I assume you already knew that we were home. But if not, we're home. The last couple of days were a mess of running to trains and planes and sitting on them. nothing was delayed for more than 30 minutes or so. Picasa yelled at me for having such a large folder so I'm splitting up cities. You'll find this album full of Paris and this album full of Normandy and Berlin, including the great hair straightener disaster at the Chateau. No skin was harmed, but some bangs were sacrificed.
I'm still missing pictures from a couple of cameras which didn't cooperate with my computers ports. I'll update you more later. Most folks have the day off. I am not so lucky.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Sachsenhausen and exhausted.
I'm sorry for not posting yesterday. We're in the home stretch, trying to see as much as possible. It's alot of walking and half the group is sick with light colds, nothing major though. This just means that when you hit the room, you hit the hay.
I've updated the pictures with older pics from Emily and I, as well as new stuff up through Yesterday afternoon - Sachsenhausen.
The notable part about yesterday's Sachsenhausen concentration camp tour was the fact that the weather was pretty miserable (rainy, 40's with most of us unprepared) yet the conditions presented to us by our tour guide made us feel comfortable (sometimes). We heard stories about prisoners being forced to stand in counting lines for 12 hours in below freezing, snowy weather and fine-tuning mass extermination methods. Sachsenhausen was a men-only camp. The Ravensbrück women's camp we almost went to was further away and harder to organize.
Today we just hoofed it all over town, taking another walk down the Unter den Linden, shopping, Checkpoint Charlie and a short stretch of the remaining wall.
We're about to hit up a concert in Berlin tonight and chill on the roof of our Hostel. Tomorrow is the day train back to Paris, a little more time in the evening with David and Mary, and then a short night of sleep before flying home!!
I've updated the pictures with older pics from Emily and I, as well as new stuff up through Yesterday afternoon - Sachsenhausen.
The notable part about yesterday's Sachsenhausen concentration camp tour was the fact that the weather was pretty miserable (rainy, 40's with most of us unprepared) yet the conditions presented to us by our tour guide made us feel comfortable (sometimes). We heard stories about prisoners being forced to stand in counting lines for 12 hours in below freezing, snowy weather and fine-tuning mass extermination methods. Sachsenhausen was a men-only camp. The Ravensbrück women's camp we almost went to was further away and harder to organize.
Today we just hoofed it all over town, taking another walk down the Unter den Linden, shopping, Checkpoint Charlie and a short stretch of the remaining wall.
We're about to hit up a concert in Berlin tonight and chill on the roof of our Hostel. Tomorrow is the day train back to Paris, a little more time in the evening with David and Mary, and then a short night of sleep before flying home!!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Normandy and Berlin
Is that a weird title? We spent last night on a train, so internet and space were not available. Sorry. You get a bonus today as I finally snagged Amanda's camera and added her pictures to the mix. Our cameras have the exact same time on them, so you'll find pictures taken at the same time shown in order.
We woke up from our swanky Bayeux Chateau and checked out a local D-day museum before heading to Normandy yesterday morning. The museum was good, but it focused on certain details in a confusing way. The navigation lady in the car wasn't too specific on the location of Omaha beach, so we found ONE OF the access roads to a part of it. Getting lost in the French countryside is fun because you see real country life. We saw ALOT of real country life...
The American memorial and cemetery was very well done. It is huge and gives almost as much information as the Bayeux museum in an easy to understand way. It also focuses on many of the individual stories of those who died.
It's getting busy in here, so I'll wrap up.
It was a long drive back to Paris and MUCH worse traffic than on the way out. But we made it on the train with five minutes to spare. It was VERY tight, but we all considered it our favorite bonding time of the trip so far. Better pictures should surface eventually.
Today, in Berlin, our schedule slowed down. We don't have nearly as much planned for this city, so we just walked until we were done walking. We made our first pass through the Unter der Linden and saw the Queen of the Netherlands escorted to the Brandenburg gate by more security than I think our president would see on the road at one time.
We've all agreed that the Germans seem nicer about tourists. And Berlin feels much more like an American city. We checked out the Lindenbrau brewery for dinner and enjoyed a great variety of German food. Now it's laundry, card games and sleep in what we think is the coolest hostel ever. This place is great. Fast, free internet. Large room. Clean environment. Fun staff and lots of little conveniences.
Auf Wiedersehen!
We woke up from our swanky Bayeux Chateau and checked out a local D-day museum before heading to Normandy yesterday morning. The museum was good, but it focused on certain details in a confusing way. The navigation lady in the car wasn't too specific on the location of Omaha beach, so we found ONE OF the access roads to a part of it. Getting lost in the French countryside is fun because you see real country life. We saw ALOT of real country life...
