Friends in Munich!!

We have been in Munich for the past week visiting our friends we met in Thailand only two months ago. We have had so much fun Anna and Diar. They have really been showing us how to be true Germans!

They were showing us around this huge park in the middle of the city when all of a sudden we found some people surfing. Check the video below it explains it a little bit. It was really cool to see a bit of a culture I understand for the first time in almost 3 months.

Surfing in Munich? from Eric White on Vimeo.

The girl on my right was Lucia. She is Anna's best friend and joined in with our tour around Munich.

Part of the tour of Germany was getting to know their culture. They were so proud of their beer. Germans love beer all of the time. They were so excited to show us what their beer was like.This was on our first day in Munich. We went out for lunch at about 11:45. It was already going crazy!! It was super fun.

Crazy Germans from Eric White on Vimeo.

Katie and I had not eaten sushi in almost 3 months so we went on a hunt and found a really cool Sushi restaurant in downtown Munich. (Finding one we could afford was the only hard part) This is a short edit of the action that took place there.

Sushi Time in Munich, Germany from Eric White on Vimeo.

One day we took a little field trip to the first ever German concentration camp called Dachau. This was such a wild ride of emotions.
A view from inside one of the Berrics where they would cram over 2000 people into a room meant to fit 200

This is the beds they would sleep on inside these berrics.
A small candle burns in a church set up as a memorial inside the walls of the camp.

This is the smoke stack for the crematorium where thousands of people lost their lives.
Below is where they would shove the bodies of "prisoners" into the burning furnace. In the last few weeks before the liberation they ran out of coal so the bodies of the dead were thrown into mass graves just outside the camp. There were over 7,500 bodies found in this mass grave, which was only one of many.
A memorial set up for everyone who lost their lives here from 1933-1945

This was one of the strangest days of my life. The mix of emotions that I felt was almost overwhelming. Actually walking through the places where terrible acts of torture and other unspeakable evils gave me a way different feeling about the second great war than I have ever felt before. Definitely a day I will never forget.

Sorry this is such a long post. There was just so much that has happened in the last week. It is nice to finally be caught up!!

Venezia - The floating/sinking city

We spent a couple days getting lost in Venice. I usually get pretty frustrated when we get lost all the time in a city, but in Venice, getting lost was a blast. First of all, you can't leave Venice if you get lost...you'll always run into water. Secondly, the coolest alleys and best gelato shops are off the main tracks! We had a great time and were so impressed by the people we met and their hospitality and friendliness. This is from the famous Rialto Bridge at night (one of Eric's famous time-lapses).
I loved being in Venice at night. In Saint Mark's square there are about 4 different dueling orchestras that play all night. They are supposed to be for the restaurant customers, but they play outside so everyone in the square can listen and enjoy. You can just dance from orchestra to orchestra. The way the square is lit up and all the music made for a few romantic, Venician evenings. I got Eric to even dance with me a couple times...magic!
The canals are so cute. They look like flooded roads...it was so strange to us! We loved just watching all the gondolas floating by.
Who decided that it would be a good idea to build a ton of massive buildings on a bunch of tiny, sinking islands? Personally, I think that sounds a bit stupid...but it makes for a beautiful city!
Just some Venician lovin...
It's so strange how the buildings just stop at the water. There aren't sidewalks or anything...you just wake up, step out onto your boat and then float off to work. Crazy.
One of the best parts of Venice was the people we met. We met the coolest family from South Africa... Lissele, Laurette and Andre. They were awesome and we had an amazing day together. Andre and Laurette made a delicious fish dinner and Lissele and I did a great job of chatting and drinking wine. We hope to visit them in Johannesburg in the future! Thanks for a great time friends!!!
The market in Venice was amazing! So colorful and full of energy!
The fish market here reminded me of the Pike's Street market in Seattle. Everyone was throwing fish around and it was so loud. They were selling heaps of octopus and sting rays. We got to try some red fish and shrimp...delicious!
That's one big fish!

Venice Fish market. Daily Blog from Eric White on Vimeo.

The candies and sweets in Venice were humongous and SO tempting!!! They were just a little out of our price range...3 euros = disgusting. I did my share of window shopping though! ...Katie

Vernazza, Cinque Terre...one of my favorite places yet!!!

