Czech it out, we're in Prague!

Ahoy, Lindsay here.
We took our first sleeper train from Cologne to Prague...it was awesome. I went to sleep in Germany and woke up the next morning in Czech Republic ready to explore the city. I don't know if I have mentioned how much I love riding on the trains. I love getting to see the scenery and the time to relax a bit and catch up on some sleep.

We heard about a free walking tour of the city and soon found out how beautiful Prague is. We started in old town square where the first Astronomical Clock still stands. From there we ventured all around the city seeing different historical sights, churches, monuments and bridges. I really love the architecture here, everything has a big Art Nouveau vibe. Since Prague was never destroyed from war, the city is still in tact and beautiful. Everywhere we looked there were amazing buildings and castles. I felt like I was walking around in a fairytale land. After the tour we went back to our hostel to get ready for the evening. One of our roommates recommended a beer festival that was going on out in the country. Little did we know that there was a major hockey game happening that night as well, and it was being shown at the festival. It was the World Championship hockey game and Czech was in it to win it. The whole tent was going crazy with all sorts of songs and cheers, which of course we joined in although we had no idea what was being said. Czech won the gold and the entire crowd was dancing around on tables and benches celebrating. It was so much fun being a part of the excitement. The next day we continued exploring the city freaking out at how cute everything is. Our last day in Prague we went and saw the castle. The castle sits up on a hill and from the top we could see the entire city. What a view! To top it off, it was warm and sunny. There is a cathedral near the castle that took 600 years to build, I guess with all the gargoyles took a while to make. It was the perfect end to our visit in Prague.

One of my favorite parts of our trip has been the people we've met along the way. At our hostel in Prague we met Alex from Australia and Ashton from Canada. They are both traveling all around Europe as well, so it was fun sharing stories from our trips and getting to know each other. In every city we've been to we have met some great people. Having other friends around the world gives us a bit of our own traveling community. So thank you friends for making our trip so great.

PS: we will add more pictures of Prague when we have a computer to use.

Cheers,
Lindsay

Smells like Cologne!

I'm here!!!!!!!! I made it safely to Europe. This is Kirstin. I can't believe I'm actually here! So when I arrived in Cologne I was greeted at the airport by my two beautiful travleing companions. I was happily surprised to discover that Julian, (an exchange student that lived with Haley's family for a while) had a sister that let us use her flat downtown Cologne for the week. The flat is so cute, cozy, and easily accessible to downtown. I slept for 15 hours the first night (Lindsay thought she would be nice and let me sleep half of my day away!!) but it was much needed. Fortunately, I was able to adapt to the time change fast. My first day in Cologne was amazing. The three of us took the train to meet up with Julian at the city center. We walked around the shopping center for quite a while (and of course bought a few souvenirs!) and headed to the cathedral.

Dom Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Church that dates back to 1248. Construction of the church began then, but the church was not completed until 1880. During World War II the church suffered immense damage, but didn't collapse.

We walked around inside the cathedral...truly an amazing experience. I had studied the cathedral in an art history course while in school...and to see it in person....WOW! We had the opportunity to hike to the top of the bell tower...not an easy task, but before we did, we had to take another jumping picture! This is in the tunnel that leads to the stairs of the bell tower.

We took narrow winding stairs to the top, stairs that EVERYONE used traveling up and down. We thought we were going to pass out from stair stepping. The sight from the top was gorgeous. You could see all of Cologne, and the cathedral sets right along the Rhine River. Of course after our little jaunt up the bell tower, we were hungry.

The four of us ate at a small little cafe close to the cathedral. Haley had bloodwurst sausage with potatoes (surprisingly delicious), Lindsay had potatoe cakes with applesauce (yum!), and I had the best salad ever! Sauteed mushrooms, bacon, and onions! The Germans really know how to eat! After our break we shopped a little longer, than went back to the flat to relax. The three of us stayed in for the evening to rest up for the next day and plan the rest of our trip.

