Much to our delight we were invited back to Germany for a summer visit. This time at the invitation of Axel's parents, Otto & Inge Uhl. We were there from July 30 - August 12. It was only 2 weeks but we managed to pack a lot of sightseeing and visiting into that time.

We arrived in Frankfurt at 1:30 p.m. after an all night flight from Halifax. This time our stopover was in Iceland, our first time there. We didn't see much of Iceland because we were only there for about an hour. Our view through the airplane window was just about all we saw. It was very green and rather barren looking with no trees at all.

Axel picked us up in Frankfurt and we headed to Siegen. This time we took the scenic route rather than the Autobahn. We drove through so many pretty little villages. I could not believe all the flowers! It seemed that every window had a window basket under it that was positively overflowing with flowers. That was true all over Germany and into Austria. Flowers are everywhere and they are beautiful.

Inge had a "snack" waiting for us, the table was covered with black forest ham (oh the flavor!), various other meats, many kinds of cheese and bread, along with fresh squeezed orange juice. (That was the only orange juice we had that wasn't squeezed by Roy. It's his regular job when we are there.) We retired to the back patio for a beer from Otto's keg. Since we hadn't slept the night before on the plane, we made an early night of it.

The next day we were up early, eager to see more of the countryside in the summer. It was wonderful to have a German breakfast again - meats, cheeses, breads, fresh squeezed orange juice, yogurt, plated eggs. (a plated egg is a fried egg that is served on bread) We went to the castle in Siegen again. It looks much different in the summer. The grounds were beautiful and we caught the tail end of a wedding that was taking place outside. The castle is filled with beautiful furniture from the time period and many paintings. Underneath it all is a coal mine. Not a working one, just a "demonstrator" of sorts. Coal mining has historically been very important to Germany and to this area in particular. The mine was quite interesting, rather damp, and filled with the sort of machinery used years ago.

After that we were off to Freudenberg. That is the nearby town that is filled with the beautiful timbered houses that seem to represent German architecture. It is even more lovely to look at in the summer because of all the flowers in the window baskets. We strolled around on the cobblestone streets and stopped for coffee in an outdoor cafe. Outdoor cafes and beer gardens are the order of the day in Germany. They are everywhere! You can't throw a rock without hitting one. Everyone loves to be outside and most of these outdoor cafes are always busy.

We had a bit of a musical evening with Axel on the piano and Otto on the violin. It was great to hear the two of them again. After that we headed to the back patio to play a game of Kniffel, called Yahtzee in our language. I tried to warn Axel that I was rather an expert but he was sure he'd win. As it turned out, he said he didn't really mind that he didn't win, he just wished that he hadn't lost to me. (He called for a rematch the next day. I won that too. The subject never came up again.)

Saturday we got up early and had breakfast on the upper deck in the sunshine. After that we headed for Bonn to see the Museum of German History. It was very interesting. Axel did a good job of explaining any displays that we couldn't understand due to the language barrier. It was an amazing place, several levels, very modern. They certainly don't shy away from the events of World War 2. They have pictures of the bodies outside of the gas ovens, video with people talking about the parts they played in all of that. Badges and uniforms that the Jewish people were forced to wear. There is some great video of the Berlin air lift. The whole thing was very interesting and well presented.

After the museum we wandered around the streets of Bonn for awhile until we found a small pub to have lunch in. Even though it was already mid afternoon all the restaurants, pubs and cafes were full. People don't seem to obey the clock as much as we do here. Meals can be at any time of the day or evening. We had a great meal and of course some local beer.

Speaking of local beer, Germany is full of tiny little breweries. When you order a Pils in a pub you get whatever the local brewery makes so it is different everywhere. They don't seem to be caught up with that whole "bigger is better" thing where breweries become larger and larger and eventually buy out the competition to eliminate it. They are all happy with their little piece of the pie. It makes for a great assortment of beer too.

From Bonn we drove to Koblenz. Geographically this is a very important town because it is situated where the Mosel and Rhine Rivers meet. It is known as "The German Corner". There is a lot of shipping on these rivers so it is a popular, well travelled place. At Koblenz they have built a large open area that comes to a point right where the rivers meet. We stood there for a time, watching the river traffic. Axel, of course, had to go to the furthest point of land so that he was as close as possible to where the rivers meet. It seems to be something that a German has to do when they are there. He was naturally drawn to it and can't imagine not doing so.

