Travels--Germany

I think I have neglected the blog too long. I have been avoiding it, because there is just so much to say. My program in London finished on the 11th and a friend and I decided we wanted to travel afterwards. I stayed for 10 extra days and we went to Germany and Prague. Here is a very brief summary of what we did in Germany. 

 On the 11th we took a late train and spent the night in the airport. Our flight left at 6 am the next morning so it didn't really make sense to take a super early train. Needless to say, I was so tired and didn't get very much sleep. The airport was freezing!!  This is Gina, my friend I traveled with. 

 We flew into Nuremburg and took a train to Kulmboch to stay the night with Gina's friends. Gina was an exchange student a few years ago and stayed with this family. They were very nice and we played some games and ate really great food. This is the town square in Kulmboch. 

 Fortress in Kulmboch

 Fortress in Kulmboch. I learned that  most small towns have fortresses so that other towns wouldn't invade. It was massive and on top of a very steep hill that we climbed. 

 I swear, the ice cream gets better and better every place I go. I am not sure that I will ever be able to eat Americanized ice cream again. 

 After one night in Kulmboch we got on the train and headed to Munich. Munich was a really cool, old city. It poured the entire time we were there, so I promise I am wearing different clothes, you just can only see that I am wearing my jacket in every picture. 

 This was inside of the Theatinerkirche. It is a very large church and the inside was really pretty. It is a lot different from the English churches that we visited. But it is still very ornate and intricate in it's design. 

 Gina and her friend, Annemarie were really tired so they went back to the hostel and took a nap. I wasn't tired so I just wandered the neighborhood and came upon this church. It's St. Paul's Church and was so beautiful. I love the copper tops. 

Sunset in Munich

We didn't stop to eat very much, but I ate so many world famous German pretzels. They were so amazing! 

 The next day in Munich, we went and visited the 1976 Olympic Park. It was a really neat thing to see. There wasn't very many people there and it was nice and peaceful. I love the differences in olympic parks throughout the world. You could definitely tell that this was an older one because it wasn't as high tech as others were. 

 Me with the olympic village in the background. 

Germany has some very traditional clothing that is fun to see. This was a Vogue and they were at least 1,000 Euros. They also had some cheap ones on the streets. 

 Here is a boy in his lederhosen. So fun to see these groups of kids in their traditional clothing. 

 The sun came out for a few seconds. Here is another church in the main square of Munich. 

 This is the main square in Munich. This is the Rathaus, which is the city hall. All the buildings are just so cool! 

 The second night we stayed in a hostel called the Tent. It's a large tent with wood floors and electricity that holds 100 people, boys and girls. It was actually really fun! We didn't get to know anyone, but the environment was really friendly and just fun to be in. We had to get up really early the next morning to catch a train so we weren't there for very long. 

 The Nymphenburg Palace at sunset. So beautiful! 

 Then the next day we headed to Frankfurt. We didn't go to the city, we went to the Frankfurt Temple. It's in a small town, Friedrichsdorf that is 30 min outside Frankfurt. It was such a cool experience and one that I will never forget. We got to stay at the guest accommodations that night and the temple was right outside our window. We actually had an appointment to go inside the next morning but didn't think we would make it. We decided to go earlier than our designated time and ask. Turns out we got there just in time to join a group and got to go first. It was such a blessing and one of the highlights of the trip. 

 This is what I saw outside of my window! 

 Then it was onto Berlin. I loved Berlin! These stop and go pedestrian signs are only in East Berlin and they are huge. They even have a huge souvenir shop. 

 Sunday we went to sacrament meeting of church and that was really good. I didn't understand anything, as it was all in German, but the missionaries were very friendly and we became instant friends with them. No, Joseph was not in that ward and I didn't see him at all while I was there. After that we went to the 1936 Olympic Stadium. It was really cool! I need to read up on the history of those games as it was very near WWII. The park was actually pretty small. 

 Then we went to Bernauer Straße. It is an open museum that talks about the Berlin Wall. It had markers on the ground where command towers and sensors would be. It also described a little about the 'death zone' on the East side of the wall. 

 The posts tell about how tall the wall was and how long it was. So cool! 

 Across the street there are some stairs you can climb to see a section of the 'death zone' that they have preserved. This is what it would have looked like on the east side of Berlin. 

 After Bernauer, we went to Alexanderplatz. This clock shows the time for every time zone around the world. And of course, we had to eat döners while we were there. Most amazing food ever!

 We then went to the East Side Gallery. I have to say, this was probably one of my favorite things about Berlin. It is the longest stretch of the wall that is still standing. But they have preserved it to focus more on the art that is on it. There are still graffiti from recent years, but the government is trying to reduce it. 

 It rained a lot and this is what I would do with my camera :)

 The next day, we hit all of the major sites. The first stop was the Holocaust memorial. I don't know the significance of the blocks, that is something I need to look up, but there are rows upon rows of these blocks. They are all different sizes and heights too. 

 Then we went to the Reichstag. This is the Capital building of Germany. You can go up in the dome in the center, but we didn't have time and you have to go through so much security. It was still really cool though!

 Then we went to the Brandenburg Gate. This was probably one of my favorite sites that we saw. I need to read up on it, but it is an important gate in German history and it was inside the death zone of the Berlin Wall. That brought about lots of tension and when the wall fell, this was a huge icon! 

 The Berlin Cathedral 

 We then went to the German chocolate, Ritter Sport, store. It was heaven! Everything was so cheap, so of course I bought a ton of chocolate for the family. 

 After the chocolate store we went to check-point-Charlie. This is the division of the American and the Soviet Union sector of Berlin. 

 And what did I find? I Primark, in Berlin. Only my favorite store ever!! We went shopping when I got home, and I missed Primark so bad. Seriously, everything is so cheap. 

 Bratwurst

 Spaghetti Ice. They put the ice cream through a spaghetti noodle maker and it comes out really cool. It is so delicious too! 

 Gina and I in Nuremburg with our Prague shirts on. 

 The last night we went into Nuremburg and walked around the main square. This is the St. Lorenz Church and the famous fountain. The fountain was designed by Albrecht Dürer, who I studied in London. It has a ring on it that if you touch it, it's good luck. 

 Me touching the ring. 

 We went up to the fortress and the view was pretty spectacular. 

The fortress. Then I got dropped off at the airport and spent the night there to catch my flight early the next morning. Germany was amazing and I am definitely going back someday. Next post will be on the day we spent in Prague!

Love,

Rach