Poland, Czech, Austria, Germany what a trip

What a trip this has been.We have had over 400 hits on our blog since we started this trip. Who knew so many people would travel along with us on vacation?  First Poland, the old world charm of Krakow.  The intense visits to our land of family origin. Then Czech land, Austria, and Germany. So many things that we didn't write about, but we did capture the highlights in the blog. We really keep the blog so we can remember what we've seen and done, but it is fun to share it and we appreciate people's comments. We'll probably close this blog now, and when we travel again, we'll start another. So here are some thoughts:

Here are some of my random thoughts as this trip winds down.

• Technology has made European travel much easier. Wi-fi is everywhere, though some times you have to search for it and put up with slow speeds. Iphones, Ipads, kindles, etc are everywhere
•  Travel books have become a thing of the past. Though it is great to have one or two, there is no need to carry a lot of them as the info is now available on computer or phone.
•  I feel sorry for the countries that were under Soviet rule after the war. First the Nazi's then the Soviets.
• The countries that were previously under Soviet rule are quickly coming up to the rest of the world, there are still signs of the Soviets, but mostly outside of the city center.
• The former Soviet headquarters building in Bialystok.is now a University
• Germany is very well run, modern, and they do have good roads and trains. The ride through the countryside of Germany was very cool, and Heidelberg is a great town to stop in and enjoy the old culture.
• The food has been good everywhere. Lots of variations on pork, including pork shoulder and knee. Which are both very good. I've had a lot of sausage lately.
• It was fun to take the trains, how could this country let our train system become so rundown and obsolete for passenger travel.?
• English is the default language for business in the European Union. When a German talks to an Italian, it is usually in English. Almost all educated people under 30 or 40 speak English to some extent,
• Poland's health care system leaves much to be desired
• Austria is not part of Germany, but sure acts like it
• Beer is very good in all the countries we visited, I took it upon myself to try as many different kinds as I could. Our Microbreweries match up pretty good, though. 
• Microfiber makes travel packing so much easier and compact.
• It took 9 hours to fly from Germany to Chicago, it probably took my great grandfather 10-14 days to sail over the Atlantic in 1872.
• Drunks like to yell in the middle of the night, in all countries. Happened in Germany, Czech, Poland, and Austria after the bars closed.
• We sure didn't learn much in school about the impact of WWII on Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia, and a whole lot of other countries.
• I can go for a while before I visit another castle

Dan