Cologne & Bonn & Trier, Germany / Maastricht, Netherlands
February 21-24, 2007

On Wednesday afternoon Heather and I decided to take a couple of days off and go skiing. Unfortunately this spur of the moment idea had already been well planned out by the rest of the Europeans and we could not find a single resort that had space to accomodate us. So instead we got in the car Wednesday night and started driving towards Cologne and Bonn, Germany. On the way we decided to also visit Maastricht, Netherlands as well as Trier, Germany and to stop by and visit some friends that live near Ramstein Air Force Base. We drove the first night as far as Linz and stayed in a comfortable Landzeit room that had 5 beds! The next morning we drove to Bonn and drove by the old American Embassy where I used to work. Things are very different now. They have torn down the library, movie theatre, the American Cafe (Burgers and Baskin-Robbins ice-cream) and the American grocery store that were across from the neighborhood of embassy apartments. It's a little sad, but since the German capital moved from Bonn to Berlin, obviously there was little need for these (although it took them a while as it looks like they were just recently demolished and they were there in 2000 when we last visited, although vacant). The neighborhood has been sold back to Germans now. We had a hard time getting across the river. Our GPS was guiding us to the address I remember of the embassy and we were driving along the Eastern side of the Rhein River when it told us to get on a Ferry boat. We decided it was easier to drive to the next closest bridge.
From Bonn we drove to Cologne (Koeln) and visited the Cologne Cathedral, the second tallest Gothic structure in the world (second to the steeple of the Ulm Munster, also in Germany, although not nearly as impressive since it is mostly just the steeple that provides its claim to fame). Although construction began in the early 13th century, it took over 600 years to complete, finally finished in 1880. At the time it was the tallest building in the world, until four years later when the Washington Monument was built.
Only about an hour from Cologne is Maastricht, in the Netherlands and a small medievel town. It sits right at the Belgium and German borders so its history has been probably more heavily influenced by those countries than by the Dutch. It was the site of the signing of the Maastricht Treaty which effectively formed the European Community/Union in 1992. We found a nice hotel to sleep for the night in the middle of the town. The weather was still very nice so we took a short evening stroll. Since it was Thursday night, like many European cities, this meant that the shops stay open until later into the evening, so the town was still very busy. We decided to leave the stroller in the hotel room and allow Ashley to walk, which was probably a mistake. As many who read this blog will notice, most of the pictures of Ashley have her strapped securely in her stoller, as that is the only way to contain her. During our walk through the town she had a mind of her own and didn't want to have anything to do with us. At one point she just decided to sit down in the middle of a store entrance and suck on her lollipop, oblivious to the fact that we were tired and wanted to get back to our accomodations and go to sleep.
We woke up the next morning and toured the city some more. I particularly enjoyed getting out before anyone else was up and before the city awoke, walking the deserted cobblestone streets, taking in the medievel scenery around us. We ended up getting lost in the maze of buildings split by the cobblestone walkways (at some point everything starts to appear the same) until we finally arrived at a recognizable point of the town and found our way back to our hotel. We checked out and headed for Trier.
We drove through Belgium and Luxembourge, stopping for a bit in Luxembourge capital. We hadn't planned on going through this city, so we didn't research anything prior to our visit, and thus didn't really know what to see. But I must admit that the gorge that separates the two sides of the city is beautiful to drive across and we look forward to making a more deliberate trip back to the city in the future.
We arrived in Trier by about midday and really had an enjoyable time meandering the old town. It claims to be the oldest city in Germany and the Porta Negra (The Black Gate), built around 200 AD, is the largest Roman city gate North of the Alps and guarding what was the Northern point of the Roman city of Augusta Treverorum (City of Augustus in the Land of the Treveri). The city has an interesting walking district, particularly the path from the Porta Negra to the Trier Cathedral to the Trier Townhall. I found it interesting that throughout the city are giant replicas of Constantine's foot. We spotted four or five of these scattered throught the city. I am not exactly sure why they would have so many, but Katie at least enjoyed playing on one of them. The weather was great, even

JUST warm enough to warrant eating some gelato and although the cities Roman influences were obvious, the bratwursts were great.
From Trier we drove another hour to visit Chrissi Richards and her family who live in a small German town (Jettenbach) just outside of Ramstein Air Force Base. We spent the afternoon with them and Katie and Ashley had a terrific time playing with Chrissi's three girls, Rosie (6), Vanessa (4), and Caroline (3). Rosie told us that she was going to call Katie "Katelyn" because Katie is a little girl's name. They were having so much fun together we decided to just spend the night with the Richards before making the 8 1/2 hour drive back on Saturday morning. We thought about stopping in Heidelberg and visiting the castle there on our way home, but at this point it had started raining so we figured we would save that visit for another trip.

