We endured a long day of travel, waking up at 4:00 am Germany time and going to bed at 1:00 am Denver time (29 hours total).
Over the past month, we've taken fourteen flights; camped seven nights in the African bush; taken cold showers; sung and played soccer with African children; watched leopard kittens play; were stared down by elephants and lions; discussed life with a Massai warrior in his dung hut; sipped wine on the Indian Ocean; put our hands in the Nile; stood on the Great Pyramid; entered Pharoahs' tombs; learned some Swahili and Arabic; stood in Anne Frank's bedroom; witnessed prostitution; enjoyed Van Gogh's art; and clanked beer mugs with smiling, wrinkle-faced German natives while singing at the top of our lungs.
Adam and I have grown closer than we knew was possible, and we are enriched by the experiences we've had and the people we've met. We will never view the world the same way, and we will strive to bring joy, whether with financial donations or simply through a smile, to the world around us.
St. Augustine said, "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page." Thank you for reading our blog and sharing in our travel experiences. Until the next adventure, we send our love.
Adam & Allison
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Dachau
We had a great night's sleep and had another incredible breakfast. I wanted to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial today, so we took the train north to the town of Dachau. Adam had been twice before, and he opted not to put himself through the emotional heaviness once again. Although it was a somber, depressing, nearly sickening experience, I was glad that I had the opportunity to see a sad but true part of our history and honor those who perished at Dachau and throughout the Holocaust.
Passing original barbed wire, I entered the site through the same gate the prisoners entered, where there's a sign that reads "Work will set you free." The prisoners thought they were entering a work camp. These original artifacts served as a sharp reminder of what happened within the borders. If prisoners stepped onto the grass, they were immediately shot. Many committed suicide this way.
Dachau was one of the first concentration camps, and it set up a template for many of the camps that followed. It is sadly unique in that it housed and in some way experienced all the types of atrocities that happened across all concentration camps. Between 1922 and 1942, approximately 200,000 people perished at Dachau. I saw the barracks, crematorium, memorials, administration and "sanitation" buildings and the museum of countless artifacts, pictures and stories. I continue to pray for those we lost.
Feeling depleted, I met up with Adam as I was leaving the camp. We took the train back to the city and headed to the festival grounds to see it during the day. There were more people during the day, and the beer tents were just as full as we'd witnessed the past two nights.
We enjoyed dinner from one of the food vendors and spent our time walking around the grounds taking it in one last time. We walked back to the hotel to get our bag and we used our free beer and pretzel coupon we'd received during check-in. We took the train to the airport and picked up a shuttle to the hotel a couple of miles away in preparation for our return to the States.
Passing original barbed wire, I entered the site through the same gate the prisoners entered, where there's a sign that reads "Work will set you free." The prisoners thought they were entering a work camp. These original artifacts served as a sharp reminder of what happened within the borders. If prisoners stepped onto the grass, they were immediately shot. Many committed suicide this way.
Dachau was one of the first concentration camps, and it set up a template for many of the camps that followed. It is sadly unique in that it housed and in some way experienced all the types of atrocities that happened across all concentration camps. Between 1922 and 1942, approximately 200,000 people perished at Dachau. I saw the barracks, crematorium, memorials, administration and "sanitation" buildings and the museum of countless artifacts, pictures and stories. I continue to pray for those we lost.
Feeling depleted, I met up with Adam as I was leaving the camp. We took the train back to the city and headed to the festival grounds to see it during the day. There were more people during the day, and the beer tents were just as full as we'd witnessed the past two nights.
We enjoyed dinner from one of the food vendors and spent our time walking around the grounds taking it in one last time. We walked back to the hotel to get our bag and we used our free beer and pretzel coupon we'd received during check-in. We took the train to the airport and picked up a shuttle to the hotel a couple of miles away in preparation for our return to the States.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Hofbräuhaus and a Glockenspiel
We obviously slept in this morning and luckily managed to get downstairs for the free breakfast which turned out to be excellent. We relaxed in the room for a while and then took a stroll down to Marienplatz (Munich's city center) to see the city hall, the Glockenspiel, and stop in the famous Hofbräuhaus.
We had an early dinner and then made our way back to the Oktoberfest grounds and rode the big swings and on a roller coaster. It was a lot of fun and reminded us of the fairs we used to go to when we were kids (except the rides were a whole lot bigger here).
We headed over to the beer tent street and went into the Hofbräuhaus tent (the second largest tent). It was pretty much the same scene as the previous night... just different decorations and more people. We managed to find a great table and did some more dancing, singing, "prosting," and drinking. We met tons of people and closed the place down again. We easily found our way back to our hotel this time but not before stopping and buying some of the sugar coated nuts that were pretty amazing!
We had an early dinner and then made our way back to the Oktoberfest grounds and rode the big swings and on a roller coaster. It was a lot of fun and reminded us of the fairs we used to go to when we were kids (except the rides were a whole lot bigger here).
