hungarian restaurant. We enjoyed several hours of conversation over slow, and good, Hungarian food.

In Budapest we also said goodbye to our bus driver, Franco. His son, Giovanni, who was much more on the quiet side would take over for the rest of the trip. We would miss Franco because he was so entertaining. At the rest stops, he would say things like, “You miss bus, no problem. I come back – two weeks.”

Wentz, our tour director is also a funny guy. He’s always helpful and serious when he needs to be. But some folks are funny without even trying, and he’s one of them. Complaining when we weren’t able to get out of an automated parking area in Krakow, he says, “When you have man with mustache, you pay him and no problem. When you have computers, you have big problem.”

Vienna
Vienna is probably even grander than Budapest. Whereas Budapest is in the process of restoring much of its former splendor, Vienna is much farther along. Vienna was spared much of the devastation from war that had befallen Budapest. It seems that everywhere you turn, you bump into a palace. And each one is grander than the last. It’s hard to take it all in.

The Kursalon Waltz show would be our chance to sample Viennese music at its source. The orchestra only had nine pieces, but they sure knew how to play. The music was mostly that of Johann Strauss Jr., but there was also some by other members of the Strauss family as well as Wolfie Mozart. There were some operatic pieces and some dancing to the waltz music. The lead violinist made like Andre Rieu to make sure no one took anything too very seriously. But it was all very well done, besides being fun.

Also in Vienna we spent some time gaping at the Hapsburg crown jewels. They included several diamond and gold bejeweled crowns, other outlandish clothing, and a 2000+ karat emerald.

No travel story can possibly be complete without a word about the toilets. They were mostly ok, and were invariably very clean. The one at our hotel room in Vienna was special though. The Austrians, and particularly the Viennese, take pride in being a very “civilized” society. Indeed, the food, music, architecture, etc. were all outstanding. Too bad about the plumbing. Our hotel toilet was built such that when you sit down, the drain is up near your feet, and there is a slight dry “bowl” right beneath you. Thus anything that you leave is presented right back to you, like on a platter. When you flush, the water pushes it forward into the drain – good thing that part worked ok.


Prague
Prague came with more cold and rain. But later on it cleared up. What a difference that made. Some, including me, have called this the most beautiful city on the planet. Yes, I still think so, but it sure helps to have the sun shining. We bought 24-hour metro / tram tickets, and made great use of them. We spent all the time with Allan and Susan walking and riding and exploring. The medieval town seems to just go on forever. The main districts are the Jewish Quarter, Old Town, New Town (which, being 600 years old, is a relative term), Lesser Town and the Castle District. Wenceslas Square, the Monastery, the Infant of Prague (which we only stumbled upon). We did them all.

PROST!
You have to yell it loud and deep. It helps if you spray some saliva in the process. Then you grab your mug by placing your hand through the handle and as far around as possible, and slam it hard against that of your fellow drinker(s). Good thing these are industrial strength 1 plus-liter mugs. But you’re not done yet. You must look your drinking partner(s) directly in the eye all the while, as you take your long, hearty swig.

This we learned from the 17 and 18 year-olds at our table at the famous Hofbrauhaus in Munich. The place was wild when we arrived, and only became more so as the night wore on. Oom-pa-pa band. Dancing in the isles, and anywhere else you could stand up. Waiters and waitresses carrying four or more of these 1-liter mugs full of beer in each hand, spilling it as they went. A lady mopping the floor around the men’s urinals whilst they were in full use. Spontaneous singing, even when the band wasn’t playing. A vomit-urinal. Eternal Oktoberfest. I could go on.

Oh yes, we did see other parts of Munich as well. The most interesting to some of us was a platform at the head of a square used for some of Hitler’s speeches. There are statues of lions on either side, and it was said that he hid behind the left one during an assassination attempt.

Romantic Road
This is a misnomer. There is nothing at all romantic about the road. It’s the villages here in Bavaria that are romantic. They give new meaning to the word medieval. We stopped at Harburg to view the castle from the other side of the river, and then spent some time walking around Nordlington. The ‘O’ has two dots over it to indicate that it is to be pronounced like a ‘u’. So it sounds like “Nurdlington”. When we saw the inhabitants, I mentioned to Debbie that here were all the Nurds, and their little Nurdlings. The Medieval/Bavarian walled village was right out of the story books. If it wasn’t for the occasional auto, you’d swear you’d hit the 1200 year button in your time machine. The village of Rothenburg was much the same, only more so.

Frankfurt and Goodbye
Now we had returned, and it was time to say good bye. We’ll miss our new friends as well as competent and funny Wentz. And Cosmos did it again. They are a class act that continues to impress us.

The weather had been more lousy than nice, but we’d had a great time in spite of that. The places that I’d anticipated liking the most, Budapest, Vienna and Prague, did turn out to be the ones I still want to return to again and again. But the rest was memorable as well.