I was planning on meeting my Texas cousin in Hamburg and traveling with him to Poland, so I decided to leave San Diego a few days early. This would give me the chance to see some places that did not particularly interest my wife Carol, and I took advantage of that opportunity. I have already visited the homes or observatories of Johannes Kepler in Regensburg, Tycho Brahe in Hven, and Galileo in Florence, so this trip would allow me to see Kepler's home in Weil der Stadt and Copernicus' home in Torun, Poland. I also wanted to see the UNESCO World Heritage Salt Mines near Krakow. I've seen exhibits of mineral carvings from Idar-Oberstein, and wanted to see the mineral museum there. I love the large cathedrals in Europe, so I added Speyer to my itinerary. During my quick visit, however, I decided that Carol would also fall in love with the small towns of Speyer and Torun! To complete the trip, I wanted to show my cousin our ancestor's home villages near Kirchtimke.

Click here for Germany - Weil der Stadt (Kepler's museum), Speyer (Cathedral), Idar-Oberstein (mineral museum), Köln (Cathedral), Berlin, and Kirchtimke

Click here for Poland - Poznan, Torun (Copernicus and gingerbread), Warsaw, and Krakow (Salt mine)