The next mornig we headed back to the city center in search of a post office and some good food. We had lunch near the central train station...awesome food. Lindsay had currie wurst (delicous), Haley had a sandwich that is pretty popular here (eggs, tomatoes, and cucumber), and I had a sandwich with brie and tomatoes. We weren't full yet so we had to have dessert. I don't know what it was called, but it was the greatest thing I've ever had. All I can compare it to is a doughboy donut, but way better. We sat down at a starbucks infront of the cathedral, enjoyed the sun, and wrote some postcards. Yes, it is sunny and beautiful here. It's been in the upper 60's, low 70's....perfect!

After our little break, we walked through old town Cologne, an area less touristy. We walked past an irish pub, heard some men speaking with strong irish accents, and of course we had to stop in. We sat down for a drink and started a conversation with some of the guys. We now have irish friends!!!! Kevin, Collin, Jim, and James!!! We talked for a few hours with them, asked them all about Ireland, where to go, where not to go. They are from a small town called Cork. All of them are finishing up carpentry and electrician apprenticeships, and head home to Ireland next Wednesday. Hopefully we will see them in Ireland! They were very friendly and extremely fun to chat with. We are definitely excited to visit Ireland!

Later in the evening we met up with Julian and a few of his friends from Cologne. We went to a huge dancing club and danced our socks off!!!!! So much fun. We met a lot of interesting people at the club and had a great time.

Right now the three of us are resting up, packing up, and prepping for our train ride to Prague. We leave this evening on a night train to the Czech Republic, YAY!!!!! We are so excited. We upgraded to a semi-sleeper train and will hopefully sleep during the night so we are ready for the day when we arrive in Prague. We arrive in the morning so it should work out perfect.....

We are having an amazing adventure together. Lots, lots, lots of laughing. I couldn't have asked to travel with better friends.

Well, signing off........we will update in Prague hopefully!!!!!

-Kirsten

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P.S: This is Haley, I wasn't able to upload photos from my camera...until now. Here are a few photos from our visit with Stefan that I couldn't put before.

Here Lindsay and I are doing another crazy jump picture in front of a government building in Hanover.

This is a picture of our gracious hosts that made us feel so comfortable while we were in Hänigsen. Thank you all so much!

I loved being here in Cologne to see where Julian lives and to meet some of his friends. Thanks Julian for making us feel so welcome.

-Haley

Berlin: much more than just a wall!

Hey guys!

It's Haley this time and we just got home from a trip into Berlin. Stefan, Lindsay and I all drove in on Monday and the first stop was a concentration camp near Berlin called Sachsenhausen (say that 10 times fast...I dare you)!! I had always wanted to go to a concentration camp but never really knew what to expect. This particular camp is one that still has a lot of buildings still intact so we really got the feeling of how it looked back when it held prisoners. Walking in through the iron gate which reads, 'work makes you free,' sets the tone for the feeling of sympathy and grief for the hundreds of thousands of people who had to endure such a place.

The entire camp is surrounded by barbed wire fence that once was electric. About 200,000 people passed through Sachsenhausen between 1936 and 1945 and about 30,000 inmates died there. We did an audio tour of the camp which gave us stories from the prisoners who were held there. It also gave us the history of the camp and explained what the conditions were for the prisoners, which were inhumane, to say the least.

The hardest point in the day for me was when we saw the cremation room and gas chamber. To think of how many people died there was overwhelming. This sculpture was placed near the building where a lot of the prisoners were put to death. It is in memory of every victim.

So many people that were put in the camp and treated like garbage, were put there because of what they believed in. It really makes me thankful for the fact that I can believe in my God in the way that I feel is true and right and I will not be punished for it. But, it did make me think..."what am willing to give up and sacrifice for my beliefs?" The time we spent there was emotionally draining and none of us really felt like talking much after learning about what happened there...

The next day we headed into Berlin and learned a lot about the important German city. A lot has happened in Berlin. And, as we have quickly found out since getting to Europe...we know hardly anything about European history compared to how much Europeans know about American history!

