"Guten Tag! I am "Chimney Sweep"!" ... Yes, he certainly was!! I was a little confused about why he had come (I hadn't called him), but apparently, it is German law to have your chimney cleaned - so, I'm assuming my landlord set it up ... The funny thing was, when he came in and came up the stairs to get to the attic - he couldn't reach the chain to pull the attic door down! He couldn't really jump, because they carry this chain thingy with an iron ball on it - so, I had to open the attic for him.
I guess it was time to get the chimney all cleaned out for Santa ...
Since I can't put all my pictures up on the blog ... I thought I would combine a couple ... The day we came home (Saturday), we only had about a half day to do anything before our train trek back to the airport ... so, I took the kids to Legoland while Darren went back to get the suitcase and backpack from the hotel. Legoland in Berlin is NOT an amusement park ... It would be great for YOUNG children, but my kids were only really impressed with the lego miniture of Berlin... Below is Checkpoint Charlie. We did visit the real Checkpoint Charlie and the neat museum that goes with it ... but, we visited at night, so we didn't get fabulous pictures ... so, here is a view of Checkpoint Charlie ...
We started our touring on Thursday ... We began at the Brandenburg Gate, and wandered from site to site from there ... The Brandenburg Gate had once had the Wall in front of it, and it was a famous site for the day in 1989 when the wall came down. It is also the place where the trucks first rolled through, after the blockade ended in 1949 ... 
Thursday we spent a lot of time trying to see sites that were important to Shelby's National History Day project that she is working on. This year, she and a friend are doing a documentary on Gail Halvorsen, the Berlin Candy Bomber. He was one of the pilots during the Berlin airlift. He had talked with some German children at a fence by the airstrip, and was so impressed that they only asked for flour. He have them the 2 sticks of gum that he had in his pocket, and then promised to drop more from his plane. He "wiggled" his wings so they would know it was his plane, then they dropped chocolate and gum in parachutes made from handkerchiefs. Anyway ... on Thursday, we went to the Allied museum (which had a nice display about Mr. Halvorsen), saw monument given to the city of Berlin from the United States (below), went to Checkpoint Charlie, and to a part of the Wall that is still standing... It was a long day, with lots of walking ... but, seeing all the information about the airlift and the blockade, and the Wall, made me very Thankful to be an American and to be able to enjoy the freedoms that we do.
Monday was spent at Auschwitz. Tuesday, we drove to Boleslawiec (above) - where they have the "Polish Pottery" ... well ... apparently, November 11th is Polish Independence day (19 years independent from the communists) ... so, most of the stores were closed. But, we had a fabulous lunch, and on the way back to the airport found an old monestary that we wandered around ... (below, two pictures)
On Sunday, we visited the University. It had some neat rooms in it... (2 pictures below)
On Saturday, we found a botanical garden. We had a nice walk through there, and even found another gnome. (above 1 picture, below 2 pictures)
We found these random statues on a street corner .... they looked so cool, like they are walking down into the sidewalk - and on the other side of the street, there are more walking up from the side walk ....
(above) this is papa gnome, and papa Shirley ...
We spent Friday going to the Wroclaw National Museum (below), and the Panarama museum (above). I had never heard of a panaramic museum - but apparently there are several throughout Europe. It is a round building with a HUGE painting inside -- in a circle ... a panarama. The painting itself was cool enough, but there is 3-D landscape leading up to the edge of the painting. So, you can't tell where the scenery ends and the painting begins - and it's all in a circle around you ... VERY cool ... one of my favorite things from the trip.
This is the "gate of death" at Birkeneau. The trains came through the gate. Further up the tracks was the "sorting platform". Here prisoners were selected for immediate extermination, or sent to a barrack (to await extermination later).
This is the view from the platform, looking back at the gate ...
Where Auschwitz was overwhelming and depressing enough ... When you get to Birkeneau, you see the enormity of it all ... Rows, and rows of barracks, foundations of old barracks, and foundations of warehouses that stored the sorted possessions confiscated from the prisoners.
