the longest train of my life!!

Berlin...

Today I add one more country's capital to the list I've been to on the trip. Berlin is my final destination today. Amanda dropped me off at the station in Aachen at 11:30 in time for me to catch my train that left shortly after that. I switched trains in Koln  (Cologne) and then boarded my next train to Berlin. There appear to be many problems with the train lines as we have been sitting in the Hamm station for almost a 1/2 hr. 

After being over an hour late, we finally made it to Berlin. I walked across the street to my hotel. Motel 1 (the name is misleading for Americans).. I was skeptical, but for $70 a night, I figured I could deal.. It's the nicest hotel I've stayed in so far! So I'm happy camper. I grabbed my very German dinner at Burger King. A hamburger.. ;) and then caught the metro down to the Brandenburg Gate. I got there right at sunset. It is absolutely beautiful lit up! 

I headed back to the hotel as it had been a ridiculously long day of travel and I was exhausted. I had a great plans for the next day and so I set off to get some rest for that. 

Versailles

Versailles

Versailles was probably the one place I was looking forward to seeing more than anything the entire trip. I had heard only amazing things about it. The palace and the gardens did not disappoint. If you've ever been to Hearst Castle and thought it was amazing, you haven't even scratched the surface of the enormity and grandeur of Versailles. 

They are doing some construction on the train stations, and so my plan to be there not too long after opening was set back by about an hour as I waited on trains, and took bus detours. Around 11 I finally reached my destination. I stopped in and picked up my Paris Museum Pass from the local tourist office. Like in the other cities, this gives you all access to the museums of Paris and in most cases the ability to cut the line. Such a great investment! I walked up to the Palace and after recovering from the size of it, I examined the size of the line (almost as large lol). I heard some people talking in English and they said they'd been told the line was 2 hours long. I'd read and been told by a few people that if you got there late, you should tour the gardens and Marie Antoinette's estate and THEN go back and do the palace when the crowds have migrated to the grounds. So this was what I planned to do. As I was trying to determine where I was going to go first I (almost literally bumped into Natalia and Juliana. They were just exiting the palace and heading into the gardens. We decided to tour the estate together. I was glad to have bumped into them. I can only describe that as a God thing, because the of the size of the estate and the crowds there. We walked through the gardens and then found a shady spot by the grand canal to sit, eat lunch, and watch the people in the row boats on the grand canal. 

Versailles was originally the creation of Louis XIV who didn't want to live in Paris anymore. He moved his entire court and family outside of Paris about a 1/2 hour. The main palace housed the court and their families, the meeting areas for the government, royal housing apartments, dining rooms, ballrooms, meeting rooms for government work, an opera house and much more. Louis and his 2 namesake successors felt that this space was rather too crowded for their tastes, so the Grand Trianon  and Petit Trianon were built as summer retreats for the royal family. Marie Antoinette even contributed to the estate by having an English hamlet reproduced complete with farm, sheep and a small pond. Walking into the hamlet is like stepping into a fairytale land. It is so quiet and cute and peaceful. The landscape looks as Dave Contreras said "This would make the perfect jigsaw puzzle scene." After wandering the gardens and the outer estates I split from the sisters to go see the main palace. They were going to hang out in the gardens. We had by no means seen all of the estate as it is 160+ acres! 

I got to the main palace and found a 20 min line ahead of me! SCORE!!! :) 

I walked through the large palace marvelling at what the walls would say if they could talk about the many years of history and events of importance that occurred there. My favorite room in the palace was the Hall of Mirrors. Standing in the room filled with people I took a minute to think of the conference that took place in 1918-1920 in this very room where the fate of Germany was decided forever changing the world. In technicality the signing of the treaty there ended WWI, but many would (I think justifiably) argue that it was here that the road to WWII began. Knowing that I was in a room where one leaders who at one time represented over 3/4 of the world's population made that decision was very powerful. When I teach about this treaty we talk about the "what ifs" of that treaty. What if Germany had had a say, What if Europe had been more forgiving and also What IF Woodrow Wilson had agreed to meet with a young Ho Chi Minh who was seeking answers about democracy? What would our world look like? Fast forward to the end of WWII, and we look at some of those what ifs again. IF some of those things had happened, Hitler would've probably not had the control and support from the people that he did. While many would argue that a good thing, it also means the Holocaust wouldn't have happened (another good thing) but it also means the Jewish people wouldn't have scattered all over the world, and then desired to have their own place, their own land. Israel would probably not be the same as it is today. It's just another example of how God has perfectly orchestrated the events of history even when we don't see His hand at work, and feel like He has abandoned us. 