If you don't quite know what took place in Berlin...like me, then here is a little history lesson about the Country's capital city. In 1933 Hitler and the Nazi party came into power and quickly sought to destroyed the Jewish community, anyone who was against the Nazi party, and pretty much anyone who believed or seemed different than them. The estimated number of deaths from the Nazis are about 11 million...although this number is difficult for them to estimate. During the Second World War, huge parts of Berlin were destroyed during the 1943-45 air raids. Half of all houses were damaged and around a third uninhabitable. They estimate the total number of dead in Berlin from air raids to be about 30,000. Many of which were civilians. It took the city a long time to rebuild and you can still see some buildings which show signs of the raids.

This church was almost demolished until they decided to preserve the part that is shown in this picture. After the second world war; defeated Germany was divided up into 4 parts. Long story short, East side Berliners kept leaving the East side for the West because it was more prosperous. They didn't want to lose anymore of their residents so, just like any fair government...East German authorities decided to create a temporary barbed wire fence around West Berlin so that their people could not get in. Construction began at about 1 a.m. on Aug. 12 1961, streetlights were turned off so that no one could see what was happening and the residents had no idea until morning. Families were split apart and people who had spent the night in East Berlin, perhaps visiting friends, couldn't return to their homes in the West. They were stranded. Eventually a 96 mile wall was built up and East Berlin continued to be a communist city with a depressed economy until the wall was torn down in 1989. Now the wall is hard to find in the large city, a large piece of it is used for professional murals. In fact, it is the longest connected piece of art in the world!

Being in Berlin was amazing and we learned so much about a very important time in world history. I think the thing that I most took away from our trip to Berlin is just the examination of my feelings towards people who are different than me. Do I judge them or show them respect? Yes, the Nazi party did horrendous things...but we also live with Racism every day. It is up to us to change our hearts.

Anyway...I will stop ranting and I will continue on to talk about the wonderful Otte family who made our stay so amazing. I unfortunately can't upload my pictures on this computer so I don't have a picture yet but I will soon. They were so welcoming and Stefan's mom made amazing German food. We enjoyed getting to know his whole family. In fact, on the last night Irenne said "I wish we could have you here longer!" They were very sweet and we loved every minute of being in their village. Thank you's from the both of us! Tausend dank!!

So, we arrived in Cologne today and are visiting our exchange student Julian. Lindsay and I rushed to the airport to meet up with our final travel buddy Kirsten!!!! She was so excited to be here that we saw no evidence of jet lag! She ran around saying "O...M...G...I'm in Europe!!! I just couldn't be happier!" That was just at the airport...now imagine her excitement when we arrived at the apartment that Julian's sister is graciously letting us stay in while we are here in downtown Cologne! This is going to be quite an adventure! -Haley

We're in Germany... time to Hanover the fun!

Hi, this is Lindsay. Haley and I have been in Germany since the 13th and we love it here! We have been visiting our friend Stefan, he lived as an exchange student with my family in Silverton a few years ago. Stefan and his family live in a small village called Hänigsen which is about 25 minutes away from the city of Hanover. The village is soooo cute. All the houses here are brick, but nothing like I've seen in the states, they have more of a cottage feel here.

All around the village the roads are lined with trees and beautiful fields of yellow flowers. Its spring so everything is green and alive.

I've really enjoyed seeing what Stefans life is like here. Our first night we had a traditional German bbq with his dad, mom and girlfriend(Klaus, Irenne and Laura). Right away we felt welcomed and at home here. Friday Stefan took us to Celle. Celle is a small historical town with cobblestone streets and a bavarian feel. The buildings are brick of course, with ornate wood carvings and paintings worked into the brick. "Cute" was the word for the day! Stefan was shocked at how many times we were able to work cute into our sentences. But really, everything from the outdoor cafes to the people riding bikes was cute. After walking around the city and visiting a castle, we stopped and had lunch at an outdoor cafe where we learned a bit more about German food. Haley and I have had a nickname for Stefan since last summer...that name is Schnitzel. The whole time we thought schnitzel was a sausage but in fact it is a piece of pork with a bread crumb crust, similar to chicken fried steak. I guess calling him schnitzel isn't the cutest of nicknames, oh well, maybe we can change it up for something cuter like strudel.

