Wurzburg, Germany Day 1, Aug 16, 2012

Technically this isn’t day one, but since this is really my /Daily Journal/Blog, it is going to be day 1. First a word or two about our hotel. We like to stay at European style hotels which are definitely not something you see in America. No Motel 6 or Marriot’s for us. This one is on the 4th floor which is the 5th floor to Americans of an old building that hat has doctor’s and dentist offices on the lower floors. It has only 16 rooms, but comes with the nicest owner you could ever want.

Just a small room with a double bed, and a desk if use your nightstand to sit on. Probably not what many people would want, but isn’t the RV’ers motto, It’s not the destination, it’s the journey and that is exactly how we look at it. As an aside, we will try to keep this up to date, but just like the one sentence post today started with, it may be full of bumps along the way.

Out and about in Wurzburg.  It looks like rain and it was but not now.  Our first order of business had been to find Bob an umbrella which we did at the C&A store up the street.  Of course, as soon as we bought it the rain stopped but maybe that will insure nice weather for the next three months.  This goes along with our way of traveling, if we need it we will buy it, why bring it along something we might need.  Linda enjoyed they park the cars, half on the street and half on the sidewalk.  The part of town we try to stay in is usually the old city laid out in medieval days with no pattern to the narrow streets.

Yes, you can buy cigarettes for 5 Euros at street vending machines. These machines seem to be everywhere.  Smoking is allowed in restaurants, seems to be no restrictions like in the USA.

Smart cars are be parked anywhere they fit.

History is all around us and sometimes underfoot.  As you walk around the city on the sidewalks are these small brass plaques that are a reminder of the horrors of WWII.  It is the name of a person who was taken away to a concentration camp during the war.

Lots of sightseeing during the day but being tired about 4:30 we visited a wine cellar to enjoy a glass of Sylvaner.  This is one of the really neat things about Wurzburg.  You sit on these benches with other people all who were German and with a lot of laughs “talk” with each other.  By the time we were done a German couple walked with us to show us a restaurant with really good pork shoulder cooked Franconian style.
At the restaurant we ended up sitting with Helmut and Norbert who were from the area.  We shared wine, they spoke a little English, we spoke very little German and we spent several hours eating, drinking and enjoying life together. This is why we travel the way be do, it’s what you read about in the books and many people say they wish it would happen to them.  Of course, they only eat in places that cater to Americans or people who only speak English.  This was a German restaurant that we never heard anyone else use English and had no English menus.
Don’t be afraid to stop and smell the roses, even it the flowers aren’t roses.  Or put another way, don’t be afraid to spend time with Germans even if you don’t speak German.  It was a very good start to our time in Europe.  It’s Life Lived, not just living life.