The grandeur is almost too great for words in describing the palace. It was probably one of my favorite places of the trip so far. I loved the peaceful serenity of the gardens, and if I lived there I would frequent the free gardens on a regular basis. 

After Versailles, I headed back to meet up with the 4 girls at the Eiffel Tower again at 10pm. We got some of our communication lines crossed as we waited for each other at different carousels near the tower, but I had a much better view of the other side of the tower and the fountains on the trocadero. 

It was another late night as I watched the sunset and the tower light up again. So beautiful!  

gardens

the front courtyard of the Main Palace

the sisters and me

do you like my hat?!

the other side of the Tower 

Louvre and more

Saturday! 

Saturday's plan included my much anticipated trip to the Louvre. I had heard of its ability to overwhelm even the most seasoned museum visitor. This was definitely true. I took a few minutes mapped out works and rooms I wanted to see, grabbed an audio guide (they have a downloadable one for the ipod, but since I hadn't accessed my itunes on my ipod yet, it wouldn't let me without activating blah blah haha) so I forked over the 5 euro it cost for the audioguide. I was really glad I did. The guide is actually a Nintendo G3 (or something like that.. the newest form of a DS is the best way to describe it). It tracks your movements in the museum and can give you room by room instructions on how to get to works that you tell it you want to see. (SOO HELPFUL!) and if you get off track on accident, it promptly tells you that and helps you redirect. That feature alone saved me quite a few times. I spent a little over 4 hours walking around the museum seeing all the big works I wanted from the Northern Renaissance to the Mona Lisa to Napoleon's coronation. By the end I left not because I'd seen everything (on our tour a few days before the guide told us that its been calculated that it would take someone I think 3 months straight touring for 24/7 only stopping for 9 seconds at each work), I left because I was "museumed out" and needed to sit. 

I was also in need of a new pair of sunglasses since I'd broken mine beyond repair the previous day leaving Versailles. I metroed to Gare St. Lazare (train station, metro, and mall all in 1). Here I found a sunglasses shop where I was able to find an excuse to do some shopping in Paris. After an interesting interaction with the clerks who spoke no English, and me no French we were able to find a pair similar to the one I broke. :) I then headed to Starbucks to grab and iced coffee and sit. This starbucks experience was rather comical as I ordered a caramel macchiato 1/2 caf (explained that) and he said ok! I then received 2  cups at the counter... 1 with caffeine and 1 without.. How that happens I'm not sure, but whatever. I took both, grabbed a pastry and then headed into the mall to sit by the piano. There is a piano that has a sign that say something to the effect of "free to play" and people took turns playing and singing beautiful songs for the mall. It is a 4 story mall, and the piano is on the top story in an open area so the sound carries beautifully. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon. 

I left from there to meet up with the girls for dinner in Montemarte. We met across from the Moulin Rouge. There is a grate there with cool air from the metro blowing up through it. Women of all ages jumped up on it. Some in dresses (think Marilyn Monroe's dress) and some not. I was in a dress, so I did NOT venture up. Although one man asked me if I would so he could take my picture. umm NO!  was my answer. We had added 2 more Aussies to our little international travel group. We grabbed dinner at a cute little cafe with a nice view of that part of the city. I had the skirt steak with fries and a creme brulee. It was delicious! We then meandered around Montemarte looking at Picasso's apartment, Van Gogh's apartment, the windmill in Montemarte and a few other sights. We parted way around 9:30. Three of us were leaving the next day so we said our goodbyes and took pictures together. I headed over to Notre Dame to see if I could climb the towers before it closed, but it was closed when I got there. Instead I took pictures as the sun set and watched street performers dance and play with fire. Interesting show. While there is NO accuracy  in the disney movie to the original intent of Hugo's book, the scene did make me think of the gypsies that performed in the street in the movie. 

