Much has been written about World War II.  Up to 60 million died, Germany and Japan lost, and their leading military and civilian leaders were brought to trial for war crimes. The United States, Great Britain, Soviet Union and France, in London during the summer of 1945, agreed to what was called the Nuremberg Charter. There was a similar Tokyo Charter, a decree by Allied Supreme Commander Douglas MacArthur, on instructions from the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.  Eleven nations were involved. The Viking Tir is today in Nuremberg.  Why was Nuremberg chosen for the trials? International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. Nuremberg was the symbolic location as the  site of Nazi rallies.  In 1933, 1927, 1929 and annually from 1933-1938, propaganda speeches were made in these rallies usually held in late August or September, lasting several dasy to a week, drawing hundreds of thousands of Party members, spectators and foreign journalists. See Leni Riefenstahl's  Triu...

  Life continues on the Viking Tir.  Going through locks at lunch Just as we got up, my Blue Bar Pigeon said hi. We docked in Wurtberg, and this was the view from our veranda. Haven't found the name of these buildings, but the one below through the day. We are in Bamberg. Had a steak dinner. This was DJ disco night, but I was so exhausted, went to bed early.  Lunch in Bamberg. I was planning to take nap after lunch, so had two wines and beer.  Appetizers. Can you believe lunch was tuna tatake?  However, the takuan-looking pieces below were mango. Took the mangoes out, and added hot green tea to make it a tolerable chazuke.  Dessert. Pre-dinner gin and snacks. Caesar Salad and French Onion Soup, followed by Roast Pork with crispy skin. 1512 steps for two days, November 26 and 27. As I indicated to you yesterday, I was on a Tauck river tour nine years ago, starting in Budapest and ending in Amsterdam.   The following is from my posting as we were ap...

Our European Christmas Cruise is one week old today.  But first, tomorrow will be  Thanksgiving , a tradition that began in the U.S. in 1619 with the English settlers on the ship Margaret in Virginia. Of course, this continued with the Pilgrims at Plymouth in 1621. Our first President, George Washington, proclaimed 26November1789 as a day of thanks. President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863 as the final Thursday in November. But in 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt changed this holiday to the next to last Thursday in November to boost the economy, adding an extra week for Christmas shopping. This was not popular, so in 1942, Congress changed the official national Thanksgiving Day to the fourth Thursday in November, a compromise, for this day sometimes is not the final Thursday of the month. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy acknowledged that both Virginia and Massachusetts were the first. We are in  Germany , and they do celebrate Thanksgivi...