Is anything off limits???? May 11, 2009

This past weekend, we took Friday off and made the long trek to Amsterdam!  After a night train from our tiny Sulzbach Rosenberg, we awoke on Friday morning in big city Amsterdam.  We quickly found our hostel and decided that Friday would best be spent looking at tulips (and breaking ourselves into city life slowly!)  So, we hopped yet another train and headed to Keukenhof: the 80 acres of gardens and fields that most people picture when they think of HOlland’s tulips.  IT was HUGE!  We could not believe how many different kinds of flowers were there and the vast amount of gardens!  Luckily for us, there was a local choir singing, so we grabbed a strawberry and whipped cream covered waffle, stuck in a birthday candle, sang Happy Birthday to Sarah, and enjoyed music, good food, and gorgeous flowers!  We were surprised that Keukenhof is open for only 2 months a year!  All that work for 2 months of beauty…if you saw it in person, you would definitely think it was worth it!  To learn more, visit:  http://www.keukenhof.com/

Unfortunately, mother nature thought we should spend our time elsewhere, and it began to rain.  After waiting for the bus to take us back to the train station, we were soaked and cold!  On the train ride home, we realized that we were wasting time and money by staying in a hostel on Saturday night only to come home early on Sunday morning…so we had to get out of a nigth in our hostel…but how???  Nichole and I made up a story about how “Bertha” the elderly lady we lived with had a family emergency and asked us to come back asap.  Lucky for us, Nichole is an excellent actress (even making a fake phone call to Bertha to tell her we would call her back to get the hospital info later) and the man at the desk took pity on us and cancelled our Saturday nigth reservation! 

Next, it was time to celebrate Sarah’s birthday…so we headed out into the crowded streets to find a good restaurant.  We found it in a little sports bar on the corner of a square…they had all you can eat ribs (which Sarah could not turn down)!  After a good dinner and a few pints of Heineken, Nichole and I serenaded Sarah to our version of “Sweet Caroline”  IT’s only fitting since we have been searching for karaoke the entire time we’ve been here!  After that, we went to a famous establishment, Bulldog Cafe.   Needless to say, the smoking laws in Amsterdam are a tad different from the USA.  In Bulldog Cafe, there was a seperate smoking room for those who chose to smoke tobacco (because tobacco is unpure)  HOwever, those who wanted to smoke marajuana could smoke anywhere, because we all know that marajuana, coming straight from the plant, is very pure and okay to smoke wherever and whenever (especially in Amsterdam!)  An interesting night, to be sure!!

THe next day, we started off by touring the Anne Frank house…what an experience.  Hard to believe that 8 people lived in that apartment quietly!  It’s filled with steep narrow staircases and creaking wooden floors- to be quiet means no moving at all!  I can’t even imagine!  The House was well set up, as Anne’s diary excerpts lead you through each room!  Great experience! 

Next we visited Vondelpark…a HUGE park dedicated to nothing but walking and biking paths, grassy areas, and big ponds.  After our rough night, we needed a little relaxation, so we grabbed a spot on the grass and took a short cat nap to rejuvenate ourselves.  We ended the afternoon/evening in Amsterdam by taking a short tour through the Red Light District.  Now this, was an experience.  If you can imagine a city where anything goes, this is it!  Imagine walking down a street where every building is devoted to sex.  Either it is a sex shop where one can buy DVDs, toys, or other entertaining devices (they were on window display) or there women stading in lingerie in the windows (like they are store manicans).  When the woman is available, the curtain is open…when the curtain is closed, the woman is otherwise occuppied (use your imagination)  There were bachelor and bachelorette parties galore and marajana shops everywhere.  What a city!  Hard to believe that anywhere could be so open about things like this, but the funny thing is- they don’t have problems with any of it.  Makes you wonder…if we were all just a little more open, would we have so much crime in the states?   Funny how travelling in a different country can make you change your perspective!  Our next adventure: Bruge Belgium with Nora (Nichole’s sister)  Then…HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spa Day! May 6, 2009

