The Brandenburg Gate
Site of Nazi Book Burnings. There is an empty bookshelf below the ground in the middle of this square. Note on the side the construction. We could still see WWII damage on the sides of these buildings that used to be part of East Berlin.
Goethe Statue at Unter Den Linden
Berlin Airlift Memorial
Construction along Potsdamer Platz. (This used to be the site of No Man's Land on the East Side of the Berlin Wall)
Pergamon Museum--Pergamon Altar
Ishtar Gate
In The Pergamon Museum
The Berlin Cathedral
Inside the Berlin Cathedral
The Berlin Reichstag and Cupola on top of it.
Me in Potsdam at Sans Souci
The Chinese Tea House at Sans Souci
Potsdam Sans Souci Gardens and Windmill
Performer at Potsdam Sans Souci Park
Grave and Statue of Frederick the Great
Christof, Jerry, Dieter, Me and TobiasAfter Berlin, we took a train to Krakow, Poland.
Krakow Old Town Square
Krakow Cloth Hall
Krakow Old Town Square
Krakow Street Performers
Wawel Castle in Krakow
Bell Tower at The Castle
Weapons at Wawel Castle
The Polski Fiat--The Polish "Family Car" during the Iron Curtain Time (Still Used today).The Jewish Quarter in Krakow
Kazimeirz--Jewish Quarter (Where Shindler's List was filmed)
Old Synagogue in The Jewish QuarterNew Synagogue in Jewish Quarter
The Jewish Cemetery in the Jewish Quarter
These Headstones were used as Ground Stepping Stones by Nazis.Sandomierz, Poland
Old Town Sandomierz
Collegium Gostomianum
Monastary started by an ancestor
Dulgosz House in Sandomierz where ancestors paintings hangPaintings of our ancestors in the Dulgosz House
Ausschiwtz-Birkenau
I wanted to see this since some of our ancestors were deported to another camp, Majdanek.
Inside Ausschwitz.
A copy of the Black Madonna in Czestochowa
My Dad and I at the Manor House owned by our ancestors 500 years ago.
Manor HouseBrugge, Belguim
We took a boat tour around Brugge
One of my favorite pictures I took while I was there
In Brugge
Michelangelo Sculpture in Brugge
Kinderdijk, Holland
Gouda, Holland
Walther and I
I loved seeing this "small" house
Cheese Store in GoudaAt the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Holland
Bookshelf that hid the Annex
Stove in the AnnexJune 23
I got up at about 5:30 a.m. so we could leave by about 6:30 a.m. for the airport. We flew on American Airlines to Dallas and then on to Frankfurt. We spent about twelve hours total on planes. It was actually very relaxing. I enjoyed our ride to Frankfurt. We got there at about 8 a.m. on Thursday morning.
June 24 When we got to Frankfurt, we took the train to the train station. From there we got the ICE train to Berlin. The train took about four hours from Frankfurt to Berlin. This was my first time taking trains in Europe. I really liked it. The train was even more comfortable than the plane had been.
We got to Berlin and called Dieter. He picked us up at the train station at the zoo and took us to his apartment at Lankwitz. We unpacked and relaxed for a while. Dieter came back after 4 p.m. We had some cake and had lasagna for dinner. Dieter then took us to Unter Den Linden-the former East Berlin.
It was incredible getting off the train at Unter Den Linded. Before the wall had come down, this was a no-man's land train stop. Men with machine guns guarded the stop above and below ground when the wall was still up. As I got off the train at Unter Den Linden, we went up to the street where no-man's land used to be. I could picture the soldiers still there. We walked up to the Brandenburg Gate and took some pictures. We then turned around and walkeddown Unter Den Linden for about two hours. It was incredible. I had been in East Berlin twelve years before when the wall was still up. I remember seeing a soldier on a corner with a submachine gun at his side. Now to be walking these streets again without being "forced" to only go certain places was a great experience for me. We got back to the apartment and went to bed after 11 p.m.
