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We woke up this morning and, on our way out of Reutte, took a quick stop to take pictures of Neuschwanstein, another of Ludwig’s castles… and is most well known as being the Cinderella castle from Walt Disney world (and at the beginning of every movie)!
After that we drove some more and stopped for lunch (with our groceries) in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is known as the “Postage Stamp Country”. That is for two reasons: 1- on the world map, it is hardly even the size of a postage stamp (it is a very small country), and 2- One of Liechtenstein’s biggest markets is postage stamps! People love to send postcards from there because it is such a hard stamp to find for all of those stamp collectors out there. We didn’t do any shopping here because we didn’t have time, so we just ate our picnic lunch outside the city and kept on our way.
After Liechtenstein we were into our third country (really fourth if you count the quick stop into Germany for the pictures of Neuschwanstein), Switzerland. We drove to Luzern, Switzerland and had a moment to take a look at the Löwendenkmal and the Kapellebrücke (two well-known attractions in Luzern that also have a great historical significance). Then we had a bit of time for shopping, but Switzerland is very expensive. A McDonald’s value meal costs $15.00!
Once we were finished in Luzern, we had a beautiful scene to watch out the bus window as we drove to Wilderswil… beautiful turquoise lakes surrounded by Alpine mountains.
Finally we made it to Wilderswil, where we took up residence for the next two nights at Hotel Schönbühl. This hotel is situated so beautifully… we woke up every morning to the three biggest mountains in Switzerland: The Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau. This hotel also has a pool and we took advantage of it right away after these hot and muggy days. We ate another delicious supper and then almost everyone hopped into the swimming pool right away. Everyone played water volleyball and then did some chicken fighting… and then a gaggle of 13 and 14-year-old girls from Scotland (they were on a school trip) hopped in and everyone played along. It was a fun time… and very refreshing.
We got up this morning and got onto the bus for a ride to Oberammergau. Oberammergau is the home of the famous Passion Play. We saw the theater where the Passion Play is performed and learned that you can only perform in the passion play if you are a resident (or descendent of a resident) of the city of Oberammergau (the next play will be performed in 2010). Oberammergau is also well known for its wood carvings. The wood carvings are beautiful and they are all over the place. (There is also a song about Oberammergau that is kind of a tongue twister… but fun to sing!) In Oberammergau we got to eat some delicious “German” pizza (my favorite) and everyone bought a bunch of souvenirs. (Sam bought a Knut the polar bear hat… so we have been calling him Knut since that day!)
Next we got back onto the bus and went to Linderhof, one of King Ludwig II’s castles. It is the only completed castle and the one where he spent the majority of his time. It is truly beautiful. It even has a manmade grotto as a theater!
Once we finished at Linderhof, we were back onto the bus and drove to Reutte, the home of our next hotel. We first stopped in Reutte at the Hofer (the Austrian version of the German Aldi) for some groceries that we could use for lunch the next day. Then quickly to a bakery so we could buy a cake… today is Ariel’s 17th birthday! Then off to the beautiful Gästehaus am Graben. This hotel is known worldwide thanks to Rick Steves… it is his favorite hostel/hotel in all of Europe! We found out why. They make the food by hand for their guests and we eat family style. The food was Schnitzel, salad, delicious soup, and awesome potatoes. Everyone was marvelling at how amazing the food was. Sam even said (in the theme of the Alps and the Sound of Music), “My plate is alive with the taste of deliciousness!” Chad said that it was the “Best food in Deutschland!” (and then changed it to the best food in Europe!). Frau Reymann is the original owner and she makes it feel like we’re at grandma’s house. It was amazing and beautiful. Everyone wanted to stay there an extra night or two! Before and after supper, we had a ping pong tournament! It was a good time and almost everyone played… they even made a bracket for it!
To finish off the night, we celebrated Ariel’s 17th birthday. We purchased pieces of 7 different Torten for everyone to try. It was delicious and a lot of fun. How cool to say that you got to celebrate your birthday in Europe!
This morning we got up early and got on the bus in München for a ride to Salzburg, Austria.
