Into the Future! (And Beyond....)

As you can see from the following picture, I'm about to enter the time vortex that is Doctor Who.

Me and the Tardis in a time vortex....

You start off by going into the "Experience" where you get to participate in a mini Doctor Who episode! You get to fly the Tardis and you get attacked by Daleks! And Matt Smith as the Doctor is as hilarious as ever! After you finish your mission for the Doctor, you get to go into the Exhibition where there are bunches of props and costumes. Some are from the previous Doctors, but most of the were from the current and last few seasons! Very cool! Possibly the most important of these costumes was one of the suits that David Tennant wore during his tenure as the Doctor!

David Tennant's Costume!!!

Second to this was the Tardis and a rather creepy waxwork of the newest Doctor, Matt Smith!!

A rather creepy lifellike waxwork of Matt Smith and the Tardis!

And then finally, and probably most impressively, you get to see the set of the Tardis used for the 9th and 10th Doctors! (It really is biggeron the inside...) :)

It really is bigger on the inside!!!! :)

Tomorrow I will be venturing out to Wimbledon to hopefully score a grounds ticket!
Cheers!
KM

London is Calling.....

After waking up obscenely early to catch my flight back to London, I arrived Berlin Airport for check-in.  This is were I decided that Berlin Airport is officially my least favorite airport.  Because as nonsensical as I found Dublin Airport, Berlin Airport is down right idiotic.  I arrive as if I'm traveling internationally (which I am), so about 2 1/2 hours early only to find that you can't actually go through check-in and security until they say you can, which is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours before you flight leaves.  So you end up with bunches of people milling about in the entrance to the airport.  Does this sound like a security problem to anybody else?  Because it does to me.  It seems like it would be much safer if you just got everybody through security....  And then once you get through security, they don't tell you what gate you are at, until about 5 minutes before boarding.  So yet again, this leaves people wandering about because no one knows where they are supposed to go.  There are also very few seats around because you are forced to wait in the hallways of the airport, so most people are sitting on the floor.  So then, after another hour, your gate number pops up on the screen and you hurry off to your gate, only to arrive to realize that its 5 minutes to your boarding time, and your plane hasn't arrived yet.  You are then ushered into a room where there are about 30-50 seats for an airplane of 150..... The lucky few that got seats are given dirty looks as the rest of us are standing up and packed like sardines while we watch as 10 minutes later  the plane finally arrives and then another 20 minutes we start to board.... Moral of the story: DON'T fly out of Berlin Airport.

So I finally arrive in London, and I got my stuff back to Ruth's flat, I went off in search of some lunch and then planned on going to the tower of London!  I ended up getting a sandwich to go and went and ate it in the Rose Garden in Hyde Park.  It was beautiful!  Blooms are everywhere! :) 

I then made my way across London to The Tower of London!

Banner Proclaiming the Entrance to the Tower Of London from the Underground

Imposing, isn't it?

The Tower of London

This gate was the main means of transport inside the Prison.  Apparently, they were so afraid that the Ruffians who lived in London would try to set prisoners free and/or steal the provisions of the Tower, that both of these things entered the Tower by boat at the Traitors Gate. (You can kind of see that the Gate is in water.)  I learned this of my Beefeater tour! 

Traitors Gate

I was just walking down the street and then they came.....

Guards Supplied by the Queen to Guard the Crown Jewels

And I followed them to watch their changing of the Guards at the Crown Jewels.  I didn't get any good pictures of that though, so this will have to do.

Tomorrow I'll be going to the Doctor Who Experience!!

Cheers!
KM

Berlin Day 3: The Zoo and the Indecisive Penguin.....

This morning I woke up super happy because I was going to the Zoo.  Ask anybody that knows me, and they will tell you I LOVE the Zoo!  So I started off the day by finding my way to the Zoo train station and then down the street was one of the entrances to the Zoo!

The Zoo Entrance

 So, unlike American Zoos, you don't get a map, you have to buy one.  Fortunately they have about 4 big maps posted throughout the Zoo, but unfortunately those are in German and getting one in English requires finding Information, which I found next to impossible (meaning: I have no idea where is was, even after looking at the map in German).  So I ended up making my way along various paths hoping that I would see all of the different animals eventually.  I was lucky enough that I went at the primo time to see animal feedings! SO CUTE! 

This little (or I should actually say GIANT) guy quickly became my favorite new thing to take pictures of.  He decided to grace us with his presence when there was a zookeeper handing out snacks to the rest of the Orangutans.  Unfortunately he arrived a bit late, and the smaller orangutans had greedily snatched up most of the treats, but even so, he decided to hang around a bit and pose for some pictures.  It should first be said, that when looking in the enclosure, before he started moving, he was laying down and very much resembled a shag rug circa the 1970s.  But then he made his way closer to the fence and you could see that, in fact, he wasn't an enchanted rug, but a big fluffy Orangutan.     

This was the fluffiest Orangutan that I have ever seen.
And I've seen a lot of Orangutans... :)

 The Germans think they are soo clever.....

No shit Sherlock, WE ARE IN BERLIN....

