Coming home - final thoughts

Early this morning, I jogged out to the little stone bridge in the Japanisches Teehaus in the Englischen Garten, my perfect spot to do yoga in Munich.  I thought about the trip a little, but mostly about all that has gone on this year.  I've taken my lumps physically.  I broke my leg last July.  I had thyroid surgery in November.  It's clear I'm still struggling with energy levels after the latter.  While the will is there, it feels like I'm moving through some sort of viscous material.  Everything's difficult.  On this trip, I felt signs of this changing.  I had one of those beautiful moments this morning when everything felt good - the ducks were swimming on the water around me, the wind was whistling through the trees, and things seemed to be flowing pretty well.  I have Maddy, Delia and everybody else in my life.  Everything's transient.  Enjoy it while you can.

Munich - The Last Supper

We made it back to Munich, and took our last supper at the Augustiner Biergarten on Arnulfstrasse (just north-west of the train station).  Now, on the day after the last supper, I wonder whether Jesus ate breakfast the next day.  I definitely would have.  Best meal of the day.

Freiburg - drains and trains

Freiburg is a cool little city tucked down in the extreme south-west corner of Germany.  An old university town, a lot of stuff is crammed within the old city walls.

One very prominent feature is the system of stone drains incorporated into most of the cobbled streets in the old city.  It being reasonably wet right now, there is a lot of activity in said drains!  One must be careful not to twist an ankle in them, or on the numerous rail tracks.  The large army of bikers seems to do just fine (almost entirely sans helmet).

Drain and train in close juxtaposition.

Adorable scene of kids playing with boats in the drain.

Beware of alligators!

Schwartz Wald - land of mists

Having successfully traversed the German border, we decided to stay off the Autobahn (which was a parking lot the last time we were on it) and go to Freiburg by way of back roads through the Black Forest.  Good choice, for at least we moved the whole time.  One small problem was that the spectacular views we should have seen were largely obliterated by the rainy day and the fact that we were literally driving through a cloud for the first part of the journey*.

Things cleared up and we were treated to some great alpine vistas, the Schwartz Wald being somewhat similar to the Green Mountains in Vermont (except a lot more pine/fir).  Stopped in a town for some incongruous but tasty Indian food.

Ill-advised photo taken while driving.

There's a great view out there somewhere!

Here comes the sun.  It's alright.


*I thought we were supposed to be looking at all the light.  An sand and birds and rocks and things.  Extra points for those who know that song.

Strasbourg 4 - leaving town

We left Strasbourg heading due east, crossing again the German border.  As with most border crossings on our trips, we try to document them with photos, which is often challenging (see photos from Alabama and Mississippi borders last year).  It took us a while to find a place to pull off along the Rhine, then some time to get the photo right.  After all that, we continued east, only to find out that we had not crossed the Rhine yet and were still in France!  So, imagine the photos below are of the Rhine and not a tributary.  We weren't about to stop again.

Attempt #1.  Almost dropped the camera.  That little thing you see sticking up to the right of Maddy's head is Strasbourg Cathedral.

Attempt #2.  That's better.

Attempt #3.  Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien.

Strasbourg 3 - the cathedral

One of my great accomplishments, and great shames, while living in Strasbourg was to climb the cathedral.  At the time, it was just something one did after a party.  When I say "something one did", I'm not sure how many people actually did it.  I just know that I did it twice when, at around 2 AM, somebody said "hey let's climb the cathedral".  It's not like we saw anybody else doing it on either of those occasions.

Looking at it from the bottom, I can only guess at how we got started going up.  I know we started on the North-west corner.  It didn't seem that difficult, I was just following along.  Now, the thought of it makes me shudder.  I also shudder at the damage we could have done to this fantastic structure (started in 1176, and was the tallest building in Europe for a couple of centuries).  But mostly, truth be told, I think it's pretty cool and am happy I am still alive.  We went right to the very top, three or four people holding on way up there and looking at all the lights below.  On the way down the second time we climbed it, we found an open door and got into a cat walk and could look down at the interior of the church from way up high.  They don't do that on just any tour!

Cathedral from a distance.

Cathedral up close.

Cathedral straight up from the front.  We started on the left side of this image (seen from the side in the next picture).

Inside the cathedral.  From the last photo, you can see the catwalk, just below the upper stained glass.

