Nevada Bound

Just a few hours until my flight departs. These last two weeks have been amazing, but I'm eager to get home and see my family. I'm about to leave for the airport, but first, here's a quick shot of the Frankfurt skyline from my hotel window.

Danke schoen, Deutschland!

Cologne Cathedral

My time in Germany is rapidly drawing to a close. Today my colleague and I took the train from Cologne to Frankfurt, where we'll depart tomorrow for the States. Before I left Cologne, however, I made one final trip to Cologne Cathedral. I didn't have my camera with me during my first visit two weeks ago, so here's a belated photograph of the front of this breathtaking Gothic church.

Ah, We Are All Heroes...

Click here for an extended preview of the upcoming Baldur's Gate comic book!

Trier

Trier is perhaps Germany's oldest city. It was once the capital of a Roman province, and ruins from those days can still be seen across the city. The most impressive ruin is the Porta Nigra, or Black Gate, a massive gatehouse dating back to the late second century AD.

Trier was also a residence of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great (c. 272 - 337), who was keen on expanding the city. One of his major projects was Basilica of Constantine, which is now a church.

Speaking of churches, the Cathedral of Trier is...amazing. I can't say it captured my imagination quite like Aachen did, but it was a sprawling, majestic place filled with works of exquisite art. I even paid a couple of bucks to visit the treasury. Alas, the cathedral's most impressive relics -- the skull of St. Helena (the mother of Constantine) and the Seamless Robe of Jesus -- were not on display.

Today I'm joining a colleague for a barbecue at the home of a German friend of his, and then tomorrow it's back to work!

Luxembourg American Cemetery

Saturday, I went with two of my colleagues down to the charming little country of Luxembourg. Our first stop was the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, which holds the remains of over five thousand American soldiers -- including General George S. Patton -- who died in World War II.

Soon after we arrived, a heavy fog rolled across the grounds. In these precious few moments before all the tour buses showed up, the cemetery was quiet and still. It was a deeply moving experience, and I will never forget.

We also visited the nearby Sandweiler German War Cemetery before having lunch in
Luxembourg City. That was our morning in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg; then it was on to Trier.

More Intercontinental Gaming

When Tim W was in Hong Kong on one of his trips, we did a bit of intercontinental gaming via Skype. I wanted to do the same for Amy and Matthew while I'm in Germany, but the time difference -- it's nine hours earlier in Nevada, so Matthew is either asleep or in school when I would be available -- has forced us to use the asynchronous email-based method that's become standard in the Druid Cycle games. We're continuing with The Lost Mine of Phandelver over email, focusing on roleplaying scenarios rather than combat. It's nice to be able to keep the story going despite the 5000-mile distance between us.

THE Star Wars

I've spent my limited free time in Germany reading The Star Wars, the comic book series based on the first draft of George Lucas's epic narrative. The verdict? Not my cup of tea. Turns out Annikin is lame and annoying in every Star Wars universe. Now I'll turn back to the Fifth Edition PHB and start working on character builds.

I Guess I Was In Belgium!

At breakfast this morning, one of my colleagues was telling me that his cell phone sent him a couple of text messages during our excursion on Sunday. It seems that after leaving the quaint little resort town of Monschau, we must have briefly crossed into Belgium without realizing it. My colleague's cell phone had dutifully informed him of the cell service rates in that country. So, now I can say I've been to Belgium...sort of...

Anyway, here's a nice photo from Monschau.

Kegel Fun

Tonight I went out with five fellow US-based GE guys who are also here in Germany. After dinner at an old-timey pub called Haus Unkelbach -- I had the Reibekuchen with applesauce -- we went down into the cellar to visit the pub's Kegelbahn. What followed was a very enjoyable night of kegeling. I'll leave it to your imagination, or you can click here if you want the details.

Bunkers

After leaving Aachen, we drove to Hurtgenwald, site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War. The Battle of Hurtgen Forest resulted in over thirty thousand American casualties between September and December of 1944. We visited a very nice World War II museum, but the real adventure began when a volunteer asked if we'd like to see the German bunkers that are scattered throughout this heavily forested region. Needless to say, we didn't turn him down!

