Fall Break - Paris

Living here in Germany has definitely turned me into a "take the train" snob. While it was convenient to get to Venice in under 2 hours by plane, it was much more comfortable to take the train to Paris.

Tomb at Invalides

Thanks to my bahncard it was the same price to travel in 1st class with a special fare as it was in 2nd at the regular price. We ended up in a family area, these are small rooms with a table and seating for 8. Our companion was an IT professional from the UK. It was a fascinating trip and a great reminder that those who live here in Europe just don't understand the US being adverse to everyone having health care - they find us to be very uncivilized in that regard. The gentleman then related his health issues story to Kendall, completely unaware that he is a physician, and how grateful he was for the health care provided by the UK as he happened to be between jobs and having his supplementary private insurance, but still having the catastrophic and preventative medicine plan that is provided to all UK citizens. It was a very eye-opening conversation and one that dispelled many of the myths reported by the US media as to how terrible the health care is for UK citizens.

After our fascinating conversation, we were off to stay in the French Military Hotel near the Pantheon. While the rooms were not lavish, they were large (by French standards), clean and had everything we needed for ... (if you have been to Paris you will be impressed) 78 Euro/night. Ok, for those of you not having been to Paris think getting a Holiday Inn room in New York City or San Fran, in the heart of the city with one of the best addresses. Yup! Military paid off that time ;)

Pantheon

Day 1 we headed to the Church to St. Genevieve - the saint that Guinivere sings to in Camelot. She is Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes and dedicated herself to a Christian life. In 451 she led a "prayer marathon" that was said to have saved Paris by diverting Attila's Huns away from the city. When Childeric I besieged the city in 464 and conquered it, she acted as an intermediary between the city and its conqueror, collecting food and convincing Childeric to release his prisoners.She died in Paris around 512. After admiring her church and tomb, we went next door to the Pantheon. This has beautiful frescoes and a monster crypt. A great way to start enjoying Paris! Next it was time for dinner and there is nothing better than a dinner of crepes, well, at least according to MJ there is nothing better. So, we found the best creperie in the area and enjoyed the savory side.  That evening we walked all over Paris, enjoying the lights and just simple beauty that can only be found there.

Pantheon Frescos

recognized as having saved Paris. She was born in Nanterre ~422 and moved to Paris after encountering

The next day we spent our time shopping, eating, drinking, shopping some more then a little more drinking ... MJ came away with a stunning pair of boots that Mommy paid entirely too much for, but she was so happy with them and they were so comfortable, plus I was reminded that Clark had gotten Italian boots just the week before.  Not being one to feel left out, I also got myself a new pair of boots - Italian leather in Paris, is there anything more decadent?  Yup, wear those boots and a new Cashmere sweater to dinner at a 4star restaurant with some of your best friends and then head to the Moulin Rouge for champagne and a show.  I am so thankful that Giselle has a 16 year old who can responsibly watch the kids and a 12 year old who is one of MJ's dear friends, wishing they could go to Westtown together and be roomies, and then Raphael, now 5 who loves to play with Clark.  So, while they had a great time playing and being kids, we had a great time playing and being adults.  The show was amazing and that is not the bottle of wine and 2 bottles of champagne we polished off that is doing the talking.

MJ in her new boots and sweater

The show is a throw-back to the variety show style.  It has lots of line dancing with scantily clad ladies (not so much the men until the end) and then in between are acts - 2-3 acrobat (amazing) groups, ventriloquist, and a lady who swims with snakes.  Of course they did the traditional can-can about 3/4 of the way through the show.  It was an evening with lots of smiles and total enjoyment.  

Afterward, Kendall and I made the 3 mile walk back to our hotel stopping to talk to different groups of Parisians out on the streets.  I honestly can't think of another city where I feel so safe.

Sunday was spent with Giselle and her family, enjoying a French lunch.  A French lunch lasts for 3-4 hours, has at least 4 courses and is a time well spent with friends or family.  I definitely want to bring these home to the US, so family and friends watch out ... if I invite you to a French lunch expect to eat, drink, talk and even take a little walk between the courses just so you can enjoy the next one that much more.