On this same large open area (which is full of tourists in the summer) there is a huge monument to Kaiser Wilhelm. I do mean huge. On all four sides of the base there are steps going up, at least 20 of them and the statue is on top of that, several stories high. There were people crawling all over it from the hollowed out part of the interior. Koblenz is a very pretty place and certainly worth exploring.

Dinner that night at home was delicious. Potato pancakes topped with smoked salmon and cream cheese. This was served with a potato salad, meats, cheeses and breads. We noticed a couple of things about meals there in general. The meat served most often is pork or ham. There are very few cooked vegetables served but many, many fresh salads that have a lot of raw vegetables in them. We spent part of the evening listening to Axel on piano, then the infamous rematch of the Yahtzee game. You remember, the one where I beat Axel again.

Sunday morning we departed for Heidelberg. We took the Autobahn part of the way, then headed off to the back roads. The Autobahn is something that must be avoided in many places. After our last trip, I wrote about the traffic jams. Their German word for these traffic jams is "stau". It is usually the first word that a person learns over there because they are so plentiful. In summer it is much worse for a few reasons - the place is crawling with tourists, there is more construction, and let's not forget the summer heat. There is nothing like sitting in a stau for a half hour with no air conditioning when it's sunny and the temperature is in the mid-thirties. (high nineties for our American friends) They have stau warning signs that light up at some of the more common stau places. We've been in several and have rarely seen a reason for it to happen in the first place. Sometimes it is an auto accident, other times you just can't trace it to anything.

We drove through the Oldenwald (old forest) on our way to Heidelberg and it is beautiful, much like the Black Forest. Narrow winding highways with lots of switchbacks. Axel was itching to be on his motorcycle to take some of those curves. It is very common on all of the secondary highways to have paved bicycle/walking paths parallel to the highways. They go on for many miles and are well used. Many people prefer to bicycle because it is cheaper and more convenient with fewer traffic jams. We walked around a bit in some of the prettier areas of Heidelberg, had supper downtown, then back to Axel's apartment. There's nothing like walking up 5 flights of stairs to work off a big meal!

Axel went in to work on Monday to do a presentation so we spent the day in the shopping district. I described it the last time, a couple of kilometers of beautiful shops on a cobblestone street. What a great experience it is, jammed with tourists and so much to see. Lucky for us it was "sale season". Their sales are not like ours. Have you ever noticed that there is always a sale sign in the stores here? Not in Germany. Sales are only allowed at a few particular times of the year and they have a designated number of days they can run. They are good sales too, 30%-80% off many items. I like that system. The sales don't come often but they are significant.

When Axel got back from work we departed for Radolfzell. We were there last trip, it is in the south on Lake Constance (Lake Konstanz in Germany) and is Delia's home town. To reintroduce Delia for a moment, she is Axel's good friend who we spent a lot of time with on the last trip. She now lives in Munich and her folks live in Radolfzell. It was getting late when we arrived and Delia and her Mom accompanied us to my favorite wine bar, which we went to on the last trip. It was just as beautiful as before, with some additional ambiance due to the beer gardens outside. We had a great time and closed the place down that night. For those of you who know me and my recent health history, that will probably come as a surprise.

The next day was a busy one. We explored a nearby castle, Schloss Salem. It is very large and quite interesting. They give everyone a shot glass when they enter. After the main part of the tour you head to the winery and have a drink of the local wine. Delicious! From there we went to Bodman for lunch where we were served by the world's worst waiter. Waiters are much different over there. Tips are not what they are here, you generally tend to just "round up" the bill. They get a better wage so the tips aren't as necessary. Hence, the service isn't as good because they aren't trying to earn a good tip. He was so bad it was hilarious and we spent a lot of time talking about his shortcomings in english. (Maybe that was the problem. Maybe he speaks our language!!??) At one point when someone at another table asked when something they ordered would be coming he told them that he was about to go on break, he'd check later. It really was amazing.

