Introduction


This blog documents the tour a few current and former residents of Freeborn County, Minnesota made from June 10-24, 2012, to Germany as they traced their family roots back to that country.


Many on the tour were related to one-another but all had ancestors who immigrated from Germany and eventually made permanent  residence in Freeborn County, Minnesota in the townships of Pickerel Lake, Nunda, Alden and Mansfield.


The blog owner has never done a blog before so this may appear "thrown together", which it was.  For example, he has yet to figure out how to reverse the sequence of the blog posts so they appear more in chronological order.  However, it is hoped that this blog will provide sufficient information to educate other family members or friends who are interested in the trip what happened. In addition, for those who DID participate in the tour, it should help our finite minds remember all the important things we saw and did.  


We went to so many places, from small villages like Vasbeck to large cities like Berlin; we clearly understand the diverse nature of this country.  It seemed like we were a "skipping stone" thrown across the surface of a still lake as we hopped from one place to the other taking in the sights.   I think we all came away with a new found loyalty to the motherland of our ancestors.  If the means are available, most will eventually come back to visit and take the opportunity to focus in on places in Germany that most interested them.


For those who attended, if you find errors, please let me know so that I can correct them.


I have attached a video of the typical beginning of a new day on the tour.  It was our introduction for the day by our outstanding tour guide, Xenia.  She said she had "never quite had a tour group like ours".  We'll leave that open for interpretation.  


Unfortunately, in uploading this video, I could not get it rotated properly during the conversion.  But you will get the jest of the content by the audio portion.


Danke,
Roger

P.S.  We made the news in the Bad Arolsen newpaper

but you better know German to read it.

Munich - June 23

This is our last full day together before we depart by plane for destinations thousands of miles apart once again. From Texas, to California, to Colorado, to Wisconsin, to South Dakota, to Nebraska, to Iowa and then Minnesota. Did I leave any destinations out. It was a very relaxing breakfast as many hung around the tables, sipping coffee and watching as the last of the group made it down to hit the food trough once again. Sure enough there is Vernell in his Red White and Gold (not yellow, never yellow, Xenia would be mortified) dunce hat which confirms once again that Germany did win the night before during our man-cave experience. 

We get our pre-packing plans started and finish the Cosmos evaluation sheets done. Not to hard too fill this one out. Doubt that either Ditmar or Xenia took any "hits" on the evaluations. Not much one could complain about, only to exhort such a great experience. When show up for the bus tour at 9:30am for the trip to the Opera House. Noses counted we come up one short. Roger is still working intensively on the blog as the seconds count down toward 9:30. I cover for him letting Xenia know that he is coming shortly. The minutes pass, others notice that one other is missing from the group. There is sincere and serious concern. Are we sure the missing party is okay. What should be do? Can we call again to inquire?

Finally the bus is ready and Roger shows up. Somebody asks whether he has to dance or sing. Xenia told us a couple of days ago that we were quite reliable as a group. She had not yet had to impose her set of rules for travelers that show up late for a deadline. She says there are three requirements. Number one = if you are late by two minutes you have to sing, oh my some of us gulp, sing in front of everyone, worse than talking into that stupid microphone on the bus. Number two= if you are late by four minutes, then you have to dance, oh my, only Vernell and Karen seem to have natural dancing skills. Then comes Number Three. Xenia announces that if you are six minutes late for the bus, then you will have to dance AND sing in the spot where the bus had previously been, because she and everyone else will be gone without you. Nope, have not lost anyone that way yet.

When we arrive at the Opera House it is filling rapidly with people milling about. We see some people (from the night before) with this stark body paint in either red or gold colors. Later we find out why -- it seems that there is an artist who is well known for taking public pictures in unique locations with nude people (as many as 100-200) in various poses. Yep, you got it -- we missed the prime buff shots which had occurred very early in the morning where the nudists and the photographers had been some time after dawn. Not sure we really wanted to view the strange looking figures in the buff with such strange paint, but our curiosity is peaked just a little.

We make the jaunt walking together to the big open plaza where the Glockenspiel is scheduled to go off in at 11:00. We meet for a kick off about an hour earlier in order to begin exploring the shops in the area one last time before going on a bus tour of Munich with our local guide. Almost immediately we see funny looking men in lederhosen and green jackets mustering up in the plaza area. They have carbines at hand and we wonder what they are up to or what their purpose might be. Then we hear music in the background and the sound of marching drums. From the tunnel behind us there comes the pleasant sounds of horses and bands with musicians marching. It seems that there is a celebration we have stumbled into which is put on by all of the brewers in the Munich area. It is delightful for us to hear they must be giving us a send off.

We then had a wonderful city tour of Munich with local guide Elizabeth who really knew her stuff and shared with us in a very powerful way. We saw parts of Munich that were most unusual and illustrated why Munich is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. 

