Bavarian Forrest

We have made it to Bayer Eisenstein Germany. This is where we will stay for about a week. It is situated in East Bavaria literally on the border with the Czech Republic. There are about 1400 people who live here. The village is surrounded by 8 mountains. The Bavarian and Bohemian ranges are on each side. The area was originally owned by a master glassblower who expanded the glass industry. It is just amazing how much glass there is everywhere. There is some great WWII and Cold War history here. There is a train station that is the only one in the world apparently that is in 2 countries. The border goes right through the middle of the entrance where in the station. In 1948 the station was closed and the tracks were removed on the Czechoslovakia side and became part of the “Iron Curtain” There is still many visual signs of the past division. One story that was written was that the children in Ruda ( a village just across the border) were taught in school that evil was on the other side of the fence but when the bells from the Church were heard on the other side in Eisenstein that many of the skiers called them “freedom bells”