My favorite adventures from Germany

We move into TLF (temporary lodging facilities) today until we leave Germany! It's getting so close, I can't believe that we are looking at the 10 day forecast in D.C. and realizing that we'll be there soon!

Yesterday, I shared what I'm going to miss most about Germany, and what I'm excited for when we're back in the States. Today, I thought it might be kind of fun to reminisce about my favorite adventures while we were over here.

My favorite adventure of them all: becoming a mom. I love you Coleden Levi!

Paris, France

Neuschwanstein Castle

Dachau Concentration Camp

Christmas Market in a cave, Netherlands 

Josh came home safe and sound from his 6 month deployment!

Metz, France

Luxembourg American Cemetary

 Crusing on the Norwegian Epic!

Rome, Italy

Monaco

Lucca, Italy

 Palma Majorca, Spain

Barcelona, Spain

Our walks around Neidermohr.

There are several events I didn't list, mostly life events for Cole, but I wanted to cover the basics. Also, I should be packing, so I didn't want to take too long with this post! Ciao!

Germany vs the U.S.

I don't have much time left in Germany, and it made me think of what I'll miss most about living here, and what I'm most looking forward to when my little family is back in the United States.

Germany:

• First and foremost, I'm going to miss doner kebabs. It's quickly become my favorite food. Mmmmm so good!
• The autobahn. I appreciate that (for the most part) people follow the rules of the road. Also, I have a lead foot (unless my parents are reading this, in which case, please disregard!), having areas of no speed limits will be greatly missed. I think this is what Josh will miss most!
• The view. The last few weeks, anytime I go out, I find myself trying to soak in as much of my surroundings as I can. I love all the trees, the mountains, the sporadic castles, I love it all and will miss it terribly.
• Kik. It's my favorite German store. It's like a Dollar General, but cooler. 
• Traveling. Being able to say "Oh, this weekend let's go to [insert old, historic place]." I wish we could've traveled more than we were able to, but I think we did pretty well in our 3 years over here, especially with a baby.
• Our house. It may not be a perfect house, but Cole has spent the majority of his life here. Soon, he'll be playing in a new bedroom, in a new house, where there isn't a train going by every 30 minutes, but we didn't mind it, because it's kind of soothing. Military life, man. Military. Life.
• Ikea. Okay, I know the States have Ikeas, but I never seem to live near one, so until I do, this one is staying in the German section! 

United States:

• Family and friends. It'll be nice to be in similar timezones and be able to visit without worrying about long flights or jet lag. 
• Walmart, Target, etc. You don't realize how amazing these stores are (even when they only have one cashier working) until you don't have access to them whenever you want. I especially look forward to Walmart because it's open 24 hours, that's a big deal. 
• Stores open on Sundays. We always seem to be in search of something to do on Sundays, and you can only go to the BX so many times before it's just sad. Every once and a while, the Germans have Sunday shop days, those are the best!
• Restaurants. Of course Germany has fine restaurants (see above about doners), but sometimes you just want Buffalo Wild Wings, or Olive Garden (real Italian food is amazing, but nothing beats O.G.'s salad and breadsticks.).
• Television. Being able to watch a sporting event, awards show, or new episode of that one show at a normal time of day instead of staying up until midnight when the it starts, or worse, avoiding all media because someone doesn't give you a spoilers warning.
• 110v appliances. It'll be a great day when we get to use our Vitamix or Keurig without using a giant transformer. Also, using our U.S. washer and dryer, oh man, that will be a great day!
• Air conditioning. People will say it's only hot like a week out of the summer here, but when you have a child with eczema, that is a very long week.

I'm sure there are several more points for each side, but this is what I was able to come up with during Cole's nap time! My experience over here was truly an amazing one, it's been challenging, and rewarding and I hope one day we get to return, to finish visiting the places we missed-I'm talking to you United Kingdom!

Dachau Concentration Camp

Day 3

 We woke up Sunday morning to a beautiful sunrise. For me, that's always a good sign that the day will hold a lot of greatness in it. We got ready, just like the day before, and awaited our bus that would take us to our next destination: Dachau. 

Much like the day before, I was extremely excited to see what was in store for us. Knowing we were going to a place that saw so many horrific things made me appreciate that we were able to choose to visit and more importantly, we were able to leave.

The day was absolutely beautiful. I don't know why, but when I pictured being in Dachau, I imagined the weather being cloudy, maybe even a little drizzly. Our tour guide led us to the front gate, the entrance read "Arbeit Macht Frei" meaning labor makes you free. How's that for setting the mood?

 ^this is a view of the entrance from one of the barracks^

It was incredible to learn that the camp was built to hold 6,000 people and by the end of World War II, there were around 30,000 prisoners. I can't even begin to imagine how all those people fit.

Our guide led us to the barracks where we learned about the transformation of the bunks. They started out with small dividers between them, but by the end of the war, it was one big open area. We also learned that the prisoners that were new to Dachau got the top bunk, because they were the only ones who had the energy to climb to the top. When you're only getting about 2 spoonfuls of jam to last you an entire day, and you are forced to work 14 hours of hard labor, you can see why climbing to the top of the third bunk might be difficult.

These barracks are actually replications, the originals had to be burned down because the were so infested with disease. Only two sets of barracks were rebuilt, but you can still see the foundation of where the other barracks stood.

