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.