Giselle and Francise at the Moulin Rouge

Our last day we finally made it to Invalides - the tomb of Napolean and the military history museum.  While the French army was pretty much decimated as a result of WWI; in prior years it was a military might.  The museum gives great insight to the constant technological improvements made by the French up to and including WWI and then also how the people were war weary and they just didn't believe that there would be another one, so they allowed their equipment to remain stagnant unaware that next door Germany was stockpiling completely against the terms and agreements of the Treaty of Versailles.

While so many people come to rush through the sights of Paris, the city is most truly enjoyed when you slow down, enjoy the food, drinks, smells and people with a few sights sprinkled in.  Anything else is just short changing yourself and this magnificent city.  

Summer 2013 - Munich and Tennis Camp

I have come to really enjoy the shortened summer break of only 6 weeks. We were able to plan a week of activities balanced out by a week of downtime at home. Just as we start to run out of things for the kids to keep them busy, school starts up again and I never hear I'm bored.

A favorite photo of MJ

This summer we made a new family friend - the Lee's from Minnesota. Dr.Kendall Lee was assigned to Landstuhl as his deployment for 6 months. He is a Neurosurgeon who felt called to serve his country in the Navy  despite being one of the most successful neurosurgeons in the world. After being here for a few months his family decided they missed him a little too much and came over to spend 2 months seeing Europe, oh and Dad too. His wife Sam and three children: Kristen, Alex and Elliot were immediately welcomed into our close circle of friends. The two oldest are 12 and 9; while the youngest is 4. Sam, his wife, has all of the joy and energy that one could ask for in a friend with a kind and gentle manner only surpassed by her amazing smile.
After an evening of BBQ, we decided that we needed to travel together and would all meet in Munich as soon as our Clark and MJ finished school.
As it turned out we were able to get to Munich a few days early, sort of get to know the city and

crown jewels

identify the best spots for kids.  Much to my delight we got to Munich just in time to spend the evening with our great friends Benny and Colleen. The next day the kids and I took the train out to the  Olympic Park from the 1972 olympics and were amazed by all of the open space and seeing the main events areas still being utilized.  Even with the main stadium and swimming hall, the two biggest hits were the aquarium and the bubbles that floated on the lake - with them inside. We knew we were going to be bringing the Lee kids here when they arrived!
Our next day we spent exploring Munich and seeing the Munich Residenz (Münchner Residenz) is the former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs in the centre of the city of Munich, Germany. This has the most amazing and extensive collection of crown jewels, and we have seen a lot of crown jewels. The palace is expansive and done in a Rococo style, a little too much for our taste. That afternoon we headed to the train station and met Sean and then that evening we headed over to the train station one last time to pick-up the Lee's. The rest of our trip was spent wandering around the city, going to BMW world and Sean "shopping" for cars, kids playing in the bubbles on the lake, enjoying the view from the Olympic tower and then seeing the Cathedral that was home to Pope Benedict, the one who decided to retire. The neat thing about the cathedral is that supposedly the devil tried to set foot into it and was vaporized only leaving his footprint behind.
I can't imagine the city at Oktoberfest, it was full and fun in the summer, great food and drinks. It is a very easy city to navigate and the kids really enjoyed it. Best part is that the train ride is relatively short from our place, so we can return. A couple of other observations about Munich is that it has more bicycles than cars, so if you love to cycle, come here!!! There are bike trails everywhere. There is also an amazing museum dedicated to technology and we even went into a area where they showed us how lightening is produced and the different types of lightening, plus the noise lightening makes. I'm so glad that we can't normally hear it - we'd all be deaf.

The next week we spent at home, the kids ended up playing together almost every day, nothing better than having a house full of children laughing and playing!!

