Day Five: Road trip to Praha

Frequent readers of my travel blog have probably noticed how I say we've had an exhausting day, but it has been great.  The repetition of my words is not out of laziness, but instead it is because of how true the sentiments are.  Consider, if you will, that we departed our hotel in Munich at 8:30am and we did not check into our Prague hotel until 10:30pm.  Not everyday is like this, but each presents a variety of methods that make the day exhausting.  Many of today's hours were spent on our bus, but does not mean we didn't have an amazing day.

Our fist stop was Nuremberg.  I've been to this beautiful city before and was excited to return.  I was very surprised when we pulled off of the highway and began to pull into a large brick building.  Inside, there was a giant open courtyard.  It looked absolutely huge.  Ele explained to us that this was going to be the Congress Hall of the Nazi party.  The size of the building is twice the size of the Colosseum in Rome.

A poor panoramic view of the Congress Hall.

If I remember correctly, the hall would have had capacity for nearly 300,000 people.  They didn't finish building it because they began losing the war.  Nuremberg was the party headquarters throughout the twelve year Nazi rule and the Congress Hall contains a Documentation Center showcasing the rise of the Nazi party.  I'll touch on that in a second, but before we entered, Ele took us to visit the parade grounds of the Nazis.  This location was instantly recognizable for me and most of the kids.  It was at this location that Hitler would have inspected those marching and would have delivered some of his messages to the thousands of assembled Nazi Party members.

I took a picture of a plague that showed the area before World War II

The enormity of the location was almost too much to grasp.  It was very eerie to know that one of the world's most evil men had stood where we currently were standing.  I've mentioned several times to the kids that traveling gives them a sense of history that you cannot feel from a book.  I would think we've had several experiences so far where the sense of history was all around...Today was most definitely one of them.  The field is known as the Zeppelin field because the Zeppelin's used to land there before the war.  Surrounding the grounds would have been over 100 anti-aircraft lights.  The light illuminated from these lights would be visible as far away as Prague.

Zeppelin Field monument today

Some of our group standing where Hitler stood.

After the Zeppelin field, we went to the documentation center.  We were each issued whisper-devices and embarked on our self-guided tour.  The experience was very well done and most of the kids I spoke with were amazed at how much they had learned.  One thing that caught my attention was how focused our kids were at different spots throughout the museum.  I remember Kristina sitting by herself listening to a segment about the Holocaust.  After the audio segment concluded, I showed her a picture of Auschwitz that was on the wall.  I told her that it looks pretty much the same today and that we'd be there in a couple days.  This trip is amazing that way.  We are seeing things in museums...learning about them...and then seeing them in person.  Our trip motto is "One Must Travel To Learn."  This quote comes from Mark Twain, but it is still true today.  The late and sleepless nights are totally worth it when we consider the experiences we get to share with our students.

After the documentation center, we headed to the "old" section of Nuremberg.  It is one of my favorite places in Europe and perhaps my favorite German city.  The city is so beautiful and it feels old.  We walked down from the castle and into the city center.  There we went to find some authentic German food for lunch.  I know that Steve S. had a traditional German sandwich called the "McChicken."  Other students munched on Gellato.  I had one of my favorite foreign dishes...the Pork Knuckle.

 
It was very good, but when finished, I realized I needed something sweet for dessert.  Off I went to find the perfect end to a great meal.  As I walked atop the cobblestones of Nuremberg, something caught my eye.  It was orange.  It was pink.  It was rectangular, but flat.  It was a box of Dunkin Donuts.  Instinctively, I began to seek out the local Dunks.  I knew there were a few in Berlin, but had not figured there were any in Nuremberg.  Down Koninstrasse I walked...eyes fixed to the stores abutting the road.  Finally, on the horizon, emerged a recognizable sign.  In I went.  Ordered, I did.  Sipping perfection...it had been nearly five full days since I had tasted a Dunkin Donut Iced Coffee.  One word describes it...Yummy.

Smiley faced Donuts mimicked my expression!!!

We hit the road to Prague after rendezvousing at the Fountain of Youth.

The drive was long.  We watched a large portion of Schindler's List along the way as we entered the Czech Republic.  We drove straight to our hotel and dropped our stuff off in a locked room.  We headed to The Templareo Restaurant for dinner.  This place had a special place in my heart because I have long been involved with a youth group named DeMolay.  He was a Templar and his portrait adorned the restaurant.  For dinner, we had the Czech version of Chicken Cordon Bleu.  It was a chicken breast topped with a slice of ham and a slice of cheese.  Our side was French Fries.  The meal was a big hit.  Some of our group was fortunate enough to sit outside with the band playing some of their favorite tunes.

We took a brief walk through Downtown Prague and took some night time pictures.  The city is really cool and you will see even more pictures tomorrow night!!!

The Powder Tower

The City Centre

Upon arriving at our hotel, we were greeted with complimentary wi-fi.  Undoubtedly, our student travelers have spent the last hour face-timing with home and sharing all of their exploits with you...if not, then at least you have this blog, lol.  Thanks for your time.

Mr. Lavoie currently in one of my favorite cities in the entire world and hoping the kids feel the same way about it by the time we leave.