Europe followup and next trip

I want to post a few wrap-up comments about my trip to Europe and the unforgettable experiences.  While I will of course always remember having the opportunity to dine and wine on the wonderful Champs Elysee in Paris and walk through Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin or see the beauty of Versailles, the focus of the trip was my research on war memorials and military cemeteries and what I had the chance to see and experience will stay with me for the rest of my life.  I intend to use those memories and feelings as I work to build my teaching website and database so that I can help others share this experience and use it as a learning platform.

During the trip, I was blessed with some rare opportunities that enhanced and magnified what I saw:

• the rare chance to see the many French military veterans gathered for a ceremony at the Arc d'Triomphe and the French Tomb of the Unknown which was covered in memorial flowers as aged-veterans hovered closely nearby

• to walk along Utah and Omaha beaches at sunset with the waves gently lapping the shore 
• to see the many British and French school children as they toured the sacred memorials of World War I scattered across northern France and Belgium and listen to their teachers explain the war and its effects
• to face the gale force frigid winds on the steps of the Canadian memorial at Vimy Ridge and try to imagine how the young men 90+ years ago endured this in the trenches
• to look out over the farm fields that seven centuries earlier had seen one of the great military conflicts of history and remember how the mud had sucked the life from the vaunted French knights
• to walk under the Menin Gate as the names of 54,000+ looked down upon me and I hoped that somewhere each name was remembered for the special person they had been
• to see the sunset on the fields of Waterloo on the 195th anniversary
• to eat BBQ ribs at Buffalo Bills in Amiens

• to hear the eager young Canadian college student explain proudly how he was chosen to serve for 4 months at his nation's place to honor its heroes and offer us a tour  
• to walk through the German cemeteries and ossuaries where we saw no other visitors and no school groups visited but simple crosses with as many as four names each stretched across vast distances
• to realize there was no mention of French General Henri Petain at Verdun where he had helped to save his nation in WWI but fell into disgrace for his collaboration in WWII
• to see the end of a promotion ceremony in the French army at the French Army Museum chapel at the Invalides

• to watch the eerie cool mist rise over the grounds between Fort Douomont and Fort Veaux at Verduan and imagine the terrific destruction and chaos that had consumed the entire area 
• to walk down the Unter den Linden in Berlin and let my mind imagine what once had been

• to see the beautiful and fragrant rose garden in Prague in full bloom and gaze upon several peace roses and remember the bushes from my grandparents home where they always seemed to be in bloom in front of the house 

• to find the dragon and then realize how few ever would see it or know the men that it honored 
• and finally to sit in the Frankfurt airport and talk to young men and women who themselves were returning on leave from the wars of our time, including one who had attended my college campus at one time, and hear their excitement to see their familes and be away from the sand and the heat as I wondered about the memorials that are still to be built.....

Soon, I will again continue my summer's journey but within the US, as I head east-northeast to examine the commemorations from America's wars from the Revolution to current conflicts, but I will forever remember my European jaunt and the haunting images of centuries of conflict and lives lost and remembered.

Prague!

 

  We headed out around noon the next day to take the train to Prague and it was a beautiful trip. Once we neared the Czech border the tracks followed along a river and so we had beautiful sites for most of the trip. The whole area is very green and full of trees and farmland. 

   We arrived in Prague around 7:30 and then had an interesting experience; lots of people wanting to offer you accommodations and rides. LOL We went out to the taxi stand and you had to negotiate a price (later learned we overpaid) and our driver looked like he belonged in the Russian mafia (who are all over the Czech Republic). Also keep in mind that the Czechs use a different currency the kronin and it has a crazy exchange rate of like 20kc to $1 so trying to figure it out was nuts and there was no one open to exchange currency in the train station but there was an ATM. Imagine the shock however when the smallest denomination of kc it offers is 500 ( my card later showed a cash advance of $28 LOL) and goes up to 5000! LOL And the taxi ride took most of that!

We arrived at our beautiful Crowne Plaza Hotel at the castle; it literally sits in part of an old renovated Strahovsky Monastery dating from the 12th century. The place was gorgeous and so welcoming and the nicest hotel of the trip. We had dinner in the restaurant that night and then headed for a good nite’s rest.
 

The next day we headed off around the corner to see the courtyard of the monastery – literally a few feet from the hotel. There is a patio hotel with a breathtaking view down the hill to the Lesser Town and across the river into Old Town as well as the castle.  