We drove out to a dirt road and followed our guide deep into the woods. Over the course of two hours, we visited about a half-dozen of these small but sturdy fortifications. The image above is a good example of how the bunkers are somewhat camouflaged by the surrounding trees and hills. The rectangular opening (known as an embrasure) was for machine gunners to attack advancing Allied forces. The image below shows what these embrasures look like on the inside of the bunker.

These bunkers were part of the infamous Siegfried Line, or the Westwall as the Germans called it. Many bunkers saw a lot of action. Take a close look at the image below and you can see where Allied weaponry has damaged the concrete.

With a battle that lasted for four long months, it's no surprise that countless artifacts have been discovered in this area. Indeed, during our trek today, our guide's teenage son dug up a twisted rod of rusting metal. I have no idea what purpose it may have served, or even whether it was an actual artifact from the war, but his discovery was a very cool experience nonetheless.

Aachen is Rockin'

This morning we visited the imperial city of Aachen and its wondrous cathedral. Commissioned by Charlemagne in 796, this church was the coronation site for dozens of German rulers throughout the Middle Ages.

Flash photograph was not permitted inside, so click here to view the Wikipedia article and feast your eyes on the beautiful art and architecture. From now on, when I think of the Citadel of Mithras in the Druid Cycle campaign setting, I'm going to envision the inside of Aachen Cathedral!

Duns Scotus Encounter

I sat at the aforementioned Starbucks at the Frankfurt train station (or, more accurately, at the sprawling office complex known as The Squaire) until my coworker arrived. We took the train from Frankfurt to Cologne and then spent the rest of the day exploring that fascinating, ancient city. One of the many places we visited was an old Franciscan church. I soon realized that this church was the burial place of the eminent medieval philosopher Duns Scotus (best remembered today, unfortunately, as the origin of the word "dunce"). I had no idea that Duns Scotus had died in Cologne. Tomorrow we plan to visit Aachen, the capital of Charlemagne's empire, where I hope to continue to immerse myself in medieval lore. And unlike today's jaunt, I won't forget my camera!

Made it!

I arrived safely in Frankfurt. Now I'm just hanging out with an old friend...Starbucks!

Stay tuned for (hopefully) regular posts from Germany!

Auf Wiedersehen

Today I'm heading out on a very long flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt. It may be a couple of days before I post again, but I hope to update the blog regularly with pics from my trip.

D&D Artist

I love the maps of Phandelin and the surrounding area from the new Fifth Edition Starter Set. They were created by Mike Schley, whose excellent art and cartography can be found here.

More Tyranny, Please!

Click here for another excerpt from the upcoming Tyranny of Dragons comic book series.

Character Builds

I've been discussing Fifth Edition character builds with Matt over the last few days, and I have some preliminary favorites (subject to change, of course!). I'll list them below, in the following format: race (sub-race) / class (build) / background.

1. Elf (High Elf) / Fighter (Eldritch Knight) / Folk Hero
2. Half-Elf / Paladin (Oath of Devotion) / Outlander
3. Half-Elf / Warlock (Chain Pact) / Noble
4. Human / Fighter (Battle Master) / Soldier
5. Dwarf (Hill Dwarf) / Cleric (Tempest Domain) / Acolyte

I may well add an archer (ranger or rogue) to the list, and I probably need a gnome (I love the Tinker racial ability) and some sort of crazy hermit monk. In any case, I'm going to bring my PHB with me on my upcoming trip to Germany and I'll see if I can crank out a few character sheets along the way.

Cologne...The City, Not the Dude Version of Perfume

I think the dude version of perfume is named after the city, but whatever. This has nothing to do with that. 

Late next week I'll be heading out on a sixteen-day business trip to Germany. It's been ten years since I was last in Europe -- and I've never been to Germany before -- so I'm pretty excited about the opportunity. I'm flying into Frankfurt and will be spending most of my time in the Cologne area. I'll try to make regular blog updates with photos, as Tim W has done during his recent trips to Asia.