I came back, packed up and worked on planning my exit strategy for trains out of Paris and back to Germany. 

the courtyard of the Louvre

Paris Day 1

Paris Day 1

My trip to Paris was so busy that I never stopped to write about it.. So I'll do that now! Time on the train is good for something right?!

So after arriving in Paris in the evening on Wednesday night, I settled into my hotel room and then mapped out my plan. 

Thursday morning I woke up with a massive migraine, and so my plans for the morning flew out the window as I didn't get out of bed until 9:30. I decided to go ahead and try to join the Sandeman's tour (the same tour group we did in Amsterdam) to help me get the lay of the land, and cross off seeing some of the landmarks on my list. So I met up with the group. My guide was good, not nearly as good as Julian our guide in Amsterdam, but I think Adam, our American guide, was catering to the younger crowd in our group as he focused on some of the "cool and hip" things in Paris rather than a rich history base. I decided that to be true after I learned he has his Masters in French history focusing on the 17-18th century. I asked questions on my own and got more answers so that was good. While I'm not a fan of raging migraines, this one actually was The Lord changing my plans. On my tour was a group of 5 girls in their 20s who were all staying in the same hostel. We all grabbed lunch at the same cafe at the end of the tour and started talking. Two of the girls were sisters from Brazil, and the other 2 were friends from Quebec, we also had an Aussie in our group who was leaving the next day. We decided to stay together and see the city as it was the first day for all of us in Paris. Throughout my trip in Paris my new friends and I would meet up (with the help of Facebook coordinating our plans). This made my trip so much more memorable! 

 So from the cafe we made the trek up the Champs d' Elyees (spelling?!) and observed all the sights and shops as we walked. WIth the Tour d' France coming into town on Sunday, there was massive construction up the famous boulevard to prepare for the riders making their final entrance into the streets. We finished our walk at the Arc d' Triumph. It's is an absolutely beautiful monument. Since we'd already walked over 5 miles on our tour and then our walk, we decided not to climb the Arc d' Triumph. Cloee and Marie Elyse (the girls from Quebec) had purchased tickets for a tour of Montemarte and so they split from our group at the Arc. Juliana and Natalia (the Brazilian sisters) and I continued over to the Eiffel Tower. We had been given advice by our tour guide to climb to the first 2 levels, as it was cheaper and a MUCH shorter line. So took the metro to the Eiffel Tower and then found a rather long line to take the elevators to the 2nd level. We decided to climb. A whopping 670 something stairs later, we made it to the 2nd level. We decided that was all the climbing we needed to do. The view was spectacular, and I guess the ability to say I climbed up the Eiffel Tower and not down it is kinda cool. (I was definitely sore the next day) My many summers of working summer camp with crowded theme parks and hot and smelly people definitely helped with my trip. It was hot (high 80s low 90s with 50% humidity)! The tower itself was crowded and the lines were "long" by the standards of everyone around me, but for me it was just a hot busy summer day at Disneyland's line length. The girls and I talked as we walked through and waited in line. They were both in university studying Law and Business. We got separated at the very top as a lady pushed into the elevator ahead of me making me wait for the next one. But we had already talked about our separate plans for the next day which coincidentally involved a trip to Versailles. 

After taking in the wonderful city below, by the time I was finished with my tour of the tower, it was close to 7 o'clock. I decided to grab dinner at a nearby restaurant. The cute restaurant had a dinner special with an appetizer, steak, and dessert for about $25. I thought that was worth it. I decided to be adventurous and try the escargo for the appetizer. While they were sort of chewy, with the garlic butter sauce on top, they weren't too bad. My biggest problem was getting over the thoughts of picking snails and playing with snails as a kid. I had to just eat them and then not think about it! lol They wouldn't be something I'd order on a frequent basis, but if someone ordered them I'd probably eat some again. After dinner, I headed a couple blocks back to the Eiffel Tower to watch the sun set behind the tower. There is a large grass area that people picnic and sit and watch the sunset with music and all sorts of festivities. It was fun to just sit and watch it all happen. When the tower lights, it sparkles first for a few minutes and then it is lit in stages. On the nights I was there it was lit with blue, red and green. By the time it was dark enough to see the last part of the tower sparkle it was 11:15 , so I watched that and then began my 1/2 hour multiline metro trip home. 

