Month: July 2015

So let me start by saying that Brugge was absolutely lovely, but this journey MAY have been a bit ambitious for a day trip from Amsterdam by rail.

The morning journey went well – I had breakfast at the hostel, and caught the 8:00 shuttle to the train station, where I easily caught my trains to get to Brugge. I did catch a glimpse of the Tour De France in Antwerp, so that was very cool. In Antwerp I was so very thankful for the first class rail pass, because 2nd class was full with people standing in the aisles, and every spare space (they were all Tour de France roadies – with camp chairs, tents and backpacks) – so I was very happy to have my own, comfy seat in a relatively empty compartment.  The journey was smooth, I made all the connections, and I arrived in Brugge a little after 12:15.

I got to Brugge and did a walking tour that I had planned out on my own (only bad thing was my camera battery died! (I forgot to charge it last night after the canal cruise) I did have my phone, so had the opportunity to take pictures that way after my camera died. Lesson learned – :).

Brugge was gorgeous! After about 2 hours walking around outside, I decided my poor skin needed a break (I’ve had this rash on my chest that I think is heat rash – and it flares up with the heat and sun (even with copious amounts of sunscreen) so I decided to find something to do indoors, and discovered the Brugge Beer Museum. 12 € included admission and a beer tasting – so I said why not. It was a neat collection of brewing artifacts and the history of brewing. Did you know that in WW1 so many Belgian breweries and crop fields  were destroyed that we lost several beer blends, recipes and varieties completely?

The beer tasting was excellent, and I was very pleased to see that the “tasting” was 3 full size beers of your choice. After the beer tasting, I decided I needed to get some food (good idea, right?) so I ventured to a Belgian restaurant and, obviously going with the theme of the day ordered the Brewers choice meal, since it was going to be lunch and dinner at that point!

The cheese croquettes were absolutely great, the sauce on the meat was a perfect compliment, and I’m not exaggerating or anything, but the Creme Brûlée was the BEST I have ever had. It was SO good!! 🙂

After that lovely meal, I decided to bid “tot ziens” to Brugge and start the journey home, which did, indeed become a journey.

It all started with a 5 minute stop on my train, which caused me to miss my first connection in Ghent, but no worries – I just waited for the next train – 20 minutes later, and shifted my plan. I got to Antwerp (which is a stunningly beautiful train station, by the way) and waited for my train to Rotterdam, and this was where it became an adventure. The train was cancelled, and the next one wasn’t for another hour – and would mean I wouldn’t get back to the hostel until well after 1 am. Ugh!

I went up to the international travel desk hoping they could help – and he gave me a plan – with a tight connection, but it seemed workable, so I ran back down to the platform and to catch a train to hopefully make it to Amsterdam before midnight. 🙂

Waiting on the platform I met a couple from Florida who were panicked about the cancelled train – so I decided to share with them what the agent had given me. They asked if they could follow me, so for the next hour I gained traveling companions – they were lovely – and he was originally from Summerville, so we talked a bit about how NW Georgia has changed, and it was nice to have company and conversation on that unexpected detour.

The rest of the trip went smoothly, and I ended up at the shuttle location to the hostel just before midnight. Not bad, all things considered, but I will admit that a day trip to Brugge might have been overly ambitious. 🙂 However, it was fun, and totally worth the train adventures I must say.

Today was a bit of an adventure with trains, as the train I had intended to take was cancelled, so I had to take one an hour later.

However, after that all went smoothly. I said my goodbyes to Julia & Heinz and I was on my way.

I decided to go ahead and check into my hostel upon my arrival in Amsterdam, and this was the hostel I was most excited about, because I would be staying in an old Dutch caravan at the Lucky Lake Hostel.

Here are some pictures of the hostel and my caravan. Oh so fun!

After I got checked in I headed back to Amsterdam for my tour of the Anne Frank house. This was a touching experience, because her diary was one of the books I most remember reading in late elementary school – when I was such a voracious reader I would read 2 or more books in a week – this one certainly stood out, and it was incredible to be in the space of the Annex, and see where they hid.

At the end of the tour, they ask you to leave your reflections in their online journal. You can view mine here.

It was a touching experience, and the last of my scheduled holocaust monuments, memorials and museums, and while each have been difficult and emotional, I am greatful to have had the opportunity to visit, reflect and remember the victims of the Nazi Regime.

After leaving the Anne Frank House I did a walking tour – using Rick Steeves Audio app of Amsterdam. I didn’t take many pictures, because I was enjoying the sights, smells and ambiance that is Amsterdam. I stumbled on festivals, concerts and even a blue convertible band – who apparently are quite a hit in Amsterdam. I made a video of them for you to hear. Enjoy!

