Welcome to our trip blog!

We hope you enjoy traveling along with us. There are two pages of posts with links to the videos. Unfortunately, I was unable to get the videos on the blog during our trip and therefore have no videos for the sites and cities we visited after June 8th. We'll keep adding photos and videos if the students have them, so check back later!
Frau D.

Reichstag

The lines were so long and the sun was so hot that we bypassed the Reichstag government building and returned later in the evening to be security-checked and then whisked up the elevator to the top of the building. The new glass dome of the seat of government afforded an awesome view of the entire city. The wind blew through our hair as we got panorama views of the city from every side. Displays under the glass dome showed the history of the building.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaZOHVALAoA

Berlin Zoo

What could be better on a hot summer day than to stroll under the shade of the trees and enjoy the antics of the Berlin Zoo animals? OK, maybe the stroll with the ice cream!
Knut the Ploar Bear baby is all grown up and didn't want to give up his Sunday afternoon nap for my video, but other animals were out and about - just why would an elephant practice walking backwards?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-ITYbCJDGo

Pariserplatz

The very heart of Berlin is the Brandenburg Gate and the surrounding square named the Pariserplatz. It was here that the center of the Berlin Wall divided the city. Returning to this opened free space was rather emotional for me (Frau D.) and hopefully the students comprehended the changes I could tell them about from personal experience in this epicenter of recent German history. Here were the no-man's land security precautions, guards shooting to kill, escape attempts, separated families, the very symbol of the divided Germany. We were able to only discuss the Checkpoint Charlie as a part of history, but I had lived this division and crossed over from one side of the Gate to the other. Here our presidents had stood and proclaimed solidarity with West Berlin's citizens. Walking through the Gate with no barriers was a rather unsettling experience.
The square is once again a lively town center and we enjoyed the many performers. Ask Andrea if you want to hear more from the band - she has their CD.
Unbelievably, we met up with tourists from the Vinton area and saw someone who worked with my husband - small world!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ0dd5wcvxc

Pergamon Museum

One of the best known and most highly regarded museums in Berlin is the Pergamon Museum on Museum Island. German archeologist Carl Humann discovered the fantastic Pergamon Altar in what is now Bergama, Turkey. He received permission to transport the decrepit ruin to Berlin where it was painstakingly reconstructed and is the central feature of the museum now bearing its name. It joined the extensive collection of Greek and Roman antiquities already in Berlin. Although undergoing restoration and the process of remodeling the exhibit, the magnificent brilliant blue tiled Ishtar Gate from Babylon was still available to the Museum's guests. The special exhibits this summer all dealt with funereal art and customs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHkkod0MouU

Rhein cruise

Leaving the Ruine Rheinfels, we boarded a ship of the Ruedesheimer-Bingen Schifffahrtsgesellschaft and leisurely cruised upstream (but towards the south!) passing numerous castles, towers, fortresses, palaces and charming cities. Hopefully, you can hear some of the captain's commentary on the sites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFjYNwNGl2M

Marksburg

Marksburg stands above Braubach and is one of the best preserved castles in Germany. In contrast to Ruine Rheinfels, it was never damaged and shows us the life within a fortress of a later period.
(Whoops - the video is titled incorrectly!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ResN6iiGupE