saying Hi to Louis Vuitton

Arc d' Triumph

part of the view from the top 

me and the tower

I climbed to the top of this picture! :) 

Normandy

be warned... this is a long post (I wrote it on the train with LOTS of time to reflect)

Today was an emotional day full of many sights and a new appreciation for my grandpa and papa. Today I went on the Overlord tours of Omaha and Utah beaches. I decided to go on a full day tour. Best idea ever!! I learned so much and got to have an understanding of the battles, personal stories of people,  and the reason for the high attrition rate that I wouldn't have if I hadn't gone. Our little band of 7 Americans and South Africans started our morning with our French guide Brigette. She was fabulous! Anyone who's ever been on a tour or at a museum with me knows I'm a hard judge of character because of my experience in the museum world. She maneuvered flawlessly all day answering the barrage questions of a WWII buff, an AP European History teacher, AND me! ;) While Overlord offers a variety of tours, if you're an American who isn't really up on history (or even if you are) the Omaha/Utah tour is the one for you. She mixed enough groundwork and intricate details to satisfy both camps. I only wish I could go on her tour tomorrow that was the British and Canadian beaches! Ok... gush over! :) Dad, I kept thinking of you.. We HAVE to go back sometime together and do the tours K?!

She started our tour  at the German bunkers high on the bluff overlooking Omaha on the east side of the beach. Before I get into the war part of it, the first thing we noticed on the cliffs was the fields of wildflowers strewn about. The brightest color was the red. The red poppies that the VFW sells instantly came to mind. I know they are a symbol of WWI, but it became very clear WHY those were used. She explained that the Allies needed to gain the 62 miles of Norman coast so that they could establish liberate the harbor to the North (Ch...) and then use that as their main infiltration point into France. No one but Rommel (the German  general) thought the Allies would attack the French coast... and Rommel wasn't expecting the attack in the horrible weather that actually delayed the attacks by 1 day. Rommel was going to Germany to celebrate his wife's birthday! 

When you look at the battles you can see how there were MANY struggles, but I felt like I could see the Lord's hand at work in multiple places as that morning unfolded with things that Brigette simply said were " a good thing". To stand on Omaha's beach and look up at the bluffs and have her explain and point out where the guns were and how there were guns to the front and on each side shooting at them was overwhelming. We left the beach very quiet contemplating the massive loss of life. On Omaha Beach alone in the first 5 MINUTES we lost 1,000 men! The battle raged from 6:30am-3pm. Overall that beach alone had 4,000 casualties (KIA, MIA, wounded). I thought that standing in the fields at Antietam and Gettysburg and picturing the battle raging was something. If things had gone according to plans, things would've been much different, but unfortunately the weather conditions made the pilots dropping the bombs on what was to be the guns above Omaha were very far off course, and ended up bombing farm fields to the northwest instead. This constant barrage of firing from guns on all directions changed the outcome of the attack drastically. The feelings there on the beach are something you almost can't explain, the sadness and tears over the loss of lives mixed with the pride for men who served fighting for the freedom of people they'd never met, people who weren't their own. 

As we moved on to the cemetery, I was once again impressed by the beautiful cemetery that was there. I had been there the night before and watched a very moving ceremony as they unfurled the American flag over the thousands of graves and then folded it, to be followed by taps played by a single bugler. It was a moment of pride in my nation, and I definitely cried! I visited the wall of the missing, and the quiet rose garden that is there. Then headed down to see the grave of Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and his brother Quintin. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was a general in the war, and died in 1944 (in his sleep of a heart attack). The cemetery was so quiet and serene. They have done a beautiful job maintaining it. The French government gave it to the American government after the war as a place to bury the massive number of dead because they were in several scattered temporary cemeteries around the Norman coast. 

To tell you everywhere we went and saw things would take all day, so I'm only sharing about a few....