The American memorial and cemetery was very well done. It is huge and gives almost as much information as the Bayeux museum in an easy to understand way. It also focuses on many of the individual stories of those who died.
It's getting busy in here, so I'll wrap up.
It was a long drive back to Paris and MUCH worse traffic than on the way out. But we made it on the train with five minutes to spare. It was VERY tight, but we all considered it our favorite bonding time of the trip so far. Better pictures should surface eventually.
Today, in Berlin, our schedule slowed down. We don't have nearly as much planned for this city, so we just walked until we were done walking. We made our first pass through the Unter der Linden and saw the Queen of the Netherlands escorted to the Brandenburg gate by more security than I think our president would see on the road at one time.
We've all agreed that the Germans seem nicer about tourists. And Berlin feels much more like an American city. We checked out the Lindenbrau brewery for dinner and enjoyed a great variety of German food. Now it's laundry, card games and sleep in what we think is the coolest hostel ever. This place is great. Fast, free internet. Large room. Clean environment. Fun staff and lots of little conveniences.
Auf Wiedersehen!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Road trip through France
Today we picked up the car. The reservation says your car will be "similar to" the one displayed. Right. It was only a 7-passenger vehicle when we found out that there were seats under the luggage area in the back. You can stick Becky anywhere, so it worked out fine.
Driving around Paris may have been frustrating, what with all the one-way streets and how hard it is to read an intersection before you get to it. But it was not difficult or scary after a couple of times around the block. In fact, we were behind on our list of landmarks to visit, so we made a few trips around the massive Arc De Triumph round about in order to catch up.
The ride to Mont Saint Michell was beautiful, between tolls. We promise to upload EVERYONE'S pictures (these are just mine) when we return.
After Mont Saint Michell, it was a quick drive to Bayeux where we are now resting comfortably in some pretty swanky rooms. I wore the robe they provided just because I can. We blew our food budget here for a nice three course meal. The Escargot was excellent, probably because it was swimming in butter. This is one of our few chances to get some peaceful sleep (not just because the girls are down the hall) so as soon as these pictures are up, I'm outta here. I'm sorry for confusion on the last upload. It looks like they went to a new album. They are all moved back now.
https://picasaweb.google.com/kevin71481/ParisBerlin
Enjoy.
Driving around Paris may have been frustrating, what with all the one-way streets and how hard it is to read an intersection before you get to it. But it was not difficult or scary after a couple of times around the block. In fact, we were behind on our list of landmarks to visit, so we made a few trips around the massive Arc De Triumph round about in order to catch up.
The ride to Mont Saint Michell was beautiful, between tolls. We promise to upload EVERYONE'S pictures (these are just mine) when we return.
After Mont Saint Michell, it was a quick drive to Bayeux where we are now resting comfortably in some pretty swanky rooms. I wore the robe they provided just because I can. We blew our food budget here for a nice three course meal. The Escargot was excellent, probably because it was swimming in butter. This is one of our few chances to get some peaceful sleep (not just because the girls are down the hall) so as soon as these pictures are up, I'm outta here. I'm sorry for confusion on the last upload. It looks like they went to a new album. They are all moved back now.
https://picasaweb.google.com/kevin71481/ParisBerlin
Enjoy.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Saint Chapelle, Louve, Confused, and Cruise
The only reason I'm staying up to blog is because this connection is so freakishly slow tonight that I have to do SOMETHING while waiting for all of these photos to upload. I promise no depth to the conversation. Check out what pictures got uploaded before it just got too slow.
https://picasaweb.google.com/kevin71481/ParisBerlin#
Yesterday we hit up Versailles and the Eiffel tower, then finished the evening with dinner and hanging with Dave and Mary in their apartment. Versailles was beautiful. They haven't quite finished planting flowers, but it's pretty close and the temperature is perfect. The garden is vast and took half the time. We forgot their sun was the same as our though. Almost everyone is a little pink. The palace is vast and much of it isn't even on display. The Eiffel tower is cool, but not a must. The lines are horrid so we walked up the first level and took the elevator to the second.
Today, we had a late start. We got in late the night before to find a concert going on nearby which kept someone up all night. Then, morning noise woke me up pretty early. There was a note on Dave and Mary's building directing us to a nearby cafe. Apparently, they got tired of waiting for us. The neighborhood around their apartment is the perfect place to see normal French life and find normal priced merchandise and food. You'll see breakfast and our fun waiter who is expecting us to help him out when he and his brother visit Chicago next year...
