I have to be honest! I was a bit nervous about taking a whole week off of work to travel. Typically it takes me 2-3 days to wind down enough to even enjoy myself. This has always been a challenge of mine. The whiplash that always came with coming back from a vacation made me hate not checking in, deleting emails, and following up right then so I didn’t forget. Ahh to be able to be ‘sans souci’. I traditionally have been the most successful relaxing over the Christmas/New Years holiday. This year was very different. I worked, and I worked, and I worked. I think that I worked 9-10 hours on Christmas day. I am not sure how my family really felt about it, but they did not give me too hard of a time. I think that they knew that what I was working on was time sensitive and important to me! So I worked away! Well this last week I had no issues switching my brain into vaca mode! Some reasons I think this happened…
1. Time change and a foggy brain
2. I have no idea when my next vacation will be
3. I love my family and wanted to spend as much time with them as possible
4. I needed to clear my head, I needed a break
5. I love to travel and did not want to delude the experience
6. I knew in the long run it would help me
I have only been back one day, but I know that taking a break was the right thing to do. While the weather was mostly gray…what we saw and did was all color. My sister’s boyfriend was a bit in shock and awe how well we all traveled together. It seemed to him, that to get 5 people on the same page and happy with the plan for that day, was an amazing accomplishment. I like to think that we are a well oiled machine. My parents have made it a mission to make sure that my sister and I were able to travel and try new things. It has been one of the best gifts they could have given us. To be able to travel and see the parts of the world that I have seen leaves me….speechless.
So a bit about the trip! We started in London by visiting the V&A museum. Named after Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, it was founded in 1852, and has since grown to cover 12.5 acres and 145 galleries. Its collection spans 5,000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day, in virtually every medium, from the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa. We did the best we could to see it all. To put it simply I was inspired. By the whole museum. I think this is where I transitioned to the sponge that I became for most of the trip. We then returned to St. Albans where Brett and Greg live for an amazing Indian meal! Bring on the Naan! After 36 hours and 2 (airplane) hours of sleep we went to bed!
Day 2 started with a booze cruise on the Thames. If you know my family you know that we love a good boat ride…and lets not beat around the bush…we love our booze! So we were able to see Big Ben, Parliament, The London Eye (Ferris wheel), St. Peters, The London bridge, The Tower bridge, and the “unofficially” named Cheese grater building. It was quite a ride! We moved from there to some other sites in London, ending the day with some shopping and another amazing meal! I must mention the restaurant we ate at. It is called St. John, and bless modern communication, Brett found it by a recommendation from @MarioBatali on #twitter! I always think back on meals that have knocked my socks off, Picasso’s in Vegas, English’s Italian in NYC, Halia in the Botanical Gardens Singapore, etc. This will be added to the list! YUMMY!
Day 3…we journeyed very early to Berlin, Germany. I am not sure that any of the 5 of us knew what to expect in Berlin. Lets just say…if I was not wearing boots…my socks would have been knocked off and frostbite would have ensued! Not to be an ignorant American and/or uneducated historian…I had no idea what this city had been through. I knew about the “wall” and that it was down. I even remember seeing the TV images when i was much younger of the wall coming down. What this city has accomplished…in such a small span of time…is inspiring. I did not once feel uncomfortable or out of place. It is such a clean city with so much rich history. We got settled and then set out on a walk. We walked through the Holocaust Memorial..which was amazing!
We then, went to the Pergamon Mesuem. I did not love this museum so much but seeing the Greek ruins was pretty cool and fueled my fire to keep Greece on the top of my must see lists!
Day 4…we were fortunate to be able to higher a driver to take us around Berlin. We learned about “The Great Fretz” or King Frederick II. Turns out he is an eccentric leader, that did not want to be the King of Prussia! He built the beautiful Sans Souci. He remained childless, even though he was married, because he was believed to be homosexual. Really interesting stories about The Great Fretz! We also saw the New Palace, which was closed unfortunately. We then went on a driving tour of Berlin, which included a tiny ride on the Autobahn. It was an amazing way to see the city.
Day 5…we boarded a train to the outside of Berlin to visit a concentration camp called Sachsenhausen. Seeing this humbled me greatly. Standing on the yard, with the wind whipping, chilled to the bone, all while wearing appropriate clothing was tough. Then learning that as a form of torture the prisoners were forced to stand in a line for hours…most developing frostbite and numerous prisoners dying. And that was not even the worst of the torture that they went through. I could go on for days about this but instead I will just encourage you all to visit Berlin and go to Sachsenhausen…it will effect you.
Day 6…Back in London we boarded a bus to visit, Bath, Stonehenge, and Windsor Castle. This was a great ending to an awesome trip! Bath and Bath Abbey were absolutely gorgeous! While standing there looking at this amazing wonder…a beautiful rainbow appeared above the Abbey. It was one of the coolest sites I have ever seen.
Stonehenge, considered one of the wonders of the world, made me want to add seeing all the wonders of the world to my bucket list! Windsor Castle also made me want to learn more about the royal family and all of it leaders! Queen Victoria is first on the list!
Ok so now that I have written my longest blog yet…I will leave you with Brett’s website and all of the pictures she took. This was an amazing trip with an amazing family and I am so glad that I was able to enjoy it! Enjoy the pics!
http://bgardner.smugmug.com/Other/Berlin-London/21167487_gVLLSX#!i=1684329879&k=tgCCR9W