Day Twelve: I think I may have hit a wall.

Wow...It is almost over.  It truly feels like we just left Logan and I was making my first post from high over the Atlantic.  Now, We have one more night and a morning before we begin our journey home.  I said it was non-stop yesterday and upon further reflection; that's the best phrase possible to explain our past two weeks.

I am frequently asked about my travels from my students.  They usually ask what my favorite place in Europe is or which tour was my favorite.  They also ask me why I go to some of the same places as previous trips.  I think this trip has afforded me the best possible answer to that specific question.  I've seen Munich and Krakow.  I've previously experienced Dachau and Munich.  I've been to Berlin three times now...but each time has been incredibly different.  My first experience in Berlin was about 10 years ago.  It was our first stop on a Central European journey that would also include Auschwitz and Prague.  It rained.  It was quite miserable.  At that time, in my life, the experience of a miserable Berlin made sense.  I think I was still stuck in the Cold War.  I wanted to embrace the city and welcome it to the modern world, but the climate and the jet lag made that impossible.  I left Berlin and thought I needed never to come back.  But, I did come back...5 years ago.  My experience could not have been more different.  The sun shined brightly for our entire visit.  It might have even hit 80 degrees.  We walked all over the city.  We willed ourselves into having a good time.  We lounged on the grass outside of the Reichstag and we marked our spots on the Berlin Wall.  The city was incredible.  The one constant in my two visits appeared over the city's skyline.  It was an enormous amount of cranes.  Berlin is an industrial city and I figured they just liked building stuff.  It was too dark to notice when we arrived last night, but the capital city of Germany has changed quite a bit since my last visit...and that is the reason why I keep coming back to the same cities.  Things change. Our perspective changes.  We begin to appreciate new things and we can seek out even greater adventures.

We started this morning by boarding a double decker tour bus.  Our guide was named Jim.  It's not a very German sounding name because he is not German.  Jim is an American who came to Berlin to study German history and he has never left.  It was kind of neat to have an American tour guide in a foreign city.  Jim certainly knew what he was talking about...but he also exhibited a passion of the city that some local guides cannot express because of language barriers and accents.  Jim taught us a ton about the city and we posed for a lot of great pictures. [Editor's Note: Still having issues uploading photos]  Our tour took us to Berlin's Holocaust memorial.  It is one of my favorite memorials and I hope the kids liked it too.  There are over 2,000 concrete slabs rising from an uneven ground.  None of the stones are the same, but they convey a notion of oneness.  The artist never fully explained the grounds.  He believed that the memorial needs to be abstract because the severity of the Holocaust is not something that the human mind can truly comprehend.  From the memorial, we visited the location of Hitler's World War II bunker...it is buried beneath a parking lot.  We also walked to the Brandenburg Gate.  One of our travelers, Colleen, lived in Berlin when the wall divided east from west.  She was in awe of the changes and she told me that she called her daughter to explain that she had just walked through the Gate.  That was impossible the last time she was here...I smile every time I think of it.

Our tour with Jim ended and we took off to Checkpoint Charlie.  This used to be a barrier between the Soviet sector and the American sector.  [Editor's Note Two:  Three different room full of girls are now sitting near me because a ton of bugs have flown into their rooms.  Hotel housekeeping is taking care of the problem.]  It is a tourist trap.  Years ago, it was a tourist trap.  Now, there is a Starbucks and McDonalds.  Our kids loved it, lol.  Honestly, a bunch of us went to visit a museum on the Nazis in Berlin.  A few of us even got into a "captive" hot air balloon ride.  This is a hot air balloon that is chained to the ground and provides a bird's eye view of the city.  They say it is the safest form of transportation in the world.  Normally, I'd stay away from such a device, but Nicole asked me to join her group.  It was tough to say no.  [Editor's Note Three: One room of girls just realized that they locked themselves out of their room.  Day 12 is bringing forth all sorts of little dramas, lol] [Editor's Note Four: A prom-posal just occurred in a non-bug infested room] I am really afraid of heights.  Like, really afraid.  I grabbed hold of the railings as our balloon violently (exaggeration) took off from the ground.  We rocketed (exaggeration) up about a mile (exaggeration).  The view above was unreal, but I was totally shaking in my boots.