Behind the barracks are four memorials that were built to honor different religions. As we were walking toward them, I looked up at the beautiful blue sky, felt the sun warming my skin, there was a cool breeze that made the temperature comfortable and that was the moment I began to weep. It hit me so hard and so fast, it was like an emotional bulldozer. I was walking where thousands of people walked, I might have stood where someone was killed, or tortured. Would they have even been able to notice such a beautiful day? I knew I was going to cry at some point in this day, I thought it would happen in one of the exhibits, that just goes to show how emotionally charged and haunting this place is.

We walked past the memorials, through a barbed wire gate to the gas chamber/crematorium. Dachau was more of a labor camp, than a death camp, but it was also the first concentration camp established by the Nazi Party, and therefore a prototype for the rest of the camps. That being said, there was a gas chamber, but it was not "officially" used. As our tour guide put it, if it was a prototype, it probably got tested...unofficially. It was even equipped with shower heads so people wouldn't refuse to go in. The crematorium was connected to the gas chamber so the bodies could be disposed of in a timely manner.

It may not have been a "death camp," but many people were experimented on by way of torture and a lot of executions occurred. Dachau had prisons for political and religious leaders. Some of the prison cells were known as "standing cells," and as the name suggests, it was such a small space that prisoners weren't able to even sit down, and they might have been left in there for weeks on end.

 Roll-call Square

 The Memorials

 The Catholic Mortal Agony of Christ Chapel

 The Protestant Church of Reconciliation

 The Russian Orthodox Chapel

The Jewish Memorial Site

My favorite religious memorial was the Protestant Church of Reconciliation. Though it's more humble in appearance than some of the other memorials, the meaning behind the design makes it the best in my book. "The architect Helmut Striffler consciously designed the building with the church and discussion room as a counterpoint to the symmetrical, right-angled architecture of the former concentration camp." Basically, because the Nazis forced such specific order (nothing could be out of place, everything had to be in line and squared away), the architect decided he was going to thumb his nose to the Nazi ideal and create a memorial with zero right-angles. 

 "May the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933-1945 because they resisted Nazism help to unite the living for the defence of peace and freedom and in respect for their fellow men."

 Never again.

 Ashes of the unknown concentration camp prisoner.

The "patch" relief.

The concentration camp memorial site. Sculpture by Nandor Glid

I wish I had beautiful words to express how this day affected me. I'll never forget it. Never.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Day 2

We woke up early Saturday morning for our tour of this famous castle, but first we stopped at a woodcarving shop (very popular in Bavaria), and the Pilgrimage Church of Wies. There was a service in progress, so were were unable to take photos, but if you're interested, you should Google it. You won't regret it. While we were in Wieskirche (where the church is), we had a bite to eat. I chose a Bavarian doughnut, while Josh opted for the biggest pretzel on the planet!

We were finally on our way to Neuschwanstein. Our tour guide informed us that King Ludwig II was a recluse and that was one of the reasons he built this castle. He also loved fairy tails and wanted a castle that was reminiscent of medieval times.

Ludwig didn't have the funds for his dream castle, so he started borrowing money from other countries. The Bavarian government didn't appreciate this, so they had a panel of four psychologists announce that Ludwig was mentally ill and unfit for his duties as "king," (really he was just a puppet king, without much power) even though they never met with him in person. It was decided that the king needed to be taken into custody, he tried fleeing to Neuschwanstein but he was captured. The next day he asked one of the psychologists to go for a walk with him (perhaps to persuade him that he wasn't insane) and they never came back. The two men were found, in shallow waters. It was declared a suicide, but the autopsy discovered no water in his lungs. Oh and he was over six feet tall and an avid swimmer, making it really unlikely he would drown. The castle's  construction was halted due to his death and was never completed.

Now that the history lesson is complete, let's move on to the photos! I know in my last post I said I didn't want to burden you with tons of photos, but that was just for the drive, there was lots to see here! I hope you don't mind.

^There it is!^

 We opted for the transport that would take us half way up the mountain (the steepest part). Yep we're in the front seat without a carseat, we didn't have an option, we only went like 5mph. So much for Germans being super strict about carseat safety!

 Our hike up to the bridge.

 Beautiful. Can you believe someone lived there?! Craziness.

 I shouldn't have looked down, oh and the bridge moves. Yikes!

 A kind stranger helped capture this one!

 On the same bridge, looking in the opposite direction at the weekend castle! La-dee-da.

 What a great view!

 What an entrance!

 The inner courtyard

 I'm in one castle, looking at a different castle. Who doesn't love castle neighbors?!

 We weren't allowed to take photos of the inside of the castle. This was taken outside the front gate, after our tour.

 We decided to eat our lunch leaning up against this amazing structure. How many people can say they had a picnic at a castle?! Also, we changed a few diapers too, in case you were wondering.

Making our way back down the mountain.

 Someone was pretty sleepy...

Really, really sleepy.

Favorite things about our Neuschwanstein trip:

• I wore blue and white by coincidence, not knowing those are the Bavarian flag colors, I really know how to embrace this culture!
• Mountain views in every direction.
• There are secret passage ways within the Neuschwanstein.
• We're history geeks around here, so the story of King Ludwig II was really interesting.
• The people were really friendly here.
• Bavarian doughnuts are where it's at.
• The grotto room within the castle.
• Cole did really well, considering how hot it was, and how far past his nap time he was able to go without having a meltdown.