Travel Day

Today is day ten and that means it is travel day. With 18 hours of travel ahead and the time change we hope to our feet in Edmonton on Saturday night.

With the worries if the airline strike behind us (hopefully); we boarded our planes in Venice for Frankfurt; our guide Mario ensures us that the international flights are never affected by the strikes. It was a sad farewell last night as we had to part ways with our guide Mario. The group as a whole appreciated Mario's stories and humour.

With the last leg of our trip to go I'm afraid so is this portion of the blog. While I hoped to have provided a little insight into our trip and a few photos (which complete and full size will be available on the school's website), I am sure that you are eager to hear the stories of your family members and see the photos.

Chow for now,
Mr. Kohle

Post Script: we are presently in Vancouver and on schedule (so far). See Wainwright in about 7 hours.
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Last Stop Venice

Well we were all shocked as we did the walk of Venice. There is no vehicles on the islands of Venice. We said goodbye to our driver who must have been trained on a race car circuit; he would drive a double decker bus through the switchbacks of the Alps at speeds up to 100 km/h.
While I enjoyed the ride by a driver who does this every day of his life, some found the ride too much for them. I figured that people pay good money at at the stampede for a ride like this.

Anyways, we are now in the city of canals and gondolas. After supper, our guide Mario took us to the city center; over bridges and down winding roads through the city. Meanwhile he was teaching us how to read the signs. He challenged us to find our way back to the hotel (1.5 miles away). Well we took him up on his challenge and returned via a different route. On the way we listened to a few Quintets (five piece orchestras) in a area of the city which charges 20 Euros for a cup of coffee. We finally returned to the hotel with a few times wondering if we going down a "correct" street.

Tomorrow we get a city guided tour and a boat ride. I can hardly wait.

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World Championship Curling

Price of ticket - 8 Euros, price of ham sandwich - 4 Euros, price of sprite - 2.5 Euros, being in Cortina Italy to watch the Canadians beat China 9 to 3 - priceless.

It is a beautiful day in Italy, it took us a little longer to get to Cortina than originally thought. Who knew that there was more than one Cortina in Italy? We got pictures and autographs with Kevin Kuo's team.

After catching a bite in Cortina, we are on our way to Venice for our last stop on the tour. I cannot believe that we will be back in Wainwright in a few days.

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Day Eight

Well It's day eight (if you can call it day). With most of us getting a wakeup call at 4 am such that we are loaded and ready to go by 5 am. The remaining got a wakeup call at 5 am (they say they didn't get the call or did they sleep through it; we'll never know). But as of 5:15 am we are on the road to Cortina to cheer on Team Canada. Right now at 5:45 am(as I write) they do not seem to be in a cheering mood as most of them are asleep after the full day yesterday with Dachau in the morning and Newschwanstein in the afternnon. I myself am about to get some sleep since I cannot appreciate the Alps in the dark. By the time you read the blog we would have already watched the match and everyone will have seen the score.

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Neuschwanstein

We finally went through the legendary castle of Mad King Ludwig. The castle was the inspiration for Walt Disney's "sleeping beauty castle". Ludwig decorated each of the rooms as part of an opera from his favourite composer. He only managed to decorate 16 of 100 rooms inside before his mysterious death in 1886 when the parliament declared him insane and he died under his doctors care only after one day. His final wish to his family was to destroy the castle upon his death so that no one else may enjoy it. His daughter did the opposite, she opened it to the public within weeks of his death.

The students enjoyed a little shopping at the base of the mountain in which the castle was on, as well as walking around the lake. Then came the one mile climb up the pathway to the castle. The students were amazed at the size of the castle and the detail of each room. We finished day seven in the city of Freussen where we wait for the 5 am bus ride to Cortina for the curling game at the World Championships of Canada vs China.


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Sorry for no updates

I apologize for the lack of updates on the blog, I am writing them but I need wifi to upload.  When I arrive in Venice tomorrow, I will have updates of all the days. 
There is also a facebook page set up by Dr Watson

PS I hate European keyboards (there are extra keys on the board and the z and y are interchanged)

Dachau

The visit to Dachau was different from Auschwitz. The museum was a walk and read. Even though we spent 2 hrs there we could have spent more. Dachau was the first camp opened within months of Hitler getting power in 1933 to serve as political prison and a SS training camp to teach the "Dachau spirit" to new
soldiers. The camp was opened for the full twelve years (1933 to 1945) and was infamous for the methods of torture and punishment of the prisoners. While there was deaths at Dachau, it wasn't considered to be a death camp; prisoners that were reformed by torture and abuse was reintegrated into society.

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Munchen or Munich

Whether you call it Munchen or Munich, the city is called "the monk". We spent the morning touring the city and many eras of Munich's history. From the monarchy to Hitler's early years in Munich to modern times, the city has a diverse history. The monarchy lasted in Bavaria to 1918 with one of the last being Koneg Ludwig II (Mad King Ludwig) whose castle we are seeing tomorrow.

Hitler's early years began with the beer hall political discussions to his march and eventual arrest which led to the writing of Mein Kampf. After his release from prison he started his politcal movement and his rise to power within Munich. While the original beer hall was torn down, another beer hall presently resides on the same location

The city has a very modern side to it as well. The 1972 Olympics was Munich's opportunity to show that they have left the war history behind them. Unfortunately, this was the Olympics with the terrorist attack on he Isreal team. But the infrastructure that was developed remains in the city (such as the four levels of subways underground).

