Dogs in Germany

I need to take a moment to talk about Germans and their dogs. We'd known since the beginning of our trip that dogs are highly regarded family members here, taking the partner pass for public transportation in Munich that includes one dog as a tip. We'd seen plenty of folks walking their happy and well-mannered dogs all over the place and conscientiously picking up after them. But two things we hadn't seen until Rothenburg were dogs accompanying their parents into musems and into restaurants—not onto a cafe patio, but into a 600-year-old inn restaurant to slump down happily under the table and await their rightful bowl of water, which was quickly provided. It's just plain awesome. If you dislike dogs, you might not enjoy Germany so much. All of this has made us miss Monty, except for the part where he would eat all the wurst he could get and knock over all the museum exhibits.