Before There Was NASA - There was Nordhausen

One of my favorite stories to tell in my Earth and Space Science
classroom was the saga of Werner Von Braun and the Nazi V-2 rockets.
It is a timeless story about how this man was such a brilliant scientist and a real genius - but he was also tainted by his
relationship to the Nazi Party. After 33 years of telling these
stories to my 7th graders - I finally got the chance to see the place
where they happened. Nordhausen. Yesterday - I visited hallowed grounds - but they moved for other reasons than I expected.

A brief history. During World War II - in an era of bombs - tanks -
and machine guns - a group of German scientists lead my Werner von
Braun - had designed - built - and mass produced guided missiles. The
V-2 rocket was able to deliver 2000 pounds of explosive a distance of
200 miles. This was during a time when the biggest gun could fire a
bullet maybe 15 miles - a real anachronism. Several 1000 rockets hit
London causing terror - killing mostly civilians.

The Germans decided to mass produce these rockets inside a mountain
in the Harz Mountain area of German - near Nordhausen - about 100
miles southwest of Berlin. This way American bombers could not
destroy the factory. The Nazis used Jewish slave labor to built the
factory - then they established a concentration camps to provide
slave workers to build the rockets.

Back to Yesterday. On the last day of our trip - and also Lulu's
birthday - We (I) decided that we must go to Nordhausen to see what
is left of the factory and area. Nordhausen was inside East Germany
for 40 plus years - that not many people could see this place first
hand.

At about 11 PM on Wednesday night - our train pulls into Nordhausen
station - and only 2 passengers get off - Lulu and me. The station
was deserted - but clean and in nice shape. It reminded me of the
start of a really bad mystery movie. We walked out into the plaza and
main street - the only activity was the very modern trolley going by.
We started down the main street looking for a hotel - several we
found looked closed. Finally - about 6 blocks in - we found an old
hotel - maybe 10 rooms - they wanted 80 Euros for the night but
quickly settled on 60. While getting ready for the next day - we were
lucky to find free internet wireless out the window - we wrote home
to our kids to tell them we made it.

Thursday morning - we caught the trolley for the 3 mile trip to the
Mittelworks Museum. We had to walk the last 1/2 mile or so - and we
were out in the country - it looked very much like New Ringgold or
Lewistown Valley back home in Pennsylvania. We couldn't see a soul
around. Then we turned the corner - there it was - a tunnel into the
mountain and the concentration camp outside.

It turns out the bigger story was the Dora Concentration camp that
housed 60,000 Jews and other people that Adolph Hitler did not like
- gays - disabled - mental patients - and gypsies. We went in the
museum to find out that the guided tour was free - problem was that
it was all in German. We took the tour because the price was right -
and it was the only way you could go into the mountain. My one year
of high school German helped a bit as did Lulu's 4 years of Verna
Britton. But the pretty young girl that could have played a "Hitler
Youth" - made every effort to translate the important information
into English for us.

Finally - our very small tour group of 8 people entered the
underground tunnel - it looked very much like the number 8 tunnel my
Dad entered every morning when he mined hard coal for 25 years in
Coaldale. Inside - it opened up into these gigantic rooms. It was
basically two giant 1 mile long tunnels going thru the mountain. In
some places it was tall enough to stand up a 50 foot tall rocket.
They used Henry Ford's assembly line model - railroad cars came in
one side empty and out the other side with finished rockets.

They made a total of 6000 rockets there - I am playing a little loose
with the number - but I re-call them killing 30,000 slaves in the
process.

Werner von Braun was captured at the end of the war - he was sneaked
into the United States along with about 100 of his rockets. He spent
many years in White Sands, New Mexico making better rockets for the
United States - and he eventually led NASA to landing men on the
moon. He was a brilliant man - was visionary in his thoughts. Later -
it became known that he was a member of the Nazi Party and a major in
the SS.

It was a very serene and sad scene there in the Harz Mountains. It
was as beautiful setting as one might want to see - lush fields and
forests - temperature around 65 - just pretty rolling hills. Then -
you realize how many people were killed here - to make these rockets
- to wage war. The crematorium waste is still there just outside the
door.

I love visiting Germany - many of my few ancestors that I know of -
came from Germany. I love their tidy homes and landscapes - well-
manicured towns - transportation systems - and the people. I am just
puzzled how this country could follow Adoph Hitler into that terrible
war. The people of Nordhausen knew everything that was going on in
the camp - they would even use the slaves in their homes and
businesses - free of charge. They knew that the war was over by 1943
and they could not win - and yet they continued making these "miracle
weapons" in hopes of turning the tide.

