4 Countries in 4 Days! No passport necessary!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Last weekend I went to Berlin, Germany. I loved it. I can’t say enough great things about Berlin. Overall, it trumps both Prague and Paris. I had a great time there and went to some neat museums. On the last day, I went to the Sachsenhausen Concentration camp. It was insane.

This weekend I had to top it!

This weekend’s trip started as a plan for a one day excursion into the Franco-German town of Berus, Saarland, Germany. My great great great great… grandfather was baptised and buried there back in the 1700s. In all, I had three names of grandparents who were buried at the church in that town. After that, my next ancestor denounced his loyalty to the King of Prussia and made the voyage to America.
Ever since I traced my family back that far and learned of the town and the church where my ancestors were buried, I’ve wanted to go there. It would be awesome to see the graves (if they still exist). And if not, it would still be neat to see where the Nenno family comes from. I knew that many Nennos stayed there, so the chance of me finding at least some Nenno would be high.
Anyway, I figured it would make a fun little road trip to go there and revisit my history.

Well, since I was already going to be that far West, I figured I should just keep going to Paris.
Since I was going to be in Paris, I figured this would be a great time to go a bit north to see the beaches of Normandy. So I checked out Omaha and Utah beaches. I walked the sands of Omaha beach and took pictures of Point du Hoc.

On the way back home, we stopped at Bastogne to see the battlefield and fox holes of the now famous Band of Brothers. We visited the Easy company memorial placed by Mr and Mrs Tom Hanks and HBO. We also visited the massive Mardasson Memorial.

From there I decided that Luxembourg would be a fun city to bed down for the night. That evening and the next morning we spent in awe of the kick ass views. I had no idea all of that was there!! Luxembourg’s Castles beats Newschwanstein hands down! The view of the valley and old bridges downtown was just amazing.
While in the hotel that night, I checked to see if there was anything else to visit near that town before we left the next day.

Lo and behold, Luxembourg City is the final resting place of General Patton! Who knew?
So, for Easter Sunday, I payed my respects to General George S Patton. While there at the Luxembourg American Military Cemetery and Memorial, we noticed they are also home to the remains of two people dear to my wife-- Muck and Penkala from Easy Company. (My wife is a huge Band of Brothers fan)

Berus, I discovered, is far from the old, small, poor village I expected. It actually sits on top of a huge hill and has some breathtaking views of the Saarland countryside!
I did find the church, it is still there. There are no graves older than like the early 1900s. I think I remember hearing that European countries just recycle grave land after 100 years or so.
While I didn’t find the Nennos I was looking for, I did find the church. I got to visit the town. I found the graves of two other Nennos and the houses of two living Nennos. I thought about ringing the bell, but what would I say? I don’t speak French or German and nobody else in that town spoke English… so what would I say?

Anyway, that was my Easter weekend. 4 Countries in 4 Days.
France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany.

After all that, plus Berlin last weekend. I’m suffering history overload!

Pictures to follow.

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Wow, sounds like an amazing weekend! You’ve definitely got me jealous. :slight_smile:

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I went to Bobcaygeon this weekend.
You win. :slight_smile:

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Hey Bear- before I forget- the generals now are apparently leaving their remaining coins for the man who takes over the command (since I think the army has made them generic now, instead of a personal trading card), but his wife is checking to see if he has any left to give me! I’ll keep you posted! :slight_smile:

Sounds like a great couple of weekends!!!

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Glad you liked Berlin!
I always tell people how much I love Berlin (I lived there 14 years) and sometimes I get odd looks - as if, “…of all places, Berlin?!”

There is so much to see and do in Berlin - and the city is exciting with non-stop night life. I met so many interesting people - artists, writers, actors, musicians - it was a mini-paradise for me back then. The city also has vast wooded areas and lakes and rivers - more bridges in Berlin than in Venice, Italy! And the food, and the beer, and the pastries…

It sounds like you are having a hell of a trip - absorb it all and enjoy every minute of it!

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I will be living in Italy by the end of the year, so I am saving all my Italian trips until then. There are tons of places I want to visit in Italy. I will be close to Venice, so I’ll have to compare bridges :wink:

But yea, Berlin! Wow! Hands down it is one of my favorite places. Overall, I’d say it beats every other city I’ve been to. Parking is simple and everywhere. History around every turn. Friendly people. Comfortable atmosphere. We just loved it!
I was very surprised to see a North Korean embassy there. We stumbled on to that by chance. I guess it makes sense being there since it was Easy Germany, but I was still surprised to see it there. Had to go around back and take some pictures of the place. It was complete with propaganda slogans on the back loading docks. Nice.

Anyway, I think Paris looks prettier, but overall I liked Berlin more. Just the fact that the streets run N, E, S, W instead of NE, NNE, SW, NW, NNW… and all kinds of other angles that Paris had. What the hell is up with thier streets. In a normal city, you can expect to take a right turn, then a left, then a right, and successfully navigate a detour. Try that shit in Paris and you’ll end up god knows where. I’ve been to Paris twice now and I always get dicked up walking around. After 3 days in Berlin, though, I pretty much knew my way around pretty well. By the second day we felt like we lived there!

