Here's the standing ovation part! Or the Epilogue.

Hooray I'm back with the family in the US of A!! You never can really grasp how much you appreciate it until you spend 6 weeks out of it. Even when I made it to Atlanta I was so excited to be the one that understood everyone and not the other way around! But if you can believe it, I had an adventure just getting home!
At 6am on Thursday I was picked up by an airport shuttle. I was the only one with the guy because the person I was supposed to go with decided to get a later shuttle since his flight didn't leave until almost 10am. S we are driving and the cobblestone roads are putting up a fight! I love cobblestone roads but they are MISERABLE for traveling on. I feel like I got my brains knocked a little loose. Anywho, we get to the airport and the driver goes around to get out my bags. Now mind you, I had fragile things in my smaller suitcase because who knows what could happen if I put it in my checked luggage. So this fragile bag had my computer and some souvenirs for my people. The driver opens the door and my bag falls the ground- the fragile one. I almost had a fit. And what's worse is that he BROKE the bag so it only had one of the little stands so it was lopsided and couldn't stand on its own. UGH! So he says he THINKS that my flight is in Terminal 1. Excuse me? What do you mean you THINK! Luckily it was in there or I would have dropped Fragile and womped on him. I find my gate and all that jazz and I get really excited because I knew I was on my way home. I even got to sit by myself in my row of seats because our flight wasn't full! But that's where the trouble started.
I looked at my watch and realized that it was 10:45 and my next plane left at 11:20 and we were still in the air. Not even making our descent in to Dublin! So I pushed my little call button and the flight attendant came and just stared at me. I was like I'm going to miss my flight because we aren't going to get there until 11:15 and it leaves at 11:20. She continued to stare and I asked her what I could do about it. Then she says to me like I'm so sort of idiot, we are now an hour behind, it's only 9:45 their time. Ok fine but I didn't realize that! I felt stupid but she didn't have to look at me like I was! So then it was the worst landing of my plane experiences. We were teetering back and forth from wing to wing all the way to the ground and we bounced so hard when we hit... I thought I was going to be really ill. I rushed to customs- they had 2 lines open and there were a large number of Non EU people there- including myself! In retrospect, I realize the guy that stamped my passport when I got to Ireland was the same guy who stamped it when I was leaving it. Weird. Anywho, I got stamped and rushed to my gate where I realize, in horror, that the plane that was supposed to leave before mine at 9:30 still hadn't left yet. So it was like 11:30 and I was so LE MIZ!! So then I hear my voice paged over the intercom to go to the desk- Ok happy to get away from the screaming children. I was secretly hoping they weren't on my flight. I get to the desk and I don't even really know what they were talking about- something about not having an actual ticket and just having an e-ticket- I don't know. But I asked the lady if, since we would be leaving considerably later, if I would miss my connecting flight in Atlanta. She said no but that she could put me on a later flight if I wanted to be sure- NO THANKS. So we finally get gone from Ireland and it turns out, we already were made to go through U.S. Customs in Ireland before we even left so we wouldn't have to do it when we got to the US.
The flight from Dublin to Atlanta wasn't so bad. I sat next to someone who didn't speak and only had to get up once. The food was actually pretty delish! I was able to watch 3 complete films and a couple of episodes of TV. It was really a pleasant flight and much shorter than the one that took me there. So I arrived in ATL, I normally complain about the heat but when I felt the warmth as soon as I got off the plane I was so excited because I knew I was home, and I had to go get my luggage from the baggage claim and take it over to have it RECHECKED to go back on my plane. I thought this was the most assinine thing ever! Not to mention that now I had TWO broken bags because either the Czech people or the Irish people broke near the top of my big bag so the handle to roll it came out like 2 inches... more LE MIZ! Imagine my frustration. So I recheck my stupid bag and get lost trying to find my gate but I had time because we landed at 4:30 and weren't supposed to leave until 5:50, so I was good. I get to the gate and get in line to board the plane and when my boarding pass is scanned it makes this terrible beeping sound- Oh crap. It turns out that even though I had told the happy ladies in Dublin NOT to change my flight, they did that anyway and I was put on a flight leaving at 6:50! UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH! That's exactly how I felt. These are the times when I wish I had the super power of Teleporting- just like Kurt from X-Men 2.
I sat in the corner and pouted. I spent $1 on a 2 minute phone to tell Parker to tell mom that I was going to be late. I saw people I knew from my trip and I didn't even try to get their attention. I was ready to be done. Finally it was our turn to leave and everything was going better or so it seemed. I got on the plane and it was all fine and dandy until this family with 2 small children sat next to me. They were a cute family, going to Disney World to see the princesses, you know the type. The youngest girl could not have been older than 3 or 4 and she proceeded to scream for long periods of time, although intermittantly, the entire 1 hour and 5 minutes of our trip. And what did the parents do? Shhh please sweetie don't do that. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!!? Take their ass to the bathroom and have a good talking to about how you behave on the plane or there will be NO PRINCESSES!! That's just me. I would have done it for them. However, they let me go in front of them to get off the plane. This was bliss for me. I strongly resisted the urge to through myself on to the ground but I didn't. I took the happy tram to the main terminal and I swear it couldn't get there fast enough! I saw Mom and Jay on the other side of the glass and it was just amazing happiness. When I got to the end of the corridor though, leaning up against the giant planter was PARKER!!! I was so excited! He tricked me but it was the best trick EVER!!
We got my bag, which was already waiting at the baggage claim- SWEET! And we left. We went to Chick-Fil-A which was pure happiness and then came home. That's all and it was amazing. So now I will go see Dad and Grace (yay) and start my life back over again in Tallacrappy.

Hope you enjoyed my adventures! Thanks for reading them!

Leaving on a jetplane... Tomorrow!

So this is the end of my trip.  First of all it could not have been as much fun and full of amazing adventures without my group of friends, but mostly, my roommate Lindsay Alma Meadows.  I feel that I have gained a friend for life in her.  We are so similar that it's almost scary, but not too bad.  And so, this trip couldn't have been as fantastic without her here with me.  I got lucky, we both did, in the roommate match up.  I feel like Julie might feel about me... as if Lindsay were my younger sister and we are almost the same person... crazy!  Sarcastic, kind of mean, and always fun!

As far as the trip goes, there are hardly words to describe it.  Everyone at orientation said that this would be the best trip of my life and they were so right.  An amazing experience that I can certainly never forget.  There were so many things that I experienced and that I learned that I can hardly contain it all or put it in words.  The culture, the history, the lifestyle.  If you can only go to one place in Europe, Prague is a place I would recommend to everyone, even though some asshole stole my bag.  I can't be too mad because I'm sure it was someone who needed the money in it more than I did, but it was an inconvenience to say the least.  But this still doesn't make me feel any different about Prague.  And Munich isn't bad either. 

I think one of the most important things that I will take with me from this trip, if not THE most important, is the necessity of preserving history so that it does not repeat itself.  I truly believe that it is imperative to keep learning about what happened before us so that we can learn from mistakes.  Even if nations around the world do not choose to heed the warnings from history, it is very critical that people take the time to learn anyway.  

