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Hungry for Hungary, Sept. 28 As we awoke this morning and prepared to go to breakfast, our ship docked on the Pest ("pesht") side of the river at Budapest. This is the capital city of 2 million in a country of 9 million.  It is bisected by the Danube River, the west side hilly and the east is flat. Most stunning are the buildings with exquisite architectural detail, evident before we even went ashore. Our day was somewhat abbreviated since our ship is limping, but we still were able to get an overview, and are pleased that we didn’t have to miss this city. We boarded a bus for a tour of some of the high points with stops at a high viewpoint of the city, the Square of the Heroes, and the Royal Palace. The viewpoint gave a wonderful view of the city from a high vantage point. The square is a huge area with monumental statues to family people in the history of Hungary. The palace is a city within a city up the hill from the river with many historic buildings and a part of the fortress wall. We spent some time in the oldest church in Budapest, St. Mathias, dating back to the 13th century. It is gothic with lots of decoration both inside and outside. In the 19th century, Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth (Si Si) of the Austria-Hungarian Empire had their coronation held in this church. Franz Joseph visited it ahead of time, decided it was too plain on the inside and had the walls painted with endless decoration. Outside is a magnificent statue of King Stephen who lived in the 11th century.        The bronze shoes line the bank of the Danube in remembrance of those Jews who lost their lives to the Hungarian Nazi's who shot them and threw the bodies into the water. Our third stop was for lunch in a hundred year old cellar not far from the river. It accommodated our group of over 100 easily, and we had typical Hungarian food. It would be a popular place to eat, I imagine. We had time afterward to stroll down a pedestrian street nearby to look for souvenirs and watch the people. It was spotlessly clean and the variety of the buildings on either side was very interesting. One sees an incredible amount of needlework with signs saying “Not made in China.” They would like you to think they’re all handmade, but we doubted if that was possible. Blanche is always on the lookout for toothpick holders, and Burt usually finds a mug to add to their collections. At 3:14, we had to be ready to board our buses for an hour’s ride upriver to Escargot where the ship was waiting to take us on to Bratislava for tomorrow. We are a day behind after today and will have to work in Vienna. There was a bit of grumbling that this was a lot to do in one day, but I’m sure we can manage. We all were very impressed with Budapest and would love to come back and spend more time.

A Full Day: Both Bratislava and Vienna Up early, we glided into Bratislava, Slovakia on the Danube near the border with Austria for a morning tour. This city of half a million, is the capital of Slovakia, created early in this decade after the breakup of Czechoslovakia, created after the end of WWI. The two new countries are the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czechs speak Czech and the Slovaks, Slovakian, but the languages are quite closely related.  We began our tour with a ride on a small rubber-tired choo-choo train around the old town. Our local guide was a fount of information and took us on a walking tour before giving us some free time in the public square and surrounding streets. Much of the area is closed for pedestrian traffic, and we were impressed with how well maintained it was. We walked around and saw a number of public buildings and various embassies. The U.S. one is a local irritant with its high barbed-wire fortress in an otherwise peaceful and historic area. It certainly says something about how we are viewed or see ourselves in the world. Slovakia adopted the Euro a year ago, and we will now have the same currency for the remainder of our trip. Since it is new here, the old crowns are shown in the prices. I used the cash machine and discovered that there are over 131,000 crowns left in my account. It won’t last long. Since we left home, the dollar has fallen against the Euro, so we probably won’t be able to afford to go home.   As we began our tour, the ship left to sail to Vienna (Wien), in eastern Austria. The plan was for us to follow in a bus on the autobahn to catch up after our time in Vienna. The bus trip was a little over an hour, time to nap or look at the beautiful farms in the flat countryside. Arriving in Vienna, we were taken to lunch. As we passed through to our seats, we passed tables with a beer tap in the middle; this was a serious venue. We came to believe that the place was very disorganized with a lack of staff. Fortunately, the Viking staff pitched in and helped serve a lunch that was supposed to be typical Austrian fare. We weren’t impressed, and we thought the crew was embarrassed. They hadn’t chosen this place.   