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Morning in Munich

Well the skies are blue and everyone should be well rested. I am having trouble uploading pictures from this hotel. But I hope to find a solution quickly. Today, we have a walking tour and an afternoon of shopping (can you hear the excitement from the boys). I imagine the boys (and some parents) will want to continue touring the inner city.


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Schonbrunn Palace

Well the visit to Schonbrunn castle was a success with a tour of 26 of the 386 rooms, as well as the royal gardens with the huge fountain of Poisedon and four mermen on merhorses. It reminded me of Versailles in Paris with the grandeur and statues in the vast gardens. With the drizzling rain and cool weather, we spent only a half hour outside; I am sure that the students would have loved to travel to the far side of the gardens, visit the Imperial zoo in the gardens (which apparently has pandas), or wander (and probably get lost) in the maze of hedges. Just to give a size of the gardens, the perimeter is 17 km.

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Monday's Rain

In th infamous words of the Bee Gees "Don't let me walk to Monday's rain". Yes it is raining in Vienna, this morning we are visiting Schonbrunn which is suppose to outshine even Versailles for royal palaces. Hopefully the rain subsides enough for the students to enjoy and appreciate the royal gardens. I'll let you know. Check yesterday's blog for an update.

Happy Easter

A happy Easter from all the students and parents in Europe to the families in Wainwright. We are presently on the road to Vienna, Austria.

Immediately after leaving Poland for the Czech Republic, we were pulled over by the policia for a passport check. Thanks for the preparation of our tour guide Mario, we were back on the road in minutes. It is 10 am as we travel through the beautiful countryside of the Czech. The biggest challenge on the bus is to photograph the passing cemetaries which are decorates to the extreme with white and yellow flowers for Easter. We have seen deer, chickens, the odd horse and goat, but we have yet to see a cow; thus another challenge as we ride the bus to Austria.

We arrived in Austria and took a walking tour of the Imperial Palace of the Hofsburg. The amount of statues of Roman/Greek within the architecture in Vienna is amazing. Amongst the Imperial Palace was the infamous Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Mozart's home and St Stephan's cathedral (as you can see in the pictures). I am amazed how the Europeans are use to tourists touring thier churches while services (but not mass) was happening. With Easter weekend, all the churches were busy with reconciliation, rosaries and venerations. I think the students were in awe of the grandeur of the churches and beauty of the prayers in another language. I noticed quite a few trying to record the bells of the church, the pipe organ playing, and even the prayers in the background.

Auschwitz Visit

We have just finished our visit to the camp and it was a somber experience for all. Besides the reality of the crimes that happened there, the biggest shock is how the Nazis knew and hid the death camp reality from the public and the victims. The students were commenting how they read about it and seen the pictures of Auschwitz but walking under sign "Arbeit Macht Frei" (which means "work makes free" oh the irony) and walking in the gas chambers and by the furnaces brought a sense of what exactly happened there.
In the afternoon, we visited Wadowice (birthplace of Pope John Paul II). We were able to enter the church of his childhood and first ordaination. There was Easter Saturday prayers being said in Polish. After Wadowice we returned to Krakow for supper.

A hello from Mrs Gaydosh to her sister Adriana Salvia.

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Second Morning in Poland

After a good night sleep a lot of students are up early awaiting a hearty breakfast for the day ahead. It is sunny today (so far) and we hope for a beautiful day.


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First day in Poland

Well it is the end of our first day in Europe and it is the first night in a hotel bed that everyone for the past 48 hours have been looking for.
We toured the old city square of Krakow which dates back to medieval times and tasted true Polish cuisine. The students and chaperones are completely exhausted but are eager for tomorrow's tour of Auschwitz and Pope John Paul II church that he was ordained.


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Friday morning in Europe

Well we have landed in Europe today. We are presently on our last flight from Germany to Poland. It is 9am in Europe (1 am in Wainwright) and there are a few tired students already. I cannot wait to drag them along on our walking tour. I hope to finish this off when we land in Poland.

On our way

Well 5 am came early this morning and we are now presently on the bus towards Edmonton. Everyone is excited.
We have made it through security in Edmonton with only loosing two people (Mrs Charlesbois and Dr Watson); apparently Tim Hortons was calling them. We found them
later and all is good. We are now in a sit and wait in Edmonton; except for Mrs Romanow and four student who were on the 9 am flight to Calgary.

Well I haven't been able to upload at Edmonton so I thought that I would continue on this blog. The last group is presently on the way to Calgary where we will meet as a group to continue on to Frankfurt and then to Krakow. We just started the 16 hr journey and the day seems long already.

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One more sleep

Today is luggage day as we pack the trailer the night before we leave. Less than 24 hrs before we are on our way.


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Two days and I can hardly sleep

What did I tell you... It is now suppose to be sunny in Poland when we land. But don't worry it still early enough for the weather forecast to change once again, but I am hoping for shorts weather.

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Three more days

Only three more days till we take off. It is suppose to be raining in Poland when we land I hope that the forecast changes in the next couple days (which it probably will). I think I may start thinking about packing.


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Four days and counting

I think I found my solution to the blogging and I hope that I will be able to find wifi as needed on Europe (hopefully free)



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Five more days

Just five more days and I am more worried about the blog and picture links working than the actual trip.

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In Edmonton

Another test at convention center


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Work in progress

This is just another test of the blog


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Hello World

This is my first blog. It is presently set up for Blessed Sacrament School' trip to Europe for April 2010.

I hope that many parents and friends will visit and enjoy my journal of our travels.