Cruise Day 6

Today we toured the Black Forrest.  It was one of the prettiest places we have seen.  The bus tour took us through the area's renowned mountain landscape, rolling meadows, and dense forests.  We stopped at  local workshop where they build cuckoo clocks.  We also walked to a small church built in the 13th century. 

We visited Breisach, a beautiful medieval city.  The volcanic outcrop in the Rhine Pain was originally settled by the Celts over 4000 years ago.  Breisach's landmark St. Stephen's Cathedral, was built between the 12th and 15th centuries.  Its two towers dominate the skyline--one showcasing the architectural style of the Gothic period while the other shows elements that are distinctly Romanesque.  Inside, the richly decorated limewood altar is believed to be the work of master craftsman Hans Loi.  The church was a surprise in this small town.  We did not expect how beautiful the inside was when we were standing outside. 

Cruise Day 5

Strasbourg, situated on the Upper Rhine Plain where the Ill River meets the Rhine and France borders Germany, Strasbourg lies squarely at the crossroads of major waterways and routes.  In fact, even its name means "a town at the crossing roads."  Founded by Romans in 12 B.C. for its strategic location, Strasbourg quickly became a center for trade, and with the abundant exchange of goods came the open flow of ideas.  The city became a free imperial town in 1262 and attracts reformists, artists and intellectuals seeking refuge.  Its freedom and independence ended in 1681 when Louis  XIV made it part of France.  When the German's invaded in 1870, Strasbourg became one of the wealthiest and most glamorous locales in the German empire. 

Cruise Day 4

Today we go to Heidelberg.  Lying in the steep valley where the Olderwald mountains meet the Rhine and Neckar Rivers, Heidelberg has long been considered the jewel of Germany.  It is often considered Germany's intellectual capital.  It is the home of the country's oldest university, established in 1936.  It is also the epicenter of the country's Romantic period, with artists, writers, and poets from all over the world.  Heidelberg was not destroyed by bombs in WWII.  As a result, it has retained its baroque charm with narrow streets,  helmet-shaped towers, stone bridges, historic churches and ivy covered castle ruins. 

The most defining feature of Heidelberg is the castle, considered the most magnificent castle ruin in Germany.  It took 400 years to build.  It suffered sever damage during the 30 year war and the war of  Succession.  Rebuilding was started but when lightening struck in 1764, attempts at restoration stopped. 

We also visited Rudesheim. Resting at the foot of Niederwald forest, this pretty riverside town has 9600 inhabitants.  The town has enjoyed a huge commercial success.  There were several castles built there.  It is known for it's wines and delightful landscape.  Dani and I went on a "walking" tour of the town, looking at the homes, gardens, and landscape.  It was beautiful. It is a lively tourism center with its narrow cobblestone streets, cafes and lively brass bands. 

Cruising Day 3

Today we went to Koblenz.  It is a town of just over 100,00 residents.  It celebrated it's 2000 anniversary in 1992.  It has a vivid history of fortress walls, towers, castles, palaces, monuments and perhaps most especially its wine.  The Romans first brought wine to the region and planted vineyards across its slopes.  Koblenz is home to the Konigsbacher brewery, founded in 1689. 

We visited the Marksburg Castle, built on the Rhine River.  It has retained nearly all of its initial construction and stands as the best preserved castle on the river.  After leaving the marksburg castle, we boarded the ship for lunch and then cruised down the Rhine.  There were 26 castles along this stretch of the Rhine Gorge. 

 

 

Crusing Day 2

Today we went into the town of Cologne, Germany.  We went on a walking tour of the city with a guide showing us the main sites.  With an ancient Roman Wall, medieval and Gothic churches, avant-garde structures and a brand new postmodern quarter right on the river, there is much to see.  Cologne's most famous attraction is its cathedral whose filigree twin spires dominates the skyline.  Kolner Dom, known locally as The Dom, is Germany's largest cathedral. 

Cruising Day 1

Today we went to Rotterdam.  After a buffet breakfast, we attended a presentation about Windmills and Polders.  A polder is reclaimed land from the sea.  Through a long process, the water is pumped away and the land dried and used to live on.  There is a lot of polder land in the Netherlands.  

Windmills are an essential part of the Dutch landscape and responsible for keeping half the country above water.  Kinderdijk, a tiny village located on a strip of land between the Lek and Noord Rivers, is one of the most picturesque and iconic sights in all of Holland.  It has the largest concentration of operational windmills, some of them dating back to the 14th century, in the country.  The windmills were once employed with a system of dikes to pump water from the pastureland, forming an area of reclaimed land called the Alblasserwaard polder.  Although their function was taken over by a modern pumping station in 1950, the windmills are still in working order.

