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After a great
dinner we were escorted to part of the Maginot fortifications which
was located near the village. You have to see these fortifications to
appreciate the magnitude of the project which after many years of
labor and a great deal of money did no good when it came to keeping
the Germans from taking over the country.
From this
wonderful reception we departed for Germany with a stop in Wiesenberg
to change our Francs for Marks. On to Heidelberg where we were settled
into the Rega Hotel.
Heidelberg is
a University town and during the war received very little damage. It
is a beautiful City with very interesting buildings and architecture.
We had dinner and breakfast at the hotel. A morning city tour of
Heidelberg was provided including a visit up the funicular to its
famous castle. After a very interesting tour of the castle grounds we
had time for shopping and a lunch before we motored on our way to
Munich with plans to visit the famous Hofrauhauss that same evening.
Arriving in
Munich we were booked into Hotel Ambiente which is near the Bonhauf
which is the train station and not far from the famous Hofbrauhaus. We
had time for a leisurely lunch and a walk about the area and to get
ready for a fine old time at the Hofbrauhaus that evening where we
enjoyed a great German dinner and entertainment by a Bavarian musical.
The German band when they found that we were in the audience played
"Deep in the Heart of Texas". Remember that song during the
war? Many Texans began to believe that it was the new National Anthem.
Everyone was treated to a large stein of famous German beer and some
even tried a few more of this, the champagne of all beers. A great fun
time was had by all, even though we finally realized that this
wonderful tour would soon be over and we would be gong our separate
ways. But, the tour wasn’t over yet
April 30th a
full days excursion through the beautiful country of Bavaria was
planned which included Landsberg where the Division served on
occupational duties. This excursion took us through such famous and
popular tourist areas such as Oberammergau (site of the famous Passion
Play), Neuschwanstein Castle which was Disney’s model for Sleeping
Beauty’s Castle, Garmish-Partenkirchen which was an R&R Center
for the Occupation troops.
On the way back to Munich our tour guide,
Dennis Ross, always on the look out for interesting places for us to
enjoy, took us by a Church which when we went into the Church was so
beautiful that it took your breath away. In my opinion it far exceeded
the Sisteen Chapel in Rome. Another plus for our tour.
Our wonderful
adventure came to an end with a farewell dinner in Munich. Early
Friday morning and for some of us it was 4:30 AM wakeup call, an early
breakfast with sack lunches. Our faithful Dennis Ross loaded us on the
bus, still driven by our driver, Maurice, and escorted us to the
Munich Airport where we said a fond farewell to our friends whom we
had bonded with during the tour of our dreams. |