For a less intellectual point of view, I loved my trip!  My friends were awesome almost all of the time, except those times that I vented about them.  This last night we went on a dinner cruise with the whole group up and down the river (I can't remember the name of it right now) and it was so cool!  The food was pretty delicious compared to some of the things they have tried to feed us.  We took fantastic friend pictures and just had a generally good time.  It was a little bit bittersweet but to know that we will see each other, some of us in a week, others when school starts... it's no problem!  I love my friends, even if they have annoying qualities that make it hard to be with them sometimes.  I'm so happy that I was able to make this trip!  I'm starting to get teary while I'm writing this so I will have to end it soon.  

One final thing, despite the incredible amount of work that was piled on us in such a short amount of time, I am glad that I was able to study under the professors on this trip.  They seriously need to rethink what they expect from us in a 6 week period.  I didn't have this much work in a normal semester of grad school so I felt bad for the kids who just finished their freshman year at college.  However, we were able to finish even if there are those who didn't do an amazing job, at least we are done.  

And so my friends and my family, my avid readers, I leave you with those final thoughts on my trip and my final blog.  Should you have any questions or if you would like to get a CD with my pictures on it, please let me know!  This is the last time.

i'm done

Finito.  Finished.  It's all over for me with the schoolwork.  And I feel amazing.  Even though I would rather be home feeling amazing, but the point is that I feel great after finishing all of my work.  And the bonus is that my paper isn't total crap, mostly.  So today I have nothing to do.  Or more importantly, I have nothing that I HAVE to do and no plans that will constrict what I do today.  This is amazing.  I read a book for pleasure last night and almost didn't know what to do with myself.  It was a very foreign feeling since I am usually always reading one at home.  It felt nice.  Tomorrow my plan is to leave you with my final thoughts on my experience of the trip.  Until next time...

Schoolwork... Bah!

So here we are at the institute in Prague working diligently (only some people, but me of course!) on our final papers for this class.  I'm very annoyed with it because I just want to be done with this!  AH!  I'm jealous of my friend Ryan because he got to leave today, under extenuating circumstances of course, but still!  I'm so ready to be home.  I will definitely be bored these last few days because I will have finished with my paper but don't have money to do anything.  And it's supposed to be raining the rest of the week.  It's cold rain.  Perhaps I will watch the movies that I stole from my friend's computer.  Anyway, there is nothing too interesting going on in my life right now except that I'm trying to finish this dang paper.  Boo.  Until next time...

Happy Father's Day to all of you Fathers!

We are back in Prague fighting out our last days.  Fighting is the correct word because we are dragging to finish our papers and our journals and our professors keep adding new crap in... UGH!  We don't have time for this ish and that's what these final days in Prague are supposed to be for.  I cannot express my anger in words because I'm that irate.  I don't need their help!  If I wanted help, I would go to them individually and ask for it.  I do not wish to get together in a group with people who don't even have topics near to mine and 'discuss' my paper.  For what? I know what I'm doing and don't want to listen to anyone else's paper topics.  GRRRRRRRRRRRRR.  Only 4 more nights and 3 days.  Thank goodness.

Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II- Birkenau

Yesterday was something I wasn't sure how I would handle.  We went to the Auschwitz camps.  What many people don't know, including myself before yesterday, is that Auschwitz was really two camps.  There was Auschwitz I, which was the original camp that the Nazis took over that had been used previously by the Polish army.  Then when it got too big they made an even larger camp called Auschwitz II- Birkenau.  It was a total of 440 acres and the sheer size of it was just breathtaking and I was speechless.  At the first Auschwitz camp, we saw several buildings that were the original buildins on the outside but restored on the inside to serve as space for the exhibits.  Only one building remained completely original inside and out and that was what the prisoners there called the 'Prison inside the Prison'.  This is where they had special cells that served specific purposes of torturing prisoners who misbehaved and they wanted to teach a lesson.  There were suffocation cells that had no windows or cracks for air so they would just die.  There were starvation cells and also standing cells where prisoners were made to stand with several other prisoners for days on end without food or windows and would die from exhaustion of having to stand all the time.  These cells were still in tact and visible.  There was the square where they held roll call and if even one prisoner was absent, either from escaping or from dying during work duty, the prisoners were made to stay there until the missing prisoner was found.  The longest roll call lasted 19 hours.  They even performed this in the freezing cold of winter while the SS guard had a small guard booth to sit in.  We saw the hair that was cut off of the prisoners before they were gassed, found by the Soviet Red Army, and even though it was behind a glass wall it still smelled terrible.  We saw the shoes, the glasses, the suitcases, and several other personal items of the victims taken there.  We saw the gas chamber and the crematorium, which were both enormous and enough to make you sick.  

We then took our bus over to the second Auschwitz camp- Birkenau.  As I said before, there are no words to describe the massiveness of this place.  There were only a few buildings remaining of the originals but what was very eerie was that most of the wooden barracks had collapsed over time and the only thing that remained standing were the brick chimneys used to heat the barracks.  The train tracks led from outside the camp, through the 'Gate of Death' and all the way to the end where the gas chambers and the crematoriums stood.  In their haste to leave, the Nazis tried to destroy the crematoriums and gas chambers but only did a half-ass job and so there are still enormous chunks of the buildings still in place today.  The most sickening part is the stairs that the prisoners were made to take down in to the chambers to die.  There isn't really one word to describe this experience.  But I leave you with a question... What do you think 'the Holocaust' means?  Until next time...

Old City Krakow and Kazimierz

First thing today we had our final book presentation... woo hoo!  It was about the post-communism period and the aftereffects of that time period.  We then went on a tour of the old Jewish city of Kazimierz which used to be its own city set up by a king (I can't remember his name) because all the stuff the Jews were selling was cheaper than the merchants inside the town  so they were sent away. Then when Krakow got too big they absorbed in Kazimeirz into the city and was just the Jewish part of the town.  There are a total of 8 synagogues and 8 churches in the city of Krakow but there are only 3 synagogues that are being used.  All of them are the originals because they were spared by the Nazis so nothing is damaged from war, only from time.  It was really cool to see all the old Jewish things that were still in tact from when part of Krakow was the ghetto.

We walked around some more and went to the archbishop's house/palace, which is where Pope John Paul II lived.  Did you know that he was from Krakow??  It's true!  We saw the cathedral where he gave his first mass and the oldest university in Poland, which is where he studied.  We walked to the Wawel Castle which is a major historical place for the Polish because when Krakow used to be the capital, it was where the royal family lived and of course, where Pope JPII gave his first mass.  All of these things were so interesting to see, however, whoever the moron is that planned this trip... I would like to SMACK upside their head because they ALWAYS plan these tours at lunch time!!!! ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So since these are mostly walking tours, we are weak and starved the entire time we are walking around.  And I thought this trip was focusing on human rights... BAH!  