She reported that Munich is a city of fashion and cinema high tech production.  Most building are of a baroque style.  Munich was heavily bombed during World War II.  The mayor years ago led the city toward a "restore" strategy rather than leveling the ruins and building new architectures.  Therefore, the heart of Munich does not look like a modern city such as Frankfurt but rather a romantically restored design of buildings.  The mayor had said, "The city must have a soul." so he ensured that history was preserved.

Steve Sprenger and Steve Lindeman cooling off and enjoying the architecture at the fountain near Munich city center

Archway at the entrance to Munich city center where we found lots of shopping, markets and art

Munich has a population of 1.4 million, has 46 museums and 61 theaters.  As compared to other cities we visited in Germany, the inhabitance were far more diverse;  in that and some other regards, it felt more like New York City.  BUT Munich was unique and in other ways not anything like NYC.  Unemployment in Munich is 3.8,one of the lowest in Germany.  There are about 100K students in the city.  It is the home of the 1972 Olympics.  It has 50 McDonalds (oh, how sad).

Our guide gave us a few other interesting statistics.  "There are 80 thousand dogs in Munich.  How do I know?  Because they are all registered and people pay a tax to have a dog.  If you need additional ideas in the US for taxes, Germany can help with that."

Another interesting quote she gave when speaking of the city history was, "The common people 'eat the soup' the politicians cook."  Oh so true.

She pointed out that people in the US are very willing to drink beer out of a plastic cup, but that would be a sin in Munich.

Finally she pointed out the high-end shopping street (the Fifth Avenue of Munich--sorry for bringing in the NYC comparison again).  It is on Maximillian Stasse and she called the wealthy shoppers (or wanna-be's) the "schichy-nichy" class of people.

Then at about  1:30 we split into the Dachau group and the shopping or museum group.

Dachau

The name Dachau may not ring a bell to the reader.  Dachau, the city has about 40,000 residents and is located about 11 miles northwest of Munich.  It is an old city but currently it is a popular place for people to live who work in Munich.

However, in 1933 the Nazi's built a concentration camp in Dachau and it became the prototype or model for all other concentration camps.  It operated as such until April 1945 when the US military liberated it.

After Hitler came into power in 1933, almost every community in Germany had members taken away to this camp. Newspapers continually reported of "the removal of the enemies of the Reich to concentration camps", and as early as 1935 there were jingles warning: "Dear God, make me dumb, that I may not to Dachau come".

There is much written about this and the many other concentration camps during World War II.  To walk through and both read the placards and see the layout of the camp left us sober and reflective.  The Wikipedia entry states, 


History may never know how many people were interned there or died there, due to periods of disruption. One source gives a general estimate of over 200,000 prisoners from more than 30 countries for the Third Reich's years, of whom two-thirds were political prisoners, including many Catholic priests, and nearly one-third were Jews. 25,613 prisoners are believed to have died in the camp and almost another 10,000 in its subcamps.

Enough said.  Find your own photos online should you want to further research.

We dropped Steve Lindeman off at a taxi stand after leaving Dachau because his tour had to the end and his airline flight back to the US was this afternoon.  We had a great time connecting with him.  Most of us had not seen him for 20-30 years.  So we were very happy he came to represent the Lindeman family.  When Xenia got back on the bus, she sighed, “Oh, it is so sad to say good bye to one of your children!”   Spontaneously, one of our tour members replied, “But did you have to leave him by the side of the road?”

Dinner followed with a great traditional German meal together with a lederhosen dressed accordion who played for us and later some of us danced to a polka.  The prize for best dancers throughout the trip were Karen and Vernell Katzung, although Wes and Janice (Ness) managed to kick it around to polka music played by the accordion man.

Our dinner entertainer at the dinner on the last day in Munich (Munchen)

Steve summarized the trip with highlights and we then departed for the hotel by bus being entertained by snippets of a 8mm film Steve shot 35 years ago during his first trip to Germany with Annie. My oh my, how they have changed as the cars and dress as well.

Our fearless leader Steve Sprenger in Munich providing a recap of our trip

Munich, Hohenzollern Castle - June 22

Xenia’s new shoes dried out from the Salzburg downpour and she was able to wear them again today. We are very impressed with German "quality" engineering of those shoes. So now we are on our way to the Hohenzolleran Castle which is a four hour drive, first we go north to Stuttgart on the Autobahn, then South again on smaller roads to the Castledown. This is not the route a crow would fly, in fact on the map it appears we are going way, way out of our way to get there. But the rugged terrain, up and down mountainsides where these castles are located means "no cross-country", as the crow flies travel.

On the way up to the castle, the drive is supposedly long and probably boring. However, we find the scenery to be quite intriguing and we opted to make our own entertainment for the day. Steve got us started with some family history and his connection to most of the people on the trip. 