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You don’t have a passport or they just didn’t require you to show one?

Anyway, thanks for the tips. I’ve only ever driven through Luxembourg at night, so had no idea that it was pretty. Will have to get by there sometime. Where are you stationed these days? I’ll be in Baden-Württemberg over the next three weeks, from Saturday on. Was going to try and get over towards Munich if I can.

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Well, I actually do have one. And I do keep it with me when I travel. But it wasn’t necessary on this trip. Most of my peers do not even have one. Since we all entered Europe on NATO Travel orders and the EU has open borders, no passport is necessary. The only stamps I even have in my passport are from visiting Korea.

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I live in Erbendorf right now. I visited Munich for Octoberfest in 2007. Good times.

Luxembourg was gorgeous. But you have to go to the center of downtown and park the car to see the huge valley and all the medieval structures built into it.

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I never heard anyone say they didn’t like Berlin. Rapid mass transit goes everywhere, the cultural inventory is insanely huge, and the feel is cosmopolitan. At the same time it isn’t ultra-congested the way Manhattan is. Different districts and towns comprised in Greater Berlin retain their own character.

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I had the chance a few years ago to spend some time in Berlin, Prague, Paris, Vienna, and Munich, and I have very distinct impressions of all of them. Berlin was the most modern, in the sense of historic sites like Checkpoint Charlie that happened during my lifetime. That carries a little more impact than seeing the window where the Thirty Years War started.

What museums did you go to?

You were lucky you had someone with you. You could ride the giant teeter-totters south of Potsdamer Platz.

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When I first arrived in Berlin, the city was eerily empty. Sure, it was only 7 AM on a Sunday morning, but it was still creepy! Thankfully, by that evening there were drunken hordes roaming the streets and setting off fireworks. New Year’s Eve in Berlin is so much better than in New York. The level of anarchy there would never be tolerated in NYC. Maybe I’ll get wasted this New Year’s Eve in Manhattan and set off some fireworks on Broadway. I wonder how stiff the penalty for that would be.

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On the advice of a doper, I went to the Pergamon which was amazing!! I also went to the Check Point Charlie and Wall museum and the Holocaust Museum and monument. Went to Topography of Evil open air museum but it was basicly closed. Spent some time viewing the wall there, though.
Checked out the Sony Plaza too. I was 20 minutes too late to see Monsters v Aliens at their iMax, though. God, I miss having an iMax near my house. I hate it in Bavaria.

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Awww. You skipped Holland. I feel so… left out. Since you’re into WWII stuff, our country has a lot to offer.

Promise me you’ll pop by next time.

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Obviously Berlin has changed a lot over the last few decades. The Wall fell while I was stationed in Mainz. I went to Berlin to see Roger Waters perform The Wall at The Wall. It was during a strange time. Berlin itself was unified. Germany was not but there were no travel restrictions for citizens. As Americans we still had to have travel orders and go through Checkpoint Alpha and Bravo. Probably no one would have noticed if we just drove on the Autobahn without stopping like all the Germans but we didn’t take the chance. I still have those travel orders in English and Russian. While waiting the Soviet guards would come up to our cars and ask for cigarettes. The area around the wall was a wasteland. There were empty bullet marked buildings and large areas of nothing. The eastern part of Berlin was ugly and depressing. Even if in places where there was no other way to tell, you couldn’t help but notice that you had crossed over to the old Soviet sector. Some of the wall was still up and I got my piece.

In 2000 I went back to Germany when I took my platoon of National Guard soldiers for three weeks of training. We were able to get up to Berlin for a day. The wasteland near the wall was gone. The east Berlin side was now a high end shopping area like the Champs Elysee. It was a remarkable transformation in 10 years.

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That’s kind of in the middle of nowhere, or at least far from any place I’m familiar with. I’m going to try and swing by and visit Bluesman and Lucretia’s son and his new wife this trip if I can get out there. He said he’s stationed somewhere outside of Munich, although I’m drawing a blank on the town/base right now.

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He’s in Vilseck. It’s right next to me. A bit of a drive from Munich, but not far. If you do decide to do that, you are welcome to stay at my place. I have a gym that could make a nice guest room. Or you could just crash on the couch in the living room. I’m surprised he told you Munich. Nurnburg makes a better reference point.

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I kinda spaced on the fact that his new wife is here with him. Which means he’s got housing now, so he’s not in the barracks anymore. So you wont be in need of a place to stay when you visit him.
Anyway, the offer stands if you need it though.

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Cool. I stayed in Bamberg when the US team was playing in the WC at Nuremberg. That’s a nice little town, although I didn’t care too much for the smoked style beer. It’s a pretty good haul from where I’m staying, so I can’t guarantee anything, but I’d love to see the both of you. Think I might not have a car, but maybe I can talk one or more of the others into a trip to see that area. Company will probably spring for a hotel, so I shouldn’t need to impose.

Some guys will do anything to get out of the barracks, eh?

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I’d love to. But just this month I’ve used 550 literes of fuel in 12 days. I’ll have to find an alternate means of travel for Holland. I am still planning a UK trip this summer. Maybe I can add Holland to it. A London, Ireland, Holland trip this summer would kick ass.
Can you tell I like to travel?