Just to let you all know, Brittany and I made it home safe and sound and exhausted on August 4th. So thank you for following us on our blog, and look for our final posts on Amsterdam and Paris, as well as our final thoughts on our summer traveling. Soon!
FAIRYTALE!!! Fussen was terrific! Fussen is mainly on the charts because of two fantastic castles located nearby: Hohenschwangau and the famous Neuschwanstein (the castle that inspired Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle). So we went to experience a real life fairytale city…and we did!
Though Berlin did not really represent anything stereotypically German in most architecture and just general ambience…Fussen was all that we had ever expected and even hoped to see of a German town. It was just what Germany has always been in our minds…it was picturesque. Beautiful German homes, breathtaking landscape…I dare say it beats Salzburg in beauty…yep…it does.
On our one full day here, we toured the castles, which were PHENOMENAL! We could have stayed in these castles all day…they were beautiful albeit eccentric. We had very interesting, if rushed, guided tours. We learned about Ludwig, his interesting life and suspicious death…this gave us another historical figure to contrive conspiracy theories about along with our fascinating Hadrian J
But really, we loved Fussen and would absolutely LOVE to come back! It is all that is lovely and relaxing. The beautiful mountains, charming city, fresh crisp air…a perfect fairytale land.
There is about only one word that defines Berlin best: BIG. This city should really be split into 4 separate cities (East Berlin, West Berlin, Central Berlin, and some other place that I can’t remember the name of). Alas, they are all one, and Brittany and I had the job of figuring out how to maneuver throughout this monstrosity. We spent the majority of our time in East Berlin because that’s where most sites are.
Day 1: We had met a Brit named Jonny at the hostel, and he told us that his Austrian friend was doing an alternative walking tour of the city. We thought it would be a good introduction to the “real” Berlin. This tour ended up being a tour of street art throughout the city, something Berlin is VERY famous for. The first 2 hours of the tour were enjoyable, and Brittany and I appreciated the opportunity to be with people who come from a very different place (literally and figuratively) than we, and we learned a lot about street art (which is not the same thing as graffiti). But the next 2 hours were a bit much for us, and the tour was not the best introduction to the city and how to get around it, which is what we like to do on the first day. After the tour we made sure to walk through some of the real Berlin and got dinner.
Day 2: We started the day by going to the Allied Museum, which was just a couple blocks from our hostel. Our hostel owner told us it was much better than Checkpoint Charlie and it was free. We had heard from a few people that Checkpoint Charlie was a rip-off and very cheesy and full of tourists, so we were happy to save the money and not go there. We practically had the Allied Museum to ourselves. We really enjoyed it. It was very thorough and interesting and also the first time I’ve gone through a museum and read everything.
After this we took a Rick Steves walk which took us down an important rode in East Berlin. We tried to visit the Reichstag (famous government building) which was closed for political things happening. We did see the Brandenburg Gate and the memorial to the murdered Jews of WWII (commissioned and paid for by the city of Berlin; see pictures) and went to a fantastic museum underneath. We called it a day after this heavy visit.
Day 3: Brittany and I split up for the first half of the day so I could visit the German History Museum and she got to sleep in a little more. This museum covers German history from 100 B.C. to AD 1994. It is a vast and thorough collection and I LOVED it. Britt and I met up and went to see the place where Checkpoint Charlie was (it was the checkpoint at the Berlin Wall, in case you were wondering), and then we walked to the Topography of Terror. This is the rubble of the SS and Gestapo headquarters. A great (and free) museum accompanied this. It went through the formation and implementation of the SS and Gestapo. It was pretty horrible reading the hateful and fanatical words of Heinrich Himmler and other heads of these groups who committed so many atrocities. This city has moved on significantly since the wall fell 21 years ago, but the shadows of what happened still linger so that we never forget.
In case you were wondering and since we haven’t clarified, Brittany and I are behind on our blogging. We are currently in Dublin, Ireland, spending our final days training to Cork and the Cliffs of Moher before we head home on August 4th. We are sad that our journey is ending, but we both admit to being very excited to get back home to our beds and our moms’ cooking. J All that to say our posts will be shorter than what they have been in the past. We hate to do this, but we really want to tell you about every city, and in order to do that we have to write less and post more. So here goes. Prague!
