Berlin

Over the last couple of days we have been in Berlin. Berlin is the capital of Germany (Deutschland.) After World War II Germany and Berlin was split into 4 pieces. Each piece was given to the people who helped win the war. They were Russia, France, USA, and Great Britain. 

Later on France, Great Britain, and the USA decided to combine their parts of the country and capital to form West Germany and West Berlin. (which is outlined in red in the picture) Berlin is in Russia's part of Germany and Russia did not want East Berliners or East Germans into the West Berlin part of the capital so they built a wall around it. Even though the wall was very small it was still very hard to get past because there is also barbed wire and there is a dead zone with 2 sets of lights. If you were caught seen in the dead zone then you were shot and killed. If you made it passed then you would have to go over another wall the same size and there were guards on each side of the wall. There were also dogs trained to bite if they saw anyone in their section of the course and land mines. Many people had died trying to get free from East Berlin. Including a baby and an 11 year old boy died trying to pass the guards. The wall came down in 1989! People stood on the wall to celebrate the day.

The day that we left Berlin we went to see the church that Martin Luther was married and baptized in. Then we went to the church that he nailed the 95 theses to the door. I had an awesome time. 

The last couple of weeks

Sorry that it has been a while since my last post. We have been very busy lately. For the last couple of weeks I have been hiking, having company, getting lost, and doing homework. Anyway on one of our hiking experiences we saw an amazing view of a lake. [talk about hiking, waterfalls, lakes, how you felt there, anything you learned]

 It is blocked a little by some bushes but it is still pretty, right? This was in Croatia. 

We saw some men yodeling. They were singing a traditional song. We could not understand it which make it a pretty weird experience for us. [Did you like it?] We saw this in Sibenik, Croatia.

After each song the would hand out CD's to everyone that wanted one and we bought one. I have not listened to it yet but I heard a song of theirs live. At the gathering [????????]

We also saw some pretty flowers in Italy

I am going to try to figure out what kind of flower it is in a flower book in the library when I get back to Maryland.

A couple days ago we saw a new section of a Nymphenburg castle that I've visited three times now. I saw a museum of carriages, sleds, and horses that many kings and queens from all over Bavaria rode in. Many of the carriages belonged to King Ludwig II. Some people know him as (Crazy King Ludwig). Here is a picture of one.

   

Gondola

I am going to start with a "Where in the World..." post. Here is the picture. 

 Facts: This place is famous for its Gondola rides and masks are very Important there as part of their Carnival celebration. The use of masks were strictly forbidden in 1797 and reappeared in the nineteenth century.

This is what Gondolas look like there

The whole experience was amazing. On the gondola ride we went under a lot of bridges, saw a whole bunch of pretty views, and the person in charge of the boat started singing a weird song in a different language. It was very strange.

The Alps/Austria

Six days ago I went to the Alps. The Alps are long row of mountains that can be small or big. Here are some pictures.

 

We could walk aside the Gorge.

This is the view that we saw from the path

    In the Alps I saw this    beautiful gorge called The Partenkirchen Gorge. I think that the water in the gorge came ~from the mountains.~

The next day we went to Austria. The drive was 3 hours long.

What famous candy was made in Linz, Austria? Email me the answer when you get it if you get it. Maybe I can bring you some when I get back to the USA.

Now we are still in Austria but we are staying in a hotel in Vienna. Vienna is a big city in Austria.

My English Garden Painting

Yesterday we went to the English Garden. When we were there we used water color pencils and water to paint pictures of what we were thinking about. Here's mine.

It is a picture of the lake and the ground from our view.

While we were painting we were sitting on a very old monument that was made in the early nineteenth century. It was made with marble. It was very comfy and we had a good view of a very nice lake. I fed some ducks bread crusts. One bit my finger and it really tickled. We got some ice pops in the garden. We were going to see some surfing but we could not find the place where they were practicing surfing.

Finally today when we got home we played with a tennis ball on the back patio and we got some ice cream.  

I had a great time!!!

Athletic Adventures

Today I am going to start of with a round of "Where in the World is Emeline Schweitzer". Here is the picture.

Fact: In 1972 this place was used for some thing that just ended 2 weeks ago.

Today I visited a few churches and said some prayers. I also saw a lot of very pretty and awesome fountains. There was an under the sea themed one (That was my favorite) and a fish one. My mom had a tour book that told us about the different things that we saw. I can't wait to go back.

The Zoo

Today I went to the zoo! I saw a whole bunch of different kinds of animals. For example, I saw Zebras, Lions, Elephants, Anteaters, Horses, Seals, Fish, Birds, a Polar Bear, Monkeys, Chimpanzees, Orangutans, Sloths, Bats, Snakes, Penguins, and Goats. My favorite parts were petting the goats, the monkeys swinging really close to the other side of the glass and the owl that landed right above my head.

There were really cool Jungle Gyms. There were monkey bars, rock climbing walls, and balance beams. There was this really cool thing that looked like a Elephant were you could climb up many different ways and then you would slide down a really long and twisty slide. It was awesome! There were also a lot of very nice people there. It was a lot of fun. I can't wait to go back to the Zoo.

Where Am I?

Today I am going to start a game with you. I am going to take pictures and post them on my blog. I will also give you hints and facts about the place I am. Then you are going to have to guess where I am and what I am doing.  It is called “Where in the World is Emeline Schweitzer?” To find the answer you can research it online or ask your parents for help. Once you have the answer you can send me a comment and I will tell you if it is correct.

For my first “Where in the World…” post we visited a castle in Munich on August 26. Here is a picture.

Fact: “Crazy” King Ludwig II of Bavaria was born and grew up there.

On 27/8/2016 (This is how they write the dates here) I hopped on a boat that took me across Lake Starnberg to Rose Island. On that island I visited a castle that King Ludwig visited as a child. It was small but nice. It might not look like royalty would stay there from the outside but if you look inside of it you would get what I mean.

Another thing that I saw was the cross that was built where King Ludwig’s body was found when he drowned in Lake Starnberg. I have a picture.

I also went to a church at first I thought that it was a castle. I said a prayer.

My sister and I had a great time.

Stay Tuned!!!