Chuck shared his experience in pursuing the Martin Baer discovery and confirmation of his origin in Betzendorf, together with identifying his parents, baptism, etc.  One could conclude that career opportunities were limited and Martin needed to find a place with bounteous opportunity so he took the America immigration route. We will definitely look forward to more details of his life experience as we expect Chuck will discover a lot of this as he continues to communicate with the pastor of the Church near Betzendorf. 


The church was obviously a very important institution in those days and now still is the center of all genealogy record keeping in this country. The cemeteries certainly do not reveal anything in most cases, because the families cannot keep paying the exorbitant cost of using the burial plot for decades and generations and even centuries. The church charged a very high fee after a period of 40-50 years at which time another family may be granted use of the burial plot, then dumping the bones or dust of the interned soul in the base of the burial plot.

For the bus ride as we continued down the road, Xenia kindly allowed us to use the bus microphone, and Ditmar tolerated our noisy conversations. 

Steve began the conversation talking about his father's Sherman Tank experience and the Battle of the Bulge which he fought in. The colorful history of the commanding officer of the Allied troops that were trapped in a small town surrounded by German soldiers was very compelling.  He shared the example of the "white flag" negotiations where the Germans expected the Americans to just lay down their arms and give up.   The response that went back was "Nuts to You" or something like that. A lot of men died in the ensuing battle, but the ALLIED Soldiers obviously prevailed.  


The account about the executions of about 100 captured soldiers at Malady was gripping as well. The Germans thought it would demoralize the Americans and keep them from pursuing the war in the huge surge that Hitler was staging. Instead it rallied the troops to vindicate their fallen buddies and perhaps ended the war for Hitler a little quicker and more decisively. We shall never forget these brave men and women for their service, their bravory and for the sacrifices they made, sometimes with the loss of their own lives.

Joan Steele Moyer came forward and shared a goodly amount of the family history that included growing up with Chuck Steele.   Chuck added to Joan's comments indicating that when he was deployed in the military to Germany in early 1950's, Joan was back in Freeborn County and had temporary privileges to use Chuck's car.   When he came home, he found that his car had "seen" a few fences but could not figure out how that happened since the brakes were still working!   We learned that Joan had been very successful in running her own business out of her home to sew and install drapery throughout the community. That meant she measured accurately, acquired the materials, sewed the curtains and then put up the curtains for a lot of  very satisfied customers.  We applaud her for a very productive and perhaps satisfying business career. She and husband, Ross seem to being enjoying their retirement in a manner that we should all strive for.

Karen Katzung talked about her own work career having been in a county or state government Treasures office  wherein she had worked diligently for many years and then she got into an election with her boss who had been a “fill in” replacement  as an incompetent political appointee. With a great deal of courage and moxy, she ran for the office of Treasurer at the next election and nearly won (she should have won cuz she desired it and could have done the job better than the political guy).     We all cheered for her courage and stamina to hang in there even with repercussions that followed.

The stories of pleasant and sometimes harsh existence back in the good old days were indeed scintillating. We need that information documented just like Chuck and Roger the genealogy specialists need that information about our ancestors. Yes we know that our German heritage has modesty and hesitancy in public speaking foremost in their list of least favorite activities, but we are family and we want to know more about each other.

Joan Moyer shared her unique history in the business world having single handedly run a drapery operation for 40 years. She found a niche in the market place wherein she was very good at providing a service that was not available anywhere else for her satisfied customers. That is, she was a specialized interior decorator of sorts who went into customer’s homes to help them measure the framework and to pick out the material which she then purchased and transformed into suitable drapes. We understood that she did all the sewing and hanging of the drapes herself and made a very good business out of it. We applaud such ingenuity and persistence in finding a livelihood that she enjoyed (we presume).  She and Ross have also found peace and happiness in their retirement, as they know how to relax and smell the roses (as some of us could learn from that as well).

Larry Katzung (with Hildy's help) provided more details about the Katsung connections and the life experience they have shared over the years. 

Again..........Please fill in these details in much the same way that you saw Steve Lindeman's life history come out on paper..........

Larry.........

Vernell came forward and talked about his military experience which was equivalent  to the Special Ops or Delta Force or comparable to Navy Seals. His sniper skills and his colorful experiences in parachute jumping and so on were very interesting to all of us.

I volunteered some information having worked with Vietnam Vets who were in highly dangerous, clandestine operations and the devastating impact of their return to civilian life.......Chilling experiences to hear about how PTSD can impact soldiers.  Of course the military experience that Vernon Baer and Don Sprenger had in WWII was equally as penetrating and they were both lucky and perhaps very tough so as not to have succumbed to "shell shock" which was the in vogue term in that era for PTSD.