Next, we took a bus tour around the Ring Strasse (street) a horseshoe boulevard created in the 19th century by Franz Joseph after he had the city wall torn down. We passed buildings that truly took our breath away. Magnificent palaces and beautiful houses were on every side, many of which have been converted into businesses and flats. One can do anything with the inside as long as the outside remains the same. Franz Joseph who was emperor for more than 50 years, certainly made his mark on the city. A large Romanesque church near where our ship docked was built for the 50th anniversary of his coronation. After circling the ring, we made our way into the center to St. Stephen’s cathedral, a monumental gothic edifice built between the 12th and 16th centuries. It was badly damaged in the war with the wooden roof destroyed. It has been restored, and is being sandblasted to remove the black grime of the ages. All around the square was a car-free pedestrian area with very sophisticated shops like 5th Ave in New York. It was an unusually cold (54) day and we needed warm coats in the wind. We were spared the threatening rain while walking around. One of the spectacular buildings near the cathedral had golden arches where we knew we could get cheap coffee and find a restroom. The latter proved a challenge because it required a 50 cent (€) coin or a card to operate the turn-style. We managed to get change. I had forgotten that restrooms in this part of the world require some coins. We thought we should go to a bank and get a roll of coins.   In the evening most of us went to a concert organized by Viking to hear the sounds of Vienna. We took a bus from the ship across the center of the city to a hall that was part of some sort of military museum built in the mid nineteenth century by Franz Joseph. The room for the concert was huge and very ornate. There was an orchestra of 13 with 2 dancers, a soprano and a tenor. The 2 hour event contained everything from Mozart opera to Strauss waltzes. The crowd began to murmur its approval as the first strains of the last number was heard: The Beautiful Blue Danube. Though a relatively small ensemble, the acoustics caused the music to fill the room. Riding back to the ship, we appreciated seeing the lighted buildings. Our ship is near the large amusement park with and old huge Ferris wheel where the passengers ride in boxcar-looking containers. A light supper was served upon our return, but there were few takers from our group. We are happy that we are back on schedule, both engines are running and we will make the rest of the cruise as originally planned.

Melk Austria, September 30 Our ship left Vienna late in the evening heading for the small town of Melk, Austria famed for its well-preserved Benedictine monastery, up on the hill with a commanding view of the surrounding area.  The morning cruise had many interesting towns and ruins through this area, and we had some commentary by our guide Merek.  Lest there be any tedium during the cruising, we could go to a talk about coffee, brought to Europe by the Ottoman Turks, and a demonstration of strudel-making.   We docked shortly after noon, and were able to disembark for a stroll into the town before meeting our tour at 3:00.  We were especially interested in the photography shop named Gottwald.  Later Blanche, who stayed in the town, went into the shop and picked up a magazine that told about the family.  Elaine’s maiden name is Gottwald.  TomD, Levonne Rick, Elaine, Nancy, Blanche, Joel     Several Gottwald businesses in Melk Joel, TomD, Nancy, Levonne, Rick  Nancy and Melk Cow   Toms Tom's  By three, we had climbed the many steps to the monastery and received our tickets so we could enter the extensive gardens.   Located on the hill aside the town, it provides a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside and the Danube and Melk rivers.  The Monastery  has been in the area for over 900 years following the rules laid down by St. Benedict.  Destroyed and rebuilt numerous times, the current architecture, dating from the 17th century, is one of the most important buildings in the baroque style in Europe.   Currently there are 30 monks, 15 living at Melk and 15 serving in surrounding parishes.  They operate a school of 750 boys and girls from the region.    