We headed over to the beer tent street and went into the Hofbräuhaus tent (the second largest tent). It was pretty much the same scene as the previous night... just different decorations and more people. We managed to find a great table and did some more dancing, singing, "prosting," and drinking. We met tons of people and closed the place down again. We easily found our way back to our hotel this time but not before stopping and buying some of the sugar coated nuts that were pretty amazing!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Oktoberfest!
My plan was to wake up early and walk around the streets of Amsterdam taking pictures while Allison slept in, but the rain had different plans. I took two pictures and had to find some cover because of a downpour. It was cool standing there watching the locals head to work and figuring out a way to stay as dry as possible while riding a bike (e.g., umbrellas, plastic bags, rain gear). It was actually pretty entertaining.
We arrived in Munich, took the 40-minute train ride into the city, and had a short walk to our hotel. We got situated and walked across the street to check email and then walked the five blocks to the Theresienwiese, the official grounds of Oktoberfest.
As we got closer, we could hear the pulsating roar of a huge crowd and feel the energy in the air. We walked around, mouths agape, smelling the food and watching the rides and people. It was similar to a county fair...rides, games, food vendors, haunted houses, etc., but think of a this county fair on the Las Vegas strip. We made our way over to the next "street" and the beer "tents" became the focal point. Tents really do not describe these structures. These structures held 7,000 people!
We walked into a tent and it was the party of a lifetime. There was a band playing and nearly everyone was standing on the benches dancing, singing, and "prosting" (cheersing/clanking glasses) with everyone in sight. Everyone was happy, fun, welcoming and instantly friends with everyone around. To top it all off, fifty percent of the people -- all ages -- were dressed in traditional German clothing -- lederhosen and wench dresses.
After getting a taste of the tent, we went outside and ordered a plate of brats and sauerkraut and discussed the beer tent we wanted to spend the rest of the evening in. We settled on the Spaten beer tent. We could only get served if we were seated, and because many tables were reserved and the crowd was massive, finding a seat was tough. We made our way into the center of the tent and before long lucked out and found room at a table full of older Germans. They were extremely nice and begged us to join them. Their names were Hans, Sylvia and Siggy. Their home was in Munich and Hans made reservations six months in advance to get that table. I think they were amused watching us have so much fun.
Beers were about $12 and each beer was one liter. Each beer tent only served one kind of beer, so ordering was pretty simple. The Spaten beer garden was 1700 meters squared and fit 7,600 people in it. The Spaten beer tent alone cooked 90 oxen during Oktoberfest (each ox weighs in at around 550 pounds).
We were having a blast chatting, singing, dancing, prosting and drinking. It turns out we drank three liters of strong German beer each and managed to get so lost on our way back to the hotel even though our hotel was four blocks from the Oktoberfest grounds. We stopped numerous people, but we were off the map we had, and we ended up having to take a train home. What a fun night!!
We arrived in Munich, took the 40-minute train ride into the city, and had a short walk to our hotel. We got situated and walked across the street to check email and then walked the five blocks to the Theresienwiese, the official grounds of Oktoberfest.
As we got closer, we could hear the pulsating roar of a huge crowd and feel the energy in the air. We walked around, mouths agape, smelling the food and watching the rides and people. It was similar to a county fair...rides, games, food vendors, haunted houses, etc., but think of a this county fair on the Las Vegas strip. We made our way over to the next "street" and the beer "tents" became the focal point. Tents really do not describe these structures. These structures held 7,000 people!
We walked into a tent and it was the party of a lifetime. There was a band playing and nearly everyone was standing on the benches dancing, singing, and "prosting" (cheersing/clanking glasses) with everyone in sight. Everyone was happy, fun, welcoming and instantly friends with everyone around. To top it all off, fifty percent of the people -- all ages -- were dressed in traditional German clothing -- lederhosen and wench dresses.
After getting a taste of the tent, we went outside and ordered a plate of brats and sauerkraut and discussed the beer tent we wanted to spend the rest of the evening in. We settled on the Spaten beer tent. We could only get served if we were seated, and because many tables were reserved and the crowd was massive, finding a seat was tough. We made our way into the center of the tent and before long lucked out and found room at a table full of older Germans. They were extremely nice and begged us to join them. Their names were Hans, Sylvia and Siggy. Their home was in Munich and Hans made reservations six months in advance to get that table. I think they were amused watching us have so much fun.
Beers were about $12 and each beer was one liter. Each beer tent only served one kind of beer, so ordering was pretty simple. The Spaten beer garden was 1700 meters squared and fit 7,600 people in it. The Spaten beer tent alone cooked 90 oxen during Oktoberfest (each ox weighs in at around 550 pounds).
We were having a blast chatting, singing, dancing, prosting and drinking. It turns out we drank three liters of strong German beer each and managed to get so lost on our way back to the hotel even though our hotel was four blocks from the Oktoberfest grounds. We stopped numerous people, but we were off the map we had, and we ended up having to take a train home. What a fun night!!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Amsterdam
We arrived in Amsterdam at 7:30 am after catching a few hours of sleep on the plane. It felt great walking into a European airport after Africa. We stored one of our bags and all our souvenirs at the airport and we set off to catch the train into the city with just one bag.