We got Janice to come forward and talk about her experience as a child, being related to Steve Spenger and the connection through Clifford Dale who also fought in the European campaign and survived unscathed.   Janice was related to the Songstads. My ears perked up as I knew the Songstads very well and enjoyed some wonderful times at their farm being around Camilla, Dale and Burt.

More details Janis/...........Does she want to contribute more????

Alice Ryba finally stepped forward with some encouragement from the crowd and talked about her connection to the Sprengers in addition to details about her Marie Sprenger Heine family.


Roger stepped up to remind others about his uncle Alvin Baer.  Alvin is the brother of Milon Baer (Janan and Roger's Dad) and Adelaine Baer Sime's (Wes, Andrea and Melodee's mother).  Alvin left a legacy with his quiet, kindness. Alvin and Milon were both working to take over operations of their mother Agnes' farm after their father, Erick passed away prematurely in 1946.  But by the early 1950's, Alvin's health deteriorated because of kidney disease and he was advised to move to a more mild climate.  So Agnes, Alvin and VeeAnn moved to Oxnard, California.  Alvin never married and passed away in February 1960.    He was a significant influence to Roger even though Roger was only 4 years old when he last spent time with Alvin.

Alvin and Erick Baer picking corn in fall of '41 or '42.  Alvin was around 14 or 15 years old  

About this time, we arrived at Hohenzollern. It was a fabulous experience as we took the guided tour with a wonderful young woman who knew the history of both the Prussian faction and the Southern Swabian's of the Hohenzollern. The castle itself was wonderful to the eye. So many phenomenal historical pieces of history with the castle view and the fortress it represented.

Hohenzollern Castle in the Swabian region of south Germany

Ruth Heine and niece Emily Ryba at the gate of Hohenzollen Castle

Steve Lindeman and Roger Baer under the Hohenzollern Coat of Arms  Steve's dad Franklin Lindeman and Roger 's grandmother Agnes Lindeman are siblings

As the tour wound to a close, we initiated inquiry as to whether there was reason to believe that our ancestor Heinrick Hohenzollern who changed his family name to Klukow was related to either of  the nobility factions. Nearest we can gather is that it is likely a cousin of the Kaiser, but exactly where and what lineage is not yet known.  Fortunately we found a museum staff person with good genealogy skills (Monica Eppler, info@bug-hohenzollern.com) who may be able to help us with further research after we have left.  The Hohenzollern family was a dominant ruling family of Germany and Prussia for over 400 years.  


Earlier we asked the tour guide if others inquire about family connections to Hohenzollerns and the response was "almost every day" which shows how extensive the family branches are but we assured her that we were not seeking a portion of the family fortune--just trying to find the place in which we were linked. 

The long walk for some of the brave and able up the steep incline and for the shuttle riders as well, was very well worth it we believe.  As an aside, there was a singing group in the plaza area of the castle that wore all black long gowns and sang like a choir of angels. Wes found out they are the Phoenix Girls Choir that has been in existance for at least 40-50 years, now on tour in Germany. We followed them in Saltzburg where they performed the huge Catholic church. 

I know that we all left the Hohenzollern Castle envigorated and a little lighter in the pocket book as both Andrea and Wes (among others) loaded up on the history book and other postcards, mementos and the like for the rest of our family. A quick walk back to the bus, a trip to the water closet again and we are off for our return trip, another four hours back to Munich.

This time on the bus is one of our last opportunities to visit together as a group, so we started again with interviews and commentaries from the gallery of folks in the back of the bus.  Andrea came forward and shared a bit of her history and her immediate family, plus the transitions she has gone through because of dramatic health issues in the family.

With a great deal of encouragement, we got the sister pair of Ann and Emily to come up front and talk about their life experiences, not as extensive as the older folk, but equally as interesting and intriguing for the future.  Both very much horse lovers, Ann works in finance for IBM and Emily has an exciting career at Mayo Clinic in the DNA laboratory where she makes determinations of health risk on newborn babies among other testing.

Then we got John Perschbacher started and he talked about the farm that Joan's family grew up on. John is such a colorful guy. We all love him in his crazy inimitable way and it was so interesting to hear first hand about his history and that of his mother and father, Touching and responsive, we all were truly empathic with the plight his mother suffered with M.S. and the love that his father had for her till the end.  We know that John is on this trip partly for himself to explore his roots but also to be here vicariously for his father who could not make the trip. John is a very big teddybear at heart and we greatly appreciated his open, loving, caring expression of stuff from the past.

Tom Nass came up and shared some very interesting history of his family and his unique heritage. For example, he said that his parents, grandparents and great grand parents have all stayed in the same community that he grew up in. That is quite a remarkable phenomenon in this day and age,

Bev Baer shared other experiences of her learning how to play the harp and the healing effects it had on her and the people around her.  She explained that the vibration of the instrument while resting on her shoulder had a soothing impact on her.


