Happy Easter!

• We had an early morning to get to the train station on time. The moms may be getting tired or just super comfortable with each other as the giggles and laughter are getting more and more frequent. Our conversations are getting more and more varied.

• We arrived in the Netherlands via train. It was a chaotic experience as we had a very small window of time to disembark. The kids did great in what could have been a stressful situation.

• The name Netherlands translates to low wet land.
• As we travel along, we saw swan, herons, and deer. Ok, the deer weren’t that spectacular, but the swans swimming along the water and the herons standing so proud were pretty awesome to see.
• We learned that on May 4 in the evening and May 5 all day there is a huge celebration of the Liberation of the Netherlands after WW2 for all countries who sacrificed their young for the cause. The liberation was led by Canadians. The entire country comes to a halt for 2 minutes, even the entire city of Amsterdam. Each year a different city is chosen to host the celebration. It makes one pretty proud to be a Canadian.
• We visited the Groesbeek Museum and the Canadian War Memorial Cemetery. Seeing our young people walk peacefully through the rows of crosses paying their respects to Canadian soldiers brought positive vibes for the future
• The tulips are blooming and my fingers are crossed that we will see the fields of them. They were blooming beautifully in the cemetery and in the ditches along the road.
• These trips are so incredible. In only a few short days, one has to be affected by the history being learned. Treating people differently because of religion or personal choices and not working towards the common good of society, can have horrific outcomes. Seeing the cemetery today of crosses upon crosses and the images of people jumping out of buildings to get out of East Berlin, makes you wonder why some don’t appreciate and respect the freedoms we have in Canada. My biggest problem today was not being able to find my hairband. We are examining history over here and realizing how trivial our “problems” are and can be.
• Weather today has been absolutely beautiful. Pretty perfect to truly appreciate the goodness of our Canadian lives
• We finished the day with a delicious supper at a buffet where everyone could order what they wanted. We also completed our first day in the Netherlands by having pictures taken by a giant windmill.

Wonderful morning weather wise. Around 20 degrees.

Tour of Berlin Wall. It is truly a historical site that makes one think of why people just can’t get along. A lot of energy and resources were put into keeping ideas apart harming families in the process.

German swearing is very common. It is interesting to listen to our guide drop language cues that we would admonish in Canada. Sorry parents if your kids come home with potty mouths. Blame it on our German tour director and guides. Oops.

Sachsenhausen concentration camp. It was a moving experience that truly makes one appreciate our wonderful life in Canada, even if Justin is the PM for a few more months. A movie suggestion that made for us was “The Counterfeiter”. It is based on what happened in the concentration camp with Jewish bankers and the black market. It is supposed to be very good.

A man in tight leather German Loederhosen(sp?) on a Segway pulling a suitcase was quite a sight for our Canadian people. It brought many laughs for us. Even our guide laughed with us.

Lunch at Checkpoint Charlie. Some found pretzels, some found sandwiches, some found McDonalds. 😊. Checkpoint Charlie was once considered the most dangerous point in the world as Soviet and Americans were on opposite sides from each other. They once believed that World War 3 would start here, if it was to start anywhere.

As we traveled to the concentration from and back to Berlin, we were on the autobahn. On our big motor coach, we were forced to buckle up at the driver’s request. Safety first 😊

We had supper at an Italian restaurant of potatoes/rice and chicken stroganoff. Good fuel for the day.

Tonight we did a Cold War Panel Discussion at the remnants of the wall. Our tour director, Jens, is incredibly knowledgeable in German history. He has the kids “eating out of his hand” with his personality, energy, and wealth of information. 😊

Today was a heavy walking day clocking in at over 15000 steps or 11km.

Everyone is doing well and having a good time. We have a very early wake up tomorrow at 530 to get to train station to go to the Netherlands. Goodbye Germany!

• Met up as our big group in Frankfurt. It was so good to have our happy family back together. 🤪
• Met Jens (sounds like yans) our tour director. He is going to be so good at helping guide our adventure.
• Emergency number 112. Not 911 like at home. This was safety feature we needed to know according to EF.

From the airport, we drove to the hotel and were allowed to freshen up before going on a walking tour and off to supper. It was delicious with a German meatball, potato salad and some sausage.

We are doing great, but really looking to a good night’s sleep.

Tomorrow, I will be creative! 😊

Departure day!

Our group is flying out in two groups. The travellers doing the extension win the prize of leaving at 5 am and getting to tour Calgary before jetting off to Germany! The non-extension group gets to sleep in and leave at a leisurely 10 am on a flight to Toronto and then Germany. We will meet up in Frankfurt and then make a short jump to Berlin together to begin the actual touring! We will usually update this blog at the end of each day if wifi and weariness allow. This is our biggest group yet of 20! Please feel free to leave comments so we know someone is reading the blog! Later folks!

Update: Pam’s group has boarded their flight to Frankfurt. We had an entertaining day in Calgary going on a scenic bus tour to see the Olympic Park, Saddledome, McMahon Stadium, Stampede grounds and a walk along the river. We only got in trouble once by being to inquisitive at Olympic Park. Security told us we had ignored the NO TRESPASSING, which only Jordyn had noticed. We may need to listen to her more often.

As I sit in my seat on this long flight, I love listening to the jabber coming our kids – the girls are giggling and trying to find a comfortable spot to sleep while the boys are getting their seats and electronics just right.

We have heard from Leah’s group. Looks like they may have been playing football in the airport and building pyramids. Sounds like all is good!

When I write again, it will be Day 2 of our journey! Later.

😊