Dachau; a sobering reminder of the arrogance and willful destruction man can employ

Dachau

Paul decided on one more detour on way back to Ramstein; the concentration camp of Dachau.  This was extremely sobering and an experience I will never forget.  We got there after hours but were able to get in for a while without any crowds; for which I am grateful.  To read what happened there and imagine very minutely what it would feel like to be there was painful.  To imagine that this ever happened and that it could happen again is terrifying.  It reminds me why I have started despising politics.  I have trouble wanting to listen to the arrogance of the “I am right and you are a moron” monologues that I have been hearing from all sides of all parties.  I am grateful for those around me who can listen and be pragmatic about other’s beliefs.  Traveling has made me appreciate other countries, cultures, religions, beliefs and humanity.  I have been treated so well and I am grateful for the knowledge that people are people wherever we are and none of us have all the answers or deserve to be ridiculed for being ourselves.  Lecture ended.  I hope to never let go of the memories of Dachau and the lessons learned from questions, “how could this ever happen?”     I came away from this experience resolving to think more of how my words, attitudes and actions affect other people.  There is a way to both stand up for what we believe and respect others.  I wish we had more of that…

work will make you free

work house

Salzburg, Austria and Sound of Music

Salzburg, Austria and the Sound of Music tour. After traveling back through the Alps, and past at least 50 castles set high on hills, our last major city was Salzburg. Salzburg is where Mozart was born and where Sound of Music was filmed. I am sure other stuff happened, but those are the only two things that we had time for. I visited Salzburg that night just for a peek of the city and a few of the sights. We only had time the next day for the sound of music tour. It was a very interesting city and beautiful sights and an interesting history and love of arts and music. We all went on the Sound of Music tour. Though for some reason the Paul and boys sat on the back of the bus while Jeanie, Mimi and I sat near the front…hmmm, could it be the singing portion of the tour was more fun for some of us? We got to stop at a lot of the areas where the musical was filmed and enjoyed the company of other musical lovers from around the world. Of course, Jeanie and I may have had too much fun with the singing and commentary…but we did have a request for an encore by the Australian couple who were sitting in front of us. Salzburg was a quick trip, but will leave lasting memories.

Fountain in the town square (these were all taken at  night, hence the dramatic black and white)

Mozart's statue, his childhood home was nearby

one of the houses filmed for Sound of Music along with the lake they fell into

I am sixteen going on seventeen....now you are humming the tune huh...

where Maria skipped down the lane on her way to the Von Trapps

gardens the real Maria enjoyed

Church where the movie wedding took place

inside the church

I loved these detailed windows

uh, bones in the church...creepy

really Austria, really....

Two adventures I never planned on, and never want to forget.

Croatia, and Slovenia

Our next stops were in Croatia, where we stayed the night, and Slovenia where we spent an enjoyable afternoon.   As we drove through these two countries I was delighted by the scenery.  Mountains and fields, the Adriatic Ocean and marshes kept me busy craning my head out the window.  I knew a very little about Croatia and nothing about Slovenia…I, uh, thought it was Slovakia.  However, I was surprised how much I enjoyed them and we all agreed that we would love to come back and spend some more time.   In Croatia we spent the night in a city on the bay in Ulm.   We had a wonderful evening walk with sunset included!  Our dinner was on the edge of the bay.  In the morning I awoke early and headed down to the bay to take pictures of the scenery.  I found a place to sit that was on a ledge with hundreds of little crabs having a rocking good time on the rocks below.  I took a million pictures of them for the sheer fun of it.  We then drove on down to the 2,000 year old town of Poreč.  This town has an amazing history.  The basilica was built in the fifth century but remains from the temple of Neptune date to the first century.  This was an incredible ancient city in a beautiful area. 



they take their signs seriously here

bubbly crabby



I guess they consider themselves the Las Vegas of Croatia

 

