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Clearing the Desk This month you have the honor to join me as we paw through vari- NÜRNBERG ous piles of tattered phone notes, Famed as a center of Nazism and the site of WWII war crimes trials, Nürnberg acknowledg- press releases, emails and unan- es its dark days but also wants us to know of its better times — almost 1,000 years of them. swered letters that inhabit the vast, untamed reaches of my desk. (When ürnberg carries both the part of the former Nazi Party Rally we moved to Oregon in 1998, I burden and pride of history. Grounds, the city opened a Docu- thought a larger desk would reduce For certain generations mentation Center with its perma- the clutter; alas, it has had the oppo- N of Americans, the mention of Nürn- nent exhibit, “Fascination and Ter- site effect.) Separately, these items berg conjures immediate thoughts of ror,” that addresses the causes and aren’t stand-alone stories but per- its role in World War II. It was here consequences of Nazi oppression. haps together they will edify and that the Nazis paraded and That same year, Nürnberg became instruct, if not charm and delight. By Jim celebrated during their six the first city in the world to receive • Let’s begin with a luxury item. Johnson party rallies and passed the UNESCO’s Prize for Human Rights Subscriber Bill Bohnhoff of Santa Fe Nürnberg Laws, setting the stage for Education. has kept me abreast of develop- genocide. And it was here that the But the city doesn’t let its 20th- ments at the Hotel Rote Rose, in the Allies convened the Nürnberg Trials century past eclipse its medieval hills not far from the Zürich Airport. for war crimes and crimes against history. Visitors can still walk along Located in exclusive, very quiet humanity. most of the 5-kilometer (3.5-mile) neighborhood, I first heard of the This period occupies barely two medieval wall, much of which re- hotel in the late 80’s and early 90’s decades of the city’s nearly 1000-year mains intact. Within the Altstadt, via the raves of several readers. history. But, more so than most Ger- visitors encounter churches, patri- None other than guidebook author man cities, Nürnberg has chosen to cian homes and other medieval and former Gemütlichkeit subscriber, remember this short but shameful structures born of Nürnberg’s centu- Karen Brown, called it “the perfect period in its recent past. In 2001, in a Continued on page 3… inn.” So we finally booked one of its five apartments the night before a flight home in 1997. We paid CH An Insider’s Oktoberfest 250. For my taste, it was a bit too cute, too precious and just a little y wife Sharrell and I visit- spouses along with us on a “Grand too expensive. Perhaps the fact that ed our first Oktoberfest in Tour” of Europe. The eight of us had upon arrival we had a devil of a M Munich in 1977 and had an absolutely fabulous time togeth- time raising anybody to give us a so much fun we’ve returned every er. year since. Last September, we cele- room key — plus a skimpy break- That year, we shared our 10- brated our 26th consecutive year fast and an overall lack of profes- person table with locals, tried speak- there. sionalism — dampened my enthusi- ing German, failed miserably at first, asm. As a result I never wrote about By Bob During our first visits, but we all were able to understand it. Now enter Mr. Bohnhoff, a savvy Rann we looked in the various each other. We invited several of our sojourner, who tells of recent refur- beer tents to get a feeling seat mates to join us the following bishments on a grand and amazing of what they were like and at one year, and this has since grown into scale. Expecting no more than a top time I vowed to have a beer (a one an annual tradition. One couple flies grade double room, the Bohnhoffs liter stein) in each tent. Well, there are in from London, two other couples Continued on page 2… fourteen tents, and I can’t drink all live in Munich and are members of a in this issue that much in one day, so we had to music society. Another retired cou- 1 Nürnberg spread it around over several days. ple has been with us since 1988, live 1 Oktoberfest Tips & Advice Ultimately, we settled on the near Ammersee, and take the train 1 Luxury Near Kloten Airport Winzerer Fähndel tent, run by Willi to Munich. I have reserved the same 4 Key Travel Websites and Helga Kreitmair, and have gone corner table in Boxe 31 every year 5 Interview with the Editor back there year after year for the past