Germany

Germany was the trip I was most looking forward to. I wanted to go to Rothenburg ob de Tauber, the city I remember visiting my grandfather in, and Berlin my mom's hometown. Well, then Samuel threw in his desire to see his favorite soccer team Bayern Munchen play in their home stadium in Munich. So basically I was looking at 3 cities far from each other. After countless hours on the computer and trying to figure out things logistically, I decided that Berlin would have to be a separate trip. I'm glad I did because after a week of snow and temperatures around 18 Fahrenheit, we were ready to go back to sunny Italy which was hovering in the high 40's. I took a million pictures because everything and every place looked so beautiful with the snow :)

 To keep warm I wore tights, two pairs of socks, undershirt, long sleeve shirt, sweater, jacket, knitted scarf, ear muffs,gloves, and of course shoes and pants. Layering is the way to go!.

   

                     In Marienplatz in Munich, Germany. Notice the frozen water in the fountain.

Had to take a picture of the Apple store for Joshua.

                          Ok, I'll take a picture now that I have my Starbuck's hot chocolate.

                                    Marienplatz in Munich

                                      I think the cold is getting to them!!!!

 The entrance to Dachau concentration camp. It was the first Nazi concentration camp opened in Germany, on March 22,1933 to it's liberation by the U.S. Army  on April 29,1945.  It was located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions factory.

                             One of many memorials- Never Again written in many languages

                                             Walking through the center yard.

Where now you can only see the foundation there once stood 68 barracks for prisoners.

            The concentration camp was surrounded by an electrified barbed-wire gate, a ditch, and a wall with seven guard towers.

 Hitlers motto Arbeit Macht Frei translates Work Makes Free or Work Liberates. It was a somber day, but one I'm glad the kids got to experience. The horror of the Holocaust must never be forgotten, and now they will pass on what they learned.

 Opening ceremony before the soccer game between Bayern Munchen and FC KaiserSlautern. Samuel didn't get to see this because he was getting hot chocolate for all of us :)

                         Leaving the stadium with all his soccer memorabilia, he was one happy boy.

The town of Rothenburg ob de Tauber. Rothenburg is the country's best-preserved medieval walled town.

Looking into the valley below. One of my favorite pictures, probably had to do with the snow :)

Sarah standing in front of a Sneeball (snowball) store. Sneeballs are a specialty of Rothenburg and are pastries that look like snowballs. You can get them with a variety of toppings.

Loved all the detailing on the houses.

St. Jakob's Church, built in the 14th century

               Sarah couldn't resist making a snow angel in the fresh snow.                                                        

One of the six entrances to the town. In Medieval times the entrances would be blocked during times of war or invasions.

The last time I came to Rothenburg was around 18 years ago for my grandfathers funeral. It was also winter so they didn't have a headstone for him. The kids and I came to the cemetery to try to find it now and of course it was futile.

                   The next three pictures were taken in the Burggarten or Castle Garden. I have been in the gardens many times during the summer, but for the first time got to see the beauty in the winter.

                                         In front of one of the many restaurants.

Thus ended our trip through Munich and Rothenburg. If I could have comprehended how cold it would be, or that we would have snow the whole time, I might have delayed it. Lucky for me I didn't delay the trip because the snow made everything so beautiful.