Group Photo

Here is the last post and picture from our trip. The photo was taken on June 22nd at the Blue Lagoon on Iceland. It was a great and successful trip and we appreciate all that followed our journey.




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Location:Blue Lagoon, Iceland

Photos

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Location:Frankfurt and Iceland

Safe Arrival

Gutenberg Morgen/Tag!

Ales ist gut gelaufen und die Schüler sind gut angekommen spät gestern Abend.




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Location:DIA

Blue Lagoon

Bummer, my photo did not import. Leaving the lagoon in 5 minutes for the airport. See you all in 14 hours!



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Location:Iceland

Arrival

We arrived safely and are at the youth hostel. Tomorrow, we will leave at 9:30 for the Blue Lagoon and then head to the airport for our flight to Minneapolis. It is nice to get to cool crisp air.

Maybe more later.



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Location:Reykjavik

Abschiedsfest/Going Away Party

Last night we had our Going Away Party. Unfortunately, it was quite cool yesterday and rainy during the day. We had our party in the bike garage at the school instead of in the school garden. Mr. Tepe grilled for us. We had lot a to eat and enjoyed our last day in Darmstadt. With heavy hearts (and heavy suitcases :) ), we will be departing today. I do not know if I will have wifi in Iceland, so if I don't post, that is the reason.

Photos from last night



-Der Grillmeister Herr Tepe (Tristan's host)




Grilling Tools




Eating!







Mr. Staubitz




Ms. Fontaine and Mrs Porcu, our Elo GAPP organizers and friends!

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Location:Fahrrad Keller-Elo

Goodbye Berlin

On our way to the train station.



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Location:In front of the Youth Hostel

More Berlin Fotos

Boden Museum




Philharmonic Hall


Figure from a bridge


Berlin train station

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Location:Berlin

Comment Please!

Hi Everyone,

It would be nice to see who followed the blog this past month. Please put your name and indicate if you are a friend or relative of a participant in the comment box. I am curious to see who read the blog! Danke!!!

Our Return

We are back. All connections went well. I will not see the kids until Monday evening at our Going Away Party. Tomorrow, I will go to the airport and see
Tristan off.



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Location:Darmstadt

Sanssoucci Palace

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Location:Potsdam, Germany

Errors

I dislike the auto correct!

Gute Nacht!


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Berlin, Berlin

Today was our last full day and it was a good on. We went via public transportation to Potsdam, where we visited Sansoucci Palace. This was Frederick the Great's home. Everyone enjoyed the beautiful grounds and the interior if the palace. We returned to the YH. I bought tickets for a one hour boat tour. The weather was perfect today. Towards the e d of the boat tour, it was a little cool. We found a restaurant with German cuisine. Most ate Pork Schnitzel, others Bratwurst and Alec had a pork leg! It was a fun nice dinner and was a great ending to Berlin. We will have some free time tomorrow and then leave for the train station at 12:15. We should be at our host families by 7 PM.

It is time or sleep. I will post pictures tomorrow during the train ride. Gute Nacht!


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Museum Island Berlin

We went to two museum. In the first one, we saw the but of Nefretete. The Egyptian Princess. Then we went to another Museum and saw the Pergamon Altar an items from Babylon. The kids got their money
and went off to eat on their own. We meet up at the hostel and all are hanging out.

Jessica Blohm has a request: she would like an email from her parents! :)

Remember you can post comments on the blog!!!

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Sachsenhausen Memorial

Entrance to Sachsenhausen for the prisoners.




Minister Niemoller was kept in the prison for several years.



The 2 holes are where the posts went for the gallows. Prisoners would be forced to watch the hangings.





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Sachsenhausen Memorial

Hi All!

We spent today getting to, touring and getting home from Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. It took us 2 hours to get their via public transportation. Once there, we rented audio guides and toured the camp. All of the kids seem to be impacted by the visit. It is always depressing and tough to visit, but also very worthwhile. We returned to the Youth Hostel around 2:40 and are meeting again at 5:15. Tonight we are going to 2 Musuems and then to dinner somewhere.

Tomorrow, we will head to Potsdam, which is the opposite direction as today and almost as far. We will start later and let everyone sleep in a little more.




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Location:Sachsenhausen, Germany

Wednesday

Good Evening. Today was another action packed day. Our day did not however start well. We left the youth hostel at 10:15 to go on the free walking tour. Basically, when we arrived, I was told that they wouldn't take our group. Their material stated that a group was 10 or more and we had 9. The 30 Individuals ahead of us could go free, but not us. So we then changed plans and went o Friday's schedule.

