Open Tour of GIF

Day Four- Transitioning

Our morning began bright and early with an eight am check out time for our hotel. Sleepily we filled on to one of our three buses, en route to Prague via Dresden. After driving through the German countryside south for about three hours, we arrived at our destination. The historically rich city is a haunting reminder of the tragic devastation that came along with the Second World War. Once known as the “Florence of Germany”, Dresden was fire bombed on February thirteenth 1945. Nearly the entire baroque city was destroyed. Today the restoration of the former rubble and crumbled stone is a brilliant visual representation of the city as a phoenix, rising out of the ashes. I personally hope to return to this breathtaking place and continue to marvel at its resurrection. Around six pm we arrived at out hotel in Prague and settled in for the evening. Dinner consisted of a buffet arrangement of local food and desserts, which included some of the best cream puffs I’ve ever had. 

In Remeberance

During The Gonzaga In Florence Opeing Tour in Berlin (which I will blog about in the future) we were given the opportunity to visit two sites which honored the memory of the Jewish people during the Holocaust. I feel that it is important to share my photographs with you as a way to pay tribute this persecuted race during WWII. The first group of pictures is from the Jewish Museum in Berlin, which features a unique exhibit that allows the viewer to relive the emotional journey of the holocaust. I was personally overtaken by the experience and would like to offer the photographs to you as a dedication to the memory of the Jewish suffering here in Germany. 

Garden of Exile

  The Memory Void tower is empty except for the "Fallen Leaves" which represent the Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. The sound of the metal "faces" echos through out the space. It shakes the core of you, the noise is haunting and powerful. 

Memory Void

This second group of photographs is from the concentration camp Schsenhausen, just outside of Berlin. Everyone keeps their head tilted downward when walking about the grounds. There is no laugher or chatter. Only silent personal emotion. 

The bathroom- only allowed to be used once in the morning and once at night

The Guard towers stand surrounding the camp. Just behind this wall the this post is where the prisoners were murdered by gas chambers, firing squad or human furnace.

Wurzburg, Germany

Wurzburg Palace

Ryan, Hav and I, along with Braeden, drove to Wurzberg to visit the palace and surrounding gardens. It reminded me of a mini version of Versailles.
You know how as an adult, when you go to places with other adults and the setting is semi quiet... and there's always that one person who brings a small child, who decides that they should make lots of noise? Well, during our lovely informative tour of the Wurzburg palace, our group was the one who brought the happy baby along! Braeden decided that he wanted to sing and talk the whole duration of the tour. Which was hilarious because our guide felt as though he was competing for air time! Ha Ha!

I totally snuck this picture! How could a possible buy a new camera and not be allowed to us it!

With Friends in Germany

It feels rather strange to be able to travel to Germany in under two hours, however, when flying in from London, the journey is quite painless. We arrived in Berlin and settled in to Cafe Marche, which is located in the airport, to wait for my dear friend Ryan Miller (who is stationed in Germany with the US Army) to come pick us up.  A few hours turned into many hours and by the time 2am rolled around, we had been sitting in the same cafe corner for 13 hours. It was rugged. Had we really known that it was going to be THAT long of a wait, we would have taken a train to Ryan's apt, which was a good 5 hours south in the town of Ansbach. However, our lack of German and 90 lbs of baggage strongly encouraged us to sit tight and wait it out. Really we couldn't complain. We had access to food, a bathroom, a book, journal and more than enough people watching.

Havilah was OVERJOYED to get to drive on the way home.  On the Autobahn.  In a BEAUTIFUL bmw.  God bless Ryan for letting her do that.  Despite all odds (you would understand if you knew Havilah's driving record... it isn't exactly squeaky clean despite her best intentions), we made it home safely. (Going about 120mph, thank God I was passed out exhausted in the back seat! )

Over the past few days, Havilah and I have been sitting around Ryan's house babysitting his adorable son Braeden. The most amusing part of our day is trying to communicate with the eighteen month ago, who only speaks German! :) Havilah has been taking an active roll in trying to learn the basics of the language with Ryan's help.

Friday afternoon we set off to Rothenburg to explore the medieval wall city.

By Havilah

Ode to Luggage Carriers

"Roses are red,
violets are blue,
To the people who have carried my luggage,
a BIG thanks to you.

