Europe in Nutshell

After months of planning (98% Griffin, 2% Danny), the time had finally come to set off on one hell of an adventure. This was my first time going to Europe, naturally I was eager to explore a new part of the world.

Dad and Son. 

Saying goodbye before leaving for three months

The stress of travel has always put me on edge, but thankfully the first few days passed quickly. We made our way through Germany and ended up in Hungary. The next few days would be spent in Budapest. I quickly realized that this vacation was not going to be filled with fancy dinners and hours of relaxing. Our goal was to see all of the sights and to learn about all of the history these amazing cities had to offer.

The Parliament building on the Pest side of the city. 

This building is absolutely massive!!

The Castle District in Budapest

Standing in front of the Chain Bridge in Budapest, the first
 bridge to have been built in Hungary

Krakow, Poland, was our next destination, which we reached safely despite the fact that the bus that brought us there looked like it was about to fall apart. I was particularly excited to experience the Polish culture because my family is part Polish. I truly enjoyed Krakow as it offered a break from the long distances we had walked in Budapest. The city is quite small, taking us no more than thirty minutes to walk across most of town. While there, we enjoyed a very welcoming and festive city square where we spent most of out time. The sound of polka music and the smell of polish sausage gave a unique glimpse into the culture!!

Krakow is filled with horse drawn carriages and open air markets.

The market hall is located in the center of the city square. It is filled with vendors selling traditional polish clothing, jewelry, and trinkets.

While in Poland, we visited the site of the most horrific war crimes in history. Auschwitz and Berkanau were two of the largest Nazi concentration camps during World War II. I walked upon the ground where hundreds of thousands of innocent people were brutally murdered. What I saw and learned there shocked and sickened me, and will stay with me for the rest of my life. Words and photos really cannot do justice to the brutalities that occurred at Auschwitz and Berkanau, so I will end this post here.

Electrified barbed wire fences that surrounded Auschwitz

Standing in front of the sign that marks the entrance to Auschwitz. It reads "Arbeit Macht Frei" which translated means "Work makes one free". Auschwitz was the work camp where people who were fit to work lived

Living conditions at Berkanau. This is where individuals who were not fit to work came to die.
People slept four to a bunk

                                

Roses placed in front of a destroyed gas chamber that used to stand at Berkanau

Remnants of the hundreds of block buildings that slept tens of thousands of
people who were scheduled to die

After spending several painful hours at a Polish hospital thanks to Giardia, Griffin and I made our way to Berlin, Germany. Although I was still feeling a bit sick, the antibiotics soon took effect and I was able to thoroughly enjoy Berlin, a city famous for its history and currywurst. While there, we visited the East Side Gallery, the longest standing stretch of the Berlin Wall, and an amazing museum about the Nazi Operations that occurred in the city during World War II. We also visited the Residenz Palace on Museum Island. This museum houses unbelievable Neo-eastern architectural artifacts and is now my all-time favorite museum.

The inside of the Berliner Dom

Standing in front of the Berliner Dom

Reconstructed Artifacts from the 1500s inside of the Residenz Palace.
Even the steps that people are sitting on here are ancient artifacts!!

The Berlin Parliament Building

The last city Griffin and I visited was Amsterdam. Located in the Netherlands, this city is home to hundreds of miles of canals, which contain tens of thousands of submerged bicycles. Amsterdam is also famous for its relaxed laws and the infamous Red Light District. I loved the city other than the fact it was the most expensive place we visited.

A view from our Amsterdam canal tour boat

The bustling streets of Amsterdam

A picture from our tour of the Heineken Brewery tour.

After Amsterdam we headed to Paris for a little while. I don't have
much to say about the city because we were climbing except for the fact that it is stunning!!

I hope you all enjoy reading about my travels through Europe. Recently, Griffin and I met up with two friends from Colorado and now are residing in Switzerland. This marks the beginning of the climbing portion of our trip! We will be staying in Magic Wood for two weeks to climb before relocating to Claro for two more months of climbing. I will put up another blog post soon with pictures and news from our first week in Magic Wood.

A view from our room at the Gasthaus. This morning it was raining like crazy and the fog was right at our doorstep

The white building you see in the picture is where we are staying here in Magic Wood. This is also the city of Ausserferrera. You can see the entire city here in this picture

A view out of the restaurant window across from where we are living.

Just a little sneak peek to show everyone way the boulders here in Magic Wood look like. From now on my blog post will focus on the climbing our crew will be doing over the coming months!!

Magic Wood and all its a beauty!

 .