Also, in a nod to the diversity that is Amsterdam, I stumbled upon this musical ensemble:

After my walking tour, I visited a Dutch pub, where I had bitterballen (upon Simone’s recommendation) and a Dutch beer. It was yummy (and I really liked their pickles and pickled pearl onions) they were just what was needed with the fried bitterballen.

After this I had a bit of time to kill before my 10 pm canal cruise, so I just wandered, and came upon a lovely park, which was perfect for people watching (of locals and tourists alike) so I killed some time there.

Then I went to the pier to see Amsterdam by the water, and I was no disappointed. It was beautiful, and the perfect way to see this city. I’m certain my pictures don’t come close to doing it justice, but I hope you enjoy then.

The buildings, explanations of the architecture and the way the Dutch have built on reclaimed marsh lands were absolutely facinating. (If the sea level rises, I want Dutch engineers building my home!)

After the cruise, I began the trek back to the hostel, and crashed in my caravan a bit after midnight, with a delay because my caravan power wasn’t working (but it’s all fixed now – pesky fuses!)

Tomorrow I’ve decided to head to Brugge, Belgium to see a true medieval town.

Today I had the opportunity to celebrate the 4th of July in Germany with a very international bunch – there was great conversation (and theY very graciously agreed to speak in English with me so that I could be included in the conversation) great food and good times!

Here was our International Celebration Cake:

At the party today we had American ExPats, Canadians, Germans, and an Englishwoman and that lead to a lot of fun and great conversation. I am very thankful to Julia and Heinz for allowing me to be a part of the fun!

Much like I might have had in the states, we had pulled pork, corn on the cob, salad, fruit, baked beans and bread – It was a great meal!

Before the dinner, I went out and explored more of Oldenburg, starting with a church and cemetery near Julia’s house.

The interior of the church was lovely, and different from any interiors I have seen so far. In the cemetery, I was struck by the lovely management and upkeep of the graves in the cemetery  -they all had fresh flowers, decorations and other things that made them beautiful monuments to past lives. Julia said that many of the youth groups in the area do grave upkeep as a fundraiser, and that many people actually pay a landscaper to maintain the graves of their family members.

This monument to fallen soldiers was interesting, as the fact sheet (In German, so my decoding skills were put to the test) beside it told (by my rudimentary translation) of the vandalizing that happened to the graves over time, when they still had swastikas on the graves of the WW2 veterans, and how that all stopped once they removed the swastikas.

    I like how the lady has horns. I’ve not seen that bathroom sign before! 🙂 .

I have had a lovely time in Oldenburg, and I am headed to Amsterdam in the morning. 🙂

Heinz and Julia have been wonderful hosts, and this relaxing stop was just what I needed to continue the rest of my journey!

Today Julia and I set out to explore Oldenburg, and attempted to stay as cool as possible while doing so – museums and other indoor things were not really an option – because – well, no air conditioning, and this has been quite a heat wave here in Northern Germany!

We explored around the center of Oldenburg, and went into a few of the churches, as well as explored the Shloss Gardens – and I had a wonderful time taking pictures of birds, insects and flowers. We walked around for about four hours, then came back to the house as it was starting to get just too hot to enjoy.

I enjoyed seeing the history of Oldenburg, and going into the “Brain Stores” with cool games and puzzles and such, as well as the stroll through the beautiful (and thankfully shaded) gardens.

Heinz couldn’t believe we stayed out as long as we did – he has been shocked at how hot it has been here this week – he has “rarely seen weather this warm”.

So today, I will catch up on the updates – I am a couple of days behind due to a lack of wifi and an interesting travel day – so – On to Day 13, which I spent in Berlin, and had a lovely and busy day.

I started my day headed to the Brandenburg Gate, which is something of a national symbol for Germany, particularly post reunification. I have learned a lot about German history the past couple of days, and have been struck by the resilience of a country that by all accounts could have easily dissolved into oblivion following the massive restrictions post WW1 and WW2. The history of the Gate was facinating, as it was destroyed during bombardment and other battles during WWII (along with over 60% of Berlin), and had to be reconstructed. Berlin as a whole still seems to be a city repairing itself, because, unlike other places that were able to really start rebuilding in the 50’s, Berlin’s rebuilding progress never really started because of the occupation zones. The Brandenburg gate was a particularly neglected building because it was located in the “death zone” separating East and West.