My first selfie..notice how petrified I look.
(Pictures taken from my phone upload without issue)

After the time spent near Checkpoint Charlie, we headed off to the Jewish History museum. It is a really good museum that examines the entirety of Jewish history, tradition, and culture.  Ele took us on a guided tour of the architecture and symbolism associated with the museum.  She is really knowledgeable and we have been very lucky to have her with us.

We then took the U-bahn and S-bahn back to the hotel area.  We had dinner and went for a coffee along the wall.  We celebrated Reid's birthday (One of our Canadian friends) and began to say goodbye to our knew friends.  They presented us with a Canadian flag signed with well wishes and thanks.  Our Saugus kids presented me with a thank you note accompanied by personal messages of thanks. It was really sweet and made all of the tireless nights worth it.  Thanks Kids...You guys have been great and I thankful that each and everyone of you have made this journey with me.  I hope you've learned to appreciate the places we've visited and that you will challenge yourself to travel again.

Victor Thunderchild, Kelly Klassen, Ele, Ms. Alongi, Ms. Mottola, and myself

Tomorrow, we will wake and walk down to the Berlin Wall together.  We will pack our belongings and prepare for our trip home.  Thirteen days in Europe have presented a whirlwind of emotions.  It is bittersweet that this trip is ending, but it will also be nice to head home, get some rest, and reflect on our experiences.

Mr. Lavoie currently in a bug infested hotel with a bunch of kids who are still laughing.  I am a lucky chaperon!!! 

Day Eleven: I hope I don't get off track...some quick notes.

Today marked the eleventh day of this trip.  It feels like it has been non-stop.  We arrived in Berlin around 25 minutes ago.  Our 6 hour train ride went without incident, but as you can imagine we are all a bit tired.  Our day tomorrow looks pretty busy and so, I am just going to give you a little peek at what we did today.

We packed up our belongings and left our Warsaw hotel around 10am.  Some of the kids got up a little early and made some last minute purchases at Poland's first mall...The Kings Cross Mall, but then we hit the road.  We went to the Polish Uprising Museum.  This was a newer, multi-media, style museum.  It was packed.  There were hundreds of people milling about.  One of the coolest aspects of the museum was the 3D film they created.  We virtually flew over war-torn Warsaw in 1945.  The devastation was so real looking.  It gave new perspective to the total destruction left in the path of war.  I don't have a ton of pictures of the exhibits, but I am sure some of the kids have some.

Upon completing the museum visit, we headed back near Old Town for lunch.  The chaperons had some delicious pizza.  Some of the kids spent most of their time in a trendy coffee shop because they had sampled some genuine street food at the museum. Overall, it was a relaxing way to complete our stop in Warsaw.  We arrived at the train station a little early and a couple of kids took the opportunity to ride the elevator up to one of the city's highest buildings.  The pictures I saw were amazing.

Finally, we all boarded the "Harry Potter" style trains and took off.  We are now in Berlin and the realization that our trip is nearly complete is hitting us.  We are all excited to sleep in our own beds and to see our loved ones, but we would gladly extend the trip if possible.  More tomorrow...

Mr. Lavoie currently searching through his luggage looking for some cough drops and maybe a Tylenol PM. 

Day Ten: A pleasant day in Poland

For the first time that I can remember, I am blogging in the presence of some of the kids who are traveling with me.  They get to see all of my spelling mistakes and grammatical errors before this computer tells me I've erred.  It's just past 10pm and although we are at the hotel earlier than usual, we still had a great day.