On our way there, we stopped at the salt mines! We had a fantastic time and the kids really enjoyed their time. We got to dress up as salt miners and go down deep into the mines (first with a sit-on train and later on a slide). We saw how the mines worked and see everything that goes with salt mining. It was nice and cool down there… We have some pretty fantastic pictures! Afterward we came back up to the heat and we sat at a restaurant and ordered lunch.
Then off on the bus into Salzburg, home of the Sound of Music, for a city tour. Salzburg, home of Mozart, is a beautiful city. Our guide told us today that 70% of the city is based in tourism.
After our city tour, we had a bit of time for shopping and then we were off to the youth hostel. We had another delicious supper and then a few went off to the laundromat and other stayed around to relax, shower (from the heat) and others were planning on watching “The Sound of Music” which shows every night at 8:00. Others are being sure to watch the big soccer game tonight.
The European Cup is happening right now and they are in the semi-final rounds… and Germany is still in the game! Tonight’s game is Germany versus Turkey. We’re hoping for Germany!
This morning we got up and went to the Marienplatz to meet Tony, our tour guide, for Mike’s Bikes Tours. We met up with a group from Rochester, MN! They were on their last day in Germany.
We went on Mike’s tour and learned so much about the city of München. It was founded by monks and has quite a rich history. We got to see things like the Marienplatz, Odeonsplatz, the Friedensengel, the Residenz, the Ducker’s alley, the Theatinerkirche, and many other things. If you would like to get to a linked list of everything that we saw, check it out here: Mike’s Bikes Tour Highlights.
After our trip with Mike’s Bikes… and plenty of laughter and smiles… the pendulum swung to the other end of the emotional spectrum as we went to Dachau. It was a sobering experience and everyone walked away with some pretty deep reflections. We spent some time reflecting on the bus and really had a great discussion.
Once back to the youth hostel, we had a delicious supper. It was truly German: Schnitzel and Spätzle!
After supper a larger group of us went on an U-Bahn adventure! We bought group tickets for the U-Bahn and went on our way. We went first to the University in München where we could see the Hans and Sophie Scholl Platz. There are even still copies of the brochures printed into the ground outside the university to show where Hans Scholl threw all of the pamphlets out.
Our next stop on the U-Bahn was Frötting… the stop of the World Cup stadium in München, Allianz Arena. We took a couple pictures and then turned around and went back to see the Marienplatz at night and eat a bit (more) Eis.
The kids that came along all figured out how to use and read the U-Bahn information. They could bring you along next time and bring you anywhere you want to go by using the public transportation that is so prevalent and awesome here in Germany!
§ A quick note: Many of the students cell phones are having touch-and-go service… so if you are not hearing from them as often as hoped, it is probably due to the service.
This morning we decided that yesterday we hadn’t had enough time in Rothenburg, so we stayed for a while longer and did some shopping. Yesterday was Sunday and in most German cities, stores are closed on Sundays. In Rothenburg (a tourist city) there were some open stores last night, but not all of the stores that the kids wanted to see… so we spent an extra two hours in Rothenburg this morning looking around, shopping and enjoying our time. A few of us even went to the Käthe Wohlfahrt Weichnachtsmuseum (a famous Christmas store).
After our time in Rothenburg, we left and took the 3-4 hour drive to München (where all of the students fell fast asleep for almost the entire trip). When we first arrived in München, we went to the Olympic Stadium (where Mark Spitz won 7 gold medals in the seventies! We hit the bathroom, ate, and then walked around the ponds, saw the swimming hall and enjoyed the sun (but not necessarily the muggy weather). Then it was back on the bus and off to the city center… where we could do some shopping.
We started at the Marienplatz, the square in front of the “new” city hall, where the infamous Glockenspiel is. Then we went off to places like the Kaufhof, Karstadt, the New Yorker, Pimkie, and many, many more. So far we have been able to fulfill needs as they have come up (more camera memory cards, towels, usw.)… so that is fantastic.