The next week Clark and MJ improved their soccer skills with a day skills camp.  It is a great way to have them stay busy, but not overdo it plus continuously improve their skills
The following weeks we took off for our family vacation in the south of Germany, about 20 minutes from Salzburg - tennis camp on a lake.  We played twice a day.  MJ has gone from thinking we are crazy to wanting to play as much as the rest of us.  Sean finally learned how to serve and I got a back-hand.  Clark, improved overall and this year he will be taking lessons three times a week understanding better the amount of time it really takes to get better.  Each day we spent time either swimming in the lake, taking walks, or going into Salzburg where they have outdoor concerts all summer.  So, each summer they have their music festivals and they record them.  Anyone who wants to see the performance live, must pay and get all dressed up, but if you are there on a lark from tennis camp then you can sit outside and enjoy a recorded performance from years gone by.
We also took the kids to see a "Sound of Salzburg" production with songs that are from "The Sound of Music" but also real Austrian folk songs.  While the food was not anything really enjoyable, the music and performers were wonderful.  It has put Salzburg on the must return list and we will have to do it in conjunction with Vienna.
Upon our return to Landstuhl the kids had a week of tennis camp at our local tennis club with lunches and an overnight camping session included. Then back to school.  What a great summer!

Normandy Itinerary

One of the things I am always looking for is how to travel at a reasonable cost, this is to fund my very strong travel addiction.

So, after spending hours trolling the web this is what we ended up doing.

First, we live in Germany along the high-speed train line, so it is easy for us to use the train systems.
A high speed train to Paris
Stayed at the Holiday Inn at Paris Est - military rate - ~100 Euro / Rm (needed 2)
Next day we headed to the trains Paris Saint Lazare to Rouen Rive Droite - 6 people tickets purchased in advance 172.50 Euro (this included our return trip) made on: VOYAGES-SNCF.COM

We picked up the Hertz rental car after seeing some of the sites in Rouen (this is where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake) unlimited milage (you must be a US Hertz member to get the unlimited milage) that could seat 6 for 350 Euro (our insurance covered us because we are stationed in Germany; plan to not be covered for rentals in Europe if you are just traveling here)
We thought we were going to need to rent a GPS, but our car actually had one in it and with the help of google translate we were able to change it to English (returned the Hertz never lost system).

We stayed in Bayeux for 4 days and decided on Hotel Le Bayeux - location is excellent, service and breakfast are wonderful.  We only paid for breakfast on the days we really needed it (the bakeries are just so much better).  So, I don't recommend actually paying for breakfast in advance.  Make sure you get it on a Sunday AM (everything is closed) and then if you schedule a tour get it that day too, so you are ready to go.  They also informed us that if you call them directly and quote the amount found on the internet they will beat that price, this is true for most hotels.  They do have english speakers there.  The rooms were comfortable, not luxurious, but for the 9 hours/day we spent in the rooms they were perfect.  Could walk to everything in town easily from here also.

Our tour guide, full day, was American D-Day private tour with Bertrand Sanders (he is French) and he has loved WWII history forever and gave us an incredible tour with all of the little touches. He drove our car and saved us a couple of hundred Euro.  He worked well with the kids (12 and 9) too.

Our next stop would be Au Bon Accueil <brittanybnb@free.fr>in St. Marcan close to Mont-Saint-Michel, but we were lucky, they steered us to St. Malo.  Ok, where do I begin to rave ... firs they are British, so we were greeted with warm welcomes and promptly given hot tea.  Then the maps, tour books, and well just love and enthusiasm for the area was pouring out in every direction.  When asked why they bought this place, they said, we love to vacation in France, so why not?  I think that Jane and I are somehow related.  By the end of our stay I felt like I was leaving my sister behind, but fortunately, she will welcome me back anytime.  We LOVED it there and I think their love of the area was so infectious that it was definitely our favorite stop.  Oh, and contact them directly too, after looking up their listing on booking.com, because while our first night was the booking.com price, they added a 2nd night at their you emailed me price.  A little less.  It is cash only!

