Dachau - May We Never Forget

WARNING: Photos may be inappropriate for young children. 

I've admittedly struggled to put this experience into words, so my blog entries have fallen behind. A long bus ride today means I finally have a moment to process the visit. 

At 22, I was hired as an 8th grade reading teacher. The position was newly created, and there really wasn't a set curriculum except that I was to focus on tolerance of other cultures. I had 120 students for 12 weeks in an elective rotation. (I had 360 students as a first year teacher!) One book, Until We Meet Again by Michael Korenblit and Kathleen Janger, was the only required text. Mike is the son of two Polish survivors, and he wrote the story of their experiences. Meyer and Manya Korenblit immigrated to the US and settled in Ponca City after the war. 

Since that first year of teaching now 16 years ago, I have changed grade levels and teaching assignments multiple times, but units about the Holocaust abound in middle school curriculum. In an age group that struggles with identity and acceptance among their peers, books about World War II, and the Holocaust in particular, have always resonated with them. They question how this happened, and why certain groups were persecuted just for being different. They worry that it could happen again. 

It was important for me to see this place I had taught about for so many years. But, it was hard. I knew it would be. When I visited Germany in 2011, we had the opportunity to visit the camp then, but it would have been our last day. We couldn't end our trip on that note. At least this visit was coming at the beginning of the trip. 

Dachau was the first camp opened by Heinrich Himmler in 1933. It was designated as a "work camp" on a former munitions site to house political prisoners. It was not classified as an "extermination camp". There was a gas chamber and two crematoria on site, however, so one must judge for his or herself about Nazi intent and whether or not the intent changed as the war raged on and numbers of prisoners increased. The official claim is that the gas chamber, added in 1942-43 was never used for mass killings because those living in the village of Dachau would have surely noticed. There were 32,000 documented deaths and likely thousands of undocumented deaths. Sickness was a major issue due to the overcrowded bunkers, with multiple prisoners sleeping in one bunk. When American forces liberated the camp on April 29, 1945, one-third of the prisoners were ill. 

Arbeit Macht Frei gets me every time. These people, upon arrival, had to pass through a gate that translates as "work sets you free." In no way was this true. Hard work killed these people, and those too old or too young or too feeble to work never had a chance. 

The original bunkers are gone, but two have been reconstructed to show what the interiors looked like. There would not have been any mattresses. 

There would have been several bunkers. Each empty foundation represents one bunker, and there is another row on the other side of a center aisle. 

Memorials for the Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant faiths have also been erected on site. 

This was a heavy afternoon. Students and adults on our trip were asked take a small white stone with them to the memorial site. We were asked to place the stones in a place that spoke to us during our visit, in memory of the atrocities that occurred on site. The bus ride back to Munich was quiet, and though Dachau was difficult to see, I am glad to have had the opportunity to remember the victims in person. 

Composed on my iPhone. Please excuse the inevitable spelling/typing errors. 

Munich City Tour

Day four began with a city tour with local guide Collette. We met up with Collette at BMW World, and our first stop was Nymphenburg Palace, the birthplace of Ludwig II. Since we saw Ludwig's Neuschwanstein the day before, this was fitting. Collette gave us more information about Ludwig II and the royal family, and she discussed that Nymphenburg was a summer palace modeled after Versailles in Paris (which we'll see later in the trip). We had a few moments to walk in the gardens, which are quite beautiful. 

From the palace, Collette drove us past many buildings of historical significance, mostly pertaining to Hitler and World War II. Hitler's former office, for example, is now a music school, and the art museum that used to feature classic art, Hitler's favorite, now is a modern art museum, which Hitler would despise. In one of the squares there is a monument to the victims of the Nazi party. The buildings surrounding this square used to occupy Nazi offices. We even saw Germans surfing in a river!  

After saying auf wiedersehen to Collette, we had some free time for lunch. We had sandwiches and dessert on Marienplatz just in time to watch the glockenspiel. After lunch we headed to Dachau Concentration Camp, which deserves its own post. 

Neuschwanstein Castle

It was an early start for a long trip to Ludwig II's fairytale castle, Neuschwanstein. Neuschwanstein translates as "new swan stone" and incorporates the heraldic swan symbol throughout its design. I had visited the castle in 2011, but I find Ludwig's story quite interesting, so a repeat visit was welcomed. 

