Juniors Abroad - London to Berlin 2007

Well this will be my last entry of the trip. Today is Friday and our last organized day of the trip. We are visiting Sachsenhausen, one of the significant prison camps of WWII just outside Berlin. This camp housed mostly political prisoners although it also had large numbers of Jewish persons as well. It is always difficult to visit the camps and to realize that thousands of people were treated inhumanely here and were killed. It is hard to imagine how humans can be so cruel to each other. This camp was particularly meaningful because it housed Hitler’s personal prisoner – Martin Niemoller. Pastor Niemoller was a Christian of the confessing church of Germany and opposed to the rule of Hitler. He paid for his opposition by his imprisonment prior to the war at Sachsenhausen and he remained in prison until 1945 when he was liberated by Allied forces. One exhibit was dedicated to Niemoller and his faith. We spent a couple of hours here and then headed back to Berlin. About ½ of the group needed some lighter time so we went to the world famous Berlin Zoo. It is really quite a good Zoo and one we enjoyed greatly. We really went to see Knut, the baby ice bear as the Germans refer to him. Unfortunately, the line to see little Knut was at least 2 hours long. We thus past and went to see the rest of the animals. It was a relaxing experience.Thus, our trip is almost at a close. We are tired by this time and ready to get home (particularly me). The kids have been great and not any trouble. Parents, you should be proud. I hope their experiences were good and that they enjoyed every minute of the trip. They have acquitted themselves well.See you in Portland, Robin .

At the entry to the concentration camp

A meeting inside the camp

Standing in front of the entry “Work will make you free”

Inside one of the dormitories

Reading about prisoner Martin Niemoller

A typical room in the cell block

The room of Martin Niemoller

It was a very busy day that started at 9:30am. We walked to museum island to see the Pergamon museum. This particular museum houses the middle eastern collection of the German archaeologists of the 19^th century. As you can see from the picture there were many wonderful edifices that have been rebuilt in Berlin by the Germans. Perhaps most impressive were the gates of Nebucchadnezzar the Great. This brought back images of the Bible for many of us. We could imagine how Daniel felt as he came and saw those tremendous gates for the first time. After we finished our visit to the Pergamon we took a break for lunch and then went to the Jewish Museum. We did not know what to expect but we found a museum that was truly moving. Many of us could have spent the whole day here. The museum featured the contributions of Jewish people to European (particularly German) culture over the centuries. Also featured was the mistreatment of the Jewish population during that same time frame. It was difficult to read how Christians had singled out Jews for persecution through the centuries. The sections devoted to the Holocaust were very moving. It was a great museum.We then went our separate ways. One group came with me and we went first to the museum of technology. We were quite happy to spend time looking at airplane technology, railroad advancements, and other changes related to science and engineering for the past century.Finally we headed out to the 1936 Olympic Stadium and were once again moved to be on the ground where Jesse Owens defeated all comers in the 100 and 200 meter races in 1936. Outside the stadium one street is named for him and we took our picture by him before we headed home. It was a great day although we were very tired when it was over. Robin

At the entry to the Jewish Museum

Inside the Pergamon Museum

Travis in the Pergamon

Matt looking at the Frieze

A close-up view of Athena

Amanda near the Temple

In front of a beautiful tile reconstruction

The Gates of Nebuchadnezzar

Looking at the entry to the palace gates

Walking down the Unter-den-linden

Well those cars look interesting Waiting at the subway stop

Well we slept in a little late because of our adventures the previous day – after all some did not get to sleep until about 1:30am. Our first adventure for the day was to ride the U-bahn train to Freiderichstrasse and walk down to Checkpoint Charlie. Berlin is a little calmer than Paris and the city was quite cool so the walk was pleasant. Checkpoint Charlie is a somewhat commercialized but it still conveys great meaning of an era that many have forgotten – the Cold War. We read the historical exhibits and then visited the Checkpoint Charlie Museum which features a number of stories of individuals who both escaped over or under the wall and then also stories of those who failed and were killed. After we finished with Checkpoint Charlie we broke for lunch and then regathered about an hour later to walk along the former wall of Berlin and then to visit the place where the S.S. had its headquarters. The Germans have put up an impressive outdoor display that provides a history of the the Nazis coming to power, The S.S. growth and power, pictures of those who were fought against Hitler, and finally the details of the Nuremburg War Crimes trials. We then followed the wall along to the new section of West Berlin where the Germans have built an ultra-modern outdoor eating place and mall – the Europa Center. We left the students here about 3pm and then planned for reconnecting to visit the Reichstag in the evening. We left the apartments at about 7:30pm and went the Reichstag where we stood in line for about 30 minutes. Then we rode the elevator up to the new glass dome and walked to the top to look at the City of Berlin in the evening. We had wonderful views even though it was raining. We hurried back to our apartment about 10:30am and tried to get some rest (or at least Jim and I did – we are getting tired.) Robin

