The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round......

Well, I misspoke yesterday when I told you I was going to Munich today.  We will get to Munich tomorrow.  Today was Leipzig and Nuremberg.  We spent a total of about 7 hours on the bus today.  8 AM load the bus, stopped at 10 for a "comfort" break.  Did you know that Germany doesn't have alot of restrooms like we do for public use?  We are used to stopping at rest stops on the interstates.  Here you stop at a gas station or rest stop and you must pay to use the "toillette".  Yes, you read that correctly - you must pay to use the bathroom.  Sometimes you will get lucky and the attendant lets you through without paying.  Other times, not so much.  Today it was 0.70 euro to use.  In Berlin, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf it was only 0.50 euro.  Apparently because people have to be paid to watch the restrooms and the facility must pay for the toilet paper, this gives them reason to charge.  Ok, I can see that when you are stopping at a rest stop, but if you are stopping at a gas station to purchase drinks or snacks, you spend money there anyways.  So why not leave it free?  Although I will say that today when we stopped at the gas stations and used the bathroom, you did receive a 0.50 euro voucher to use on anything in the store.  So it really only cost you 0.20 euro.

Leipzig was our first stop today.  Not only were people buzzing about waiting for the World Cup to start (already staking out their tables for a game that didn't start for 5 hours) but they were also getting

Streets of Leipzig were lined
 with outdoor cafes ready for
Bach Fest and the World Cup

ready for the Bach Fest that started today.  Bach Fest? Yes, Bach Fest.  Every year in Leipzig, they celebrate the works of Johann Sebastian Bach.  He spent more than 25 years there serving as the musical director for St. Thomas's Church.  He directed the choir and wrote all of the music for the services.  His contract stated that he was required to write a new Cantata every week.  That's alot of composing....

Then we went on to Nuremberg.  There we saw the largest Protestant church in all of Germany.  We walked around and took a look at the shops.  I must say that the city center, as it is called, was made for foot traffic.  No cars and very few bicycles.  Everywhere else that we have been has had an extraordinary amount of bicycles.  So may in fact that if you don't specifically look for them, you are quite possible going to be run over.  So we did a little looking around but no buying.  I think that we will buy in Oberammergau and Neuschwanstein.

So I guess I haven't talked much about the food.  Well breakfast is the same very morning.  The only difference between here and home is the amount of fresh fruit available.  It is a buffet everyday so I have found that I am growing tired of bacon and eggs.  So I try to switch it up.  This morning I had a turkey and cheese sandwich on toasted bread with spicy mustard.  Dinner every night is "American food".  We didn't have our first "German" food until last night.  Of course we also found out that the Germans call this Bavarian food, not German food.  So Mom and I had Goulash and Dad had Sausage,

mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. The goulash was not tomato based as I had expected but was good anyway.  Dad's sauerkraut melted in your mouth and the sausage was very good.  Today we had the BEST STRUDEL ever!!!! Must have had 8 -12 layers and it was served with a cream sauce that was pretty good too.  Then this afternoon we had a brat sandwich.  Sandwich? yes the brats are quite small and you can fit 3 on a kaiser roll.  I am looking forward to going to Munich and eating at a couple of more Bavarian specific places.

Goulash