 

 

  Next we wandered over to the famous Prague castle – the largest medieval castle still in existence and along with the Charles Bridge the most famous landmark in Prague. As we neared the main gates, we noticed there were quite a few people gathered about and figured something must be up. Sure enough! They soon had a changing of the guards ceremony; now it was pretty small but patterned on that of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace in London and clearly meant to cater to tourists (like us). We had a great view and so were able to get some nice pictures and I took a short video.         After entering the gates you suddenly enter a courtyard with a tremendous early Gothic cathedral, St. Vitus. This church has some breathtaking stained glass including an entire large window done in purple.                                                           We walked to the end of the castle grounds and again had wonderful views over the city. After some great lunch at a little sidewalk café – I had some GREAT goulash we were off again.      Next we wondered down to the Lesser Town area that was below us and on our side of the river.

What beautiful old city and reminiscent of Paris with quaint streets and the great red trams. We had fun trying to read the signs and understanding the Czech language as well as the menus.

We then walked out on the famous Charles (Karl) bridge and meandered among the street vendors as we snapped photos. The view back up to the area of our hotel and the castle really are a site to see. The city is just fabulous to photograph.           After walking across the bridge and back we caught the funicular train to the top of the hill where the Czechs built a smaller version of the Eiffel Tower for a world’s fair in the early 1900s. Again, there were great views of the city and into the castle. And much to our surprise a spectacular rose garden that was in full bloom; the sweet essence wafted through the air and the subdued romantic statue presented a touching spot for lovers.                   We then had a short walk back to our hotel – we had made a circle. Our room was directly over the entrance looking into the small garden. Again everywhere everything is in bloom.      We had dinner at one of the little restaurants on the monastery grounds and I tried the goulash again although it was not quite as good; unfortunately there are few sweet wines here but I did try a local Moravian wine. Little too warm for the hot wine! We returned to the hotel bar and they tried to make some mixed drinks for us but seemed to not really have a knack for it LOL. We were soon joined by 2 flight attendants from Lufthansa who had a layover in the city and this was their hotel. We had lively and fun conversation with them and the Czech bartender that evening and shared a lot of laughs.

The next day we slept in a little before heading on the tram into the Old Town where walking is a must. We first hiked up to Wenceslaus Square and the Czech national museum and then we headed toward the river. Along the way we took the time to complete our shopping and found some great stuff including jewelry (I had already purchased some Bohemian crystal). There were so many great shops!  

     We also arrived just after the famous astronomical clock had rung for the hour and so we kept trekking down to the river area where we were able to take some photos of the Charles Bridge. We then began our trek back and luckily came back to the clock right as it struck up the hour and so could film the turning of the statues in the window and listen to the horn player blow. We stopped at the lovely sidewalk market that brimmed with fresh fruits, vegetables, candy and trade goods.    

    From here we began our walk back to the tram stop that would take us back across the river and up the hill to our hotel. After stowing our purchases, we went out for dinner at another little local restaurant and then had a great dessert of tiramisu on the patio dining area overlooking the city. We returned to the hotel bar to try a local specialty, the Bohemian champagne first and then you mix it with the national pilsner beer. The champagne was dry but ok, but the mix with beer was just AWFUL! It was fun to learn the local custom and we enjoyed chatting with the bartender who had fled his nation as a nineteen year old immediately upon the end of communist rule and had found work on various cruise lines, eventually sailing twice around the world, before he returned to home and family. He also filled us in on the large impact Russian mafia and business has on controlling much of the money and business in the Republic.

Our stay would end the next day as we boarded the train to Frankfurt Airport. Prague, the land of my ancestors, had charmed me and I agree it is a beautiful city with charming people – and many of them having babies LOL! It maintains its old world, eastern European charm while growing into a modern westernized city full of McDonalds, Subway and Starbucks.

Now I have actually just returned home from this trip and will post my final thoughts on the trip with a post in the next day or two so stay tuned, and then I will be off again on a trip within the US!

Berlin 2

  With such a great hotel room we woke up refreshed and ready for another great day in Berlin. Oh I forgot to put in my last post that as we walked to the chocolate café the previous evening that we happened upon a memorial! I recognized a building as one of WWII construction, and sure enough it was the old Luftwaffe Headquarters that now houses the Minister of Finances. This is the only WWII era building (built by Albert Speer) that remains in Berlin.   So this was a great find but on the small courtyard next to it was another memorial – to the June 17, 1953 uprising in East Berlin. This was a crowd of angry East Germans who attempted an uprising against the new East German (DDR) government but failed.    There is a small wading pool with water and of course great signs with the history. But even more remarkably we were here on the day after the anniversary! So again like so many places we visited, it had flower commemorations placed along it including single stem red roses laying all along the edge. Very moving and so simple.  