International Fair
AISB February 2007

Katie's school presents an international festival each year. The school has 50+ different nationalities represented and in both of the pre-K classes, 15 are represented (out of 23 kids). So Katie gets great exposure to different cultures and languages from all over the globe. She is always telling us how to say something in "Hungarian" or "Dutch"... she thinks she is fluent in many languages. The funny thing is, she really does sound like she is talking in a foreign language... it doesn't just sounds like gibberish.

London, United Kingdom
February 10-11


Heather and I spent the weekend in London (we left the girls in Budapest with a babysitter from our branch). We took the Wizzair flight to London Luton, caught a train to Kings Cross station in central London, and from there we took the underground to Westminster, where we met up with some friends of ours from Budapest, Dan and Rebekah Thorstenson.
It started out a little drizzly, but soon it was just a little cloudy and 50 degrees, so very comfortable, particularly for February. After visiting Westminster Abbey (real name The Collegiate Church of St. Peter, Westminster), where Sir Isaac Newton and Laurence Olivier are buried (to name a few), we walked through the park to Buckingham Palace (I guess they only have tours of the palace in August and September when the Queen is on holiday).
From there we walked to our Hotel at Picaddilly Circus, dropped off our bag, and then found tickets to Lion King at the Lyceum Theater. We walked through London's Westend Theater district past the Palace Theater where I saw Les Miserables almost 20 years ago (this makes me feel really old) and then arrived just in time for the Lion King matinee. It was pretty good, although I think my expectations were a little higher so I was slightly disappointed. But certainly I would go back with Katie, who would have really enjoyed it.
After the show we walked to the British Museum. Once we got in we found out that it would be closing in just a few minutes, so we saw what we could and then decided we would return in the morning. Dan guided us to the nearest underground station and an hour later we were still walking around London (it was a very comfortable walk, though, I must admit).
We stumbled upon St. Paul's Cathedral, designed by Christopher Wren (who is buried there) in 1675 and where Charles and Diana were married. I found out that the idiom "Rob Peter to pay Paul" comes from the 16th century when funds from the treasury of Westminster Abbey (St. Peter's Church) were diverted to the treasury of St. Paul's.
We finally found a tube station to get us to Tower Hill where the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London are situated. It really is amazing to view this area at night, immaculately lit up. We took an enjoyable walk across the bridge and witnessed a spectatular view of the Thames and the Tower complex in the background. We found a place to eat fish and chips on the river and after dinner called it a night.
The next morning we walked directly back to the British Museum and spent a couple of hours visiting the exhibits, particularly the ancient Greek and Asian rooms. After visiting the museum and viewing the "Elgin Marbles", we are really looking forward to our trip to Athens in March. The Elgin Marbles are a collection of marble sculptures taken from the Parthenon (and other buildings on the Acropolis) in Athens in the early 19th century, taken by Lord Elgin with permission from the Ottoman leaders that ruled Athens at the time. Then and now there is controversy surrounding whether or not they should have been taken. Considering the damage done by pollution and war in Greece, some argue that removing the items actually preserved them.
Also at the museum is the Rosetta Stone (found in Rosetta, a Mediterranean harbor of Egypt), which has inscribed on it the same passage in two Egyptian languages (hieroglyphic and demotic) and also in classical greek. Created 200 BC and found and translated by the French in the early 19th century, it has allowed for the understanding of previously undecipherable examples of hieroglyphic writings.
From the museum we made our way back to the Tower Hill to view the area in the daylight and to tour the Tower of London. This is a wonderfully interesting complex of towers built near the bank of the Thames, with the main White Tower built by William the Conquerer in 1078. The other towers in the complex were built over the next few hundred years. Although it was originally the royal residence, it also housed some famous prisoners, including Sir Walter Raleigh, who actually was imprisoned in the Tower for 13 years, in relative comfort with his wife and family (He wrote The History of the World Part 1 while imprisoned in the tower).
But most interesting for me is the whodunit story of the mysterious disappearance of the two young Princes in 1483, supposed heirs of the crown after the death of their father, Edward IV. Richard III, the princes' Uncle, locked the two princes in the complex, soon after which they were never seen again. The boys were never seen again and the Richard III named himself King, the rightful ruler of Britain. Soon after rumours began that the Uncle had the boys murdered to take over the throne. He also claimed that the boys were illegitamate, and therefore, disqualified from taking over as rulers. The tower on the palace grounds where the boys were locked up and from which they subsequently disappeared became known as the Bloody Tower. Another theory is that the boys were killed by The Duke of Buckingham, Richard III's right hand man, to gain favor from Richard III. And finally, perhaps the boys were murdered by Henry Tudor (King Henry VII) to reenforce his hold on the throne (he was married to the Princes' sister, therefore, to maintain the crown, the brothers would need to be dead). To this day nobody is 100% certain what happened to the princes (foul play or not), but in 1674, while renovating an area of the White Tower, bones of two young males were found under the staircase leading to the chapel, supposedly the Princes'. The remains were removed and buried at Westminster Abbey. Although today's DNA testing could validate/disprove some of the theories, the bones remain where they were buried 300 years ago, since Queen Elizabeth II has forbidden any further disturbance of the grave.
Also on the Tower complex are the Crown Jewels, a fascinating display of the different exotic crowns of the different British Monarchs (including a 530 Carat diamond!).
After visiting the Tower of London we hopped on to a double decker bus and rode past St. Paul's again and got off at Trafalgar Square where we spent a little time in the National Gallery. Monet and other impressionist artists are currently on display there. We also saw Van Gogh's "Vase with 15 Sunflowers" there, although not overly impressive in my opinion (But I am in the minority, considering that another painting similar and also called "Vase with 15 Sunflowers" by Van Gogh was sold to a Japanese company for $40 million in 1987, now housed in a museum in Tokyo).
After this we jumped back on the Underground, back to Kings Cross Station and onto the train back to Luton Airport. We made it back to Budapest around midnight. I have to admit we really loved London (even better than I remembered it from the last time I was there, 10 years ago) and would love to go back there (although I was surprised how expensive it really is there - 1 GBP= $2, but everything that should be $1 is 1 GBP instead, effectively doubling the cost of everything). But we'll be back, I am sure.

