On Saturday we went to see the East Side Gallery, a section of the wall that remains intact; it is about a mile long. When the wall was broken down, they decided to save this portion of the wall and call in artists from around the world to paint murals on the wall. While it was a really neat piece of artwork, unfortunately, like most of the city, it was covered in graffiti, so the original paintings on the wall were hard to see. Some people had at least written messages of some value on the wall, but most of them had simply written their name or date.
Next we headed to the famous Berlin Zoo! It really was a great zoo! We watched hippos play underwater, flamingos argue with one another, baby monkeys ride on their mom’s backs and saw lots of birds from around the world! I felt like I got to get up close to many of the animals, of course not touch them, but still up close. The panda bear came right up to the glass where I was and if it were not for the inch thick glass, I would have been petting him! One of the polar bears continually swam underwater and kept coming up at the glass, giving “the people” quite a show, again, if just that glass hadn’t been there! J
My favorite animal to see though was the world famous, Knut. Do you remember a year or two ago when a precious little baby polar bear stole the attention of the media around the world? I can’t remember all the details, I must look them up, but I believe he was abandoned by his mom, or something. There was a lot of debate about this future, but because of support from all around, the little bear is now grown and seems very comfortable in his environment! He is so cute and amazingly does look like the little bear whose picture we were all so familiar with.
After the zoo we walked through the huge garden in the middle of the park. It is the Tiergarten, full of trees, fields and nice pathways. No real manicured gardens, but nevertheless, a huge expansion of green right in the middle of the city.
We walked around later, did some shopping in the cold and drizzle, without any great purchases. Then headed to a pub where we settled in for the next five hours or so. We watched the end of one soccer game and then the next soccer game; then enjoyed a band who sang mainly American “oldies.” It was a lot of fun for our last night in Berlin.
I have enjoyed Berlin, but not nearly as much as Paris. It is so full of fascinating history, and that I have thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated, but as far as the city itself, I do feel like it is big and dirty. I am very glad that I came to Berlin, but I’m not sure I will be returning!
We are headed out in just a couple of hours on a 5-hour train ride to Prague. Hopefully we will have easy access to the internet once again! Thanks for reading!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
3rd Day in Berlin
Yesterday morning, we got a late start, and it was a rainy morning. So, we ended up taking a sight-seeing bus around town for a couple of hours. It was great for a rainy day. We got to see a lot of the places we may not have been able to see otherwise, and we were able to get a little bit of background information from the tour guide who spoke both in German and English.
We drove by the Reichstag, the parliament building. This symbol of Democracy was badly burned in 1933. Hitler blamed it on the Communist, and so people became even more faithful to him and angry at the Communist. Many now believe however that Hitler himself set fire to the building so as to gain that control and loyalty that he wanted.
I also learned that the Berlin Dome, which I hope to visit today, is one of the largest Protestant Domes. It is only about 100 years old, which I know to we, Americans, seems ancient, but over here, it seems like an infant.
I also learned that Berlin is the largest Turkish city outside of Turkey. I never understood exactly how that came to be, but interesting, nevertheless.
Next, we found our way on the Metro to the Natural History Museum and enjoyed viewing lots of animals found here in Germany and all over the world. We got to see the largest dinosaur skeleton that has ever been put together. I must say, that for such a large creature, it had an unusually small head. A not so pleasant site however, was the overly-sized insects, including fleas, mosquitoes and ants the size of dogs. Don’t worry, they were just models built to study, but still, they were quite frightening! The museum was fairly interactive and great for an easy stroll, I fully recommend it!
To learn more about the amazing history of this city, we next ventured to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. For those history buffs out there, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. For the rest of you, I will do my best to explain what I learned. Checkpoint Charlie was one of the gates on the Berlin wall, one between the American and Soviet sectors. After WWII, Germany was split up between several countries that had conquered Germany, including the US. Well, the Eastern side of Berlin was ruled by the Soviet Union at the time and apparently many people were not happy with the country and kept leaving. So, to keep people in, the East Berlin government decided to seal the wall to keep people in. The museum told stories of the hundreds of people who snuck across (or under) the wall as well as many who lost their lives trying.
The wall also separated families, so many of the stories we read were heart-wrenching stories about mother’s trying to reunite with their children or families. The museum was very sad, but thankfully with a happy ending. The wall, as you all know, was brought down, and the gates were opened for free passage from one side of Berlin to the other. Those images and stories were uplifting. Huge smiles on everyone’s faces, hugs and greetings from strangers.
I still don’t really understand all of the details of how, why and when, but that is what I learned yesterday. If you have more knowledge on this subject though, please share, I would love to know more!
