Month: January 2011

So, our trip over the holidays was part vacation and part work.  However, most importantly, we got to spend it together.  Half of our time was spent up in Germany and the other half in France.

For the German portion, we began with a short stop in Munich … one of our favorite German cities.

We stayed at a great little bed and breakfast that was more like staying with a family.  Very homey.  We began our visit with the Deutches Museum.  It’s a huge museum and Munich’s version of the Smithsonian.  It was lots of fun and I can’t wait for Alexander to be old enough to truly enjoy it with us.

OK, so he wasn’t a fan of the food…  But, the museum was great.

After the museum, we headed over to the always magnificent Marien Platz.  If you recall earlier posts, we’ve been here a few times before.  If you’d like to see some of those images, here’s a link to an old post:  http://jimanna.com/2007/03/munich-bavaria-and-salzburg-family-visit-part-one/

This is the Glockenspiel, part of the clock tower on the mayor’s office.

I particularly liked the contrasting expressions … too bad the girl in the back is not real.

Then it was a short walk over to the Hof Brau Haus.

The music was still great.

Although fascinated, don’t worry, we didn’t let X have any beer.

He was having a good time though!

Back through the center of town to see the tree lit up.

Next, we hopped on the train and went out to the Oktoberfest grounds where there was a huge Christmas Market.

I loved the colors of the market.

Yummy, meat.

Anna and Alexander strolling through the market.

Anna browsing behind this little guy…

After a quick dinner, we stumbled upon these two guys in crazy outfits who offered to do people’s hair.  Two brave volunteers got on stage and these guys went to town.  The girl wasn’t having so much fun…

After a festive evening, we had a somber following day.  We went back to Dachau to see the concentration camp again.  It’s notable not for being the biggest, but the first.  There wasn’t much left (it was torn down before the idea to make it a memorial took hold).

Shadows of the past…

Many men women and children were held and murdered here … under the guise of a normal “prison.”

The communal toilets.

Bunks for entirely too many people to sleep on.

An image of the barracks next to the foundations that are all that remain.

On a happier note, we next went up to our German family’s house, in the northern part of Bavaria.  Here is Santa’s Little Helper, Alexander.

Hey, Ronja, do you know we are getting presents??  It’s going to be soo cool.

Somebody was happy!

In spite of the white blanket outside, Rinehardt and I decided to go out and feed the deer.

So, he let me borrow some of his serious cold weather clothes and we headed out…

Not to worry, thanks to the great driving and unstoppable 4WD Mercedes truck, we made it back.

The tree was amazing, as always.  Complete with real candles, it sets a very festive mood.

Although Alexander LOVED all his presents (thank you everyone).  He was a little tired by the end of the night.  Unfortunately, nearly everyone in the house got the same bug and was violently ill for a couple days.

Nevertheless, we had a great time and ALWAYS appreciate and enjoy the hospitality.

The rest of our trip was filled with physical fitness and military tests … not nearly as much fun as the beginning.

So, I will leave it here and wait for the next adventure.

Until then…

–Jim

We began our tour of Normandy appropriately, somberly.  After a visit to the museum in Caen, we hopped on the bus and went out to see the locations in person.

This is the La Cambe German military cemetery.  It was a sobering place to begin.  There are over 21,000 men and boys buried here.

These crosses are center pieces and not grave markers.

The rose is a fitting metaphor.

Here you can see the expanse of the site, with the sea in the background.  Each of the simple, small plaques represent 2 people buried in the same grave site.

An interesting fact about the German Cemetery is that it’s entirely funded by donations.  Unlike the US Cemeteries (and UK/Canadian, I believe), which are publicly funded.  Although there was no one at the site when we visited, our guide informed us that there are regularly students taking care of the grounds.  Talk about a poignant community service.

Here’s the bus we spent MANY hours on.  It was great to have a bus just for us, but at the same time, we spent a lot of time inside it.  Plus, when the heater went out for a day and a half, it got a bit chilly!

This is sea and cliffs of Pont du Hoc.  It was the site of one of the most difficult missions on D-Day (although they are all pretty unimaginable).  There were around 220 US Army Rangers who were given the task of scaling the cliffs and knocking out the guns on the top.  This was to secure the other landing beaches, since this point was right in the center.

This was the site of one of the guns the Rangers were trying to take out.  However, apparently two days before the assault, the German forces moved the guns back into the woods.

This is an image from the operation.  They used firefighting equipment to scale the vertical cliffs.

Although I have experienced some pretty horrific things, I can’t truly imagine how either side felt.

Maggie was looking out at the vast scene as well.

This is another image of the cliffs.  Normally, there is a large stone dagger to commemorate the sacrifices made by the Rangers.  Out of the 220 who began, only 90 were left in fighting shape after taking the cliff, destroying the guns that had been pulled back and defending repeated counterattacks.  It truly is an amazing story of courage and sacrifice.

Kaeli with the cliffs in the background.

Margo and Maggie standing in a crater left from the attack.  Although the other locations were repaired, the ground around Pointe du Hoc was intentionally left untouched.  It left a very physical reminder of the horror of war.

Moving down the beach, we came to the well manicured lawn of the American Military Cemetery.

The beach directly below the cemetery is Omaha Beach, where 3,000 people were killed or wounded.

Our guide giving the group background information on of the grave sites.