Because we don't ever ask our kids to sit in a car for more than 6 hours (8 if there is bad traffic) we planned a stop in Lisieux for the trip back to Rouen and it was a great decision.  We stayed on the outskirts (Ibis Budget)  The kids loved the rooms - a double bed on the bottom and a bunk over top for them to sleep on.  A triple for under 75 Euro - with an ok breakfast.  Great!  The Basilica of Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux was fabulous and worth the walk.  St. Therese is not Mother Theresa.  This is not a busy town, but the food and shopping and sites to be seen were worth the day spent there.

Finally back to Rouen.  We didn't explore the city as we had originally planned, but that is ok, because we can get there by train on another day.

Train back to Paris and we stayed in the gem of a hotel - Hotel de la Herse d'Or in the Bastille area.  If you go to Facebook page and make your reservations there - best rate and in a great location!  http://www.facebook.com/Hotelhersedorparis
Again, this is not a hotel where you are there for the hotel, this is a place where you are there to sleep and shower.  The rooms are small and clean.  Some of a bathroom en suite while others share the bathrooms.  Given that we just sleep in our rooms that is all we are looking for and it has been great!

Hope that this helps someone, some time have a great vacation in France: Paris, Normandy and Bretten.

Spring Break Part 2 - D-Day tour

Some places affect our minds because they create curiosity and others affect our souls because they evoke strong emotions.  

On 22MAR2013 we took a tour of the D-day sights with Bert a young French gentleman, includes the accent, who became fascinated by the events of June 6, 1944 at a young age.  His knowledge and eagerness to share was contagious and exciting.  If I could take every person I know on this tour ... I would!  It is through men like Bert that assure me the relationship between France and America will remain forever one of friendship and mutual admiration.

Our day started by seeing tanks, including one of only a few German tanks still actually in France and an American Sherman tank.   Some things that we learned (I'll try to keep this brief)

German tanks were built low to the ground so they could make their way through the hedgerows (hedgerows are thick growths around fields) making it easy to conquer their European neighbors.  The tanks were also expensive to build and were built to last.  Germany didn't have the means to mass produce these as the US did with the Sherman tanks through the "lend-lease" program.  The US would make more than 40,000 Sherman tanks alone (they didn't start any real production until after Dec. 7) and would distribute them to all fronts; while, the Germans only made 25,762.  I think that tanks set a good example of why the US joining the fight would be the difference maker.  The Sherman tank was not designed for making it through the hedgerows of Europe.  Actually, the narrow roads kept the tanks from making any progress and made them targets for antitank rockets.  When a tank tried to go over the berms it exposed the unarmored underbelly.  Curtis Cullin, of the 102nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, invented rhinoceros horns. He had salvaged two scrap-metal bars from the German obstacles on Omaha Beach and welded them onto the front of his Sherman tank so they stuck out in front, like horns.  The horns dug into the berm and kept the tank from climbing. Instead, the tank's engine powered all that weight straight ahead, punching through the berm. Gen. Bradley was so impressed that he ordered combat engineers to strip Omaha of all of its scrap metal and rush it forward to tank units. Soon, three out of every five Shermans became a rhino.  I love that story of American ingenuity being demonstrated on the go.