After the museum, we went to a great little restaurant, actually run by a Sicilian, so we were able to hear many Italian phrases! We enjoyed watching the Italy soccer game, where of course we joined the crowed and cheered for Italy who ended up tying Romania. Then we watched the France verses Netherlands soccer game. We didn’t really care who won, but the crowd seemed to be supporting the Netherlands, so we joined that side as well and watched them win 4-1. I was thrilled to have the traditional German/Austrian meal of Weinerschnitzel (which I’m sure I misspelled). It is very then veal covered in some sort of breading. Delicious!
It is cloudy again today, but (knock-on wood), not raining right now, so we will be going to the zoo later! By the way, we have been calling this city, Burrr-lin. It has been very cold, which I know sounds nice to most of you. Yesterday the weather said a high of 68, but I believe that was only if it was sunny, not raining and no wind, which we never encountered! Oh well, I guess we’ll enjoy it while we can!
We drove by the Reichstag, the parliament building. This symbol of Democracy was badly burned in 1933. Hitler blamed it on the Communist, and so people became even more faithful to him and angry at the Communist. Many now believe however that Hitler himself set fire to the building so as to gain that control and loyalty that he wanted.
I also learned that the Berlin Dome, which I hope to visit today, is one of the largest Protestant Domes. It is only about 100 years old, which I know to we, Americans, seems ancient, but over here, it seems like an infant.
I also learned that Berlin is the largest Turkish city outside of Turkey. I never understood exactly how that came to be, but interesting, nevertheless.
Next, we found our way on the Metro to the Natural History Museum and enjoyed viewing lots of animals found here in Germany and all over the world. We got to see the largest dinosaur skeleton that has ever been put together. I must say, that for such a large creature, it had an unusually small head. A not so pleasant site however, was the overly-sized insects, including fleas, mosquitoes and ants the size of dogs. Don’t worry, they were just models built to study, but still, they were quite frightening! The museum was fairly interactive and great for an easy stroll, I fully recommend it!
To learn more about the amazing history of this city, we next ventured to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. For those history buffs out there, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. For the rest of you, I will do my best to explain what I learned. Checkpoint Charlie was one of the gates on the Berlin wall, one between the American and Soviet sectors. After WWII, Germany was split up between several countries that had conquered Germany, including the US. Well, the Eastern side of Berlin was ruled by the Soviet Union at the time and apparently many people were not happy with the country and kept leaving. So, to keep people in, the East Berlin government decided to seal the wall to keep people in. The museum told stories of the hundreds of people who snuck across (or under) the wall as well as many who lost their lives trying.
The wall also separated families, so many of the stories we read were heart-wrenching stories about mother’s trying to reunite with their children or families. The museum was very sad, but thankfully with a happy ending. The wall, as you all know, was brought down, and the gates were opened for free passage from one side of Berlin to the other. Those images and stories were uplifting. Huge smiles on everyone’s faces, hugs and greetings from strangers.
I still don’t really understand all of the details of how, why and when, but that is what I learned yesterday. If you have more knowledge on this subject though, please share, I would love to know more!
After the museum, we went to a great little restaurant, actually run by a Sicilian, so we were able to hear many Italian phrases! We enjoyed watching the Italy soccer game, where of course we joined the crowed and cheered for Italy who ended up tying Romania. Then we watched the France verses Netherlands soccer game. We didn’t really care who won, but the crowd seemed to be supporting the Netherlands, so we joined that side as well and watched them win 4-1. I was thrilled to have the traditional German/Austrian meal of Weinerschnitzel (which I’m sure I misspelled). It is very then veal covered in some sort of breading. Delicious!
It is cloudy again today, but (knock-on wood), not raining right now, so we will be going to the zoo later! By the way, we have been calling this city, Burrr-lin. It has been very cold, which I know sounds nice to most of you. Yesterday the weather said a high of 68, but I believe that was only if it was sunny, not raining and no wind, which we never encountered! Oh well, I guess we’ll enjoy it while we can!
Friday, June 13, 2008
2nd Day in Berlin
Our second day in Berlin gave us much better impressions of this city! First we went to the train station to make some reservations for our upcoming train rides. Emily and I already made a reservation for our overnight trip from Vienna to Venice, so we do have a sleeper car! We had a small change of plans… the train ride from Berlin to Prague is not an overnight trip, so we are just going to have an extra night in Prague, which I believe we are all excited about, and considering our last experience with the overnight train…
Then we went to Gendarmen-markt which is a huge square in the older part of the city. There were so many French living in the city at the time these were built, in the 1600’s, that they actually had their own cathedral. On one end of the square there is a French Cathedral and on the other a German Cathedral. In the center of it all is a grand theater. We overheard a tour guide explaining that the cathedrals look much newer than they sound, and that is of course because they were damaged during WWII, so they have been rebuilt/restored to great extents. She also said that Hitler knew he was going to be bombed, so he had the statues taken off the churches, so the statues are original, because they were put back on the cathedrals during the restoration.
We also visited the largest chocolate store in Europe, which was just off the square. It was pretty incredible! Complete with boo-koodles of types of chocolates, different boxed sets, slabs of chocolate and elaborate chocolate sculptures.