To the cheeky Brits in the tube,
even the one dressed like a goob,
the kindness I appreciate,
Because I was such in a flustered kind of state.

A million steep flights of stairs,
I looked at with despair.
but the owner of the Morgan house,
carried it all because he knew I have strength like a mouse.

To the security at the train,
I thank you for your pain,
Of carrying the luggage weighing 80 pounds,
Even as you made your rounds.

To Croydon's Peter,
it was dragged up the stairs without a teeter.
And as he carried it around again and again,
I thought to myself, "I do love a thoughtful man."

Thank you Ryan who carried my bag,
and who also works for the American flag.
A true hero you are,
Beth and I should take you out to the bar.

But frustration is directed to people of RyanAir,

Who wouldn't budge a hair.

A prince's fortune I paid,

because of what my damn luggage weighed."

-Havilah Etter

Notting Hill Carnival= Street Rave

"Held each August Bank Holiday since 1966, the Notting Hill Carnival is the largest festival celebration of its kind in Europe. Every year the streets of West London come alive, with the sounds and smells of Europe's biggest street festival. Twenty miles of vibrant colourful costumes surround over 40 static sound systems, hundreds of Caribbean food stalls, over 40,000 volunteers and over 1 million Notting Hill carnival revellers. "

Sounds like a good time, right? Only an attraction that a local would know about, The Notting Hill Carnival was first explained to me as a sort of festival / parade. In our minds, Havilah and I compared it to the Portland Rose Parade. Thanks to Peter's suggestion, we wore our North Face jackets in expectation of rainy cold weather. However.... this was NOT the case. It became perfectly clear to me as we arrived in London and made our way to the Tube, that nearly every Londoner was making their way to Carnival. The Tube stations we unbearably crowded. Bodies pressed against each other as though attempting to avoid hypothermia. The air unground is humid and stale with the looming smell of human odor and overpowering cologne. 

Above ground it's not much better, the sun is now shinning (which is crap since I'm wearing layers!) and the sheer number of people on the streets is intense! 

"There's nothing quite like the smell of Notting Hill Carnival. We're talking about the wonderful aromas of traditional Caribbean food..."   

Here, I would like to add that in addition to the smell of bbqed chicken and roasted corn on the cob, there was the overwhelming stench of pot, cigarets, booze and beer. 

I tell you all of this not to scare you (Mom and Dad, I was safe and always aware of my surroundings! ) but to simply point out a completely opposite experience we had, a mere two days later and about twenty blocks away from our quaint clean hotel in the Belgrave neighborhood. 

Hav and Dan

The afternoon was a panic of fun, excitement and apprehension about my new surroundings. We drank beer, ate spicy chicken and danced in the streets to Caribbean techno/rap music. Every time we moved from one rave to another, we had to hold hands to keep from losing each other in the bodies and filth that linked the roads. I quite literally felt like a salmon swimming up stream. Bless Adam, Pete, Jamie and Dan for looking after Havilah and I all day, as though we were little sisters.

Walking through puddles

After a restful fourteen hours of beauty sleep and an English breakfast (which included baked beans! Not something I would generally consider a morning food, however, still tasty) we set off on a walking tour of London, led by myself. :)

 I must say that all in all, I am am quite the fantastic tour guide. In nine hours we walked 8 miles, visited one museum (The Tate Britain), saw four four nation monuments ( Westminster Abby, Big Ben, Parliament, Buckingham Palace), strolled through two parks (St. James and Hyde Park), ate lunch at a pub (a traditional meal of fish and chips), went shopping on Oxford Street (H&M, Zaza, Top Shop and Hamleys toy shop) and took numerous pictures!

As the day drew to a close, we emerged from Top Shop to find that it was pouring down rain. As a Washingtonian, I feel that I have definitely seen my fair share of wet weather, and as such, I would normally be outraged at the site of such muck on my vacation. However, somehow in London, with my bestfriend by my side, I could not find a single thing to sneer at. We put up our hoods and soldier on with smile. Even the giant puddles pooling the road way just add to the adventure of walking London. We choose the path through Hyde Park, walking arm in arm. Stopping every 200 years or so to shake the gathering water that seems to be collecting on the top of the very  cheap umbrella Havilah bought.