At 2:30 we finally made it back to the city center where we were last night and we got to get up close to this fantastic statue called the "Head of the Blind Lover", I believe.  It's so interesting to see.  And you can climb in it and take a picture from the inside out.  I was too dang hungry to do this so I just took a photo instead.  We finally got to eat lunch at this place called "Sioux", yes as in the Indian tribe and my lunch was called Aerial Flight of the Steppe Eagle.  No lie.  It was grilled chicken with french fries but it was delish!  Another name was Indian Woman's Ecstasy on a Cactus in Cherry Marinade!  It was chicken on kebab sticks.  Needless to say, all of the names were like this.  It was really funny.  After we got done eating, Lindsay (my roommate) and I decided that we didn't really want to stick around and shop because we felt like crap.  So, even though I felt bad about saying it but it needed to be said, I told the group of people we usually hang with that we have to cut the umbilical cord sometime and that it would be ok if we left without them.  It turned out ok for them because I saw them later on.  Linz and I took a taxi- NOTE TO SELF AND EVERYONE ELSE- Don't take a taxi in Poland.   Just believe me and don't do it.  After we got back to the hotel, I took a major nap.  Then we had to watch Schindler's List, which I have never seen before and so it was pretty depressing.  And to top that off, we go to Auschwitz tomorrow and it's supposed to be pouring down rain.  How amazing.  Until next time...

Krakow

Today was another long, obnoxious bus ride throughout Poland.  This time, though, we were going on easier roads and we didn't have to go for as long before we reached where we wanted to be.  We got all checked in at like 2:30 and hung out for a little bit and then had some snackage in the restaurant in our hotel.  Our hotel is again, in a sketchy part of town but the good news is that there is a bowling alley in our hotel so we won't have to venture too far to get some entertainment.  After this we met up with the group for a bus ride tour of Krakow.  Very interesting places to see which include: 1.) The old Jewish Ghetto of Krakow where we stopped in the big courtyard area where they used to assemble the Jews who were about to be transported to camps.  Now there stands empty chairs which symbolize two things a.) the amount of stuff that was always piled in the courtyard like luggage, furniture, clothing, etc. and b.) the emptiness of the area and what it meant for the people who were taken there.  Area 2.) We stopped at an area that used to be a camp, I think for transportation but I can't even pronounce the name but the monument that is there for the Christian and Jewish Poles is amazing.  And 3.) We went to the old town of Krakow that has a bunch of beautiful old buildings that are the originals because the Germans weren't that interested in destroying Krakow because it was the capital.  And it turns out that Poland is a very homogenous country with less than 1% of the population being a minority.  That minority is about 300,000 Germans.  So amazing that they can keep statistics like that!  Anyway, tomorrow we are getting a more intense tour of the old city and the old Jewish quarter.  Should be fun, especially if the cool air sticks around.  Until next time...

Wroclaw, pronounced 'Rotslaw

We took a 6 hour bus trip in to Poland.  Our guide, Dasa, told us that the roads in Poland are horrible but we figured how bad could they be, cobblestone highways?  When we got to the border, took our break, and continued on our way, we knew instantly that we were in Poland because the roads were THAT terrible.  Every five seconds there were huge bumps or ruts in the road and so our brains were rattled the entire trip.  When we finally reached Wroclaw, I figured out why we were stopping here for only day and what was its significance.  Turns out that the trip from Berlin to Krakow is an extremely long trip and our bus driver can't drive for more than 2.5 hours at a time without taking a 30 minute break and then he can't go over 10 hours each day.  So that is why we stopped here.  This is the nicest hotel we have had since the first one we had back in Prague.  It has a deep bathtub!!  And it is very clean and sits right on a little canal.  Although still slightly in the ghetto like the rest of our hotels, except the first one, it's very nice.  When I was walking up to see if I could find Dasa, I walked past one of the dumbest girls on our trip and just caught her saying, So the Polish money is called 'Slutty'?  WHAT!  It's Zloty and she's a freakin idiot!  Oh well.  We are just going to chill and not even do anything today because we need to have time to collect our thoughts before we get down and dirty in our work these next 9 days.  Tomorrow we go to Krakow for 4 days, then to Prague for 5, and then home! HOORAY!!! Until next time...

Last Day in Berlin

Today was our last day in Berlin.  We started off at the Stasi Museum.  For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, the Stasi were the Communist secret police that bugged everything, including watering cans at graveyards, of East Berlin.  It was, of course, really hot and I felt bad for our tour guide because he was a large dude with long hair and a thick beard... but he was a Ginger like me!  We got to sit in the lounge where the Commies would all chill and have their coffee.  It was cool because the chairs were still the original ones from the commies.  Then after like 2 1/2 hours there... we left and got to walk around in Potsdamer Platz the rest of the day.  Unfortunately, there were people within our group who were being so damn annoying.  And I just wanted to get away from them.  They kept talking and being obnoxious and just wouldn't shut up.  I don't mind being the leader of the group because I know where to go and I speak German and all these things but sometimes I just wish people would take the initiative and find their way without having to worry about whether or not I'm there to show them where to go.  I honestly wonder if they hang out with me because they will get back safely.  It's annoying. I think they take advantage of it but I am tired of showing everyone where to go.  It's like the end of a family vacation where you are just ready to be by yourself again.  UGH!  Tomorrow we go to Poland and I'm not sure of the internet situation there so... Until next time...

It's Like a Real Weekend!

Yesterday we started at 11 am which isn't too bad, however, it was once again a time for the professors to call it a 'lecture' while they basically are just chatting and having a discussion with the speaker.  I don't have professors who do this in Int'l Affairs and I will be happy to be done with these guys.  Don't get me wrong, these are brilliant men.  I mean, they write books, are considered the top experts in their fields, they have doctorates and come from Brown University, etc., etc. but they sometimes are lacking when they make decisions that 'will be good for the group.'  Dang!  Anywho, after we were done with the speaking time... 2 hours later, we were free for the day! Woo hoo!  I was able to get some money finally, I went and bought some snacks for when we go to Poland because they apparently have no grab-n-go type of food places.  I don't know what I will do without my Chinese food! Just kidding.  I came back and read for my paper and washed some roos (good thing!) and took a quick nap while I waited for my roomie to get back from the Homosexual Museum.  Believe it or not, this group was extremely persecuted during the Nazi era.  Definitely more so than you might imagine and since my roomie is writing her paper about it, she went to this museum.  Then we went to Hard Rock Cafe!  There was a bachelor party there, a bunch of Irishmen who were already drunk when we got there.  And on our other side were 4 Americans in the Air Force stationed at Rammstein.  The Irishmen got rowdy and a tad bit out of control because one minute I'm sipping my beer and the next minute I look over and see the tiny bald Irishman standing right in plain view with his pants down.  That's right, we got a full frontal.  Really gross, especially when you are eating.  Next thing, he's tapping on my roomie's shoulder, apologizing for exposing himself.  We didn't care, we just didn't want him near us.  So then our waitress came up and was like, I have to tell you something about these two groups of men sitting on either side of you.  Irishmen tend to misbehave when they are drunk.  American men tend to misbehave either way! I laughed of course but come on, not every American is a drunk asshole.  And she said this knowing full well that we were Americans.  Oh well.  Good times anyway.  Then some of us went to an Irish pub and met up with the Air Force guys where the waiter dumped almost an entire tray of drinks on this guy in our group.  Poor kid.  But on the bright side, he got a free beer and us girls who lost our drinks got free shots.  So that was a bonus!  And then our friends left and my roomie and I went to this place called 'Club Q-Dorf' with the Air Force homies.  We had a great time because it was like 5 clubs in one.  We went back and forth between the hip hop part and the techno part.  My roomie and I danced like fools but it was fun because we were actually sober so we were able to steer clear of the creepy guys!  The drinks are EXPENSIVE!!!!! Wowsas!  What was the best was watching all the German dudes dancing to the techno music!!  They loved it!  And it was mostly just the dudes dancing, only a couple of girls.  Made me smile.  And in the Hip Hop part, everyone loved it but the songs were SO OLD!  It was fantastic!  I mean, they played P. Diddy back when he was still Puffy!  And for those of you who don't know what I mean, well just know it was the late 90s that these songs were coming from!  After we decided to leave, the nice American fellas made sure we got in to a cab ok and then we got home at like 3-ish and all was well!  And now, I'm just working on school work all day.  It sucks but I have the time to do it so I should.  Until next time...

