G E R M A N Y

GERMANY should have been named Greenland.  We traveled all the West side, from the borders with Holland and Belgium in the North, to the borders with Austria and Switzerland in the South, and everywhere the trees and grass are splendored-green.  You cannot see the forest because of so many trees!   

From any high elevation of the Autobahn, the view of the hills and valleys, with rivers and roads crisscrossing them and a myriad of small villages all the way to the horizon, is always breathtaking.  And the people are very good looking, neatly dressed and extremely courteous, specially in the Bavaria region.

The common denominating feature of all the towns and roads is the cleanliness.  You don’t see any trash or even cigarette butts in any sidewalk.  What a difference when you cross the border and arrive at Amsterdam!  You do not notice poverty in Germany.  The farmer’s houses in the country are big, well constructed and nicely kept.  The half-timbered houses, always present in every village, are so immaculately painted that they look as if they were built just a few years ago, instead of a few centuries.

The language was never a problem as almost everybody speaks English and the menus at the restaurant are printed in Germany and English. The food was another rapidly discarded worry, and became a delightful experience.  It consists mostly of pork, served in different styles and all exquisite; but there is also very good fish, veal, chicken and lamb.  And there are a lot of Italian and Chinese Restaurants. There is a McDonald's in every city.  We even saw “Pancho’s Authentic Mexican Food” and “Havana Restaurant”.   How about that for variety.

There are literally hundreds of different beers in Germany and it is always served cold and in a large mug.  Every time I tried a new one, it was better that the one before.  It is stronger, heavier and more delicious than the American type.

Germany’s roads are second to none and the sign system is perfect.  If you get lost while driving is because you get distracted by the beauty of the scenery and miss your exit.  At the beginning, I thought that AUSFAHRT was the biggest city in Germany, as you see this sign every few kilometers, but it is the German word for EXIT.

There are some very interesting bridges crossing the Autobahns.  Some are narrow, with the inside edges and floor covered with vegetation… for the deer to cross the roads safely!  In other places the environmentalists go a little bit further and install a three-feet high mesh fence along the road sides… so the frogs don’t jump into the roads and get killed!

Germany was just one leg in our extensive trip to Europe in 1996. We also visited Holland, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg and the tiny country of Liechtenstein. But all these countries will have to wait their turn to get inserted in my blog.



This is Germany, a very beautiful country with a magnificent architecture and a well advanced technology.  A fascinating place to spend your vacation.


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