TomD & Martha   Long Hall Mirror room Library  We toured some of the long corridor and a series of rooms that have an extensive exhibit of the history and contemporary life of the community.  We ended our tour in the church.  The golden statues glisten in contrast to the frescoes and white stucco.  Pictures can hardly do it justice.  Since 1978 there has been extensive renovation and it is no wonder that it is named as a UNESCO cultural heritage site. Reusable Coffin (bottom opens up) More photos from the grounds of the Abbey at Melk: Mirror/glass lawn garden:  Carl, TomD Marble Room Ornate Church Banana plant in garden house Pictures from the Viking Primadonna ship: 2 story atrium/lobby Szabi, Viking Pgm Dir George (Bulgaria), our waiter Locks near Melk

Linz, Austria and Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic We arrived early in the morning in Linz, Austria and were soon ready to disembark for a daylong trip to the town of Cesky Krumlov (Chesky) in the Czech Republic. The hour plus drive was very scenic through beautiful rolling countryside, first Austria then CZ. There were beautiful very green farms much of which seemed devoted to silage for cattle, though we saw very few, cows, that is. Most people live in small villages usually with a prominent church steeple. As we got off the bus, we all needed to use the restroom facilities. This presented a problem since there was a turn-style that required a Czech coin which we didn’t have. Our ever faithful tour guide, Mercedes, took our Euro coins and exchanged them for a handful of the necessary ones and we could enter. Necessities taken care of, we were off with a local tour guide to tour the small gothic and baroque and renaissance city most of which has been in place since the 15th century. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Cesky Kromlov, whose name refers to a town built along a meandering river, is a jewel indeed. We started down the road and passed under the great arches that linked the parts of the castle that straddled the river. The double arches were capped by a passageway so that one could cross over without having to go outside, particularly helpful during a siege. Our cameras were clicking as we passed one breathtaking site after the other. Every turn was a Cezanne painting made especially colorful with the yellow and red leaves. Many of the buildings looked to be of blocks or stone. Most all of it is a tromp d’oeil, painted on a flat surface to look that way. We walked through and around the town with our guide making suggestions for lunch which was on our own for the only time on the cruise. We walked up the steps and inclines to the top of the castle for the magnificent view before settling in on a place for lunch. On the way we crossed the dry moat and saw that they had some bears in it. We decided on The Two Marys which served food from medieval times. Some of us had a sampler plate and since we sat outside, the waiter got up on a stool as the food was passed out the window. Since Tom D’s meal was a vegetarian sampler, they included poor man’s Christmas dinner portions of barley and oats, I think. There was millet fixed two ways, and for the meat eaters, ham, chicken and potatoes. Everything was very tasty, but the place was rustic and one wouldn’t have been too surprised if they had scraped the plates in the river and rinsed them off. Some on the tour spun off for a brewery tour, but we all decided to spend the remainder of the time in this town. I had made a bank withdrawal so that I could have coins for my collection and the smallest amount I could get was 1,000 crowns. I had to finish spending them, so we went into a café to warm up and have coffee and for some, a dessert. The Czech Republic is a member of the EU, but hasn’t yet met the requirements to use the Euro. (And they thought Greece had???, one of our guides said.) After the journey back which resulted in some serious napping, we were ready for the Captain’s farewell dinner. The dinner was special with a march of the baked Alaska which we hoped wouldn’t burn the place down, and the introduction of the 44 members of the crew who had taken care of us. A fun day! Viking Primadonna Police check point Chesky special pastry   Carl, Tom Carl, Rod     bear in castle moat      Lunch and dessert: Captain's Dinner