We woke up later than most of the other days on tour so far, but it was not because we are being lazy.  Our first visit of the day was to the Jewish Institute of Poland.  The museum focuses on the history of the Jewish population in Warsaw at the time the Ghetto had developed.  We sat and watched a video about the ghettos.  It was quite simply one of the most moving documentaries I've ever watched.  It contained archival footage from Nazi propaganda films and testimonial writings from Jewish people who experienced the ghettos.  Not all of the people survived the times spent in the ghetto...and I think that is what caught me the most off guard.  I knew that the times were terrible.  I knew that many people died during that time.  I didn't know how severe it was, and this video made that abundantly clear.  I spoke with Sunshine about the impact the video had had with me and she said it had a similar affect with her.  The museum had other exhibits, but that video has stuck with me all day.  They didn't have it on sale and I don't think it is available online, but the Institute's website has some information on it.  Click here to check it out.

After the museum Ele had asked us to go to a market to get some picnic materials.  At the end of our guided tour of Warsaw, we'd be picnicking at one of the [Shout out from Kayla and kids playing chess] nicest parks in the city.  Our tour was nice, but it was somewhat difficult to imagine the devastation this city experienced during the war.

Facade of a building preserved after the war.

Another example of a war torn city.

They say that about 90% of the city was destroyed during the war and that 100% of the ghettos were destroyed.  Scattered about the city are numerous monuments commemorating brave Jews and Poles who tried to defend themselves and their city against the Nazis.  One of the most famous is the Jewish Ghetto Uprising memorial.

The anniversary of the uprising was last week, hence the flowers.

There is a bunch of new construction going on, but the old communist architecture is still pretty prevalent. Finally, we made it to Lazienki Park for our picnic.  The beautiful park is considered the largest bathroom in Poland.  It originally was used as a hunting ground and the large washroom built for the king helped it earn its name. It is a strange city, lol.

Looking closely at this panoramic might provide a glimpse of some of our Eurotrippers.

Monument to Chopin at Lazienki Park.

After the picnic, we made our way to Old Town.  Each of our cities seemed to have an Old Town.  With Warsaw, however, the Old Town is rebuilt version of itself.  We saw some postcards showing the destruction of the original Old Town.  Steve S, Nicole and I decided to venture out for one of my favorite European meals...the kebab sandwich.  We had seen a kebab stand from our bus and we began walking to King Kebab.  We didn't realize that is was over 3 km away.  Needless to say, finding the restaurant was a triumphant moment for us.  The kebabs did not disappoint.  When we returned to Old Town, we searched every inch of the town section.  One of the monuments that we found was dedicated to the kids who fought during the city's uprising.

We had learned earlier that kids had helped smuggle food into the ghettos and that they played a critical role in the survival of the city.  This statue was a poignant reminder of how real the struggles of this city were during the dark days of World War II.  We had heard several people mention that the liberation of areas by the Soviets was kind of bittersweet.  They said that many people felt that the war did not really end until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989.  Occupation by the Nazis was replaced with occupation by the Soviet Union.  Our local guide today briefly let her fear of what is going on in the Ukraine show during the tour.  I am not sure if the kids picked up on it, but it was real emotion.  

Our time in Warsaw is nearly complete.  We will be seeing one more museum tomorrow before heading to the train station and then to Berlin.  It has been a whirlwind tour and I cannot believe it has gone by so quickly.  It is hard to imagine [This comment was recommended by Gillian and the kids playing chess next to me while I was blogging] that school begins tomorrow and that we will not be home for a couple more days.  Jeff was telling me how taking our school's Holocaust course had prepared him for this trip, but the level of depth we've experienced had made what he's learned seem more real.  See y'all tomorrow.

Mr. Lavoie currently in the hotel restaurant while four kids play chess.  Three of them are rooks at the game and the other thinks himself a King...perhaps, I will check their skills and make them my pawns.  Naw, I think I'll just wish them a good Knight.  

