The year was 1936 and my friend Fred and I had decided on a bike Odyssey through Germany during our 9-week school vacation. Fred had just turned 16, and unlike me, had never traveled outside Berlin. We spent many hours planning the trip, discussing what to see, and how to handle the logistics. Money was not a big problem; we figured on each taking two German Marks, mainly for postage. For lunch we would knock on a door in...