Summer Camping Trip 2011

We are way to ambitious for our own good when it comes to camping. I thought 2 days between Germany and camping would be enough time to unpack, lose the jet lag, catch up at work, and plan and pack for a 5 day camping trip. Luckily Adam did most of the work planning the trip and gathering all the supplies and food.
But our trip did not start out as wonderful as we planned. It was so hot in the Trinity Alps; the mountains are supposed to be cool, not 98 degrees! And after a 7 hour car ride, maybe we should have planned a day to relax before attempting a 6 hour round trip hike. One hour in and Owen is fussing and wants out of the backpack so he can sit in the dirt and play with rocks. Two hours in and Pene is lagging way behind because of her muscle condition, exercise induced collapse. Suddenly she can barely walk and there is no way we are going to make it to Big Bear Lake and we are just hoping she will make it down the hill. We get back to the truck, hot, tired and crabby. Eventually the day improves after a dip in Trinity Lake and an ice cream break. But we are happy to move on to the coast the next morning.

We can smell the salty air before we see the ocean, and it is a welcome sight, not to mention 30 degrees cooler. When we pull over at the beach side pit stop to let the doggies have a potty break we spot a herd of elk walking to the beach. We are able to slowly sneak up and get some really cool pictures of these huge elk right on the beach.

 Owen is pretty good at using binoculars now.

Elk Prairie campground is pretty great, and one of my new favorites. It is right on the edge of the redwood forest and next to a huge meadow where the elk are often spotted. A doe and two fawn walked right up alongside to our campground one afternoon. Adam had an amazing run through the redwoods, although he really had to watch his step. And Owen actually had great sleep and naps in the perfect weather, sunny yet cool with an ocean breeze.Owen made friends with our neighbor campers, a 5 year old boy and an 8 year old girl who was practically a free babysitter. We were reminiscing with their parents about the days when camping was a bit more relaxing and we could stay up past our kids bed time. Owen was a trouper though and did great sleeping in the tent trailer, even with me and Adam and both dogs all next to his bed. Owen spent lots of time playing with dirt and rocks and sticks and had a smile pretty much the whole time.

Also, there was a Grey whale about a mile up the Klamath river and swimming right under the bridge. Owen loved seeing the whale but liked pointing out the cars passing by just as much. Hopefully the whale gets back to the ocean soon, but I dont think we will ever see a Grey whale that close again.

And the nearly empty beach is a short drive through the redwoods.

Happy family vacation! We will be back to Elk Prairie camp ground but I do not think we are going back to Trinity lake unless it is much cooler next time.

Good Bye Germany

Day 9 - Munich to San Francisco to Sacramento

On my last day in Germany, my flight doesn't leave until 4 pm and I am going to get one last sight in, so Naomi and I take the tram to Schloss Nymphenberg. The former summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria is located in the west part of the city in the middle of one of Munich's most beautiful parks. Five generations of Wittelsbach rulers were involved in the construction of this Baroque castle in the 16-1700s.
It was a nice way to spend my last morning in Germany, and apparently since the city was sad to see me leave they had a parade right by my hotel to wish me farewell.

I really enjoyed Germany and hope to come back again with the family. This country is very easy to travel around but it is not cheap. The transportation is abundant, the people are friendly and helpful with my terrible German, and most of them speak English. It was helpful that we were often with a German colleague for most of our meals. The food was good, but there was so much meat, gravy and potatoes. I didn't know you could serve it in so many different ways. I was craving vegetables all week. The espresso is amazing, and they drink it all day long - breakfast, mid morning, after lunch, mid afternoon, and after dinner. I am going to have to wean myself off all this caffeine when I get home. And when you drink coffee - you sit! No to-go cups here; people take the time to relax and enjoy their drink and their company. Really the whole pace of life is more relaxed. I could really get used to it. In fact we had some challenges scheduling meetings since most people take at least 3 weeks of vacation just in the summer (and women get 2 years of maternity leave - what a nice focus on family life).

But, now I get to go home and see my boys! A 12-hour plane ride to San Francisco and then I have a 3 hour layover to wait for my little prop plane to get me to Sacramento. I will not be doing that again - I will just drive to San Francisco. It is so weird to fly for 12 hours, leaving at 4 pm and still arrive at 7 pm, chasing the sun.
Every inch of my body is sore and tired, I never stopped moving and did not get enough sleep all week. All I need is a big hug and kiss from my family and I will be all better.