Sunday, was girls day!  That’s right, we finally took time, Nichole, Sarah, Paula, and I to just relax.  No rock climbing, no hiking, no work, just pure relaxation.  For Valentine’s Day, Wolfgang had given each of us a gift certificate to a local spa.  We could choose from a variety of treatments, including, pedicures/manicurs, massages, or baths.  So, around 12:30, we left the house.  Nichole and Sarah decided to get massages, I decided on a hops (beer) bath, and Paula got a pedicure.  I cannot speak for the others, but mine was an interesting experience.  First, of course, we all undressed and wrapped ourselves in towels (because in Germany, you only go into spas naked!)  Then we entered a room with not 1, but 3 saunas.  Germans are serious about their sauna experience!  My bath was ready as soon as we entered the room, so I went into my private room.  The tub was big enough for 2 people (but I opted for the 1 person bath) and was all wooden.  It was carved so smooth that there was no need to worry about splinters!  It was so rustic and like out of a movie!  The bath was unlike  any I”ve had before…the best way I can describe it is to say it was like sitting in champagne…little bubbles kept coming up around me!  I spent 25 minutes soaking up the hops and when I got out, my skin was so soft! 

Since the other girls were still getting their massages, I decided to check out the saunas.  Let me explain each: 1) A wet sauna- the kind with lots of steam..you feel gross and like you sweated out every ounce of fluid you ever had inside you- not my favorite   2) A warm dry sauna- with a tiled bench, this sauna was kept at about 80 degrees and made you feel really relaxed and calm- my favorite    3) A hot dry sauna- this one was wooden (think Quincy YMCA) and was kept at 95-100 degrees- almost too hot to sit or lay on the wooden benches!  After the sauna, German practice is to get into an icerain shower…that’s right, get all good, warm, and relaxed- then take a hose that is spraying cold water and work from your toes up to your head (because if you start in the middle, your heart might go into shock)  This is suppossed to build your immunity and increase your circulation.  Not wanting to disappoint Wolfgang, Nichole and I tried the true German way…I was not so impressed…I was just freezing my ass off thinking when can I get back in the warm sauna?  Nichole actually liked the ice shower after the sauna…go figures since she’s always the one complaining about being cold! 

After the spa, we went to Amber and got dinner at a local cafe…delicious!  Then, we went to a gelato place known for it’s ice cream creations!  I got a banana cup that was to die for!!!  SO YUMMY!!!  Can’t even explain how good it was, and what an art form….they take time and joy in making each order into an artistic creation!  So fun to watch the head guy make them!  I’ll show you all pictures soon.  What a great way to spend a Sunday!!!

Flossenberg Concentration Camp

This past Saturday (yes, I know, it’s been almost a week…sorry, turns out we are popular and people love inviting us out to dinner…which leaves little time for blogging)  Anyway, this past Saturday, Judy Wrede and her husband, Brian, invited us to visit Flossenberg Concentration Camp with them.  FLossenberg was a smaller, less well known camp started in 1938.  The camp was built because it was the site of a rock quarry that mined granite.  The Nazis needed granite, so Flossenberg was born.  What made this trip special and very memorable, (if you can say such a thing about a trip to a concentration camp) was that a survivor, Jack Terry, was giving a personal tour to our group through the military.  So, not only did we get to see a camp that most people don’t know about, we saw it through a survivor’s eyes. 

Jack was 13 when he entered the camp, but could recall the details like it was yesterday.  He told of Roll Call Square and standing naked in the cold, feeling like a possession rather than a person, and of the showers, where you could freeze in teh winter or watched as other prisoners were beat.  He told of how the stench of sweat, rotting bread, and flesh filled the air when the creamatorium burned.  He told his story of how he survived the death march because  a kopo (soldier) told him to hide in the boiler room one night.  

“I was hidden by a camp clerk called Milos Kucera. I was in a tunnel which led from the laundry to the kitchen, directly underneath the parade ground. I was lying on hot pipes and above me I heard shots, trampling, screaming. It was dark, I had nothing to eat and nothing to drink. “

Jack followed the directions and listened the next day as gunfire erupted above him.  He was then moved to the typhoid wing of the hospital because Nazis wouldn’t risk getting typhoid to inspect the patients.  Finally, the camp was liberated on April 23, 1945, and Jack, being the youngest survivor, was given the keys to the camp by the American commander. 

