Europe and Books

I just finished reading two really good books. Both are based in World War II, one is fiction and one is non fiction. The first one I read was "Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. This is a fiction novel about a foster girl in World War II who steals books and befriends a Jew who lives in her basement. The second book was"The Zookeepers Wife" by Diane Ackerman. This is true story about a zookeeper and his family in Warsaw. It follows them as they live in and lose their zoo during the war. Both were excellent reads. Reading these books made me think back on my trip to Europe in 1998. I went with Frau Braumberger and other German students and a few chaperons. I had such a great time and enjoyed seeing new parts of the world. Here are some pictures from my trip.

This was our whole group. This picture was taken in the courtyard of the castle that we stayed at for a few nights. The man on the far left is the current owner of the castle.

This group shot was taken close to the end of our trip. At this point Ann Esplin and her mom had already left. They were two of our chaperons.

One night the girls got bored and we decided to play salon. Amanda Dabney cut my hair. This is when she was half done, it was quite a change.

My hair from the front.

We did all this in the bathroom at the castle. Frau Braumberger got her hair cut as well. I remember that I didn't even ask my parents if it was okay for me to cut my hair. My dad has this thing about girls and long hair. I loved my hair cut.

We stayed upstairs in this building. The downstairs had a huge kitchen and dining room for guests. I can't remember what city this was in.

Me on the Swiss Alps. We rode cable cars up to a certain point on the Alps and then hiked a little farther. It was so very windy.

The gates at Dachau Concentration Camp.

The first stop we made when we got to Germany was to Dachau Concentration Camp. There are so many stories about the treatment of Jews and others during World War II so before getting there you have an idea of what happened here. When we passed thru the gates there was a solemn, quieting Spirit that was with us. There was a certain reverence as we were on the grounds as well. We walked thru the museum and watched a short film.

Each one of the squared areas was where a bunker had stood. There were hundreds of them. You can see one of the watch towers in the background on the left.

We got to visit the Salt Mines. I can't remember where they were either. When we got there we met with a worker and were given a brief history of the Salt Mines. Then we all had to dress in coveralls. After dressing we rode on a train to the opening, then we got to slide down earthen slides deep into the mines. It was so cool.

My pictures are out of order, sorry. This is a picture of the ovens at Dachau Concentration Camp. This room had a different sort of feeling. I remember the hairs on my arm standing straight up. While at Dachau I couldn't help but think of how evil Adolf Hilter and others had been to be able to do this sort of thing to other human beings. I am grateful for the chance that I was given to visit Dachau. It gives a real picture and feeling to all the books that I had/have read.

This is a castle in Vienna. I loved Vienna. It is a huge city. We saw so much art as we strolled thru rose parks and around the castle. I remember they were having some sort of celebration while we were there, and one park we visited was showing a movie. We also got to practice riding the subway. That was an experience. I was glad to be with others that spoke and understood German so much better than I.

I am so grateful that my parents allowed me to go to Europe. I was able to spend 18 days in Europe. We visited Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. We saw and toured so many castles. I had so many wonderful experiences. I have a whole scrapbook with pictures and momentos from my trip. Enjoy!