Pardon Me

Could someone please make a comment!!! You give a little,  you take a little and I'm the only one giving here folks!  It makes me happy to know that someone is reading!

Wannsee Conference

Today's adventure was the best one so far, at least in Germany.  We went to the Wannsee Villa/House just on the outskirts of Berlin.  Here's its significance to our trip: Some of the top Nazi, SS, and other group officials congregated here to discuss their plans for the 'Final Solution to the Jewish Question.'  It was chaired by Reinhard Heydrich and Adolf Eichmann, two of the bigwigs in the Nazi party.  As it was important in the fate of the Jews, I had a realization (for lack of a better word) about the Nazis here.  Going to this house, seeing all of its beauty like the outside architecture, the gardens, and the spectacular lake that it sat on, in this moment I first saw the Nazis as human beings.  No, no I don't condone anything that they did or believe them to be less than the murderous monsters that they were, but here it showed that they appreciated the simple beauty of nature.  The house is, of course, beautiful in its own right but it is made amazing due to its surroundings. There is nothing extravagant or exquisite inside.  The peace and relaxation that I felt being there, the feeling of being at home by the water and in the warm but breezy sunshine, made me able to bring the Nazis to a human life form.  That they could enjoy this place could only have been because of the same beauty that I saw in it.  I can't say that it makes me feel really awesome to be able to say that I can relate to the Nazis in some way but I think that if anyone saw what I saw and felt the ease I felt there, they would be the same as me, associating themselves in some part to the Nazis.  It is a creepy thought considering their track record for inflicting terror and brutality on innocent people, but it does show that they weren't totally devoid of being able to appreciate nature and the feeling that it gives you.  Until next time...

I saw the new Russian President... Sort Of

Today was another one of those extremely full days with museums all around.  We started at 9 today, got in trouble for not hauling ourselves on to the bus fast enough but I don't really care because our professors LOLLYGAG all the dang time at exhibits so I don't care.  We first went to the German Resistance Museum.  The only interesting part is that there was a large part about the assassination attempt of July 20, 1944 on Hitler.  It didn't work, obviously, and the building where the assassination was planned (also the place of the museum) housed the courtyard where the men responsible were executed.  I sat in this courtyard.  But honestly that was about all we could do because the entire museum was in German and my vocabulary is limited to say the least!  The only thing that I am good at, which I have repeatedly told my classmates, is pronunciation.  And they said they only had a few audio guides so we couldn't all get one.  This meant that the professors were supposedly going to explain stuff to us, room by room.  There were several pieces of the exhibit, I think 28 in total.  No way I'm following my professor around waiting for him to tell me what the audio guide said.  Forget it!  Turns out that there was a huge cabinet full of audio guides... I saw it!!  Jerks.  Needless to say, it took me all of 25 minutes to get through the museum.  As I said, there are only so many words that I know.  These were particularly difficult because they are about a specific time period which I didn't learn the words for in my classes.  

We left there and walked to the "Topography of Terror" museum.  This was an outside museum, which was nice due to the heat usually found in other inside museums, and there was a nice breeze flowing.  It was the remnants of the SS Headquarters building.  It was very interesting to see.  One of my professors, Dr. Greek, is famous among the group for his fantastic quotes and I was able to get one out of him today!  The conversation goes as follows:

H: (after looking at a picture of Hitler and men on horses) Dr Greek, do you think Hitler knew how to ride a horse?

DG: I don't know.  That's a good question.  Maybe he had a pony when he was little.  Or maybe he didn't get a pony when he was little and that's why he was a psycho!

HA!  In context, it was hilarious.  Of course, I don't expect my avid readers to roll laughing, but I nearly did.  If you could just see the professor... you would understand.

Anywho, we were supposed to meet at 12:15 to go to our last museum thing and OF COURSE we had to go find Dr. Maier-Katkin because he was taking his sweet-ass time looking at every single thing in the exhibit even though he knew we only had 45 minutes.  URG! He always does that and turns right around and says crap to us about being on time.  I don't care if he is the director, our poor group leader, Dasa, has to make sure we are on time for our appointments and stuff and he always makes us late!  So we then walked to the Checkpoint Charlie exhibition/museum area.  This is the place where, during the Post War period, you would leave the American sector of Berlin and would go in to the Soviet section.  It was cool because they were selling all this Soviet/communist stuff like the big furry hats with the Communist symbol on it.  Several people bought hats with the Commie symbol on it.  After we looked around for about 30 minutes, we were done for the day and were able to either go off by ourselves or wait for the bus to come get us and take us back to the hotel.  Well we waited for 30 minutes for our driver, JAN, to get his self to where we were.  During this time several things happened.  1.)I got delicious Subway with ICE and it was the yummy crunchy ice, too! 2.) I was asked by some Bosnian woman if I spoke English or German and then she tried to hand me a card that all the "Bosnian" beggars have in English on one side and German on the other, all asking for money.  She had a gold tooth in her mouth.  I tell you what she should do to get money... refer to the tooth and think for yourself.  This way if I don't say it, it's not as mean. 3.) Got a wicked sunburn on my chest and a farmer's tan on my arms because, even though the wind is great, the sun is really hot!  And then the bus came.

I took a nap which I enjoyed except I kept having weird dreams and waking up to look at my watch.  It was strange.  Then me and my girls went to the Tiergarten to read stuff for class.  Some guy threw the ball for his dog by where we were sitting and the dog proceeded to take a giant crap next to us so we decided to leave.  Ate pizza (again!) for dinner and  on the way back to the hotel there was this outrageously long Police motorcade with all these important cars including a Mercedes limousine but I had no idea who it was so I asked the receptionist at the desk, apparently it was the new Russian president.  Who knows what he's doing here, maybe just visiting but he was here and I saw his cars!  Then I came back to my room and have just been hanging out and trying to get work done.  I went and made sure my buddy Ryan was ok because he didn't come with us today, so I thought he was sick like so many others on our trip.  Turns out he told one of the professors that he really just needed his own time so he went off by himself today.  I was like Must be nice buddy!  But he's really cool and he gave me some aloe for my chest and my arms.  It's bad enough that there is no air here but to be sunburnt and having no air... DAMN IT'S HOT!  Anyway, tomorrow we are going to the Wannsee Conference building outside of the city.  I'm hoping that I won't be bored out of my gourd but there is no guarantee.  Until next time...

