The links are included here to assist those reading the soft cover book or listening to the audio book. Only an abbreviated summary of the reason for the links is included here.

 Part One

St. Lawrence Seaway information:
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/stlauren/econ/ec_consslseaway.htm

The “Iron Curtain” referred to the eastern European nations that were communist, most of them under Soviet direction. There were also physical forms of this “Iron Curtain” including the famous Berlin wall or “Berliner Mauer” built in 1961. It came down on November 9, 1989. For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall

After WWI, Germany attempted to pay reparations to other European nations as per the Versailles Treaty.  The German government printed large amounts of money. Rampant inflation developed. The inflation was at its worst in 1923.  In a five month period the inflation rate was 300 million percent.   For more information:
http://www.geocities.com/vienna/5373/notgeld/1923life.htm
To see the money: http://www.germannotes.com/wwi.shtml   

Routine smallpox vaccination in the U.S. stopped in 1972. For more information:
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/vaccination/facts.asp
And:http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/smallpox/en/

Part Two

The beautiful town of Heidelberg
For more information: http://www.cvb-heidelberg.de/e553/e855/index_eng.html
And:http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Heidelberg&curtab=2222_1&linktext=Heidelberg

She lived just a half mile from the most famous landmark in Mannheim: the Wasserturm, German for water tower.
For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mannheim-Wasserturm-2005-06-26.jpg

There are two kinds of trains, the red RE a slower, local, train and the sleek, white ICE train with its red “racing stripe.”