After the exhausting but completely rewarding show, I took a day off and took a room at the wonderful Walkmuehle hotel and restaurant near Usingen, a small village about 30 miles outside Frankfurt. I spent the day walking in the forests and fields until my feet were blue.

The "hotel" has 11 rooms, all with wonderful beds and feather comforters and pillows. The restaurant is amazing. It was exactly what I needed to wind down.

The next sequence of pictures is from my walk. The Germans manage their forests intensively -- very different from our practices. Hilmar tells me that every acre of forest has a manager who's in charge of sheparding the health of the land.

They almost never clear cut but use selective cutting that maintains much of the integrity of the forest. There are dirt roads throughout the forest that allows them access and make for wonderul easy hiking trails.

You constantly go back and forth between fields and forests as you meander around.

I loved the four trees in the distant field in this shot, and the smoke snaking up form the house in the valley. I was very happy.

A man and his dog.

There were others out and about using the public lands. It was Sunday so people were around. The day started cloudy then became perfectly sunny at lunchtime.

My attempt at art.

Ditto.

Last one.

After six hours of hiking I went back to the hotel, took a long wonderful nap, then went out again before dinner for another walk.

I hope you all enjoyed these.

Ken

Beautiful, Ken. I feel like we were walking with you. Thank you.

Tom

Excellent pictures Ken,


Thanks for sharing your adventure with us


Ted

There is nothing more beautiful in nature than a gnarly old tree that has stood steadfast against every thing mother nature throws at it. How many times have the winds blown across that field?

Thanks for the art.

O

Thank you Ken,

I've been drawn back to these all day. It's been great.

There is beauty everywhere...

Hi Ken,

Always enjoy this. You lead a beautiful life. We did have a great fair didn't we?

Guy

quote:

We did have a great fair didn't we?

YES.

You can see it in the exhuberance of the photos.

Ken

Ken, glad to know you enjoyed your trip through Germany! Have you ever been to Bavaria? No, not the Octoberfest, that is just thousand of drunken and crazy guys, I mean the landscape, it is just wonderful. And you can bet you'll find some BOSE users out there ... Ralph, the Bavarian BOSE guy www.blissnblue.com

Hello, I have been in Frankfurt and saw the show twice. I feel that I must tell You how much I enjoyed the band and the friendly atmosphere. You created a place of tranquility (hope I found the right word as my english is quite poor) in a hectic surounding. The music was fantastic, the folks where nice and friendly.

Everything showed me how much You love what You are doing and that this must lead to a product like the L1 and now LII and tonematch audio engine.

Keep up the good work and thnk You so much for giving me what I have been waiting for so long.

All the best,

Martin

Martin,

Thank you.

Ralph,

I've recently been to Bavaria but not really to see it. I flew into Munich and then drove South into Austria, then back to Munich and out.

You can read about this wonderful visit and see photos by clicking here.

I'd been delighted to be invited back and would very much enjoy learning about the natural surroundings.

Ken

Hi Ken,
Really enjoyed the photo tours (Austrian one, too).
During the Model II launch, Chuck mentioned that the L1's sell very well there. If I'm not mistaken, you saw for yourself why that is so. And you mentioned it here:
"Danner Music is doing incredibly well with the L1 system. Carl says that "when a unit goes out for trial, it rarely comes back." Part of their success is the special care they take to help each and every customer. For example, they often send out one of the store persons for the tryout just to make sure things go smoothly."
From the look of the L1 displays, you can tell that it is not just another speaker system.
In my travels to that part of the world, I found that they take great care of details, and everything is done right.

Ken,

If you ever get to Bavaria for some time there. You must go to Oberamergau?? Sp.

They have a passion play there every 10 years, and it is a zoo then, but in the off years, it is a peaceful and beautiful area.

The aritsans have painted the buildings with whatever goes on inside. So the Blacksmith shop has a mural of smithing, a cobbler shop, pictures of making shoes, etc... Very quaint and beautiful. In the mountains of southern Germany.

The most striking thing about Germany, is how similar it is to the area's of the midwest where the German immigrants settled. ie Wisconsin and Minnesota.

I think that you mentioned that you are from Wisconsin, and I am a native Minnesotan, now in North Dakota.