We repacked the car and headed over to Switzerland to buy some of their great chocolate. We drove around Lake Constance, cutting through Austria on our way back to Germany. The border guards going into Austria took our passports and had a bit of a discussion. Then they wanted to see what was in the trunk. Just when I began to think we were going to be "detained" they realized that we were buying chocolate in Switzerland, not cigarettes. Apparently they have some sort of smuggling problem. Off we went.

We arrived in Munich (known as Munchen in Germany) that night and checked into our small, private hotel. We had a great room. That was our home for 3 nights and we loved it there. We had a late dinner at Delia's apartment, just down the street from the hotel, then to bed. Delia's apartment was interesting. We were down in the parking garage and noticed that there were cars parked on platforms behind other parked cars. The platforms would hold about 3 or 4 cars, parallel parked, and the platforms were on what looked like streetcar rails. If the platform had no cars on it but was parked in front of your space, you just drove over it to park. If there was a car on it, you would get out of your car and push the platform further along the rails so that your parking spot was accessible. Very ingenious way of dealing with the lack of parking spaces. The other interesting thing about her apartment was the kitchen. It's very nice with all the appliances, including washer and dryer and plenty of cupboard space. It is the same kitchen she had when she lived in Siegen. When you move into an apartment, your rent is less if you supply your own kitchen. They have the room, you fill it with your own stuff. All of her cupboards and appliances are modular and easily removed. She takes them wherever she lives. They certainly look permanently installed but they slip right out. She says it makes a significant reduction on the rent.

One interesting note about the Autobahn is that it is only free to use in Germany. In Austria or Italy you buy daily, weekly or monthly passes, which are fairly expensive. France and Switzerland have a system of charging for it too.

You may have heard of the European Union. We tend to think of it as being a common market with a common currency and that's about it. It gets quite complicated. They have to agree on standards for everything, including one common shopping cart size, standard sizes on pull cords for lawn mowers and all sorts of very silly things. It will cost a fortune to change all the shopping carts because the one they are going with is slightly different than all the ones in use now. Then there are toilet bowl sizes and hundreds of other items. Sounds like politics is winning out over common sense - as usual.

The next day we explored Munich. What an amazing city! I used to think of it only as being the place where the Olympic athletes were assassinated. Well, there is so much there! Delia was explaining to us that it wasn't as heavily damaged during the war as some other cities. Probably because there isn't any industry to speak of. Munich is really just a large collection of smaller cities that eventually grew together and it still has a bit of a "village" feel to it. The subway from Delia's took us to the main square and it is a beautiful place. The new city hall looks like a beautiful cathedral and is so large you can't possibly get the whole thing in one picture, even with a wide angle lens. The old city hall is just as beautiful but with a different design. The square also has monuments and the tourists are all over everything. The city is full of life, beautiful and has a very friendly feel to it. I went up to the top of a cathedral with Axel and Delia while Roy waited at one of the many outdoor cafes.

Munich is in the German state of Bavaria. Interesting place, Bavaria. They have a sign as you enter that says "Welcome to the Free State of Bavaria" and they are always talking about separating into a country of their own. Sound familiar? To a Bavarian, beer is as necessary as bread and milk and they sort of built a culture around that. Kind of weird but great when you're there for a visit.

We went back to Delia's for a typical Bavarian breakfast - white sausages, (yes, white) pretzels and beer. Beer for breakfast? Only in Bavaria. It was delicious, though I didn't have more than a few swallows of beer. I'm more of a coffee person in the morning. We met up with Otto & Inge who were now in Munich as well and staying at the same hotel as us. We went for a long walk in a nearby park, then got changed for dinner.

Dinner was downtown at a very Bavarian looking pub. All the serving staff wore typical Bavarian clothing and it was pretty neat. Delia ordered us a Bavarian meal and it was impressive. If you have ever watched the Flintstone's on TV you have seen Fred Flintstone eating huge dinosaur drumsticks. That's what the main course looked like. It turned out to be the upper part of the hind leg of a pig! Delicious. It came with a knodel which looked like a pale yellow sponge rubber ball. I'm still not sure what it was but it had something to do with noodles and potatoes and it had been boiled. It sure tasted good. There was also a very rich gravy and a salad. Those Bavarians must have huge appetites because most of these meals could feed 2 or 3 of me!

