I left Berlin with the goal to seek out some family heritage. And of course also to see other parts of Germany, and have adventures, etc…
I booked a VERY expensive interail ticket to Munich and Stuttgart. Now, I have to pause here and devote some time to the trains.
I am well aware, and usually the first to make the joke about the irony of the impeccable DeutschBahn (DB), but it is incredible.
It is massive, fast, clean, on time to the second (let's not forget who we're dealing with here...), and dependable. The DB workers are knowledgeable (also in English), friendly and willing to help. The woman behind the counter also, without bending any rules, saved me almost 200 Euros!!!
The high-tech ICE trains also come equipped with outlets, tray tables and even an internet hotspot (I’m writing now on the train). Passing through the countryside over rivers and through woods; picturesque villages each bearing a protruding spire - I gazed nostalgically at the green rolling Bavarian hills reminding me of rural Wisconsin or Pennsylvania – probably one of the reasons so many Germans settled in those states in the mid-19th century.
I arrived in Munich, found a cheap hostel and went exploring. Munich is known for its museums, Beer culture (Oktoberfest), and of course the ’72 Olympics. Without any baggage it’s an incredible city. I understand what my friend Tori meant when telling me that it was her favorite.
I walked through Marienne Platz to the upscale Schwabing and then back to whet my pallet with the famous Bavarian wheat beer of Haufbrau, or preferably some others that are less exported. Sitting in the bierstube, biergarten or bierhalle, I was enjoying myself.
Good times for all as locals and tourists together washed down stein after stein of strong fresh brau. Sitting alone in a corner with a book, working on #2 of the dark wheat Ayingers, my mind started to wander and take me back 85 years this week to the famous Munich beer hall putsch, which got Hitler arrested, but played a central role in the steady catapulting of the [NSDAP – later called] Nazi party to power. Maybe it’s a curse. Why can’t I just sit and have a beer? Why must I always ruin a good time with a terrible reference from the past.I guess I have no choice. That’s baggage. As they say, it’s tough being Jewish. How true, especially here.
1 comment:
Just a note on the German railway (DB): It is NOT always on time, and the service people are considered really unhelpful and unfriendly. It has become some sort of a running gag, even. I'm so glad you had a different experience.
Thanks for highlighting the baggage of that means of transportation, because it's easy to forget, and I don't think the DB has done a thorough investigation of the company's involvement and benefits during the time of the holocaust.
Did you see the "Stolpersteine" in Berlin, Munich and Stuttgart? They are small copper flaggings embedded in the sidewalks in front of building where Jews used to live before or during the war. They have the names, date and place of birth, and the date and place of their eviction and/or death on them to make the remembrance as personal as possible. You'll find them all over Germany.
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