Werner von Braun went on to write many books about space travel - one
of my favorites as a child was "I Aim For The Moon." After seeing
this terrible missile factory a better subtitle would be "But I Hit
London Instead."

This factory and concentration camp has few visitors - especially
very few Germans - they do not want to be reminded of what their
ancestors did. My German ancestors were in America long before this
terrible Nazi War - but when looking around that peaceful setting -
one has to feel a little guilty for what happened there. Some of
things that humans beings do embarrass all of us.

Before There was Cinderella Castle - There was Neuschwanstein Schloss in Fussen - Germany

Today is Wednesday - July 11th - and I was supposed to be touring the
Nazi Rocket Works in Nordhausen - what went wrong?

As our train was passing through Munich - Lulu lured me to the
Haufsbrau House - and in a weaker moment - she had me boarding a
train to Fasson. Fasson is small Alpine German village in the middle
of nowhere. As a matter of fact - the train track came to an end
right in the downtown square. We got off the train about 10PM with no
hotel reservation - and our roller bags were creating a racket
rolling down the cobblestone streets. There were about 10 hotels -
and we just started shopping for prices. We stopped at a nice little
place that was 85 Euros and included a great breakfast.

Fassen is cold even in July - in the 40s. We had the heat blasting in
the room. It looks like the normal customers are skiers - the room's
floors were hardwood - and the decorations Bavarian. I was able to go
out in the town square and find some free internet - so I sent out
some mail and pictures.

The next morning we were up early to go to tour "Cinderella's
Castle." First we took a bus - then we took a horse cart - then we
walked the last 1000 yards up a steep hill.

The Neuschwanstein Castle is very pretty in a spectacular setting on
a plateau overlooking the mountains - valleys - lakes - and falls.
Ludwig II build it - in 1859 - but only got to live there for 180
days. He died mysteriously. Since the castle is so new by castle
standards - the condition was excellent inside and out. You would
think that they could come up with a better name than Neuschwanstein
for it. My spell checker cannot get used to it.

Lulu says that Disney used it to model the Cinderella Castle. To me -
a few details were used - but it looks like a completely different
castle. At any rate - we toured the castle for about 1 hour - then
took 2 buses back to the train station - and we were on the rails
again. There are lockers at the train stations where for 3 Euros - we
were able to put all our stuff.

As I type this - we are on one of those real fast trains - ICE -
Inter City Express. It is very smooth - fast - and the inside is
pretty and clean.

Back on track - we are on the way to Nordhausen. We will tour
Nordhausen tomorrow - Thursday - then take the overnight train to
Brussels in time to catch our 11AM flight back to New York City on
the 13th. We just pulled into Nuremburg.

Lucky Lulu - will spend here birthday - July 12th - at the Nordhausen
Mittelworks.

We have been traveling around Europe on first class Eurail passes.
The passes cost $570 each for 3 weeks. You could just hop on any
train - no ticket necessary - change your mind at the last minute -
and just go. There seems to be a train to go wherever you want to go
- when you want to go. We added it up - and we used about $1500 worth
for each of us - if we paid as we went. It is a shame we are using
the pass for only 10 days out of 21. The nice part is - no one checks
your bags for bombs - no taking your shoes off - no one goes thru
your shaving cream and shampoo - no charges for changing your time or
not buying early enough - all they do is look at your VIP pass.

Pictures of the castle will follow shortly.

For more information - write directly to harry@everhart.com

My Saturday at the Nazi Cape Canaveral - Peenemunde

Peenemunde - Where the Nazis launched
the first object into space

For 33 years - Harry taught that Wernher

von Braun was a hero -

now he is not so sure. Von Braun was

 a Nazi and an SS leader.

We were living in Berlin for 3 months. Lulu insisted that we rent a car and drive to the Baltic Sea. Normally all that she is interested in is visiting the beach - but this time it was different. We are married 45 years - and all that time she has listened to me blab about rockets and space travel. One time in 1985 - I was chosen to work in a movie based the James Michener’s book called - Space. I got to play a German scientist right on the launch pad where three American astronauts burned to cinders.  Our family travels have been to the Kennedy Space Center countless time - Wallops Island VA - White Sands NM - Edwards Air Base - Nordhausen - and every brown sign museum you can imagine in between.  But it always needed up with an arrow pointing to Wernher von Braun and Pennemunde. With every great scientific advancement - there always had to be a first. 