Karen Steele's emotional reactions about her family were very powerful and she is to be congratulated for having the courage to take it on.  We talked extensively after the closing dinner on Saturday evening and she wanted me to share with all of you that one of the special things that she remembers about her father is that when she was rather little, he would have her hanging out or helping him in the dry cleaning business that he owned and operated. On one of the days that she was there with him, he found some pocket change in a pair of pants that he was cleaning.  She just couldn't believe it when he gave her the change from those pants.  What a huge shock for a young girl of that age?

Roger, Tom Nass and Dean Baer had some interesting ecumenical discussions about their respective religious beliefs. It was a difficult thing for some to understand but we are all more informed and hopefully have greater understanding and respective appreciation for each other's beliefs.

At the end of the bus ride back to Munich, from Hohenzolleran, Wes suggested we join in the hotel lounge for a “man-cave” experience  (a "take-off" from the man-cave, John Perschbacher has in the back half of his garage on the farm place near Albert Lea) watching the Germany –Greece soccer /football game as they battled for the quarter final match victory in the Euro Cup soccer title.  When Wes made this announcement on the bus that all the men should meet for a man-cave experience, Xenia took the microphone and announced, “Well ladies…it looks like WE are going to have to go out and do some shopping this evening—what do you think?”

Many did gather in the restaurant area (women as well as men, sorry no shopping tonight) and had a light meal and some drinks.  Germany seemed to dominate the game but won with a moderate margin of 4-2.  During the game, John talked about the Minnesota Vikings and “real football”.   We all joined in and got excited with each Germany goal.  Hey, we came to Germany cause of our German heritage; why would we not get excited for Germany?  “When in Rome, do as the Roman’s do.”

For those following the blog from afar, we are curious if you recognize anyone in the picture that you have not seen in a long, long time.  Send an Email to baerrc@msn.com or comment on the blog (I think you have to have a gmail account for the latter).

Observation:

In a side-discussion, we learned that Germany is complying with the Kyoto Treaty.  They have a goal of eliminating nuclear power by 2015 and increasing alternative sources of energy.  We are seeing fields of wind turbines and solar panels everywhere mounted on houses, barns and commercial buildings.  We even saw solar panels in a rural field (maybe where it was not so feasible to grow a crop).   The Germans are very energy conscious.  In many of the hotel rooms, our key card must be inserted into a small box by the door in order to turn on power to the room.  And of course, when you leave, you want to keep your room key with you so most of the power to the room is turned off.

Solar panels and wind turbine in and around the village of Kohlgrund, Hesson

Salzburg, Austria and  Munich – June 21

The trip up the mountain to see Eagle’s Nest was absolutely breathtaking as the road was winding round many switchbacks on the excursion bus followed by a walk through the tunnel that was perfectly excavated and still working well after 70 years or so.  As well the polished brass lined elevator that took us to the top of the lookout point of Hitler's lair known  as the Eagle’s Nest.  The highest peaks in the immediate area are around 2700 meters or less than 9000 feet in elevation.  

A view of the valley from Eagles Nest.  We were blessed to have a very clear, sunny day 

At the top of  Eagles Nest - Karen and Vernell Katsung and Wes Sime

Hitler was vulnerable to panic attacks and claustrophobia so he had the elevator lined with brass to appear larger for his personal comfort and feeling of security.  We heard the many stories of how  Eagles Nest was constructed at Hitler’s bequest and supposedly as a surprise for his birthday.  However, due to Hitler’s fear of heights, he did not spend much time at the Eagle’s Nest. He was also concerned that since there was only one way up to the fortress, that he could be easily trapped and captured. 


Hitler's mistress, Eva Braun, had a small bedroom in this structure & spent a lot of time just waiting for Hitler to visit.  She was lonely and became depressed and attempted suicide several times.  By the way, there were 44 attempts on Hitler’s life during the war years and he survived them all only to take his own life along with Eva in the last days of the War.

Eagles Nest in south Bavaria (Bayern)

History tells us that the Eagle’s Nest was built in less than one year just before WW II. Unbelievable resources and manpower were devoted to this construction and the heavy granite and limestone for building purposes were carried up the mountain by the workers.  The tunnel and the elevator for example have lasted to this day in use as they were originally.  Yes indeed, whatever we want to think about the Third Reich and Hitler’s misguided beliefs and plans for the world domination, we do understand that German engineering is superb and we can learn a little from the dedication and conscientious work ethic therein.

But our local guide repeatedly described Hitler as one who had few successes in his life.  He was good at speaking to large public audiences and mesmerizing the audiences.  He knew how to select people to surround him to get things done.  However, he was not accomplished in any skill other those mentioned above and had no formal educational degree. 