Passau, Germany (Deutschland) Our last full day on the cruise began when the ship docked in Passau (Pa sow with the accent on the first syllable) about the time we were arising. Soon we were out on the dock meeting our tour guide for a stroll through the old part of the city. Passau, the 3 river city, is a tourist Mecca and river cruise ships were all over. We were told that during the season, 50 to 100 dock here, and soon we could see why. In a wedge between two of the rivers, is an area of well preserved buildings on narrow winding streets. Our guide challenged us to find a straight one. At one point we passed down a street that only about two people could get by each other at one time. We passed a beautiful carved door.   Our guide was a college student working on his doctorate taking some time off working as a guide for various groups. He gave us an interesting perspective on the European Union. He felt that the various cultures of the countries meant that people would continue to be Germans, French, or Italians first, and Europeans second even as the economies became more integrated. They love to be able to cross borders freely without worrying about customs or guards or in many cases to exchange money and to go to Austria or Luxembourg to buy cheap gas and cigarettes, and go back home where they have a common culture and language. Workers are free to go wherever there is work, and students can go more easily to other countries to university. He was quite adamant that Europeans were so devastated by two world wars that they were determined not to let it happen again. Our tour ended with some free time before we were to return to the cathedral (dom) for an organ concert on the largest pipe organ outside the US. The cathedral is the largest baroque church north of the Alps. We returned for an excellent 30 minute concert in which there was something for everyone. There are 5 organs around the church and they are electronically integrated. The results were breathtaking. The church was full and held spellbound by the glorious sounds. Organ If not for the impossibly uncomfortable benches, we might have wished for more. One of the gothic cathedral towers was left after a city fire. More recently it was discovered that the fire had damaged the stones, and for 80 years replacements have been made, stone by stone.     After lunch we did a little more shopping and returned to the ship so that it was able to leave and go a short ways to a less busy place to dock. It’s time to pack and get ready for a departure tomorrow.   Tourists

Munich, (Muenchen) Germany Our cruise has ended after 15 glorious days on the mighty Danube River: 8 countries, numerous cities and splendid sites left behind. The original plan was for us to travel about 2 hours to the Munich Airport and then find transportation to our hotel near the city center. Our program directors surprised us by agreeing to take us to the hotel after a stop at the airport. That was fine with us and shortly after noon, we were there and ready to take on OKTOBERFEST!!!! This year is the 200th anniversary so it lasted an extra day allowing us an opportunity to attend. Urs Engelmayer, one of our dear friends in Munich, called and said he would join us and be our guide. We took the underground to the Ofest stop and got off with thousands of others coming and going. We used an escalator and were nearly stampeded when the people at the top were stopped by oncoming hoards. Think about it. People continue to come up the escalator, but there is no exit. All one could do was push ahead and force a way through. Many women and girls had on typical old German dresses and men, lederhosen. Urs with Sponge Bob Balloon We walked a few blocks and entered the grounds. Carnival as far as you could see with a sea of people. The big problem was keeping our group together, not an easy task with 400,000 people in attendance. Urs stopped and bought a balloon which helped considerably. There was everything you could think of to eat, and every type of ride. Rick and Rod joined Urs’s daughter, Lisa on one scary looking ride. Urs was relieved since he didn’t have to accompany her. We turned a corner and saw the huge beer-garden tents occupied by various breweries. There was no chance to go in one since all had sold out in advance. That was OK by us. Rick, Rod and Lisa after the scary ride After about an hour and a half, we had enough and walked out the other side to another underground stop. Urs was taking us on the suburban train (S Bahn) to Buchenhain about 10 miles south of Munich to meet some more of his family. It was dusk by the time we arrived to become reacquainted with our friends we see so seldom. The Engelmayer family’s connection to us was through Ingrid Morf Engelmayer, who was Molalla’s first exchange student in the class of ’59 with Blanche, Elaine and I. Over the years we have remained in contact, although she is no longer living, her family is so kind to welcome us with open arms. Klaas, Ruth and Tina Joel, Elaine, Hans Hans, Richard TomD, Helmut, Joel, Elaine, Hans Ingrid’s husband Helmut had arranged for us to go to a restaurant near their home for dinner. We were joined by children Urs, Hans and his wife Uschi, Ruth and her husband Klaas Willenbrock and some of the grandchildren. It was a lively table in a beautiful place with all kinds of Bavarian specialties. There was much catching up and lots of laughter before it was time to say goodnight and get back to the hotel to get rested for another busy day. Sign for W.C. at Oktoberfest