 Only in movies do you actually see bears do this, until NOW! 

He kept doing this, like he wanted pictures taken.
It was SUPER cute!

I wonder what my Mom's response would be to me asking for a bear....



Aren't they usually predator and prey?

Two birds chilling on a rock.

As with all Zoos, it is now time for a section devoted to strange friendships.... well I really only have two pictures that show strange friendships, so here they are. 


The following is possibly the cutest penguin ever.  He just couldn't seem to decide if he wanted to get in the water.   And to make matters worse, he also couldn't decide which rock would be better to jump off of.  I only got a small clip of him doing this, as he had already been fretfully pacing for around 2 or 3 minutes, by the time I got my camera out. I will attempt to upload the video of this when I have better internet!

Adorable Penguin

I will conclude this post with the fretful penguin.
Tomorrow, i'll be saying goodbye to Germany and catching an early flight back to London!
(Which is probably a good thing, because Germany has far too much beer...)

Cheers!

KM

Berlin Day 2: A Bit of History

Item #1: Did anybody know that Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp was the most important Concentration Camp in Northern Germany? I sure didn't. Although, don't feel bad that you probably didn't either, because for over 40 years it was "behind the Iron Curtain". Sachsenhausen was apparently the training grounds for the SS officers assigned to every other concentration camp! I'm not quite sure that there are words to describe some of the atrocities we learned about on our tour (or at least none that are in my limited vocabulary), so I'll just let some of the pictures speak for themselves.   

You start off the tour at Gate A:

Arbeit Macht Frei translates to Work Shall Set You Free.

You then make your way past a preserved section of the Neutrale Zone.  I'm not really sure that the German Nazi's knew the definition of Neutral.  If you stepped a foot into this zone, the Germans would shoot you without warning.  Not exactly my idea of neutral. 

The Neutrale Zone

Inside the two Jewish Barracks that are still standing, you can see the 3-tiered bunks that were used.

3-Tiered Bunk Beds

In one of the barracks, you can also see the fire damage from an attempt by Neo-Nazis to burn down the remaining Jewish Barracks about 10 years ago.

Fire Damaged Jewish Barracks

This quote was at the entrance to Station Z.  This was the facility that the Nazi's used to streamline the murder that they committed on a daily basis.  Apparently the Nazi's believed that if you entered the camp via Gate A (aka the beginning of the alphabet), you should only leave through Station Z (the end of the alphabet).  For the most part, Station Z no longer exists. The foundation is pretty much the only bit left because the Russian's blew it up after they stopped using Sachsenhausen as their own POW camp in the 60's.

Quote from Andrzej Szczypiorski, who was a prisoner of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.

We also went through the pathology building, but I couldn't bring myself to take any pictures of that.
Behind the infirmary building were 6 mass graves.  These graves represented the 300 people in the infirmary that were unable to be saved after Sachsenhausen was liberated April 22, 1945. 

With this, our tour ended, and all of us walked quietly to the bus that would be taking us back to the train station.  Upon arriving back in Berlin, Katie and I made our way to the main train station, where Katie hopped a train back to Leipzig, and once again, I'm on my own....

On a happier note, I'll be going to the Berlin Zoo tomorrow!

Cheers!
KM

Berlin Day 1: The Touristy Stuff....

After waking up early this morning, to ensure us catching the train, Katie and I set off to Berlin! We arrived around noon and dumped our stuff off at the hostel. Puzzle of the day number 1: How to use the public transportation system of Berlin... If you haven't been here, you can't possibly imagine how strangely intricate the entire system is. You have the S-bahn lines, the U-bahn lines, the Regio lines, the trams around the city, the buses around the city, and then the normal trains that are at all of the city's train stations. (Of which, they have about 4 or 5) In addition to to all of these lines, all of the stations are multi-story and some of the escalators will get you to some platforms and some to others. Of course, this is completely dependent on whether or not you have found the right line to begin with. Another thing is the way that you buy tickets for all of these lines. It's one ticket for all of them, and you have to validate it by stamping it before you get on the trains. And you may, or may not have your ticket checked. But after finding a map and figuring out a plan of attack, Katie and I set off for probably the most famous tourist attraction in Berlin since 1989, the Berlin Wall.

Memorial Chunk of the Wall

Cool piece of Art along the Wall.

Or at least, whats left of it. 

The Brandenburger Tor

There is only about 1.3 km left of the wall still standing in its original position. And that 1.3 km is now an art gallery full of sanctioned politically based wall murals and some unsanctioned graffitti. Very cool!

Reichstag

After this an a well timed lunch, we trek back to the hostel to completely check in to our rooms and settle a bit. Then we head out again to the famous TV tower of Berlin, where we deemed the line far to long to wait in, and head back out, this time to the Tiergarten.

The Holocaust Memorial

The Tiergarten is this lovely garden surrounded by the Brandenburger Tor, the Reichstag, various war memorials, and the Holocaust Memorial.

The US Embassy

(Not to mention, the US Embassy....) 


