Deutschland, Deutschland

My girlfriend Heike and I have just returned from 2-1/2 weeks in Germany. Heike is from Germany, so we visted friends and family on this trip. I really like Germany a lot, although for the sake of accuracy, I should say that I've only spent time in Bavaria, and the Schwaben and Franken areas. All very nice. Everything just works there. Things are clean, trains are quiet, smooth, and they run on time. Best of all, you can walk around even big cities without worrying about having someone stick a gun in your face.
The one downside for me is that I'm a borderline vegetarian, and a veg would starve in a few days there. I ate more meat in two weeks there than I've eaten in the past two years in California.
It was a long trip, so I won't try to cover the whole thing in one tedious blog entry. Rather, I'll write entries about different aspects of the trip in the next few days. I'll also post pictures from the trip in the near future.
DachauMost Americans only know Dachau as the site of a terrible concentration camp during WWII. (The camp remains as a museum, though I haven't visited it yet.) In fact, Dachau is a lovely city near Munchen (Munich). One night we went with our friends Stefan and Sabine to Dachau Musik Sommer '07. It was in the Altstadt (Old Town). This part of the city is especially historic and beautiful. It was a warm summer night and everyone was enjoying the music. Like some fests here in the US, they had several stages set up throughout the Altstadt, each with a band playing a different type of music. It was funny and entertaining to see six guys from Munich playing Zydeco music. Something unexpected at each turn.
Nymphenburg PalaceWithin the city of Munchen, this is an extensive palace, park, and complex of of residences, hunting lodges, and other sites. Munchen was the capital of Bayern (Bavaria) since the time of Maximillian and before (and still is). Bavaria is a province now, but was once a kingdom in its own right. The famous Ludwig II was born in this palace. The beauty and scope of this place and its grounds are astonishing. Worth a visit when you are in Munchen.
That's enough for today. Tomorrow: Salzburg, Austria and Andechs. Aufwiedersehen!