Day Nine: Thoughts from the road, Part two and a little bit of catch up

Today was another long travel day for us.  We didn't arrive at our hotel until about 930pm.  When you participate in these types of trips, you have to get used to flexible schedules and late arrivals.  Our tour director Ele has been working diligently to make sure our kids experience as much as possible...it might mean late nights for us, but who knows when the kids might be back here, so it becomes worth it in the end.  Last night, I returned to the hotel at a late hour again.  We had had an unbelievable day.  Our hotel internet service was not very good and although I was able to type about our visit to Auschwitz, it took nearly 2 hours to post ten pictures.  So, I was finally able to publish the posting from last night.  You can access it by clicking here.  I tried to do our visit justice, but some things cannot be expressed accurately in words.  I am going to provide a quick recap of the past two days below.  Some of the details are going to be lost in all of the thoughts flooding my head, but I hope I can give you a sense of how great this trip has been these past two days.

Day Eight: A recap.

We woke fairly early and headed into downtown Krakow.  Ele served as our local guide for the visit.  She brought us first to Krakow's castle.  She explained to us that the people of Krakow once had an issue with a dragon.  They tried and tried to kill it in a conventional manner, but they couldn't.  Someone finally tricked the Dragon.  The stuffed a farm animal with salt and when the Dragon ate it, he became very thirsty.  He quickly tried gulping up as much water as possible, but it was not enough.  He ended up drinking so much water that he exploded.  The Dragon has been the symbol of Krakow ever since.

We walked down from the castle towards Old Town.  Ele took us into many of her favorite churches and pointed out other potential places of interest.  We finally made it to the Old Town and many of us explored the central market designed in a Venetian motif.  There, the stores sold precious amber and traditional souvenirs.  You could buy hand made bags and massed produced t-shirts.  I found it interesting to see the old world connecting with the new world.  I am sure that some think it a shame, but it looks like the old school shops were selling just as much as the commercialized versions...if not more.  I didn't buy anything.  Some of the kids went off to explore the various shops surrounding the square including a "Chocolate factory." I didn't buy anything there either.  I did, however, make a stop at Coffee Heaven.  It wasn't quite Dunkin Donuts, but the caffeine did me good.

Some of the kids made the visit to Krakow really special by taking a horse and buggy ride.  Others took some time to hang out with their friends and just to relax.  We headed to Auschwitz shortly after lunch.

Day Eight: Post-Auschwitz Visit

As we departed Auschwitz it started to rain.  We had evening reservations in the Old Jewish Neighborhood of Krakow for dinner and traditional Jewish music.  The traffic was not too bad and we made it back to Krakow long before our reservations.  Ele arranged for our driver to drive by the location of Oscar Schindler's Krakow factory.  We, as a bus, has just watched the film and the somber reality of Auschwitz was still within our minds.  The visit to this factory and the reminder that some were good when all looked bleak helped ground our emotions.  We sat upstairs at the restaurant.  I really enjoyed our meal.  After being served the main course, the three piece band began playing some traditional Jewish music.  They sang too.  At one point, I was becoming really annoyed and upset with the kids.  They seemed to be laughing at the musicians.  I had never experienced this type of rude behavior on any of our trips.  At the intermission, I went over to YELL at the kids for the first time in Euro-touring history...little did I know that the accordion player was the cause for the levity.  Apparently, he was engaging in staring contests, making funny faces, and getting really intense with his playing.  (I had a terrible vantage point for the show and wrongly assumed our kids were misbehaving.  They were fine...once again).  I stood for one of the songs of the second act and witnessed a little bit of what they were talking about.  At the conclusion of the show, many of the kids purchased the band's CD.  I encourage you to ask them about it and to listen to some of the music.  It was quite good.  It was also exactly what we needed after Auschwitz.

Day Nine: The Salt Mines

Krakow's Dragon was killed because he ate too much salt.  Salt is one of the city's major exports.  It has been for a very long time.  We experienced that today, first hand.  After a little more free time in Krakow, we headed off to tour the Salt Mines.  What a cool experience.  We began by walking down 374 steps to depth of 90 meters.  Inside we saw, and tasted, walls covered in salt.  Throughout the exhibit we witnessed many statues made of salt.  We saw make-shift chapels carved into the salt walls.  We continued our descent.  Eventually, we made it to the third level of the mines.  (There are nine total levels going down over 1,000 feet) At one point, we stood in a giant cathedral-esque chamber.  The entire thing was carved from salt.  Everyone was encouraged to learn that there was an elevator that would take us back to the top.  From the mines, we began our long drive to Warsaw.

