My German travel log emotional Experiences for the past month

Final conclusion of my trip to Germany and France: I am too fat for Europeans. They all look like sticks with no I meat. Not in a bad way, but rather in a way, I can never look after delivering 3 kids myself, becoming widow at 43 and getting all depressed at 49, so I felt like I was a lonely cow in the pack... Otherwise, I like a lot about their culture, however, some things, like overall service & digitalization are definitely more evolved in Americas. I won't be back until I get myself back to 150 lb...Which may take forever... OK. Final flight. Whew. Can't wait to "drop dead" on my bed. I safely landed in Syracuse. Amazing crew. Storm was bad, but we landed flawless. Arrived home March 1, 2025.

"Gourmet Tempel Weinheim GmbH" is probable the most amazing Asian restaurant I have ever seen. Its is a full buffet all you can eat for $35.00 per person. They offer grill options, you can pick yourself either fish, crab, lobster, shrimp, etc. They also have a rare meats, like frog or ... even zebra meat. Of cause I do not eat these, but ... they have it. They have everything from sushi to tiramisu and creme brulee. If you want to get something from the grill (raw meats or fish) you take a mini clip with table number and attache to your plate after selecting dish. They also have a chocolate fountain where you can make your own chocolate covered fruits. This dinner is most definitely worth every penny. AMAZING. visited February, 28, 2025.

German education system is smart. They do not have universal vacation or break times. They go on summer break at the different times, based on the county/land you live in. So, the whole entire country does not go on vacation at once at the same time. Unfortunately they also do have extremely inequality when it comes to high level of education, however it's more natural selection rather then social injustice. They have a school system created based on the different mental capacity levels. For people who are highly capable there are Gymnasiums, while people of the lesser mental drive study in the Realschule or Hauptschule. If you plan attending university you should try to graduate from Gymnasium, but if you looking to continue simple living Realschule is enough. Also 1 is the highest grade or equal to American "A", while 5 is the lowest or equal to "F". My nephews for example are learning 3 foreign languages as required in Gymnasium: French, English & German at the same time, while their native language is Ukrainian/Russian. Actually about 60% of Germans do not have a University degrees because it's too demanding while you are a teen. I have to admit in US is not much different, except our university degree is unaffordable for the most people. While German University degrees are free. Now, ironically one thing that absolutely all Worldwide education systems do have un-common, even Tibetan Buddhism traditional monastery education, is the mental capacity based degrees and competition. And, whether or not you want to accept and admit this fact - we are not equal. And this is where it all begins. Unequal education and social structure from the very beginning. But... Reality created this existence this way: there are bacterias, then animals and the humans. It's a natural order from the lower to the top. And this diversity and inequality exists in absolutely Everything. Just think about it ... Form is empty, but.. emptiness is form, nothing other than emptiness, yet nothing other then form. We are all the same and yet we are not.

And now, finally, how do you "fix" this? By teaching "top" to give without asking back from "the lesser". If someone from the less fortunate social level strives to grow ~ let them. Help them & more important ~ do not compete with them. This will bring everything to equilibrium. I think.

Visited February 16th -March 1, 2025.

Ladenburg is the birth town of Mercedes-Benz. Most buildings in this "Altstadt" ("Альштат" or "Old Town" in German), have their original built date embeded above the door or on the front. They preserved authentic origin. Such an amazing town. This particular region in Germany have been the least effected by the WWII and able to preserve authentic architecture, including some Roman ruins. visited February, 25, 2025.

They have a great bus traffic system: when on one way pedestrian street they have automated roadblocks that work like buttons. When bus is coming blocks slide under ground, and turn green. When it passes they go back to above the street level and change color to red. Very well designed. Also thermal baths are definitely a must visit place. Definitely. $16.00 per person entry fees. They have scented oils sauna, salt room, and multiple thermal pools. Obviously, due to the privacy you can not take pictures inside the pool rooms. But it is an amazing place. visited February, 22, 2025.

Fabergé museum. My late husband, Nikolai was an Alexander III & princess Dagmar's memorabilia addict. It was such a pleasure to see this museum. I wish he would have seen it. Politics is a very cruel business, it is sad to see what envy and anger have done to the Russian society over the centuries. Very sad. But even worst to think what a horrible difficult lives most people born with Royal titles often have ... They pay the price for something out of their personal control. visited February, 22, 2025.

They have a very interesting system of the wineries in certain localities. For example, in Baden-Württenberg, due to the extensive competition, smaller wineries created sort of union system to survive. They collaborate together rather then just aggressively compete with each other. And organize community wineries tasting events. Super interesting. I absolutely love German nature and classic Alpine architecture. They also have an open anti-tobacco champagne everywhere, Amazingly gruesome.... visited February, 21, 2025.

I have to admit there are many interesting and very different things about Germany. They have NO HWY lights, at night it is pitch black everywhere, like ... on HWY 120 or 108 in Stanislaus or Tuolumne County, CA. They do not have lights anywhere. You can see the stars even close to the major city. In the country its even more dark. Only reflectors on the road and your own lights.

Apparently this is since WWII and this was done for economical reasons. Germany had to pay for the war damages and they decided this was least important social befit they can do without. You can also drive with NO SPEED LIMIT on the HWY. Period. NO SPEED LIMIT at ALL. And no one tries to do it really, that is the most amazing thing. People behave well on the roads. Or though I was told this is the only country in the World where you can ask police car to move over and speed by ... We waste so much electricity on American roads and still can not drive well, for the most part. visited February, 20, 2025.

I also realized how we, as the human beings are dependent on our environment, in terms of our behaviour patterns. People simply got used to having simple life, with no bright hwy lights and it does not bother them. They don't even think about it. Same with the air conditioners. In the older cities, in the classic buildings they have no air conditioning units, they use natural air only. They just got used to it and that is it. Humans get used to things. Or not. We decide what is important and live with it. Tomorrow I will explore Schriesheim.