Berlin Day 1

Today we started out very early... well 9:30 which is early for me, especially with what we had to do all day.  My poor roomie was sick though so I had to go get her some medicine and had like 15 minutes to eat breakfast.  She stayed at the hotel.  We went first to the Jewish Museum, which was by far the best museum that we had been to.  It was so awesome, we could actually touch things and there were so many fantastic things to see anyway.  Then we met up with our tour guide again and he showed us some cool things.  In particular, he showed us a factory where there was a man who hired many blind and sometimes deaf Jewish peoples who would have otherwise been taken to extermination camps and killed instantly.  It turns out he saved many people and he was able to go to the camps and get people out because he had influence.  We then went to the Pergamon Museum where they have several greek and middle eastern artifacts.  We saw the Gates of Babylon which were so beautiful and made out of blue tile.  Anywho, we are now watching the movie, The Lives of Others.  I am trying to hold down the curtains so that the light doesn't shine through into the room but it's very very windy.  We have to have the windows open because there is NO air conditioning .  Ah oh well.  We have a very full day tomorrow... again!  We are going to the German Resistance Museum, Checkpoint Charlie, and some other museum that I can't remember what it is because I'm so damn tired from today's events.  Until next time...

Ich bin ein Berliner!

So now we are in Berlin... finally a place where we have the internet, freely, in our hotel so that we can finally do our homework!  But on a sadder note... this kid that is the youngest one on the trip and who is socially awkward had some trouble last night.  He had been complaining that his back hurt, his tailbone area, but nobody believed him.  Then he was almost reduced to tears from the pain, had to go to the hospital last night, and had emergency surgery.  Apparently he had an ingrown hair that created a cist that was so deep that they had to put him under to cut it out.  And now, he has to fly back to the states tomorrow because he can't do anything.  Poor kid.  However, today we had a guided tour by an Aussie.  It was cool.  And we went to the Reichstag- the German Parliament building that was also the seat of the Nazis.  We were also teaching our Czech bus driver, Jan, who speaks Czech and German, how to speak the English through my German translations of words.  It was a good time.  But he has a hard time with the 'th' sound as many who are not native English speakers do.

Yesterday we went on a tour of the Volkswagen factory in Dresden.  It was very cool and we were able to do a driving simulator thing in the new car model they are producing.  It's called the Phaeton.  It's very nice.  They make 30 cars per day in this particular factory.  I had a lot of fun!

Anywho, tomorrow we are doing something... I think perhaps some sort of museum but I can't recall.  Oh well. Until next time...

Dreeeeeesden

It's so freaking hot in Dresden! And for all the creative, genius ideas that I have so readily credited the Germans for, they definitely don't get points in the area of air conditioning. NO ONE has air and it's damn hot! I'm sweating like some giant animal and there is no air in the hotel! What's worse is that they give you down comforters for blankets so then should you choose to use a blanket, you will sweat profusely! Good thing we are only here for 2 days. Surely there is air in Berlin. And there is no internets anywhere and we are in a Soviet era hotel. AH! The buildings have been beautifully rebuilt since the war! Until next time...

Post Birthday!

My birthday turned out to be pretty amazing because I was taken care of by my friends.  I got to skip one of the presentations in the morning because I went to get my passport which was so easy it literally took five minutes to get done.  And then I ate lunch with my friends who paid for it.  And then we had a shorter presentation afterwards because we had to go meet the mayor of Prague, Pavel Bem.  He is a handsome man for only being 44.  And he has climbed Mt. Everest!  Anywho, we got to his office and there was a huge table full of candy, fruit, water, and soda.  It was amazing and they also gave us these really nice books about Prague and a free pen.  It was good I got the pen since someone stole mine along with my backpack!  Anyway, we chatted with him for about an hour and then he decided he would buy us tickets to the Gypsy Music Festival that was tonight and I already went to it- AMAZING!  Everyone should try to listen to that music.  It makes you want to move!  Anyway, after we went to the mayor's office, my roomie Lindsay took me shopping for a birthday outfit... just turned out to be a top but it is really cute!  When we were almost ready my pals knocked on the door and when I opened it they had a birthday cake with 23 candles!!!  It was so awesome!  These people are so gracious and friendly and we've only know each other for 3 1/2 weeks.  I guess being away from the rest of your friends and families allows for forming close knits quickly.   Then we went out to dinner at this place that turned out to be good once we got the right food.  The waiter told us to tell him the numbers so we did.  Most of us either got the wienerschnitzel or the beef goulash.   The guy wrote down the wrong thing so when the food comes out, us wienerschnitzel folks got a pork knee on a spit.  I'm not even kidding.  So I had to tell them what was up and it was all taken care of.  Afterwards we came back and had cake, walked all over the damn place, to Charles bridge which is kinda far, and then decided to just go to the bar literally at the end of the street our hotel is on.  It turned out to be a great idea and we all had lots to drink.  Some idiot boys tried Absinth- SICK!  Needless to say, once was enough for those boys.  

Today, besides going to the music festival tonight, I basically did nothing.  I got up and got breakfast by myself, came back and slept a little more, and then my roomie was bored so we went and got lunch and some delish ice cream.  Afterwards we were going to go to do the paddle boating in the river but we thought it would be too expensive and none of us have money.  So then we were going to go to the movies and see Indiana Jones but again we just decided not to go.  We ate dinner with one of our professors instead and then took the metro to the concert hall for the Gypsy festival.  We thought it would be outdoorsy tent stuff but it was definitely a concert with a bunch of different gypsy bands.  We had such a great time though.  And my friend Ryan was pretty tipsy and decided that I was going to be the one that he danced with.  So we did an array of dances like the tango, ballroom type, etc. to the music of gypsies.  I tell you that Ryan was really enjoying it and he seemed to like dipping me.  Good times.  He's an awesome kid.  And speaking of awesome kids, the little gypsy kids who were dancing on stage... those kids can move!  It was so cool to see them doing that!  Apparently this concert is once a year and everyone always tries to get tickets to go so we were really lucky that my professor is pals with the mayor.  I found yesterday that the drug laws for Prague were written in my professors living room- SWEET!  Anyway, my roomie, another girl, and I decided to leave early because it was freakin hot!  We got on the metro and got to the part where we had to change lines and then we got on the one going the wrong way.  Luckily we only went one stop before I realized it.  We got home safely, albeit in a thunderstorm, and now I am finishing packing my stuff so we can go to Dresden tomorrow.  Hooray! Until next time...

Presentation Day

Today I had my group presentation on the Nuremberg trials.  It was on the book written by Joseph Persico, a very famous historian and biographer.  We ended up doing a good job and were able to make our presentation be the full 2 1/2 hours.  Unfortunately, there were people in our group who didn't read the book and made themselves look really stupid.  Not to mention, they made our whole group look disorganized which pissed me and one of my other group members off.  We're thinking of discussing it with the professors.  