since. Continued on page 7… 7 Swiss Walking Tip 20 years or so. I started reserving a Exchange rates as of 3/30/04 7 Contacting Tourist Offices table back in 1988 when we decided 1 euro = $1.22 8 Recommended Hotels to take our three kids and their 1 Swiss franc = $.80 http://www.gemut.com April 04 http://www.gemut.com (www.globus.ch) is the best in town secretary and was handed a boarding DEAR SUBSCRIBER and a “must see” according to one pass. When flights landed our group Continued from page 1 longtime subscriber (whose name I of 18 to 20 simply ambled from the were shown to a just-finished, ultra- failed to record). gate to a waiting bus; someone else stylish suite he estimated to be in • Veteran Gemütlichkeit reader, worried about luggage and getting us excess of 1,800 square feet. The huge Nancy Lee Merz, of Holmdel, NJ, from airport to hotel. Arriving in the bathroom has a walk-in shower, a said she and her husband, Norman, hotel lobby we were immediately freestanding tub in the middle of the had the most romantic meal of their handed keys and were able to go room and its own TV with four En- trip in the Weinkeller at the Hotel directly to our rooms where luggage glish-speaking channels, including Theophano in Quedlinburg, Germa- was delivered a few minutes later. Turner Movie Classics. Mr. Bohnhoff ny. But Ms. Merz gives the award for My sole travel responsibility was also describes a plethora of antiques, most gracious hostess to Marianne simply being on board the buses centuries-old door locks and hinges, Koschak-Krebs at the Hotel Krebs in when they left for airports, games or and a common room that features Interlaken, a place long recommend- hotels (there was a printed itinerary). ancient beams, a grand piano and a ed by this publication. As a result I was able to work, read or painstakingly-restored hunting fresco just enjoy the scenery and forego • The Garmischer Hof Hotel in that occupies an entire wall. The such tedious travel chores as check- Garmisch-Partenkirchen gets the Bohnhoffs paid CH 400 but junior ing in to hotels, standing in line for enthusiastic endorsement of Dick suites are CH 250 (about $195). They boarding passes, waiting for luggage, Hickman, a subscriber since 1990 and say that in 30 years of European trav- hauling luggage, standing in line for a frequent GAP visitor. He points el this is the best value they’ve en- rental cars, driving rental cars in an out that the privately-operated (Sei- countered in spacious, upscale ac- unfamiliar cities, and so on. commodations. No, it’s not cheap but wald family) hotel is centrally-located If, in considering your next Euro- consider the neighborhood; the chic in Garmisch (as opposed to neighbor- pean trip, being part of a group of Hotel Widder in the heart of Zürich ing Partenkirchen), only a 10-minute Gemütlichkeit readers and avoiding offers double rooms from CH 635 to walk from the rail station. Meals some of the more tiresome aspects of 780. I bow to Mr. Bohnhoff’s more there, he says, “leave no doubt that up-to-date experience. Check out the there is a master chef in the kitchen.” Continued on page 8… _ RR at www.rote-rose.ch. Double rooms range from 84 to Using Gemütlichkeit _124. • The Bocceri’s of Sacramento • Hotel prices listed are for one night. Discounts are called to tell us of indifferent service, • Gemütlichkeit is about indepen- often available for longer stays. dent, do-it-yourself travel. But every • All hotel prices include breakfast unless otherwise loud banging on their door at 6am, noted. now and then there is the urge to and no access to AT&T Direct phone • Local European telephone area codes carry the “0” service at the Kempinski Airport turn it all over to someone else. In the required for in-country dialing. To phone establish- late 70s and early 80s, when I was ments from outside the country, such as from the USA, Hotel in the Munich Airport. But do not dial the first “0”. when rooms at four-star hotels — the employed by the Golden State War- Marriott, for example — near the riors (director of player personnel) of Logging on to our Website airport can be booked for about $65 the National Basketball Association, I Back issues in text format from January 1993, except for at www.priceline.com, the Kempins- recall how pleasant it was on team the most recent 12, are available free to subscribers only at ki becomes irrelevant. road trips to have someone else at- http://www.gemut.com (click on “Members”).

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