Prague with a stop in Dresden

I left early this morning to catch the train to Prague. I stopped half way in Dresden. Dresden was an amazing city. The city was bombed by the allies in 1945, destroying their palaces, opera houses and churches. They have reconstructed most of the buildings and have done an amazing job with the aesthetics. I've enjoyed the extra leg workout walking on the cobblestone streets.

When I arrived in Prague I was surprised that the train station was closed even though it as only 5:30pm....but it is a Saturday. It took me extra long to figure out how to get a ticket for the metro and to my hotel. I withdrew money from the ATM and then went to McDonalds for coins to buy a ticket (the ticket machines don't accept bills). I made it to my hotel, which is really nice!! (I booked it as a special deal I saw on travelzoo.com; they charged my credit card in June and I was hoping that it is nice.)

I walked around the castle and bridge to get a feel of the city. The castle is gorgeous at night; I love it all lit up!!

Last Day in Berlin

Today the Reichstag opened the Dome for viewing. The view was incredible. You can see most of the city. The Dome was added to the original building and allows viewers to walk up the ramp and look over the shoulders of their parliament members. The capitol of Germany was changed from Bonn to Berlin in 1999.

The victory tower was impressive and had an incredible view of the Brandenberg gate, Reichstag and the TV Tower.

I spent most of the day in Potsdam at the Sanssouci Palace, which was massive. The palace had an amazing garden including water fountains and statues.

I've been enjoying the cheap eating including the bratwursts and the snacks I brought with me.

Walling It

Yesterday I did the wall sites, including Checkpoint Charlie, the Museum and Topography of Terror. Only a small segment of the wall is left, which which was blocked off because of the construction on the Topography of Terror. The wall has lots of holes with rebar showing through. It was amaying learning how quickly the wall went up and the creative ways people used to try to escape.

I also went to Jewish Museum and learned that the Jews have were kicked out of most European countries were persecuted during most of European History. Most of the Jews settled in Eastern and Northern Europe where they were harrassed a lot less.

I took the train out to the Olympic Stadium, which was cool to see.

One my first day I had a currywurst which is like spiced wieners, a ketchup sauce with curry spice.

First Day in Berlin

My spelling is going to be even worst because of the different keyboards, at least I now have an excuse!! I can't upload pictures because there isn't a USB port. I visited the Brandenburg Gate, Museum Island, German History Muesum with lots of walking!!

They have cobblestones marking the spot were the wall once stood. It's so bizzare to see the huge difference between the east and west sides of Berlin.

I enjoyed the Memorial to the Murdered Jews with huge column blocks symbolizing all the Jews that were killed. I learned the the Roma's (Gypsy's) along with another group were also targeted. Jews from as far away as Greece were taken to concentration camps.

I'll tour the Reichstag Parilment Building this morning and do a lot of the wall sites including Checkpoint Charlie.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

My carry on and purse are packed and I'm ready to go. No extra baggage on this trip!!

Thank you for all the nice phone calls and messages from friends and family. I'll try to update my blog as much as possible, but no promises.

I'm excited and a little nervous right now. It seems so unreal.

Planning

I finally updated my blog!!!

I'm leaving July 28th to tour Europe for a month!! It's my first time in Europe and I'm excited for my adventure.

Let me know if you have any tips for my trip!!

Berlin
Prague
Vienna
Salzburg
Munich
Rhine Valley
Brugge
Paris
Amsterdam
Copenhagen
Oslo
Bergen
Stockholm
Copenhagen
Berlin

Last Minute Trip to Big Bear

I had a 45 minutes to eat breakfast, pack, and leave.....we had a lot of fun. We went kayaking, hiking, 4 wheeling (in a rental mini-van, we didn't want to ruin our car) with a little mine exploring.

I screamed the loudest ever Monday night. We were roasting marshmellows behind the cabin, Sommer thought she saw shadows and I heard noises. They discovered the raccoon and I wouldn't leave the patio porch (we roasted marshmellows while it was light outside the second night.)