 Standing on the bridge to Museum Island with the Berliner Dome in the background

Well this had to be one of the most interesting days of our trip and not really because we saw a lot of interesting sites. We made the decision early in the year to fly to Berlin because we could save some money and we would not have to ride the overnight train to Berlin. So our experience with Ryanair began on Tuesday morning in Paris. Since Ryanair has such cheap fares ($44 dollars a person to Berlin from Paris) the airline does not occupy space at significant airports. Thus we had to go to Tours France – a tour hour train ride from Paris. We got up at 7:30am and headed to the subway and then to the train. We made it fine and our train left Paris at 8:45am. We arrived in Tours a little after 11am and, after a few minutes, we found a bus to the Tours airport. The bus got us to the Tours airport in plenty of time. It was not much of an airport – one gate and staircases to a 737. We got on the Ryanair flight at 1:45pm and flew to London Stansted. The flight was fine. We arrived at a little after 3pm. They would not let us stay in the airport to transfer planes so we had to gather luggage and pass customs and passport control. That put us out into the lobby of the airport and because this is an out of the way airport – few chairs and fewer places to gather. Thus, we sat in the middle of the airport and played cards for a couple of hours. Then we stood in line for 30 minutes at check-in and then 30 minutes in security and finely made it to the gate. That is where we stood in line for 30 minutes to fight for seats on the Southwest Airlines of Europe.

We left London at 6:45pm and then arrived in Berlin at 9:30pm. We found the subway and came to Haekesher Market at about 10:00pm and to our apartments a few minutes later. Most of us went out late and found either pizza or Chinese food for dinner and then headed back to bed. It was a rough travel day but we made it.

Then it happened – unpredictable but it happened. A group of seven of our students (and one leader – Jim Foster) boarded the elevator because they were tired of walking up stairs. The rest of us walked up the stairs. After 15 minutes I noticed that my son had not made it to my room. I went down stairs to discover that we had 6 students and one leader stuck in the elevator! Oh yes, they tried to call the emergency number and succeeded to find a person that speaks German on the other line. If it had not been for Elizabeth they might still be in the elevator! After about 30 minutes a repairman showed up and got them out – it was now 12:45 am. What a late night but all are safe. The Lord has been good to us. We are now in Berlin.Robin

Off to the Bahn Train

Riding the train from Paris

Eating donuts in the London airport

Playing cards in the London airport

Travis went with chips

Matt reading

All those bags

Outside Checkpoint reading history

More reading of history on Friedrichstrasse

Entering the Americn Sector

Don at the Checkpoint

Most of us at the Checkpoint

Lunch at Schlotskys

At the marking of the former Berlin Wall

At the Topographie of Terror

And then there were video games

Jim learning how to drive at Volkswagon

Some of the guys in the Sony Center

McDonalds is everywhere

Well it is our last day in Paris and there is nothing on the schedule except laundry and the pleasure of enjoying Paris. Jim Foster has done a great job of handling the details of our stays. The hotels have been great and the travel connections good. In the first photo today you will see Jim sitting in the local laundry store doing his clothes. He and I have split in different directions in the afternoon so the students could do as much as possible. It has been a great stay in Paris.