Even though you were the enemy, 

you had family and friends we now 

honor you by laying this wreath with respect 

as we fully understand

Our next stop was the German cemetery, La Cambe.  One of the things that I have noticed is that Germany doesn't have many memorials (some churches list the sons lost) to those who fought in WWI or WWII.  While these seems appropriate in one way, they were in the wrong for starting these wars and caused much unnecessary death and destruction, I wanted to still get a feeling of the losses that our host country did endure.  Observations and lessons learned at La Cambe - many of the German soldiers who were occupying France were either very old (over 50) or young (under 17).  Many of them weren't actually German - they had been captured by the German army (a lot from Korea) and instead of putting them into POW camps, they put them into German uniforms and sent them off to occupy other countries far from home.  Because they used non-German soldiers to be soldiers there are no good numbers of how many were killed, wounded and missing.  Estimates are from D-Day to 14 August, 210,000 - 450,000 men.  We know that 200,000 were taken POW by Allied troops. The La Cambe cemetery has more than 21,000 men interned who were identified in some way, identified means that they knew they were a German soldier, and then an additional 200+ bodies that couldn't be identified in any way.  This is not a place of peace, it is a place of great sadness and loss.  The dark colors, design of the memorials, just everything - it evokes no feelings of rest and peace.  There is nothing good that comes from their loss of life.  Up until approaching the central mound Clark was just playing with MJ and running around.  As there were no other visitors I didn't stop them.   After he had seen the wreath at the mound a very sad young man came over to me with a few tears running down his face.  For the rest of the day D-Day meant something to him - men of all ages had died, they had given up on futures, families, and all of the joy that life is supposed to bring.  It didn't matter at that moment who was right and who was wrong, it only mattered that this unthinkable thing had happened.  Kids like him would not be there because of this war.
He doesn't yet understand why men serve, but he finally understands the consequences.  It was amazing, I'm crying as I write this, to watch my son grow up a little more on that day.  

Our next stop is the famous Ste. Mere-Eglise - the first town liberated on D-Day.  If you have not watched "The Longest Day" I recommend doing so.  It is Hollywood's attempt at a dramatic documentary of the events of that day.  It is long (over 3 hours), but it is not as grizzly as some of the later movies on WWII.  I have labeled the photos from here with the story, so that it makes a little sense.  The church of the town, (built between the 11th-15th centuries) does play a central role in the story.  First there are some main "players" that you need to be aware of - 1st are the Pathfinders - they were sent in gliders prior to the paratroopers to identify the locations for the paratroopers to be dropped and 2nd are the 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers.

While it is not in the history books, there are locals who swear that they saw their first American running around about 23.00 (11pm) on 5 June identifying locations.  We do know that the pathfinders were sent in gliders in advance of the paratroopers.  The official times for all activities related to the events of D-Day is 00.00 6 June and forward.  It would make sense if a pathfinder was there, as I mentioned, they were sent in to mark targets (lights on sticks).  The area had also been heavily bombed in the previous weeks, making sure that the German's would be unaware of the upcoming invasion.
On the night of 5 June, during the bombing raids, it is believed that a house caught fire as a result of the

Pathfinder's flare sticks.  The German occupiers along with the  local inhabitants came out of their houses and proceeded to form a human bucket brigade that originated from the hand pump next to the church in order to put out the fire.  A little later, about 1:40am a planeload of troopers from the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division floated down.   The German's were able to shoot them as they floated down (Clark asked the question about just shooting on their way down and we were told that their guns were in pieces and needed to be assembled upon landing).  Some landed in trees and were shot before they could free themselves. At least one landed directly in the fire.  Two men had their chutes catch on the corners of the church steeple as a Sergeant Ray landed in the square below. A German soldier shot Ray in the stomach before he could remove his chute and then turned to fire at the men caught above him. However, Ray drew his 45 pistol and shot the German soldier in the head. Ray did not survive, but did save the lives of two fellow soldiers.  One of the men hanging from the church was able to free himself. The other, John Steele, played dead for hours. (The paratrooper manikin you see in the photo).  There is a great telling of the story by a tour guide available:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-_EirbzYoc

As we left the town of Ste. Mere-Eglise we passed memorials and churches to those who didn't make it.   Like the memorial to a downed C-47 with no survivors.  
Our next stop was Utah beach.  This was the most successful of the 2 American beaches and it was the farthest west.  It was about 3 miles wide and the least well fortified by the Germans, because the land behind the beach was flooded.  So, the Germans weren't as concerned with an attack because they assumed they could stop invaders with the flooded fields.  Another advantage for the Americans is that due to bad weather they actually landed south of their original point by almost 2km.  In the photos you will see a house on the right side, the original landing intended for the house to be to the left (the house is where the commander of the German forces was actually sleeping when they landed).  It was here that the only 1 star general landed in the first wave: Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt of the 4th Inf Div., he realized that they had landed in the wrong place and is quoted as saying "We’ll start the war from here!" then began the task of organizing the advance.  He would win the Medal of Honor for his leadership and exposure to enemy fire.  The losses at Utah beach were only 300 men.  