 

Tulip Fields/ A visit to Gouda

The tulip fields were absolutely amazing!  So many varieties and colors.  Besides tulips, there were great smelling hyacinths, and daffodils.  Everywhere you looked there were beautiful gardens arranged with tulips.  There are 350 acres of gardens at the tulip fields.  We spent several hours wandering around looking and exclaiming "Oh my", or "look at that".  The gardens are open for 2 months of the year and then the rest of the year they are closed.  The tulips were perfect the day we were there because of the long, cold winter.  They were about 1 month behind in blooming, so we got to see them at their peak!

Next we went to a little town called Gouda.  Yes, it is where gouda cheese comes from.  We walked around the market place, sampled cheese, and took pictures of this quaint little town.  We had French crepes for dinner and then drove back to the hotel.  It had been a long, but fun day. 

Exploring Amsterdam

We drove back to Amsterdam and met up with Dani and Jeff.  It sure was good to see them.  We got checked into our rooms and then went off to explore canals, see the Anne Frank House and have something to eat. 

My first thought about Amsterdam was "This is a crazy city".  There were people every where.  Many visitors this week because of the coronation of the  new King earlier this week.  There is so much water in Amsterdam.  Everywhere you turns, a canal was there or close by.  The streets are narrow and made of cobblestones.  The architecture was beautiful.  People ride bikes everywhere. 

Next we visited the Anne Frank House.  It was quite interesting to see.  It was a small area hidden upstairs in her father's office.  There were 8 people hiding there.  Of the 8, only her father survives. It is here that she writes her diary giving us a little peek into what it was like to be a Jew and hiding from the Natzi's.  They had to stay indoors 24 hours a day with the curtains drawn so no one could see them.  They had to be very quiet.  Otto's office staff helped keep them hidden.  They brought them food.  It put a lot of pressure on the staff because if they were caught, they too would be imprisoned.  In August of 1944, someone betrayed the Frank family and reported them to the Secret Police.  All 8 were arrested and taken to concentration camps where all but Otto died.  Anne Frank was 15 year old at the time of her death.

 

Normandy Beach

It was wet, cold, and windy the day or our tour in Normandy.  Dan said the weather was perfect; just like it was on D Day.   We began our tour by going to the German Cemetery.  As we looked at the crosses marking the graves of German soldiers, many with out names, I felt a sense of sadness at the unnecessary loss of life that war causes.  These German soldiers had families, people who loved them.  Many were fighting for their country, not Hitler's ideals.  German's believe that they should be buried where they died, so most of these soldiers died in France and were buried there, never to go home again.

 Next we went to the  village of St. Mere Eglise.  This is where the para troopers landed by mistake.  There was a fire in the village that night and the pilot of the plane with the para troopers saw it and thought it was the signal flares and had the boys jump.  St Mere Eglise was controlled by the Germans.  As the jumpers landed, some of them were shot, captured, or were able to get away and hide until they were able to regroup.  One para trooper, John Steele, got caught on the spire of the church and hung there all night with the bells ringing in his ears.  He was cut down and captured in the morning but was able to escape later back to the Americans a little later.  There is a museum in St Mere Eglise that shows a film, and has some of the gliders used to drop the para troopers off.

Next we went to Utah Beach.  Dan has a friend, John Crotty, who landed in the second wave on Utah beach.  He has always wanted to go there and see where John talked about.  As we stood on the beach looking out  to the ocean, feeling the wind and rain, I tried to imagine what those young soldiers felt as they were coming ashore.  All around them soldiers were being shot at by the Germans as they scrambled up the beach.  Many were sick from the motion of the boats and all were scared to death.  We also went to Omaha Beach.  I felt the same things as I looked at the high cliffs they had to scale before getting to some sort of safety.  Again the Germans were shooting at them  Many fell that day, some drowning because of the weight of their equipment and being dropped in the water, and many blown up or shot to death.

We went to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial last.  The Cemetery over looks Omaha Beach.  As we stood looking at row after row of white marble crosses and star of Davids, I felt myself tearing up at the massive loss of life and this was just a small representation of what this war cost.  As we read the names of the soldiers on the crosses, and looked at their age when killed, I thought about my own sons and how grateful I was that they didn't have to fight a war.  I also thought about my grandsons and prayed that they would never have to fight a war.  Over 3000 crosses, a sea of white, a holy remembrance of the great sacrifice of so many.  I pray that we will never have to sacrifice so much again.