 Okay as we set out on this our second day in Berlin, the weather had turned considerably colder! The cool front that had been following us from France had arrived and the cold, damp wind had picked up. We went to the Reichstag in order to climb the crystal dome on top for great views of the city. Well there was a considerable line and we had to wait for about an hour as they control the number of people who are inside at any one time. At least it did not rain on us although it threatened to do so and we had a few sprinkles. The dome is really remarkable as it allows for natural light to flood into the Bundesrat (the legislative chamber of government) – there really is not “Reichstag” anymore as that is an empirical term.       . Also it has a large ocular hole at the top of the dome that allows in water as well, and this is collected in a large cone. The entire structure is extremely eco-friendly and creates energy from the sun as well as the water. The ramp up inside is also very disability friendly. The views around the city were great! Hard to believe standing in such an historic spot!    

 After the Reichstag we attempted to catch one of the hop-on/hop-off tour buses, well…our luck would not be so good today. There was a street fair on part of the Unter den Linden near the Brandenburg Gate and then on the other end of the Tiergarten area there was a demonstration/parade! So the tour buses were altering their routes or stopping altogether for a few hours. Very frustrating. We decided to choose one that was a little less expensive – bad choice. First they told us the next bus was delayed and would not leave for about 40 minutes, so we went to do a little souvenir shopping nearby, but when we returned in only 30 minutes – the bus was already gone! Thankfully the next bus pulled up in just a few minutes and off we went, however, it began a journey through an area we had been told would not be covered with the altered route. I was actually glad as would take me by the German Victory Memorial in the middle of the Tiergarten, except again not good luck…the memorial is being refurbished and so is completely covered!! Yikes this was one I had really wanted to see as it commemorates the military victories that allowed for the unification of Germany in the 1800s. Oh well. We then headed to down to the area near where we were told the protest was occurring; the guide on the bus told everyone we would stop for 15 minutes, but then the bus tour manager informed us that all buses would stop until 4:30pm and it was only around 2!   Well I had wanted to see this area anyway as it had the famous Kaiser Wilhelm church that was bombed out during WWII and was left with only one tower standing but the gorgeous golden mosaics intact. This church is very much photographed and shown as a way to illustrate some of the destruction from the war. The ruins are striking as they sit among the modern buildings of the city and the large Mercedes-Benz headquarters looms just down the street. What is even more remarkable is what is inside – the stunning golden mosaics on the ceiling! This is all that remains of a once beautiful church used by the Hohenzollern royalty of the German empire.         They have a great presentation inside showing photographs and drawings of the original church as well as a mock up of the whole street as it appeared in 1904 and now.     The church of Coventry England that was also bombed out donated a cross to the Kaiser Wilhelm church and it is displayed. They have also built a completely new tower and church right next door and it has a stunning wall of small blue stained glass and a very contemporary statue of Jesus.     Without a bus for transport, we decided to try the Berlin subway (U-bahnhof) and had no problems. As always it ran efficiently and on time and the directions were easy to follow. We came up above ground near our destination – the famous Checkpoint Charlie that signaled the end of the American sector during the days of a divided Berlin. Of course this is a major stop for tourist groups as well. They have the great information signs so you can read about the Checkpoint as well as historical photographs.       Now what was funny and distracting were folks trying to make money here off of the tourists and really being silly (stupid). There was a Frenchman (heavy accent) wearing a British army uniform, carrying a Union Jack sign, in front of the US Army checkpoint and wanting people to pay to have picture with him. Was an annoyance but oh well. Funny that area now beyond the checkpoint is full of fast food places with McDonalds overlooking the site LOL!       We then headed to see the magnificent Berliner Dom or cathedral at the end of the Unter den Linden and on a small island in the Spree river near famous art museums.    . The Dom is quite a site especially inside with magnificent paintings and a gorgeous dome.       We then hiked all the way up the cupola for more great views of the city. And then back down into the crypt of the Hohenzollern rulers of Prussia – again great for a German historian. And I found the memorial inside to the Germans who served in WWI.       There is also a view of dome of the Jewish synagogue the only part of the building that was rebuilt after the war.  It was been burned down during Kristallnacht.      We now decided to walk back to the posh area of Berlin (the Gendarmenmarkt) where we had had our chocolate the night before. I was in the mood for a good dinner of Wiener Schnitzel. Along our trek, we were able to see the great equestrian statue of Frederick the Great as well as some fabulous architecture and some of the old 1950s era Soviet style apartments.   We found a great little place to eat that even had a salad bar and then decided to head back to the great chocolate café and store for another dessert and fabulously rich hot chocolate.       We had seen so much of this fascinating city that is working hard to present all of its history and which brims with people and life and stays open fairly late!  Now I must say all the Germans we encountered were happy and friendly (unlike some of the other places we had been) and this may be due in part to their good economy. The city was lively and busy and again Germans seemed happy to have English speaking visitors and always insisted in talking to us in English and found it great that we were from Texas. And again so many bicyclists! We returned to our nice hotel full and I was still marveling at all that I had seen of this city.