Croatian farmers market

Porec

5th Century fresco 

5th century church

Porec



1st century Neptune's temple

After Croatia we went to the capital city of Slovenia; Ljubljana.  It was a beautiful romantic city.  It had eye popping colors and beautiful bridges and flowers.  The large park in the center of town featured live music (there was a 40’s and 50’s swing band there that afternoon).  Of course, my favorite thing was the dragon bridge.  Four large dragons at each corner guarded the city.  Above the main part of the town was a large castle complex adding the romance of the city.  We all enjoyed Ljubljana very much even if not one of us could/can/will ever be able to pronounce it.   From there we continued to wind our way through the Alps in Northern Slovenia.  We came to a town called Bled.  While morbidly named, it quickly became my favorite place that we visited and is a perfect honeymoon spot if anyone is looking for a unique and beautiful place.  The grandest feature is the castle in the middle of the lake with another castle on a hill behind it and the Alps towering behind the castles.  It was gorgeous.  It was difficult to leave, but I am glad we did, as we continued through the village my heart was won over.  I love real, picturesque, charming villages and oh sister, this was one!  Imagine the scene of little old ladies gardening, fields of stuff being farmed, sheep, spotted cows, stripy cats and flowers overflowing from every charming little house.  In short…I liked it.  Croatia and Slovenia, unexpected but absolutely delightful!

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

bring your angora rabbit to Slovenia day

 

Slovenian jazz band

 

 

Paul, Jeanie and Mimi enjoying the music

 

 

bled castle

 

 

Sunset in the Alps

 

 

Bavaria and Italy

Neuschwanstein  Castle and Austria Alps

 

Jeanie, Paul, their two boys and one of their daughters escorted me on a dream trip to five countries (yes, I am counting Bavaria as its own county…if you have your own cream you should be your own country) and dream destinations.  Our first stop was in the middle of the Bavarian Alps.  Neuschwanstein Castle is very famous because of its crazy Bavarian King and because Mr. Walt Disney patterned Sleeping Beauty’s castle after it…I think it was Sleeping Beauty…but, you know, one of those princess types.  It was set upon a high hill surrounded by Alps and trees with a gorge full of Alpine waterfalls and my favorite, deep pool of clear blue green water resting under a rock arch.  I can’t say I was very fond of the bridge far above the gorge…something about the squeaking, groaning bridge with a million tourists clustered on it jockeying for position to take a picture with the castle.  However, it was very pretty view from the bridge and would have been as  you plunged down into the gorge…but, I made it out alive.  Fog was hanging on the Alps behind the castle making it very photogenic.  Jeanie and I took a shortcut and helped a British couple that were lost…until we realized that we didn’t really know where we were and we perhaps leading them in the wrong direction….but, turns out Jeanie was correct and we lead them not astray.   As I am writing I keep thinking of what I guess must be my favorite part…the piping hot bratwurst at the bottom of the hill…oh it was good.  And that my friend is the story of Neuschwanstein.

the Bavarian countryside

mmm...brats

 

are we lost?

our horses that carried us up the hill

 

Alps, side trip and Venice, Italy

Driving through the Alps to Venice, Italy was stunningly beautiful.  The fields were a lush green full of wildflowers.  I of course, was oohing and aahing.  The trouble with Europe is they don’t seem to understand the power of their own beauty.  They have a serious lack of pull outs for picture taking and tend to put large trees and bridges in places where you want to just stare.  I took pictures from the car, because I couldn’t let it go…I had to have pictures of Alps.  Paul took us on a little detour up to a little town in the Italian mountains called Segno.  This, as we found out, was where Father Kino was born in 1645 and raised.  It is a quaint little village.  We came to a monument to Father Kino.  For those non Arizonans, Father Kino was a missionary sent from Spain to Sonora, Mexico.  He was an amazing man.  He founded many missions including San Xavier Del Bac (which I took pictures of before I left to Europe).  The statue that was placed in front of the museum honoring him was donated by the city of Tucson and the Arizona Historical Society in 1992.  It was a beautiful place and a wonderful find by the tour guide extraordinaire Sir Paul Kartchner.   We loved that there was an Arizona street in this little town in the mountains of northern Italy. 

 

 

 

 

Father Kino

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Segno, Italy

We arrived in Venice and were treated to the sights of this icon Italian city.  The canals, colorful buildings and gelato did not disappoint.  However, I probably have never seen so many tourists in one place…and many of them Americans.  It was incredibly crowded in San Marco di Venezia plaza.  The basilica was stunning.  It was originally built in the mid-800’s…though, has been reconstruction since then, because you know there has to be some rebellions and burnings and stuff.  It is pretty awesome Byzantine architecture…and I just like writing the word Byzantine.  The main thoroughfares were pretty busy, but we went off the beaten path and were able to find plenty of hidden canals, flowers and scenery in less crowded areas.  The two boys bought Carnival masks and enjoyed wearing them around the city and making people laugh.  Mimi just wanted to chase all the birds.  It was a successfully enjoyable day in Venezia. 

entering the city

My fabulous friends Jeanie and Paul

The grand canal

David strutting his Carnival self

marble, marble everywhere!!