We spent 2 full days in this city. Its history, both old when it had kings and more recent when it was part of the USSR, is quite fascinatingly blended throughout. On the first day we took a hot walk to the Old Town Square where we watched the astronomical clock (a marvel of engineering, especially for the 16th century) ring in the hour. Prague proved immediately to be like Salzburg in its old/new-ness. We continued across the river (crossing the famous Charles IV Bridge and making “wishes” at the plaque of St. John of Nepomunk) and trammed to the Castle Quarter. There we toured the Cathedral of St. Vitus. It was another cathedral, like the many we’ve seen throughout Europe, but I quite enjoyed a stained-glass window that depicts the religious heritage of the Czech Republic. They are a very religious/superstitious people.
On the second day we got up early to beat the heat and ate the best breakfast of my life (and no, it’s not just because I’ve been away from home for 2 months; this was seriously the best breakfast of my life!). It consisted of 2 large pancakes seasoned lightly with cinnamon, 2 sausage patties that can only be described as tasting golden, 3 hearty slices of bacon, and a fried egg. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! After this glorious meal we walked to the Lennon Wall (as in John Lennon), a famous place in the city where Czechs went to express their desire for freedom from Communism during the 80s.
I really wanted to visit the Jewish Quarter of the city because it is said to be one of the best historically in Europe. The quarter ticket covered 6 synagogues-turned-museums/memorials. The first (Pinkas Synagogue and the Old Jewish Cemetery) were the best part. In the synagogue on all the walls of about 4 rooms were the names of approximately 70,000 Czech Jews killed during WWII. Over a sound system a recording read the names of these people out loud while sung Jewish scriptures were interspersed. It was a very somber place, and it touched me deeply. This was accentuated by the Old Cemetery. This graveyard goes back to the 16th century. Jews could only be buried here, so there are tombstones on top of tombstones, falling on and around each other. It is Jewish tradition to lay stones on top of tombstones (“desert flowers”) and under those people put prayer papers (like at the Wailing Wall). I put a few stones on some tombstones myself. It was a good end to an interesting and historical city.
Revived – rejuvenated – inspired – rested – energized – encouraged
—This was Bratislava to me…and not for the city…the castle…the opera house…we didn’t even see much of the city actually…it was the people…it always is isn’t it? Namely, the person who rocked this part of the trip for us was Heather Eccles, missionary friend of ours in Bratislava. Heather is a blessing all around…she’s so kind, funny…but above all…loving. She’s so full of joy and absolutely contagious with that joy. Kim and I love this girl…LOVE HER!
And she made our trip. The first day we were there, we were able to attend the Christie Family and Heather to the International Church. We had such a great time fellowshipping with others and meeting so many new people. After church, we went out with 6 other people from the church. Then we went back to rest before the World Cup match! We were invited to the house of a couple we had met at church for dinner and the game. And of course, in case you didn’t know…Kim and I are huge Spain fans…and we took home the Championship that night!!! YEAH! Great day…great day…
The next day, Heather, Kim, and I went to Vienna where we toured downtown Vienna and Schonnbrunn Palace. The palace was breath taking…especially the gardens and the tearoom behind the palace.
Our 3rd day there, we went to the lake with Heather and some of her students. It was quite fun J Then we went to the Slovak Pub for dinner and dessert at the Film Café.
Day 4…we chilled! We just cleaned up, organized, and had some much needed R&R with Heather…loved it! At night, we went souvenir shopping, grabbed some coconut hot chocolate, met some friends from Heather’s church, grabbed dinner with another new friend, and caught up with more friends before we all watched Eclipse…yes we saw it twice…and again…we are NOT ashamed! Haha!
The next day we headed off to Prague…sad times. We hated leaving Heather…our little ray of sunshine…But we did so…and just committed to our memories one of the best times we’ve had on this trip. Sites are great…but people are it.