Peenemunde - Germany - is where humans first provided the scientific knowledge to put an object into outer space. Thoughts about it should be a great touchy-feely moment for mankind. I taught Earth and Space Science for 33 years. My parents told me that I was roughly 75% German - so I was proud that the adventure into outer space was accomplished by my ancestors. But my visit to this beautiful Baltic Island has left me drained and with very mixed feelings. 

College student Wernher launching rockets in Berlin. His
rockets caught the Fuhrer's eye

V-2 rocket - 45 feet tall - 6 feet wide - 2000 pounds of TNT

The rocket program started rather harmlessly. Wernher von Braun was a young 20 something student living a privileged life in Berlin. After World War I - the German government was limited on what they could do by the Treaty of Versailles. They were limited by the kind of ships - airplanes - and guns they were allowed to build. But there was nothing in the treaty about rockets. Von Braun was reading books and papers written by Dr Robert Goddard of Cornel University - considered the father 

Nancy Was Singing in Austria on "Sound of Music" Tour

Harry told me to write my thoughts while they are still fresh in my mind. We are on the train from Salzburg going through Munich and hopefully will end up in Nordhausen tonight. Harry's big highlight of the trip is to go to Nordhausen where they built rockets with concentration camp labor. Sounds like fun? Well, I must be a good sport and put up with it because he was a VERY good sport for the last twenty-four hours - indulging me in my trip to Salzburg, Austria and a four hour, "Sound of Music" tour. Yes, I know it sounds very hokie and it was. However, seems like everyone on the tour was looking forward to it as much as me.

We got into Salzburg last night around 7 p.m. on the train from Vienna. We did not have a hotel, but that is no problem in European train stations. You see, each station has a reservations desk and they made us a reservation at a four star hotel in Salzburg that happened to have a "last minute special" for 84 Euros (about 100 US dollars.) This included a very nice breakfast buffet. To be sure we did not come all that way for nothing, I also asked for tickets for the "Sound of Music" tour for the morning. Our room was clean and comfortable, but I am longing for American TV much like the kids in the movie, "European Vacation." Six straight days of CNN International is getting stale.

By 9:30 we were on our bus with about 25 other enthusiastic travelers from around the world and our English-speaking (with heavy Austrian accent) tour guide. The point of the tour is this - the movie "The Sound of Music" was filmed in Salzburg so the tour bus takes you to various locations from the movie. We started by driving past the neighborhood where the real Baron Von Trapp lived and it was a very typical neighborhood. We could not drive a 60 passenger bus past this privately owned home, so we took the word of the guide that it was in there somewhere. On to the grounds of a palace (quite a small one - about the size of a large CVS store). On these palace grounds is the gazebo where two scenes of the movie were filmed - where Lisel and Kurt meet and closer to the end where the Baron and Maria declare their love.
Another scene of the children on bicycles was filmed there as well - on a tree lined lane.

By this time I thought Harry would be letting me have it but not so. He was behaving perfectly and snapping a lot of photos. We proceeded on to another pink "palace" that was used as the Von Trapp house - on a lovely lake that was also in the movie. We had to view it from afar because it is now owned by a Harvard University Foundation. Did I mention it was pouring rain? It really didn't seem to matter as it was a wonderful experience seeing all these things. We also saw Maria's convent and the church used in the movie for the wedding (however, the guide said they really got married in the convent.) The church was in a little resort town of Monsee where we stopped for some Austrian struedel and my obligatory Christmas ornament souvenier. Monsee is in the Alps where the famous first scene of Maria singing takes place. Speaking of singing - it's something I don't do much, but I did indulge Harry with singing along on with the piped in music on the bus of "Do Re Mi," and "The Lonely Goatherd" on our way back to Salzburg.

The Sound of Music is one of my favorite movies. It's a good movie to be sure, but also I have some wonderful memories. I saw the movie when it first came out while "vacationing" in Allentown with my cousins Ruthann and Cathy and my Aunt Ethel. We saw the movie in the big theater on 7th Street - the Colonial. The very next day we went into Hess's Department Store and each bought the movie soundtrack album. It think it was three dollars. I recall playing that album almost every day after school in the fifth grade.

Our visit to Salzburg was cut much too short. If we had stayed a bit longer, I would have bought one of those Austrian dresses and had Harry wearing a hat with a feather in the side and leiderhosen. But he was patient enough and I won't push it. On to Nordhausen.

