Why did I want to go to Germany? Well, I ended up in Germany for work a few years back and the place seemed Ok. Unfortunately, on that trip I didn't have enough time to fool around. On the way home I decided I'd go back someday and goof off. As it happens, Octoberfest was going to start while I was on sabbatical and I decided to go to Octoberfest.
I went to Germany at the end of my Sabbatical. I started out in Frankfurt because that was the only place I could get a "frequent flier" ticket to. From there I hopped a train to Wetzlar and kicked around for a couple of days. Wetzlar is one of the places where I worked and it's an interesting place. Coincidentally, the first 35mm camera to succeed in the marketplace was designed and built by Leica1 in Wetzlar.
I had a day or two to get from Wetzlar to Munich, where Octoberfest happens. I had worked in Munich before, at BMW. I knew that Munich was a fairly long drive from Wetzlar, so I wanted to stop somewhere along the way and sightsee. I chose Stuttgart, more or less at random. I'd seen the Stuttgart offramp on the autobahn, so I estimated that it was about halfway to Munich.
I didn't really get much of a chance to sightsee in Stuttgart, though. I did spend some time tramping around and saw some neat parks and architecture, including the Opera House. While I was eating breakfast I met up with a retired couple from Tucson and they really wanted to see the Opera House, so I showed them the way. They were going to Munich, too, and offered me a ride in their rental car. Why not?
The next thing I knew, I was riding shotgun with Willie and Bobbie, the folks from Tucson. Tucson is near where I live, by the way. They didn't have a hotel reservation in Munich and rooms were getting scarce as Octoberfest came closer. So, when we found my hotel they asked if there was a room available. There was one room, but only until Octoberfest. After that, they'd have to clear out because the hotel was booked solid.
Bobbie was keen to see Castle Neuschwanstein and after dinner Willie came by my room to see if I wanted to join them on a bus tour to the castle. I'm not a fan of bus tours and I declined. I really didn't want to spend an entire day cooped up in a bus. That night I took off and ran around town, stopping by pubs and checking out the local resturants.
The next day at breakfast, I met up with my crones. They knew that the tour bus company was near the train station, but not much else. Since I had been by the train station the night before I offered to show them the way. We hopped on the S-bahn train and went to get them signed up for the tour.
We trundled along on the train with the early-morning commuters and got to the station without much drama. But finding the tour company was a pain and when we finally got there the bus had left. It was a major disapointment for Bobbie, since she really had her heart set on going to the castle.
So it came to pass that they decided to drive to the castle. I ended up sitting shotgun, as we say here in the USA, and being their navigator. I kind of wanted to see the Alps anyway.
We went back to the hotel to pick up the rental car and my camera gear, then set off on our little alpine journey.
Germans aren't known for their subtlety.
Click here to go back to the main sabbatical webpage.
Click here to go to the Wetzlar webpage.
Click here to go to the Stuttgart webpage.
Click here to go to the Munich website.
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Note 1. The camera was called Leica, but the manufacturer was actually E. Leitz.