Munchen - the last stop

Day 7 & 8
Munich is our last destination in Germany. One day of work at the global communications office and then the weekend for touring. I really like this city. Somehow it has the feeling of a small town and a world-class big city all in one. It is ridiculously easy to get from point A to point B and then to C and D. There are many means of public transportation, plus it is really easy to walk everywhere. And then right in the middle of this city is the largest city park, the English Garden (yes, it is bigger than NY central park). Since it was raining all day we did not see any of the nudists that are always lounging in the park, but we did see the surfers on the river. Totally wild to watch people surf on the narrow river right in the middle of the city.
We decided to forgo the bike tour and opted for foot travel instead due to the rain. We started in Marienplatz and saw the world's largest coo-coo clock chime, the Glockenspiel. Then we made our way though the city and heard a lot about the history of Nazi Germany and Hitler. (side note- would recommend touring Munich before Berlin, just to keep your time lines in order) Plenty of old buildings that were destroyed or damaged during the wars and rebuilt with historical accuracy only recently.
We were starving after our tour, so of course we had Schnitzel and potatoes for lunch, and a side of sausage. Finish the meal with espresso and a cookie - yummy.
We walked a mile to the Deutsches Museum because we wanted to do something inside since we were still wet from our tour in the rain. Although we were told that the signs were in English - that was not exactly true. I would say only about 20% was in English and so that was kind of disappointing. We mostly just looked for the big visual items and then we found some Siemens products - like a toaster, an oven and a really huge microscope.
My camera died pretty early on so most of these pictures are from my colleague Naomi (Thanks!).

Little Houses on the Hiltops

Erlangen and Nuremberg - Day 5

Today we are in Siemens' town. Seriously, the city of Erlangen is made up mostly of Siemens employees and their families. Most of the buildings are Siemens and you are quite likely to run into someone you know in just about every restaurant.
One thing I have noticed about Germany is that they really support bicycling. There are separate designated lanes for bikes and pedestrians on the sidewalks and even in the crosswalks. You must pay attention and stay out of the bike lane or you will  hear about it. Most of the towns are really flat, the roads are small, and it is easy to bike everywhere.

After work we head to Nuremberg which is the first hilly town we have visited. And my sore calves are proof the next morning. We did a self-led tour through this adorable little town and since it is late all the stores are already closed, which is a bummer since they have the best Christmas stuff and wooden toys. The main part of the town is surrounded by a large brick wall and in the center is the Nuremberg Castle. We climbed up to the top of the castle and got a great view of all the little houses and large church spires. Then, we ate dinner at a very authentic Franconian restaurant, we had to try the Nuremberg Sausages - yummy.

A historical note: this is where the Nazi Nuremberg rallies and later famous Nuremberg Trails took place from 1945-46.

1,086 km - Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Germany Day 5

I wake up early to head to the airport for my extremely busy day. We leave Berlin via plane; it is a short flight to Dusseldorf and then grab a taxi to Krefeld. We are about to step into Siemens largest train manufacturing facility with a growing employee base of over 2000 people where they are producing 450 train car bodies each year. No pictures allowed on our tour, but take my word for it - it was huge and pretty impressive. It is quite a bit larger than our Sacramento facility. As we say goodbye we see the American flag alongside the German and Siemens flags - they raised it just for our little groups visit that day, very nice of them. After lunch we drive into Dusseldorf. This is the high-fashion capital of Germany and bit our of our price range. Here is where I finally tred my fist German beir at the beerhall Llerige (packed at 3 pm on a Wednesday), and it was awful - tasted like it was pored from an old boot.

Then we get on another plane for Nurnberg and finally arrive at our hotel in Erlangen. 1,000 kilometers of plane and car travel, plus touring a big train facility and touristing another city... and I am spent.

Crazy cousins

Owen had a very full week while I was gone. Grandma Marla came to stay with him for the whole week and he got to see all of his cousins and his aunts and uncle. He had such a fun week.
Stone and Owen think they are so funny hiding behind the same pole, little comedians.

I got this video while I was in Germany and it really cheered me up, since I didn't get to talk to or video chat with Owen that day. But I knew he was having a great time with all his family that loves him so much.