Pont du Hoc, is the furthest point extending out over the bluffs. It gives a beautiful view of the Norman coast. I took a few minutes there to walk and rewind time a few hundred more years, and envision the coast to what it must've looked like when the Normans and William the Conqueror (aka my family) arrived there over 900 years ago. I don't think the countryside and bluffs have changed much. Back to WWII... Pont du Hoc is where the 2nd Ranger brigade climbed the 70ft wall with grappling hooks and ladders. The plan was to use the grappling hooks, but the walls were so slick from the weather, that the ladders the London fire department had sent over on boats worked well too. They started their ascent to capture the rumored 5 guns at the top of the cliff. When all 225 of them had scaled the cliff in an hour, they realized the guns were not there. They set out in search of them tracking the mudprints the Germans had left and found the guns pretty much undefended. As Brigette says.. "Norman cider and French women helped win the war" as the Germans had a night with far too much cider and in the company of French women. Like their Hessian ancestors in Valley Forge, they were caught unprepared and the Americans completed their mission. However, backup for the Americans was slow to come, and by June 8th, there 90 remaining. 

Churches where paratroopers were caught on spires, flooded fields where ordinary French men courageously plucked paratroopers from the waters in their boats, homes used as hospitals for both Americans and Germans, and other courageous stories filled my day. 

I have a new appreciation for what happened to American soldiers that horrible morning in June, and then until Normandy was finally captured in August. The stories she told us as we moved through the day made me wish I could run home and hug and thank my Papa and Grandpa for their service and bravery to liberate and enforce freedom in Europe. I more than ever wish I could ask them their stories. I guess now I need to dig out Grandpa's book with missions so I can see where he was. In retrospect, I should've done that before coming here. The nation of France has risen back from the ashes and rubble (literally) that was World War II. Many of the villages and hamlets we drove through today looked just the same as they did in the 1940s when the war raged, but the growth of the country and its people is a beautiful reminder of healing. Like the poppies on the hill at the start of the morning, it was a good reminder that even in the midst of dark and horrific times in life when nothing seems to be as it should or was, God uses those moments to teach us and make beautiful things from them in our lives. It reminds me of that song... "you make beautiful things out of me." 

fields with poppies

German guns

at pont du hoc

Happy Birthday Rembrandt!/ Welcome to Amsterdam

Amsterdam is not a city that can be tackled in a day (or half a day), but that is exactly what we set out to do on Monday. Amanda had bought special tickets that were good all day for us to ride on the trains in the Netherlands. We started out at Heerlen at 9am but due to train construction/delays our 2.5 hour train ride took us 4 hours. We arrived in Amsterdam just in time to catch the 1:00 walking tour with Sandeman's New Europe tour group. This company provides free tours of the city. At the end of the tour you tip your guide what you feel the tour was worth. I was a little unsure of how much I'd like the tour but decided it was worth a shot, as Amanda had raved about it. After getting the ins and outs of the rules for the city, and a warning about staying out of the way of bikes (that's no joking matter!) we were off on our tour. 

 Our guide Julian is from Australia originally, but has been living in Amsterdam for 4 years. He lead us (and about 20 of our new found english speaking friends) on an over 3 mile tour of the city.He gave a lot of historical background on the city and the culture of the Netherlands and Amsterdam. We walked through the red light district (not at night) and he explained the laws concerning the sex trade industry in Amsterdam and some of the complications that come with it, such as human trafficking. We stopped in multiple places including Rembrandt's house (whose birthday it coincidentally happened to be), the Jewish quarter, China town, medieval portions of Amsterdam where the Anabaptists were persecuted. He even took us into a small quiet courtyard in the city that has been a religious sanctuary for a few hundred years. In this courtyard is the English Reformed Church that the Pilgrims worshipped at before coming to the US. It was such a peaceful and serene courtyard right in the heart of the city. In this courtyard there are stipulations on who can live there (it's on for single females over the age of 30).

