Behind the Scenes at Schiphol...

One of the cool things about being a member of the American Women’s Club of The Hague is the opportunity to go on group tours. Taking a behind-the-scenes tour of Schiphol Airport, Europe’s 5th largest airport, sounded so cool that Jimmy took the afternoon off to join us; unfortunately, the girls were too young to come along. While it was very amazing to be in the “authorized personnel only” section of the airport, it took a long time as we moved from section to section and had to show our IDs over and over. A lot of the tour took place in the luggage area in the basement which is as big as nine football fields. It would have been so cool if suitcases were flying around, but the only time that we could visit was during a slow period between flights.
We couldn’t visit the air control tower, but we were able to see the luggage control area, which was very impressive with its multiple computer screens tracking luggage on miles of conveyor belts and twisty slides. Its all so sophisticated that it’s amazing that any suitcases are ever lost, but we also got to see the ruined suitcase area. Lastly, we saw the KLM employee area including where the pilots check the weather and plan their flights. All-in-all, it gave us a whole new appreciation of an airport where we’ve spent a lot of time in the last 4 years.

Frescoes in Garmisch...

One of the really pretty aspects of the neighborhoods around the lodge and ski resort is that many of the houses have frescoes on their exterior walls. Most depict historical aspects of the area, but clearly this one is more modern. Unlike our last visit, we finally managed to walk into downtown, which is quite quaint. We also happened upon a junior ski jumping competition. The competitors jumped on the two smaller jumps, but didn’t get airborne when they skied down the incredibly steep Olympic jump. Apparently this area is putting a bid in for the 2018 Winter Olympics; they last hosted in 1936.

Work Makes You Free?

When I told a friend that Jimmy and I were going to visit Dachau Concentration Camp, she asked why we would want to do something that we knew would only make us sad. I responded that it’s important that the horrors that happened there aren’t forgotten. And there’s little doubt that we’ll ever forget visiting the Nazi’s first concentration camp, which opened in 1933 and was liberated in 1945. This camp originally housed mainly German political prisoners, but later expanded to house Jews and others for a total of over 200,000 prisoners (of which 32,000 were killed here). It served as a prototype for the thousands of camps all over Europe. Considering how close the camp backs up to houses, it’s not surprising to hear that some locals would like to close the memorial site. Hopefully the foundation set up to run the site will succeed in keeping it open to make sure that future generations don’t forget.

Majestic Views at Partnach Gorge...

After thoroughly enjoying visiting Partnach Gorge two years ago, I went twice this year. The first time was with Jimmy and another couple from work. We knew better than to try the insane route across the mountain that we took last time, so we tried another direction. Some of the trail was very slippery, but we managed to work our way over to a cute restaurant for a beer and cake before taking a very rickety gondola down the mountain. Along the way, we saw some ice climbers being filmed by a German TV crew.

Later in the week, I went back with a mom of Ashlynn’s classmate that just happened to be on vacation in the same area. Jane suggested another route over the mountain without realizing that the melting over the last few days had made the trail quite icy. Luckily she had ski poles with her and was willing to share, which helped to cut down on the slipping and sliding. Ironically, we ran into Jimmy, who was tobogganing down a very scary slope (that I ended up going down on my butt). We’d definitely earned our hot toddies!

Back to Ski School...

Early Sunday evening we took a train to Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the German Alps. We checked into the Edelweiss, an Armed Forces Lodge and registered the kids for American ski school. Ashlynn was erroneously put into a group of 11- to 15-year-olds, but decided she was up for the challenge. In fact, her advanced-beginner group did an advanced slope on the first day, so Veronica asked to be switched as her intermediate group was still on beginner slopes. They learned how to use poles and ski moguls and had a great time, both on and off the slopes. Jimmy really enjoyed taking Veronica out of class Thursday afternoon to ski together.

Off to Munich...

Just a week after we returned from India, we spent a weekend in Munich before heading to the mountains. Ironically, Jimmy had already been there that week for a quick work trip. We filled up our time exploring the historic center, taking a tour of BMW World (a purpose-built building of fascinating architecture where owners can come to pick up their new cars, which supposedly is so emotional that it brings tears to their eyes), swimming at the hotel and a historic city pool, and searching for the city’s best all-you-can-eat sushi (which is much cheaper here than in Holland). Being the good parents that we are, we left the girls behind at the hotel so we could have a beer at the infamous Hofbrauhaus.

Arts and Crafts in Agra...

Despite being on a private tour, we were still taken to a variety of shops where we actually had little or no desire to purchase anything. However, it was interesting seeing how the inlaid stonework is done and how carpets are made. While I expected the shopping to be fantastic since I really like Indian clothing and jewelry, I was disappointed. Not sure if we were just shopping in the wrong area or if what I like is mostly made for export.
When our tour was over, the guide was going to drop us off at the train station three hours before our train left. We felt like snobs, but asked him to drop us off at a 5-star hotel so we could hang out in comfort instead. We were entertained by this young man and his brother with their handmade puppets, which we gladly bought for the girls. The train arrived back in Delhi at 10 p.m. and our flight left at 5 a.m., so we hung out in our hotel lobby before catching an early taxi to the airport. While I loved the wedding and am glad we went, I was very happy to arrive back in Holland.

