My Thanks for Eveyone's Support in this Trying Time

I wanted to briefly thank everyone for their condolences and sympathy with the passing of my father. I have not updated for a long time because I have not felt up to writing about my mother and stepfather's visit, as it seems rather trivial at this time, not to say that it is by any means. I had a premonition shortly after they went home on the 4th of April, and my brother and aunt had a similar premonition at the same time. My father was found dead shortly thereafter in his apartment. After losing his job in December, he went into a deep depression and drinking binge which turned out to be fatal.

My father was born on an U.S. army base in Newfoundland, Canada, on November 13th, 1942, to an Irish immigrant mother who suffered from constant tuberculosis, and a cold professional soldier, a descendant of Austrian immigrants, whom he rarely saw. His upbringing was poor and abused, bouncing around between foster homes and relatives, never being made to feel loved or important. He attended school at San Jose State and UCLA, and was active in his fraternity, Delta Upsilon. He was successful in the real estate development business, until the market collapsed in the late 80's/early 90's, bringing down his business; he never recovered. He was a very well liked, polite man of humor who gave respect and received it in turn. His commitment to physical fitness was complete, and as a man in his mid 60's, he was in better shape than most men in their twenties, a man so physically impressive that he could be quite intimidating. However, underneath the seemingly hyper-masculine exterior, lay a sensitive, affectionate man who loved the arts, especially classical music. He tirelessly drug my brother and I to concerts and museums, trying to broaden us, and was always handing us some article or book to read. It has been hard to accept the fact that his death is beyond myself and has nothing to do with me. He had unhealed scars and demons that he never overcame, until he finally drank the pain away. He always let me know that his love for me and his pride in me was endless, as was his support for me in whatever I did. As saddened as I am about his death, I am happier that his tormented soul has finally found peace. There are those who would say that I should give up alcohol on account of my father's life and death, but in doing so I would only give alcohol the same power over me as it did my father; such reactionary behavior is unhealthy, and the way of moderation is the one to follow in life.

We will be spreading his ashes off of Inspiration Point in Corona del Mar (the picture above was taken by him) once both my brother and myself are able to attend a service upon my return from Germany. It is a place he loved to go to, both alone, with friends, and with his boys, and would be a fitting place for him to rejoin the Earth. Although far from home, I have been doing well, all things considered. The support of my family, our friends, my fraternity brothers, friends at school, and friends here on the program has sustained me; I would be lost without all of you.

Mom and Norman's Visit

My mother and stepfather visited me here in Germany for nearly three weeks, two of which we spent on the road touring Bavaria and Baden-Wurtemberg, the two provinces comprising southern Germany. After a few days of sightseeing here in Munich, we departed for Berchtesgarden, it was dark when we arrived in the town and were understandably lost, finally I told Mom and Norm to pull in to a restaurant where I would ask for directions. The first thing I saw at the bar was two men, they dressed in lederhosen and other traditional Bavarian clothing, which was weathered and obviously worn on a daily basis. I knew immediately that communicating with these men would be difficult, but I was able to decipher their heavy Bavarian dialect and got us to the Gasthof. We stayed there for a few days, visiting the Königsee and the surrounding mountains, including a tour of a nearby salt mine, complete with wooden slides and a trip across an underground lake of 27% salt water. Our guides assured us that were we to fall over the side, that drowning in the water would be nearly impossible. Mom said it was more educational with less slides than when she had visited there some years ago, and therefore not as cool, haha. The Gasthof was very nice, with very attractive waitresses in Dirndls, always a welcome sight, although though being there with one’s parents negates any chance one might have of getting one of these waitresses to have a drink with you when they’re done with their shift. While in the hotel bar, I overheard a few Irishmen talking with one another, one of whom spoke briefly with someone from home on the phone, saying “Bavaria ‘tis the prettiest part of Germany, says I.” Classic. The hotel also had a nice spa, including and indoor/outdoor heated pool. We were able to take a boat tour of Königsee, a favorite vacation spot of the Bavarian Kings and their families. As was true with most of their visit, we were blessed with beautiful and mild weather that day with plenty of sunshine. We took the boat to a Church, St. Bartholomew’s, in a beautiful spot flanked on all sides with mountains and only accessible by boat. We walked around a bit and enjoyed a beer in the sunshine, before returning back to our Gasthof. On the side of the lake, there was a bob-sledding facility, where some local kids were competing with one another, a sport quite foreign to someone from Newport Beach.

From there we traveled on to our next stop, a wonderful old Gasthof nestled alone amongst snow covered trees, about 20 kilometers outside of Garmisch. It lay up a private road, guarded by a toll booth with an odd looking Bavarian we referred to fondly as the troll. It was a family run place and very hospitable, accept for Norman who came down with a nasty stomach bug as soon as we arrived and was not well for a couple of days. Once he recovered, we were able to make a visit to the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany, lying on the border with Germany and Austria; one can literally cross the border while on top of the peak, which we did. It was totally socked in at first, but after a couple hours of waiting, it cleared out and the view was unbelievable.

