Lamposts and doors

I have finally returned from Germany and am greatful to be back on English soil. I really liked Germany--the small towns, at least--but it's no England. Now for the pictures! This post will cover just the Berlin/Whittenburg trip.

The thing I regret most when I return from a place is how few pictures I take of people. Evidently, I have a thing for lamposts and doors...that seems to be the only image that intrigues me enough to capture it while on vacation. So this time, I threw in a naked lady for your viewing pleasure...sort of.

We started our stay in Berlin with a guided tour of downtown. I felt really sorry for the guide because our professors kept loosing their munchkins and leaving the group to chase them. She was constantly waiting on them--surrounded by the obediant students, of course!

This building, located just minutes from the Berlin train station, is the reason Hitler gained power. Apparently, someone (not neccesarilly the Nazis, though that's what a British tourist told me) set fire to it. Hitler claimed it was the "undesirables" and began his fight to eradicate them...and WWII.

This building is the Hotel Adlon famous, or shall I say infamous, for the video coverage of Michael Jackson dangling his baby from one of its balconies. Is it sad I was more interested in this building than the first?

This is Berlin's Holocaust memorial. The architect designed it so that when you're inside it all you can see is the uneven and sometimes tilted concrete blocks--it's supposedly very unnerving and disorienting. Unfortunately, do to munchkin chasing, I didn't have the opportunity to test this supposition.

Now, off to Whittenburg! Home to Martin Luther and his 95 thesis!

So after tossing our luggage at the hotel--which was really very nice, by the way--we traipsed down to the cathedral Luther nailed his 95 theses to. And of course, we took a cheesy group photo in front of those famous doors. This is Rachel Lau posing in front of the cathedral.

And these are the famous doors...and a lampost. I really do love lamposts!

So who would have thought there'd be a naked lady statue in the backyard of the cathedral??? This is Spencer Jackson utilizing her pedistal after a long day of meandering after munchkins. For other people's photographs, he had been scratching his head with an intriguing part of her anatomy. I leave that to your imagination.

This lamp hangs from the entrance to Luther's house...now technically, the whole deal wasn't originally his house. He only had ROOMS in it...but then he got famous or something and they turned the whole building into a museum about him.

And this is Kendra in front of doors at Luther's house. They were nice doors. And they also had this convienient sitting area. I like to sit. And so does Kendra.

And this is the end of the class trip pictures. Berlin was really big...and dirty...and smelly...and big city-ish. I wasn't a fan. I'll just have to add it to my list of cities I don't like (Houston, Rome, London, Paris, Dublin, etc.). The food was pretty good, but, alas, it's no On the Hoof. I liked the smaller cities like Whittenburg and Baccarach far better--they're quieter and much more charming...and I don't feel like I have to run everywhere! One intriguing thing about Berlin though: I found thier expensive designer section. I spent an afternoon goggling at Prada, Ives Saint Lauren, Gucci, etc., followed by a trip through the Audi showroom. The one that I wanted cost 46,000 Euro. Needless to say, no sportscar for me! Nor will I get the Gucci dress, Prada pumps, Chanel sunglasses, and Coach purse to wear in it!