I have traveled the world and
have been to every country from America
to Korea, I can tell you
positively that the best country in Europe is Germany. I spent four wonderful
years there and I have been to Bremerhaven up
north on the sea to Frankfurt the capital and
Oldenberg, the most beautiful place you can imagine.
The town of Weisenberg
I lived in Weisenberg for
awhile and it is right out of the encyclopedia with its beauty. Weisenberg is
the flower capital of Germany
and I had fresh flowers all the time. They are so cheap and so beautiful.
Imagine going to the florist and trying to choose from yellow roses, pink
carnations, yellow tulips and purple daffodils. The color and the beauty are
unimaginable. The lawns are all spewed with colors of the rainbows. Huge trees
line the streets and the homes are immaculate.
I also learned how to
decorate cakes there. I would decorate all kinds of cakes with many types of
flowers on them. I taught myself in my free time, that is when I wasn't
shopping. I sold all the cakes and I made macrame which I sold to the florist
shops. The people were generous, giving and very sociable. We actually
considered staying in Germany
permanently as the weather, the community and the money were very good there.
The town of Bremerhaven
Taking a ride to Bremerhaven through the wonderful countryside is
breathtaking and then when you arrive at the water ferry to go into Bremerhaven, it is
dreamy. Many colors of rocks and cliffs line the passage and everyone goes to
the edge to see the water splashing on the sides of the ferry. Just like the
movies, as you board your car on the ferry and sail across the water to arrive
in the beautiful city of Bremerhaven,
you are greeted with many locals waving to you. Of course no trip would be
complete without a nice big cup of tea.
Germans just love to drink
and be hospitable. When you go to their homes, their buffets are lined with
liquors of every kind. It is considered a huge insult if you do not have a
drink with them. You must accept their gracious hospitality. They have a
wonderful drink called Strawberry Rumtoff. This is 1/3 jar full of fresh
strawberries, 1/3 jar of sugar and the rest of course is rum. You place the jar
in a dark cabinet to set up for two weeks. Then you pour some of this drink in
a glass along with one or two strawberries. It tastes like strawberry punch,
until you bite into the strawberry. Then wow, the rum hits you full force.
Those were the days that I remember there for sure.
The people are trusting,
friendly and very helpful. They don't require any deposits or security,
everything is done on trust. I remember once I did not have any money and I
wanted to go shopping. A woman in the cafeteria handed me 100 dollars and said,
"Enjoy your day." I was shocked at her generosity. There was no
mention of pay me back tomorrow or anything. When you go to have anything
repaired, they will not ask for a deposit. It is all done on trust.
The town of Oldenberg
I have to say some of my
fondest memories are of Oldenberg. It has cobble stone lined streets, old
fashioned store fronts and lots of pizza shops. It is the old world type of
city with many shops selling figurines. From buying huge beer steins to very
expensive Hummels, it is all there. I had a huge collection of Hummel figurines
and they are quite expensive. I had Liadros from Italy also. There are so many shops
with people riding bicycles everywhere.
I had a yellow VW and I drove
that car to death. The neighbors swore I would blow the engine in the car and
indeed I did. It was a fun time and it was wonderful. My son absolutely loved
the breads and pastries and I loved the cheeses. The pastry is sweet, but not
too sweet. The breads are huge and wonderful and the pizza is eaten with a
fork. What's not to like about Germany?
The prices are good also on
everything. On Halloween all the shops open up and they give out candy and
treat to the many trick or treat children. I wish you could see the countryside
and the mountains filled with flowers. I wish you could come with me and see
the cobble stone streets and the windows filled with Delph Blue from Holland. I wished you
could go shopping with me and pick out some stoneware that had just been hand
painted and yes I wish you could have some strawberry Rumtoff also. But, if you
are truly wondering where the best country in Europe
is, wonder no more my friend?
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