Salzburg, Austria, The Hills Are Alive…. Our plan while in Munich was to spend a day in Salzburg which is about 2 hours away by train. One can buy a Bavarian Ticket for 28 Euros and 5 people can use it simultaneously, after 9 a.m. Ruth Engelmayer graciously volunteered to meet us at the Hauptbahnhof, Main Train Station and be our guide. We agreed to meet at the gate and hiked out to the appropriate platform to get the train. The ride was very pleasant with the sunshine on the beautiful farms and villages.   Ruth Saltzburg is an old city that was important from Roman times for the salt mines. Major trading round came through the valley, and the city became rich. It is the birthplace of Mozart and there are many signs and plaques commemorating his life. We found many shops on small winding streets enticing visitors with various crafts and souvenirs. Residenz zu Salzburg We found a nice place to have lunch topped off with apple strudel that some couldn’t resist. Afterward, Hans Engelmayer joined us since he could leave school at one p.m., and he lives and teaches in Rosenheim about halfway between Salzburg and Munich. We were asking questions about the Sound of Music and neither Hans nor Ruth knew about it. We had to tell the story… We took an incline cog train up to the castle and some climbed the tower to see a splendid view of the city and surrounding mountains. Others toured the museum with its models of the fortress and how it had changed over the years. Church and state in much of Germany and Austria were intertwined to the extent that the religious leaders were also the political leaders. In Germany today, about 80% of the people are enrolled in either the Roman Catholic or Evangelical (Lutheran) church and it’s divided about 50-50. Taxes are taken out of the incomes of the members to go directly to the church. In turn lots of the social services are done by the churches. Church services are sparsely attended and people don’t have the same attachment to their church as they do in America.   The sun was setting, the stores closing and it was time to walk back to the train station to go back to Munich. Along came this beautiful train from Budapest and we got on thinking it would be faster. It was a very nice train with a café car and all the amenities. I wasn’t sure that we were supposed to be on that train, and when the conductor came down the aisle, we directed him to Ruth, our leader, in the pink coat who had all the tickets. Sure enough, we were not allowed on that train with our cheap tickets. I was prepared to pay the difference, but Ruth and Hans talked him into making an exception providing we got off at the next stop. We would have to catch a slower train which we had probably passed. We had already gone half the way before they checked our tickets. The stop in Hans’s town of Rosenheim had some fast food and we got a snack to take aboard for the last part of our journey.   Elaine, Ruth, Hans, Joel       Nancy

Munich Last Day Our final day in Munich began with an underground ride to the downtown area to walk around Marienplatz, the old center with the New City Hall and the Old City Hall. Beautiful flowers were hanging from all the windows and there were lots of people waiting for the clock to strike on the hour. We had a few sprinkles as we looked up to see the figures joust before the king and the dancers dance rejoicing in the victory. It lasts more than 5 minutes. After hitjting the Birkenstock store, the clock figures were still again, and we got on the tube and went to Olympia park where BMW has build a beautiful new showroom and museum. We could walk around and see all the models of cars and motorcycles. We think that Marvb probably ordered a new car, but he didn’t say anything about it. Urs Engelmayer called and said his office was nearby and he would come over to walk around the area. It is the site also of the 1972 Olympics and there is a tower we went up. The skies had cleared enough for a great view of the larger Munich area. Soon it was time to go out to Helmut, Ruth and Klaas’s home for dessert and coffee. Helmut had made a specialty of the region, plum cake. He likes to use what he called a farmer plum that is more tart. He makes a sweet roll dough and presses in quartered plums. Sehr Gute.

