In May, I traveled with my friend Mark Kiszelewski throughout Germany on an 8 day train and walking trip. Of all of my friends, I have known Mark the longest having met him at Onteora Scout Reservation in 1977. He was on his fourth summer as a staff member and it was my first. We became friends and through much relocation we have kept in touch. In fact, I twice stayed at his house in California while I was on vacation. Last summer, after speaking with me while I was in Krakow, he made up his mind to take a summer vacation in Germany and Poland. It was to include me both as a travel partner and as a base of operations while he was in Poland.
So on May 6th we met in Berlin where he was waiting after 4 days of touring around Frankfurt and Berlin. Our plan was to visit numerous German cities and I had a 5 day Euro Rail Pass to make things easier. We did not have room reservations for every night which left us with some flexibility which came in handy.
Berlin is a great city. We started our adventure together with a visit to an outdoor café for a local brew. There are a lot of different beers in Germany and we were going to sample as many as possible and collect beer coasters (mats) as souvenirs. After visits to a few cafes we chose an outdoor restaurant for my first taste of local German fare. (For the record, I am half German and half Irish. My mom, Eleanor Fuger, was an excellent cook of all cuisines but she was famous for her sauerbraten. My sister, Bettianne, and I continue to make it in our respective homes.) So sauerbraten it was and it was delicious. After dinner we found a local bar and restaurant to continue our collecting of coasters. An interesting use of paper was seen in Berlin. Most cafes served their beer w/ a beer doily, for lack of an official name. The doily was affixed to the stem of the glass and, I suspect, was designed to catch the dripping head of the beer. So we began collecting them also. (It’s always a good job to “consume” paper goods as it requires a restocking and an eventual order for a paper company.)
On Sunday we took a walking tour of Berlin which included the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial and a museum dedicated to the German Resistance Movement. I always heard of the French resistance but never the German counterpart. Well, there was one. If you remember about the assassination attempt on Hitler then you’ll want to know that this “palace” is where the plot was hatched.
On Monday, we took the train south to Goerlitz where we had reservations at a pensioner. (All throughout Europe there is this type of lodging that provides a simple room, private or public bath, and a continental breakfast, all for a great low price. We paid 65 Euros a night in Berlin.) Goerlitz is on the Polish-German border astride a river. After the war, Poland was able to acquire about a third of the former German Republic. After doing so the Germans were forced out and the city on the Polish side became mostly Polish. But the German Goerlitz was a city that was frozen in time. Our visit there uncovered no other Americans. Of all my travels in Europe this was the place where I had the most difficulty speaking in English. But that did not stop us from ordering beer and some great food. (Greek, Italian….Europe is really cosmopolitan.) Goerlitz has not been discovered yet but its beauty and age make it a prime destination if you will be in that part of Germany.
On Tuesday we boarded the train for Bacharach along the Rhine River. The Rhine Valley is beautiful. Between the ancient castles, the pretty river and the lovely countryside I can see why people flock here. We stayed in a chalet and had our best breakfast so far. Since we were in the Rhine Valley we decided to sample wine from the valley. (Man cannot live on beer alone.) For dinner we wound up in a ground-floor restaurant that had some great food. Just in time too as the rain came down hard. After dinner we walked around the town a bit and then headed home.
On Wednesday we hit the train again this time towards Kohn (Cologne) where we made a day trip of the city. (While waiting for the train, we met a couple from Dayton, Ohio. Their children had gone to Chaminade High School … in Dayton. I always knew there was a Chaminade there and was glad to meet someone w/ a tie to me.) After hitting a local Internet café we toured the Kohn Cathedral. This is the largest cathedral in Germany and was extensively damaged during WWII. It is beautiful. The nave soars to 140 plus feet and is designed that way to make one feel small in God’s presence. It did. A while later we were back on the train headed towards Fussen.
Train travel is a great way to go. We had purchased first class passes so were often in some really nice trains which had better accommodations than planes. Some cars had seats around a table and some had seats like in an airplane. There were also headphone jacks and electrical outlets. The conductor would even take your order for something from the restaurant car. And they went as fast as 254 KPH, that’s 158 MPH.
Next was Fussen where the “Cinderella” castle is located. Supposedly, Walt Disney himself used this castle to design his Cinderella Castle in California. The area also has other castles and is a big ski area as the mountains are huge. On this day we took 6 modes of transportation: train, truck to get up the mountain, horse-drawn carriage to come down off the mountain, local city bus, luge and our feet. That’s right… luge. Mark and I took advantage of a ski slope that had a summer luge in operation. It’s a sled with wheels that runs down an aluminum culvert. It goes quite fast. Ask Mark about his airborne ride and the scrape on his arm. He almost added a
mode of transportation: ambulance.
On Thursday we trained it (is that a verb?) to Munchen (Munich) where I would end my week’s trip. Munchen is a bit different than Berlin and there is a rivalry between the cities. Think Memphis and Nashville. Munchen is known for its beer production and we were there to sample it. On that afternoon we took a walking tour of the city. It started with the glockenspiel on the Marianplatz (Mary’s Place as in the BVM.) We then visited an assortment of old churches and buildings. One thing that seemed odd, compared to Krakow, is that much of Munchen was rebuilt after the war, but in the style of original construction. So you were not always seeing original structures. (After WWII the cities voted on how they would reconstruct. They chose either the architecture of the most recent buildings or the latest, or modern, architecture. Berlin chose the 1950s and
Munchen chose how it was originally. Munchen made the better choice.)
That evening we took a tour of 3 breweries that included sampling of the beverages. The six major breweries in Munchen follow the German Purity Law which states that no artificial ingredients may be added to the brew. And this explained why neither Mark nor I suffered any bit of hangover each morning. In fact, we were discussing it that morning and now we know why. The tour also included an up-close look at the Paulaner brewery from the kettle to the refrigeration room. After that tour we headed to the famous Hofbrau House for one last beer. (By this time we were full.) The Hofbrau House is famous the world over for its beer hall, beer garden and good food. There are private tables that families or organizations buy for their personal use. There are also beer mugs, locked up in cages that long-time patrons receive for their patronage. But what finally drove us out of the place was the cigarette smoke. So off we went to our rooms to rest up for one final day.
On Friday we took it easy and walked around the city and sat in a number of cafes. It felt good to slow down and not have to worry about catching a train to somewhere. Then Saturday came and we parted ways. Mark to Prague and me to Krakow.
Mark later came to Krakow where he spent the week at my flat. That’s a set of stories for another time.
All in all a great trip, made even better by Mark’s excellent tour planning and guiding. I was finally able to see the country of my ancestors and to explore the sites of WWII. I hope to take Toni there in the future.
If you would like to see the rest of my 70 photos, just send me a note:
Brian_Issing@hotmail.com and I'll send you a link to Kodak Gallery.
Thanks Mark.
Most of the class showed up so I had about 40 people there at one point. We had the music blasting and people dancing in the living room. It was a warm evening so the balcony was filled with people.. Then around 11:30 p.m. someone announced that we were walking over to the Market Square to go to a Salsa dance club so off we went. At 1:30 a.m. I left leaving a good number of people behind. All in all a fun time and one I would like to do again. (FYI … the apartment was not trashed. But I did have a lot of glasses to wash on Saturday.) 
(The guy on the left is my friend Jim Montague. He wanted me to write that he was "dancing" and does not always look like this. Jim is from Hernando, Mississippi (via Memphis). Need I say more?)