Day Nine: Thoughts from the Road.

Late last night there was a knock at my door.  It was Ele.  She had forgotten to remind the kids to make sure they were completely packed for the next day's departure.  I told her that we had remembered and that our kids would be ready.  What is not known to the general public is that upon hearing her knock on my door, I accidentally dropped my laptop on the ground.  It stills works, but it was at that point that I started to have issues with uploading pictures.  Although the internet was poor last night, I am still having some issues with uploading pictures tonight.  I may have damaged my computer...but I do not think so.  I am working on fixing the issue once I complete this blog.  Hopefully, you will see pictures soon.

Early mornings...late nights...currency conversions completed in one's head...food that is foreign to one's palette.  These are things that are common among travelers.  It is easy to become overly annoyed by these aspects of touring, and now that we've completed day nine, I think it is relatively safe to say that we've been doing okay.  We stopped at a McDonald's while on the road.  It was a little bit of home for some of us...although they sold a burger topped with pepperoni.  Our trip is nearly complete.  We've got one more night, after tonight, until I can buy a Dunkin Donuts coffee.  Day 13 will be here wicked soon.  We've made some really good friends from Canada.  I don't know if any of us will ever be able to visit each other, but I know that we will always be able to connect and share ideas.  The concept of these trips is to get out into the rest of the world and see what it is like.  Sharing these past nine days with the folks from Saskatchewan has been as enlightening as the whole trip.  I am so happy that they have been with us and I hope we've made a similar impression with them.

For those connected to me via Facebook.  I was able to post a bunch of new pictures there.  For those not connected to me via Facebook, You should be able to click the following link to access the pictures:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152777571005760.1073741833.639840759&type=1&l=0b76069d8d

I've never tried this feature before...hopefully it works.

Thanks again for your time...I hope you are getting a good glimpse of Europe and the experiences that these kids, and adults, are having.

Mr. Lavoie currently in Warsaw, sitting in a hotel lobby reading Google help forums troubleshooting picture uploading issues...hopefully you get the picture.

Day Eight: Our visit to Auschwitz

We left lunch and began our drive to Auschwitz.  It is about an hour and a half outside of the city and as we approached the mood on the bus began to change.  The chatter and excitement of a day spent in Old Town, Krakow began to fade away and a much more somber feeling upon us.  We arrived at the camp and proceeded to the entrance to the museum.  Our group was divided into two sections.  We had two different guides directing us and we were provided whisper headsets.  We were told that Auschwitz was actually composed of quite a few camps.  We would be visiting Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkinau.  Our tour began in Auschwitz I.  It was originally a Polish military camp that was converted into a Concentration Camp after the Nazi occupation of Poland began.  The original prisoners at the camp were Polish, but the list grew to contain Europeans from all walks of life.  Of course, as we know, the majority of people interred at the camp were Jewish, but Gypsies, Communists, Homosexuals, Atheists, Priests, the physically and mentally ill, and many more were killed there as well.

The approach to the camp begins on a gravel covered road.  Not too far from where we met our guide, we could see the entrance to the camp.  Standing ominously in front of us was the famous sign, "Arbeit Macht Frie." Work will set you free.

The barbed wire fence surrounded the entire camp and as we paused for pictures we recognized the severity of the events that occurred across the threshold.  Our guide escorted us to one of the barracks.  She explained that there were around 30 buildings in Auschwitz I.  We toured through four of them; each with its own chilling story.  In one building we saw thousands of pounds of human hair.  In another building, we saw photographs of victims who were murdered.  We saw countless artifacts that the Germans kept including glasses, suitcases, and shoes.  We toured through the Prison block.  Here we saw the darkness cells, standing cells, and the Gestapo tribunal that ordered the execution of thousands of political opponents, Jewish people, and more.  After leaving the barracks, we headed towards the gas chamber.  At Auschwitz I, there was one gas chamber and crematorium.  They believe it was responsible for the death of approximately 80,000 people.

