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European Tour 2000 - Day 3
Tuesday, June 27, 2000


Dachau Memorial

Today we got up at 5:45 AM.  We got our things together and ate a quick breakfast.  We will be on the bus for the next four days.  We left at 8:00 a.m. (Germany Time) for the Dachau Memorial.  We will be visiting the Dachau Concentration Camp.

Shirley Carter wrote:

"It was sad to see the barracks, how the people were treated
and the gas chamber was terrible.
To think human beings could be so cruel is hard to believe.
We hope this horrible act of cruelty will never happen again.
I am glad America chose to fight the evil and set the prisoners free."
 


 
 

Today we went to Dachau, a concentration camp from World War II.  It was horrible!
We saw 2 of the original "ovens" where they cremated the bodies.  They were big enoughto stack a few bodies on top of each other, and on the sides were smaller doors to put babies and small children in.  So sad. Sara Walker


 
 


 

The tour of Dachau was very depressing, considering I just studied it this year!
We visited 3 main sections:the Memorial part itself, the gas chambers/crematoriums, and the barracks  Sara Lee


 


 

You had to be very silent and respectful of all the things that Hitler had done to the Jewish people.  It was kind of scary and the pictures were very vivid.  Edie Middleton


 
 


Some of the pictures on the walls were very disturbing.


 
 

Hitler would kill the Jews and he was very, very, very, very, very, very mean.  He would tell them they were taking a shower and take them to the gas chamber and kill them.  Brett Bormann


 
 

They had a model of the camp and all the barracks were the prisoners were housed.
 


It was hard to believe what had happened here.


Our guide, Ilse, comforted the younger girls.


 
 

Some girls felt weird.  It was sad to think about what happened to Anne Frank and other people.  Ashly Spencer

When you read books or take pictures of a concentration camp you don't really realize what really happened.  People who lived there were treated, counted, fed like cattle.  They wore ugly striped uniforms if they were even lucky.  Half the time they wore the same old torn worn too small clothes day in and day our for years.  There used to be many barracks in a row but now only 1.  Alyssa Harrison


 

They had real uniforms that the Jews had to wear.


 
 

In the middle of Dachau was a monument that read, "To honor the dead, to warn the living.  Sara Walker


 

There was a memorial wall outside in memory of all those who died.
 

Then we went to the crematoriums where the bodies were burned.

To just imagine what happened here was upsetting.


2 of the ovens used to cremate the bodies
 

To learn more about the Dachau Memorial click here.
 

Shirley Carter wrote

Our drive to Steingaden was interesting, seeing the fields of corn, sunflowers,
wheat and flowers decorating the gardens.  The homes were beautiful
with boxes of flowers hanging from the balconies and at windows.
The roof had several chimneys to accommodate the 2 and 3 families living in homes.
The roofs were steep and mostly were tiles.  The houses look a lot alike
and the cities determine architecture and color.

Steingaden, Germany

We drove to Steingaden and had lunch on the bus.
At 1:30 pm we had a performance at the Wieskirche.


 

We arrived in Steingaden for a performance.  It was the most beautiful church I had ever seen.
All the trimmings were gold.  After the performance Debi bought us all ice cream.  Laura Hagen


The girls enter the sanctuary.

We began with the Processional and the sound was beautiful!
 

One of my favorite thinks about Weiskirche was its echoes.  Our voices rang all over.  Samantha Lau

It was a beautiful setting for our first performance.
The church began to fill up with tourists, but they stayed to hear us.


 


Mrs. Carter leads the girls out of the church after their performance.


 
 

After the performance we changed and the lovely people who owned the cafe
gave us all free ice cream.  Kathryn Kuczaj

 "Our food in Germany has been good.  We had pancake soup a couple of times
and for dessert apple strudel.  Breakfast is buffet style with orange, pineapple
and tomato juices.  Choice of hot drinks have been tea, coffee and hot chocolate.
We have many choices of cereal and of their cheese.  We always have meat
in thin slices of ham, sausage and stuff I've never seen before.
Yes we had milk too!  The service has been good."  Shirley Carter

***

"The Neuschwanstein Castle looks like Disney World's castle, or should I say Disney copied the exterior.  You will not find a more lavish and decorated ceilings, walls, floors and furniture than this castle.  It was hard to get to - high on the side of the mountain.  We rode part way up by a mini bus
and walked the rest of the way.  For those with asthma it was a struggle." Shirley Carter

We drive to Fussen and stop to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle.


Above:  Mrs. Reyes group waits to board the bus that will take them to the castle.
Right:  On the bus to the castle.

Once we arrived at the Castle Grounds, we hiked up to the castle.

Once at the top, a few of us paused to look at a map of the valley.



The Castle Courtyard.


Mrs. Reyes calls the girls to the Castle Gate.


 

Our tour guide, Sebastian Huber, was so hot! Brittany Banker


The tour begins!
 


Looking out on Germany from the top of Neuschwanstein Castle.


 
 

Ludwig II was the king who had the castle built.  His favorite animal was a swan.  Aimee' Al-Ameer


 

Neuschwanstein Castle

Click on the castle to see the picture in full view.


 
 

The castle has about 3 floors.  But, only the first floor was finished - the king died before the other floors could be constructed.  After the tour we went to Mrs. Carter.  She told us what we needed to know.  Then we loaded the busses.  Group A to Oberammergau, and Group B to Austria.  All of us said our good-byes to each other, since we wouldn't be together for 2 days.  Bye Layne & Mrs. Carter, see you Saturday. Amanda Fuentes


 
 

Oberammergau, Germany

"Driving to Oberammergau was beautiful with the mountains so tall
and topped with snow.  The weather had been hot but turned cool in the 50 - 60's.
We didn't know what to expect at the youth hostel.  It was located on the side
of a mountain..." Shirley Carter


 
 

The scenery here is so pretty.  So many green fields, large snow-capped mountains, tall trees, and blue lakes.  They are so amazing. Rachel Cleveland


 

"... and we arrived late to be greeted with fried chicken, rice and salad.  The food was good.  We had to help set our tables and pick up afterwards.
Certain girls had to help dry the dishes while others wiped the tables."

"The rooms were very clean with 2 or 3 bunk beds to a room.
There were other youth groups present and one was orderly and the
other was rowdy.  Oh well!"


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