Pictures at the Brandenburg Gate

The Brandenburgplatz area is something of an Embassy row, with many of the embassies for foreign contries being housed there – the US embassy being one of them. Directly behind the US embassy on the other side was the location of my next stop – the Holocaust Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This was yet another emotional stop on my journey. I stated by wandering through the “artistic memorial” which is a field of stelae, designed by Peter Eisenman. The field of stelae consists of 2,711 stelae (which are essentially concrete blocks), of varying heights set on the ground (which is wave like). The end result is a monument that as you explore evokes emotion. It is stark, bleak and not “pretty”, much like the holocaust itself. It is a island of memory and silence in the middle of the hustle, bustle and sounds of Berlin. It is easy to get lost within the maze of stelae, and as you go deeper into the memorial, it is easy to forget you are in the middle of the city, because all you can see is concrete. The memorial is still, somber and a reflection of its own accord. As you journey to the center, the shadows lengthen , the effects of rain on the concrete look like tears, the imperfections of the concrete become a part of the journey, and for a moment you are able to have a time to reflect, to remember, and to ponder how in the world such a mass extermination could have ever occurred – how people could do such atrocious things to other living humans. I finished my visit to the memorial by visiting the subterranean information center – if you ever do it yourself make sure that you get the audio guide – admission is free – and the audio guide gives you a way to follow the exhibit, and not feel overwhelmed.

The center visit starts with a timeline of the extermination of the Jews under the Nazi regime, and what stuck with me from that timeline was the escalation in the cruelty and lack of empathy that grew as the Nazis gained power. While this exhibit covered the usual concentration camps that we are all so familiar with, they also focused on the death centers, which served no purpose other than to be a site of extermination, as well as the shooting sites where thousands were shot and thrown into pits (sometimes still alive). This comprehensive timeline put a new picture to the Holocaust, and framed it much more as individual, systematic murder – not the image of mass murder that we use to make it more sterile (I think often times to make it something we can process, actually).

After the timeline journey we are presented with 5 images of Jews murdered during the Holocaust, and brief biographies, before we enter the Room of Dimensions, which focuses on notes, diaries and letters written by those that perished, and the room is striking in composition, with lit up glass tiles presenting the information (the times line up with the stelae from above). Circling the room are the estimated numbers of victims from each European country (using the borders of 1937 as their guide).

This room was so stunningly composed that I captured the image of it, because I felt it was so striking. You can view that here.

After the Room of Dimensions I wandered into the Room of Families, and here there are 15 families who have their stories shared. These 15 families come from different areas of Europe, with very different lifestyles before the holocaust – so that we are able to see how all types of Jewish families were impacted. The theme of the stelae are continued here, as drop down blocks from the ceiling which never touch the ground.

The next room was the Room of Names, and it is a black room, featuring stelae set up as seats, where you are invited to sit and hear the names of victims and brief biographies of them (when information is available). According to the center, presenting all the names of victims in this way would take 6 years, 7 months and 27 days. They also use a projector to put the names of the person on each wall while they are reading about them, in German and English. The next room is the room of sites, which had a map that shows the geographical extent of the holocaust sights in Europe. It then focused on 8 sites consisting of Extermination Sites, Work Camps and Shooting Sites. In addition there were audio files of survivors telling about each site. The next room featured the location of commemoration sights throughout Europe.

The final stop in the center is the Voices of Survival videos and the area to collect additional information on those that perished – records from this time are incomplete at best, and in many cases as entire families perished, they are not recorded in the victims list, and this organization is attempting to resolve that. They ask each visitor if they have information to record it so that they can do proper research and add it to the database.

The Voices of Survival are haunting, and I was struck with the fact that much like our WWII veterans of the same time, we are quickly getting to a time that even the youngest of holocaust survivors will no longer exist, so the need to record their stories for the future is important, and I am happy that they have undertaken this task.

Tiergarten Park

After journeying through the Memorial to the murdered Jews I decided to go for a stroll through Tiergarten Park – which is like Berlin’s central park – beautiful fields, pathways and sculptures.

In Tiergarten, there are a few other memorials, one to the Murdered Sinti and Roma (gypsies) as well as the Homosexuals persecuted under the national socialist regime. Both of these memorials were touching and very well done.

Touring Reichstag

My final stop was a tour of the Reichstag building where the Bundestag (German Parliament) meets. This is another historic German Building that has only recently been reconstructed. The tour was fascinating, and the tour guide was excellent – he told the time to answer questions (even those asked by the 2 small girls in our group) and took us all over the inside of the building – which was very facinating. We ended our tour at the top and were given headsets to tour the dome, and climb to the top – where I had spectacular sunset views of Berlin. I decided to go into the terrace restaurant, and had a cool experience there, as I was able to sit and socialize with members of the Bundestag, who when they found out I was a STEM teacher, started asking me all sorts of questions – it was a delightful conversation!