Ludwig was born at Nymphemburg Palace in Munich to Maximillian II. As a future king, he was raised with duty in mind, and as such, his parents were formal and cold toward his younger brother and him. Ludwig was a sensitive soul, and he craved love and affection. He loved art and fell in love with Wagner's operas at the age of 15. Ludwig inherited the crown at the age of 18, and as king, he sought to build large fantasy palaces in the romanticized medieval style. Neuschwanstein required years to build, and Ludwig died under mysterious circumstances at the age of 40 prior to finishing the interior spaces. Only about 1/3 of the rooms are utilized. 

My group opted to take the horse drawn carriages up most of the steep climb, but even with that help, there was a lot of uphill climbing left. A castle must be on top of a hill, after all! The views from the top, and in particular from Marienbrücke, or Queen Mary's Bridge, are worth the effort.

From Neuschwanstein we continued on to Munich. We had sausage, potatoes, and sauerkraut at a local beer hall before heading to our hotel for the next two days. Once settled, a group of us went to Hofbrauhaus for liters of beer and pretzels that are bigger than my head. It was a boisterous Saturday night and so much fun! 

Arrival Day!

After an 8 1/2 hr overnight flight from Atlanta, we landed in Frankfurt tired, but ready to start our day after meeting our guide, Mirjam and our bus driver, Jan.

Our first stop was in Old Frankfurt. Most buildings were completely leveled during World War II, but they were rebuilt in the 1980s using photographs. We even witnessed a wedding outside the town hall. Next, we had lunch on our own (I had currywurst), and then boarded the bus for Rothenburg. Unfortunately, traffic, construction zones, and two car accidents slowed us down, and we got very little time in Rothenburg as a result. We did get some naps on the bus, though!

We are staying in a guesthouse just outside of Rothenburg in a village called Gebsattel. The dinner provided by the guesthouse, Gaushaus Lamm, was a delicious four-course feast. We had soup, salad, pork loin with spaetzle, and gelato. With full tummies and showers, it is now time for real sleep!

Test #2

There's a busy summer ahead, so I'm checking to make sure my posts are still forwarding as they should.

Stay tuned!

Rain, Rain Go Away

Today is our last full day in Jamaica, and even Jamaica is crying! It's been raining pretty steadily since about 8:00 this morning, right after Dave took towels out to beach chairs to claim or spots for the day 😣. So, since I'm stuck inside, I'll take this opportunity to review the last couple of days. 

On Monday, I posted a couple of shots from our room, and a bright, sunny shot of the beach. Not long after that, afternoon showers rolled in.

This forced us off the beach and back to the patio, and it put a bit of a kink into Monday night's plans. The scheduled beach party and entertainment had to be moved inside, too.

Tuesday was a different story. Dave went in search of towels early to stake out some chairs for after breakfast, and there were no towels to be had! Everyone was ready for an early beach day after the rain, apparently. After breakfast at Cucina Romana (yummy waffles and an omelet), we did manage to find a couple of unoccupied chairs, and my shoulders can attest that the sun did, in fact, come out.

After lunch at the Bayside buffet, we visited the more shaded main pool for a bit before getting ready for photos on the beach. We were also invited to the Sandals Select Guests cocktail party and dinner, an evening with members of management for returning guests. Steak, lobster tail, wine, and pistachio mousse were served. Some guests who have stayed many more paid nights than we have earned free weeks, and every couple took home a bottle of Appleton Estate rum.

Wednesday would prove to be a sunny day, as well. Dave wanted to try the kayaks, so after a quick trip to the breakfast buffet, we headed over to the water sports desk and got equipment.

This lasted about seven minutes. The kayaks were extremely shallow and very uncomfortable. I think we were expecting the kayaks we've used on the river float that have you sitting down in the kayak, with higher sides and a seat back. These had no back support, so we were both hurting pretty quickly (and I don't have a bad back). No worries! We just headed back to the beach!

We hung out here until it was time to catch the 11:45 shuttle to Sandals Royal Caribbean.

