Four Days in Germany

    I spent all day flying to Germany on the 6th of November, 2010. I left Denver at 10:00 am and didn't get to Germany until 7:00 am on the 7th. Losing that eight hours as you travel east across the ocean is the root of what we call Jet Lag. I had many strategies for trying to deal with this: sleep on the plane so as to wake up in the morning. That didn't work as I couldn't get a wink. Then I thought, I'll just stay up all day when I get there and go to bed early. Nope, didn't work either. I was too tired from traveling all day. I ended up sleeping all day the 7th, got up for dinner, then slept all night. Problem solved. Truth is there are any number strategies for tackling the Jet Lag issue, please feel free to comment with your experiences and share your Jet Lag strategy.
     I was picked up at the airport by a very pleasant German named Helmuet (pronounced helmet) and treated to my first experience on the Autobahn. As we pulled out of the Frankfurt Airport on the Autobahn this nice older man put the pedal to metal and we did 220kph (about 120 mph) all the way to our destination of Roedormark. It only took about twenty minutes and it was very exciting. It is Illegal to pass on the right in Germany, here in the states it is just annoying. So on the Autobahn if you are on the far left lane hauling ass and the person in front of you doesn't get over, you have to slow down until they do. I saw many cars that were modified to be, as my friend Boris put it, Autobahn bad asses. Gunthur took me out to dinner in his new BMW and made 260kph at one point (155 mph or so). It was very cool. They all ask you if you are scared because they know Americans have speed limits, and they all have funny stories about having to drive at a snail's pace in the States and getting pulled over for speeding. I was lodged at the Sterkel Hotel which was a quaint little spot with a fantastic resturant. The room was small but clean and comfortable.

http://www.starstay.com/en/hotel-41863/sterkel.html

     Speaking of dinner, as I was there for a job interview, I was being wined and dined. First of all, if one has the opportunity to be wined and dined, I highly recommend it. At first they took me to a high end restaurant called "The Savannah" that turned out to be an American style restaurant with 10 euro cheeseburgers and Texas style steaks. The Savannah had a huge rebel flag painted on the door which I found odd and a little funny. I guess taking me to this restaurant was an attempt to make me feel at home. I tried to explain that I really wanted German food and that I could get cheeseburgers in the states. All was not lost as there was an extensive selection of Schnitzel on the menu. Schnitzel is basically a pork chop or veil pounded flat, breaded then fried and it is very tasty. The rest of my stay was spent eating at traditional German style restaurants including a trip to Seligenstadt for rouladen at a restaurant that was as old as our country in a town square that was older. It was fantastic, served with potatoes and red cabbage. I was in heaven.

The square at Seligenstadt

     Oh yeah, I almost forgot - I had a beer or two while I was there. My favorite by far was the  Schöfferhofer Dunkles Hefeweizen or dark wheat beer. It had a flavor I will not soon forget. This beer gave some of the Colorado Beers a run for their money.

OH YEAH

By the way, I got the job and I will be moving to Virginia Beach in the beginning of January, so watch for the blog update.