Heidelburg

At the castle there was this huge wine vat that could hold over 20,000
liters of wine! They love to drink!

I am a big loser and when we got to Heidelburg I took a 3 ½ hour nap! (For the record, I was sick with stupid allergies! Also, we had been driving for a few hours and I get pure motion sickness. I really needed a nap!) So, while I was napping my family went out to see the castle there and a cathedral with a bell tower. The castle was really cool and was very old. It was started in the 1230’s. Oh, and while Mitch was there taking pictures, a huge Asian tourist group swarmed him! There were about 40 of them in a small space. He says it was pretty funny. We like to call them the Asian persuasion. Then, after we ate that night Mitch and I went out for a walk along the river. It is a college town and all of the students and teens were along the lawn next to the river and it was a party! There were so many people out. We saw everything from sand volleyball, yo-yoing, boozin’ it up, and last but not least some teens smoking a pipe! Gotta love Germany!

Dachau

The crematoriums
This is where the prisoner had to line up each day.

We went to the Dachau concentration camp today. It was a very humbling experience. From seeing the gas chambers, the bunkers, the crematoriums, and the huge size of the camp itself and more it was fascinating yet completely sad. As we were walking around I felt the same way about Hitler as the same way I feel about Osama Bin Laden. I just couldn’t believe he would do so many horrible things to innocent people. This camp was meant for 6,000 people and when the American soldiers came upon it there were 34,000 people. Insane. Also, for many years after the people were liberated they still lived in the camp. The location was much better but still. Because many of their homes were destroyed and many of them had no family left they had no place to go. Can you believe that? Oh, and at this camp there many medical experiments performed upon the innocent. In one experiment they put many people in rooms with mesquitos that carried malaria. Also, they had an experiment where they basically tortured many of the prisoners by having them drink only salt water for 3 weeks. They all survived but it was intense torture. Last but definitely not least, they had lay-men do surgeries on barely anesthetized prisoners. Awful! It was a crazy place to visit. I just can’t believe it really happened.

Rothenburg

Today, Thursday, we went to Rothenburg which is supposedly the best preserved medieval city in Europe. It is so cool! I will just have to show pictures when we can get faster internet. There is a wall all around the city which we walked on, a moat and the buildings are just picturesque. Oh, and there are so many shops everywhere which sell Lederhosen and all. I loved this city!

We rented a huge van starting in Munich for the rest of our trip. It is the ugliest thing ever! I can't wait to put a picture up. First of all, all cars in Europe are small and so we just look like idiots in our monstrous van. Second, being so big it is so hard to drive in the small streets on cobblestone. Let's just say that are often very tense times on the drive...a.k.a. everyone yelling at each other!

Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau

Hohenscwangau castle
Neuschwanstein castle a.k.a the "Disneyland" castle
So, on Wednesday we went to the castle after which the Disneyland castle was patterned. It is so beautiful! We also went on a tour of another castle, Hohenschwangua which is very close. Hohenschwangau was a castle used by the rulers of Bavaria and the Neuschwanstein castle was built by the son, Ludwig II of Bavaria. He only lived in it for 170 days until his mysterious death where he and his physician were found in a river. The day before his death he was declared mentally ill and could no longer be the ruler of Bavaria. So, at the time that this castle was being built, starting in the late 1800's, everyone thought Ludwig to be crazy. So, he actually was but they could not have predicted that Neuschwanstein was going to be the number 1 tourist attraction in Germany. So, he really wasn't crazy, he was just preparing for Germany's economic future. It was so beautiful and at some angles looked just like the Disneyland castle!

Munich

We got to Munich yesterday after a 6 hour train ride from Prague. The train ride was so beautiful! Once again, I promise we will put up pictures. In Munich we went to the city center and it was so fun! It is like the Gateway times 30! There is a glockenspiel (clock) in the center and at certain times of the day when the hour strikes there a figurines at the top of the tower that play out a scene. It is so cute! One great thing about Germany is that everyone rides bikes. So, we rented bikes and went all around Munich. It was so fun! I will have to say that I am reminded again how much I love public transportation in Europe. I love the subways because there are so many and it is just so easy to ride. It is so much better than being stuck in traffic! Speaking of subway, there are so many Subway restaurants in Germany! I was surprised by that. Anyways, we went to a few buildings today where the first meetings were held by Hitler. Once again, history is so much better in person. The only bad thing about Munich is in certain parts there is way too much porn. There are so strip bars everywhere and there is nothing left to the imagination. I really love this city! Tomorrow we are off to the Neuschwanstein castle. Apparently it is the castle the disneyland castle was built after.

So, the third photo is our favorite. Isn't it hilarious? Miss Yummy Yummy!

Prague!

To really get the feel for this picture of Prague, click to enlarge it...sorry, I will have a huge head. Isn't it amazing?

So, we were in Prague this weekend and it is awesome! holy cow, it is soooo beautiful! we are going to post pics, I promise! so, prague is so awesome but so touristy! Beware! oh, and our first impression wasn't great. we saw a girl get hit by a car and the guy just drove off. then, i was trying to use the atm machine and it just ate my card. so stressful! i still don't have it. Anyways it is just so beatiful because it has such old buildings. I just have to say that learning about history is much better when you are in the country rather than just reading about it. I have learned so much about WWII and the Cold War on this trip. The Czech Republic still has remnants of communism in it. The train station we were at to depart to Munich was in such bad shape. It was amazing to see what communism can do to a country. There were parts that were just so run down. Things are a lot better though now. Oh, and being in Prague was a little harder because trying to understand Czech is very difficult. Oh, and when we were taking a tram through some neighborhoods we saw three missionaries tracting. It was so great to see. It was such a run down area and to see them working so hard was so great. Their moms would be so proud! That is it for now! Next Munich!

Berlin

So, sorry there are no pictures yet. We are totally stealing someone's internet with our wireless card but it is not that great of a connection. So, we will post more pictures at an interent cafe or something. Well, we have been in Berlin the last couple of days and it has been great! From, seeing the section of the Berlin wall that is still standing to riding on the metro and also seeing my family run to try and catch the trains it has all been great here! Tomorrow we are off the Prague!

The top one is the standing remains of the Berlin Wall. Very cool to see.

The second is us in front of the Brandenburg Gate.