Hi from Rick: People-to-People Moments
Dear Traveler,
I first visited Germany when I was 14 years old. It was 1969, I was traveling with my parents, and one of our stops was the medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. I have a distant almost fanciful memory of staying in the spare room (a "Zimmer frei") of an elderly woman's half-timbered house, which looked like a gingerbread cottage built into the town's wall.
One morning during breakfast, our host came over to show me her arm. My eyes widened as she pulled down the empty flap of skin hanging beneath her tricep and unveiled the scar of a bullet…where it went in and where it came out. "I lived through World War II," she told this mesmerized 14-year-old. "I survived…and I have this for my souvenir."
Earlier this summer — 55 years later — I was back in Rothenburg, updating my Germany guidebook. One afternoon, I was out wandering, turned a corner, and bam! — déjà vu: I came upon that very same half-timbered gingerbread cottage, burrowed into the wall. And while the woman with the scarred arm has long since passed away, that distant memory came rushing back: Suddenly, I was 14 years old again, hearing a story I never forgot.
I love how the most vivid travel memories often come from people-to-people interactions. You can painstakingly plan out a trip — postcard vistas, marquee museums, and dinners you've always dreamed of. And then, in the end, what you remember best is a moment shared with someone you met in the margins of your itinerary: a waiter teaching you to properly pronounce a dish…a local explaining the meaning of their centuries-old family crest…an elderly woman brandishing a war wound.
On Rick Steves' Europe tours, we'll take you to the famous sights and sit you down for delicious bites. But we also ensure you have plenty of time to seek out those people-to-people moments. We tee up the memories: It might be a local guide leading you to a hidden courtyard, a restaurateur wowing you with a taste of something foraged, or a collector of antique etchings — digging deep for a special treat. You never know which encounters will stay with you forever.
Let's get to know more about Germany in this month's Tour News with a colorful, day-by-day slideshow of our Best of Germany tour, a video stroll through the medieval charms of Rothenburg, raves about touring in Germany from our recent tour members, and an interview with German guide — and proud Berliner — Holger Zimmer.
Wherever your travels take you next, be sure to seek out those characters with a story to tell…those people-to-people interactions that just might stick with you for the rest of your life.
Keep on travelin',
Rick