Schwäbisch-Gmünd: The Gottwalds - America and Germany After 3 days in Munich it was time to get on with the next part of our journey. Rod and Pat Bullard flew out to Venice for their cruise to Florida, Tom O and Carl flew home and the remainder of our split up into two groups. Marv and Nancy, Richard, Rick and Levonne and Blanche rented a van and headed south to visit south Bavaria. Elaine, Joel, Tom and Burt rented a car and headed northwest to visit Gottwald relatives.   It took a long time to figure out how to get all of our bags in the car!!!! The first group visited Oberammergau, Neuschwanstein Castle, Augsburg, Dachau and Dinkelsbuehl. The second set off for Kornwestheim, a suburb north of Stuttgart to find Gottwalds. In 1883, Moritz Gottwald, grandfather of Burt and Elaine, migrated to the United States, first to Nebraska and later to Oregon. Joel and Elaine live on the farm he purchased in 1903. Moritz left behind a brother and sister in what was Austria at the time, now the Czech Republic. Descendants of Moritz’s brother, Joseph, became refugees after World War II and settled in the Stuttgart area. Joel and Elaine have visited them several times, the first in 1965. The first stop was in Kornwestheim where two sisters, Mariann Gottwald Herman and Hedwig Gottwald Weidlich, her husband Franz live. They had gathered with children Monika and Dieter, Uwe, Renate and granddaughter Lena. We spent a delightful afternoon and evening visiting with them and catching up since we saw them last in 2001. Uwe and Renate we hadn’t seen for 45 years. We had wonderful desserts and coffee in the afternoon, and later we had ravioli that Hedwig had prepared. We spend some time looking at genealogy and making additions and corrections. As the sun set, we drove to a small village near Schwabish-Gmuend about 30 miles away where we had hotel reservations. Cousin Gerhardt Gottwald was there to meet us and make sure we got settled in. We had stayed in the same hotel in 2001. The next day we drove in to Swabish-Gmuend to walk around the city center and look in some of the shops. Shortly after noon we had to get back since a big party was planned by others of the Gottwald clan. There are so many who wanted to meet us that Gerhardt Gottwald, who was the main instigator, arranged to have a meeting room in our hotel. We were to arrive at 3 when those that were able to get away that early could come for dessert and coffee. Oh, what wonderful desserts arrived prepared by various relatives. Gerhardt had made name tags for everyone and gradually through the afternoon and early evening, more and more came until we were about 30. When it came time for dinner, we ordered off the menu of the restaurant. It worked out well since we four sat at various tables and younger relatives could help with English-German translation. The last of the visitors left about 11:30 and were we tired after the intensity of the interaction with all the families. The next morning we packed up to join the others for a stay in Rothenburg ober Tauber. On our way, we drove through Durlangen where some of the family had settled and still remain. Maria and Sarah Gottwald invited us to stop for some morning coffee in the house that Alois Gottwald built soon after the war. At various times members of his family lived with him and his wife as they were getting established. Renate, Joel, Burt, Tom, Dieter, Franz, Hedwig and Mariann    Lena Fischer Hewig, Mariann and Monika Tom, Franz, Hedwig, Mariann, Elaine, Burt, Uwe: Front: Monika, Lena, Dieter Hans-Jürgen and Christian Elaine and Michael Gottwald family reunion

Rothenburg ob der Tauber Maria, Sarah, Elaine, Burt, Joel: Saying good-bye to the Gottwalds Leaving the “Gottwald” area, we had a morning journey northeast to the charming old walled city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Our hotel was just off the main square and the GPS warned that we were in a restricted area. The streets are very narrow and cobblestone. From our hotel we could get a pass allowing us to drive there. After the bags were unloaded, we took the car to a parking lot near the wall.   Our Hotel There are many shops with every variety of souvenirs, handcrafts, clothing, etc. A specialty of Rothenburg is Schneeballe a kind of pastry made with something like pie dough cut in strips, rolled into a ball and deep fat fried. Kind of rich for me, but one can buy small ones. Snow balls:  Rick  As a special treat to us, Andreas Essig, our former exchange student who lived with us and went to Molalla, and his wife Mariya, joined us from their home in Solingen. They had driven to Nuremburg the day before.   