Germany, Austria & Switzerland 1990
Ed. Note: In 1990 we went to Germany, Austria & Switzerland. Our first trip outside of an English-speaking country. We had a great time, though looking back at the slides I can see the weather really sucked. Did not get too many good Alpine photos, but we had a lot of good beer. Click to enlarge.
Following Rick Steves’ recommendations, we stayed mostly in mom and pop places, following a loose itinerary across Germany Austria & Switzerland, dipping into Italy and France (and Lichtenstein). Reading the diary now, we were amazed by the lack or border controls (now totally abolished) and the American influence on European pop culture, which we were not expecting. We don’t have the stamina for 21 hotels in 21 days anymore, but it was a great way for a young couple to see Europe, and a real eye-opener.
Following Rick Steves’ recommendations, we stayed mostly in mom and pop places, following a loose itinerary across Germany Austria & Switzerland, dipping into Italy and France (and Lichtenstein). Reading the diary now, we were amazed by the lack or border controls (now totally abolished) and the American influence on European pop culture, which we were not expecting. We don’t have the stamina for 21 hotels in 21 days anymore, but it was a great way for a young couple to see Europe, and a real eye-opener.
Day 1 - 5/19/1990
Rothenburg
Whew! Today has been a long day and a half.
We left Newark last night (Friday) at about 5 p.m. We flew Lufthansa and the service was excellent. Two meals (one of which I slept through), complimentary drinks, unlimited German magazines, newspapers, etc. The dinner was roast pork and smoked fish and was the best airline food I've ever had. Jill had a continental breakfast that was very good; I slept through it. I slept 5 hours out of 7 1/2, which made day 1 a little easier.
Our cab ride to the airport had a driver about 17 years old. Made us nervous!
We got off the plane in Frankfurt (big airport) with no problem -- they didn't even open our passports or glance at our luggage. After a quick stop at Avis, we were out on the Autobahn in our new Audi 100 -- fully equipped with tape deck and sunroof. Good thing we brought tapes of German / Austrian music, and some Rock n' Roll (and classical.)
Drove from Frankfurt to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The first part was on the Autobahn at 140 kph (85-90 mph). We were being passed regularly by Mercedes and BMWs going at least 120 mph!
Then we took the Romantiche Strasse (Romantic Road) to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The scenery was great -- tons of wildflowers and birds. Also lots of small towns with typical south German architecture.
We arrived in Rothenburg around 11 a.m. Parked on the outskirts of town and walked back into the 16th century. The town is one of the few surviving medieval towns surrounded by a wall. All of the houses are made of post and beam frames with red clay tile roofs. Also lots of planters with flowers hanging from the balconies.
We left Newark last night (Friday) at about 5 p.m. We flew Lufthansa and the service was excellent. Two meals (one of which I slept through), complimentary drinks, unlimited German magazines, newspapers, etc. The dinner was roast pork and smoked fish and was the best airline food I've ever had. Jill had a continental breakfast that was very good; I slept through it. I slept 5 hours out of 7 1/2, which made day 1 a little easier.
Our cab ride to the airport had a driver about 17 years old. Made us nervous!
We got off the plane in Frankfurt (big airport) with no problem -- they didn't even open our passports or glance at our luggage. After a quick stop at Avis, we were out on the Autobahn in our new Audi 100 -- fully equipped with tape deck and sunroof. Good thing we brought tapes of German / Austrian music, and some Rock n' Roll (and classical.)
Drove from Frankfurt to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The first part was on the Autobahn at 140 kph (85-90 mph). We were being passed regularly by Mercedes and BMWs going at least 120 mph!
Then we took the Romantiche Strasse (Romantic Road) to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The scenery was great -- tons of wildflowers and birds. Also lots of small towns with typical south German architecture.
We arrived in Rothenburg around 11 a.m. Parked on the outskirts of town and walked back into the 16th century. The town is one of the few surviving medieval towns surrounded by a wall. All of the houses are made of post and beam frames with red clay tile roofs. Also lots of planters with flowers hanging from the balconies.
We found our hotel -- the Baren -- in about 45 minutes. It was around 11:35 and we couldn't check in until 14:00, so we toured the town. I climbed up to a tower at the top of the town hall -- Jill chickened out about 3/4 of the way up. The view from the top was great, but the stairs at the top were like ladders! We followed the Michelin tour of the town, and went to the medieval Kriminalmuseum. Lots of horrible instruments of torture and punishment, including shame masks and stocks in which a criminal had his/her feet tickled or in extreme cases was forced to endure having goats lick salt off his/her feet!
Then we checked in; our bellman asked "Mr. and Mrs. Siebenheller?" as we approached. Our room is ok -- a little tacky but with a small sitting room with TV. We turned it on and briefly watched the American Country Music Awards with German overdubbing before out 2 hour nap.
Then we checked in; our bellman asked "Mr. and Mrs. Siebenheller?" as we approached. Our room is ok -- a little tacky but with a small sitting room with TV. We turned it on and briefly watched the American Country Music Awards with German overdubbing before out 2 hour nap.
Then we were up again in search of dinner. We found a little sidewalk cafe with slow service. Jill had Schweinschnitzel and I had Frankfurter sausages with sauerkraut and potatoes. Not your typical hot dog! Very spicy and good.
Then a walk around town and a stop at a cafe/bar where a guy was playing the accordion accompanies by a singing mynah bird. Very romantiche! When he stopped a private party upstairs was singing German songs accompanied by a drum.
Tomorrow morning we'll take a walk around the wall surrounding Rothenburg. Meanwhile, we'll watch a cowboys and Indians movie on T.V. dubbed in German. It's amazing how much American culture is in Germany -- at least on radio and T.V.
Day 2 >>>
Then a walk around town and a stop at a cafe/bar where a guy was playing the accordion accompanies by a singing mynah bird. Very romantiche! When he stopped a private party upstairs was singing German songs accompanied by a drum.
Tomorrow morning we'll take a walk around the wall surrounding Rothenburg. Meanwhile, we'll watch a cowboys and Indians movie on T.V. dubbed in German. It's amazing how much American culture is in Germany -- at least on radio and T.V.
Day 2 >>>