There are three Sandals resorts in Montego Bay, and there is a 3-in-1 aspect since you can shuttle to the other two during your stay. We stayed at the Royal for our honeymoon almost three years ago, and we loved the cabana on the private island, so we knew we wanted to revisit during this trip. The cabanas at our current resort are out in the middle of everything, but the cabanas on Royal's island are more isolated, and they can be rented for smaller increments of time. No need to rent for 8 or 12 hours. We booked ours from 1-5pm. Plus, the island has an amazing jerk chicken lunch shack!

After a lovely afternoon, we shuttled back to our resort for dinner at Cucina Romana - so good! If you're planning a visit, you need a reservation for this dinner.

And now, here's the current situation.

The sun is trying to peak through, so we're going to make the best of our last day!

Ya, Mon!

My travel blog was so lonely in 2016, but 2017 will be a different story! Dave and I arrived at Sandals Montego Bay yesterday. We previously stayed just down the road at Sandals Royal Caribbean, so we thought we'd try the sister (and original) Sandals this time. We booked a walk-out beachfront room in the Palms building, room 503. This is club level room with a patio (stocked liquor cabinet, free wifi, concierge help with reservations, but no butler). We are feet from the beach bar, and just a bit farther from beach loungers. Ahhhh! 

We were super tired last night after an early flight (even earlier due to Daylight Savings Time), and it was a bit rainy when we checked in, so we had drinks at the beach bar and ate dinner at the casual restaurant Stew Fish. We both had steak and lobster - yummy! 

Pictures are struggling to post. I'll try to edit them in later.

Welcome, 2017!

Happy New Year! Many of you might think that your Christmas cards got lost in the mail, but that wouldn't be true.  As with most of 2016, life happened and the cards didn't get made, let alone mailed. This is probably the first time in 20 years that I haven't mailed cards.  2016 was really just that kind of year, one where nothing went quite as expected.  I can't say I'm sad to see it go. Here's a recap since my last post - foundation repair in March, National Board renewal portfolio completed in May, 20 year high school reunion in May (yay!), dad's medical emergency in June (boo!), Guns N Roses in Kansas City for Dave's birthday, new carpet for the house scheduled, annual River Trip weekend with friends in Tahlequah, new carpet delayed, annual classroom unpacking and meeting new teammate, resignation from Sylvan Learning Center, new carpet finally installed - the day I returned to work full-time, living in boxes for weeks because carpet was installed at the start of a school year (i.e. CRAZY timing), supervising my first student teacher, Cowboy football most Saturdays, a short road trip with Diana to Paris, Texas, over Fall Break, then the holiday season. Dave completed his first year with Wilson Chevrolet following the merging of Ron Shirley GMC and the Wilson lot, and we've adjusted to his new schedule.  I did manage to do a little Young Living business, too, but "adulting" definitely had to take precedence over travel.

2017 already looks quite different.  I'm happy to say we have several things on the calendar for the next few months.  Dave and I will return to Montego Bay, Jamaica, in March.  We enjoyed Sandals Royal Caribbean for our honeymoon, but we decided to try the sister resort and original Sandals, Sandals Montego Bay, this time.  I'm looking forward to beach time!

In June, I will be traveling with colleagues to Europe with EF Tours. This has been planned for over a year now, and I'm excited that we are now within the correct departure year!  During the two week tour, I will get to return to some of my favorite spots in Germany, see some new sites in Munich and Dachau, and make new stops in Lucerne, Venice, and Paris.  While I've visited Paris before, I'm hopeful for a different experience this time around, and I am excited to visit Versailles, a stop I missed back in 2011. Disneyland Paris does not look promising at this time, but there's still time!  If the schedule allows, I would certainly take a train out to the park for a few hours.  It is the prettiest "Magic Kingdom" in my opinion.  Dave can't make this trip with me, so I'm excited to meet some new friends in our travel group!

2016 posed a lot of challenges, but one annoying bit is that I didn't get a chance to visit a Disney park during the year.  I told Dave many years ago that I need to be on Disney property at least once a year to be happy, and while that is a joke (somewhat), I really was disappointed that 2016 broke the Disney streak I had had going since 2007.  Knowing this, Dave gifted a summer trip to me for Christmas!  We've only begun to plan for the beginning of August, but it will be a great trip to take just before school starts back up. We've booked the Boardwalk Villas, so we get to try a new resort, and I know new attractions have opened since my last visit.  It's a good thing my husband understands my addiction!

Here's to a happy 2017!