Week 6 Germany Trip 2

Things at work went well this week. The weather has been cool with some rain here and there. Early in the week we began hearing rumors about another possible buyout at the plant. I dont have any concrete details, will have a meeting in about 2 weeks to reveal details.
Friday after work I went to Herrenberg with Barry Clayton. He wanted to order some Birkenstocks for his wife. While there I fell in love with a pair of red Kangaroos which were on sale and my size. Guess it was just meant to be. We came back to a restaurant near the hotel. It was located inside a horse riding stable complex. The food was great, our waiter spoke perfect English and we sat and ate and talked and watched people taking riding lessons for about 2 and a half hours. The prices were very reasonable and we plan to go back sometime this week.
We did not make any travel plans for this weekend. Germanwings has a blind booking website which allows you to go to about 8 different cities for 20 euro each way. The deal is you dont know where you are going until after you book it. I talked a couple of other guys into going with me. So as it turns out we are going to Dresden next Saturday morning and flying back on Sunday evening. Lucky me, Dresden was one of the cities that I really wanted to visit while here.
Only 2 weeks left on this trip. I am looking forward to coming home. It has been a great trip. Anne tells me I have lots of work waiting for me there in McCalla. Love to all. See you soon. Dad.

Week 5 Germany

Had a good week @ work. The weather this week has been cool with some showers. Yesterday we drove for about 4 hours to the Bavarian Alps to visit the Eagles Nest. It is a small house perched on the top of a mountain some 6000 feet high. The view from the top of the mountain is unbelievable. If you pull it up on line you can get a little more of the history of the place. It was constructed in 1938 and presented to Adolf Hitler on his 50th birthday. The road and surrounding construction took only 13 months and is an engineering miracle. I had 4 shirts on and it was raining periodically while we were there. The clouds were close enough to reach out and touch. On 1 side of the house you could see the villages at the base of the mountain, a breathtaking view while on the other side of the house you couldnt see anything but clouds. We also visited a building which housed a museum and underneath the museum was an extensive bunker system used during the 2nd World War. It has been preserved as it was when it was discovered after the war. As Artie Johnson of Laugh In fame would say, Very Interesting. On the way back down the mountain on the bus I met a lady from Australia who was there with a group of 21 for a 6 week tour of Europe. This is another great benefit of being here. You get to meet people from all over the world. We had a great conversation about her travels and about her home in Australia.
Well, I have 3 weeks left before returning home and am looking forward to seeing all of you again. Thanks for all your replys and responses to the blog. I enjoy hearing from you. I am eternally grateful for this opportunity to visit and work in Germany. It is truly a beautiful country with a lot of great people. See you soon. Dad.

Germany Update Week 4 2nd Trip

When I returned to work on June 10, I was assigned to work at Holzgerlingen. While I was back in Tuscaloosa they moved rear floor to a new location. It is a warehouse building Daimler is leasing from Johnson Control. It is about a 20 minute drive from the hotel and I drive there by myself each morning in a new CLK. The work is going well. It is hot in the building, no air conditioning. But not nearly as hot as in Alabama.

After work on Friday I went to a nearby Beergarten with 10 German guys from work. 2 of them spoke a little english, but most didnt. Even though I could not understand everything that was being said, we all had a great time. No I didnt have any beer just a coke with no ice. I was honored that they invited me to come along.

I was invited to go with Thomas Supper and his family to a benefit festival on Saturday. On my way to his house I was listening to Armed Forces Network, a radio station broadcasting in English out of Heidelburg. To my surprise they broke the story about the killings in Gaffney. Unbelievable.... I had a great visit with Thomas, his wife Suzanna and 2 girls. We had a treat at the festival called onion cake. It is cooked in a metal pan like a deep dish pizza pan and cut in slices like a pizza. It was served hot right out of the oven and was very tasty. I also had a brotwurst and a couple of cokes.

On Sunday I went back to Triberg and Lake Titisee with some guys from work. We went to the clock shop where I bought the grandfather clock back in 2004 and bought some parts for the clock and a gift for all you girls. We walked up to the top of the waterfall which was quite a hike. It is the highest waterfall in Germany and was once visited by Earnest Hemingway. There were lots of people at the lake. Swimming, boating, sightseeing, eating and all manner of good times being had by all.

We are planning to go to the Eagles Nest next Saturday. Looking forward to it. Love to all. See you in 4 weeks.