Next we headed off to the Brandenburg Gate. It was built in 1791 and is the last surviving gate of the Berlin wall. The gate was unused for nearly 25 years while the wall was sealed, but now it is a grand symbol and remembrance. On top is a sculpture of a four-horse chariot with the Goddess of Peace guiding the horses. Napoleon actually stole this when he conquered the area, but after the Prussians defeated Napoleon, they brought it back to the city.
We walked down Unter den Linden, a famous and beautiful street. It literally means “under the limes.” The street is surrounded on both sides by trees, I believe they were originally lime trees, but are no longer. Along the way we stopped at a little street stand to enjoy some local cuisine! It is hard to describe, so bear with me. A small stand with a huge hunk of meat inside that is turning around, cooking. When we ordered our sandwich, all the man did was the “shave” some of the meat off of it and put it on a sandwich – incredible!
It began to drizzle, but we made it to the German History Museum in perfect time. I am so glad that we went to this museum. It was huge, and perhaps too much information to absorb in just a few hours, but it was very well done and I learned a lot! The coolest thing that I saw there was Martin Luther’s 95 Theses. I don’t know why, but when I studied this in high school, it always amazed me and caught my attention, perhaps to think that Protestants wouldn’t be who they were today without this bold move. It was believed that Martin Luther wrote these 95 statements about things he thought were wrong with the Catholic Church and then nailed them on the door of the local church. His action started the revolution, the movement away from Catholicism. What I read in the museum said that it is now believed that it was not nailed to the church door in the middle of the night, that it was intended for discussion with local monks and priests, but no matter what, at that time, it was a very bold move.
Besides that, I believe that we all learned that Germany has really not ever been stable for any length of time and that it is a country always attacking, or at the center of a war. So many battles and wars! There was, of course, a huge section of the museum dedicated to Hitler and WWII. I remember visiting the Holocaust Museum in Israel, when I was only 12, but I still remember how horrific some of the images were. This was no different, but I believe this time I saw things with a different fear. I feared how one many could take such incredible hold on people and make them do whatever he wanted or whatever he thought was right. How does one man gain such power? He must have been absolutely brilliant! He even had “youth groups” that children and youth were forced to join, which starting cultivating the loyalty to him. He made Jews wear a yellow star whenever they were in public to identify themselves and often set themselves up to be murdered on the street, but if that wasn’t bad enough, the Jews had to purchase their own stars and sew them onto their clothes. I am thankful that that point in the history of the world is over, and that we all recognize it as wrong, but I worry about what is still going on today in other parts in the world.
After exploring this museum for several hours, we walked around the “Museum Island” and saw the Berlin Cathedral in all of its glory. However, it was closed, so we hope to go back another day!
We wandered around for a bit, exploring, getting lost and searching. We ended up in a little pub/restaurant where a Germany soccer game was being shown. The Euro Cup is going on right now, so all of Europe is glued to the TV’s in the evening. It was fun to be a part of the cheering in a local place. Unfortunately, Germany did not win, but we still enjoyed our time there. We especially enjoyed some local cuisine. I ordered “potato soup with wieners.” I have to admit that it was delicious, despite the appetizing name!
We wandered around some more and ended up at a nice restaurant, the oldest supposedly in Berlin. We had a drink and a delicious poppy-seed bread dessert in this restaurant where Napoleon had dined. Amazing!
The thing that stood out most to me on our adventures was the people we encountered. Everyone was so friendly, out of their way friendly. I was very impressed! We really did not encounter many rude Parisians, but this is still a big difference at how out of the way people go to be friendly and helpful.
Now we are off to explore the city again, it is raining now, but we hope it clears up soon so that we can visit one of Europe’s best zoos!
Then we went to Gendarmen-markt which is a huge square in the older part of the city. There were so many French living in the city at the time these were built, in the 1600’s, that they actually had their own cathedral. On one end of the square there is a French Cathedral and on the other a German Cathedral. In the center of it all is a grand theater. We overheard a tour guide explaining that the cathedrals look much newer than they sound, and that is of course because they were damaged during WWII, so they have been rebuilt/restored to great extents. She also said that Hitler knew he was going to be bombed, so he had the statues taken off the churches, so the statues are original, because they were put back on the cathedrals during the restoration.
We also visited the largest chocolate store in Europe, which was just off the square. It was pretty incredible! Complete with boo-koodles of types of chocolates, different boxed sets, slabs of chocolate and elaborate chocolate sculptures.
Next we headed off to the Brandenburg Gate. It was built in 1791 and is the last surviving gate of the Berlin wall. The gate was unused for nearly 25 years while the wall was sealed, but now it is a grand symbol and remembrance. On top is a sculpture of a four-horse chariot with the Goddess of Peace guiding the horses. Napoleon actually stole this when he conquered the area, but after the Prussians defeated Napoleon, they brought it back to the city.