Once we were all ship-shape, we carried on to Hohenschwangau, our room having a view of the picturesque castle of Neuschwanstein, built by the Mad King Ludwig II, and the fortress of Hohenschwangau. We all did not stay ship-shape for long, as Mom then came down with a terrible case of the stomach flu. I had our tour reservations changed, and Mom, being the trooper she is, rallied the next day for the tours. I was not about to let her come that far not to see what we came for. Seeing as it is Germany’s biggest tourist attraction, we were understandably overrun with oblivious Asian tourists, who I saw get nearly run over by the horse drawn carriages on several occasions, the drivers of which, had obviously had their fill. Mom and Norm thanked their lucky stars that they had no come in the summer, and I assured them that it was a real mad house when I came with my program in September. I was able to avoid getting sick the whole time, thank god.

We had a chance to visit several palaces on our trip, including the winter and summer residences of the rulers of Bavaria in Munich. We were able to make a stop at another of Ludwig II’s palaces, Herrenchiemsee, his tribute to the Sun King Louis XIV and his palace of Versailles. After taking a ferry to the island, we took a windy road by foot through an old-growth forest, from which the palace finally emerged. Ludwig’s replica of the Hall of Mirrors was spectacular, in better shape and more magnificent than the original, according to my mother. In spite of his hugely expensive building projects, Ludwig II was a hugely popular King of Bavaria, who was eventually deposed by his advisors on grounds of mental insufficiency, and mysteriously found dead with his psychiatrist a few days later, probably murdered.

From Hohenschwangsau we proceeded to Meersburg, on Lake Constance, where the borders of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland meet. We stayed overnight in a beautiful, centuries old Gasthof. In the city lay the oldest castle in Germany, first built in the 7^th century. It was very interesting to tour, and provided quite a contrast to the palaces we had seen before; a place built for function, not form. We overnighted once more in Hinterzarten, a town in the south Black Forest so small that it takes about 30 seconds to drive through it. That night we had a great traditional dinner, Norman and I having Kasespätzel, a sort of cheese noodle dish, with medallions of beef and pork. I met a few locals, who regularly congregate in the hotel’s bar, the biggest attraction in town. There was a large group of men there for a business summit of sorts, I believe they worked with bio-diesel. I good group of guys and quite a bit of fun!

From this humble Gasthof we proceed to a nice spa hotel in Oberwohlfasch for a couple of nights. The spa was quite impressive, with fresh and salt water pools, Jacuzzi’s, inhalation rooms, steam rooms, and the whole bit. While there I took a nice stroll through the Black Forest, witnessing a few very blustery ducks get into it with each other next to a small stream, very amusing. From there we went to Schwabisch Hall, where we stayed overnight in a very nice Hotel that had once been a royal hunting lodge. We enjoyed a fantastic dinner there, Norman having a little rack of lamb, my mother and I enjoying a duck served in three portions, first in a soup, then the breast, and then the legs; beautiful meat that was well prepared and presented. While there the weather proceeded to turn on us, very windy and rainy.

From there we went to our final stop, a medieval walled city in western Bavaria called Rothenberg. We stayed in a little Gasthof which was overlooked by one of the city’s inner towers. This place brewed their own beer and it was quite good. This city has an interesting story dating from the Thirty Years War, a terribly conflict from 1618-1648 which pitted catholic and protestant forces against one another. Rothenberg was a Protestant city in predominately catholic Bavaria, it was under siege and the attacking general promised to level the city. The city officials invited him for parlay, and proceeded to get him drunk. On a whim, he said that if someone could finish a 3 ¼ liter stone cup of wine in one pull, that he would leave the city untouched. The former mayor, who probably had a 30 pound liver, accomplished the feat, and slept for almost three days. Being a nobleman and tied to his word, the besieging general took his army and left. I was steered to a local bar there in town, the kind of place where you walked in and everyone stops and looks at you, always a good sign that you’ve found a legit local place. A couple of locals engaged me in conversation and bought me a couple drinks, not the first time this happened on the trip, and I asked them about the annual celebration of this heroic act of drinking. I said that I’d heard it was reenacted every year, and asked if someone actually reenacted the feat every year. He said that they did for a while, but for the sake of that person’s health, it was now only pretend. Understandable, but what a let down, haha! While there we toured a medieval crime and punishment museum. While torture, execution, and public beatings were common, public humiliation was the norm. Often people were forced to wear ridiculous metal masks in public. For example, a man with piggish manners would be forced to wear a mask of a pig, and a gossipy woman would wear one depicting a face with exaggerated feathers, indicating that they heard and saw too much, and in turn said too much. The term drunk tank comes from a similar punishment, where someone who was often drunk in public, would be forced to walk around in a large barrel with bells and weights attached, pretty comical.

After our stay in Rothenberg, we returned to Munich, where we enjoyed one last beer and dinner at my beloved Augustiner Bierhall, and the next day, the weary travelers returned to the good old USA.

Also, I've been having problems uploading videos this time, I'll let you all know if I get that fixed.