Finally off to the next Youth Hostel, where we ate a delicious supper (one of the best so far, I think), and then a few of us went for a walk to find an Eis-Cafe (surprise, surprise).
It has been a great time so far… we’ve had a few run-ins with minor bouts of stomach-y type things… and it seems to be making the circuit… but everyone is well (today) and tomorrow we have an awesome bike-tour of München planned and then off to Dachau… it is quite the juxtaposition of emotion.
But your kids have been fantastic… they have been early for everything… they have been very thankful… very kind and just downright awesome. We have gotten comments from so many people on how great they are as they are polite, flexible, trying new things, and using their German! Feel free to be as proud as we are.
Greetings again!
We left Dresden this morning around 8:30 and got on the bus. It was our last bus ride with our current bus driver, Hans. Once we got through the state of Sachsen and into Bayern, we stopped off at the bus company and they switched drivers. Hans has another tour he has to do in Berlin soon and he also needed to go to the doctor, so we said farewell, knowing full well that we would miss him… and said “Hallo!” to our new bus driver, Tony.
After a (what our bus driver said would be the longest) 5 hour bus ride, we made it to the beautiful city of Rothenburg (ob der Tauber). We went directly to the Criminal Museum, a museum where they show the punishments and tortures of the medieval times. It is really interesting and eye opening to see the kinds of things that people were punished for (like quabbling women were stuck together for a couple days with a double neck violin until they got along).
After our time at the museum, we stopped for Eis (ice cream), which is becoming a regular thing for us… most kids eating Eis at least once a day… some eating it as many as 3-4 times per day… but when the Eis is only about 70 cents per ball, it’s probably the cheapest snack around… and definitely a nice cool down on these hot, muggy days. Oh, back to the story.
After the Criminal museum, we stopped for Eis… and the students got their first chance to eat Spaghetti-Eis! The Bethany kids have waited 3 years for this since Frau Gill first told them about it… and it was better than ever expected! (Check out the link so you see the beauty of Spaghetti-Eis) I have some pretty great photos of the kids enjoying this specialty… so someday if I can get my camera to upload…
Shortly thereafter we had some time to walk around the city and just enjoy the sights for a while. It is truly a beautiful city, maintained from the middle ages. It is always one of the favorite cities… and I heard at least three kids hoping they could come and live in Rothenburg either in their adult life or when they retire. I told them I would love to come and visit them often!
Then off to our Jugendherberge (youth hostel) for supper and a bit of relaxation.
At 8 o’clock, many of us met at the Rathaus (city hall) for a tour with the night watchman. He is fantastic. If you ever get to Rothenburg, he is an absolute “do-not-miss” attraction. He tells the story of the life of the night watchman in the middle ages and talks about life in general… he is funny, interesting, and you walk away knowing (and retaining!) so much information!
Once we were done with the tour, many of the students connected with some other Minnesota students who were in Germany for their last night. They played four-square, ping pong, and just talked. It was nice for them to connect with others like them and they got some tips about the rest of the trip (like a reminder that they will be eating Semmel/Brötchen for the rest of the trip for breakfast). And then it was time for bed!
Gute Nacht!
Greetings all from the state capital of Sachsen- Dresden!
We left early this morning from Berlin for the 2.5-3 hour drive to Dresden. Halfway there we stopped at a rest stop and used the bathroom (which, in Germany costs 50 cents… but they are super clean!) and a few of the students bought some German specialties like Mezzo Mix cola and good chocolate. Others stayed with the old standby of things like Pringles.
Then back in the bus and off to Dresden.
Once in Dresden, we first went to a transportation museum where they showed a video chronicling the history of Dresden from the 1800s until today. It was fantastic, and put the firebombing of Dresden into pictures/video for the kids… which made a difference as we looked at all of the buildings in the city on our city tour this afternoon. (I’ll link to some pictures next time I write)
Tthe tour of the city was very nice and we learned a lot about places like the Zwinger, the “Blaue Wunder” and all of the different living areas in Dresden. Dresden is called a “Kulturstadt” (a city of culture) and it is evident why.