June 25 We went back to Unter Den Linden today without Dieter because he had to work. First we went to the Berlin Cathedral. It's a Catholic Cathedral on the East Side. It was very pretty. After this, we walked a block to the Pergmon Museum. I had been there twelve years before when the Russians were still in control there. I thought it was interesting that they hadn't shown us the Berlin Cathedral because they were supposedly agnostics. Anyway, the Pergamon has artifacts from the Greeks, Mesopotamia, Hittites etc. from over two thousand years ago. It was incredible. Most of the stuff had either been stolen by the Germans or they had made molds of the objects and brought the molds back. Most of the excavations were done in the mid 1910's. After lunch at the museum, we noticed some of the blast marks on buildings left from WWII. We then took the train to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. They had things from how peopole escaped to the West as well as thengs used at the wall to keep people from escaping. I really liked it. We then went to Potsdamer Platz where the wall used to be. There is now construction going on up and down the old no-man's land. We then took the bus to the Nikolai Church on the old East Side. We also saw the place where Hitler had his "book burning party." There's a place there now that has an empty bookcase below ground that you can see as a statement of all the books that were destroyed. After dinner at Dieter's, we went with Dieter to the Reichstag. We met Christof and his girlfriend there. They are now restoring the Reichstag to it's original state before Hitler burned it in 1935. He blamed it on the Communists and was thus able to declare Marshall Law in Germany to take further control. The Reichstag is incredible. We went up to the top and took pictures; and we also went up the dome on top of the Reichstag. It was a great view of Berlin. After we were done, we went back to Dieter's and went to bed.
June 26th After breakfast we went over to Kurfurssendamm while Dieter went to a travel agency to check on a later trip he was going on. While we were there, there was a parade going on. Needless to say, we didn't stay to watch it. After Dieter was done, we went out to Potsdam with the train. We saw Sans Souci, the gardens, and the Chinese Tea House. After seeing everything, we walked over to the Dutch area of Potsdam. It was cool because we were able to see how old everything was. We took the train back to Berlin and had dinner. Mom went to bed early. Dad and I packed bags and then I finished reading my first of two books that I had taken with me--The firm.
June 27th We got up early and took the 9 a.m. train to Krakow, Poland. It took eight and a half hours. When we got there we took a taxi to our hotel. I was surprised how nice it was. I shared a room with Dieter. The water wasn't safe to drink by the way. After my father changed money to Zlotys at a casino, we walked over to the old town. It was Sunday night. There were musicians and sidewalk cafes all over the old town. The pope had just been there a few weeks earlier. We ate at a Hungarian restaurant, but I didn't know Polish so I ordered a chicken breast with fries. It was quite good. After dinner we walked around the old town part of Krakow. We went back to the hotel and went to bed after 10 p.m.
June 28th We got up and had breakfast in the hotel; it's always free in Europe at hotels. We then went back to the old town and walked around. We did buy a few souvenirs. Around one we had some ice-cream at a sidewalk cafe. This would become Dieter's favorite place for ice-cream while we were in Krakow. After our break we left the old town and walked over to the Jewish part of Krakow. I thought the ghetto had been there but I could be wrong. The area was very run-down. We couldn't get into the synagogue because it was closed. already. We then walked around the Jewish area for a while and then walked back to our hotel. We all slept for a while until dinner. Dieter's son Tobias had already been in Krakow before so he mentioned a few restaurants for us to try while we were there. Gullivers was my favorite while we were in Poland. I ordered veal. It was the best tasting meat I think I've ever had. This restaurant was a very "fine" restaurant. It would compare to La Cai in Utah. We all had "expensive" meals and dessert too. The bill was $40. In the U.S. it would have been about $175. We then went around the parts of the old town we hadn't seen yet. Then we went back to the hotel and went to bed.
June 29 We went to Wawel Castle very first today. We saw the church where Polish Kings were buried including Sigusmund III; he was involved with our family. We then saw a collection of precious metals and weapons of the time-period of the castle. After an ice-cream break at Dieter's favorite spot, mom went back to the hotel while we went to the Jewish section again. This time we went to the synagogue and took pictures both inside and of the cemetery. The workers were putting up old headstones on a wall that the NAZI's had used as stepping stones during WWII. After we were through there, we went back to the hotel for a rest. I read and watched TV while everyone else slept. We had dinner at a sidewalk cafe. We had sandwiches. I had a hamburger. It was very good. After dinner we moved to another sidewalk cafe for dessert. I tried some cheesecake. This was the first time I didn't like what I ate in Europe. That's the way it goes. We sat at this cafe for over an hour. I loved it. In Europe people aren't pushed through a restaurant. They can spend time talking and relaxing without being expected to get up and leave. The whole world should be that way. After this, we went back to the hotel and went to bed.
June 30 After breakfast we got our bags and took a taxi to the car rental place. Our car was a blue Opel station wagon. It was very nice. After we found our way out of Krakow, we got on the right road and headed for Sandomierz. It took us a couple of hours, but we found it with the map. The old city was up on a hill. First, after we parked, my dad went into a book shop. He found two books with family information in them. Next, we had an ice-cream and then walked by the Collegium Gostomium. It's a school that was funded by the Gostomski family in the 1500's or there about. Next, we went to a museum where there were paintings of our ancestors. Our family had financed and/or built many sites in Sandomierz. My father showed the museum manager his passport. She was very excited to have us there. We took pictures of the paintings and then visited the local church and town hall. There was no information there. We then went to the monestary our family had funded to look for some paintings, but things were closing up. So, we drove about fifteen minutes to our hotel. It was right beside an old castle. We had dinner at the hotel. Everyone except me took a walk around the castle after dinner. I went back to the room because my ankle was sore from walking on cobblestones. Anyway, we still ended up going to bed after 10:30 p.m.