Belgrade, Serbia; Brcko, Bosnia & Herzegovina; Osijek, Croatia
February 3-4, 2007

We decided to take a quick drive down south to visit Belgrade, Serbia (former capital of Yugoslavia and current capital of Serbia). We left early Saturday morning driving southeast from Budapest, crossed the border into Serbia 1 1/2 hours later, and then arriving in Belgrade another 1 1/2 hours. We were a little apprehensive at first of making the trip, but nothing was complicated getting there. There is highway all the way to the border in Hungary, so that was easy, the border crossing was a non-event, and Belgrade turns out to be a very beautiful city. Belgrade was ruled by the Ottomon Empire for hundreds of years, and like every other city ruled by the Turks, it seems, they destroyed most everything they touched (no offense intended, just fact). It was recaptured 3 times by the Austrians in the 17th and 18th centuries, each time captured by the Turks, and each time razed by them! We drove around for a little while until finding the old town where the walking district is located. Adjacent to this is Kalemegdan, a large park and complex which includes the Belgrade Fortress, which overlooks the Sava river (that flows into the Danube) and was an element of defense from the Turks and other invaders (didn't work very well, in my opinion, considering how many times this region changed hands!). The fortress that we saw has remnants of hundreds of years worth of destruction and rebuilding, each conquerer building or rebuilding after their own manner and the current military direction of the time. The fortress, however, was no match for the 1999 bombings of the city during the Kosovo war, although after 7 years, we couldn't identify anything that had not been rebuilt. It certainly is interesting to see a medievel fortress juxtaposed with relatively modern military tanks and vehicles. On the fortress grounds, we also came across this large monument recognizing france for something (can't be for any assistance for defence, so I still need to identify what the monument is for). We also saw the main government building which, guarding the front of it, had interesting statues of soldiers carrying their horses. I have to research the significance of that as well.
From Belgrade we drove west and crossed into Croatia before driving south into Bosnia & Herzegovina, where we visited this little town across the border called Brcko. To cross the Croatian/Bosnian border we had to drive across the Sava river (same river that the Fortress in Belgrade overlooks), which was a little bit spooky. Crossing it made me imagine how I would feel crossing the "bridge of no return" that runs between North and South Korea in the Joint Security Area of the DMZ (except it is a 2 lane road, not made of wood, crosses a big river, and despite relatively recent events, Bosnia is NOT North Korea...so I guess it is not really like the bridge of no return). We got through the Bosnian border pretty quickly (we were not sure what to expect) and drove around Brcko for a few minutes. Although we were only in the city for 15 minutes, we did manage to get lost for 5 of those minutes, driving on some side streets and being literally chased by a pack of dogs (ok, 3 of them, but they wouldn't let us move more than a few KM/hour and we wanted to get out of there as fast as we could). We drove back to the border station, smiled at the same border guards that welcomed us a few minutes prior as they re-checked all of our information before allowing us to cross back in Croatia. At some point we would like to go down to Sarajevo, but that will have to be another trip. The roads are not good to get there and some people argue it is not the safest trip to make. But I argue as long as we stay out of Kosovo it can't be that dangerous these days.
