Life with Lydia

The Berlin Wall Before we got to Berlin we went to a German mall All the flavors of ice cream! These signs looked cool Breakfast! Such tasty food :) On our way to Berlin! We got to the Berlin wall in Germany! They had just repainted this side of the wall   The other side of the wall had paintings from different artists We went to a huge store similar to home depot Going to our favorite store, Aldi, in Germany where it originally started! Looks just like Aldis in America except everything is in German :) We got to the hostel where we were going to spend the night. Signing in to the hostel Dinner time! Our hostel in Berlin, Germany. The next day we started driving to Leipzig A small German town Passing by beautiful scenery!

In Germany, at the Ravensbruck Concentration Camp Memorial. It was a sobering day learning more about the tragedies that occurred in this horrible place. The camp memorial estimates that 132,000 women were in the camp including about 48,000 from Poland, 28,000 from the Soviet Union, 24,000 from Germany and Austria, 8,000 from France, and thousands from other countries including the UK and U.S. More than 20,000 of the total were Jewish. This wall still shows where the swastika symbol was during that time. A guitar played by one of the prisoners If you've read The Hiding Place, you know that this is the place where Corrie and Betsie Ten Boom were taken after they were caught hiding and helping Jews in their home in Haarlem, Netherlands. More than 80% of the prisoners were political prisoners like Corrie and Betsy.    The cold, gloomy day fit the terrible realities of this camp's history. There were up to 45,000 women prisoners here at one time. 5

I went to Europe with my dad during my travel week last November! First stop: Czech Republic From Russia to Prague! Arriving in Prague We rented a car and drove to our Couchsurfing place The cute Skoda car we rented The young Czech couple that so graciously hosted us The delicious Czech cheeses and pastries! We had great conversation and a lovely time! Buying metro tickets in Prague. Riding the metro! We went to the famous Vysehrad Cemetary So many old buildings and architecture! Many famous composers, artists, sculptors, and writers are buried here. I found where Smetana and Dvorak are buried!  The church of St. Peter and Paul Jan Hus monument and church! He is well-known in Czechia. We went to a delicious restaurant and ate Czech food. My friend Emily was in Prague too! On the Charles Bridge! We went up to the Prague Castle complex - the largest ancient castle in the world!