This is one of 4 (or 5?) cremetoriums that the Nazis destroyed and dynamited at the end of the war, to hide their crimes ... (below) .... They are currently working on reconstructing the cremetorium for historical reference. A rabbi is overseeing and blessing the grounds, because of the human remains present ....
The cremetoriums were all set back and hidden in the trees. You couldn't see them from the main gate - not even up in the guard tower on top. Often the prisoners were led from the train platform to the cremetorium. They would stand in groups among the trees, waiting for their turn for the "shower". There are photographs among the trees near the cremetoriums of the families waiting among the trees ... near by is a pond that has human ashes from the cremetoriums ...
A view (above) into one of the many barracks ... Rows of bunks, three high ...
(below) - a veiw through the barbed wire of the rows of some of the barracks knocked down. The smoke stacks are the one firplace in each Huge barrack to give heat to the thousands that slept in each barrack.
(Below) - a view at sunset from the gaurd tower on top of the "gate of death" ... rows of empty foundations from the barracks ... Birkeneau was HUGE ... incredible that there are still those who deny that it ever happened ...
This is a veiw on our way out of the camp. ..
One of (many) disturbing things was the layout of the buildings ... It reminded me of visiting colonial museums in the states. But, instead of seeing the charming way the first settlers of America lived and cooked, they were full of gruesom evidence of the horrible crimes committed here. One building had some of the hair cut off the prisoners, to be sold in 10 kilo bags - used to make cloth. Another had a display of a mountain of luggage, eye glasses, combs, brushes, toothbrushes, clothes, etc. Shelby was visiable shook by it all. Devin had studied it last year, so he was more prepared, but still impressed (not in a good way). Spencer couldn't grasp it all... He understood that the Nazi's took all the possessions of the people, kept them in the camp, and killed many of them. But, that information is disturbing enough, then to have to realize that it was people of all ages ... He saw one display of childrens and infant clothes and asked me why "the people" (Nazis) would want baby clothes. I told him that everyone had their things taken from them, even the children. He turned and said, "you can't bring your children here!" I think that is when it sunk in a little more for him - he pretty much stopped reading signs and looking at the photos after that.
One of the gaurd gates surrounding the grounds ...
"Work sets you free" sign as you enter the camp ...
Well ... a lady from church, who has lived here in Germany for something like 15 years, told a group of us about these stores called Troc. I looked them up on the internet (they have an EXTREMELY slow website, reminescent of dial-up)... and they had some great pieces at good prices. All items are second-hand. So, think of a HUGE garage sale or Flea Market, in a store ... never know what you will find. I convinced some friends of mine to go check out the two Troc stores in Luxembourg (about 45 min. away). I found a wardrobe I liked and bought it. I borrowed a friend's truck and went back the next day with another friend to pick up my wardrobe and a couple pieces she wanted. European wardrobes are "knock-down"s ... they come comepletly apart, and are only held together with 4 interesting looking screws ....
I should have taken pictures before they took the wardrobe apart ... or at least watched what they were doing ...
Hmm.... no instructions manual here ...
I don't think hubby will be thrilled to try and figure this out ... So ... I carried ALL the wood upstairs ... hmm ... now what? I put the bottom down, added the back panels and the two sides, put the screw per each side in... then I had to wait about 20 minutes for my big strong high school son to get home from school. He helped me put the top on. Then we had to position 3 doors and lift the top to add the doors in place. Then we added the screw to the top of each side ... Ta DAH!!
I got the big shelves in before Darren got home from work (who knew the shelves would be tricker than the whole rest of the wardrobe?!). I had to sand the shelves for the narrow section and make some adjustments... but by bed time, we had it all done and filled up, and Spencer's room put back together!! I'm very impressed with myself!!
Here is just the latest in her designs!
She bought me some cartridges for my xyron machine, but couldn't just send those in a box ... 
She sent me all these treats as well ...
My children were VERY jealous!
When I grow up ... I DEFINITELY want to be like my big sister!!
They had a great time with people from Darren's work. Devin even got put in a coffin... but he's none worse for the wear ...
I guess it's hard to resist a "haunted house" at the REAL Frankenstien's Castle ...
