A WEEKEND IN SWITZERLAND

I'll take a short break from my Amsterdam travelog to give you an update on our weekend here in Switzerland. After 2 days of snowfall, we had blue skies and warmer weather. Of course, warmth is relative to what you have been experiencing. After nearly freezing to death
in Amsterdam :-), the high 50's felt great! Here is a picture I took from the balcony of Mike's chalet:Saturday found us in Bern, searching for some medical supplies that Mike forgot at home. After we found an acceptable substitute for what we needed, we spent the rest of the afternoon touring Bern. We spent quite a lot of time in Bern during our 4 month stay in Switzerland in 2002. It is a really pretty city. This is a photo of the clock tower that is on Kramgasse, in the center of town:Kramgasse is also home to Albert Einstein's house -- and the place where he published his theory of relativity. Mike climbed up to the top of the Münster, which is the large cathedral in the center of Bern. He got some pretty pictures, which I will (of course) post here. This first one looks northwest over the Aare River.This next photo looks south toward the Alps:The Bärengraben (bear pit) is always a popular stop for tourists in Bern. The bear is a symbol of Bern, and is featured in it's coat of arms.

I felt sorry for them...the pit didn't look very well maintained, and they seemed to relish all sorts of unhealthy food (ice cream, popcorn, chips) that the tourists felt like throwing to them.

On Sunday, we decided to drive over the Brünig pass and spend the day in Lucerne, another favorite city from our previous stays. It took about 2 hours to get there, but the scenery was beautiful. This next picture is a view of the Aldstadt (old town), just on the shore of Lake Lucerne.Just behind me (as I took the above picture) is the Kappelbrücke. When we were here in August, 2002, it was covered in beautiful flowers. I guess it is too early in the year for them this time.We visited the Löwendenkmal, or "lion monument". It was scuplted out of a large sandstone cliff in the city center. It was dedicated in honor of the 700 Swiss guards who died defending the Tuileries Palace in Paris.

I think it is one of the saddest sculptures I have ever seen.Lastly, we took a two hour boat ride on Lake Lucerne. We sat outside soaking up the sun while cruising what has to be one of the most beautiful lakes in Switzerland. Mike took this pretty picture of the lake, with the Alps in the background:

On the way back to Kandersteg, we rounded a corner and were faced with this gorgeous view of the Alps, with some hot air balloonists also enjoying the scenery! It is a really pretty drive all the way from Bern back to the Kander Valley, where Mike is living. After we leave the main highway, we have a 28 km drive along the valley floor before we go up, up, up into Kandersteg. The Blumlisalp, Allmenalp,Balmhorn, and Rinderhorn mountains can be seen from the valley road.

Next up: Chapter 2 of our Amsterdam trip!

AMSTERDAM - Chapter One

We LOVED Amsterdam! What a pretty city! The weather was terrible the whole time we were there, but we didn't let it stop us. We toured nonstop, all day, each of the four days we had. Mike and I took more than 800 pictures, but don't worry, I won't bore you with all of them. I will start with a few highlights -- Anne Frank's house, the flower market, and the red light district.

This is the long line that we stood in (over an hour) to get into the Anne Frank house. You can't tell, but the line stretches all the way to the back of the end building, and around the corner. It was freezing cold, snowing, and very windy. The line probably wouldn't have seemed too bad except for the nasty conditions outside. I am sure my midwest relatives are really feeling sorry for me...not!! I am certainly a desert girl at this point in my life. Where is the sun?!! I'm COLD!

The house at 263 Prinsengracht (Prince's canal) is where Anne Frank and 7 other people hid from the Nazis for 25 months during WW2. You can see the front of the building in the photo below: it is the house with 9 tall rectangular windows (6 of them dark, and 3 of them lighter) and the dark green doorway below.

This front part (blue in the photo below) of the building held the offices and warehouse for Anne's father's business, Opekta. He made a good living selling spices and pectin for making jelly. It was connected by a staircase to a back house (green in the photo below), and the top two floors of this back portion was where the family hid.

