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.