An animated map showing the beach locations.

This shows all of the materials we used to build, it also
shows Omaha Beach after the great storm
Ships, boats, and pontoons in a jumbled mass

Bert, our guide showed us many interesting little tidbits on our way to Point du Hoc.  He was definitely most proud of the fact that the French had recycled almost everything we had brought with us.  After years of going without, the French were very overwhelmed by everything that the Americans had including food, chocolate and kits to make roads and airstrips.  We actually carried with us metal fence work to lay down on the sand so that our trucks could come off the boats and drive up into the lanes and roads.  After we abandon those roads the French went in and took every last piece; turned it into fences, braces, and every possible building piece that you can imagine; especially with the damage done to their homes from the bombing.  

Our next stop was Point du Hoc, this is the very famous story of the Rangers who climbed the cliffs with grappling hooks, ladders and knives only to find that the German's had disguised the place to look like there were huge guns there by laying telephone poles across the area under camouflage.  The reason that is given for the moving of the guns is that the area endured heavy air attacks as the allies prepared for the invasion.  Just like Utah beach the Rangers of Point du Hoc were also plagued  by the bad weather blowing the ships off course.  They lost one ship and all but one on board. They lost another ship full of supplies and they were delayed by almost 40 minutes along with losing all elements of surprise.  So the fact that they were able to get to the top of the cliff is just amazing.  The ships

provided cover for them, but still many German soldiers sent grenades and shot at them as they climbed up.  After climbing to the top, securing the area, and realizing that the guns were missing a small group went off in search and found 5 of the 6 artillery battery that they had been expecting to see on the top of the hill.  This links to a great audio / visual of the battle at Point du Hoc.


In the meantime on Omaha beach the losses were heavy, and the morning was grim.  Utah was a success and ultimately the Rangers destroyed their targets, but the men at Omaha beach were being slaughtered.  It was also the end of the day for us, we were so cold (it had only climbed up to 40 degrees, fortunately it was not super windy) and hungry - our attention was starting to slip a little.  What I do remember most clearly was that when we looked up into the hills we couldn't see where the German's had their guns, as the bunkers were very well hidden and at strange angles so that they could not be viewed from the ocean.  The sea wall was very well constructed and still stands today, unlike the one at Utah beach.  We were also there at high tide, so it was harder to imagine the hundreds of obstacles that lined the beaches stopping the Allies from landing.  Very little went as planned, as difficulties with navigation caused most of the landing craft to miss their targets. The defenses were unexpectedly strong, and inflicted heavy casualties. Under heavy fire, engineers struggled to clear the beach obstacles, and later landings got caught in the few channels that were cleared. The surviving troops could not clear the heavily defended exits off the beach. Causing more problems and delays for later landings. Small penetrations were eventually achieved by groups of survivors making improvised assaults, scaling the bluffs between the most heavily defended points. By the end of the day, two small isolated footholds had been won, which were subsequently exploited against weaker defenses further inland.   

We headed back to the hotel after that very long and informative day.  All of us thinking about the history we had just learned.  It also was the perfect prelude to our plans for Saturday which was visiting the American Cemetery in Normandy.  While the German cemetery was full of sadness and defeat, the American cemetery was designed to remind us of the strength and hope we have.  That these young men sacrificed for something bigger than themselves and provided a new way for our countries to move forward.  

The 156 photos are here ... please let me know if you can't see them because google wants you to join.  I'll find another place to put them.

  
We do have the numbers for the Allies:
From D-Day to 21 August, the Allies landed 2,052,299 men in northern France
209,672 Allied casualties
153,475 wounded
36,976 killed
19,221 missing

Spring Break 2013: Part I Grandma and Papa visit!!

As I was trying to write about the D-Day tour, I realized that I had not given any lead in ... so

On, 14 March, Grandma and Papa showed up for a 3 week visit.  Mayland planned a trip to Normandy and Paris France to help fill their time here and keep the kids off of the computers.  While Grandma and Papa would have been content to stay in the house and just relax, the kids really needed to be gotten out so that they would focus on something other than Minecraft.