Pictures - Von Trapp House - Maria's Convent - Salzburg - Von Trapp Wedding Church - Lulu writing story on train

Life Carrying a Laptop Thru Europe

It is good to be home.

We just got back from spending 18 days on the road - mostly in planes - trains - buses - boats - automobiles.

The ibook G3 that we bought for our trip worked flawlessly. We had it completely passworded - set up with two accounts for Lulu and me. If someone would steal it - all our info was safe - and the ibook would have been useless to them. We only paid $300 for the ibook from Greg - so if we lost it - not a big deal. Most of our hotels did not have free wireless - it seems they charge for everything over there - maybe it was just the tourist areas we visited. I was able to walk the streets and find free wi-fi in most cases - unfortunately - then I was limited by the power in my battery.

We spent hotel nights in Brussels - Amsterdam - Salzburg - Fussen - Nordhausen. Nancy had a 3 day conference in Brussels - so we spent 3 nights in that hotel.

The battery worked fine in th elaptop except the battery gauge was way off. It would show 4 hours of time left and then quit instantly around 3 hours left. When I set the gauge to percentages - it would start at 99% and quit around 70%. It was hard to plan your use with this gauge. After a while - I took a cheap white american extension cord - clipped off the end - and put a Europe 220 volt plug on the end. Since the ibook and all my other toys ran on 220 - I did not need a converter - just the plug. Then whenever I found a signal - I looked for a 220 outlet to plug into - and I was set. All the countries we visited - Belgium - Netherlands - Germany - Austria - used the same plug that had two rounded prongs. We planned to stop in Switzerland - Luxembourg - France - but ran out of time.

We had a 15 day rail pass - you could go on any train - first class - anywhere - just walk on the train - sit down - the conductor would come to look at your pass. All trains had 220 volt outlets. I was able to run - the ibook - charge my shaver - charge my camera batteries - use my CPAP. We had a sleeper with shower on 2 overnight trains to Vienna and Brussels. Most of the time we had first class compartments that sat 6 - all to ourselves.

I learned to type my blog and email on the trains while we were moving - sometimes at 180 mph - and had full power. Sometimes - when you stopped at train stations - you could find a free wi-fi signal - and zip off your blog - pictures - and mail.

You can see many of the pictures on my blog at - www.harry.everhart.com.

Even behind the "iron curtain" in Nordhausen - we walked to an obscure hotel about a mile form the train station at 11 PM - to our surprise - we were able to find wi-fi out of our hotel window for free. Free wi-fi makes any hotel room great.

We could use our slingbox - although sometimes it was a bit choppy running on the ibook G3 - I am not sure if it was the ibook or the signal. There were very few TV stations over there in English - and CNN World got very tiresome quickly.

We had no mishaps with the cameras. We carried 2 - Lulu and I - and immediately downloaded all the pictures to the ibook. To send the pictures home - we had to step them down form 10 megapixels to 1200 x 800.

The only problems we had on the trip - both of us got the flu - a train broke down on the way to Amsterdam - they sent another train for us and we lost 1 hour - and our plane home got delayed on the runway for 1 hour by thunderstorms. We sat in number 1 in line waiting for a hole to open up so we could fly to Tallahassee. We finally got up - and burst through the weather front at Albany, Georgia. Joel Dawson had the van waiting at the airport for us.

Thank goodness for the lockers in the train stations - we would get into a town - put our 4 bags in 1 locker - and go touring with nothing but a camera and cash. Also it is nice going from country to country using Euros - instead of having to exchange money at each country. A Euro was worth $1.35. You could use you bank card to get Euros out of any ATM machine - at a rate much better than the money changers charged.

Doing it again - we would have carried less stuff - and probably would have tried the marijuana and/or call girls in Amsterdam. :-)

European Vacation Update

I am trying something a little different. I am typing this posting on
the train between Amsterdam and Vienna. We are not online on the
train - but I do have power. I made my own adapter with a cheap
extension cord that I brought along. I then got a local plug -
Netherlands/Belgium/Germany - and put it on the extension cord. It is
not a converter - it is just an adapter. You have to make sure your
appliances can run on 220 volt current. Our computer - CPAP - and
shaver - all run on 100 to 240 volts - so it is fine to use with
them. This way I can plug all 3 appliance in at once - in the train
or hotel.