As we headed to Munich, we stopped for lunch in a charming little town named Berchtesgarden. With plenty of time to get on to Munich, Xenia our tour guide gave us a full two hours to browse the area and find out way to lunch. The group scattered and then convened in smaller units for example, Andrea, Wes, Roger and Steve Lindeman found a quaint little outdoor cafe with very pleasant atmosphere for a beer and brats. While hanging out a while we got re-acquainted from our childhood and adolescent experiences at a deeper level than we had ever experienced previously. The conversation shifted around from Steve to others, but he stepped up and shared the history of his high school and college experience which amazed us all.


As many of you heard on the bus later in the trip, Steve had been destined to take over the family farm from his father, Franklin Lindeman. He was the youngest son in the family and his father had a plan in mind to have him gradually invest his time and energy into the farming operation, but Steve seemed to have different ideas. He worked at Wilsons, the meat packing plant in Albert Lea just long enough (3 days) to figure out that it was not his cup of tea. Then he worked almost a year at a local manufacturing job to make his own money to go to school in LaCrosse at the Univ of Wisconsin.


The stories Steve told about his adventures were much like Mark Twain, though in modern times. He bought a house as a sophomore in college; he wrestled and played Rugby and still had enough time to work more and invest in two more houses before he graduated. After getting his degree in business and becoming a leader in the University he ventured out into the restaurant and bar business in the busy college community which catered to a rowdy crowd of kids and young adults who had money to spend and could be unruly at times. Steve had to be his own bouncer in addition to running the entire operation. He and John Perschbacher now have something in common. Later Steve started his own food service as an extension of the bar and developed a large following that still is thriving even though Steve has long since left that business.


Taking a year off from business after selling the bar/restaurant, Steve traveled around the world stopping in various ports of call to work for a few weeks or a month such that he had more money in his pocket after the trip than that which he had started out with. Now that is a lesson for all of us to learn from -- travel and make money instead of spending it in wads.


Lastly we have to share Steve's adventure in boxing as well as ultra-light flying. Steve figured out that if he joined in the local boxing competition, he would get wonderful free advertisement for his bar and restaurant. The only problem was that he had to train hard and fight hard putting his face out there to be punched by the other guy. Steve says he won 10 out of 13 matches during his short career as a pugilist so he must have done well to preserve his good looks for today. Later Steve tried flying his ultra-light plane (without much flying instruction or a license required) to elevate above the ground a couple hundred feet with a banner under his wings advertizing his business.  Unfortunately during a test flight, he went up when there was a little too much wind and alas you can guess the results. Having trouble getting the plane back on the ground, he made a simple error in turning the wrong way which destabilized the plane and he clipped a tree top sending him into a nosedive to the ground 30 feet below.  Ouch, that hurts me just writing about it. Steve spent a week in the hospital recovering from that and he never flew again. No surprise.


We have another "flyboy" in the crowd as we learned that Bob Wittmer took flying lessons intending to become a crop duster pilot when he was young and naive (this was b.k. that is before his wife Kathy came into the picture). He was smarter than Steve however, having taken enough lessons to know that he was not good enough to fly that close to the ground with heavy tanks of chemical around telephone poles, wires, etc.  So he retired early and got into the grain elevator business. But now that the kids are grown and he has some more time, he is planning to start flying once again. Anyone want to get a little jumpseat flying time with Bob??

Ingolstadt and Salzburg, Austria - June 20

Xenia, our tour guide, says that we should, “Thank the ladies in our group for their patience with our first excursion of the day at the Audi Corporate headquarters for a tour of the Audi museum in Ingolstadt.”  She thinks that for most of them, reviewing the history of an automobile company would not reach even close to the top of their list of interests.  But our group is the exception to the rule for typical tourists at an old car museum. I think we all enjoyed hearing about how the Germans developed cars in the same era that Henry Ford was developing the assembly line method of building cars.  Ford dominated the market in mass production, but the Germans with their one car per day method made the name “German engineering”  a model for all to follow.

Ann and Emily, the youngsters in our group had an affinity for all the new cars lined up outside the museum. They took a lot of razzing from the group about which hot roadster then were going to take home. Then we found out later that if you buy a new Audi and pick it up at the plant here in Ingolstadt you could save almost a $1000 Euros plus you would get a tour of the plant plus dinner for four on the premises. So all the cars that we saw on display on the tarmac were actually those to be picked up by their new owners some time that day. Ann and Emily may be back soon,  and maybe John Perschbacher has his eye on one also.


But the real story lies in the other two hot chicks admiring this Audi convertible. We think that one of them could afford to buy it right now and you will have to guess who that is.

