Category: 1964-1980

Our extended stay in Germany would eventually involve our traveling to different towns in the Federal Republic of West Germany. Many of these sites enjoyed a splendid reputation for having enchanted tourists and visitors over the previous 200 to 300 years of history. As an example, Munich has town records that go back over one thousand years.

Frankfurt am Main

We first arrived at the main train station at Frankfurt am Main to arrange for the delivery of our new VW station wagon that we had purchased through bank transactions in the States. So, a brief overview of this important center of industry and commerce seems like a natural starting point.

History of Frankfurt am Main

We did not visit all the available attractions in and around this large metropolis. See website listed below for a nice introduction to Frankfurt. Click on the word Frankfurt.

Bad Tölz, Germany

Bad Tölz is a small town that runs off the main Autobahn leading to Munich in southern Germany. This is where my new family and I first experienced the beauty and solace of this village and its countryside, which had already offered warm chemical baths called Kurbader to weary travelers over the previous centuries. Such bathing establishments are widespread all over Germany and form a part of the folklore.

For a brief overview of Bad Tölz, please click on the word Bad Tölz here

Garching Germany

This small town situated a bit north and east of Munich may not enjoy the same tourist attraction as other German cities, but it was of great interest to me in 1965 when I began my studies as an American guest listener, a Gasthörer at the Max Planck Institut für Plasmaphysik.

This town is, nevertheless, interesting in its own right since it is a center of advanced scientific research in the region. To get an idea of the town’s importance, please click on the name Garching here.

Our trip on the Holland-America Line had put us all in a happy mood as we approached the port of Rotterdam. Our sea voyage with all that good food came to an end, but the Dutch terrain in front of us seemed filled with neat possibilities.

Upon our departure from the train that had taken us from Rotterdam to Frankfurt am Main, the pages of our Teutonic travel experience began to fill up with pleasant surprises. First, we needed to pick up our new Volkswagen station wagon at the factory there. Payment arrangements had already been made through legal correspondence and bank exchanges.

The” “Fahrtkarte”, or road map, which the fine folks in Frankfurt had provided for us was really all that we needed to maneuver the Autobahn, even at night. We were only stopped once on the road for driving too slowly, but the friendly highway patrolman only gave me a warning to drive with more vehicular enthusiasm. Slowly, we were getting with the correct etiquette required for safety on the road.

Once we arrived at the large city of Munich, Muenchen, the 1000-year-old capital of Bavaria, our status needed to quickly change from visitor to that of inhabitant since we were planning to live there, perhaps for several years, depending strongly on the Fates, as the ancient Greeks and Romans might have surmised.