So far on the trip - we have spent the nights of -

July 3 - on the plane over
July 4 - Brussels at hotel
July 5 - Brussels at hotel
July 6 - Brussels at hotel
July 7 - Amsterdam at hotel
July 8 - on the night train (Orient Express) to Vienna
July 9 - probably Salzburg
July 10 - probably Nordhausen
July 11 - probably Cologne
July 12 - airport Brussels
July 13 - flying to New York City

We plan to tour Vienna - Nancy wants to go on the Sound of Music Tour
- is in the Austrian Alps.

Then go to Nordhausen to tour the place where the Nazis made rockets.
They built an assembly line inside of a mountain - they would
assemble rockets - they would go in one side of the mountain as parts
and come out as finished rockets on the other side. they made about
7000 rockets this way. It was all built with Jewish slave labor. It
is said that 6 people died for each rocket made.

Hopefully - we can fit a boat trip on the Rhine River somewhere
between - Frankfurt and Cologne. The boat trip is covered by our
Eurail Pass.

So far the weather has been good. In Belgium is was cool - in the 60s
- some misty rain - and lots of overcast - but that cleared in the
last couple of days. The two days in Amsterdam were sunny - breezy
and 70s. It stays light here until about 10:30 at night. Nancy got up
this morning at 4:30 and it was already light out.

I will send some pictures when I get on a regular internet connection.

We toured the Van Gogh Museum on Amsterdam. There was a tragic figure
- he killed himself when he was 37 - lived in poverty - painted like
crazy near the end of his life - and now everybody is making a bundle
off his paintings.

The canals of Amsterdam are much wider than the canals of Venice.
They remind you more of the Seine River than the canals of Venice.

Two of the nicest things about Amsterdam - besides the marijuana and
call girls - are the large number of neat bikes and scooters. They
even have special separate roads for scooters and bikes with separate
street lights. The bikes are what we used to call - English bikes -
very plain - no wide tires - few gears if any - and no shock
absorbers. They were very basic but durable bikes. Many were
configured with big carriers - carts - baskets - seats. Bikes
outnumbered cars by about 20 to 1. Most of the cars were very small
and had diesel engines - but they ran cleaner and quieter than our
diesels. No wonder cars are so small there - gasoline was $8 a gallon!

We are stopped at Cologne right now - giant cathedral right along
side the tracks. We plan to come back here via a boat trip. We just
crossed the Rhine River - pretty wide here. Cologne looks like a neat
city - we crossed the Rhine 2 times there and now are on a high speed
rail to Frankfort. In Frankfort - we will pick up our night train
with sleeping compartment. Right now we are in a first class
compartment - that seats 6 - but we have it alone.

An Amsterdam report would not be complete without a report about a
trip to a "coffee house." There are 100s of these places - they are
not allowed to sell anything with alcohol in it - but they can sell
marijuana and hashish. Of course - a trip to Amsterdam is not
complete without us going inside. The room in the front is like a bar
- but with everyone sitting around smoking funny cigarettes. Many of
the coffee houses were showing soccer games live. In the back room
there is a counter and shelves full of many different brands of
products. They hand you a menu - and you can pick out single pieces
or packs. Prices ranged from 3 Euros to 90 Euros. when we asked about
them - they were conveniently out of 3 Euro items. The guy was sizing
us up - so I said forget about it - we had a train to catch in an
hour - and I did not want to be "tripping" around Amsterdam like Jim
Carrey - as our train pulled out without us.

9 AM - We slept well in the sleeping compartment. We were served
breakfast in bed. Then the porter broke down the beds giving us more
room in the cabin. We took turns getting cleaned up for the day and
waiting in the dining car. We are pulling into the station - I will
send this message as soon as I find a signal. Austria looks very nice.

We just pulled in next to the real Orient Express - London to
Istanbul train - the one from the book - "Murder on the Orient Express."

Day 8 in Europe

Things are starting to blend together a bit - in the last few days I
have been to Amsterdam - Vienna - Salzburg - Much - now she decides
that we go to Fussen - why - it is the home of Disney's real
Cinderella Castle. We were supposed to be going directly to
Nordhausen to see my Nazi Rocket Works - but she took me to the
Hauftsbrau House in Munich - and after having a one litre beer - all
plans changed.

I am on the train typing this on the way to Fussen - no hotel
reservation - with this eurail pass we can hop on any train we want.
I am sitting in a 6 passenger compartment on the 2 hour train to
Fusson - they are two other passengers in the compartment - so I must
act civilized.

Nancy says that Fusson is one of the most quaint German villages
about as far south as you can go and still be in Germany. It should
be fun - if we find a cheap room. Expect a whole bunch of pictures
that looks nothing like the Cinderella Castle.