Tower / dungeon where Joan was held

Sean finished up in the ICU and the kids with school on Tuesday the 19th and on Wednesday, we walked down the hill to the train station and took off for Paris.  We spent the 1st night in Paris, Grandma and Papa watched the kids; while, Sean and Mayland went to visit Giselle (Westtown classmate) and her family.  Giselle made a ratatouille by which all else would be judge only for them to fall short.  We also learned about the French white wine: Saumer.  We also learned that in France - you don't know the grapes, you know the vinter and region.  It is the same in Germany and Italy, which explains why it is so much harder to identify wines that I like because the vinter may have a good crop of one type of grapes one year and then the next year - something different.

Thursday found us in Rouen, France seeing the place where Joan 'dArc was held prisoner during her interrogations and before she was burned at the stake.

This sign is in front of the church and marks
the location of the death of Joan 'dArc

We tried to enter the very modern church, seen to the left with MJ in front, that was erected in her honor, but a service was happening at the time and we needed to head back to the train station to pick-up the rental car, a must for visiting the Normandy countryside.  The art museum in Rouen was wonderful as it gave us a chance to see many impressionist artists including Monet.

That afternoon we drove out to Bayeux, France where we would stay for the next few days.  The overcast sky is very much what we awoke to daily and the temperatures hovered near freezing making their way up into the low 40's.  Just the week before Normandy had it's largest snow storm of the year over 24 inches had fallen.  The fields were flooded from the melting snow, and looked very much like it would have looked when the American's came to liberate France in 1944.  The weather in this part of France is very much like that of southern Britain, cold, damp and overcast.  The upside is that we had no rain.  The downside, French coffee is not that great (especially after Italy and Germany) and we kept drinking it in hopes that it would provide warmth.  Oh, and soup, yeah, not on many menus, not even the famed onion soup.

Netherlands: Fluweelengrot (Velvet Cave), Kasteelruïne (castle ruins) and the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial

Drawings on the walls of the caves

This is an interesting day trip that I was able to take with the kids, and given that it was February, I figured that for once caves would seem warm, as they are a constant 12 degrees (53.6).  These caves were carved out in the 11^th and 12^th centuries.  They were actually created by mining to build the castle (now in ruins above the caves).  They created a labyrinth of “escape” passages for those who needed to get out of the castle while it was under siege and then later for those who needed refuge. 

The people who needed refuge were Christians in the 18^th century (the French period) where a chapel was actually created and a minister lived there for years and then again during WWII and the German occupation.  Jews, locals and American troops all hid in these caves. 

It was during the French period that most of the drawings were created on the walls, they depict the history and people of Valkenburg.  Then again during WWII the American soldiers signed their names on the walls and many of them had their profiles drawn onto the walls.

Above the caves are the castle ruins.  The castle was destroyed on Dec. 10, 1672 by Stadtholder Willem III.  We wondered around seeing the great hall, chapel, dungeon and artillery room.  There are still ways to connect to the underground passages; however, they are not open to the public. 

For our afternoon we stopped at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial.  There are 21 American cemeteries in Europe with 124,905 American soldiers laid to rest these beautifully and lovingly maintained places.  30,921 from World War I, and 93,234 from World War II.  More than

Netherlands American Cemetery

60% of those who lost their lives on the battlefield were sent home and there are still remains found in fields even today from all over the world.

The afternoon was well below freezing, but the snow and the crosses were so serene.  It created a real sense of peace and hope.  If you ever have a chance to go to an American cemetery here in Europe it will be a moving and compelling experience.  A reminder of the toll of war, but the hope that comes from these places is inspiring. 

I hope you enjoy the photos and that they inspire you to come and visit us, soon.

Christmas 2012: Florence, Pisa and Rome Italy

Wow!
This was our Christmas present to the family 20-28 December in Italy.