We walked down Unter den Linden, a famous and beautiful street. It literally means “under the limes.” The street is surrounded on both sides by trees, I believe they were originally lime trees, but are no longer. Along the way we stopped at a little street stand to enjoy some local cuisine! It is hard to describe, so bear with me. A small stand with a huge hunk of meat inside that is turning around, cooking. When we ordered our sandwich, all the man did was the “shave” some of the meat off of it and put it on a sandwich – incredible!
It began to drizzle, but we made it to the German History Museum in perfect time. I am so glad that we went to this museum. It was huge, and perhaps too much information to absorb in just a few hours, but it was very well done and I learned a lot! The coolest thing that I saw there was Martin Luther’s 95 Theses. I don’t know why, but when I studied this in high school, it always amazed me and caught my attention, perhaps to think that Protestants wouldn’t be who they were today without this bold move. It was believed that Martin Luther wrote these 95 statements about things he thought were wrong with the Catholic Church and then nailed them on the door of the local church. His action started the revolution, the movement away from Catholicism. What I read in the museum said that it is now believed that it was not nailed to the church door in the middle of the night, that it was intended for discussion with local monks and priests, but no matter what, at that time, it was a very bold move.
Besides that, I believe that we all learned that Germany has really not ever been stable for any length of time and that it is a country always attacking, or at the center of a war. So many battles and wars! There was, of course, a huge section of the museum dedicated to Hitler and WWII. I remember visiting the Holocaust Museum in Israel, when I was only 12, but I still remember how horrific some of the images were. This was no different, but I believe this time I saw things with a different fear. I feared how one many could take such incredible hold on people and make them do whatever he wanted or whatever he thought was right. How does one man gain such power? He must have been absolutely brilliant! He even had “youth groups” that children and youth were forced to join, which starting cultivating the loyalty to him. He made Jews wear a yellow star whenever they were in public to identify themselves and often set themselves up to be murdered on the street, but if that wasn’t bad enough, the Jews had to purchase their own stars and sew them onto their clothes. I am thankful that that point in the history of the world is over, and that we all recognize it as wrong, but I worry about what is still going on today in other parts in the world.
After exploring this museum for several hours, we walked around the “Museum Island” and saw the Berlin Cathedral in all of its glory. However, it was closed, so we hope to go back another day!
We wandered around for a bit, exploring, getting lost and searching. We ended up in a little pub/restaurant where a Germany soccer game was being shown. The Euro Cup is going on right now, so all of Europe is glued to the TV’s in the evening. It was fun to be a part of the cheering in a local place. Unfortunately, Germany did not win, but we still enjoyed our time there. We especially enjoyed some local cuisine. I ordered “potato soup with wieners.” I have to admit that it was delicious, despite the appetizing name!
We wandered around some more and ended up at a nice restaurant, the oldest supposedly in Berlin. We had a drink and a delicious poppy-seed bread dessert in this restaurant where Napoleon had dined. Amazing!
The thing that stood out most to me on our adventures was the people we encountered. Everyone was so friendly, out of their way friendly. I was very impressed! We really did not encounter many rude Parisians, but this is still a big difference at how out of the way people go to be friendly and helpful.
Now we are off to explore the city again, it is raining now, but we hope it clears up soon so that we can visit one of Europe’s best zoos!
1st Day of Berlin
After showering and setting out, we decided that if we could conquer the Metro in Paris, surely we could figure out how to do it here! We stood and stared at the map for quite sometime, and a nice local even offered his assistance, but we basically figured it out on our own, despite the incredibly long names of all the destinations.
We went first to the giant department store, Ka De We, comparable to Herrod’s in London. Eight floors of shopping and dining! We barely touched the surface of this place, but enjoyed a nice German meal and treated ourselves to a couple of pieces of Godiva chocolate.
We wandered down the street, enjoying some performances by the locals. There was a group of about ten guys, some looked a little to old to be doing the skateboarding and gymnastic tricks that they were doing, but never the less it was entertaining.
Our goal for walking down the street was to visit a church, Kaiser Wilhelm, nicknamed the “open tooth.” This church was one of the few that withstood the bombs of World War II, and only part of it survived. The bell tower was almost cut in half, leaving it to look like an open tooth. The mosaics on the ceiling of the main floor though are amazingly still in good shape. We were rushed out, for we did not know the church closed at 4, only moments after arriving, but we were still thankful to see it. It also made me think, and I’m ashamed I didn’t realize it earlier, but for the age of this city, there are not many buildings that are very old because it was the center of so many great battles and most buildings were destroyed.
Next door to the old church though, there are actually two buildings, similar in their octagon, simple shape. One is very tall and is a bell tower. The other is a church that was constructed after the older one was partially destroyed. It looks simple on the outside, but on the inside, all eight of the walls of this modern-architecture church, are covered with deep blue stained glass. In the center of it all, a gold statue of Jesus is framed by the bright colors, truly beautiful.