That night we met up with some of Stefan's friends and went out dancing. We went to a club in Hanover and literally danced the night away. The clubs don't close till 7 a.m. so by the time we were leaving the sky was already starting to get light. After getting some sleep we went back into Hanover and spent Saturday afternoon shopping around and exploring the city a bit.

There is a lot more new architecture in Hanover than some of the other cities we've visited so far. During the war a lot of the city was destroyed and then rebuilt so we've seen a variety of new and old here. Haley and I have an ongoing saying of "when in ...(insert country), do as they do" so when in Germany we must ride bikes.

Everywhere we go, we see bikes with baskets on the front and back to carry stuff. Sunday morning we rode around the village and countryside thinking "this is soooo cute". That afternoon we got to see Stefan and his brother, Benny, play in a soccer match. It was so cool getting so see a real European futbol game. On Sundays, the whole family gets together for dinner and this week we were lucky to be a part of it. Irene is a great cook, and as always, the meal was excellent. The evening was full of laughter, which we have learned, has no language barrier.

Au revoir Belgium...guten tag Germany!

It's me again (Haley),

Yesterday we went to a small town in Belgium named Brugge which is often called 'little Venice.' It is different than Brussels in that the buildings are shorter but still share the same charm.

The streets are only one lane wide and if you stand on the street corner for a few minutes you will see countless bikes and horse drawn carriages pass by! Pinch us, we are seriously in a dream...or at least disneyland. We are not sure if Brugge is technically the chocolate capital of the world but we deemed it worthy of the title. Just about every other store in the town was a chocolate shop...imagine walking through a quaint village, watching the boats cruise under a canal, suddenly you walk by a shop and smell the sweet scent of freshly made chocolate. Mmmmm...to be on a diet in this town would be sheer torture!

There are two languages in Belgium, one being French and the other Dutch. The locals in this town speak Dutch, so our tour guides Tommy and his brother Gary were almost as clueless as we were. Our favorite parts were the little canals that ran through the town and the tiny alleyways that led us all over the city. Lindsay saw an alley between two buildings that led us down to a balcony leaning over the water. She yelled.."an alley!!!" And we both started running towards it like two kids on Christmas morning...the boys laughed for a while then Tommy said "it makes it easy for me...you are easily entertained!"

That night we headed back and went to Tommy's work, a restaurant called Le Piano. The food what wonderful. We had french wine and shared duck a l'orange and chicken brochette with fine champagne sauce. SO good!!! We had an awesome night meeting Tommy's friends and hanging out in a Belgian college town.

We are heading to Germany today and have had the most amazing time in Belgium! Tommy, his parents George and Maria, and his siblings Alexander, Sabrina, Gary and his Girlfriend Gaelle are wonderful people and have made us feel like royalty during our time here. Just to prove how spoiled we are, yesterday while Lindsay and I realized that neither of us knew where the silverware was! The family has barely let us lift a finger. We're not going to know what to do when we return to reality!

Last night was our last evening here and we decided to cook the family an American dinner…so we made Mexican food. We headed off to the neighborhood grocery store, where everything was written in French. A very interesting experience. Just a tip, next time you go to Belgium and want to make a traditional American dessert...bring your own pumpkin pie filling! The family loved the dinner and we had an awesome night. Tommy's younger brother and sister warmed up to us, despite the language barrier. Don't ask us how, but we even played a round of pictionary with them!

Although we are excited to move on to the next city and visit our other friends, we are going to miss our Belgian family. They are genuinely wonderful people with such open hearts and a welcome home. We will miss them. My favorite phrase that I learned while being here was, ’je suis contente,’ which means ‘I am happy…’ that definitely was the mantra of this trip!

Something that we have noticed so far is how quickly the trip is going...it seems as if we just started getting to know Tommy's family and we are already leaving. It is exciting though because we are just now starting to learn French phrases and how to pronounce things correctly (but, to be honest...we still sound like a bunch of frauds faking a Pepe le piu accent). Now we are off to learn German and see the ways that our friends Stefan and Julian live in Germany!

Thanks for reading...it is nice to be going along this journey with so many others.

-Haley