Germany, Belgium & Luxembourg - 2001

The Final Week

The last week of my trip was spent in Kirchheimbolanden (Kibo) staying with Jurgen yet visiting friends and family EVERY day. Believe it or not this part of the trip is almost always my favorite.

During this week I had the opportunity to drive to Stuttgart via Karlsruhe to meet my former exchange student from my highschool days. He is now a doctor living in Tuttlingen and we decided to meet in Stuttgart because it was central to both of us. I had driven past Stuttgart many times, but never took the time to stop and visit. I must say I was pleasantly surprised at how pretty Stuttgart was. We met at a huge department store, much like a Nordstoms or Macy's. They had a great piano bar in the central lobby where Jurgen and I had a beer while waiting for Matthias, or should I say Dr. Jung? lol It's still hard for me to believe he is a doctor. When he was living with us back in 1987 I taught him the fine are of TP'ing houses while holding a beer in the other hand. Now he operates with a beer in one hand. (kidding) Being 17, we used to do a lot of stupid things back then, but what fun. We walked the shopping streets past the Schloss with it's fountains until we came across a nice restaurant with outdoor seating under a few trees. I had a wonderful cheese spätzle with ham and a beer. The place was really very nice and the town great for strolling. Matthias informed me that many Germans come to Stuttgart to do their Christmas shopping during the holidays.

Its so nice to get to live with and see how Germans live. Since I'm from America I get a huge dose of Jäger Schnitzel and red sauerkraut. At one point I had this dinner 2 nights in a row from 2 separate families. No problem though, you can never get enough schnitzel! One tradition my wifes family follows is every Friday evening they all get together at one of their homes and just talk. They have the meats, cheeses, coffee and beer and spend hours talking and laughing. My last night I joined the party. While here I showed the family Ben's webpage and the earlier trip report he posted for me. Many of the family were in the prior report and they got quite a laugh out of seeing themselves on the net. The little boy Johannes was upset however that he was not included so I told him I would beg Ben to include his photo in the next report.

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After the family get-together many of us headed down to a pub for a night of drinks before I left. From what little I remember we drank the place out of Asbach. So fun though so many of us in a smokey German pub drinking Asbach after Asbach yet enjoying each others company.

Earlier in the day I "tried" to pack my bags. One of the menu boards I picked up was about 3 inches too long. Luckily Jurgen had a good saw in the cellar and was able to make a nice clean cut. I had so much chocolate, beer, birkenstocks, mugs and toys than I actually left half my clothes behind due to lack of space. I mean we are talking two huge suitcases as well as a backpack packed to the point that I was afraid they would burst open during the flight.

The next day I left early leaving a 4 hour window to get checked in at Frankfurt. I arrive and drop off the car no problem, however the bags each weigh just over 100 lbs and I'm now afraid of the extra surcharge the airlines are sure to charge me. I find the Lufthansa counter and can't believe my eyes, not one person in line. Quite a contrast to what I had experienced back in Seattle. I asked the attendent why such a short line and she said I was just lucky, that less than 1 hour ago they had lines snaking thoughout the airport. While she's talking to me she slaps the tags on my 2 suitcases and slides them both on through, not charging me a penny. I couldn't believe it and am very thankful. The only reason I could think for her not charging me was the flight being only half full so she didn't feel the extra weight warranted the trouble? Still nursing a small hangover I walk the shops in the airport, buying a pack of Mentos just in case there is any problem on the plane. For those of you that have seen their commercials here in the states you'll get the joke. At the Lufthansa gate I find warm coffee waiting for everyone along with free English newspapers from the U.S. and England. I tell you Lufthansa is just head and shoulders ahead of any other airline out there.

On the flight back I had a window seat with an empty seat between me and the next passenger. The extra little room makes such a difference on a long flight. The food was superb and the seats even seemed to have more leg room than the Air Canada flight. We arrived in Vancouver, Canada a few minutes late yet I still had 30 minutes to catch my flight, so I thought. I run to the check-in counter and am told quite coldly that I would have to wait 4 hours for the next flight since I would never make it to the counter in what was now 15 minutes until take off. After tossing a few words I can't mention x#%x! - I resign myself to a later flight and start towards my gate. After 5 minutes I'm at the gate and my first scheduled flight still has another 5 minutes to take off. I can't tell you how angry I was at Air Canada at that point, I had plenty of time to catch the connecting flight to Seattle.

So I sat there and watched my beloved Mariners get their butts kicked 16-2 by the Cleveland Indians until my next flight 4 hours later. I should say a little about the security in Frankfurt. As I put my backpack through the scanner they took me aside and asked me if I had any razor blades. I said I had some Mach III razor blades, at which point they asked for them and threw them into a box full of other items. What struck me was I had 5 bottles of wine and beer in my pack that if broke in half would be quite a weapon, yet it was my shaving blades that they wanted. Maybe he wanted them for himself? lol

Finally in Seattle it felt soooo good to be back home. My kids come running up to me yelling, "do you have any kinder chocolate, any gummi bears"? And here I thought it was me they missed.

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Its almost like Christmas coming home from a trip like this, getting all the goodies and gifts out of the case, showing all the pictures and postcards and talking for hours on end about what a great trip it was. As much fun as travel is though, is there any better feeling than that first night back in YOUR own bed with YOUR own pillow and that first shower in YOUR bathroom the next morning?

All in all it was a fun trip with fantastic weather. Highlights included Waterloo, Vianden, the South Belgian countryside, the military cemetaries in Hamm, and of course the 6 Brugge Triples in Brugge. Would I go back? In a few years after I get my German fix again. Although I would love to spend more time in and around Brugge with my wife next time. Hopefully I didn't bore you too much, if you have any questions about some of the locations I visited please email me and I'll be happy to respond.
Thanks for listening.

Nate

(Music - Wind of Change by the German band Scorpians)