The last stop

Driving to Normandy

We rented a car in Amsterdam and drove to Normandy, France.  It took about 8 hours to get there.  Along the way the scenery is wonderful, especially the French countryside.  Everything is so green.  as we drove through the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, we learned a bit about driving the roads in different countries.  No one marks their speed limit with signs very often.  It was a good thing the GPS we bought to take with us told us the speed.  Belgium has many speed cameras.  They are mostly in the city areas of the roadways we were on.  Many times the speed changed for no reason, and then a speed camera would come along.  The GPS unit would make a funny noise and we would know the camera was coming.  Once we got to France there were not as many speed cameras there.  France has mostly all toll roads.  We spent about 30 euros for tolls each way driving in France.  There are very few free roads in France.  The morning we left Normandy to return to Amsterdam, we let early.  I was driving and it was still dark.  The speed had changed and I had slowed to the new speed limit.  Going down a small hill, my car picked up a little speed, but not more then 5 km/hour.  Suddenly, I caught a flash in my rear view mirror.  I don't know for sure, but I probably got a ticket for speeding ( 5-6 km over the speed limit).   It was a dark, not well lighted area at the bottom of them hill.  I guess I will find out someday if I got a ticket.  I am sure the car rental place will charge my credit card if I did. 

Driving in Amsterdam city is wacky!   I thought the roadways were nice in Amsterdam, but when you get into the actual city, NO!  The roads are narrow.  They go every which way.  Some are one way roads.  All have 100's of bicycle riders on them going every which way.  The transportation train system runs down the middle of the roads and people park along the sides.  You are suppose to figure out where to drive and when.  Sometimes you are driving on the train tacks and a train is coming towards you.  Thankfully, the trains stops and you are able to get out of the way.  I was very relieved to return the car to Hertz and walk around the city.

Our last week in Berlin

Our last week in Berlin was a week of goodbyes.  We have made so many friends.  We are sad to think we might not see them again in this life.  We went to dinner with the Valetta's.  We had breakfast with the Bartsch's.  We had dinner with the Milde's .  We had dinner with the Gruse Family.  We love them all.  We hope all will visit us in the states sometime.
 
Our last institute night was filled with laughter and tears.  These young people are so special.  The church in Germany is in good hands.  We have had so many fun times with these YSA's.  We have had service projects, activities, and  classes with them.  They are quick to offer help, encouragement, and love.  We will miss them.

Our last FHE was the same as institute.  We had a fun night asking and answering "Questions" put to us by Elder Johnson.  We all had one last meal together, cleaned up, (they wouldn't let me do any thing), last hugs and then it was over!  Our lives will never be the same, but they have been made better.  We were truly blessed to be able to serve in Berlin at this time. 

We went into the mission office on Tuesday.  we had a last interview with our dear president, dinner with the other "finishers", and then to the airport early Wednesday morning to fly to Amsterdam.(or home for the other missionaries.)  We were met at the gate by Mirka Gruse.  She works there.  One last hug and pictures and it was over.  Thank You Berlin for your hospitality.

a Visit to the Stasi-Prison

The Stasi Prison was the center for communist repression.  It represents a 44 year history of political persecution.  It became the main Soviet remand prison for Germany.  In the early 50's, the secret police of the SED (the ruling party in the GDR), took over the prion. 

The MIS or Stasi, being the shield and sword of the party, was the most important instrument in enforcing the communist dictatorship in East Germany.  At the end, 91,000 full time Stasi employees and 189,000 unofficial collaborators ensured the blanket surveillance of the population.  It is said that 1 out of every 5 people was a Stasi spy. 

The living conditions at the camp were catastrophic, sometimes holding over 4200 inmates penned like animals.  Over a 1000 people died in the camp.  Food rations were poor and hygienic conditions deplorable.  Many internees were incarcerated for years without recourse to legal proceedings.  These consisted of alleged Nazis, political opponents, and supporters of democratic parties and communists/ Soviet officers who had been regarded as no toeing the official party line.  Almost every former prisoner that filed an application for rehabilitation after the camp closed, has been declared innocent by Russian authorities. 

One section of the prison was called the "U-Boot" (submarine).  It consisted of  subterranean bunker-like cells in the basement.  The damp and cold cells were equipped with a wooden bed, and a bucket serving as a lavatory (which was emptied once a week).  A light bulb was burning 24 hours a day.  Interrogations were usually held at night in a atmosphere of physical and psychological violence.  Former prisoners described being forced to sign confessions due to the combined effects of sleep deprivation, standing still for hours on end, arrest lasting for days or being detained in water cells.

The tours of the Stasi prison camp are given by former prisoners with first hand knowledge of the horrendous  life in the prison.  I wondered how they felt the first few times giving tours, walking through the areas where they were detained.  They do it so that we can take a critical look at the methods and consequences of political persecution and suppression in the communist dictatorship.