Five of our group decided to go to Paris Disneyland and spend the day. They made it when the park opened at 10am and stayed until it closed at 7pm. Ryan set some kind of record for riding space mountain 17 times. I have to admit that I was never at a Disneyland where I could have rode the Space Mountain ride 17 times in a day – the lines are just too long. In any case, the group decided that Disneyland Paris is worth a visit. The rest of the group spread out in different directions. I went with several of our ladies to have breakfast at the Hard Rock Café and then we toured the Tuilleries Gardens. It was beautiful but Paris was windy once again and rain hit us at mid-day. Some of the rest of the students chose to go up the Eiffel Tower once again although the top was closed today because of high winds. My son and I enjoyed a little bit of shopping and had dinner in the Latin Quarter to finish our day. Now we are trying to pack to catch our train, then our plane to London, then our plane to Berlin, then our subway to our apartments. It will prove to be a long day.

Until next time.

Robin

Jim doing laundry

Ms. Lynch getting some money

You know where these guys are going…Disneyland!

Yes, we are eating breakfast at the Hard Rock Cafe

Yes, it was pretty good.

Robin and the gals in the gardens

They love making faces

Crepes on the sidewalks of Paris

We started our day fairly slowly to provide some rest for our weary student travelers. We left for church at St. Michael’s Anglican (Evangelical) at 10:30am. Fortunately for us the service was in English and we could participate. It was very interesting to see how much the contemporary worship chorus movement in the United States has had an impact even on the liturgical churches of Europe. This service was much more sedate than our Hillsong experience on Friday evening but still very worshipful and meaningful. Following the service our group went in different directions. It is always hard for me to provide an effective summary of the day because my pictures only show the group that was with me. Several students went out to the Roland Garos stadium and others simply traveled around the hotel. The weather went cold on us when our group decided to go to the Eiffel Tower and it also started to rain. We decided to wait about an hour and a half (from 2:30pm to 4pm) to see if the weather would clear. Part of the group did not want to wait and they left in the rain for the catacombs. The weather did clear and we made it up the Eiffel Tower at about 5pm and stayed until 7pm. You will be happy to note that all of us climbed the stairs to the second level of the Tower (I told them they had to be able to do something a 50 year old guy could do!). We enjoyed our stay on the Tower. One of the interesting facts we discovered is that the walk down the tower closes at 6pm. We missed that deadline and were forced to wait in long lines to ride very crowded elevators to the bottom. We all did make it safely. When we returned to the Hotel district it was dinner and then back to the room. We have one more day in Paris and then on to our final stop – Berlin. Robin

Another day on the metro line

Going to Church

The group at the Plaza Concorde

The Sunday afternoon Eiffel group

The group and the Eiffel Tower

Paris from the Eiffel Tower

On the first deck of the Eiffel Tower

Two lovely ladies on the staircase of the Eiffel Tower

The group with Paris in the background

Napoleon’s Tomb from a top the Eiffel Tower

Two ladies on the Eiffel Tower

Walking down the stairs of the Eiffel Tower

We made it to the bottom

Today we visited the famous Gothic cathedral, Notre Dame. In addition to viewing the cathedral itself, we spent considerable time climbing its very high towers to the very top. We got to see the very large bell and to view the city from the top of the towers. Some of the pictures will tell the story. Climbing the towers was quite a chore so we got separated a bit and several had to wait at the bottom until all the group finished the experience. We then moved on to St. Chapelle which is noted for its beautiful stained glass – the stained glass in the chapel portrays in historical form the most significant stories in the Bible. We next visited the Concierge – the place where most of the significant people in French society were imprisoned and tried during the Revolution. These events took up our entire morning. The afternoon was filled with trips to the science museum, the aquarium, the Effiel Tower, and St. Eustace Church (done in the form of Notre Dame.) Our evening was spent of course having dinner, watching the French soccer championship game, or visiting the famous church of Sacre Cuer.