Duomo Florence Italy

This Christmas was extra special because Clark and MJ's cousin Russell, from Colorado, was able to join us on the vacation.  We had a good news as we departed that his mother's Lukemia was cured from the bone marrow transplant and now it was just a matter of time in strengthening the immune system.
Our departure was on 19 Dec about 4pm - we walked down the hill to the train station, took the express train to Munich and then boarded the overnight train (8pm) for Florence (arrival 6:15am).  That was an experience in and of itself.  A couple of lessons learned, if you are traveling with kids, book the extra seat / berth in the car with Mickey Mouse if you have to!  It was not fun having a stranger in the car with us.  2nd, wear PJ's under the clothes, so there is no changing, as there isn't room for changing (at least not in the couchette).  3rd, plan to brush your teeth in the train station before departure, the water tastes awful on the train and 4th wear your shoes if you need to go to the bathroom.  Honestly, think of this as business class on a plane - lying flat while traveling is great.  All three kids actually slept for at  least 6 hours and Sean and I probably got about 4 hours, but it was enough to function and not feel total frustration the following day in a city where none of us spoke the language.

Leaning tower of Pisa

Arrival in Florence was cool, but not cold (after below 0 in Germany, 8-10 felt really good).  Our apartment was not ready so we started looking for a warm place to hang out for a few hours until things opened up and what do we see but a Burger King (not yet open) and McDonalds (open 24hrs).  So, off to McDonalds.  Ordered breakfast, now, their breakfast is much better than the normal fare and the best part is they brew Italian coffee and make the real hot chocolate pudding style.  Oh, my goodness that was the best hot chocolate of the trip!  We tried it in many boutique style coffee shops and while the espresso there is to die for, the hot chocolate was best at McDonalds.  Lesson, if you go to Italy with kids it is actually ok to do a fast food restaurant, just don't go to the main counter, go their cafe and get the local version of American foods.
After enjoying breakfast, we headed to the tourist information place across the street and started learning about our new "home" for the next week.

Gladiators and nobles of Rome

Lessons learned - 1) if you go to Florence in the couple of weeks before Christmas you don't need to make any reservations for museums and you don't need to spend the money on the Florence card.  We had heard horror stories of waiting in lines forever to get in, but that is the week after Christmas and during the high season.  So, rule of thumb, if you can find a place to stay that is centrally located and discounted, this is the very low season and you won't need to spend the extra money.  2) read a map, if the apartment looks close, it is!  We were told by the apartment managers that we would need a taxi to get to our apartment - the taxi took us on a lovely tour of small, one-way streets for 15 minutes, while our feet would have taken all of 5 minutes on lovely small one-way streets.  I mean we did walk 3.5 km from our house to the train station; we could have definitely handled the .75km walk in Florence.  3) when an apartment is listed as sleeps 6 think it sleeps 4 and then a cat (fortunately MJ is not much bigger than a cat); because that apartment was really, really small.  The bathroom for Sean and I - we walked in and to close the door, we had to step into the shower.  They don't have a lot of space in these old cities.  Fortunately, we pretty just slept in the apartment and that was really all we could do with 5 people in a space that tight.
We rented an apartment on the central market in Florence for our vacation.  It is a great location because not only could we dine, but we could shop for some amazing foods - watched fresh pasta being made.  Saw parts of animals that I have no idea how to cook or utilize, kids thought the intestines, stomachs, brains, feet and tongues were not edible. They were not thrilled to hear about all of the foods that they eat on a regular basis that include these parts.

Sight-seeing, well that is what the photos are for.  I have tried to put as much information on the different photos that I could.
20-22 Dec was spent in Florence
23-24 Dec was spent in Rome
25 Dec Florence (only a few places were open, but that was fine with us, as we actually wanted to skype with some friends and family members) and the best meal of the trip!
26 Dec Pisa
27 Dec Florence and then the night train home to Germany, with lessons learned.

The photos are grouped by Florence / Pisa  and then Rome.

There are a lot, but I hope you enjoy them, because we certainly had fun taking them.  Oh, and we want to go back, so anyone interested in coming over for a visit?