After a few on/off rain showers, Katie and I decide that we are yet again hungry, and we set off in search of a classic German meal of sausage, potatoes and saurkraut! After this satisfying meal (I'll probably weigh 300lbs by the time I leave this country!), we decide to crash early as we have a pretty busy morning tomorrow!

Tomorrow, Katie and I are off to see the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial!

Cheers!
KM

Wandering Around Munich...

Today was my last day in Munich, before I travel by train up to Leipzig. So since I did touristy things yesterday, I decided to do equally touristy things today with a sprinkling of souvenier shopping (which is granted, still touristy). I also found I was running out of advil for my ankle and therefore decided to make my first stop a pharmacy. Nothing is harder than trying to communicate with a pharmacist that doesn't speak English. (Or conversely, nothing is harder than having a customer that doesn't speak German.) Eventually I spotted a word I recognized, Aspirin. Success!



Then I continued down the road, looking in different shops, trying to find souveneirs to take home that could actually fit in my suitcase. To say the least, I wasn't that successful. But I did eventually end up at Marienplatz, which is the rather large square in a historic district in Munich.



Cukoo Clock

Clock Tower

There was this huge clocktower in one of the buildings surrounding the square and at 11 o'clock, there was a mechanical "cukoo clock" that showed a German jouster against a French jouster. When the German jouster won, a loud cheer went through the crowd and a mechanical dance party started up in the clock tower!

From here, I went to get a bite of lunch before winding my way through the cobbled streets of Munich in search of an arch erected in celebration of the defeat of Napoleon. (Apparently no one told the Germans that they were actually Napolean's allies.....) Upon going through the arch, you enter a very leafy, pretty park. This Gazebo was found within the park. I wish I could have gotten closer, but they were having some kind of photoshoot in it, so I couldn't.

And finally, I ended my thuorough walking tour of Munich, walking by this fountain:

Poseiden Statue

  I had seen it from my tour bus coming back from the Castles, and decided I needed a picture of it! Upon taking this photo, I made my way back to my hostel to collect my belongings and set off to the train station where I would board the train and 6 hours later, arrive in Leipzig... ugg.

Tomorrow I'll be off to Berlin with Katie!

Cheers! KM

The Bavarian Countryside and a King that had FAR Too Much Money....

I arrived at the meeting point for my tour of Linderhof Hunting Lodge and Neuschwanstein Castle, to find about 4 buses loading people.  After being ushered towards the English Language Bus, we load up and start our tour with our quirky German Guide.  If there is a definition of dry humor, Fred, our guide, is listed somewhere after.
Our tour started off with a tour of Linderhof Hunting Lodge.  It is said to be modeled after Versailles, and it isn't hard to see why.  Apparently King Ludwig II used 3-4 kg of Gold to cover practically everything you can possibly put gold on.  There is also a beautiful room of mirrors, that is said to be King Ludwig's favorite room.

Linderhof Hunting Lodge

As if it wasn't weird enough yesterday that I sat with a bunch of people from Texas, I come to find out that there is a group of high schoolers on my tour of Bavarian Castles, that are all from the town over from me!! WHAT?!?!? Apparently the entire state of Texas has decided to travel to Germany, specifically Bavaria. This was further proved when, while at Linderhoff, I exchanged picture taking duties with a trio of women from Arlington, TX.

  It should also be noted, that apparently everybody I meet has at least been to Texas. When I say I'm from Texas, I usually get in response, "Ohh! I've been to Texas, not to Austin, but ....(fill in town name)....!" Long story short, I ended up spending an afternoon with 16-18 year olds. Ohh, the good times, when I still was chaparoned by my Mother (aka last year).

After leaving Linderhof, we went through the cute town of Oberammergau.  Every 10 years this town puts on the Passion of the Christ, to fulfill a promise made centuries ago that delievered the town from plague.  But just in case you don't go to Oberammergau in a Passion of the Christ year (next one is 2020 fyi)  there are the painted houses to see and oodles of cute shops waiting for tourists to snap up their trinkets.

Painted house in Oberammargau.

If you ever get the chance to climb up to Neuschwanstein, don't forget to stop and sample the Bavarian Snowballs! They're delicious concoction of a warm cream cheese batter donut sprinkled in powdered sugar. Guarenteed Artery clogger!! Also at Linderhoff, don't leave without a chocolate croissant from the gift shop. Actually, don't leave anywhere without a chocolate croissant. They are pretty delish in general. It's a good thing I'm walking so much.....

But after walking the 30 minute hike up to Neuschwanstein, and you finally get to enter the castle, its like you stepped into a fairytale! (cue the Disney-esque music)  The decor is decadent, although thankfully there is less gilded stuff here than in Linderhof. (sigh of relief)  But having said that, King Ludwig did have a cave on the 3rd floor. (why was this necessary?) 

Neuschwanstein

Look at  that view!!!!

View out the window!!

After finishing our tour of Neuschwanstein, we headed back to Munich!  After a few more quirky comments from Fred, we lapsed into mostly silence for the rest of the trip.  And before we knew it, we were back in Munich and free to find a most needed dinner.

Tomorrow a bit of sightseeing in Munich before I catch a train to Leipzig!

Cheers!
KM