Our hotel was a short walk from Central Station. It was overcast, cool, and misting on an off...a drastic change from the hot air and bright blue skies of Egypt. We checked into our hotel and then set off towards the Anne Frank House. We stopped at a cafe for some croissants and a cappuccino, which was delicious.
We were so glad we purchased tickets to the Anne Frank House before we left on our trip. We walked right in and got to bypass the huge line that was outside waiting to buy tickets.
We went to the Anne Frank House, which was so special, somber and poignant after just finishing reading The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank this week. We saw all the rooms, some of her artifacts, video of her father (the only survivor of the eight) after liberation, and the famous bookcase that hid the door to the secret annex where Anne and seven others lived in hiding.
According to the back of my book:
Anne Frank's extraordinary diary, written in the Amsterdam attic where she and her family hid from the Nazis for two years, has become a world classic and a timeless testament to the human spirit...Here she is first and foremost a teenage girl--stubbornly honest, touchingly vulnerable, in love with life. She imparts her deeply secret world of soul-searching and hungering for affection, rebellious clashes with her mother, romance and newly discovered sexuality, and wry, candid observations of her companions. Facing hunger, fear of discovery and death, and the petty frustrations of such confined quarters, Anne writes with adult wisdom and views beyond her years. Her story is that of every teenager, lived out in conditions few teenagers have ever known.
We were standing in the very home where:
On the morning of August 4, 1944, sometime between ten and ten thirty, a car pulled up at 263 Prinsengracht. Several figures emerged; an SS sergeant, Karl Josef Silverbauer, in full uniform, and at least three Dutch members of the Security Police, armed but in civilian clothes. Someone must have tipped them off.
They arrested the eight people hiding in the Annex, as well as two of their helpers...and took all the valuables and cash they could find in the Annex.
Upon their arrest, the eight residents of the Annex were first brought to a prison in Amsterdam and then transferred to Westerbork, the transit camp for Jews in the north of Holland. They were deported on September 3, 1944, in the last transport to leave Westerbork, and arrived three days later in Auschwitz (Poland).
Margot and Anne Frank were transported from Auschwitz at the end of October and brought to Bergen-Belsen, a concentration camp near Hannover (Germany). The typhus epidemic that broke out in the winter of 1944-1945, as a result of the horrendous hygienic conditions, killed thousands of prisoners, including Margot and, a few days later, Anne. She must have died in late February or early March. The bodies of both girls were probably dumped in Bergen-Belsen's mass graves. The camp was liberated by British troops on April 12, 1945.
It was so emotional because after reading this book, I felt so close to Anne. I felt like I knew her as a close friend and understood her on such a deep personal level. She was incredibly positive and had incredibly deep thoughts and understanding for a girl of 13 to 15 years old. Standing in that house, the victims of the Holocaust ceased to be statistics and became friends, just as I felt Anne Frank was.
We walked to a restaurant recommended by Matt and Abra (friends who lived in Amsterdam for a year for work a few years ago) and had beer and a warm goat cheese salad that was incredible. After not being able to eat salad in Africa, fresh vegetables were amazing! We walked along the canals, avoided the bicycles and took in the beautiful atmosphere on our way to the Van Gogh Museum.
The Van Gogh Museum taught us a lot about Van Gogh and shared his work. We enjoyed it and learned a lot about his life, but we were a little disappointed at how few of his pieces were on display. Adam mentioned the last time he was visiting, there were a lot of his drawings and sketches on display. Apparently these drawings are so fragile they are only on display once a year.
We walked toward the Heineken Brewery and confirmed it was closed for renovations and then met up with Max (my friend, Martha's, boyfriend who is living in Amsterdam for work) for a beer near Dam Square. We had a good time chatting and getting to see his awesome flat right on a canal in downtown. We were able to get on the roof through his flat and take in the skyline.
We'd made dinner reservations at Matt and Abra's favorite restaurant in the Jordaan neighborhood. We got beer, champagne and the tapas platter that included dates wrapped in bacon, red peppers stuffed with goat cheese, marinated mushrooms, meatballs, bread with dip, cheese, salami and a few other delectable tidbits. It was unbelievable!
As we were walking back to the hotel we happened to pass Matt and Abra's old flat. Then, we headed over to the Red Light District. What a sight to behold -- sex shops, live sex shows, and prostitutes of all sizes, shapes, colors and ages. They stand in their red-lighted window in lingerie, with a bed, a sink and a shower in the room behind them. Some are lazier than others, but generally, they stand in the windows and kind of dance or they beckon men over.
We made our way back to the hotel dodging rain drops and crashed as soon as we got back. It was a LONG day. Tomorrow we catch our flight to Munich for Oktoberfest!
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