We also stopped by one of Amsterdam's famous coffee shops. This is not be to confused with a coffee cafe. In Amsterdam's coffee shops the menu is full of marijuana. You will not be able to get your normal cup of joe. TO play it safe, I made sure to buy my coffee in a trusted American company... Starbucks! :) 

We talked for a while on our tour about the marijuana laws and why the city has so many "coffee shops". Interestingly enough, marijuana is illegal to sell or grow in all of the Netherlands. Yet, it is for sale all over the city of Amsterdam (and the Netherlands in general). The coffee shop is in a sense the "cover business" for marijuana distributors, except it's not at all a secret as you can smell the shops from quite a few doors down. In the words of my momma... "That gives a new meaning to the coffee pot!" 

At the end of the tour, Julian told us about how the people of Amsterdam revolted against the Nazis as they persecuted the Jews. Amsterdam was the first city for nonJewish people to rise up to defend the Jews in mass numbers. While they ultimately failed at overthrowing the Nazi occupation and persecution, it still was a success in showing how the people  came together to show their support for their fellow Amsterdamers. 

Our tour concluded around the corner from the Anne Frank house. We waited in a short line and then toured the house. Anne's story, like many other of the time is such a good reminder of the horrors of the Holocaust. As you walk through the house, it is not hard to imagine the frustrations of the people as they stayed locked away and quiet in the rooms above her father's store. The secret annex is such a small place for the number of people that were living in it. You can almost see the kids tiptoeing around trying to stay quiet, knowing their lives all depended on it.  While the Holocaust is such a sad part of history for the Jewish people, and you can understand how they would think God turned his back on them, I love the story of redemption that comes from the return of Israel as a nation that follows WWII. While no one likes Hitler, God used a wicked man to fulfill the prophecies of thousands of years before (not surprising for our God). "What man intended for evil, The Lord used for good." 

Otto Frank had a quote on the wall in the house something to the effect of... "You can't build a future without an understanding the past." So true!  I think I'm going to display that in my classroom this next year. 

We grabbed dinner and then caught our train home. The way home was much faster (2.5 hours). We got home and then packed for our car ride to Normandy. 

Playing in the Greek ruins

So this is a few days overdue, but I've been busy resting and trying to recover after 10 days of craziness! :) 

On our last day in Greece, we hired a private taxi company to take us out to Ancient Corinth, Mycenae, Nafpilion, and Epidavros. We were really pleased with the trip. Our driver George was really knowledgable of both Greece history, culture, and had lots of interesting things to tell us about his country. Our first two stops were the Corinth Canal and acrocorinth. They are both quite the sight! We took pictures, walked around and headed to my favorite spot.... Ancient Corinth! I was surprised by the way the museum has the site organized. You can literally walk in and around all of the ancient ruins. I took A LOT of pictures for my World History lesson on Greece. :) The best part for me was being able to see the city as it must have been in Paul's day. The bema seat is there in Corinth, and you can walk up to the top of it. What an amazing thing to see my Bible come alive! I could picture the people in the agora and in the houses or temples and you could almost feel the buzz of what it must've been like at that time. I was so glad that I got to experience the city. 

We then jumped back in our air-conditioned Mercedes taxi  (It was about a high of 93 with humidity so we were really glad for the AC!) and headed off to Mycenae. In Mycenae we were able to see the ancient acropolis and climb up to the top of the palace giving us wonderful views of the countryside. After climbing the acropolis, we visited the tombs of the Kings of Ancient Greece. The beehive tombs are amazing. Their entrances are like tunnels into the ground, but when you go inside, you are in a cavernous room that is circular. 

The port city of Nafpilion was our next stop. We drove up to the top of the castle that's last additions were done in the 1700s. We climbed to the top for spectacular coastal views. The castle overlooks the harbor and an island that George described as the "the alcatraz of Nafpilion". We walked around but had worked up quite an appetite, and so we followed George's suggestion for a nice restaurant for lunch with a view of the harbor. 

Our last stop was  the famous amphitheater of Epidavros. This large amphitheater is known for its acoustics. This site is also the home of the ancient temple of Apollos' ruins. We walked around the ruins, grabbed a slushie lemonade and began the 2 hour drive back to Athens. 

It was the perfect way to end our time in Greece. While I could've used another day at least in Athens, I will have to add it to my list of places to go back to! :) 

We're now back "home". Groceries, laundry and rest have been on the agenda the last few days.