We were lucky enough to spend 4 nights in Cinque Terre. We got to complete the trail between all five coastal towns, explore Vernazza, meet some awesome people and fall in love with the simple way of life. This is from the third town called Cornigla (pronounced Cornelia). The flowers were so beautiful everywhere we went!
This is a view of the town we stayed in called Vernazza. It is the fourth town, out of the five. You could walk the span of the town, top to bottom, in about 10 min or less. The town had 2 bakeries, a few restaurants and 3-4 wineries! It was so laid back and so fun to stay in!
This is a view from our apartment window. It was, by far, one of the best people-watching spots ever! We could watch everything on the main street from our 3rd story window! This was "the cave" which is very famous for it's history and night life. We didn't learn too much about it though...just that it's famous!
Another view from our apartment! You can see the terraced hills behind the town. They are very proud of the wine they make in Vernazza from these vineyards. The local pesto is amazing also!
On our Cinque Terre hikes, we budgeted in gelato stops instead of lunch stops. We have very strict priorities! If you know Eric, this shouldn't be surprising!!!
The colors and windows on the buildings fascinated me!!! All the towns were like their own little art shows!
One of the many vineyards we walked through on the hikes to the different towns. We also got to walk through lemon tree groves, apricot orchards and olive groves. The ocean wasn't too bad to look at either.
On the last day in Vernazza, while doing our laundry, we met a really cool couple (Mel and Michelle) from Australia. We later went for a 25 min swim with them in the freezing cold harbor. Since we were all freezing, we decided to make a delicious dinner of spaghetti and wine at our sweet apartment! It's so fun meeting the nicest people on these trips! Thanks Mel and Michelle for a great night!
This is a view of our apartment! It was so nice and had two great people-watching windows, a kitchen and a comfy bed. We cooked all our meals here and were quite entertained with all the people that walked below us! The windowsill was the best place to have a cup of tea!!! I didn't want to leave here. I loved every minute of my time here and I can't wait to go back...Katie

When in Rome

As you have probably noticed i have really been loving the Panoramic pictures recently. As always just click on it to get a full view of the action!

We made it to the Colosseum a couple of times. It is pretty crazy to learn more about what actually happened here. How violent it really was.
It was really cool to see the "underground" portion in person. to see the 80+ elevators that could lift animals and stuff at any point in the "show" into the arena!

Right next to the coloseum was the Roman forum. This is where Julius Cesare was killed and buried. It was cool to walk where all of these "famous" Romans had walked.

This is also the site of the prison that Paul and Peter from the bible were held in. You can go in there and see where it is said that Peter was actually chained up. Its so crazy that some of these buildings are well over 2000 years old.

The VATICAN CITY...

We made it to ROME and our first stop was the Vatican City. I was really pumped to go see it, and it didn't let me down. The whole city is so royal and lavish. We went through the Vatican Museum (that houses the Sistine Chapel) and then headed to St. Peter's Basilica. This is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo (it's bigger than a football field).
This is one of the many crazy hallways leading up to the Sistine Chapel. We kept thinking that we were in it, but, no...it was just another hallway! We were super nerdy in Rome and downloaded audio guides to all of the big places...Rick Steves is the man!
Just marveling at the statues in the museum courtyard! It's sometimes hard to take it seriously with all the anatomically correct-ness!!!
Saint Peter's Basilica was one of the most breath-taking places I've ever been. It is so impressive and huge. We got there in the evening, when the sunbeams were dancing all over the church! The afternoon mass was going on, the organ was doing it's thing and the crowd was dwindling...it was magical! A nun (below) waits to go into confession.
The church from the outside. There is so much symbolism in the architecture and artwork. It was totally worth it to be nerdy and have the audio guides!!!
This is the altar, inside the altar. The bronze altar was built by Michelangelo and is meant to make the space feel more homey and intimate (not quite sure he accomplished that feeling). It is only used by the Pope when he conducts mass here! The altar behind it is where everyday mass is held.
Peter himself...in all his glory. This statue is meant to bring you good luck if you rub his right foot. The basilica itself is built on the hill where Peter was crucified upside down. It is such an intense feeling to know you are standing where these great men died for their faith!
The Square outside the Basilica. So many Christians were once murdered here, before it was legal to believe in Christ.
Eric and I outside of the Basilica.
This is the famous statue of Mary with her dead son, Christ. It is held behind bullet proof glass...crazy!
I loved visiting the Vatican and seeing the artwork and history. It was very moving for me to be inside the church and kept thinking of my Grandpa Mike! Wish he could have been our tour guide...he'd have made the tour much more exciting than Rick Steves!! ...Katie