Once our tour was finished, we had some time to walk around and check some things out. While walking around, we came into one of the squares in Dresden to see the beginning of a political demonstration. We’ve seen a couple of these so far (one about animal rights in Berlin). As the speaker was speaking, a number of police came and surrounded the demonstrators. The police were there and definitely kept the peace.. moving the demonstrators out of the road into a safer spot and then, because they were neo-Nazis, were continually watched by a large police force (it felt like the entire city’s police force was there) and a few got taken in for questioning and such. Some of the kids got some pretty cool photos of the police and even of the rest of the city as everyone was standing around and watching this take place.
Then it was time to go back to the bus (immer pünktlich sein) on time and off to our youth hostel.
This morning we got up early and ate breakfast so that we could be on the bus back into the downtown of Berlin. We met our tour guide there this morning at 9 AM. We drove around the city, flashing photos through the bus windows, for about 2 and a half hours. We saw such monuments as the Reichstag, the Brandenburger Tor, the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche, and many, many more. I think that to really even scratch the surface of Berlin, you need about 3 full days… so we just got to see some of the biggest “Sehenswürdigkeiten” and then it was time for us to eat lunch. We ate lunch at the foot of the Fernsehturm… feeding the birds who have been so well trained to beg for food. And then Hans, our bus driver, checked out the line for us and about 10 of us went up into the ball of the Fernsehturm and had a look across Berlin! It was beautiful!
I am noticing as I am reading back to what I have written that the German speaking is getting to my typing… I’m sounding a bit off… sorry about that!
After our time in the Fernsehturm, we went to Alexanderplatz… the city center of the former East Berlin… the place where everyone would go to shop, eat and just meet and be with one another. We got to see the world clock (the picture above) and then do a bit of shopping at Alexa (the biggest shopping mall in all of Germany). Then off to the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche. We took some photos there. The kids were really impressed both with the old church (that has been left how it was after being bombed in WWII) as well as the new buildings with the beautiful blue windows.
Shortly after, many of us went to the famous Berliner Zoo, home of Knut, the polar bear. It really was beautiful and we didn’t even get close to seeing all of the animals… but we were sure to see Knut and the lions and the hippos! You’ll have to see the beautiful pictures your kids took at the Zoo. It was awesome.
Shortly thereafter, we walked about half a mile down the Kurfürstendamm to the Hard Rock Cafe in Berlin. We had a good time and now are back at the hostel!
Hopefully another update to come soon… it all depends on the internet availability!
Tomorrow we are off to Dresden!
Right away when we landed, we got going (of course). We went on our way to see the Museum at Checkpoint Charlie. Checkpoint Charlie is the checkpoint that Americans would go through to move between East and West Berlin. Today there is a museum there that chronicles the stories of those people who tried to make it over, under, or around the wall. It is really an interesting museum and we had a chance to look around for quite a while and learn about many of the attempts as well as some of the failures.
Shortly after our time at Checkpoint Charlie, many of the students had their very first German ice cream… and agreed that it is definitely something special… I can’t say that I blame them (since I am probably the one who talked them into trying it in the first place… with all of the drooling that I do about it in class). I am proud and I think that everyone else can be proud of these kids. They are respectful (of course), wonderful (of course) and actually using their German!! We’ve had a number of students ordering and speaking in German. It is fantastic!
After Checkpoint Charlie, we made our way to the youth hostel. The youth hostel we are staying at is the youth hostel am Wannsee. It is truly a beautiful and peaceful place. After supper, many of the students were so tired that they hit the sack right away and, as soon as their heads hit the pillows, they fell fast asleep.
I am wishing I had a way to upload my photos, but as of yet there is no luck. Hope all is well back home!
Well, after two plane rides (one approximately five hours to Iceland and then another just over 3 hours to Berlin) we finally made it! The plane rides were a little tough… and a few people weren’t feeling 100% afterward… but we made it. Now our biggest toil is just getting over any jet lag. We left around 7 and arrived in Berlin around 2. We met our (first) busdriver, Hans, at the airport. Then we spent the time to get some cash and went about our way!
