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Germany

This was my second trip to Germany. Once was my first "big" trip, when I was 14 years old, and went there with a school group. We camped out for a month all over Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. It was great, but I don't have very many pics from that trip.

This second time was on the way back from the India eclipse of 24 Oct 1995. I spent 10 days driving around, seeing the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth, and knocking around Berlin. My German held up pretty well, too!

The highlight of the entire trip (except for the eclipse, of course) was seeing a concert by the Berlin Philharmonic (they performed Mahler 3 with Zubin Mehta). A professional musician once told me that the Chicago Symphony is an "Orchestra of Schwarzenggers" (and I agree), but I tell you, I've heard Chicago, Cleveland, St. Louis and Philadelphia, and there is NO comparison to Berlin! They are the Orchestra of Gods. Go here to read my account of this concert.

There are quite a few things to see in Germany; here are some of the highlights from my trip:

A stark memorial to Holocaust Victims in Berlin

Some of what's left of the Wall. The sign shows one guy saying to the other, "Kaum war die Mauer geöffnet, haben wir Freundschaft geschlossen." ("The Wall had only just been opened, and we closed our friendship.") The bottom of the sign says "Das Land sind wir. Alle." ("We are the country. All of us.")

Wagner's piano

Wagner's grave in Bayreuth

A scenic fence East of Frankfurt

Olympic torch in Berlin. Someone has scrawled "Achtung! Feuer!" on it. ("Attention! Fire!") I saw a Nazi film once of Hitler walking right past this stand. And, this is the stadium under which an unexploded 500-lb WWII bomb was found on 1/7/02! And to think I walked all the way around it!

The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. WWII history buffs will need no introduction to this place.


A stark memorial to Holocaust Victims in Berlin	Some of what's left of the Wall. The sign shows one guy saying to the other, "Kaum war die Mauer geöffnet, haben wir Freundschaft geschlossen." ("The Wall had only just been opened, and we closed our friendship.") The bottom of the sign says "Das Land sind wir. Alle." ("We are the country. All of us.")

Wagner's piano	Wagner's grave in Bayreuth

A scenic fence East of Frankfurt	Olympic torch in Berlin. Someone has scrawled "Achtung! Feuer!" on it. ("Attention! Fire!") I saw a Nazi film once of Hitler walking right past this stand. And, this is the stadium under which an unexploded 500-lb WWII bomb was found on 1/7/02! And to think I walked all the way around it!

The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. WWII history buffs will need no introduction to this place.