“I was liberated – but I was not free. For the first time I was able to think beyond my hunger. For the first time I realized that now, at the age of 15, I was completely alone in the world. I no longer had any family, I had nothing. This is one of my memories of that day.”

Hearing him tell these stories was something I will NEVER forget.  What stunned me most was the courage and brutal honesty he showed about it all.  He did not sugar coat it like the tour guides.  He lived through this, the least we could do is listen to the story.  He tells his story so that everyone remembers people did not die at Flossenberg, “They were murdered”   

I’ve added video of Jack speaking on the Video page, but you can also look at these other resources to learn his story:

Here is a great article that sums up Jack’s life and tells a little of his story. http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2006/04/27/news/community/thu03.txt

Jack also wrote a book entitled:

Jakub’s World: A Boy’s Story of Loss and Survival in the Holocaust

If you are at all interested in the Holocaust, I would HIGHLY recommend looking at this book.  Jack, which he insisted on being called, is honest, realistic, and somehow, optimistic that people are still good at heart and this will never happen again as long as this story keeps being told!  So, please, pass the story on!

3 weeks left…is that possible? May 1, 2009

As of today, there are exactly 3 weeks until I arrive back in the states.  As I look back on my time, there are a few people, or guardian angels, that I want to share.  These are people that have made my trip more memorable and I need to write them down before I forget (thanks mom for those forgetful genes!)  So, here are some of my favorite people from this trip:

1) Man on 1st German train- As Nichole and I stepped onto our first train to travel from Frankfurt to Salzbach-Rosenberg, we realized that we had no way of contacting Paula and Wolfgang, no idea what they looked like, no money, and no idea where the hell our new apartment was.  Great way to start a trip, huh!  Needless to say, after 15 hours of traveling (part of it in a foreign country where we understood nothing), we were a little scared and had no idea what we were going to do once we got off the train.  Luckily, we met a guardian angel!  An older gentleman, who traveled that train daily for his job, sensed our distress.  He talked us through the train route, let us use his cell phone to call Paula, and helped us recognize our stop and get our luggage off the train!  He was our guardian angel and German welcomer!!!!

2) Elenor/Eloise (not sure)- Regensburg Couch Surfer- So, our trip back from Barcelona was a littel crazy.  First of all, our tickets got mixed up and we had to change our tickets for the way home, which added an extra stop in London Heathrow Airport.  After a tram to Barcelona Airport, our plane to London was delayed..we thought, surely we will miss our flight to Munich…But, lucky for us, our flight from London to Munich was also delayed.  Unfortuanately, that meant we might miss our train from Munich to Sulzbach.  After 2 flights, we reached Munich and learned there was 1 train that went to Regensburg (about 1/2 way home) then had a 4 hour layover (from 2am-6am) before our train home.  Not wanting to miss school, we got our ticket and got on the train- despite the fact that we were unsure if the train station would be open for us to wait inside. (This is the appropriate time to remind you that it was February and FREEZING out!)  As the train was leaving, a girl our age came into our car and asked to share our Baveria ticket.  We were like, whatever, sure.  So, we talked and she, hearing our predicament, mentioned that she was a couch surfer.  Basically, she offers up her couch for travelers to sleep on for free.  We were unsure about it, but once the train stopped in Regensburg and we realized the station was closed for the night and we would be on the snowy streets without her, we took her up on her offer.  She gave up her bed for 4 hours so that 2 strangers had a warm bed.  Yet another angel God sent our way!

3) Sabina- our wonderful housekeeper at school.  Sabina is a German woman who is employed by our school to clean the classrooms.  She speaks very good English and because we are there so late, we often have to ask to borrow our keys.  As the year has gone on, we have had many conversations with Sabina.  She is so fun to talk to and not afraid to say anything!  She talks about chocolate going to her hips and good places to travel, beer gardens to check out, and stressful days at work.  Whenever I need to know something about Germany or “girl stuff,”  I go to Sabina.  She is my little German connection and the ultimate Big Sister!  Plus, she always reminds me to think of the people who do the jobs that no one thanks them for…say thanks to those people, appreciate them, they deserve it!!!