The highlight of our time in Munich was a classical piano concert. Antonio Bonazzo of Italy played Beethoven, Prokofiev and Chopin on a Steinway grand piano. We were all very impressed with the music and couldn't believe how fast his fingers could fly over those keys. He's only 29 years old and is amazing.

We visited a great pub after the performance where we had the best waiter we met on the whole trip. He didn't hesitate to make fun of Inge for ordering a sweet wine, he insisted it must be a dry wine and he kept us laughing the whole time. He didn't speak english but he was wearing a Star Trek communicator badge so we spoke the same language with the Vulcan greeting.

On Thursday we all had breakfast together, then headed for Salzburg, Austria in two cars. What a tremendous city! Again, there were miles and miles of cobblestone streets, architecture that can take your breath away and monuments at every turn. Beer gardens abound, just like in Germany. You are always hearing the clip clop of horses because there are teams of horses pulling buggies full of tourists all over the place. We saw Mozart's house and could certainly see how that city inspired his beautiful music.

At one point there we were walking past a beautiful church and found ourselves in a graveyard. Without question it is the most stunning graveyard I have ever seen. Along a couple of long walls made of stone there are dozens of small "rooms". Each room is about 12 feet square, has an arched doorway with a black wrought iron door. Inside each is a grave with it's own type of monument, fresh flowers and many different designs in the floor and walls. I've never seen anything like it. In the rest of the graveyard, each of the graves is raised with different sorts of flowers planted in them and many different types of monuments. There are small shrubs and trees throughout. It is very, very old and I was surprised to see that many of the graves are quite new. It is still in use today! Inge was saying that the richer people have their graves in those beautiful arched cells, while the poorer ones are buried in the rest of the yard. The whole thing was unbelievable.

We continued our walk and realized that the parkade the cars were in is actually in the mountain. They blasted the mountain out to make room. We also walked into the mountain to take an elevator to the top. We came outdoors again and were at the Cafe Winkler, which is located at the best place to overlook everything - the city, the castle, the river and bridges. The view is breathtaking. We stopped for refreshments while there. I ordered apple strudel, of course, and there I was in Grandma's kitchen again! It was funny because Delia was describing to me how they make the strudel, starting with rolling out the dough, then stretching it with their fingers until it is thin enough to read a love letter through it. I had to laugh because I used to watch Grandma sit at the table, slowly and patiently pulling the dough for the strudel. Delia didn't have to tell me how to make it, the picture of Grandma making strudel is forever engraved in my brain.

It was time to head back to Munich and we decided to stop at Chiemsee (Chiem Lake) on the way back. It's a huge lake and was filled with sailboats because of the nice weather. Delia and Axel stayed to go for a swim while Inge, Otto, Roy & I got on one of the tour boats and headed over to the small island, also known as the nun's island. It was a lovely tour and we walked around the small island for awhile, then stopped for refreshments at yet another beer garden. (Relax, we didn't always drink beer. They also serve juice.) This beer garden is right next to a cloister and we were treated to the sound of the nuns singing. It was a haunting, beautiful sound. Back on the tour boat where we rejoined Axel and Delia and returned to Munich. We had a late dinner, then off to bed.

Otto and Inge left right after breakfast to return to Siegen. Axel, Delia, Roy & I went to Nymphenburg Castle, which is located in the heart of Munich. It is situated on hundreds of acres of land and the building seem to go on forever. You would have to spend a week to really see the whole thing. After a quick tour of the main building we were off to the Olympic Village. We went up to the top of the Olympic Tower and could see for miles. There were the Alps to the south, Athlete's Village to the north (now apartment buildings), swimming pool, tennis courts. The BMW building is very close by. It looks pretty cool. 4 round buildings, dozens of stories high which are joined together. They represent 4 pistons in a car engine. After lunch we headed back to Siegen so it was the rest of the day in the car. Home in time for a light supper and a quiet evening.