Andreas and Marija  That evening after a good German dinner, we joined the night watchman for an hour tour of the city. His droll personality and falling voice, gave him a ghoulish persona. He gave us a lot of history including the fate of the city in WWII. At the end, German troops were stationed in the town so the allies wanted to bomb them. The American commanding officer had fond memories of a picture of Rothenburg his mother possessed. He decided to negotiate a retreat of the Germans. They were under orders not to negotiate, but their officer in charge decided to do it anyway. The city was saved. Richard, TomD with Night Watchman In the morning, we looked out on the square and saw that Saturday Market had started. There were vegetables, cheeses, breads and craft items. We perused them all before we got our cars, and packed them up for our trip to the Wurzburg area.   Saturday Market

Schlossberg 1, Reichenberg, Würzburg Our morning journey took us through the back roads from Rothenberg along the Tauber River to a stop at the town of Creglingen to see a church, Herrgottskirche with an intricate altar carved by Riemenschneider around 1500. The church is undergoing extensive refurbishing, but one can view the beautiful altar. Our drive was through rolling farmland, and we saw lots of harvesting including huge piles of sugar beets, and truckloads of corn silage. Everything is very green from the September rains, but we’re finding beautiful sunny days in the 60’s, great weather for finishing up the farming before winter. Some fields had been recently plowed. Our destination was Schlossberg 1, where another Molalla exchange student, Appolonia Heisenberg has lived for many years with her husband Martin. They rent part of a castle complete with walls dating back to the 12th century. We took a tour around and saw the heating plant that burns shredded wood from the forests of the castle owners, part of the interior wall that shows woven sticks and mud. At the Schloss We were led through the wall to a garden where tables had been set for a beautiful lunch of typical local foods prepared for us. We had been assured that the lunch would be simple, but it was hardly that. There was much visiting and catching up to do. Tom had been in Api’s class at Molalla, and Levonne had been a student a couple years behind. Nancy Martin is a semi-retired scientist at the University of Wurzburg. We had met him before 21 years ago when we first visited the castle. His description of the work he does with fruit flies is fascinating. He retired, but the university called him back to help set up a new lab. After lunch we took a walk in the woods around and toured the part of the castle that is home to the Heisenbergs. Also, on the tour was a look at a large cellar that formerly had been a sheep pen. It has been converted into a beautiful stone room that can be rented for parties and other events. Appolonia said that they had hosted as many as 70 people there.     Marija in cellar entertainment room Soon it was time to bid them adieu for our drive to Frankfurt where we would spend the night. Marv and Nancy were due to fly out the next day and needed to get packed. It was convenient to stay near the airport. Nancy, Blanche, Api, Richard            Api, Elaine, Andreas Andreas and Martin Marv, Nancy, TomD   Fast food where we stayed in Frankfurt that night

The Essigs in Pracht and Solingen After saying goodbye to Marv and Nancy in Frankfurt and turning in one of the cars, we drove to the area east of Bonn in Westerwald to visit Andreas’s parents, Willi and Renate Essig. They live on a small acreage close to several small villages. Renate was ready for us with a wonderful dinner prepared from vegetables from Willi’s garden.   Dinner at Renate's Rick & Levonne Richard   Blanche, Burt and Joel Desserts!    Renate and Willi       In the veg. garden After we were thoroughly stuffed, we drove to a wooden tower dedicated to Friedrich Wilhelm Raifeisen, founder of rural cooperative banking in the 19th century, a major reform for cash-starved farmers. Born in Hamm (Seig) near the Essig’s home, he also envisioned a tower for viewing the surrounding countryside. On a very clear day, one could see as far as Cologne. The tower Richard, Levonne, Rick, Joel, Tom, Willi, Andreas Up in the tower Brown cows From the tower Later we drove back to the Essig’s for Renate’s 6 desserts and coffee. Late in the afternoon, we drove on with Andreas to Solingen (famous for knives) where he lives. He has taken a week off to be with us and several of us stayed in his apartment and the others in hotels nearby. It was a long day, and we were tired. Driving takes much more concentration than at home. Speed limits on the autobahn, when there is one, are always changing. Some places have lighted signs that can change the speed in accordance with road conditions and traffic. On secondary roads, there is always a speed limit and when you get to the city limits and the big yellow sign of the town name, the speed is automatically 50 kph. When you leave the town there is a similar sign with a slash through it, and you can resume the speed which can be from 70-100 (45-62 mph). Photo radar is common, but the fines are small relative to ours. German drivers are generally predictable, and one is expected to not lollygag around. Before a light turns green, it turns yellow, so be ready!   