Our hotel in Paris

On the bridge over the river Seine

The famous church of Notre Dame

A wider view

Standing in line to climb the tower

We’re headed up and Hillary too

Looking out from the Tower of Notre Dame

From the Towers of Notre Dame

In the Bell Tower of Notre Dame

This gargoyle is eating something

From a top Notre Dame looking out at Paris

He sits and waits for the sinner

Looking down on the Church

It started raining

Group picture of Notre Dame

The stained glass at St. Chapelle

Looking up at the glass of St. Chapelle

In the Concierge

Waiting for Mac in the Concierge

Four young ladies in Europe’s oldest Medieval Hall

The Church at St. Eustace

Today started out like most days. We gathered around 9:00 am and this day we headed for the world famous art museum – Louvre. We spent around 3 hours exploring parts of the Louvre but you will see few pictures of the experience in the blog. The Louvre does not allow flash and my lens is not fast enough to capture images without the flash. You will have to imagine the images that we “feasted on.” It was a great experience. Following lunch we gathered again and split into two groups. The first group went on to Versailles and spent the afternoon exploring the home of many of France’s kings. A second group went on to St. Denis, which is considered the first Gothic cathedral and the burial place of the kings of France. Since I was the one that went to St. Denis, most of the pictures will reflect that experience. I hope to gather a few photos from those that went to Versailles so that you can see what they experienced. I think we can all agree that we are genuinely tired at the end of the day!

Robin

The group at the entry to the Louvre

We are excited about the Louvre

The King’s Bedroom

What the heck is this in the Louvre

Some of the men in front of the Louvre

Eating lunch in the Louvre

They sure make the doors large at St. Denis

A close-up view of the guys

The famous Rose Window and St. Denis

A close-up of the carving above the door

The santuary and choir at St. Denis

A Gargoyle at St. Denis

The tomb of Louis XIV at St. Denis

The stained glass

In the Catacombs

The front of the Church at St. Denis

The Stadium of France

Cricket in France — local park

Riots in Paris

Aftermath of riot

Police in the streets

We had a very busy day which started at 9 am with a train ride and a long walk and visit to Napoleon’s Tomb and the Army Museum. We then walked to the main Impressionist Museum and spent some time in the works of Van Gogh, Degas, and others. It was actually a wonderful morning for those of us who like the impressionists. We broke for lunch and then joined up again at 2pm for a visit to the Arch. This event was clearly voluntary but many of us went on the trek. The view from the Arch was spectacular although the walk up the stairs was very long! Following the Arch many spent the afternoon exploring the Champs Elysees and the beautiful department store, Layfayette. A few of us even made it to the Hard Rock for dinner. Thus ends our first full day in Paris. I hope the pictures give you a sense of the day.

Robin

The group photo by Auguste Comte

Waiting for the Metro train

At the entrance to the Hotel Invalides

Inside the Courtyard of the Hotel Invalides

The visit to Napoleon

Inside the Tomb of Napoleon

The Tomb of Napoleon

Looking down on Napoleon

Outside the steps of Napoleon’s Tomb

Flying the French Flag in the Arch

The Churches of Paris

Inside the Musee d’Orsay

Some spent much time finding the picture

From a top the impressionist museum

Outside the impressionist museum

And he sat alone

Walking to the Arch of Triumph

On top of the Arch

Yes she belongs to us

The Paris Opera House

We got up slowly and walked around Bayeux in the morning. The owner of the Bayeux Hotel was wonderful to us and asked us to sign her book of remembrance and to take a picture with her. It was of course a privilege. At about 2:45 pm we all got on the train with our many bags and headed for Paris. We arrived in Paris just about rush hour (great timing) and got on the underground Metro trains and headed for our hotel. We ended up switching lines and moving towards our hotel stop when we discovered that our stop was closed. Why we did not know. That forced us to ride around in a big circle to get back so we were later than we would like. We got checked in about 7:30pm and many of us headed up six flights of stairs to our rooms. The rooms are nice but oh those many steps. After we got into the rooms many of us went out to explore. We are in an area called the Latin Quarter and we are very close to the University of the Sorbonne. What we discovered as we walked around was that the police were expecting a riot from the students at the university and the riot police were out in force. Sometime around 8:30 pm the students did show up and there was a clash near our hotel but we were not near any violence or trouble. In fact most of the students spent the evening watching the filming of the new Borne sequel with Matt Damon. In fact, Matt Damon was just 50 yards from us and some of the students even snapped his picture and Donnie got included as an extra in the film! What do you know. The evening ended uneventfully (although Matt Damon made the evening for many).

Robin

Together at the Bayeux Hotel with our Hostess

Waiting in the train station

Waiting in the train station - 2

Some prefer outside