Today was much more walking than before, but our feet have quit whining about it. Saint Chapelle (sp) is beautiful, but quick. After a while, I got tired of trying to figure out which biblical scene we were looking at. There are hundreds, I believe, from creation to revelation.
Next, the Louvre. Everyone else took 2-3 hours in the Louvre. I booked through in an hour and a half then, checked on our rental car. We understand now why it takes a couple of days to see properly. It's certainly the best museum experience ever. The building it's self is more impressive than Versailles. It's hard to imagine the size from these pictures. It's the two levels above ground and two below. Easily four or five football fields long on each end.
The team did a little shopping along the river and then took our sweet time trying to find the dock for our cruise. It only took an hour to find!
There are plenty of other sights to see, but the best we can do is drive by the Arc de Triumph on the way out of town tomorrow - to Normandy! Ya, I'm a little nervous about driving in Paris. It's not as crazy as some countries I've been in, but the streets are narrow, lanes are iffy and intersections seem confusing. Eh!
This connection is trying to die on me. Must publish!
https://picasaweb.google.com/kevin71481/ParisBerlin#
Yesterday we hit up Versailles and the Eiffel tower, then finished the evening with dinner and hanging with Dave and Mary in their apartment. Versailles was beautiful. They haven't quite finished planting flowers, but it's pretty close and the temperature is perfect. The garden is vast and took half the time. We forgot their sun was the same as our though. Almost everyone is a little pink. The palace is vast and much of it isn't even on display. The Eiffel tower is cool, but not a must. The lines are horrid so we walked up the first level and took the elevator to the second.
Today, we had a late start. We got in late the night before to find a concert going on nearby which kept someone up all night. Then, morning noise woke me up pretty early. There was a note on Dave and Mary's building directing us to a nearby cafe. Apparently, they got tired of waiting for us. The neighborhood around their apartment is the perfect place to see normal French life and find normal priced merchandise and food. You'll see breakfast and our fun waiter who is expecting us to help him out when he and his brother visit Chicago next year...
Today was much more walking than before, but our feet have quit whining about it. Saint Chapelle (sp) is beautiful, but quick. After a while, I got tired of trying to figure out which biblical scene we were looking at. There are hundreds, I believe, from creation to revelation.
Next, the Louvre. Everyone else took 2-3 hours in the Louvre. I booked through in an hour and a half then, checked on our rental car. We understand now why it takes a couple of days to see properly. It's certainly the best museum experience ever. The building it's self is more impressive than Versailles. It's hard to imagine the size from these pictures. It's the two levels above ground and two below. Easily four or five football fields long on each end.
The team did a little shopping along the river and then took our sweet time trying to find the dock for our cruise. It only took an hour to find!
There are plenty of other sights to see, but the best we can do is drive by the Arc de Triumph on the way out of town tomorrow - to Normandy! Ya, I'm a little nervous about driving in Paris. It's not as crazy as some countries I've been in, but the streets are narrow, lanes are iffy and intersections seem confusing. Eh!
This connection is trying to die on me. Must publish!
Versailles et le tour Eifell
Currently unable to upload pictures, but can sum up Versailles in a quote from Emily. "They know me too well. Everything I want to touch is covered in plastic"
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Getting there and Notre Dame - Update!
TIRED!! People get really cranky without sleep PLUS jet lag. Matt was probably the only person who slept more than a few hours the night before we left. So, flight delays and a few wrong turns in Paris did not go over well, but it was fine! We slept more than enough last night to make up for it. No more sleep walking.
Pictures are up! Check 'em out. Nevermind, I uploaded them with security and it won't make them public, even if I ask nicely. Fixing it later.
Try this!
Our plane changed twice before we actually left Chicago, but we only got to Paris about half an hour late. Air Canada is probably my favorite airline so far. There is at least four inches of extra leg room compared to US carriers and their entertainment systems for international flights are light years ahead.
We stumbled around Notre Dame while we waited for the Hostel to open up and climbed the 275 steps to the top. No time for thoughts on the place. It was beautiful. The hostel is perfectly fine, though we may regret some rooming decisions. Girls talk alot...
We met up with Amanda's friends in Paris, Mary and Dave, for dinner. They were VERY helpful in planning our next day. Do I have to mention the food?
Looks like this outlet is not working, so I'm shutting up.
Pictures are up! Check 'em out. Nevermind, I uploaded them with security and it won't make them public, even if I ask nicely. Fixing it later.
Try this!
Our plane changed twice before we actually left Chicago, but we only got to Paris about half an hour late. Air Canada is probably my favorite airline so far. There is at least four inches of extra leg room compared to US carriers and their entertainment systems for international flights are light years ahead.
