Germany

"Cherish them. Both of mine are dead. Well, my dad's not dead, but in a home, so good as."
--David Brent



Having completed my rotation in Oxford, I now have exactly one week before I return to the nightmare that awaits me in Baltimore, where I will be returning to the Cameron service within 8 hours of landing in Dulles, followed by three long months at "Guantanimo" Bayview Hospital. I am absolutely thrilled to be enjoying this last trek through the continent with the two travel companions from whom I have learned everything I know about living a life of adventure: Lyle and Tina. After doing lunch and a quick tour around South Kensington, we headed to the airport to launch off for Munich.





Upon arriving in Munich, we were met by my good friend Sam, whom you will already know quite well if you have been reading this blog. Since this is officially my last European adventure with Sam, I have to take a minute and get a little choked up about what an awesome opportunity it has been to enjoy his company on nearly every one of my journeys during the last six months. If you don't know Sam, I can only put it in perspective for you by telling you that even Frodo Baggins didn't have a friend who would always bring an extra rain jacket for him, just in case it started to storm during their hike through Mordor. Many tales will be told for years to come around the campfire at the XZ about some of the close shaves we've seen over the past few months, and if you want to get his perspective on things, just go to klipfontein.blogspot.com and you can read all about it.



We set out first thing Sunday morning for Nuremberg, where we beheld the world's most spectacular Christmas market. It turns out that Christmas was practically invented over here, with traditions such as the Christmas tree, advent calendar, "Silent Night," and those little wooden pyramid things that spin around when you light the candles all tracing their origins to Germany. The food was better than the best funnel cakes and footlongs you ever ate at the Minnesota State Fair, and the music has been brilliant--particularly the Bach performance we watched inside the main cathedral.



After getting our fill, we moved on to Rothenburg, where we spent the night and enjoyed more Christmas festivities early this morning. We then took the "Romantic Road" to Fussen, where we will spend the night before touring King Ludwig's and Neuschwanstein castles in the morning to round out the German leg.