Jené Turns Twenty

Mon. nite - 2 June 1986

Dear ones,

Jene has celebrated her 20th birthday! We stopped for the night in a small town near Heilbronn, between Karlsruh and Stuffgart. We are in the Odenwald (wald-forest) and this is the area the Kepharts came from according to my present information. Last night we stayed in a small town near Strasbourg, France, but in Germany. So we didn’t travel very far today. This morning we drove a scenic route in the Black Forest. Of course, it was raining and foggy. This afternoon we stopped to see an Abbey in a small town called Maulbronn. The abbey was interesting and very old. It became protestant after the Reformation and I think I read is was now an Evangelical Seminary. The parents of one of Vince’s students this past year live in Maulbronn and she told him to call them if we needed help or a place to stay or something. We tried to call them from a pay phone and couldn’t get the phone to work. As we were about to give up, a fellow pulled up and stopped. He was from the phone company and was going to collect the coins. We asked for help, and come to find out the receiver or some part wasn’t working – the German word is kaput – so he fixed it, and then tried the number. It ran, but there was no answer. But if the student (she has graduated now in May) ever sees Vince again, he can say he tried.

Yesterday we drove from Fossen – we saw one more castle in the forenoon. There weren’t enough English speaking people for a tour, so we went along with a German tour. Didn’t get as much out of it, but had a English book which helped a little. We drove along the North shore of Lake Constance – Switzerland is on the south side. We are about a day behind our itinerary so we didn’t take time to go into Austria or Switzerland. And then through the Black Forest. The weather was pretty good so we saw some nice scenery.

Don’t remember if I wrote Sunday night or Monday night last week. But will start with Monday a.m. Vince got ready to go to the Univ at Arhus – he took a cab. Guess it was a fortunate move – parking is almost impossible to find. He said his day went well – his lectures were well received and well attended. Jene and I walked thru a shopping district on our way to the Cathredral. Then we wandered our way to the Gamle Byen – which is rather an outdoor museum with old houses moved in and rebuilt in the style of an old town. There are some shops in some of the buildings. We wandered back to the hotel. We had a nice dinner with 3 of the dental professors and the wife of one of them at the Concert Hall. It was a good meal!

Before we started out Tuesday forenoon, Jene and I went shopping for umbrellas. We figured we didn’t need to get soaked again like we had in Copenhagen. Jene got a picture of the summer palace of the Danish Queen, and we looked at a nearby memorial to the Danish ead in W.W. I. It reminded me of the Viet Nam one – though it wasn’t black marble. It was circular and into a hill, with the names of the dead, their birth and death dates carved. There was also 4 panels, depicting the soldier leaving home, the soldier getting wounded or killed, the armistice and the funeral of the soldier back at home. A little farther out we stopped at a Museum, well done, showing Stone, bronze, Iron, and Viking Ages – relics from each period of time. Their most famous item is a man believed to have lived about 100 B.C. – his body was found about 1952 in a peat bog, well preserved. Hope Vince’s picture turns out. Then we drove – down into Germany past Hamburg. We found a hotel in a small town, and retired for the night.

Wednesday forenoon we did a little shopping – needed bread and jam for our noon lunches, some more film, found a German traveler book, and also the Post Office. Then we headed out – first for Bergen-Belsen, one of the concentration camps. It is more like a memorial, so none of the buildings or crematoriums are there. But a monument and then the mass graves, where a 1,000 or 5,000 Jews were buried. 30,000 lost their lives at that camp. From there we headed for the E. German border. Jene wanted to see it. We did drive through an area where we got a good view of the high fence. From there we headed west towards Bielefeld – I wanted to see Bethel Institutions. It was getting late so we pulled into a hotel along the road not terribly far from Bielefeld. It is the only questionable hotel we’ve stayed at. We were the only guests, though the restaurant downstairs was quite busy. It was owned by a Greek, and they served Greek food.

Thursday we drove into Bielefeld. Got directions to Bethel at a gas station and found it with no problem. But wouldn’t you know it was a holiday in Germany; and it (or nothing else)wasn’t open. We tried to talk to the man at the info desk – he was the only one working, and he spoke no English. But I was able to leave the postage stamps I had saved while I was in Norway. And we looked at a map – it is a huge operation with many, many buildings.

So we got an early start on the road and drove almost to Augsburg. Stopped in a neat little town that had restored its old town in the center of town. We stayed in a nice old hotel in the center of town, redecorated inside 4 years ago. Didn’t even get any pictures there – it was raining.

Friday morning we decided to drive to Berchtesgaden where Hitler had his Eagles Nest. It is close to Salzburg, Austria in the S.E. Corner of Germany. It was 1:30 or so when we got there, and followed the signs to Eagles Nest. Parked our car and took a bus as far as the road goes. From there we walked a short ways in a tunnel to an elevator, lined in bras. It took us to the top. The view from there is fantastic – it’s in the German and Austrian Alps. Would you believe it was snowing at the top and we couldn’t see a thing! We took the bus back down – we got in one which had mostly deaf people on it – evidently a tour group. Some seemed a little distraut that we were on it. But some of the young men near Jene started talking to her. They asked her if she could speak German. One of them knew English but couldn’t speak very well. Jene knew (or knows) the sign alphabet so she talked with them that way a little. That sure pleased them! It was a neat experience. Anyway, the bus we got on wasn’t working and we all had to get off, and then were were told to get on a bus different from the one they all got on. They waved goodbye to Jene like she was an old, old friend.

We started on our drive to GarmischPartenkirken, the popular German resort area in the German Alps. Found a nice hotel, almost elegant, right close in. A lot of American servicemen take vacations in this area. But before that, just after we left Eagle’s Nest and was still on a 2 lane highway, we were in a real slow line of traffic. It was an accident – a car and a semi. The driver was still pinned in the car, and I doubt he was alive. Our traffic line wended thru – the other lane was stopped. That is real sobering! It rained hard most of the way.

Saturday was still a little rainy in the morning. We gave up on seeing the Zugspitke (or something like that) because we knew it would be swallowed up in the clouds. Went up to Ettal and saw a monastery. The church was beautiful; we got in on a service or description – we don’t know. But it was led by a monk or priest maybe and ended with Praise to the Lord the Almighty (we recognized the tune) and a prayer. From there we went to see a castle – it was ostentatiously furnished! And then we headed down the road towards Fussen and another castle or 2. We got through only 1 when the day ran out, so we found a guest house and settled in. (That castle is the one Walt Disney used as a pattern for the one he built in Disneyland.) Went to bed a little early – the room was cold.

Think that brings me to yesterday and the 2nd castle – tomorrow will probably be a day of travel on the fast autobahn. We need to make some time if we are to get to England on the 4th. It is difficult traveling here – the towns are large (a lot of them), the traffic fast, and the language unknown.

Love, Verla and Vince