The Gas Chamber and Crematorium at Auschwitz I

Entering the chamber is an eerie feeling that cannot be fully expressed in this blog.  Needless to say, not many words were spoken as we concluded our tour of Auschwitz I and headed to Birkinau.  Our guides met us there and continued our tour.  As you approach the site, you are witness to another well known view.

The gate entering Birkinau

The railroad lines that led into Birkinau

The size of this camp is massive.  Over 400 barracks stood on this site and at the time of the camp's liberation, the Nazis had planned to double its size.  We visited one of the barracks that had been used as a latrine.  The conditions were deplorable.  We also visited a living quarters barracks.  We were told that it might not be uncommon to find nearly 700 people living in one of these barracks.  We were shocked to learn that they originally had been designed to hold 52 horses, but had been modified to hold humans.  There was no real heating system.  Once again, the seriousness of the situation resonated with us all.  Our guide took us to a memorial site located at the rear of the camp.  Here we paused and reflected.  We placed stones of remembrance upon the memorial.  Victor Thunderchild, one of our Canadian Group Leaders, led a First Nation prayer and song of honor.  He left his people's traditional symbol of remembrance; tobacco.  It was an impressive and dignified service.  Ian led the group in a prayer.  His words were sympathetic and came from deep within his heart.  There were hardly any dry eyes.

Ms. Alongi placing her stone of remembrance.

Our tribute to the victims.  

Saugus High School's tribute

A stone of remembrance from our friends from Canada.

We departed the camp with a greater sense of responsibility.  I heard more than one student state that the visit had changed them.  If one must travel to learn, then this visit has certainly taught us some valuable lessons.

Day Seven: Thoughts from the road

Well, we are in Poland now.  We had a really long day in the bus and it gave me time to think.  Unfortunately, I am not feeling 100% and so I didn't get any quality bus sleep to recharge myself.  I am hoping for a nice quiet sleep tonight to fix whatever ailment might be coming my way.  I am also shocked to realize that our trip is now more than half over. It all happens so quickly.  I remember sitting with Ms. Alongi sometime last year discussing what trip we might want to plan.  I remember setting up the meeting with the School Committee and having the trip approved...and now, it is almost complete.  Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.  It is times like this that Ferris Bueller's words really resonate.

So, we woke in Prague and made sure all of our stuff was properly packed.  We grabbed breakfast and loaded the bus.  Before we knew it, the City of 100 Towers was far in our rear view and nothing but the lonely road was in front of us.  We drove for a long time and finally pulled over at a rest stop that had gas, a convenience store, and a McDonalds.  The McDonalds was pretty similar to our, but they had a couple of unique menu items.  They also had a wireless device that allowed you to order remotely and then just pay for your food when it was ready.  I've been free from fast food since the end of January, but I cannot lie...I had a burger and some fries.

On the road again, we finished watching Schindler's List and began watching some of the extra footage on the DVD.  I was in and out of consciousness, but I had the impression that the thirty kids on the bus were pretty focused on the footage.  It contained some of the actual survivors from the movie speaking about their experiences.  The film was well done and gave us a little more insight for our trip to Auschwitz tomorrow.

We pulled off of the highway and our driver closely scrutinized his gps device.  Before we could make our way to the actual lunch spot, we noticed a Police officer waving to us.  We got pulled over.  Don't Worry...our driver had done nothing wrong.  It was a routine inspection.  It is strange though, because it was the second time we had been pulled over on this trip, both times routine.

Austrian Police inspecting our bus a few days ago.

Passing muster, we continued on to our lunch spot.  It was a neat hotel built into the side of a mountain.  It had a castle motif and the chaperons had special seating.

