From Garmisch-Partenkirchen

    I have been here for three full days but have not been able to post earlier because I kept entering the wifi password incorrectly. I, like many people of a certain age, do have technology challenges; but this password required a keen eye for the smallest detail. The password is WillkommeninGAP2021. Each time I entered WillkommeninGAP2021 I got the response password incorrect. I double and triple checked and even tried variations and still got password incorrect. My niece Michelle checked with the landlord and was assured the password was correct. Yesterday, before we set out for our hike and adventures of the day, she came in and tried to get on wifi on her phone and succeeded using the password WillkommeninGAP2021., the same password I had been trying multiple times (truthfully until my hair turned white). Did you spot the difference? The password includes the "." Well, enough about my misadventures with technology and on the the update.

   After a fairly decent night of sleep Friday night, I got up and had breakfast at my hotel and met up with my niece and the kids, Caellum, Calliah, and Kyleen, and off we went to Munich for the Oktoberfest. We parked at a Metro station and took the train into Munich. In spite of rain, the size of the crowd was large and very celebratory. All over the area where the Oktoberfest was set up were food vendors, beer tents, rides for the kids, and souvenir stands. We went into one of the beer tents to experience the crowd. The building was jam packed and people were eating, drinking, and singing. The most popular Oktoberfest song is John Denver's Country Roads, and any time a band struck up that song, the crowds in the various beer tents sang along in full voice. I wonder how many of the celebrants resorted to the "hair of the dog" cure the next day. Almost all were dressed in traditional German dress, the men in lederhosen and the women in those dresses with aprons (I don't know the name in German). The rain was a constant and was at times heavy, but we trucked on, ate lots of really delicious food (the Bratwurst was outstanding), and late in the afternoon headed for the Metro and drove to Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

   To say Garmisch-Partenkirchen is beautiful is a major understatement. It is located in a valley in Southern Bavaria surrounded by the magnificent Austrian Alps. On a clear day, almost anywhere you look provides a spectacular visual feast for the eyes. In marked contrast to California, everything is lush green. There are numerous farms in the area with old barns and green green fields. My niece Michelle arranged for a small apartment for my stay here. If this is a small apartment, I'd like to see what a large apartment looks like. This is a beautiful place. The living room is larger than the family room at my home in Rodeo. I may just make a post of what this apartment looks like. Spacious does not do it justice.

   On Sunday, we attended a fest here in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Fests are a normal feature here in Bavaria, especially during Oktoberfest which ended this past weekend. Rain was our companion again on Sunday (note to Californians, google "rain" in case you don't remember what it is). There was plenty of food and entertainment, although I must admit the music did not do it for me as the music came from DJs and it was not the traditional German fest music I had hoped for. Toward the later part of the afternoon, we found a covered place to sit and the kids went to play and Michelle and I got a chance to visit. We were right by an band stand area and saw that there was going to be live music and hopes rose that it would be some good traditional German music but the band was a rock band that was a bit loud and sometimes made conversation difficult. The kids got their faces painted, we all ate more Brats and ice cream and headed out around 7 pm, me to my apartment and Michelle and the kids to their home and my nephew Matt who would have joined us but has been under the weather since before I arrived.

   Yesterday when I got up, the mountains were socked in by fog and clouds, but as it cleared the sun appeared and a beautiful sunny day was in store for us. Yesterday was a national Holiday, Reunification Day, in Germany so schools were closed and we set out for a hike in Grainau, just a few km from G-P. We hiked along a river that was flowing very fast with runoff from the rain. The path was well maintained but a bid muddy in spots due to all the rain lately. The scenery was spectacular. This area is a hiker's paradise. We were at about 800 meters in elevation and the hike we were on went up to 1,600 meters, but we stopped our hike before the steep part and returned to a nearby playground and a picnic lunch Michelle had prepared. As we returned to our starting point, we tossed sticks into the rapids and tried to follow them as they made their way through the rapids. The sticks and twigs gradually became larger until by the end, each one of the kids tossed part of the limb of a tree into the rapids. It was great sport. Lunch was followed by a round of mini golf which provided us with great entertainment and numerous laughs as we rose to the challenges presented by the course. We did not really keep score. Kyleen, the youngest of the three, has a unique approach and plays fast and goes back to holes she has already played when no one else is at that hole. She may have played the equivalent of two rounds, but who was keeping track? We ended the day with an outdoor dinner at a favorite restaurant of theirs where I had a delicious dinner of Jaegerschnitzel and fried potatoes. This is not the place to come if you are on a diet. All the food I have had so far has been delicious.

   I have two more days here in G-P. On Thursday, I take a train to Berlin where I will spend the night. Friday if will see a bit of Berlin and will board my boat, the Victor Hugo at 6 pm. There will be some sort of greeting reception onboard and the next day we will have a guided tour of Berlin prior to embarking on the cruise to Amsterdam. I am doing well, staying healthy, and probably 😜 gaining weight. I am loving the hospitality of the Germans.