Crazy Berlin Elevator

This was a crazy elevator at the Siemens Mobility Headquarters in Berlin. It just has these slots that you have to step inside as it goes by. And pay attention or you will miss your floor. The building itself is all historic and must be maintained but retain it's historic aestetics. It is a really interesting building in that nature. But then once you are inside, all the offices are supper modern

Berlin Berlin

It takes 21 hours of travel time to arrive in Berlin (with a 6 hour delay thanks to a little fog in San Francisco) and already I miss my little kiddo and his sweet hugs.

But here I am in Germany  and I only have one day to see all I can before a week of work. So, Kate (my colleague) and I do a 4 1/2 hour walking tour of the city and get a quick refresher on our German history.

This is our tour guide – he told us he likes to hear himself talk so our tour is going to be a little bit longer than planned.

Museum for the Arts

Below is the "Berliner Dom," or the Berlin Cathedral. This version (since there have been churches/cathedrals on this site since the 16th century) was finished about 1905, so this building is technically only a little over a century old (which for Europe is nothing). The reason it looks so roughed up and blackened is, of course, because like most everything else it was bombed during WWII. Renovations have been going on since the 1970's.

The TV Tower was built to be the tallest landmark in Germany by the GDR. However when they got midway through building it they realized they did not know how to finish it, so they had to bring in some foreign engineers. Well the big ball at the top is made out of a reflective metal and when the sun is shining on it just right it looks like a cross is glowing on the front. Not exactly what the atheist leaders had in mind for a great communist landmark, hence the tower’s nickname: the Pope’s revenge.

The Rathaus was where West Berlin’s Senate sat before the wall went up and is now the Town Hall.

This memorial is dedicated to “victims of war and tyranny” and is called “Mother with her Dead Son.” The name says it all and it’s simplicity was truly beautiful.

The quote below is a 19th-century German poet Heinrich Heine’s which reads: "That was only a prelude. Where they burn books, in the end they will also burn people.” This marks the spot where the Nazi’s burned hundreds of books and below ground there is a large space of bookshelves which stand empty to symbolize the number of books that were destroyed. Below that is a student run book fair at Humboldt University which is just across the street from the memorial and of course the location is not an accident.

The Berlin Wall 1961-1989.

This is all that is left of the wall. The top of the wall is rounded to make it harder to climb over. But really it consisted of two walls with the death strip in between – the horrible place that was booby trapped and defended by armed guards to keep the East Berliner’s from getting across. At least 200 people were killed trying to cross but hundreds of people did make it alive.

On the Ministry of Aviation, turned GDR headquarters the socialist government had a mural commissioned for the long wall along the entrance- you can just barely see how long this thing is, it's painted on the wall behind those columns. It's supposed to show all the East Berliners facing the future together as a big, happy, socialist family.

In this same location a few years later a massive protest broke out against the government and the socialist showed their true colors when they fired upon their own people who just did not want increased work hours without increased pay. Now, set in the ground in front of the socialist mural is a photo of the crown from that day. It is the same size and length as the mural and shows the true reflection of the original mural.

Below are photos of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It is a huge space filled with large cement pillars of different heights. As you walk through the memorial you feel smaller and smaller as the pillars get higher and you are supposed to get the feeling of disorientation because you cannot see who is coming around the next corner.

Brandenburg Gate – the main symbol in Berlin and is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden. It was used by the Nazis as a party symbol and was once part of the Berlin Wall. The gate was the site for many notable speeches; President Reagan spoke to the West Berliners at the Brandenburg Gate demanding the razing of the wall in 1987. It became the main venue for anniversary celebrations of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

And of course here is the hotel where Michael Jackson dangled his baby.

Our tour comes to an end at the Reichstag building. Here is where the Berlin Wall's end really begins. So November 1989,Schabowski, the spokesperson for the government, is tasked with announcing that East Berliners will be able to get new visas that allow them to cross into West Berlin and return. However, Schabowski was not prepared to deliver the news and didn't have all his facts. So, when he makes this history changing announcement he doesn't get it quite right and says "East Berliners will be allowed to cross the border with the proper permission." And follows up a question about timing with "Well, as far as I know, effective immediately." East Berliners hear this, grab what they can carry, and run to the gates. It only took one guard to finally give in a just open the gates, others followed suit and the wall eventually comes down, figuratively and then literally.

The End.

Yes, that is a long post. But seriously it was a long day with lots of information to absorb and tired feet.

Berlin is a spectacular city, there is something for everyone. The people of Berlin told me it is “cool” and that is why it's the best place to live. There is a lot of revitalizing happening in this city and so much to do.