Knights of Supervision

We had several menu options at this restaurant and all looked good.  The first was Chicken and Pasta.  The second was Chicken Schnitzel with fries.  My selection was called two meats with rice.  The final option was a vegetarian option.  In case you were wondering the two meat surprise was beef and chicken.  It was kind of like stir fry.  It was yummy.  Shortly after lunch, we found ourselves in the fourth country of this trip; Poland.  We were still a while from reaching Krakow, but there were subtle differences between the Czech Republic and Poland.  First, the road condition deteriorated a bit.  There were a few more unfinished, or abandoned buildings, along the roadside.  In these areas of Poland, one can still feel the essence of what life might have been like when the nation was controlled by Communists.  Prague, and the Czech, has seen enormous growth since the dissolution of the Soviet Bloc, but Poland is still fighting to find itself.

When we finally hit the borders of Krakow, we found ourselves in a smaller but vibrant city.  Our restaurant was just outside of the City Centre.  We tried some traditional Polish foods including Beet Soup and Perogues.  We will have some free time in Krakow tomorrow and we are all looking forward to a little shopping and exploring this beautiful city.  It has been a decade since I've been there and I did see some growth.  There are a few more restaurants and shops and a bit more of a western influence.  I do not know if this will trickle out of the city and into the suburbs, but my thinking is that Poland might be putting the pieces together.  You will see some photos tomorrow...thoughts from the road posts are not all that exciting.

If things go the way I am thinking, then you will probably see two posts tomorrow night.  We are spending the first part of the day in Krakow, but will be visiting the Concentration Camp Auschwitz tomorrow afternoon.  I like to try to keep those types of entries separate.

Mr. Lavoie currently in Krakow hoping for a good nights sleep so that I can feel a little better tomorrow. (Cheap attempt for pity)

Day Six: Our longest walking part of the trip

Dobry Vecer,

That means Good Evening in Czech.  We've spent most of the day walking around one of Europe's most beautiful cities.  I think all of the kids agree that this has been a highlight of their trip so far.  We toured for over 5 hours, but besides being a little sore, there was hardly any complaining.

The night, after last night's blog post, did not go well.  Someone in a room near mine decided to have a rather loud conversation in the hallway near my room.  The conversation was not in English and did not seem friendly.  It started around 1:30 and lasted into 2am.  This current hotel does not have phones in the room and because there were no kids staying in the vicinity of the hallway, I decided to just try and sleep through it.  Needless to say, I started the day as exhausted as when I finished the previous evening.  Good sleep is essential for good touring...so, I thought I was in for a tough day.

My perspective changed when we boarded our bus for the quick ride to Prague Castle.

It was an absolutely beautiful morning.  The sky was a rich blue and the sun shone with a brightness you can literally feel upon your skin.  Reaching high above the tree tops were the spires of St. Vitus Cathedral.  We knew we were in for a great tour.  We walked towards the main gate, but had to pause for a changing of the guard ceremony.

 As we walked through the Castle, we were told that it is one of the largest castles in the entire world.  The Prague Castle is unique because it doesn't look like a traditional castle.  It consists of a large variety of buildings all that make up the modern castle.  It includes the President's offices, multiple churches, and even some cafes.  It is quite a site to visit.

St. Vitus stands in the middle of the castle grounds but it is not the only unique piece of architecture in the castle.  There are buildings from most eras of architecture located on the premises.  I would have thought that too many styles would make the Castle seem to confusing, but it really is beautiful.

Catherine and Daniel standing near St. Vitus Cathedral.  Behind them are examples of three different architectural styles.

As we departed the castle, we were surprised to learn that the Czech Government had hired a new guard to protect the Castle.  They must have heard of my excellent skills in Munich.

At the exit of the castle, there are a ton of spots to stop and take photos of the breathtaking views.

Our chaperons even had a chance to stop and have a picture taken of them.

A view of the city of a 100 towers.