After our presentation the student advisor/RA for our group took me to the U.S. Embassy so that I could work on replacing my passport.  We got there at like 12:30 and it turns out their lunch break is from 11:30 until 2, and only if it's an emergency can you come after 2.  So we went to the police station with our trusty interpreter (Dasa, pronounced Dasha) to file a police report.  Too bad that it's in Czech and I don't speak Czech but I have it just in case!  Then it turns out that you have to pay $100 to get a replacement passport.  So we had to go to the Bankomat (ATM) and get money... not mine of course!  But luckily, I am also getting the money thing taken care of so it's being fixed.  Anywho, we got to the embassy and we only had to wait maybe 45 minutes for them to tell me that I will be able to pick it up tomorrow.  Hooray!

When I got back to our hotel I went with some friends to go shopping so they could get something to wear for my birthday tomorrow for dinner.  Forgot to mention, my friend Lindsay, and roommate, gave me some money and that made me very happy :) She is a sweet girl!  Back to shopping, we found some stuff for people and then we ate at Subway because we were all having a hankering for some American food.  It was some of the best Subway I have ever had.  Then I asked the girls if we could go to the bookstore to find me a new journal to start back writing in and it turns out, they were planning to buy me one for my birthday as a surprise!!! Even though I ruined the surprise on accident, it was so sweet because they knew how upset I was that I lost my journal.  Love them!  And then, they bought me a new wallet because I don't have one of those either!  Ah, such good friends.  Can't get it until tomorrow but that's ok!  Until next time...

A Moment of Silence

It is a sad day my friends and avid readers.  Some person has stolen my backpack, and at a dang KFC (that's right, Kentucky Fried Chicken in Prague)!  While they may have had a good reason for it, like perhaps that they were hungry and were hoping for money, I wish they would have just come up and tried to get it from me instead of taking my backpack.  Most unfortunately, besides losing my money, ids, passport, iPod, etc., I have had my own personal journal stolen from me.  In it included EVERYTHING about everyday since I've been here, even the plane ride over.  And while my blog does detail the things that I'm doing, it doesn't necessarily portray the social aspect of this trip.  For example, I wrote just last night before this terrible event, that I could not get away from these few people who were particularly annoying and really irritated me.  I kept trying, but in vain, because they somehow ended up with our group of friends!  I had tried to give them a chance, but they are persistently annoying so I chose to distance myself from them instead of being a jerk (I thought it was a good idea!).  And for what! AAAH!!!  And, on top of all this fiasco nonsense, I have to give my big presentation today and coincidentally, we were at KFC working on our project when by backpack was stolen!!!  Is it karma for me wanting to get away from people?  I don't know, but it definitely sucks!  And KFC had a camera right near to where we were but the police said they couldn't use it.  Stupid Czechs!

And so, the only thing that wasn't stolen was my computer which is the most valuable thing in there, probably of everything combined.  For this, I am happy.  Most importantly, it is only stuff and I could have been taken instead of or with my stuff.  That is the silver lining in this drama.  And also that I had no credit cards!!  So today AFTER my presentation, my professors said I could go to the police station to file the report.  How awesome... NOT!  And I feel bad because I have no money so I must rely on my friends until I can somehow get some money... I still haven't figured that out yet.  Until next time...

P.S. My postcards that I was going to send were in my backpack as well, so, you might not get one in the mail, but I will definitely replace them and just give them to you!

P.P.S.  Hey Uncle Randy! Hey Kathy Strakis!!

Praha

So we are back in Prague for a week.  This is a week of intense study and lecture series.  Today we had a lecture on Reinhard Heydrich, the 3rd highest ranking Nazi official behind Hitler and Heinrich Himmler.  The guy who gave the lecture (via our translator, Eva) was very thorough and had so much interesting information about the beginning of Heydrich's rise to power and up until immediately after his assassination.  We then went to the village that the Nazis randomly picked out and destroyed after Heydrich's death, as sort of retaliation against the Czechs for supposedly hiding the parachuters who killed Heydrich.  All very interesting.  Tonight we watched a movie called 'Divided We Fall' where these non-Jewish Czechs who used to work for a Jewish industrialist before they were sent away, end up hiding the eldest son of the family for 2 years in their apartment.  It all turns out so awesome!  Tomorrow we have a day full of presentations, each 2 1/2 hours long.  And then we have another movie.  Might not go to that because I have to make sure my presentation is awesome for Thursday and the people who are presenting tomorrow didn't go to the movie so why should I?  Anyway, must go do group work.  Have I ever mentioned that I strongly dislike group work, especially this one because the only people who have actually finished reading the book are myself and my roommate.  Great.  Until next time...

I'm Back!

After a short hiatus while in Cesky Krumlov, a tiny town in Western Czech Republic right near the Austrian border, I have the internets again!  The town was so small and cute but definitely had no internet.  The only thing to do there is drink and buy cheesy souvenirs!  Oh well.  Anywho, while we were in Cesky Krumlov, we went river rafting or 'Rafty' as they call it and then we went on a hike in the Sudetenlands national park area.  This area was one that the Soviets chose to be the buffer zone between the Iron Curtain and the rest of the Soviet Bloc.  They destroyed whole villages so that no one who was trying to flee could find refuge there.  We walked to two such villages, or the areas where the towns used to be, and there were memorials in their places.  It is such a beautiful area, and since there hasn't been anyone living there for a long time, this area has thrived in plant life.  And so, it remains one of the largest and most beautiful national parks in all of Europe.  Anyway, we had a great time there.  The only problem was that we had to haul our luggage to our hotel and back on cobblestone streets.  OUCH!  Tomorrow we have a free day which I will be devoting to school work since I have my presentation on Thursday... great.  Until next time...

Mr. Hamburger

This morning we went to the Nuremberg city museum and the only cool part that was there was the mini city model that was carved out of wood by 4 men in 1939 that is on a scale of 1/500!  It was very awesome!  We got to see all the buildings, before they were bombed.  Then we had to watch this movie on the history of Nuremberg and there were these headphone things that played an English soundtrack.  Too bad my headphones didn't work.  It was le miz!  Afterwards we walked back to our hotel only to have like 15 minutes to change into nicer clothes because we were going to meet with the president of the Nuremberg Jewish Community. When we got there, we went into a small little meeting room where they had tables and chairs all set up with cookies, coffee, and water.  It was so precious!   This man, Arno Hamburger, was spared from the concentration camp by being sent to Palestine with a large number of Jewish children.  His parents were placed in a concentration camp in Latvia.  He joined the British army and went back to Nuremberg in 1945 after all the camps had been liberated.  He was able to be reunited with his parents in Nuremberg.  His story was so amazing.  His vice president had a different story, but his parents were sent to many camps, and only his father survived, with whom he later reunited with.  

Tomorrow we have a free day so I am going to the Nuremberg Zoo with some of the people from my group.  After that I am working hardcore on my school work.  I have to say though, I'm doing better than a lot of people because I am already done with 2 of the 6 books and I have been keeping up with our journal entries.  WOO! Until next time...

