Geneva May 11 - 15

Arrived in Geneva by plane 1:00 May 11 and in the center of city by 2:00 to get picked up by Barbara. With the bus we were at her apartment 20 minutes later. Early evening we walked for 30 minutes to Carouge for drinks, dinner and to meet Patrick who works in that area. After a great dinner and a bottle Rhone wine (Swiss) we went for ice cream (GREAT) and back home via a few side streets and parks. Another 8 mile walking day, thank you Barbara and Patrick. Two more days of sightseeing and meeting friends in Geneva, some we had not seen for over 20 years. Friday we traveled by train to St-Imier, Canton Bern in the Jura, hometown of Patrick. A real Swiss Home dinner on Friday and a Fondue Dinner on Saturday. Sunday we will be back traveling to Geneva and fly to Frankfurt to try the 5:30PM flight to Chicago. We made it in Geneva and Frankfurt (full plane) now back in Grayslake, arrived 9:30PM at home.

Frankfurt May 9 - 11

Arrived on Monday afternoon after an 3.5 hour fast (ICE) train ride from Bremen, our longest train ride of this trip, about 500 Km. Have a very nice and large place at Pension Aller. Walked to the business and Old Opera Place for drinks and dinner. Tuesday another tour of the old town and the DOM area. Getting ready for the flight to Geneva.

Bremen May 7 - 9

On Saturday we arrived in Bremen after a short one hour train trip from Hamburg. Sunny and 75F in Hamburg and Bremen and no change expected for the next days. We will stay until Monday and then forward to Frankfurt and Geneva on May 11.
Bremen is a one - two day city, many beautiful old houses and streets with restaurants including churches. Another UNESCO area. And of  course everyone knows this is the city of Becks Beer.

City Musicians - Plot

In the story a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster, all past their prime years in life and usefulness on their respective farms, were soon to be discarded or mistreated by their masters. One by one they leave their homes and set out together. They decide to go to Bremen, known for its freedom, to live without owners and become musicians there.

On the way to Bremen, they see a lighted cottage; they look inside and see four robbers enjoying their ill-gotten gains. Standing on each other's backs, they decide to perform for the men in hope of gaining food. Their 'music' has an unanticipated effect; the men run for their lives, not knowing what the strange sound is. The animals take possession of the house, eat a good meal, and settle in for the evening.

Later that night, the robbers return and send one of their members in to investigate. It is dark and he sees the eyes of the Cat shining in the darkness. He reaches over to light his candle, thinking he sees the coals of the fire. Things happen in quick succession; the Cat swipes his face with her claws, the Dog bites him on the leg, the Donkey kicks him and the Rooster crows and chases him out the door, screaming. He tells his companions that he was beset by a horrible witch who scratched him with her long fingers (the Cat), an ogre with a knife (the Dog), a giant who had hit him with his club (the Donkey), and worst of all, the judge who screamed in his voice from the rooftop (the Rooster). The robbers abandon the cottage to the strange creatures who have taken it, where the animals live happily for the rest of their days.

Hamburg May 2 - 7

 Arrived on 2 May at 11:30 in Hamburg Altona with the fast ICE train from Berlin (in less than 2 hours). It is sunny but a cool 56F. Staying with a friend, we met in Argentina, and her partner in the apartment buildings "Guest Apartment" with all the luxuries like a hotel room. Planing on leaving Saturday to Bremen. Tuesday, roamed around Altona and later the center of Hamburg, lunch at Daniel Wisher (old Fish restaurant) then a Sauna on our roof garden and dinner.

Wednesday May 4, spent the day visiting, grave sites at the Ohlsdorf Cemetery, then the Poppenbuttel and Hohenfelde areas of Hamburg (where I grew up). The evening we strolled up and down the Reeperbahn and a few side streets, like Herbert Str.    Thursday May 5, went to the Harbor this morning to take a Ferry up the Elbe to Blankenese where we strolled the streets and had lunch, Back by bus and dinner on the rooftop. Friday we will spent some more time in Altona and watch the parade of boats at the Hamburg Harbor's 822 Birthday party (Yes 822). 50+ Sail Ships are ready in the harbor to participate in this three day event.  We have tickets for Saturday to go by train to Bremen for two nights then on to Frankfurt and Geneva.

We are staying in Altona a big area near St Pauli Reeperbahn of Hamburg (long time ago part of Denmark). The walk to the Altona train station is always an experience you think you are in Istanbul. This half mile stretch, full of shops and restaurants, is full of Turks all ages and they spent the morning smoking and drinking coffee in the coffee shops. You hear little German even they do speak German and most have lived here for 40+ years. They tell us Hamburg has MANY tourists - compared to Berlin there is no one here! Once every hour you see a City Tour bus with maybe a dozen tourists driving around and on the streets you see some and hear a few different languages. Not at all like Berlin 4-5 City Tour buses every 20 minutes full of tourists and the streets were full of tourists, noisy and every language or German dialect can be heard even the public transportation in Berlin was full of people and many of them tourists.

