Sunday, May 25, 2014

Sunday arrived and we boarded the bus for an entertaining vist to Freiburg, Germany.  The unique cobble stone lined streets, Freiburg's restaurants and pubs as well as its "Munster" (cathedral) add to the relaxing tranquility which easily relieves any stress one may be experiencing.  

What the canals are for Venice, the Bachle are for Freiburg. Bachle are small streams running through the entire city.  Originally designed in Roman days to provide water to extinquish possible fires; now they are still running through the city, but more for decorative reasons.  

The "Munster", built between 1200 and 1510, is the best known building in Freiburg.  Fortunately, we are told, probably due to precise calculations, the church was the only building in the old town to survive the Allied bombing in 1944. The rest of Freiburg was destroyed.  

The Allies apparently believed that the bombing  of Freiburg -- which had no nazi industrial significance -- would also diminish the German resolve to end the war.  But, in fact, the destruction caused the country to "rally around the flagpole" and further support nazi efforts.  Not at all unlike the added resolve we Americans experienced after the fateful September 11, 2001 destruction of Towers I & II in New York City.

Finally, the cobblestones streets and signs throughout Freiburg are worth mentioning.  The cobblestone signs -- embedded into sidewalks -- reflect the business of the various shops.