We ended the day driving an hour North of the Bosnian/Croatian border and spending the night in Osijek, Croatia.
Osijek, Croatia is a relatively small town in Southern Croatia, about an hour south of the Hungarian border. As every other place we visit in Eastern Europe, it was once ruled by the Ottoman empire, the Hungarians, and the Habsburg empire. For me the more interesting part of the history of this town is more recent, relating to the independecne of Croatia from the former Yugoslavia. Once Croatia declared independence in 1991, the Yugoslav army, supported by Serbian paramilitaries, began an invasion of the town, subjecting them to a nine month siege. As a front line city, it was exposed to periodic shelling throughout the war. Finally, four years later, in 1995, Croats claim victory and bring an end to the Croat-Serb conflict. It has been slowly rebuilt over the last 10 years and it is hard not to notice the "newness" of this city. The good news is that the old part of the city (Tvrdja) seemed to remain unscathed (at least from the mdoern war)and was a wonderful example of the military complexes of the 18th century. Its main central square (Holy Trinity square) contains the military command building, th3e magistrate building (a museum now) and a monument to the plague, built in 1729. The interesting part of this is that the Bubonic plague killed an estimated 50% of the population of the city in 1738, so the monument didn't do much for them (personally, I have to believe that the dates that explain this are wrong, as it seems way too ironic).
We stayed across the street from the Parish Church of St. Peter and Paul, a red brick neo-gothic cathedral. It was built in the late 19th century and finally completed in 1942, so relatively recent.
We walked from our hotel, past the church, down to the old city, strolling along Europska Avenue. It is along this avenue that incredibly rich lawyers and industrialists commissioned an ensemble of Art Nouvou houses just before World War II. Overall this city provided a different point of view from the many cities we have seen in Europe, since many of the sights relate to just the last century.
A pretty quick visit of 4 countries overall, but a different experience that what we have encountered before.

Frankfurt, Germany
January 16-18, 2007

Heather, Katie, and Ashley flew to Frankfurt to visit Chrissi Richards and her family while I was in Malta. They didn't miss me at all since they had a wonderful time with Rosie, Vanessa, Caroline, and Thomas!

Malta
January 14-17 , 2007

I went to Malta for a few days for work. It is a beautiful city, although I only got to see it for a couple of hours one afternoon, as the rest of the time I was at the hotel in meetings. Malta is an island (7 of them) archipelago nation (EU member) in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea just south of Sicily, East of Tunisia, and North of Libya. It had numerous rulers, from the Romans to Byzantine to Arabs (Arabic is most prominent in the modern Maltese language). In 1814 (as part of the treaty of Paris) it officially became part of the British Empire until its independence in 1964. It became a member of the EU in 2004.

Margaret Kryzynski Visit
Jan. 9-12, 2007

Margaret, who was in our ward back in Toronto and babysitter to Katie and Ashley, visited us for a few days. She was in Poland with her family (her parents are from Poland) visiting her Grandmother so she flew into Budapest for a couple of days to see us. Katie and Ashley were very excited to see her again! It also reminded us how much we miss our friends from Toronto. Hopefully others will come to visit! (I also threw in a picture of Ashley who climbed up onto the counter and got into the Nesquick)