Anyone want to take a spin in an Audi A8? (Annie Sprenger and Andrea Sime)

John Perschbacher and Vernell Katzung admiring the new Audi A8

And then we see these other two studs admiring an even hotter sports car that will tear up the Autobahn to be sure. We think that John Perschbacker on the left is planning to send this one home to his fiancee, Suzie. We applaud you on that one John. You could make a really good impression with that little purchase which might cost upwards toward the cost of the next farm you have in mind.


Our guide took us through the entire history of the company which started back in the early 1900’s. But like most industries in their development age, Audi went through lots of transformations especially during the time when many companies had sprung up in the developmental "infancy" stages.  The four interlocking circles in the current Audi logo represent the four companies which consolidated after World War II to form the current Audi Company we know today.  Most of us had no idea that the roots of Audi started at such an early time.  The museum had original cars on display for all eras.

One of the early Audi vehicles and restored for the museum

August Horch is the central figure in Audi’s past and one of the great personalities in German automotive history.  He had not only a remarkable technical understanding, but also the no less important talent of putting his ideas into practice in the right place at the right time. He was quite a genius about car building yet he got kicked out of his first company by the board of directors and went on to beat them with his second company. Does that sound anything like Steve Jobs at Apple?

Our next destination (we have been switching hotels pretty frequently—3 in 3 days) was Salzburg, Austria.  We stopped part way there for lunch and then proceeded to the Austrian mountains.   Along the road, we continued to pass by field after field of grain.  This road excursion was the first in which we observed the growing of hops (beer lovers perked up).  They can be recognized because of the poles and rope which hold the vines that grow to a height of 8-10 ft. As we came closer to Salzburg, the topography became more rolling and less suited for grain farming.

A stand of hops along the highway between Igolstadt, Germany  and Salzburg, Austria 

More dairy cattle could be seen grazing over the rolling grass lands.  Then the mountains came into view.  Such a majestic sight.  These mountains are a combination of sandstone and granite.  Weather was overcast so we did not get a full view of the beauty, but just enough to be a little intriguing.

Xenia arranged for a local guide to give us a brief walking tour through the city center.  In the city’s early history, Salzburg was the source of salt which was an important commodity.  In fact it was the currency of that era. Salt was extremely valuable  because it was the only way to preserve food so it was treasured all around the world. The same was true in Lincoln, Nebraska where Andrea and Wes live. Salt creek runs through the town and history buffs recall that the town was on the map early because of the availability of salt.

Salzburg was also a place for monasteries and convents; many, many of them.  The city was the birthplace of famous people such as Mozart and Doppler.  Who from the USA could forget that the area was also the site for many scenes from The Sound of Music?

In Salzberg, we learned that until very recently, most locals didn't even know about the movie The Sound of Music.  This movie was released in 1965 in English speaking countries only, but recently that movie was released again with a subtitled translation change so German speaking people would be able to watch the movie.  Today, there are bus tours that are advertised with the movie's theme, which many of us love to this day about the Austrian officer with a bunch of kids who hooked up with pretty young nun, Julie Andrews.  Of course the music from the movie will stick in our minds forever and is quite touching when we hear in once again. Andrea mentioned that her very stoical husband got a little choked up when he saw the movie recently noting that his kids and grandkids no nothing about this classic movie. I am pretty sure it will be the entertainment on their next grandpa and grandma visit.

Gardens near the Salzburg city center where some scenes of The Sound of Music were filmed

The walking tour of this absolutely gorgeous city was mind boggling for all of us. The guide shared wonderful stories of olden times featuring wars and scandals and mistresses galore. All of us eventually toured a magnificent Church which had five (count them) huge organs located in different places around the front and back of the church. The decor and lavish artwork was magnificent and we heard from the guide that this was the result of the Catholic church's counter efforts to battle the Reformation. They wanted to impress the people back into the Catholic church after Martin Luther had stunned their institution so dramatically with his 95 theses and especially the renouncing of the entitlements which the church demanded from wealthy people for forgiveness and the apparent guarantee of a better after life.


A few of us, Roger, Steve Lindeman and Wes rode an incline rail car to the top of a mount to tour yet another castle; however this one held remarkable significance. The Hohensalzburg castle and fortress is the name of that high and overwhelming place of security.Together with the natural barrier walls around it, this castle was held for many centuries as a safe haven because none of the invaders could get past the high and rugged sheer cut rock and barrier walls.  Inside the walls we found wonderful displays of religious art and heard stories about the bishops who held power and built many churches, each to their own in the city of Saltzburg. 


Oh and by the way, these wealthy and powerful bishops often had mistresses and separate families with multiple children living all around the area all at the expense of the people and the church. Later the church became bothered by the expense of these “growing families of the church” and then declared that the priests as rulers in the church must be celibate apparently to discourage growing numbers of illigetimate children in the community spawned by these lustful and powerful controlling church lords. So with the declaration of celebacy for the priests and nuns that has been the Catholic church policy ever since that time. Interesting how some church policies come into being and how things never change or do change as the need arises. The irony is that the bishops of that time, never got married but they did not give up they mistresses either. They simply became a little more discrete about it.