This is the famous swinging bookcase that was built by one of Anne's father's employees to conceal the entrance to the secret annex: We went through this entrance and up a VERY steep wooden staircase. Canal houses are very narrow and tall; so to conserve space, the staircases were extremely steep. There was not enough room on the step to put your whole foot, I had to turn mine sideways to feel secure. It is more like a ladder than a staircase. It's a bad photo (small space), hope you can see what I am talking about!I was surprised at how small the rooms were, and to think that 8 people lived here for over 2 years, in silence for most of the day! As time went on, and tension between the people in the annex grew, the space seemed smaller still. This is a photo of the room Anne shared with a middle aged dentist named Mr. Pfeffer:

It held two small beds, a desk, and a chair. Anne glued pictures of movie stars to the walls, and they remain today, covered in glass. Below is a picture of the Westerkerk -- the church Anne writes about in her diary. It is just down Prinsengracht from her house. She wrote that its chiming bells reminded her that there "was still good in the world". She could see the bell tower when she peeked out the attic window in the hiding place.This is a pretty view (I think) of Prinsengracht Canal. This was taken just down the street from the hiding place.

I am sure you are familiar with the story -- they were betrayed and arrested in 1945, 25 months after going into hiding. All eight in hiding were sent to Westerbork transit camp, and then to various concentration camps across Germany. Anne and her sister, Margot, died from typhus within days of each other at Bergen-Belsen camp. Anne's father was the only one that survived. Anne's dairy had been saved after the raid, and given to her father after he returned to Amsterdam. Of course, it was published, and the story has made its way around the world.

It is such a sad story -- and just one of millions there are to tell from the Holocaust. My Uncle Dewey was in the Army, and was one of the troops that liberated Flossenbürg concentration camp in Germany. By the time they freed the camp in 1945, more than 30,000 prisoners had died at Flossenbürg. He told me once, "Janice, don't let anyone ever tell you that the Holocaust didn't happen. I am here to tell you that it did. I held those people in my arms, and I gave them water to drink. Soon, all of us that were there will be gone, and there won't be any more eye witnesses. It really happened. Don't ever forget it." Sigh...I miss you, Uncle Dew!

Not too far from Prinsengracht Canal is the Bloemenmarkt -- or flower market -- of Amsterdam. It is built on many floating barges, and sells everything from bulbs, to flowers, to marijuana seeds! The flowers were gorgeous, and we (of course) took many pictures to prove it.

I'll tell you more about the drug culture in Amsterdam in a later chapter.

We took a city tour, which included a stop in the infamous Red Light District. All I can say is, I took a hot, soapy shower when I got back to out hotel. Ewwwww......yuck! Supposedly, it is one of the safest areas of Amsterdam, due to the fact that there are 2 police stations in this small section of town, and there are surveillance cameras all over the place. Believe it or not, there is a PIC (prostitute information center) where you can go and get all your questions answered. No – we didn’t go in, our tour guide gave us WAY more information than we needed. Trust me. You can buy a map at the PIC that guides customers to alleys that feature girls of certain nationalities, age, sexual preference or “specialties”. The girls (and guys, and transvestites) rent out windows along these alleys and main streets, and the windows are lit with a red fluorescent light. They pose provocatively in their windows, trying to attract business. Most are dressed in bikinis, some even less. As interested people pass by, they choose a girl they like, and attempt to negotiate a price with her. If the girl likes the prospective client (apparently they are picky), she’ll let the client in. She then closes the curtains and, well...I’ll leave the rest to your imagination. According to our guide, the girls rent their windows from a rental office in the district. They pay €50-€150 per 8 hour period, and charge anywhere from €25-€50 for a 20 minute visit. They make an average of €500 per day. Ewwww…yuck. Sorry, enough on this subject. I feel like I need to go spray myself down with Lysol.

Below you'll find a picture of Baba Bar which is in the district. It is a "coffeshop", which means that yes, you CAN get coffee here, but it is also a place for potheads to hang out and buy/smoke marijuana. There are tons of these places all over Amsterdam, and the stench finds it's way out onto the street - which is quite unpleasant. Apparantly, Baba's is a favorite hangout of Mike Tyson, Quentin Tarantino, George Michael, and numerous other celebrities. Tarantino stayed at the Winston Hotel (seen below) when he was in Amsterdam, this is where he wrote the cult favorite "Pulp Fiction". In case the picture confuses you, the door opens up to both the hotel lobby, and the St. Christopher hostel. Tarantino stayed in the 2nd floor room on the left.

