Dachau Concentration Camp

We decided to go to Dachau Concentration Camp which is located just about a half hour outside of Munich.  It was the first time I'd ever been to such a somber place, literally you just felt the need to be silent when you stepped inside the gates.  This was actually the first Nazi concentration camp opened to hold political prisoners and eventually German Jews. It served as a prototype and model for all future Nazi concentration camps.  It was crazy to see because it was completely surrounded by a town, so it was just hard to imagine people living right outside the gates of such a horrendous place.  Below are the pictures that I took on the tour.

"Work Sets You Free"--The gate to enter the camp.

The Yard.  On the left, you can see some model barracks.

Memorial at the Camp

So sad.  We said, "Never Again."  But it's happened again and again and again. 

Model Barracks, illustrates the living conditions of the camp.

The barracks are no longer there, only their foundation.  On the right is a picture of what the camp once looked like.

Where Barrack #5 once stood.

Jewish Memorial

Crematorium

Although never used, there were gas chambers on site.  

Berlin, Germany

I cannot even explain how late I am to finish posting all of the pictures from my European adventure.  But better late than never.  So here I go. 

After finishing up my time in Finland, I headed to Germany for a week of fun.  As soon as I arrived, Meredith and I packed a small bag and headed to Berlin.  We stayed for around four days, but I think, thanks to her fantastic German boyfriend who served as tour guide, we saw all the "must-see" sites.  We rode the train from Munich to Berlin and arrived late afternoon.  As soon as we arrived, we hit the ground running, almost literally.  There was a lot to see and no time to waste!  I loved Berlin, it was such a modern, edgy city.  While there, we stayed with Meredith's boyfriend's Aunt and two daughters.  It was so lovely to have a nice, warm, homey apartment to return to every night and rest our weary feet. We were so appreciative of Julius and his Aunt for allowing us to stay, it definitely made the trip much more affordable.  Overall, it was a great few days in Berlin.  Below are some of the highlights from the four days! 

Reichstag Building...German Parliment

Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe.  Very interesting.

Again, the Memorial.

Meredith and I in front of the Brandenburg Gate, very historical site in Berlin

I can't remember what this building was, but it sure was pretty :)

Berlin Wall Memorial.  These are pictures of all who lost their lives while trying to cross the wall.

In front of a portion of the wall that still remains.

Preserved portion of the Berlin Wall with the watchtower and dead space.  It was really interesting to see what it looked like back in the day.  Hard to believe this really wasn't too long ago in world history.

Being super scholarly at the museum. 

Ishtar Gate...Babylon/Mesopotamia.  Probably the oldest thing I've ever seen in my life.  It was huge and beautiful. 

Night view of the Brandenburg Gate

Loved the art that was scattered throughout the city.

Divas

Lovin' Berlin :)

Late night walk past the President's home.

Being Finnish (Week One)

Well, it has been quite a long time since I've written on my blog.  However, after returning from Africa, I haven't been on many adventures, at least nothing to blog about on here.

All that changed a few weeks ago when I traveled to Europe for three glorious weeks.  This trip was a celebration of finishing school once and for all as well as a time to relax and explore after finishing my bar examination.

My first stop was to Helsinki, Finland, to visit my one Finnish friend, Katariina.  Katariina was one of my fabulous housemates in Tanzania.  I was so glad to be able to visit her on her home turf.  We got to do a lot of things in Finland that definitely weren't possible in Africa. 

Here are some snapshots from my week in Finland.  Enjoy :) 



Here is a picture of the street and tram track.  I was obsessed with riding and taking pictures of the trams.  They were really old and unique, unlike anything I'd seen in any other countries.  Great public transportation!




And here's a tram, love them.




Preparing to head out on the slopes.  Finnish skiing is no "Perfect North" slopes.  I could only go down two hills.  I also was being passed the entire day by children because, as Katariina told me, children learn to ski generally at around 3-4 years old.  This being my third time skiing, I was not very good.  I tried though and had a lot of fun.  At the end of our day, I somehow managed to get myself stuck in my ski.  Afraid we would break it, Katariina ran inside to get someone to come out and help me.  Instead of one person, the entire staff came out to see what kind of person manages to get themselves stuck in a ski.  When we went inside, I heard the staff laughing and talking in Finnish, I asked Katariina if they were talking about me, and she said yes.  Apparently, I was the comic relief of the day, and possibly the season.




Looking out at the water.  Please notice the large amount of bundling layers I'm sporting :)




Outdoor ice skating rink.  These people were really good.  I stood and watched for a really long time. 




Katariina and I standing outside of her apartment building.  She lives alongside a bay close to the city center of Helsinki.  The ground we are standing on is actually frozen water!  We decided I needed to walk across the ice before leaving Finland.  This was my last day there!




Despite the fact that it was zero degrees and there was tons of snow on the ground, when the sun comes out in Finland, it's appropriate to sit outside on the patio, in your winter coats and eat a meal.  I thought these people were absolutely crazy.  It was freezing.  I had to take a picture to show how nuts these people were.  Apparently, it wasn't THAT cold on this particular day. Yea right!




The bus station.  Just thought it was pretty.




The Helsinki Cathedral.  Finally snapped a picture on a pretty, clear blue day!




These birds were chilling on the bay.  There were so many of them.  This is a random picture, but I liked them :)



Aloha

So I am very behind on this whole blogging thing.  After returning from Africa, I decided my life was no longer that interesting, so I stopped blogging.  And while, for the most part, my life does consist of very mundane, everyday kinds of things.  I do, every once in a while, have something fun to blog about.  So here I am again, blogging!  Woohooo!

So in May of this year (I know a few months ago, I'm a bit late getting this up on the blog), I was lucky enough to travel to Maui.  While there we did some pretty incredible things.  Before leaving for the trip, I took a 6-week scuba class so I could do some diving in Hawaii.  While in Maui, I went on six dives, played on gorgeous beaches, attended a traditional luau, went zip lining, ate delicious food and saw beautiful sites.  Here is a summary of my trip in pictures :)  We were lucky enough to have an underwater camera and got to capture the ENTIRE trip's activities. 

Watching the sunrise of Mt. Haleakala (volcano).  We had to wake up at around 2 am, take a long bus ride, wait around in the freezing cold, to watch the sun come up.  But it was worth it, so beautiful.

 

Crater of Mt. Haleakala. 

Practicing my skills in the pool before heading to the ocean.  Trying to smile underwater.

"Under the sea, under the sea, darling it's better, down where its wetter, take it from me!"

Swimming along.  This picture is of me swimming along.

Again, just swimming along.

It was cold.  We were going down like 80 ft.  I was not really pumped.  A little scared actually.

Dive boat.  Last look above the surface.

You can start to see the ship we swam down to.  Kinda creepy!

Pretty fishies.  Lots of pretty fishies.

Gigantic sea turtle! 

Heading back up to the boat.  Going slow to equalize our ears, aka letting them pop.

Ziplining.  So scary.  So fast. So fun.

The beautiful sites from our walks from zipline to zipline. 

Last zipline of the day. 

State park we visited before leaving Maui.  Very lush and green. 

More beautiful moutains.

Getting the buried pig that was prepared for dinner.  It was delicious.

Sunset over the ocean.  The backdrop for the Luau.