Throughout the afternoon, some in the group once again succumbed to the ever popular attraction of shopping. Oh my such wonderful shops and street vendors to find items of interest to take back home. There were street artists that could whip out a drawing of your likeness in a very short period of time. There were also some bright yellow studded paintings that caught my eye, but the space in my suitcase is already at overflow capacity.

As we gathered to take the hike to our hotel, it started to sprinkle.  Before we actually left the shelter of the buildings, it started coming down harder and then harder and more continuous. We decided to wait a little longer.  We had at least a mile to walk in the drenching rain so we would have become soaked if we ventured out the mile or so to get to the hotel. And it was a cold hard rain at that, so as courageous as some were to tough it out, no one did.

Waiting out the rain storm in Salzburg.  Looks like a few people got some shopping done

Can you imagine, Ross Moyer dancing in a rain storm?  At almost exactly  6 pm tonight, rain clouds rolled into Salzburg.  We were away from our hotel by about a mile doing some touring as the rain started.  It gradually got worse until we were stuck in a arched alley waiting for the downpour to let up.  Earlier in the day, the mere mention of The Sound of Music caused us to hum the phrase, "The hills are alive..." but now Ross started singing the theme to Singing in the Rain.  We hoped he would not start dancing in the street.  He did not want to embarrass us so he restrained himself with Joan's help.   


It just got worse from there so finally Xenia sacrificed her brand new shoes and sloshed through the water to find a bus schedule and got us aboard a city bus (the tour bus that we paid dearly for was not allowed to be in the zone we were in). 

Still raining buckets we finally arrived at the Ramada Salzburg hotel, but there was no food included as part of the hotel cost on this particular day.  We definitely got wet as we were exposed without shelter, and most were soaked and chilled to the bone.  Since laundry facilities have been scarce throughout the trip, our rain soaked clothing should be counted as one washing, right? 



In addition, there were periodic gusts of wind which made us worry that Annie Sprenger might unexpectedly become a Mary Poppins and fly off with a big gust.  However her emergency purchase of a 7 euro priced umbrella was not very sturdy, it simply imploded or inverted before taking her airborne.

Everyone scattered to find something to eat, some at McDonalds, some at Burger King and a few found a nice traditional German hotel restaurant nearby. Steve, Annie, Wes, Andrea and Roger sloshed their way a few blocks to a wonderful 15th floor level restaurant with a view of the city to enjoy a nice meal of Char, Ocean Perch and/or Turkey Wienersnitzel. On this occasion, the Wienersnitzel was definitely the choice of the day. Following it up with some very moist, tasty chocolate cake we have determined that no one is worrying about waistline or diet these days.



Did you know:


As we have time to chat with one another, we get to know about the adventures of other parties in the group.  For example when Vernell Katzung retired at the age of 65 a few years ago he got himself into superb shape physically and he then joined a group that bicycled across the United States .  It was 3700 miles of riding. Karen, his wife was asked if she drove alongside him during the trip.  She said, "No, I stayed home and mowed the lawn."  We should have asked, how many times she had to mow it in his absence. 


Traveling from Seattle Washington all the way to Washington D.C. Vernell was still able to sleep in his own bed one night about half way through the trip because the route his group took for the American Lung Association benefit went right past his own house. No he did not stop to mow the lawn, but before he was allowed to go on the trip he had to arrange for at least $5000 in public donations. Vernell got around $10,000 and still had to pay for all of his own expenses to participate in the trip. Obviously Vernell is a very good fund raiser and a big heart to make this effort for such a good cause.


Most everyone slept well after this long hard trip, but reports are that Andrea can't handle chocolate late at night so she slept rather fitfully and had to be coddled and pacified the next day. Did I really say that,  Sorry Andrea.... No-- just kidding, not even a little grumpy was she the next day.  


As the trip is now winding down more rapidly than we would prefer, we have to plan and schedule things carefully. Steve Lindeman is leaving the trip about 15 hours before the rest of us and he was going to have to miss the Hohenzollern castle, one of the highlights he came on the trip to see. We are again very fortunate that Xenia was able to reverse the schedule for the last two days so Steve got both the Castle visit with the Klukow's heritage and also to see Dachow, a grippingly difficult and important stop in this trip. 


Xenia, our tour guide, has proven to be a real gem for our group experience. She is funny; she is well informed and communicates exceptionally well. And she has gone above and beyond to accommodate our sometimes strange requests for special expeditions off the beaten path of most tour groups. Her description of the farm excursion and the artificial insemination is preciously funny to say the least. We will definitely miss her and will long remember this experience partially because she made it special.