We were fortunate to be able to take part in the cemetery’s evening retreat.  The cadets were asked to lower and fold the flag.

Laura, Scott and Margo folding the first of two flags.

Dustin, Kaeli, Nancy and Maggie folding the second flag.

Rendering honor to the flag and all those who fought for what it represents.

This is the whole group.

The USAFA cadets with the flags after the ceremony.

A long row of American grave stones.  The grounds cover 172.5 acres (~70 hectares).

One of the 307 unknown soldiers buried here.

There are 9,387 men and women interred here.

General Roosevelt (son of President Theodore Roosevelt) died shortly after the battle from a heart attack, but was buried here with his men.  He successfully petitioned his uncle, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to be in the first waves ashore.  He is also one of three Congressional Medal of Honor recipients buried here.

This statue is entitled, “The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves.”  Behind the statue, the semi-circular post and lintel with the inscription: “THIS EMBATTLED SHORE, PORTAL OF FREEDOM,
IS FOREVER HALLOWED BY THE IDEALS, THE VALOR AND THE SACRIFICES OF OUR FELLOW COUNTRYMEN.”

The first time I visited this cemetery, I had just graduated from the Academy and was in a very similar place as the cadets I was accompanying.  It was a completely different experience to come back a decade later with several trips to the wars of our generation.  Although both were poignant … I feel like I connected more with my comrades in arms on this visit.  I hope future generations are able to avoid the horrors of war.  These monuments are silent sentinels to guard against that repetition.

It was a fitting end to our time in Normandy.

Up next, I was honored to be selected for promotion to Major.

Until then…

–Jim

After our brief stop in Champagne, the tour of France with the cadets moved into Paris for its cultural bounty.  Since it was December, the city was all decked out for the holidays.

Fortunately for me, Anna and Alexander were able to hop a high speed train and meet me in the city.

Au Printemps is one of the largest department stores in Paris and very well dressed, as you can see.

We spent the day touring museums and Christmas Markets.  We ended up on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, with the largest market.

Here we are enjoying some hot wine.  Unfortunately, we only had the small camera, so the picture quality isn’t the best.  Hope you don’t mind too much.

We didn’t try the Ferris wheel (Grand Roue), but it was very tempting…  Perhaps next year on the next trip.

Looking back at the Arc de Triomphe.

This was the view from our hotel room.

Two French icons…

This is the St Augustin Church, also from our hotel room.

After an all too brief weekend in Paris, the bus moved out again, and Anna and Alexander headed back south.  Next stop the group was Normandy.

Until then…

–Jim

So last month, the exchange cadets (US, Canadian, Italian, and Japanese), myself and some French officers spent a couple weeks touring Air Force bases.  It was an amazing opportunity for all of us.  Every day we visited a different base (or two) and had the opportunity to learn and see a ton.

As part of the tour, we also had the occasion to see some cultural sites.  In fact, all my posts will focus on that.  While I found both aspects completely fascinating, I expect you would prefer to see the cultural experiences.  So, I will start out with our stop in Reims (pronounced, Rance … rhymes with France, with a rolled R), which you may recall from earlier posts.  However, this visit was unique and the only downside was that Anna and Alexander couldn’t be there to enjoy it with me.

We began our visit with a guided tour of the Pommery Champagne House.

This is a serious barrel!

Down into the chalk caves…

Madame Veuve (Vve) Louise Pommery was in good company.  Seems that she was the first in a long line of widows in Champagne who turned to the sparkling wine after their spouses passed away.  Mme Vve Pommery was the first.  She bought a lot of underground chalk caves that hold seemingly endless bottles.

This is our guide (in the suit), explaining the company.  Each main room had a piece of art.  This particular room was clay statues.

A few bottles.

A few more.  In fact, there are around 22 million bottles in the caves.  Yes, 22 million.

Dustin on his way out.

I enjoyed this sculpture carved into the cave wall.  This is Silene…  He was the godfather or mentor of Dionysus, who happens to be one of my favorite characters from Greek mythology.  Fittingly, he is sitting over a large number of Champagne bottles.

Nancy, checking out the video art in another chamber.

Ready for a quick dégustation.

As you can see, these bottles survived both world wars (Reims was heavily affected by WWI).  I’m not sure if I would want to drink it, but it’s there.

These look like they’ve been untouched for a long time.

A few more vintages with the number of bottles for each year listed underneath.

Scott hanging out by the indoor rain (which was another art exhibit).

Raining, inside.

The shiny disco ball… This one was in preparation for the 2002 vintage release which was happening later in the evening.

Of course, at the end of any winery (or Champagne house) tour, there is the obligatory tasting.  It was quite delicious.

The girls enjoying a glass of Pommery.

Here are more of those shiny disco balls.

After Pommery, we headed into the downtown for a tour of the famous church.  Since I’ve already described it in an earlier post, I won’t belabor the point, but suffice it to say, the church is still just as impressive.

An image of the church with some of the cadets walking toward me.

Just after this image, we were fortunate and came across a great little wine store.  Inside, they were having a Champagne tasting.  Not only was it a free tasting, the owner and head vintner were there to talk to the 15 of us who showed up for the tasting.  Even though it didn’t seem like a very big crowd, they brought out the good Champagne.  As you might imagine, it was very tasty.

Well, that does it for Reims.  Next up is a short post on our weekend in Paris.

Until then…

–Jim