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Oktoberfest! And other such things…

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006

Oktoberfest.JPG
(October 2nd)
Well, we ended up skipping out on Prague for a chance to see Oktoberfest. Although I don’t know what I missed out on in Prague, I’ll have to say, walking into a beer hall full of people singing, dancing, drinking, and just having a great time was quite an experience. The halls are enormous but at the same time, John and I had a difficult time finding an empty seat anywhere!

When we finally did find a seat, it was in the “patio” area of the beerhall (outside) so we didn’t really get in on the singing action and what not…but we DID, however, get a strong German woman bring us our 1L Steins of beer (which I only managed to drink maybe a tenth of). John was able to polish off his drink but he did admit it made him pretty drunk…. which might explain his liquid courage to go on some of the fairground rides. He went on 2 giant roller coasters, a giant spinny thing, and a big swing thing (you gotta love my descriptions). I can’t do rides in the best of conditions so I basically just took pictures and stuff. The fairgrounds were pretty much like Klondike Days (in Edmonton) but everyone was dressed in traditional German clothing (Ledehosens?? for men and those funky dresses for women)… Oh and the food there…. wow.
EvOktoberfest.JPG
They have stands that sell half chickens/ducks, meter long brats, fish on a stick… Noreen, now I see why you said losing weight in Europe isn’t as easy as it may have originally seemed!! Regardless, Oktoberfest has been really fun and I’m glad I got a chance to see it.
Hauf.JPG

Sachsenhausen, Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial

Sunday, October 1st, 2006

Well, since I have a few moments before having to head to the train station (We’re taking the night train to Munich), I guess I’ll post what we did today.

We took an hour trip out to Sachsenhausen, which is a Concentration Camp built in 1936. More than 50,000 were killed there and ironically enough, after the new Communists occupied this concentration camp, they used it to detain the very people who previously ran the camp. It was quite sad and quite eerie touring the grounds where hundreds of thousands of people passed through or never made it through.
Sachenhauser.JPG
After we returned to Berlin, we went to see Brandenburg Gate and there happened to be a festival of some sort in the park behind it so we went there for dinner. While we were walking around the fair, we found the Holocaust Memorial, which is a large piece of land where there are many different sized cubes all lined up… it’s tough to explain but it was very neat.
Jewish Monument
And just down the block, we stopped at Hitler’s bunker and stood on the very spot that He and his wife Eva ended their lives. The bunker is all sealed off now but there is a sign showing what used to be there… it is a parking lot now and rightly so, no momunment has been placed in that spot.
HitlersGrave.JPG
Well, we are off to the station now. Thanks to those who have been posting comments or emails… it’s nice to get a taste of home while I still can. I’m guessing the posts will be few and far between once we get into Africa. Anyway, it’s off to Munich!!

Picture or No Picture?

Saturday, September 30th, 2006
Well, we've spent a couple days in Berlin now but we don't really have any pictures to show for it... mostly because it just doesn't feel right to be taking a picture at places that are reminders of the dark ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Famous Braatwurst

Friday, September 29th, 2006
Wow, Berlin is pretty damn sweet! Today, we went to the rie....reig.... riestag??? I can't spell German words. Then we went to a historical museum which is kind of weird seeing all the stuff I heard about in Jr. High. ... [Continue reading this entry]

Lost In Amsterdam in the Middle Of The Night

Thursday, September 28th, 2006
Well, on our voyage to find the red light district last night, we wandered all the way to who knows where and ended up getting lost. I think we walked like 10kms alone last night. Anyway, all the walking allowed ... [Continue reading this entry]

From Anne Frank to Madame Tussaud

Wednesday, September 27th, 2006
So it's been another day in Amsterdam. Today was pretty laid back... we took a boat ride thing down the canals in the city (there are a lot of canals in Amsterdam). After that, we went to see Anne Frank's ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Police!! Train stopped on the way to Amsterdam…

Tuesday, September 26th, 2006
penis
*No comment on this picture Well, it wasn't really a big deal but I thought the title would perk some ears. Our train was stopped in Rotterdam due to some kind of problem ... [Continue reading this entry]

Brussels – It was all about food

Tuesday, September 26th, 2006
I guess the only reason we stopped in Brussels was because I was told the Fries are a must-have and we had to try a Belgian waffle. Both were amazing... the fries were great... I love fries... and the waffle... ... [Continue reading this entry]

Paris – Day 2

Tuesday, September 26th, 2006
Oh, I thought I should mention, it's been really nice weather everyday up until this point. On day 2 of Paris, it started out as a very nice and sunny day. We went to Notre Dame and did the 422 ... [Continue reading this entry]

Arriving in Paris

Tuesday, September 26th, 2006
So we took the Eurostar (rail that goes under the english chanel) to Paris where my Aunt picked John and I up. The first thing to comes to mind about Paris is how scary the roads are!!! There aren't any ... [Continue reading this entry]