Well, I guess I have bored you enough for today. I will add another chapter soon! Hope you have enjoyed this colorful (in more ways than one!) tour of part of Amsterdam!

Leaving For Europe

Mike and I are leaving on Friday for Europe! He starts another two month block of employment in Kandersteg, Switzerland on March 26. I am going with him for the first 2 weeks, which fall over my spring break at school. We'll spend the first four days in Amsterdam, taking in all the tourist sites and (hopefully) relaxing a bit, too. We plan to visit the Keukenhof Gardens, where the tulips should be in bloom. I am also anxious to visit the Anne Frank house, and the home of Corrie Ten Boom. Anne Frank, of course, was a Jewish girl in hiding during WW2, and Corrie Ten Boom was on the opposite side of the spectrum -- she and her family hid Jews in a tiny closet in their Haarlem home. If we have enough time, we hope to take a day and go to Bruges, Belgium. I will post some pictures from our trip when we get back to Kandersteg!

ANOTHER MOON PHOTO

I had to post this -- it is even better than the last one! Probably because you can see more of the moon. Awesome, don't you think? According to Wikipedia, the gray areas are the Sea of Tranquility, site of the first manned lunar landing, Apollo 11.

Mike's Awesome New Camera Lens

In anticipation of our Alaska trip this summer, Mike bought himself a super duper telephoto zoom lens for our digital SLR. I usually don't get too excited about such things...but I will have to say, this picture is pretty awesome. We had perfect skies tonight to capture a photo of the new moon, complete with CRATERS!!!

Our 31st Anniversary

I suppose you're expecting to find a picture of us, since it was our anniversary. Sorry to disappoint you. We were too busy enjoying the weekend to ask someone to take one of us! I wish I had thought of it. Oh well -- we DO have some nice pictures of San Diego, which I thought I would share with you! We spent our honeymoon in San Diego, way back when, and decided that one of the things we would do to celebrate this year is to go back to the WONDERFUL Italian restaurant we ate at during our honeymoon. I wish I had a picture of it. :-) Anyway...if you are ever in San Diego, try Filippi's Pizza Grotto on India Street. It is a deli too, and the line to get a table winds around the cheese, the pasta, the olive oil, and the salami. SO GOOD. Be sure to order the lasagna, it's FABULOUS!!! We also took a harbor cruise, and took some great pictures while we were on the ship! How about that? The harbor cruise went past the naval shipyard, which is home to the United States Pacific fleet. Mike LOVED that part! Of course, it holds some interest for me as well; my dad served on the USS Boxer, CV21, a 27,100-ton Essex class aircraft carrier during WW2. I found out that she was decomissioned in 1969 and scrapped for her metal. Kind of sad, I think.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from our weekend:

A picture of the city and the USS Midway, which is now a maritime museum:

Below you'll find the USS Ronald Reagan (nuclear aircraft carrier), and another view of it's flight deck:Here is a Los Angeles class "fast attack" nuclear submarine, lounging around in the water at the submarine base on Point Loma:We passed some friendly seals and some hungry looking pelicans along the way.

Here is a closing shot of the Star of India docked in the harbor. She was built in 1863 and is the first sailing ship to have a metal hull. She is still an active ship, making trips to celebrate her birthday each year. She is part of the Maritime Museum along with the Midway.

Backin' up to January

I am such a terrible grandma! Looking over my blog, I realized that I never posted pictures of Faith's 3rd birthday! Here is the long overdue installment:

Faith's birthday was January 12, but we had her party the weekend after so that Uncle David, Aunt Stacy, Brody and Rhys could come. Faith had chosen a mermaid theme, so Lisa decorated the house, and decorated Faith. Here she is in her mermaid costume with her mermaid face painting: We had a pinata, which all the kids enjoyed. Below you'll find pictures of cousin Brody attempting to knock the head of a mermaid in order to get the candy treats inside. You'll also find one of Charles holding up the mermaid's head after it's successful amputation. He looks positively triumphant, don't you think?
Faith was SO excited about her birthday this year -- being 3 seemed to be quite a big deal. She was especially looking forward to having "Happy Birthday: sung to her, and as you can see from her expression, was feeling quite pleased:After the cake (which Grandma made, of course), it was time for her birthday gifts. Here she gives the "thumbs up" sign for a present she particulary liked: It was a fun day, but I still can't quite figure how she can possibly be three years old already!!