Good on you, Ron C.! 
I am green with envy!
I would like nothing better than to go back and retrace my old tracks from years gone by.
My first trip to Germany was back in September 1957, immediately after AIT at Ft. Benning GA.
At that time, only 13 years after the war, there was still a lot of destruction openly visible, the entire country was under construction, and the damage was literally everywhere...in fact, to see that much damage was totally overwhelming for a young 18 year old.
At the time I was stationed in Ludwigsberg and Ulm / Neu Ulm.....the huge Cathedral in Ulm, the tallest in the world, was undamaged while the city around it was practically destroyed.
However, come Spring in 1958, following the worst winter I had ever seen in my young life, and 90 days of Operation Winter-Shield..... I got the opportunity to visit Munich, with a train ride and many stops, through all, or most all of Bavaria for 4 days & nights...all of this was sponsored and paid for by the USO....it was then that I fell in love with that country!
The most breathtaking scenery in the whole world! The Bavarian countryside appeared to be unaffected by the war. (Of course that is / was the farming, agriculture section of Germany).
Later on, while on Active Duty there was two more tours back to Germany, but nothing was ever more impressive than my many visits back to Bavaria, ie, Garmisch, Partenkirchen, Chiemsee, Bodensee, Munich, Bad Tolz, Neuschwanstein, Oberammergau...and on, and on...(please excuse the spelling, it has been a while.)
Stay safe Ron, it's a whole new world in that country at the moment...unfortunately.
Check in with us when you get back, take a lot of pictures.
Most of all be careful....
Uncle Russ...
Topic: Coming to you from the Hinterlands of Austria and Bavaria (Read 947 times)