Candy and Pens and Lots of Guilt...

My Indian friend from The Hague suggested that we bring candy and pens to give to the children that approach us for money. Surprisingly, that didn’t happen very often and we still had quite a supply leftover once we arrived in Agra. Our tour guide said that it was better to help the kids enrolled in school that lack the proper school supplies, so we made several stops when the school kids were heading home for lunch. Afterwards, I felt bad that we didn’t bring separate packs for each kid since we were actually giving so little and yet have so much.

The Taj from Afar...

One of the bonuses of visiting the Agra Fort is the view of the Taj from across the river. Rumors say that Shah Jahan (ruler of India from 1628 to 1657 who built the Taj), was imprisoned for 8 years in the above tower by his son. Our guide said that this rumor persists because it sounds romantic that he would have stared across at the memorial for his beloved, but it was likely that even if he were in the tower that the ill 64-year-old would not have had good enough sight to see 1.5 miles away.
A strange optical illusion occurs within the grounds of the fort. From the closest point to the Taj, it is small in the background, but from across the main courtyard, it seems to move closer.

Agra Fort...

After the Taj, our guides dropped us off at the Agra Fort, another UNESCO site. It is the most important fort in India as the country was governed there for hundreds of years. We let one of the locals talk us into hiring him as our tour guide, which was helpful as we wandered around this massive fort with 70-foot walls. It was fun finding monkeys scrambling around.

A Love Story?

Seems that most visitors only want to take photos of the Taj from the front. It was fun going over to the side and having the place to ourselves (it may have only been for one minute, but it was still amazing considering the crowds). Yes, that tiny little person is me.
Silly me, I didn’t realize before our visit that the Taj is actually a mausoleum. Some claim it’s a great love story that the Shah had this built after his wife died. Somehow learning that she was the first of three wives and she died while attempting to deliver his 14th child, takes some of the romance out of it for me.

The Majestic Taj Mahal...

The first glimpse of the Taj Mahal through the Great Gate is truly impressive. Built in 1648, it is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, combining Indian, Persian and Islamic styles. While earlier Mughal construction was made of red sandstone, this was built with white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones. The decorative work on the interior is very intricate and lovely. While we could only see the red sandstone surrounding buildings from the exterior, they had matching decorations. Over two million people visit this UNESCO World Heritage Site every year. Luckily we arrived early in the morning, so it wasn’t too crowded.

A Day in Agra...

There was no way that we could come this far and not see the Taj Mahal. We had a 6:30 a.m. train to Agra (population 1.7 million people). Unlike our last experience at the train station, this time everything went off without a hitch (although Jimmy was disappointed that we didn’t see the con man so we could con him back). The first class train car was quite nice and included breakfast. Didn’t manage to take any photos out the window to show the enormous amount of trash. After seeing a lot of cows rummaging through the trash heaps filled with an amazing amount of plastic bags, Jimmy said it’s too bad that no one’s invented edible bags. While we normally like to walk around any city that we visit, we’d had enough of Delhi to know that hiring a driver for the day made more sense. Of course, we didn’t realize that the driver would then invite his friend along to play tour guide, but the price was ridiculously low and he was very helpful.

Chaos Reigns...

If I had but one word to describe what I experienced of Delhi, I’d say Chaos. Perhaps the disorganized encounters at the Indian Embassy in Holland should have forewarned me, but it was nothing compared to the real thing. I traveled a lot in the Far East in the 90’s, but that also didn’t prepare me for the jostling crowds and the insane traffic. Even the markets were hard to walk through as bike rickshaws were constantly trying to squeeze through the narrow paths and there were rarely sidewalks. Traffic lights were rare in the market area and crosswalks were completely nonexistent. I’m usually pretty daring after years of jaywalking with the Hash, but I froze and Jimmy had to drag me across several streets. While I am glad that we went, I won’t be rushing back.

Now, That’s Fresh Milk...

Guess you know that the milk’s fresh when you see the goat right there at the dairy. There weren’t a lot of animals at the market, but we did come across a few monkeys that were begging, some stray dogs and one large cow that was tied up. As we headed to the subway (which was very modern and clean, but with a very haphazard security system), we passed through the blacksmith section of the market where you could find a plethora of metal parts and tools.

Butcher, Baker & Candle Stick Maker...

Actually, we never did see a candle stick maker, but we did see a lot of other things being made in the Delhi market. These fellows at the baker were very happy to have their pictures taken and even asked to see the screen to make sure they looked good. We bought five big pieces of their fresh bread, which turned out to be our dinner.