Renate and Willi house In 2001  In 2005  In 2010   In 2010 The next morning Andreas went out and bought fresh rolls, cheese, meats, etc. for a typical German breakfast with lots of good coffee. We were to be off to meet his parents in Cologne (Köln). We drove the 20 miles or so to park near the Cologne Cathedral, one of the largest gothic structures in Europe. It was begun in 1248 as a structure to hold the reliquary of the Three Kings. It was completed in 1880 and for a couple years was the tallest structure in the world until the completion of the Washington Monument. The windows are stunning and represent many different styles and colors. Andreas was all prepared to tell us about it, but was interrupted by a staff person who said he wasn’t licensed as a guide. He was a little more circumspect and told us what we needed to know. The structure was damaged during the war, but the windows had been removed. It wasn’t destroyed since bombers used the spires as a guide to the city. See in the Kaufhof department store in Köln: Nike in Beaverton, Oregon.   Stained glass window at the Cathedral  Köln Cathedral (Dom) Burt, Willi, Tom, Renate, Rick, Richard, Levonne, Marija, Blanche at the closed Chocolate Museum   Joel, Willi, Renate and Elaine at the mustard museum. We took a small tour tram for a tour around the central city with a stop at the chocolate museum. It turned out to be closed on Monday, but we were able to go to the mustard museum across the street. At the conclusion of the tram tour, we walked on the pedestrian streets by countless shops. We have nothing like that here and it was surprising how many people were out and about. Not many were tourists, although there were more children since schools are having their 2 week fall vacation. The next day, we drove to the Müngstener Bridge, the highest steel bridge in the world, built in the 1890’s for trains. It goes between Solingen and Remsheid across the Wupper River. It shortened the distance from 25 to 5 miles. Trains are required to slow down to 10 kph to cross it since rapid braking during an emergency would cause too much stress. We ate at a new restaurant built nearby and sided with rusted steel. Willi has the contract to wash the windows, and said that some may need to be replaced due to being etched by the lime runoff from the concrete.   Müngstener Brücke / Muengsten Bridge   Restaurant Cable car to Solingen Castle ("Schloss Burg") Suspended "Pump" ferry for cyclists and hikers over the Wupper River. We drove on to Düsseldorf where we viewed some of the interesting new architecture including a Frank Gehry apartment complex in the dock area of the Rhine River. The wind came up and it turned cold, but we trudged on to the Düsseldorf Tower which we ascended to look around the city from up high. By the time we descended it was time to get back to Solingen so we could get prepared for returning home to Oregon and California the next day.   Tower with Frank Gehry buildings Tom had to leave the earliest and decided to take the train to the Düsseldorf Airport. Marija accompanied him to help with a change in trains along the way. Then Andreas took Richard whose Icelandic flight would take him to Reykjavic , Iceland for a couple days before returning to Portland. He was taking the train to Frankfurt to catch his flight. Marija, back from taking Tom, jumped in our car and drove with us back to the Düsseldorf Airport for our flights to Seattle/Portland via London Heathrow. Andreas caught up with us to say goodbye. We only had 1 hour 10 minutes to make our connection at Heathrow which I wouldn’t recommend, but everything went our way and we made it. Heathrow is so large that it is recommended that if you have to go from one terminal to another, you allow 2 hours. The flight over Iceland, Greenland and Canada was smooth, but somehow the return always is harder. We followed the sun and got to Seattle 1½ hours after we left.   TomD, Marija, Andreas Breakfast at Andreas Marija's We hope you have enjoyed following us on our journey. We went to 10 countries in 30 days across all of Europe. Now is time to sort out all the memories with the help of pictures and journals. We loved it all, although the best part was meeting up with friends and relatives who were so gracious to us all. Joel and all