Our first impressions of Berlin have not been great. There is graffiti everywhere which takes away so much of the beauty of a place. It is a large city, and seems rather dirty. But, we are all eager to get to the old town, to visit the historical monuments and great museums, perhaps even the famous zoo!
We’ve called it a very early night, because we all needed it! We are excited to see the more beautiful sections of Berlin tomorrow!
We went first to the giant department store, Ka De We, comparable to Herrod’s in London. Eight floors of shopping and dining! We barely touched the surface of this place, but enjoyed a nice German meal and treated ourselves to a couple of pieces of Godiva chocolate.
We wandered down the street, enjoying some performances by the locals. There was a group of about ten guys, some looked a little to old to be doing the skateboarding and gymnastic tricks that they were doing, but never the less it was entertaining.
Our goal for walking down the street was to visit a church, Kaiser Wilhelm, nicknamed the “open tooth.” This church was one of the few that withstood the bombs of World War II, and only part of it survived. The bell tower was almost cut in half, leaving it to look like an open tooth. The mosaics on the ceiling of the main floor though are amazingly still in good shape. We were rushed out, for we did not know the church closed at 4, only moments after arriving, but we were still thankful to see it. It also made me think, and I’m ashamed I didn’t realize it earlier, but for the age of this city, there are not many buildings that are very old because it was the center of so many great battles and most buildings were destroyed.
Next door to the old church though, there are actually two buildings, similar in their octagon, simple shape. One is very tall and is a bell tower. The other is a church that was constructed after the older one was partially destroyed. It looks simple on the outside, but on the inside, all eight of the walls of this modern-architecture church, are covered with deep blue stained glass. In the center of it all, a gold statue of Jesus is framed by the bright colors, truly beautiful.
Our first impressions of Berlin have not been great. There is graffiti everywhere which takes away so much of the beauty of a place. It is a large city, and seems rather dirty. But, we are all eager to get to the old town, to visit the historical monuments and great museums, perhaps even the famous zoo!
We’ve called it a very early night, because we all needed it! We are excited to see the more beautiful sections of Berlin tomorrow!
Eiffel Tower
After seeing as much as Versailles as we could see in one morning, which was a lot, (why would anyone need so many houses?), we headed back into town to go to the Eiffel Tower. Upon arriving, once again, we were awe-struck by the majesty of such a recognize-able monument. We took photos and then were dampened by a few drops of rain, so we decided to wait for perfect weather before going to the top.
Sunday we explored a few different areas of town after visiting the Musee d’Orsay, including a beautiful cemetery where Oliver Wilde and Jim Morrison are just a few of the thousands of graves. There was really no grass in the graveyard; instead all of the graves are above ground, right next to one another with barely room to walk in between. Many of the graves had very small chapels built on top of them so that the family could come and worship there. So many crosses, so many chapels, it was perfect for the photographer in me! For those of you who have visited cemeteries in New Orleans, it reminded me of those.
Sunday afternoon, under a blue sky, we made our way back to the Eiffel Tower. We stood in a very long line, but we noticed later that it was even longer, so we didn’t feel too bad! We got tickets that would permit our entry all the way to the top of the tower. We rode an elevator to the second level of the Eiffel Tower, which is already above the tops of the trees and the buildings, quite the view. From there, we stood in another line that took us to the very top of the tower in a small elevator. The top level actually had two levels, one was enclosed and showed where some important monuments in Paris were as well as distances to cities around the world. But the very top level of the Eiffel Tower was open, of course with a fence. You could see the City of Lights as it continued on for miles. Incredible! There was even a restroom on the top! So of course, we all used it, just so that we could say we went to the restroom at the top of the Eiffel Tower!
We went back down, and after standing under the majesty of the steel creation for a while, we had dinner nearby. Of course I enjoyed my favorite meal of a salad with small pieces of toast and hot goat cheese on top. Thankfully we have walked so much, that I hope all the cheese is not catching up with me!
After dinner, we went back over to the tower to wait in high expectation for it to light up. We knew that the tower was lit at sunset, but as it is still rather light at 10:30 or 11, we were unsure of exactly when that would be. The lights came on about 9 or 9:30 and lit up the tower as the sun sank in the sky. Then, at 9:45, the tower began twinkling, flashing with lights all over it for a fully fifteen minutes. I felt like a kid on the fourth of July watching the fireworks! I was so in awe!
Monday morning we went to Napoleon’s tomb. As you can only imagine, it is surrounded by grandeur. His tomb is in the center of a grand cathedral that is covered by gold leaf. It is a beautiful cathedral, as all here seem to be. In the very center sits a huge tomb. We all had to stop and wonder as we knew that Napoleon was a small man. It made more since though when we learned that he was actually encased the 4-5 different caskets inside the tomb.