We stumbled around Notre Dame while we waited for the Hostel to open up and climbed the 275 steps to the top. No time for thoughts on the place. It was beautiful. The hostel is perfectly fine, though we may regret some rooming decisions. Girls talk alot...
We met up with Amanda's friends in Paris, Mary and Dave, for dinner. They were VERY helpful in planning our next day. Do I have to mention the food?
Looks like this outlet is not working, so I'm shutting up.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Candid Camera Is Back
So, a blog comeback can't survive without some good camera quick-draw action and surprised people. First victim? This dude.
There's been a pair of these roaming around the south end of University recently. This guy got lost around our "back yard" the other morning. In hind sight, I still wasn't thinking fast enough. I could be having a leftover turkey sandwich right now.
There's been a pair of these roaming around the south end of University recently. This guy got lost around our "back yard" the other morning. In hind sight, I still wasn't thinking fast enough. I could be having a leftover turkey sandwich right now.Friday, April 1, 2011
Final Countdown
In less than seven days we will once again be enjoying leg cramps and minimal sleep while watching the same movie over and over again. International flights! Isn't it great that we can so easily complain about modern marvels?
I wasn't nearly bright enough to think of "Final Countdown" because it was sung by a group named Europe. My only thoughts were Arrested Development. Thanks for setting me straight Butch. By the way, watch Arrested Development on Hulu. It's awesome
Story is I'm tagging along with a group going to Paris and Berlin this Thursday. No missionaries or projects. Just chillin'. Even on vacation, I would probably plan the trip down to the minute. But everyone else is smarter than that, so we have quite a bit variabilitiness..ing built into the trip. I'd tell you the plans, but you'll just have to check the blog and facebook to find out. That's right, I'm making an empty promise to keep you up to date.
Our team has enjoyed several planning meetings. Taking official minutes and teleconferencing with remote members. Meet the team
Matt is a mysterious fellow. An engineer who loves sports and apparently traveling. That's my version of you in a nutshell dude. Matt has already survived one international trip with Becky and Amanda (pictured).
Becky. She's the crazy killer bunny. You're already familiar with her. Moving on.
Alyssa. Will probably finally admit to having a huge crush on me by the end of this trip so that we can get married by July. I'm on a tight schedule here babe.
Emily and Amanda. Emily ain't from round here but is taking the long drive to get here just in time for the trip. Emily and Amanda are great friends and we know that Emily can probably put up with us after watching our skype show a few times. Amanda is our team Nurse.
My pre-trip jobs included acquiring transportation while in Europe and the self assigned geek stuff. You can be sure that if we get around to getting you updates, you'll find them on the blog or facebook, so keep an eye out.
This trip should be a great chance to relax and enjoy new things (my favorite). It should also be full of opportunities to to get to know each other and people we run in to.
I wasn't nearly bright enough to think of "Final Countdown" because it was sung by a group named Europe. My only thoughts were Arrested Development. Thanks for setting me straight Butch. By the way, watch Arrested Development on Hulu. It's awesome
Story is I'm tagging along with a group going to Paris and Berlin this Thursday. No missionaries or projects. Just chillin'. Even on vacation, I would probably plan the trip down to the minute. But everyone else is smarter than that, so we have quite a bit variabilitiness..ing built into the trip. I'd tell you the plans, but you'll just have to check the blog and facebook to find out. That's right, I'm making an empty promise to keep you up to date.
Our team has enjoyed several planning meetings. Taking official minutes and teleconferencing with remote members. Meet the team
Matt is a mysterious fellow. An engineer who loves sports and apparently traveling. That's my version of you in a nutshell dude. Matt has already survived one international trip with Becky and Amanda (pictured).
Becky. She's the crazy killer bunny. You're already familiar with her. Moving on.
Alyssa. Will probably finally admit to having a huge crush on me by the end of this trip so that we can get married by July. I'm on a tight schedule here babe.
Emily and Amanda. Emily ain't from round here but is taking the long drive to get here just in time for the trip. Emily and Amanda are great friends and we know that Emily can probably put up with us after watching our skype show a few times. Amanda is our team Nurse.My pre-trip jobs included acquiring transportation while in Europe and the self assigned geek stuff. You can be sure that if we get around to getting you updates, you'll find them on the blog or facebook, so keep an eye out.
This trip should be a great chance to relax and enjoy new things (my favorite). It should also be full of opportunities to to get to know each other and people we run in to.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Ephesians Escape!
Check out our Turkey team blog at http://teamturkey2010.blogspot.com/. YES, this counts as me blogging again!!!
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