Strasbourg 2 - Petite France

I lived in Strasbourg for 18 months, between October 1988 and April 1990.  Not a huge amount of time but a very formative one for me.  The first time I set foot here was earlier in 1988, when Kathy Dickinson and I went on an adventure through England and France with one of the destinations being to look at the lab in Strasbourg.  Still remembering that awesome trip, Kathy!

My apartment was in a part of the city called Petite France, a series of very small islands where the mills used to be.  In fact, I lived on Rue des Moulins, with my apartment spanning the water between two islands.  It all seemed pretty normal at the time but, looking at this now, I realize how amazing it was.

Strasbourg has changed a lot in almost 30 years.  It was somewhat down-at-the-mouth and sleepy at that time.  Now, the dingy and traffic-filled street where I used to do my laundry and get coffee is now a pedestrian way, and everything seems much fancier.  I jogged past the science institute where I worked, which moved out of town a few years after I left, and remembered all the characters who worked there.  Wow, a lot of time has passed.

My apartment building is behind the two orange buildings, and where the water is coming out.

Similar view at night.

OK, my actual apartment didn't really face the water.  It's on the 3rd floor of the pink building (the windows that don't have the shutters down).

Petite France from a different angle.  You can see the cathedral in the background.  I used to like to go to the park on the left to read.  Did some exercise there on this particular morning.

The institute where I worked, the LGME (Laboratoire de Genetique Moleculaire des Eucaryotes).  A little more run down now (most of the labs moved over 20 years ago) but some cutting edge science went on here (sans blague).  Pierre Chambon was a world leader in steroid hormone and retinoic acid research.

Strasbourg 1 - the approach

We left Heidelberg and headed south.  Despite singing my praises of all things German last time, one thing I'm not thrilled with is the German highway system.  Basically, the problem is that they do TOO much work on them!  One can't go very far before running into construction on roads that seem perfect as is.  Such was the case on our drive today, where we essentially stopped on the Autobahn.  The city of Karlsruhe, whatever charms it might have, will be forever tainted for us.

We did, however, stop in Baden-Baden to use the baths, repeating something I had done several times when I lived in Strasbourg.  Maddy stuck to the main pool while I tried everything (hot/cold plunges, saunas of various types).

For one who waited in big lines at the border in the 1980s, zipping across the bridge from Kehl Germany to Strasbourg France was a pleasure.

 Maddy enjoying a Kronenbourg beer in Strasbourg.  Her assessments:
1) German beer is better than French beer
2) Bavarian Helles is better than Pils, although a good Weissbier is always, well, good
3) As far as French beers go, Fischer is better than Kronenbourg

We were actually sitting on the site of the first Kronenbourg beer at this time, unbeknownst to us.  Not necessarily an auspicious occasion given Maddy's opinions above.

Heidelberg 5 - Lest we forget

In general, I've been finding that the Germans are very matter-of-fact about their history.  A good example was the city-erected park on the site of the old Synagogue, that had been on the site from 1714-1938.  If you look at the time line on the photo of the placard, they give an extensive and, I assume, complete history of Jewish people in Heidelberg, good and bad.

Not being Jewish, it's impossible for me to know the feelings induced by thoughts of the Holocaust.  I feel that, today, Germany is about as fair and inclusive as any country can possibly be, while having an economy that we can only dream about in some ways (they actually make things that are worth buying).  They certainly seem to be the leaders in taking in refugees, and the diversity of races one sees most places here is impressive.  Undoubtedly, they'll actually profit from these refugees, as we have profited again and again from our immigrants.  US science would amount to very little without foreigners.  With the voting rights scandals and anti-immigrant anger going on all over the place in the US, we're killing the dream.  When I was in Germany for a science conference in April, I saw students from all over the world, speaking German and buying into life in Germany.  They're planning to stay.  Meanwhile, my best graduate student has been stuck in China for an extra month because of visa issues that are entirely generated by our government.  Killing the goose, killing the dream...

It's impossible for Germans to forget their history but, in the present, they are very impressive to me.

 Time line of Jews in Heidelberg.

 Site of the Synagogue

Memorial at the site of the Ark.