We went to a nice lunch at the Café at Musee l’Hommes which as a perfect few of the Eiffel Tower and enjoyed the blue sky that surrounded the tower.
We intended on visiting the Catacombs of the city that afternoon, but we forgot that they were closed on Mondays. We went to the Opera House, but it was not really open for tours. However, we did get to see how large this home to the Phantom of the Opera actually was.
To complete Melissa’s last day in Paris, we bought fancy pastries and sat in Luxembourg Gardens enjoyed the beautiful weather, the delicious goodies, people watching and each other’s company. We must have sat there for hours, just taking in all that we could that the city and her people had to give us. It was a perfect afternoon.
After Melissa’s departure Tuesday morning we went to Saint Chapelle, a chapel on the Ile de Cite, not far from Notre Dame. We had all heard wonderful things about it and had tried two times before to visit. Once it was closed, once the line was too long. I was very upset to find that the chapel was closed on Tuesday, so sadly, I had to leave the City of Lights without seeing the chapel. I guess that just means that I will have to return again.
The rest of the day, we enjoyed doing some tourist shopping, a boat ride along the Seine, some delicious ice cream and our last few moments in the city. We all enjoyed Paris, but I believe all of us were ready to head to the next city on our list.
I will say, that one of the things I was most proud of in Paris was how we conquered the Metro! Thanks to our tour guide, who explained how things we worked, we enjoyed taking the Metro everyday! It got us from place to place much quicker, it was easy to use, convenient and a way to feel like a local! I am so impressed with subway systems, throughout the world. Just the thought of constructing all of those giant tunnels underground baffles me. When you visit Paris, make sure to get to know the Metro, it is well worth it.
Speaking of the Metro, I wish you all could have seen us traveling the Metro with our luggage. After sticking your ticket through the machine, a narrow door opens only briefly for you to walk through and then closes before anyone else can sneak through. I did not get my suitcase through quick enough and so it got stuck half-way through! Luckily, a kind Parisian came up after me and realized what was going on. So, she put her ticket through the machine, I pulled my luggage leaving enough time for her to make it through as well. Then we had to go down several series of steps with our rolling suitcases, serenading our fellow Metro-riders with beautiful sounds! We did make it onto the Metro and besides taking up most of the open space, the rest of the trip was relatively uneventful!
When planning how we were going to get on the Metro with our luggage, we were worried, because many of the Metro entry places have those spinning wheels. Those sideways-tripod looking wheels that let just one person through at a time, like lines at Six Flags. Well, if you think about, how are you supposed to get a giant suitcase through that?
After we made it onto our train, we had to lift, yes, we three young ladies lifted our 50-pound suitcases not only onto the train, but then above our heads to the shelf in our Harry Potter-like seats! Part of me wishes we had had another companion just to video tape our adventure, part of me is very glad though that it was not caught on tape!
And that was Paris… I only shared a VERY small portion of my 800 pictures on this blog. When I return home, I will put my pictures up on the web and make sure to share those with you. I enjoyed Paris, and I see why people believe they are wearing rose-colored glasses while visiting the city.
Sunday we explored a few different areas of town after visiting the Musee d’Orsay, including a beautiful cemetery where Oliver Wilde and Jim Morrison are just a few of the thousands of graves. There was really no grass in the graveyard; instead all of the graves are above ground, right next to one another with barely room to walk in between. Many of the graves had very small chapels built on top of them so that the family could come and worship there. So many crosses, so many chapels, it was perfect for the photographer in me! For those of you who have visited cemeteries in New Orleans, it reminded me of those.
Sunday afternoon, under a blue sky, we made our way back to the Eiffel Tower. We stood in a very long line, but we noticed later that it was even longer, so we didn’t feel too bad! We got tickets that would permit our entry all the way to the top of the tower. We rode an elevator to the second level of the Eiffel Tower, which is already above the tops of the trees and the buildings, quite the view. From there, we stood in another line that took us to the very top of the tower in a small elevator. The top level actually had two levels, one was enclosed and showed where some important monuments in Paris were as well as distances to cities around the world. But the very top level of the Eiffel Tower was open, of course with a fence. You could see the City of Lights as it continued on for miles. Incredible! There was even a restroom on the top! So of course, we all used it, just so that we could say we went to the restroom at the top of the Eiffel Tower!
We went back down, and after standing under the majesty of the steel creation for a while, we had dinner nearby. Of course I enjoyed my favorite meal of a salad with small pieces of toast and hot goat cheese on top. Thankfully we have walked so much, that I hope all the cheese is not catching up with me!
After dinner, we went back over to the tower to wait in high expectation for it to light up. We knew that the tower was lit at sunset, but as it is still rather light at 10:30 or 11, we were unsure of exactly when that would be. The lights came on about 9 or 9:30 and lit up the tower as the sun sank in the sky. Then, at 9:45, the tower began twinkling, flashing with lights all over it for a fully fifteen minutes. I felt like a kid on the fourth of July watching the fireworks! I was so in awe!
