Germany
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http://www.muenchen.de/Rathaus/tourist_office/57799/index.html
http://www.munichcitytourist.com
http://worldfacts.us/Germany-Munich.htm
We got up around 8am and ate a breakfast of
meat, cheese, and bread, and set off on our first
adventure... to see the town of Vaihingen an der
Enz. Regina walked us to the top of the hill, to the
castle there. They have built a home for young
people there, to give them a place to stay and
study. The view from the top was quite spectacular
(though a bit precarious to stand on top). Then we
walked down the hill a bit to the church where
Regina works. She works at a large church that
suffered from several fires as well as bombings, so
the church has undergone many renovations. As I
have stated before this seems to be quite common
of the churches in Germany. It contains an organ
built in the 1800s (have the dates but not with me
right now. It is a beautiful church built with
turquoise trimming... very tasteful... not so gaudy
like some we have seen. From the choir loft there
is a door to access the tower, so we climbed up,
and up, and up! From the top you can see the
whole town. The architecture of this area reflects
so much more diversity than a view from the top of
anywhere in America, with its cookie cutter houses.
Lots of different colors of roofs, lots of different
types of tile, and a combination of stone and wood
construction that is unique to this area. Also,
because of the slope, there is more interesting
relief to the architectural landscape.
Next we went back to Regina's place to eat lunch
she prepared for us, the dish was called..... M----
can't remember the name. She gave Adam the
recipe, kind of like a tortellini in a soup... very good.
Then we borrowed some bikes and headed to the
countryside to see the landscape. We took a
two-hour bike ride up and down hills... not easy, but
I made it through. We rode along the river and
visited several nearby villages. The vineyards
were beautiful to see; they were planted in rows on
the mountains. It was so gorgeous. Time flew by
quickly and we headed back to her house, packed
our bags and went to the train station. Regina
accompanied us by train to Stuttgart and gave us a
whirlwind walking tour. Great town, and the center
of this region in Germany. Our first stop was the t
see the whole city center and then some.
Fascinating view. On the way down we stopped to
look over the renovation plans for the train station.
Quite an impressive station is being planned for
opening in 2014. Interesting. Next we walked the
pedestrian street (no cars allowed) and did a little
checking out of the shops. On the way we saw the
palace with its enormous fountains. It reminded
Adam and me of Versailles. Of course we had to
go to the church. New organ here and the
architecture was a mixture of old and new, to
represent the need to honor and remember the
past with all its rich history and at the same time to
look forward, towards the future. I liked it. The
organist was playing when we got there, a
mammoth organ built in a more modern style. They
were raising money to support the organ and
people could sponsor individual pipes as a way of
supporting the work financially. After a walk in the
beautiful park adjacent to the palace, past the
opera house, we reached the station and Regina
bid us goodbye as we took off for Munich. Today
has been one of the best parts of the trip. Regina,
if you are reading this, thank you again for the
wonderful day! Also thank you to Lisa and Bernd.
It was a pleasure to get to know you!!!!
31 July 05
We were so exhausted when we reached Munich
that we decided to rest before our trip back to the
states... no sightseeing to report, just rest and
some time at the train station. Nice hotel at the
airport as we await our departure to the US.
1 August 05
Our trip from Munich to Amsterdam came off without
a hitch, but when we got to Amsterdam, the plane
had been overbooked by 15 people, and we were
not given a seat number when we arrived, so we
waited to see if there would be any cancellations...
not so, in fact all passengers who were issued a
seat showed up, so we will be put up in a hotel in
Amsterdam and take a plane out tomorrow. Another
day in Amsterdam... we liked this town so I guess
that’s okay with us. See everybody tomorrow!!!