Palace of Justice

Today we went to the Palace of Justice where they held the Nuremberg trials of the Nazis back in 1945. We actually were able to go in to the courtroom where it took place and had a tour of the place from the Vice-President of the Court. It was awesome to see all the things there, especially since I just got finished reading the book about the trials that we had to do for our trip. Plus, my book presentation that I have to do (a 2.5 hour presentation, ugh!) is on this book as well so it was good to go there and be in the environment where it took place. It turns out that Nuremberg is the International City of Justice... who knew! We also went to the old city hall- the Rathaus- and we got a private tour of the dungeons which were supposed to be closed. It was really awesome because the building was started in 1318 and finished in 1340 and the prison was used all the way up until 1806. We also saw all the torture devices that were used back in the day. Some of the things were pretty ridiculous! And one stupid girl was getting all freaked out about it- she sucks. She cried when she went in to the Jewel Room of one of the palaces we went. She really sucks. Anyway, I have no clue what we are doing tomorrow. I think it might be going to a museum, but I could be wrong. Tomorrow night me and the group of girls that I am friends with are going to have a small partay in one of our rooms because we have a free day on Wednesday! Woo hoo! Finally! Anyway, will update when I can. My computer hates me right now and so I have to post on the hotel's computer. Ick. Until next time...

I forgot something!

When we went to the Neuschwanstein Castle, there was a huge group of Asian tourists there and they were SO incredibly pushy! AND they smelled like cabbage, kind of like carnies! Anywho, will post more later on from today's trip! Until next time...

Nuremberg

Today we drove to Nuremberg.  It took a really long time, a lot longer than I thought it would!  However, we went straight to the Nazi Rallies sights at Zeppelin field.  It was absolutely amazing to see how much power they could wield over such a enormous number of people.  So interesting!  Tomorrow we are going to the courthouse where they held the trials.  I'm really looking forward to that because I just recently finished reading the book that was assigned for this trip about the trials.  It was an awesome book so it will be cool to see where the actual trials were since I know all about it.

On a side note, Nuremberg still has its city wall from Medieval times!  It's crazy!  The food here is not as good as it has been elsewhere although, we did go to a great Asian place where the Asian people had German accents!  It was great!  I can't get on the internet from my computer which makes me upset because everyone else can but me.  The computer nerd kid said he thinks I need to update so he's going to help me tomorrow!  Hooray! Anywho, not much going on but reading tonight.  Until next time...

Yesterday and Today

So yesterday I didn't  post because it was mostly uneventful in that we went to a museum that used to be someone's house, the Lenbachhaus Museum.  The things that people called 'art' were just ridiculous! It really was one of those places.  There was a circle on the wall with a whole bunch of little black line- looked like a game of Pick-Up Sticks.  Then there were huge squares on the wall, with one that was all black with a tiny corner that was white, and then a white square that had repeating numbers so faint that you couldn't really read it.  Needless to say, we left in a quick hurry and just hung out in the old city area for a few hours and then came back to the hotel.  Then after we had our movie time we went to the Hofbrauhaus!  It was so freakin awesome, really hot, and FULL of drunk people.  It's amazing how many mugs they can hold at once.  We made friends with the German (older) guys at the table near us and they invited us to sit with them- that's when we found out they were really freakin creepy!  Oh well.  We had fun anyway!  Please believe I had the biggest beer you can get!  They close at 11pm so we left at like 10:15, hit the gift shop, and then back to the hotel.  On the way back we stopped by a fountain to get a picture and these young guys came up and was like we want photo- we thought they wanted us to get a picture of them.  Turns out they just wanted to be in our picture and when I tried to speak German to them it wasn't coming out very well so I just stopped trying- good thing because they were Italian! HA!

Today we went to the Neuschwanstein Castle.  It was started in 1869 and finished in 1886 by King Ludwig II but then he died shortly thereafter so there are rooms that weren't decorated.  The tour was of all the completed rooms and it literally lasted all of 20 minutes.  It was a huge castle in the Alps that was a bitch to climb up the hill to get to it.  Not only was it winding, but it was also very steep and it started to rain.  Not cool.  For those of you who know, please pray for my hammies! :):)  Anyway, after the castle we were supposed to go luge-ing and take a cable car to the top of one of the mountains but the clouds were really thick- we couldn't see the top and it was apparently really gross at the top.  And we couldn't luge because the track was too wet.  GRR! However, we came back to Munich and now have the rest of the night off to work on school shit.  We leave tomorrow for Nuremberg.  Until next time...

Dachau

We went to the Dachau Concentration camp today.  It has been very different from the other two that I went to and I'm not sure if it's because of the sheer enormity of the complex or the fact that it was a self-guided audiobook tour.  Not sure.  Could be both.  They had a huge creamatorium and gas chamber but they said that supposedly the gas chamber had never been used and that the Germans accused the Americans of building it after they liberated the camp to further incriminate the Nazis... I disagree.  It looked exactly like the one I saw at the other camp that we went to.  Dachau was the place where they did most of the really heinous and insane physical and psychological experimenting.  Very sad to see the before and after pictures.

A lot, though not all, of the people from our group are going to the Hofbrauhaus tonight but not me.  I'm not sure what's holding me back.  Maybe the fact that we now have 5 weeks left to finish reading all 6 books or that we have to do a 2 1/2 hour group presentation on a specific book, or that we have a 12-15 page paper due at the end of the 6 weeks.  I just don't know but they are all good reasons!  I am also getting tired of the food here.  It's either fried or a sandwich.  And the meat in the sandwiches is always something that I have never eaten or didn't like when I tried it.  So I'm stuck with things like pizza (Germans love pizza!), french fries, or some weird sandwich.  Haven't come across too many wursts or anything but the kebabs or 'kebaps' as they call them are pretty good but you can't eat too many of those or you will be hurtin'!

Something that I have also learned is that Germans are really smart folks.  They conserve energy by having lights only able to work when you turn the key, the lights turn off until they pick up motion and then they stay on, AND the escalators stop unless they detect motion as well.  The most brilliant thing is that they have figured out to how to make ice cream cones that are rounded at the bottom so that your ice cream doesn't start dripping out the bottom!  Smart!!!  Tomorrow is a day full of museums... I don't know how I feel about all of that.  Until next time...

Wittelbach Residenz

Today we toured a huge, and I seriously mean huge, palace in the center of the old city of Munich. It was the palace of the kings and dukes of Munich when Bavaria was a state itself.   It was very cool to see the decorations of the rooms from the different time periods like the Renaissance and Baroque.  If it's not Baroque, don't fix it!  Ha, sorry.  Anyway, wasn't able to take any photos because it had to be without flash and I didn't want to bother with it.  All you need to know is that it had lots of paintings, exorbitant amounts of gold garnishing, and lots of marble, silver, and gold furniture.  Pretty stuff!  And, there were 10 courtyards in total.  After we were done with that we split up and just went around the city again but in daylight so we could see all the cool stuff there was to see.  We found a Starbuck's; it's true that they are taking over the world.  Tomorrow we are going to the Dachau Concentration camp.  This will be the first explicitly concentration camp that we have been to.  The first was just a transport place and the second was labor.  This one, I fear, will be much worse.  You never can really wrap your head around the whole idea of gassing someone to death until you've stood in a gas chamber where people have died.  Eerie sensation to be under the shower heads that released the gas.  Until next time...

Muenchin!!!