Heidelberg 4 - naturalische

In my experience, Germans don't need much of an excuse to divest themselves of their clothing.  Put up a sign "clothing optional", and they'll be racing the Scandinavians in stripping down.  Find any body of water in Germany in any other season but the dead of winter, and chances are you'll find a naked person there.  Therefore, it was no surprise to find this very artistic image of Heidelberg above my bed.  Maddy couldn't help pointing out that I just naturally picked this bed.  Honest, I just walked in and chucked my bag there!

Heidelberg 3 - Kiss Me Kate

The second night in Heidelberg, we went up to the castle to see the musical "Kiss Me Kate" in German, in the castle courtyard.  Not really knowing what to expect, we got up there with rain spitting down intermittently.  Each time they took covers off things, it rained.  They were nothing if not persistent, though, and the sky eventually cleared.

The show was fantastic, even for somebody (me) who understood very little.  The basic story was pretty straightforward (guy sends love letter to another woman for various reasons, then tries to get it back before the right/wrong woman reads it (unsuccessfully)).  Maddy got an amazing amoutn of the subtlety.  There was some amazingly tight dancing, especially for "Ist viel zu heiss" (It's too darn hot).  The setting was unbelievable.  A highlight of the trip.

Shot from the castle before the show.

The stage before the show.

At intermission.

Maddy!!!!!!!!!

One of them goofy panoramas.

Heidelberg 2 - Philosophenweg

Being a very old university town, Heidelberg has a very cerebral feel to it.  Nowhere is that more evident than the Philosopher's Way, a walk along the hill on the north side of the river, looking across to the town.  One walks straight up a few hundred feet, then walks along the hill parallel to the river.  Several great philosophers and thinkers (none of whom I actually knew) did their thinking up here.  We had a great walk up there on a beautiful day, picked some blackberries off the bushes, and started to walk the rest of the way up the hill to some sort of tower, but lost interest.  A very nice morning.

We're on the Philosopher's Way!  Quick, look smart!

The best ones are always just out of reach!

Weird panorama from the Weg.  Cogitate on THAT, philosophers!

Heidelberg 1 - Die schone Stadt

We arrived in Heidelberg in the evening, having struggled yet again with getting from here to there in Germany.  Two problems:
1) pretty much every single road in Germany is under repair.  In Nuremberg, this was especially irritating because one would chart a route on the map, get 90% of the way there, then be turned back unceremoniously at the last minute, with very little counseling on alternate routes.  OK, OK, most people use GPS but I'M NOT MOST PEOPLE!  Does anybody remember maps?  I'm seeing that I have to adapt.
2) Our impression is that Germans must be big mystery fans, because they love some suspense on the road.  Signage is not necessarily up to the German rigor in other things.

Despite these issues, we stumbled into town and parked in the Kaiserstuhl parking lot.  Immediately, we were blown away by the beauty of the city.  Tucked between two hills (both over 1000 feet, so officially mountains to me) along the Nekar river, Heidelberg was spared bombings and so is largely intact.  If you get up one of the hills on either side, you get an eyeful of beauty.  We stayed in the Hotel am Rathaus, right in the center of town.  

Taken from the parking lot.  That's how schone this Stadt is.

A couple of shots of the alte Brucke (old bridge) at night.

These panoramas are always a bit bizarre.

Street leading up to bridge.

Nuremberg 3 - the elephant in the room

On the last day here, we visited the museum at the old rally grounds south of town.  On this site the annual NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) rallies were held from 1933 to 1938.  We've all seen the films of these, but I wasn't clear as to what these actually were, multi-day events akin to a folk festival.  In fact, they co-opted the folk festival that had been held here for over 100 years, and continue to be held.

It was extremely sobering to be on this site.  The presentation of the lead-up to the rallies, the rallies themselves, the war years, the holocaust, and the post-war trials was extremely well done.  As we have found in other places, no excuses were made.  It was described how Nuremberg was a center-left city in the 1920s, but how the right wing took over in a big way as Hitler gained strength.

We couldn't see the rally grounds themselves (called the Zeppelin Field) but could see the Congress Hall site, which was being constructed as a permanent covered site for rallies holding 50,000 people.  It was never finished.

Kongresshall site.

Maddy on site.

Memorial to holocaust victims.

Nuremberg 2 - getting crazy

Here's just a goofy sequence of photos we took outside the Germanisches Museum.