We went to the Story of Berlin. It was hands on and informative about Berlin. This Museum was on the main street-Kurfürstendamm or Kudamm for short. The boys and I toured a bunker that was designed for 3600 people in the event of a nuclear attack. Limited oxygen, 2.5 liters of water daily per person, 82 degrees with 90% humidity.

After that we ate lunch at:



The kids then had 2.5 hours of free time and shopping time. When we saw them later, they appeared to have been quite successful!

Next we headed to Checkpoint Charlie and the museum. Nearby there is an original section of the wall and we saw that.




Escaping E. Germany in hollowed out surfboards.

On the way back to the hostel, we decided to go on a balloon ride. We went 150 meters up (450 feet) and had great views. Here are some pictures.














The Holocaust Memorial from above.




A picture of me with the Fernsehturm in the background.



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Location:Berlin

Tuesday Night Pictures

Holocaust Memorial




Can you find Natalie?




At the Brandenburg Gate




On the Bike!



Driving Away

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Location:Berlin

After Dinner

After dinner, our goal was to go to the Reichstag. Tristan was chosen to lead us. Hopefully everyone learned from Tristan. We could not find the subway U55 at the main train station. Then we got to the Reichstag and there were barricades EVERYWHERE with police. Apparently, starting last November you have to sign up 3 days in advance and go through security checks. So that activity was foiled. We then walked to the Brandenburg Gate (think of Tom Brokow or Peter Jennings reporting the night the wall fell). We continued onto the memorial for the murdered victim of the holocaust. We headed back to the Brandenburg Gate where the kids rode a crazy bike. We eventually made it to the Youth Hotel at 10:15. Curfew was 11:30 and we will meet for breakfast at 9:00 and go on a walking tour at 10:30.

More pictures to follow.


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Dinner in Berlin

Just toured the East German Museum. Outdoors at a restaurant. Here are some photos of today.




The boys in an East German prison call.




The East German Museum.





Who is this creature???


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Location:Alexanderplatz

Gut angekommen/safe arrival

Guten Nachmittag/Good Afternoon

We arrived after a delay. Our train from Frankfurt to Hannover was late. We missed our connection and got on the next train to Berlin arriving about 40 minutes late. We ate going to go to the East German Museum, then eat and then go to the Reichstag and memorial.

More later tonight.


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Berlin Trip :)

Hi Everyone,

Here are some tips for the week:

1. Read the blog around dinner time.
2. Leave comments in the blog for the kids. They are requested to leave laptops at home. They will have limited access to computers and email. I will pass on all comments to the kids.
3. For travel details, refer to an earlier blog.
4. If I don't post one night, be patient, it means we got home late and I went to bed.

Tuesday's Plan
8:00-Meet at train station.
8:30-Departure
13:30-Arrive in Berlin, go to the youth hostel
15:30-3.5 hour walking tour of Berlin (pending weather)
19:30-Dinner somewhere
21:00-Reichstag visit (German Parliament Building-open until Midnight for the dome viewing area)
22:30-Memorial to the Jewish Victims of the Holocaust.
23:45-Return to the Youth hostel.



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Location:Berlin

Dialog Museum

Good Morning. I was gone all day Saturday, so here is the description of the Dialog Museum.

Upon entering the room, we were given a cane. We were then told to put our left Hamden on the wall and follow the wall. At this point we entered total darkness. Our guide Dorothy explained that we were to always follow her voice. This worked well when the kids stopped talking. We were first on a park setting and had to cross a bridge. Shortly, after that we were in a city. Jessica hit her head on a telephone, I guess I was too short for that to happen, because Jessica was behind me. We then had to cross a street. We were told that the step down was big. We had to wait for the light to beep. It was nerve wracking to not know how far to step down. When I was in the middle of the street, she said our time was up. Lastly, we went to the cafe. We kept our hands on the bar until we got to the voice of the bartender. I wasn't sure how much money I had in my pocket (we were not allowed to bring anything with us). Luckily I had enough for a Fanta. We then walked to a seating area. The tables were quite low. Here we were able to talk to our guide. She was born prematurely and went blind at age 11. She said the most difficult things are wide open spaces and when there is a lot of noise around.

This was a great experience for everyone. All of the kids -German and American learned a lot.



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Location:Frankfurt

Frankfurt Fieldtrip

Today we rode the S-Bahn to Frankfurt. We are currently at the Dialog Museum waiting for our tour to begin. We walked to the "old" downtown area called the Römer. We then walked to the river Main and took pictures. We walked back to the shopping area and went up to the top of the building to have a view of Frankfurt. Everyone then had free time to shop and eat. Our last event is the Dialog Museum. We will literally be in the dark as blind tour guides guide us. We are the last of 3 groups and our tour will be on English.

Here are pictures.



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Location:Frankfurt