Monday morning we went to Napoleon’s tomb. As you can only imagine, it is surrounded by grandeur. His tomb is in the center of a grand cathedral that is covered by gold leaf. It is a beautiful cathedral, as all here seem to be. In the very center sits a huge tomb. We all had to stop and wonder as we knew that Napoleon was a small man. It made more since though when we learned that he was actually encased the 4-5 different caskets inside the tomb.
We went to a nice lunch at the Café at Musee l’Hommes which as a perfect few of the Eiffel Tower and enjoyed the blue sky that surrounded the tower.
We intended on visiting the Catacombs of the city that afternoon, but we forgot that they were closed on Mondays. We went to the Opera House, but it was not really open for tours. However, we did get to see how large this home to the Phantom of the Opera actually was.
To complete Melissa’s last day in Paris, we bought fancy pastries and sat in Luxembourg Gardens enjoyed the beautiful weather, the delicious goodies, people watching and each other’s company. We must have sat there for hours, just taking in all that we could that the city and her people had to give us. It was a perfect afternoon.
After Melissa’s departure Tuesday morning we went to Saint Chapelle, a chapel on the Ile de Cite, not far from Notre Dame. We had all heard wonderful things about it and had tried two times before to visit. Once it was closed, once the line was too long. I was very upset to find that the chapel was closed on Tuesday, so sadly, I had to leave the City of Lights without seeing the chapel. I guess that just means that I will have to return again.
The rest of the day, we enjoyed doing some tourist shopping, a boat ride along the Seine, some delicious ice cream and our last few moments in the city. We all enjoyed Paris, but I believe all of us were ready to head to the next city on our list.
I will say, that one of the things I was most proud of in Paris was how we conquered the Metro! Thanks to our tour guide, who explained how things we worked, we enjoyed taking the Metro everyday! It got us from place to place much quicker, it was easy to use, convenient and a way to feel like a local! I am so impressed with subway systems, throughout the world. Just the thought of constructing all of those giant tunnels underground baffles me. When you visit Paris, make sure to get to know the Metro, it is well worth it.
Speaking of the Metro, I wish you all could have seen us traveling the Metro with our luggage. After sticking your ticket through the machine, a narrow door opens only briefly for you to walk through and then closes before anyone else can sneak through. I did not get my suitcase through quick enough and so it got stuck half-way through! Luckily, a kind Parisian came up after me and realized what was going on. So, she put her ticket through the machine, I pulled my luggage leaving enough time for her to make it through as well. Then we had to go down several series of steps with our rolling suitcases, serenading our fellow Metro-riders with beautiful sounds! We did make it onto the Metro and besides taking up most of the open space, the rest of the trip was relatively uneventful!
When planning how we were going to get on the Metro with our luggage, we were worried, because many of the Metro entry places have those spinning wheels. Those sideways-tripod looking wheels that let just one person through at a time, like lines at Six Flags. Well, if you think about, how are you supposed to get a giant suitcase through that?
After we made it onto our train, we had to lift, yes, we three young ladies lifted our 50-pound suitcases not only onto the train, but then above our heads to the shelf in our Harry Potter-like seats! Part of me wishes we had had another companion just to video tape our adventure, part of me is very glad though that it was not caught on tape!
And that was Paris… I only shared a VERY small portion of my 800 pictures on this blog. When I return home, I will put my pictures up on the web and make sure to share those with you. I enjoyed Paris, and I see why people believe they are wearing rose-colored glasses while visiting the city.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
We made it!
We are now in Berlin, after a 12 hour train ride. Unfortunately, we made the reservations too late and were not able to get a sleeper car, but we did get seats. We were on a train that had little compartments (like the Harry Potter train), so it was the three of us and three other people. We got amazingly lucky with our "cabin-mates." It was three sisters from Atlanta!
The seats though were not that comfortable for 6 people to sleep in, so Emily and I actually slept on the floor of the dining car... ah the stories we will have to tell. But, we made it to Berlin, and we were able to check into our hotel early, so we are getting showered and refreshed before we explore the historic city of Berlin.
Our hotel is half a hostel and half a hotel. We have already seen every age range represented here and the receptionist couldn't have been nicer. Our room has a bunk bed and two other beds, along with a table, a full bath and a half bath. We are loving it and it helps us relive our days in the dorms! Plus, we go the wireless internet to work on Mary's computer!
Alright... back to Paris. There is so much to tell!
I must tell this story first. We went early on Sunday morning to the Musee d'Orsay, which I fully recommend. It is a much more manageable size museum than the Louvre, set in an old train station. I say works by Monet and Van Gogh, lots of works that I recognized. Plus some photography exhibits from the early 1900's. I truly enjoyed the museum! My favorite part though was coming upon a teacher.
