Hitler's Eagles Nest - Berchesgarten, Germany

Hitler lived in Berchesgarten, Germany for many years of his life. The mountains are just beautiful, and the scenery breathtaking. The Eagles Nest, a home on top of a huge mountain, was given to Hitler as a Birthday present for his 50th by the Nazi party. This is one of the only buildings that still exists from the WWII era in Germany as it was not bombed. It is said that Hitler had virtigo, so he never actually spend a night in this home. You can see the building in the series 'A Band of Brothers'.


Berchtesgarten itself was a beautiful small town in the Valley of the Obersalz mountains.



First, we took a 20 minute bus ride winding around the mountain to reach this tunnel. Once inside, you walk down a 124 meter path to an elevator. This is all original and very over the top.

Then, you reach an elevator that is encased in bronze. Apparently, Hitler was claustrophobic, so the elevator is large and the bronze is so shiny it reflects like mirrors to enhance it's size. Mom and I are waiting for it to arrive. The elevator then goes up 124 meters to reach the home (yes, the same length as the tunnel).

In the home is a large marble fireplace given to Hitler from Mussolini. Besides a large heavy bookcase, this is the only remaining original piece in the home. French and American troops pillaged the entire place. If you look closely at the corner of the fireplace, you can see chips missing. Soldiers chipped out pieces of the fireplace as well.

This is a picture taken by a soldier immediately after the French and Americans took over the location. At this point, Hitler had already killed himself in Berlin.

This is an after shot of the same location.

It was a very cloudy day, so the mountain was in the clouds. The four of us took the opportunity to look over the edge without being afraid of heights because you couldn't see meters in front of you.

Dachau, Germany

We continued our WWII history tour with a trip to Dachau. This was definitely the darkest part of our journey, however you cannot help but be moved by the terrible history.

Dachau was the first Concentration Camp opened in Germany in 1933. It's officially described as "the first concentration camp for political prisoners". In total, 200,000 prisoners were sent to Dachau with nearly two-thirds as political prisoners and the rest Jewish. The camp served as a prototype for other concentration camps built in the future.

Keep in mind, the images may be disturbing.

The gates into Dachau hold a sign which reads "Arbeite macht frei". This means "work will set you free" in German.

It was a very eerie day in Dachau, Germany. The winds were blowing ominously, and the clouds were moving very quickly. On either side of the tree line are rows of living quarters for the prisoners. They were all removed earlier, and replicas are now up to describe the inner living quarters for the prisoners.

The camp changed dramatically through the years. In the beginning, this picture above would house one prisoner per bed. Yet, towards the end of the war three or four would share a bed. In the next room is a make-shift bathroom with toilets and sinks. However, this was all a facade put on by the Nazi's to show outside people that this was a appropriate place for prisoners. In reality, the sinks and toilets did not work.

Watchtowers were set along the entire outside of the facility.

We apologize for putting this picture on our blog. The words to describe what you see here is indescribable.... Yet, we feel we must show what actually took place before the world forgets. It was said that these crematoriums were not actually put to use yet, as they were just built months before the war ended. Next to this crematorium is an older facility that was definitely used. I will not add that one to our blog.

Germany - Neuschwanstein and Rothenberg

Rothenberg is considered the oldest and most preserved medieval towns in Germany. The town dates back to as early as the 1100's!

The city walls wrap around almost the entire city. Many of the walls have buildings built within.

The city has a Criminal Museum which houses many historic criminal torture equipment and more. Below mom is standing next to the original Iron Maiden. It was said that people were put inside to die, however new evidence shows that it was most likely used as a punishment for a day only to produce humiliation.

Of course we had to go to Neuschwanstein castle to see the lovely building. King Ludwig II really knew how to build an over-the-top structure!

Normandy

We're back! I sincerely apologize for not keeping up with our blog. In this digital age, facebook and email have completely taken over. However, I believe the value of this blog will continue for years to come. With that said, I must tell you that Normandy is just beautiful! The images that come to mind in Normandy are many, D-day, William the Conqueror, Mont St-Michel and more. Yet, the beauty of the rolling hills and cliffs into the ocean completely took our breath away. The Edmonds come to visit Europe in July of 2009, and we decided to take a tour of WWII history. It was one of our best decisions to date.



On June 6, 1944, Nazi occupied France was invaded by soldiers from America, Britain and Canada. Juno Beach was a landing point for Canadians, Sword and Gold Beaches were landings for the Brits, and Omaha was the American Beach landing. The picture above is a memorial to the fallen soldiers of Omaha Beach.

We were lucky to get a tour of the D-day memorial sites during our visit. Mom and dad are standing above Arromanches. Winston Churchill realized a successful invasion into France would mean we needed more ports to bring in heavy equipment. So, his ingenuity built the artificial Mulberry Harbour. It is made by many sunken ships bolted to floating harbours. Below is a harbour that is now ashore.

The most moving part of our trip to Normandy was the American Cemetery. It contained 9,386 graves. The soldiers are buried in American soil, as soil from the blue grass state was shipped in just for this purpose. It is considered American land.

We felt very lucky to have walked the shores of Normandy to remember the soldiers who died for our future.

Paris with the Edmonds

Well, we figured it was time for us to update the blog. It's crazy how fast time can go by when everyone is back to work.

We were lucky enough to have the Edmonds out to visit in July. We went to Paris, Normandy and a few places in Germany. Paris was warm, but beautiful as always. Here are some of our highlights.

Going up the tower at night is a must. We ended up going right before midnight! I couldn't believe how awake my parents were at this point. They must drink a lot of coffee!

Notre Dame was very busy that day, but we were lucky enough to go inside and take a look around before mass started.

The Louvre is always bigger than anyone imagines. My mom and dad are standing in the hall filled with royal jewels.

Bern, Switzerland - 10K race

Joslyn, Kelsey, Teri and I ran in the Bern Fraulaufen (Bern Woman's Race) in June. It was a lovely trip.

It was 85 degrees the day of the race, but many people had out sprinklers and hoses to cool us off. I'm rounding my 5k mark in this picture.

Kelsey, Teri, me and Joslyn before the race.

This is the "after" picture.

London Polo Match and Ball

Our friends from London, Derek and Leah, invited us to the Hurlingham Polo Match and Ball last month. It was definitely an "old English" tradition which we enjoyed very much. We always have so much fun with Derek and Leah.

Off to the ball!