Sights of Germany.

I have now been in Germany for a day short of two weeks and can report having a great time. The weather is less severe than I expected, although Brenna tried her best to chill me by taking me to the top of the highest mountain in Germany.(-9 celsius and 40 km wind-brr) We traveled to Eidelweis Resort near Munich by car and stayed from Thursday thru Sunday. Great place with access only to people involved with the US military. Seemed like the cultures there suggest Nato allies must be allowed. I even toured Dachau with a US navy reservist from Florida and her friend. They came for spring break-since every one else was goung to the beach they decided to be different.

We took a cheese factory and Monsastary tour. The giude was pleasant and nice but had two shortcomings. 1) she was pressed in to duty with little background on the factory so she was unable to answer most questions of depth. He knowledge of the monastary was also not great. 2) she seems to have passed stick shift 101 without learning much. She could not figure out more than three of the 6 speeds and stalled three times because she did not want the engine to rev above 1000 rpms. As you might expect, going up the mountain that was a problem. She repeated and then proved her ineptness by doing it on the level in town. I think I may know more about cows from 50 years ago than she will ever know.

On the other hand, the guide for Dachau was wonderful, as was the skilled coach driver. The Guide(Keith) had many personal stories, conveyed the messages of the horrors of the camp in depth, and also offered information about the area as we traveled back and forth to the concentration camp. Dachau is not as powerful as the holocaust museum, but it is encouraging to see the German people acknowledging the atrocities that went on, after some years of denial. Keith also shared information about Hitler, his relationship to a step niece, and to his mistress that may not be common. He offered insights to some internal opposition to Hitler and shared that reflected itself in 42 attempts on his life before he took his own.

The mountain tour was wonderful in spite of the cold. We took the train most of the way up, then the gondola the last stretch to the peak. The gondola ride seemed ominous as we thought about it but was actually secure and not a scary as we imagined. The magnificence at the top left lasting memories.

Spending time with Brenna and Parker has been truly joyful. Brenna will report more on her blog as time goes along. Parker  is mimicing words, has smiles that light up any day, and is constantly in motion. He changes day by day, extending his awake time and growing by leaps and bounds. He traveled the long distance by car PRETTY WELL, not perfectly. The trip back created stress on Brenna and I, since forcing him to cry for 30 minutes in the car with out being held is heart breaking, albeit neccessary. No options for a loose child at 90 mph on the autobahn. And there were times when traffic flashed by that I wondered if our car was even moving. It is still hard to get used to going 90 and having cars close in the mirror less than 10 seconds.

Brenna is a great mom, clam and collected, organized but not obsessed. She seems to be able to balance all her demands with poise and grace. We have had some great sharing conversations and look forward to the rest of my time here.

Will try to add a couple of pictures and will update soon.