We had spent a solid morning seeing the sights of Verona – the main square called Piazza Bras, the Roman colosseum, even fake Juliet’s fake house and fake balcony (where we secured our first love lock as a couple), along with a walk along a few of the crooked, narrow streets and alleys spoking off from the main square. It was the kind of sightseeing that would last me for a week, if not a month. For Carol, of course, we were just getting started.

   Every seven years there is a special dance performed during Germany’s version of Mardi Gras day. It’s called, in English, the Coopers Dance. It commemorates a celebration staged by Munich’s barrel makers following the city’s deadly bout with the Black Plague back in 1517. The dance was designed to give the plague’s survivors something to smile about again. I guess, for the average  Munchener in 1517, if the barrel makers were dancing happily in the streets, it meant they were making barrels again, and that meant the brewers were making beer again.