ICE CUBES AND COLD DRINKS

                                   A COUPLE OF EXPERIENCES

     It doesn’t take long to realize ice is almost impossible to come by in Europe. However, I have some experience in this area. On a couple of occasions I’ve been able to get a cup full or so of ice from the bar, but not ice in drinks. Large American chain hotels, which I try to stay away from, have small ice machines for the American clientele.

     When hiking in England just a few days after coming out of a cast on my foot I explained to the hotel front desk that I’d like to have a small bag of ice each day when we return from hiking.

They were most accommodating and after the first day when they saw me enter they had my bag of ice ready for me. Once out of my boots and on the bed I iced my swollen foot and the next morning all was well and on went the boots for another day of hiking the lovely Lake District.

      In Germany eis, pronounced ice, refers to ice cream. When I asked for ice I was handed  the ice cream menu. Quickly I understood the message.

     I was flabbergasted to watch our Kenyan guide take a cold drink out of the cooler and place it on the hood of the safari vehicle in the sun to warm up.

    In Paris at the Moulin Rouge wine was included with our dinner. Since I like my wine really cold I scooped the ice out of my water glass and added it to my wine. When I beckoned our waiter for a refill there was a small ice chip in the bottom on my wine glass. I became the center of all the waiters’ attention when our waiter relayed that the crazy American lady had put ice in her wine. That’s OK, but my refill was drunk with no ice as it had all melted.

     One day in Vienna my friend and I stopped at Schronbrunn Palace’s Tiergarten (zoo) for lunch. We were busy conversing and people watching when our lunch and cokes arrived. Simultaneously we noticed the lone ice cube dancing  around in each of our glasses. Suddenly we burst out laughing as we watched that lone ice cube melt away and disappear,

     Well as the saying goes, when in Rome do as the Romans do, so I drank chilled drinks when on the continent, but that doesn’t mean I like warm water or tepid sodas. I just accept that Europeans  understand chilled, but don’t have any comprehension of cold.

INFAMOUS NUREMBERG TRIAL

                                 ROOM 600

     I always wondered why Nuremberg was selected for the infamous World War II trials. When visiting the city I learned that although the city center had been bombed during the war, the courthouse outside the city was unharmed. A prison next door connected to the courthouse by a tunnel provided the necessary security. Lastly the large courthouse containing 530 offices and 80 courtrooms was in the American zone.

     I don’t know who our guide had to sweet-talk but on a Sunday morning we were able not to only visit the courthouse  but to enter room 600 and learn a lot more. Awesome!

     Seated in room 600 we were told, “For the trial, the back wall was moved back and a balcony added to accommodate the press and spectators. The trial took place long before instant communication and when the press used wire services. The tables were turned front to back rather than side by side. All windows were covered. When the trial was over it was returned to its previous size and configuration.”

     Those on trial faced four charges: conspiracy, crime against peace, crime of war, and crime against humanity. Officially 24 were tried, but only 21 were present. One was old and too feeble to attend, one had committed suicide and one had simply disappeared. However, his body later was found and identified. American soldiers guarded the prisoners around the clock, 24 hours a day.

     Instead of a jury, four judges, one from each Allied nation, made the judgements. On October 1, 1946 twelve were sentenced to death, three were acquitted, and seven were sentenced to life imprisonment.

     The 218 day trial involved 236 witnesses and over 200,000 affidavits. People involved in the trial including translators, recorders, and secretaries numbered 1000.

     Early in the morning on October 16,1946 eleven of the twelve sentenced to death were hung in the old gym. Herman Goring committed suicide the night before by swallowing a cyanide capsule. The source of the poison is unknown. The bodies were cremated in Munich and the ashes spread over the Isar River.  In 1987 the last prisoner committed suicide at age 93. ..