Kaiser,

That is a cool pic for sure! Most places in Germany look like an idyllic, fairytale postcard picture, & worth writing “Wish You Were Here” on them. I wish I had an Opa or Oma living in Germany that I could visit & stay with for free each Summer! Lol.
I never visited the major industrial/smokestack factory/mining part of Germany, but as the powerhouse of the EU now, I suppose it still exists with maybe much more stringent environmental regulations – you wouldn’t want to spoil a picture-perfect country…

NumisdudeTX

NumisdudeTX

I just noticed a typo I missed – Lake Chiemsee, NOT Lake Chinese! Lmao. It is my fault, but my new smartphone auto-correct is driving me crazier than I am…

NumisdudeTX

Kaiser,

This is such another coincidence! I went to high school in Munich (McGraw Kaserne) with kids from the 4 USA DOD bases & the NSA base I lived on, from about a 1.5-hour military bus ride radius with kids from Garmisch-Partenkirchen (great ski slopes!), Bad Tolz, & Bad Aibling Station (where my family lived). We were just a 40-minute drive from Lake Chinese where the Army had a recreational retreat, land, hotel etc. that we enjoyed often in Summer. Also, I attended the USA DOD 1976 Teen Forum week gathering held at the Hotel General Walker near, (just maybe 100 feet below) the mountain top retreat & security base known as Hitler’s Eagles Nest. I was just 2 months away from being 15 then, & hiked up there with some other teens to walk around the historic ruins. I was shocked to see that the major big concrete window frame in the front of Hitler & Eva Braun’s mansion there was still standing & I had seen a photo of them in History class standing there looking through that major big window down the mountain & to view the city of Berchtesgaden. I still get shivers when I think about standing there where Evil incarnate once stood!

NumisdudeTX

Kaiser,

Sounds nice – wish I could afford to live there like 3 months a year in retirement (maybe I could if I sell off my numismatic collection, but the thought of that idea agitates my OCD!).

NumisdudeTX

Kaiser,

Mark Twain would be proud of that honor of “Mark Twain Village”. I knew he traveled a lot, but didn’t know he lived in Heidelberg one Summer in 1878 – the year of the first Morgan $1 coins…

NumisdudeTX

Kaiser,

What a beautiful picture of my beloved Germany…I never made it to Heidelberg in my 3 years at Bad Aibling Station (Kaserne), but made trips to Berlin, Stuttgart for a speech & debate competition & Passau where I lived with a German family for a week as a member of the German Club at Munich American High School (DOD) & many other towns/cities, plus once a month trips to the Army base in Augsburg for my orthodontics adjustments (our German motor pool driver would always take us through the old ancient Roman walls section for sightseeing). Great memories for sure, collecting coins along the way!

NumisdudeTX

It will be, as long as they have Danny. He always cracks me up!

Kaiser,

Such an appropriate Mark Twain quote!
He really knew human nature well, as did P. T. Barnum (his portrait & name are on the 1936 Bridgeport, Connecticut centennial silver commemorative half dollar (issued after his death & at an issue price of $2 per 50-cent coin! He had the last laugh about “suckers”). Lol.

NumisdudeTX

It’s amazing but true that the Mint found some company in the USA to make these things!
Coming to a Hallmark store near you soon on markdown price… Lol.
The AWQ 25-cent coins in these ornaments are just circulation-quality & not produced with special burnished blank planchets as this article says.
Happy Holidays in July!(Hanukkah/Christmas/Kwanzaa etc.)…

NumisdudeTX