Pictures are HERE

Germany Observations and Travel Notes

Germany

• Prices - not as bad as we think in the US - remember Sales tax is included in all advertised prices. In restaurants the service / tip is also included (some leave additional change or a few percent). Sales tax is 19%!
• Toilets - Euro .40 - .50 or 60 70 cents, and they do collect or you don't get in.
• Water - no water tap in restaurants, they make you buy a bottle at Euro 2 - 4 ($2.80 - $5.50) the waiter tells us when you get home and you did not like the tap water you blame the restaurant so we only sell bottles. One Menu had "The city does not give away coffee we don't give away water".
• Trams and Trains - you know when the next one is coming, display at the station, also inside it shows where the train is going and next stations upcoming.
• It looks like there are now more Ice cream cafes than Beer bars.
• Cup of Coffee 1.5 - 2.5 euros, .5 liter beer 2.5 - 3.5 Euros, Coke 2.2-2.5 small bottle.
• Lunch or Dinner in nice Restaurant 10-15 Euros (Tip,Tax inc)
• One day card to use all public transportation Family 7 Euros (Leipzig, Dresden, Berlin)
• Many cars in the cities but no traffic jams, many bicycles! looks like people like to stay fit and $8 gas helps.
• MANY German tourists in Leipzig, Bamberg, Wittenberg and Dresden. Very few in Hamburg.
• Berlin more Beer and Bars than Ice Cream and Coffee Shops, not like other cities.
• OK to walk around with a bottle of beer after work or evening in city area.
• Smoking - not inside restaurants but outside  - many smokers!
• Berlin full of tourists in late April - many languages on the streets.
• Bikes - many and watch out they are all over you have a chance to get hit by a bike before a car.
• Wine pured is .2 L a bit more than the average pour in the States - Nice!
• Hamburg more expensive (10%) than Eastern Germany towns.
• Dogs in Restaurants, is OK.
• Switzerland Geneva prices are HIGH. $ 4.90 for a Coffee of the day at Starbucks, $ 7-8 for a Glass of wine .1L (half of what they serve in Germany), a glass of Beer $5 .3L., Dinner $40-50 person with drinks in nice Restaurant, Lunch $15-20 no drinks.

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From:     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GDR

The German Democratic Republic (GDR; German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik [ˈdɔʏtʃə demoˈkʀaːtɪʃə ʀepuˈbliːk]or DDR), informally called East Germany (German: Ost-Deutschland) by West Germany and other countries, was the socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany and in the East Berlin portion of the Allied-occupied capital city. The German Democratic Republic, which consisted geographically of northeast Germany rather than all of eastern Germany, had an area of 107,771 km² (41,610 mi²), bordering Czechoslovakia in the south, West Germany (officially: Federal Republic of Germany) in the south and west, the Baltic Sea to the north, and Poland in the east.

In 1989 a non-violent revolution overthrew the Communists. The Soviets refused to intervene, and the country soon reunited with West Germany and is now part of Germany.

At German reunification on October 3, 1990, the Länder (states) of East Germany were integrated as new federal states to theFederal Republic of Germany (FRG). Moreover, the German Democratic Republic was disestablished after the Communistgovernment, of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), lost the general election on March 18, 1990, and thus its parliamentary majority in the Volkskammer (People’s Chamber); subsequently, on August 23, 1990, the Volkskammer re-established the five pre-war states — Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia(disestablished in 1952) — for the reunification of East Germany to West Germany.

The Wende 

Main articles: Die Wende and German reunification

In 1989, following widespread public anger over the results of local government elections that spring, many citizens applied for exit visas or left the country illegally. In August 1989 Hungary removed its border restrictions and unsealed its border, and more than 13,000 people left East Germany by crossing the "green" border via Czechoslovakia into Hungary and then on toAustria and West Germany.^[17] Many others demonstrated against the ruling party, especially in the city of Leipzig.Kurt Masur, the conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, led local negotiations with the government and held town meetings in the concert hall.^[18] The demonstrations eventually led Erich Honecker to resign in October, and he was replaced by a slightly more moderate communist, Egon Krenz.

On November 9, 1989, a few sections of the Berlin Wall were opened, resulting in thousands of East Germans crossing into West Berlin and West Germany for the first time. Krenz resigned a few days later, and the SED abandoned power shortly afterward. Although there were some limited attempts to create a permanent democratic East Germany, these were soon overwhelmed by calls for unification with West Germany.