Berlin, Germany

After almost two months of sitting around the house wondering what in the world we were going to do/go...We decided to head to Berlin on Veterans Day. The day before we left, I booked Cameron and myself a tour of Berlin on segways @ http://citysegwaytours.com/berlin . Neither of us had ever been on a segway before and needless to say, Cameron and I had a blast! Segways are a great way to get around quickly and your feet are not sore the next day! Even begin the history buff that I am... the tour was very educational and I learned a lot of things about Berlin I never knew. Simply, it was a great introduction to the city. I wish we had stayed another day to really take it all in and get some better pictures. I guess that just means we'll have to go back :) Below I'll post some pictures of our trip! Enjoy! TV Tower

Berlin Museum of Art (Hitler gave many of his speeches in front of this building)

Museum Island Cathedral

Humbolt University- Many notable people attended this university including Segmund Freud and Einstein.

This site of the infamous Nazi book burning... Quote,"Where you burn books, next you will burn people."

Checkpoint Charlie - The division between east and west Berlin

Berlin Wall (my eyes are closed... boo.)

Ministry of Ministries (sounds like a Harry Potter reference)

Hitler's Bunker- turns out that all it is now is a parking lot b/c the German government doesn't want it to become a shrine to Neo-Nazi's today. It's illegal to deny the holocaust, wear the swastika and use your hand to do the hile-Hitler sign in that place.

Memorial to the Jews- Extremely intriguing! There are 2,711 blocks that are all different shapes and sizes. As you walk through the blocks the ground is laid out in all different directions, declining to inclining. It's to give the effect of being sick and feeling lost as so many Jews felt from loosing their loved ones during WWII.

Brandenburg Gate

Parliament

Founders of Communism (Engels and Marx)

'OCCUPY' Wall street Protesters... I literally saw a man leave the crowd of protesters and kneel in front of the statue of Engels and Marx and praise them. I WISH I got a picture of it! What a retard.

Our Group! We had a couple from Great Britain, a lady from France and the rest us are from the States!

Biking to Partnach Gorge & Lake Eibsee

Cameron and I woke up Sunday morning and decided it was a perfect day to rent bikes and go for a ride up to Partnach Gorge. It's been a long time since both Cameron and I rode bikes but it's like they say, you never forget. So, after a little bit of practice we were on our way!

I was handling the map, which was a mistake becuase we made a wrong turn along the way. But, my SUPER land navigator husband put us back on the right track. It took us about an hour and a half to bike up to the gorge and including the time we got lost. On our way there we saw the 1936 Olympic Winder Stadium, it was rather small... and interesting to look at becuase it was built and held when Germany was Nazi Germany.

The stadium was only 5-10 minutes from the gorge so we hooked up our bikes along the river and walked up to the ticket counter. It was super cheap,(2 euro a person) and it was so beautiful. Cameron kept turning around and saying, "Lord of the Rings." I know it's a little dorky but I agree! It was like a movie and the cool mist coming from the gorge was a nice break from the heat.

Here are some pictures of the gorge~






















Lake Eibsee

After biking for most the day we went back to our hotel and enjoyed a little R&R! We decided since it was our last day there we shouldn't waste it staying in our hotel. So, we put on our swim suits and jumped in the car. Lake Eibsee is a massive crystal clear blue lake about 15 minutes away from our hotel. We pulled up and there was no parking and the place was packed! So we parked down the street and walked back to the lake. Once we found an open spot Cameron jumped into the water. It took me almost 10 minutes to get into be fully immersed. It was freezing at the end of August! Not exactly the ideal water temperature so I didn't stay in long. However, Cameron loved it and here are some pictures of him being silly.

Whitewater Rafting in Austria

While we were down in southern Germany we decided to go whitewater rafting in Austria! We had a blast! It was just a short drive from where we were staying and it was a beautiful drive. Once we arrived they made us fill out some paperwork that stated we were 'sane' and had no medical issues and then we put on our wet gear...

We looked ridiculous. (This picture was taken after we got back)


We then jumped on a bus and headed 20 minutes up the road to the entrance of the river. Our tour guide; Mike(who's awesome) taught us some simple instructions about rowing and safety and we were off paddling down the river. The water was a gorgeous blue and the scenery was green. It was beautiful.

Mike let us jump out a few times when the river was 'calm.' It was freezing cold! It was a really hot that day and with the wet weather gear it wasn't so bad. Needless to say, we had way too much fun!

Here are some pictures of our trip

Cinderella Castle

No, it's not the one in Disneyland. Though, Neuchwanstein Castle is the castle that Walt Disney used as a template for many of the castles we see in Disney Classics. Secretly, I would live there... maybe it's becuase it's ever girls fantasy to become a princess(thanks Kate for ruining it for me) OR it's becuase it's a castle and who wouldn't want to live in a castle?!

Anyways~ Neuchwanstein Castle was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Germany in 1869 and is located in southern Bavaria, Germany. I've wanted to go there for sometime now and the weather was great so we did it! The view was amazing and we where lucky enough to have a tour of the castle Ludwing II grew up in as well; Hohenschwangau Castle. Here are some photos of our trip.

Hohenschwangau Castle





















Neuchwanstein Castle