I was stationed in Germany in the Army. I saw Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Bamberg and Nuremberg. In Frankfurt, I was walking one night and chanced upon the house of the poet Goethe. It was weird because I had seen a picture of his house in a book in the library at Fort Knox. The city of Frankfurt was founded in 794 by Charlemagne. It sits on the river Main. The Main flows into the Rhine. I ended up in Nuremberg where the war trials were held. World War II had been over for 25 years, and I saw no evidence of it. Some soldiers want to return to Germany or at least think they do. I have no desire to go back. German cities are bleak and colorless, old gray and brown buildings. There is a quaintness, like going back a thousand years. Germany is still synonymous with Hitler. Its only desirable export has been the Kessler Twins, song-and-dance girls who did television in the U.S. in the 1960s. Their names were Alice and Ellen, and they were quite leggy. Agnetha from ABBA was recording in Germany in 1969 although it was two decades before I knew it. Any trip to Europe will tell you why our ancestors left. The United States is the only country in the world fit to live in. Even European license plates are ugly: flat and elongated.

I was in an ADM (Atomic Demolitions Munitions) platoon in Bamberg. We were the ones with the atomic bombs. We were also the ones with the reputation of being the biggest drunks on the base. German beer is potent. I drank myself into oblivion on the 4th of July at the rented house of a guy in our platoon. I was a clerk. My fellow clerk and I would go to a bar down the street. Once, he got next to the German woman who owned the bar. I made a play for Bridgitte, who worked as a waitress. My friend and I were drunk at the end of the night, and he called a cab. The two women left with us. I was in the back seat with Bridgitte and put my hand on her leg. Suddenly, she yelled out, "He's got his hand on my leg!" I quickly withdrew it! That was the end of that. Later, we heard that Bridgitte was fired for chasing a customer with a butcher knife.

Why just 3 months ago I was touring in the Bavarian regions of Germany & can't wait to return to the mountainous areas. I found the rural areas were colorful & vibrant with history.

Considering the developed cities have been there for centuries, only means that the construction materials of the period has stood it's time. Older US cities along the eastern seaboard have the same characteristics. It's the expansiveness of the western movement that permitted the commoner to a parcel of land around their dwelling.

Since I chose to visit, I didn't have to fight off ignorance & culture shock by viewing Germany through the bottom of a liter stein. I gave up the heavy drinking by choice a number of years ago, but had a bucket list item to have a liter at the Hofbr�uhaus in M�nchen - December 2011, Check! That was an excellent tasting beer.

No where during my travels to Heidelberg, Munich, Frankfort, Nuremberg, Rothenberg, Berchtesgaden or Garmisch-Partenkirchen did I find a resounding compliance to the behaviors of the Third Reich. What I did find was a collective presence by the German citizens to analyze the past and utilize this profound knowledge to better themselves & their way of life.

Jim, you were there at a time of a divided Germany - there was no strong sense of being a solid nation; that has since changed with the dismantling of the Wall & Iron Curtain.

I saw pride & unity. I experienced a lifestyle that I would gladly want to engage; Not to mention what I consider some of the best foods (yes, Germany considers beer a food).

I've been stationed in Panama, had port calls throughout the Indian Ocean & Western Pacific, and traveled Western Europe (business & pleasure). I've seen both sides of the tracks in many of the countries and have seen the improvement that comes with an awareness & incorporating sound practices. I've seen the cities outside the US Naval Base in Philippines take on a different approach upon the US departure. I'd like to visit Panama to see how much it changed under a local government. (How much of what I really saw was resultant of the indulging US military man on liberty? Or the establishments that catered to such?)

I'm sorry you had a bad experience in Germany, but then many of your comments on the forum seem that you've even had problems within the USA. Thanks for your perspective, but it is a bit dated.

I've never been to Germany but I do think that it will be my next destination after Italy. There is a tremendous amount of history there that I feel like I have to capture.