The next stop on our tour of Prague was the Charles Bridge.  You can make out one of the towers of the bridge in the photo above.  It is a really cool bridge with lots of artisans selling their trade.  There are also a lot of statues representing Saints who are important to Prague history.

As we walked over the bridge, our local guide explained who some of the most important Saints were and when their statues were added.  We found out that the statues are replicas and that the originals are located in a Czech museum.

Nearly halfway over the bridge stands a statue in honor of John of Nepomuk.  He is kind of the patron saint of Prague.  We had previously learned that he was entombed in the cathedral and that we could recognize him by a halo with five stars upon it.  The legend has it that if you take some time and rub his statue, then you will have good luck in your life.

I couldn't grab a picture of our kids and the statue because two other tour groups immediately surrounded the area once our kids were trying to reach the statue, but I did snap this photo of a little boy who seemed amazed the artwork in front of him.

On the other side of the bridge, there is an amazing view of the river and the "Old Town" section of Prague.  We were on our way there to catch the ringing of the bells at Prague Astronomical Clock.

The Astronomical Clock

The ringing of the bells at Noon.  [First time trying to upload video...sorry if it doesn't work]

We had lunch and then met our guide again.  Our task now was to tour the Jewish section of Prague.  We went to the old Synagogue and the old Jewish Burial Ground.  I was a proud teacher as Ian came to me and asked if the cemetery was the same one we had read about in class back in October...it was...We both thought it was cool that we were there.

Star of David on the Old Synagogue.

The Synagogue is no longer a place of worship, but it still is a place that demands reverence and respect.  The Jewish population of Prague before World War Two was roughly 120,000 people.  30,000 people fled Prague as the Nazi domination of Europe became apparent.  10,000 Jewish people survived the Holocaust.  That means that 80,000 people were murdered during the time period...just from one city.  The walls of the synagogue are hand painted with the names of each victim.  There are also examples of artwork created by Jewish children imprisoned in a Concentration Camp.

We finished our tour back in the Old Town Square and healed our aching feet with some much needed retail therapy.  Some of us got great deals on jewelry while others bought some beautiful artwork.  In the past few months, I have been working really hard at eating right, but today, I just ate everything.  They have the most amazing desserts here, lol.  I figure it is okay because we walked a ton today.  Not all was fun today, however, as I learned of two pretty scary moments.  Inside the courtyard of the Prague Castle, Ms. Alongi was nearly hit by a car.  She emerged unscathed, but by the time the kids relayed the story to me, she had broken her foot.  Tayla had an encounter of a more equine variety.  As she was walking around the Old Town Square she got a little too close to a horse...who proceeded to headbutt Tayla's shoulder.  She is okay!!!

Ian and Mike high atop Old Town Square - Jeff is visible too.

I found out later that the kids were up there yelling my name.  They had no idea where I was, but as I was eating my ice cream, I noticed them.

The kids were at the top of the Astronomical Clock Tower.

We all gathered once again and made our way to the Vlatava River to catch our riverboat cruise.  All of our kids and most of our Canadian friends opted for this excursion.  It was great fun.  We got onto our boat and ate an all you can eat buffet.  I tried a few more desserts.  We then went to the top deck to take pictures and play some games.  We were stuck in a lock for quite a few minutes as the water levels changed...I thought the crew had lost the combination.  It was a great time watching the kids hang out together and have some fun.  To me, this part of the trip is just as cool as seeing all of the old stuff that we've seen.  There is a social element that one gains from travel and I am seeing it first hand here in Prague.

Some of the kids playing a game.

A lasting memory of the Prague Castle at night.

We have a fairly long day ahead of us tomorrow, but it is one without much going on.  We are departing for Krakow but will be in a bus almost all day.  I don't think I will have much to blog about, but I will still try to find something for you to read...thank you for all of the nice emails and comments I've received.  I appreciate that you all are taking some time to read these posts.

Mr. Lavoie currently preparing for the longest sitting part of the trip.