Munich is wonderful!  Our hotel has the smallest elevator on the planet that fits two people and some luggage... very tightly!  However, the rooms are very nice and the pillows are huge and very fluffy!  We went on a city tour today but it was hard to understand the lady because she kept busting out laughing at herself... we still don't know why!  We went to an awesome palace built by King Ludwig I and each king after him kept adding on so it's huge! And the gardens are just beautiful!  There are baroque and English gardens there so it's cool to see the differences in what people call gardens.  After the tour we came to the hotel and tried to nap but they are currently doing construction on our hotel (oddly enough, adding another elevator) and they just happened to be on the scaffolding right outside our window.  Fell asleep anyway because sleep is hard to come by.  I can't believe we have been here less than a week!  

After the nap we went to the Hard Rock Cafe which is right across the street from the world famous Hofbrauhaus!  The Hard Rock was cool and I was very happy for the English menu because my German doesn't include all the foods they serve here!  We got ice cream afterwards, which is only 1 euro per scoop and it includes the cone!  Chocolate is so much better here.  We walked back to our hotel and let me just say there are soooo many shops and opportunities to shop here.  It's crazy!  And it's all like a 10 minute walk from our hotel.  Too bad I have no money for shopping for myself :(  Anyway, we're going to more castles tomorrow.  Until next time...

Salzburg City Tour and Berchtesgaden

Today we went on a city tour of Salzburg. It is nestled between the Alps of Austria and Germany and is a very beautiful city. We saw several places where scenes from the Sound of Music were filmed... you know I took some cheesy photos! :) I was finally able to get a few souvenirs! Lucky for some of yous! After the tour we went up into the Alps to Hitler's summer retreat home that his men built for him for his 50th birthday (sorry I couldn't build one for my folks!) It is over 6000 feet high and it was still mostly covered with snow! It was really cool to see! The views from up there are just amazing to see. Tomorrow we are going to Munich where we will be spending 5 days. Until next time...

Trip to Salzburg, Austria

This morning we set out on our adventure to Austria. What is unfortunate is that my poor roommate was sick all night... from both ends. We rode on the front of the bus... needless to say, but she did not get sick after that so hooray! We stopped at a gas station to get gas and stop for peeing and as soon as we turned off the bus, some dumb woman backed straight up at like 15mph and so we had to wait for like 25 minutes for the police to get there and then it took like another 45 or so minutes to have them get everything straightened out... the people didn't want to admit fault... stupids.

We went to the Mauthausen Labor camp in Linz- the place where Hitler spent his youth. It was very sad. The guide actually took us into the gas chamber and the creamatoriums. Very disturbing to see and to know that there were so many people who died there. It brought some people to tears. I can't post the pictures because now I am in Salzburg at an internet cafe because our rooms don't have internet. Salzburg is pretty but things here don't seem too modern. We will be here for 3 days. Tomorrow we will tour the city and Hitler's mountain home, Berchtesgarden. I will post as soon as I can. Until next time...

Terezin

Today started out pretty nice.  The weather was so beautiful pretty; pretty much a cloudless day.  We went to the Prague Castle which was really awesome.  I think that they started building it in the 800s so it's pretty old.  There was also a giant cathedral there that we couldn't go in to because they were actually having mass... on a Saturday.  Apparently it is a hotly contested issue in the Czech Parliament- pretty much changing things on a weekly basis.  It was full of beautiful stuff and surrounded by palaces that were built by the aristocratic families to show the king that they had money.  All were giant and everything is cobblestone streets.

After we went to the castle, we went to the city of Terezin.  It was the city that the Red Cross visited in 1944 to check on the supposed 'concentration camps' but the Nazis made all the Jews there act like everything was great and that the city was a paradise for Jews.  They even had a play and a concert orchestra that entertained the Red Cross delegation.  It was so sad that the Nazis were able to dupe the Red Cross so easily.  There were two parts that the Nazis used.  THere was a small fortress that was built in the 1790s that was used as a prison for the Jews, kind of like a small concentration camp.  It was basically where they were held until they could be transported to other camps.  There was also the city of Terezin itself where the Nazis drove out the Czech citizens there so that they could store the Jews there.  In a city that had 7000 inhabitants before the Nazis came, they stored 55,000 people there.  How cramped and crazy.  It turns out that they told the old people and the intellectuals that they should come to this city because it was just for Jewish people and they could be free from persecution.  Lies.  It was something to really see.  I will post pictures soon of the barracks and the things from the camp.

We are leaving early in the morning for Salzburg, Austria.  We are stopping at the Mauthausen concentration camp on the way there.  Should be interesting.  Until next time...

Prague Day 1

Today we went to a couple of Jewish synagogues.  They were so amazing.  The most interesting was the Pinkas synagogue because it has the names written on the walls of all the Czech Jews that were transported and they have the dates next to the names as well as other family members.  Also, they have art/drawings made by Jewish children that depicted what they were going through.  Quite moving.  Funny thing though, there was an old lady in there who worked there and she kept SHHHing everyone but she had bright red dyed hair and blue glittery eyeshadow... she was fun.  We went to the Jewish cemetery and the grave stones were falling all over each other.  It was just amazing to see all those tombstones in such a tiny area.  

Later on we went to our classroom.  It was cool and we had a guest speaker but he only spoke Czech so we had to have our guide sit there and translate for us.  That was something very cool.  She didn't miss a beat in telling us everything he was saying.  

Tomorrow we are touring Prague Castle and then later on we are going to the Jewish Ghetto/city of Terezin or Theresienstadt.  Until next time... 

In Prague pt. 2

It smells in my hotel like old chinese food and cigarettes.  Not pleasant but at least it doesn't smell like that everywhere in the hotel, just downstairs.  Bleh.  We went to dinner at this place... I don't even know the name but it was like all about Mammoths and hunting and that type of thing and there was a guy in a furry loin cloth thing playing the didgeridoo, holding mini-maracas between his toes, and playing the drum at the same time.  AND this guy was singing some Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bob Marley.  Really awesome!  The food wasn't terrible but there were definitely some critters from the sea that I could still see their suction cups on their legs... GROSS!  Anyway, have to get some sleep since it's been over 36 hours since I've had any.  We are going to some Jewish synagogues and the Jewish ghetto tomorrow.  It should be interesting.  Until next time...

Here in Prague

So I'm here in Prague. I am pretty sure that no one believes in air conditioning. At least not in the rooms... heh!!!! It was weird when we were landing because there was barbed wire fence all around the airport but there were people sitting in the grass on the other side watching the planes come in. It was strange. Also, they have these bright yellow fields that are supposedly plants that help make oil. Also strange. There is a sex shop right across the street from my hotel... lovely. The weather is gorgeous and despite the fact that there are questionable businesses in the buildings, the actual buildings themselves are just beautiful. And also different... there is a lot of Indian art on buildings and statue wise. I have to go find something to eat. Until next time...

I'm leaving on a jet plane...

Today is the day!!! I'm soo excited!!! Only a little bit nervous now but I'm just ready to get on the damn plane!!!

Pre-EuroTrip

Very excited but slightly nervous.  I'm going to miss everyone, especially my fuzzy puppy!