Saturday dawned sunny and hot again. Axel left for Heidelberg to celebrate his "second birthday". As most of you know, when he drove across Canada last summer on a motorcycle he had an accident in Kenora. He was very lucky to survive the accident with minimal injuries. The bike didn't survive at all. Axel is very grateful for his second chance at life so he calls it his second birthday. He still carries the key to the bike in his wallet where he sees it all the time. It's probably the only part of the bike that is still in one piece. He has the same leather jacket and keeps his arm sling in a pocket, also as a reminder. He was planning a large party at his apartment for up to 50 people.

We had a quiet morning, writing out postcards and relaxing. That afternoon at 3:00 we got on a bus with Inge & Otto and were off to "Rhein in Flammen". In our language, "Rhine in Flames". It was a 2 hour bus drive through beautiful countryside. Farmers were busy cutting their hay and it was a very good crop, very thick. As we drove along the Rhine we could see all the vineyards which are planted on very steep hills. We arrived in the town of Boppard and had a bite to eat while waiting for our boat. It was hard to imagine ahead of time what we were going to be a part of. Picture this - there were 100 boats which held about 700 people each. As it got dark we started cruising up the Rhine River. We went 20 kilometers, very slowly. All along the way there were people lining the shore on both sides. The river is only a few hundred meters across. All of the ships are lit up with beautiful lights and the towns along the way are the same. There are castles all along the way too which are illuminated and have an eerie red glow about them. At various points along the way there are fireworks being set off. We finally arrived in Koblenz (where the rivers meet) and all the ships settled into the area to wait for the huge fireworks display that takes place from the top of the castle overlooking the town. Amazing. At Koblenz in that area that I described earlier with the huge monument to Kaiser Wilhelm there is a big party going on - rock bands, laser lights, people everywhere. Altogether about 400,000 people participated in the whole thing. All the boats are booked months in advance with people from all over the world so we felt very lucky to be there.

In the "small world" department, after the big fireworks display we were looking over at the party by the monument when I heard a man speaking english. I went to talk to him and found out he was from Montana and his family roots are from Val Marie, Saskatchewan! I asked him if he knew Val Marie's favorite son, hockey player Bryan Trottier. His wife is Bryan's cousin. I used to work with another of Bryan's cousins at Sask Tel. Definitely a small world.

It was very late by the time our tired party got back on the bus to return to Siegen. There were a number of staus on the road due to traffic accidents and it was 4:00 a.m. by the time we got home, tired but happy. That whole evening was a major highlight of the trip and won't soon be forgotten.

The next couple of days were very quiet. We were at the tail end of our visit and it seemed like a good idea to have some "down time". Just staying in their beautiful home and enjoying the park like back yard makes for a great holiday. Axel returned from Heidelberg. On our last full day there Roy stayed home while Axel and I went shopping. He wanted to buy some inline skates. No question, this guy will eventually find a way to break his neck. We spent our last evening on the back patio with a small fire going in the outdoor fireplace. Their fountain by the stream was running and looked beautiful with the spot lights shining through it. We sat back, drinking beer and jaegermeister and talking about our holiday.

On our last day we left for Frankfurt after breakfast. Axel joined us inside and we had a good visit with him before our plane departed shortly after 2:00. We had a short stop in Iceland again, then home.

We had such beautiful weather the whole time in Germany. It was sunny every day with the temperatures in the mid-twenties for the first week or so. Then we had a real heat wave happen and our last few days were 38 degrees. Thank goodness that it cooled down well at night. The house was very cool as well, thanks to all the concrete and the Italian stone floors.

I am very happy to say that we both enjoyed excellent health the entire time. As most of you know, I had major surgery on June 25th, a bowel resection with about 12 inches of my small intestine removed. The doctors claimed I would be well enough to travel and that with the diseased portion of my intestine removed that I could eat and drink anything I wanted. It's been many years since that was true for me so I didn't really believe them. Lucky for me, they were right! I ate food I never recognized. I ate and ate and ate. I also had a few drinks, which I have been unable to do for a long time. Not one single problem. I am so grateful. For the first time in years I also had an energy level that allowed me to be active all day, every day. I sent my doctors a thank you postcard near the end of my trip because I could not have done this without them. Well, I could have, but most of my sightseeing would have been the inside of a German hospital.

I hope you all enjoyed this article and please call me if you have any questions or comments about it.