July 1 We got up, had breakfast and went back to Sandomierz to check on the paintings at the monastery. The paintings my father was looking for were not there so we left for Gostomia. It took us a couple of hours to get there. Dieter found the manor house of our family and we took some pictures. The house was from the 16th Century. There were people living in it. The town was very small and all dirt roads. This was a great experience because that's where my ancestors apparently first came from.
We then left for CZeschstesova (I think that's how it's spelled) to see the black Madonna. This is a Catholic Painting in a church that's considered the holiest site in Poland. It was nothing I hadn't seen before in Brazil. Our hotel was also in this town. It was O.K., but overpriced. After seeing the painting, we ate at a sidewalk cafe. I had polish ravioli with cheese. This was meal I really didn't like in Poland. The cheese almost tasted sweet. It was sort of sick. After dinner, we went to a bakery for dessert. By the way, today was Dieter's birthday. We then returned to our hotel and went to bed.
July 2 After breakfast, we drove to Auschwitz-Birkenau. It took about one and one-half hours to drive there. I felt like I had to see it because of the concentration camps being part of our family history. I'm not going to comment too much on this. I can't really explain it. It was sad.
We then drove back to Krakow. Dieter found the car rental place; we took a taxi back to our original hotel in Krakow. After settling in, we went back to Gulliver's for dinner. This was a fitting way to end our time in Poland. After walking around the old city for a while, we went back to the hotel and went to bed.
July 3 We had breakfast and took a taxi to the train station. We caught our train to Berlin a little after 10 a.m. It took over nine hours and we didn't get back to Dieter's apartment until almost eight at night. We had a little to eat and then relaxed for the rest of the night.
July 4 I went to church in the morning while my parents went to a local flee market. After church, Dieter took me to meet them. We went on a boat ride on the canals and Spree River around Berlin. It took about three hours. We then went to a Chinese restaurant with Dieter, Tobias, Christof and his girlfriend. We had Peking Duck in honor of Dieter's birthday. It was good, but I wasn't totally sold on it after I ate it. It was good though. Afterward, we went back to the aprtment and Dieter showed us some slides of previous trips. We then went to bed.
July 5 This morning after breakfast my dad and I went to get maps of old Poland and Germany. He also had to trade for Deutsch Marks. We then went back to the apartment. At about 2 p.m. we all left again and went to Kurfurstendamm. We went to the KadeWe (department store) and then had a meal at the Hard Rock Cafe. We then went back to Dieter's and had dinner later. He showed us more slides and then we went to bed.
July 6 We got up, had breakfast and left for the train station. We met Dieter at the train station and said goodbye. We took the train (about 7 hours to Rotterdam, Holland. We met Uwe at the station in Rotterdam. He drove us to their home. After dinner we went for a walk for about an hour. I surprised at how much water there was in everyones' yards. They were all made up as water gardens. After the walk, we went back and talked and then went to bed.
July 7 We relaxed this morning because Uwe and Helen had to work. After Helen got back, she took us to Gouda. We walked around and bought some sweets. We then went to Kinderdyke where the old windmills are at. It was very cool. We then saw a stork preserve and then went back to the house where Helen made dinner for us. After dinner I played on the computer and then went to bed.
July 8 After Breakfast we drove two and one-half hours to Brugge, Belgium. First we went on a boat ride around Brugge and then we went to have lunch. We bought cheese sandwiches and drinks and ate in a shady spot by the main church of Brugge. After lunch, we went into the church and saw Michelangelo's sculpture "Mother and Child." We walked around Brugge some more, made some purchases and then returned to Rotterdam. Helen made us dinner. Then we talked until we went to bed.
July 9 Today we went to the coast and visited a small port city from the 1600's. Uwe also mentioned a Dutch pancake house there. It was very good. We then went to the North Sea and walked on the beach. Uwe then took us back to Rotterdam and Helen had Inonesian food for us. After dinner we talked until we went to bed.
July 10 Today we went to Amsterdam. Helen took us. We took a boat ride around Amsterdam and saw the Anne Frank House and the "Nightwatch" Rembrandt painting there. Afterwards, we took the train to Frankfurt and stayed at the Hamburger Hoff. We took a walk around the train station. It was not a great area to be walking around, but we made it back to the hotel before dark.
July 11 We got up and then had breakfast and then went to the airport. We caught our plane and headed home. We arrived at 5:30 p.m.
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