Hello from Cologne, now Heidelberg (Germany)
Date:	8/13/99 1:20:20 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Cavit print this out for your Anne.

Prepared this in Cologne but the Netscape they had there
could not copy my mailing list, so sending this from
Heidelberg. Had a wonderful fast ferry ride on the Rhine
from Cologne south to Bonn, Koblenz (also Deutsche Eck
where rivers Rhine and Moselle meet), then to Mainz, about
250 km in toto. The part especially after Koblenz is
surrounded very quaint villages and some cities, dotted
with old castles and vineyards on mountain sides; it is
really a gorgeous countryside. Then I took the train to
Heidelberg, that is perhaps even more gorgeous. I am
writing this from the Gecko cafe at Bismarck Platz, about
7pm here (6 hours later than EDT).

The part below prepared in Cologne:

Just arrived from Warsaw to Cologne, passing thru the
wonderful Eastern European countryside, thru Lodz, Konin,
and Posnan in Poland, and Potsdam, Magdeburg, Braunschweig,
Hannover, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Bochum, Essen, Duisburg, and
Dusseldorf in Germany. The trip took 26 hours, including 6
hours (11 pm to 5 am) of waiting at the border, 1 hour of
repairs, 1 hour of getting lost in Duisburg. (More about
this later.) A few tidbits:

1) Euroline Bus. This service covers 48 cities. You can get
a 2-month pass for $449; there is also a monthly pass at
$299. The old Eurobus system no longer operates; it has
been replaced by Busabout System that now cost 3 times as
much. I would not use it. The only problem with Euroline is
in that it is NOT a single company with a centralized
reservation system. Rather, it is a collection of various
bus companies that operate from the countries in which the
48 cities are located. This means you can only reserve your
trips from the country you are traveling from, not the next
leg if it is from another country. So one gets a bit jittery
when a certain connection is already fully booked and one's
itinerary after that leg is threatened to fall apart. This
almost happened to me From Frankfurt to Warsaw, but the
driver made room for me at the last minute, seeing that I
was the only foreigner on the bus joining the 51 locals
returning or visiting home. Thus, I was reminded that when
I travel, I also become a goodwill ambassador from America,
probably much more positive than many OFFICIAL American
ambassadors, because, as in this case, here they see an
American who has taken the time and expense to travel a
long way, just to get on a bus for a 20-hour ride to their
country. This fact alone puts me and USA in a very positive
light, why people in most countries do distinguish between
the American people and Government, if they have little
cause to like the latter.

2) Poland. Poland has lots of promise BUT it is NOT yet
ready for mass tourism. The main problem is in that almost
no one speaks English, even though some English language
classes, I am told, is incl. in schooling, I met only a few
univ students who could communicate coherently. The average
person to whom you might ask questions about directions
etc. looks at you as if you are from Mars.

Then there are situations that seem to warrant the jokes
about the Poles common in America. For example, upon
arrival in Warsaw I went to the Euroline Office to book my
return trip to Koln. No, since I had pass but not a regular
ticket, I was told I had to go to the downtown office
which, it turned out, was a hole in the wall in contrast to
the nice office at the station. Imagine upon arrival from
an overnight 20-hour bus ride, immediately to be placed at
the mercy of the local taxis, because the directions they
gave in broken English did not make sense.

Then on the return trip, we had 2 drivers, one also an
excellent mechanic, it turned out, both of whom remained
awake for the duration, who had not driven the route we
were to take in Germany. Starting with Dortmund, the people
disembarking in those cities guided the drivers to the bus
station. This worked OK until Duisburg and then Dusseldorf
where no one was getting out. We got lost and ran in
circles for an hour. Nevertheless, the drivers were perhaps
the best bus drivers I have seen, and they were very nice.

The Old City of Warsaw deserves to carry an International
Heritage tag. It is beautiful and has to be seen.
Nevertheless, for now it is best to travel to Poland in
group trips arranged by a travel agency that knows the
place.

3) Polish Women. Are extremely attractive, not because they
are more beautiful than other women, but due to their
packaging, the way they present and carry themselves. Most
of the girls and younger women have excellent figures,
superlative legs, and they are on the tall side, especially
on 34 inch platform shoes, which makes them on the average
above 6 ft. Bodies and especially legs are made to a
calculated focal point. Fashionable high platform shoes
elongate long legs into seemingly endless legs. Then, I had
never considered if mini skirts should be legal or not;
here I did, especially due to well-placed
slits, glimpses of the ribbon-like panties, as if daring
the males to overcome this last obstacle to the target. Add
to this the calculated aloof and Goddess-like demeanor of
models, which seems natural to Polish women, one feels in
the company of a special race of women. The icing come in
the form of an aura that seemingly accompanies and
surrounds each woman, signals of "Imagine those legs
wrapped around you every male in the hostel commented on
this; it was the hot topic to 2 am, each male awed by the
fact that he could be put under such a spell.

While there are obviously very beautiful women everywhere,
also in Nordic countries, who look like the females from
Poland, I have rarely experienced such effect from them,
perhaps because they are often packaged in unbecoming baggy
pants and blouses (several sizes too large) as we see in
America. Nothing like that in Poland. Actually, I have not
seen a woman in a business suit, pant suit, and rarely even
in jeans. And the outfits are not the pretentious or
elaborate stuff worn by women in Pads or Rome. In Poland
the attraction and focus are in the contents-body-not in
the packaging-dress. So the simplicity of say the skirt and
blouse actually underlines the beauty of the contents. It
is a demurely sexual package that is copied even by girls
as old as 12-14. And all older women wear dresses; they are
never overly painted as in USA, hair styles becoming, more
natural, nicer looking.

4) Traumstrasse. I forgot to mention this part in my last
report. The bus ride from Munich to Frankfurt includes a
long section that is called Dream Highway or also Die
Romantische Strasse. This is because every village and
township along the way has been remodeled according to
original Medieval architecture and setting, but, of course
with all the modem trimmings. But imagine driving from
(say) Charleston, SC to Washington, DC, passing thru dozens
of Colonial Williamsburg(s) along the way. It was really a
treat.

5) Cologne. I am here to do 4 things: 1) walk the old town
of Cologne, visit the famous cathedral here right next to
the train station, 2) visit Bonn, 3) take the (4.5-hour)
Rhine river cruise from Cologne to Mainz, thru some of the
most gorgeous vineyard country in Europe, and 4) visit
Heidelberg. Then I will take the train to Strasbourg,
France and get back on my bus schedule.

Last but not least, a German student working at the hostel
in Frankfurt pointed out (without meaning an offense)
something I could not have said better. "it seems Americans
are not sure they are happy or having a good time unless
they can yell a lot and make a lot of noise; why is that?"
I smiled and said perhaps because they are not sure and
want confirmation. This applies to college students as well
as many older American tourists, though, of course, not to
ALL Americans. Remember this when you travel abroad.

More next time. Take care.