I looked over the railing at one point to the floor below me and saw a woman with about eight 4-5 year olds sitting down in front of a painting with their crayons and paper out. They looked completely comfortable. As I grew closer to them, they had begun another project with string and straws. I was so impressed, and I must admit, envious, that a teacher could take a group of children to a museum where they would be surrounded by incredible works of art and let them do their own artwork. The children were very well behaved, and if the teacher had not been so in depth in her directions for the next step, I think I would have joined in. My heart is always drawn towards children, and of course teachers too. Now, it was a Sunday, so I'm not positive what the story is, but never the less, an opportunity for learning.
Besides seeing the Mona Lisa, we were in awe of the amazing size of the Louvre and wondered why Louis XIV would ever want to move out of there. That was until we saw Versailles... We immediately understood that Versailles, in its grand estate was much more grand than the Louvre, although that was hard to do. The Hall of Mirrors, where important treaties were signed, the impressive bedrooms, throne rooms, entry ways... it was incredible. And of course the gardens only dwarfed the buildings, which also included a second, smaller, but still very elegant home for Louis, and a small one with a lovely garden for Marie Antoinette. None of us were surprised that the people of France revolted. One could easily tell that the royalty had forgotten the commoners and were living a life of extreme luxury.
Well, its my turn for the showers, and as Mary said... "I must go wash all the crud of Europe off of me!"
For those of you enjoying the Alabama summer weather... we did hit 80 yesterday in Paris, but here in Berlin we are back in the upper 60's and low 70's... I'll try to blow a breeze your way! Love to you all!
The seats though were not that comfortable for 6 people to sleep in, so Emily and I actually slept on the floor of the dining car... ah the stories we will have to tell. But, we made it to Berlin, and we were able to check into our hotel early, so we are getting showered and refreshed before we explore the historic city of Berlin.
Our hotel is half a hostel and half a hotel. We have already seen every age range represented here and the receptionist couldn't have been nicer. Our room has a bunk bed and two other beds, along with a table, a full bath and a half bath. We are loving it and it helps us relive our days in the dorms! Plus, we go the wireless internet to work on Mary's computer!
Alright... back to Paris. There is so much to tell!
I must tell this story first. We went early on Sunday morning to the Musee d'Orsay, which I fully recommend. It is a much more manageable size museum than the Louvre, set in an old train station. I say works by Monet and Van Gogh, lots of works that I recognized. Plus some photography exhibits from the early 1900's. I truly enjoyed the museum! My favorite part though was coming upon a teacher.
I looked over the railing at one point to the floor below me and saw a woman with about eight 4-5 year olds sitting down in front of a painting with their crayons and paper out. They looked completely comfortable. As I grew closer to them, they had begun another project with string and straws. I was so impressed, and I must admit, envious, that a teacher could take a group of children to a museum where they would be surrounded by incredible works of art and let them do their own artwork. The children were very well behaved, and if the teacher had not been so in depth in her directions for the next step, I think I would have joined in. My heart is always drawn towards children, and of course teachers too. Now, it was a Sunday, so I'm not positive what the story is, but never the less, an opportunity for learning.
Besides seeing the Mona Lisa, we were in awe of the amazing size of the Louvre and wondered why Louis XIV would ever want to move out of there. That was until we saw Versailles... We immediately understood that Versailles, in its grand estate was much more grand than the Louvre, although that was hard to do. The Hall of Mirrors, where important treaties were signed, the impressive bedrooms, throne rooms, entry ways... it was incredible. And of course the gardens only dwarfed the buildings, which also included a second, smaller, but still very elegant home for Louis, and a small one with a lovely garden for Marie Antoinette. None of us were surprised that the people of France revolted. One could easily tell that the royalty had forgotten the commoners and were living a life of extreme luxury.
Well, its my turn for the showers, and as Mary said... "I must go wash all the crud of Europe off of me!"
For those of you enjoying the Alabama summer weather... we did hit 80 yesterday in Paris, but here in Berlin we are back in the upper 60's and low 70's... I'll try to blow a breeze your way! Love to you all!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Just a bit...
Greetings! I only have a few minutes before I should be asleep, but I wanted to share a few pictures!
This is a wall in Montmarte that has "I love you" written in hundreds of different languages.
This is what we have really been enjoying here... the food!
Arc de Triumph
The Louvre, where we saw Mona Lisa!
Here we are at the incredible palace of Versailles.
At the top of the Eiffel Tower!
We have really enjoyed our stay in the City of Lights, and will head to Berlin tomorrow!
This is a wall in Montmarte that has "I love you" written in hundreds of different languages.This is what we have really been enjoying here... the food!
Arc de Triumph
The Louvre, where we saw Mona Lisa!Here we are at the incredible palace of Versailles. At the top of the Eiffel Tower!We have really enjoyed our stay in the City of Lights, and will head to Berlin tomorrow!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