We will spend the night in Fusson - go to see the castle - then catch
an early train to Nordhausen. We have to be in Brussels for our July
13th plane back to New York City. I never heard of this Fusson place
before - it was something in the back of Lulu's head - so look out.

Munich is a really nice city - we only spent a few hours there - but
we were there once before about 6 years ago. We just got another
passenger in our compartment at Pasing - only one seat left right by
me. This 2 hours will go quickly.

The sky has cleared up in Munich - clear blue now. I wish iot was
like this for Nancy's Sound of Music Trip.

It is easy to get around in Europe. With these train passes - you
just hop on a train and take an empty seat. When the conductor comes
along - you show him your first class pass - and things are good.

So far - there were no sanfu's - we have not lost anything - missed
any trains - or had to pay a lot of a hotel room. This could be the
first.

Berlin - Today We Toured The German Technical Museum

Museum Logo

Lulu in a box car used to carry Jews to concentration camps

Today we saw snow for the first time on our trip. We have been here for a week now - and the temperature has been in the 40s most of the time. Today started out sunny - but by 2 PM the snow started to fly. I rushed to the mall to buy a ski cap for 1 euro. You can get anywhere you want on the train - tram - or bus - but usually you have to walks the last leg like we did to the Technical Museum. 

German are not to proud of the Nazis - they call the Nationalist Socialists. They have very little Nazi stuff in their museums - and usually the stuff there is not in good shape. Nothing is restored. 

The Technical Museum is in an old railroad yard with displays set up in the old round houses. Admission was 8 euros - but Lulu was allowed in free by showing her teacher's card. We were there from 12 to 5. 

Trailing Spouse's Trail Ends at Andersonville

Cousin Bob is a Civil War History Expert. He spends much of his free time doing historic talks and re-enactments of the Civil War. So it was a natural for us to drive a couple of hours up Route 19 to make a pilgrimage to Andersonville.

Visiting Andersonville reminds me of our trips to Dachau and Nordhausen in Germany. Near the end of the Civil War - the Confederates kept 42,000 Union prisoners inside a stockade fence here. There were no sanitary facilities - the water was infested with bacteria - and there was no protections from the elements. 12,000 rotted away from lack of food and disease. When the prisoners died - they were simply dumped into trenches like cord wood and covered over with dirt.

Prisoners arrived at the train station in town in freight cars. They were paraded about a quarter mile to a gate in the stockade. When they entered through two sets of double doors - they were greeted by prisoners that looked like walking skeletons. Any personal effects they had were stolen by the mob.

Dante wrote, "All hope abandon ye who enter here" back in the 1300s in a poem about entering hell. There could not be a more fitting epitaph to be written above those gates.

Today - Camp Sumpter is a serene and beautiful place. A peaceful spring and stream run where it was once a swamp of human waste. If one sits quietly on the rolling meadow - one can hear the cries of horror from the prisoners and catch a whiff of the stench that rose from this hell. Imagine taking a crowd of 50,000 people - like the crowd from a FSU football game - and squeezing them into a pasture the size of 4 football fields - not just for a 4 hour football game - but for over a year. Instead of having a hot dog and beer - imagine living on a couple of spoonfuls of rice a day - and drinking water from the stream that you used as a bathroom. This was Andersonville.

A few stockades have been restored to show where the locals would climb to a balcony dressed in their "Sunday best" to get a chance to gaze into this chasm of torment. One does not have to venture far to see what war does to human beings. Brother fought brother to the death. We have not learned a thing from Andersonville.

Amsterdam on Saturday - July 7, 2007

I am trying something new. We are having trouble getting on the net - mostly because Harry is too cheap to spend the hotel fee of around $45 for Internet Service a day. So my alternative is to type this blog while offline - then send it via e-mail to my blog. Then went I find a free fleeting signal - I can send the e-mails in bulk.

So - I am typing this on Saturday night at midnight after a long hard day of touring - with lots of walking.

We started about 11 AM when Nancy's conference was over. We are traveling with 4 bags total - 2 rolling suitcases - 1 backpack - and 1 hand bag. We caught the train for Amsterdam and had a good start. At about 1/3 the way - our train broke down - yes - stopped and would not move. Nancy and I have always been bragging about how good the trains are over here - well this one failed. We got out of the train at a small station - had to carry our bags a long way - then caught a local train to Rotterdam - the world's busiest seaport. There - we caught another train into Amsterdam - arriving in town about 2 hours late at 6 PM. 

We took our bags to the hotel room - and went touring. 

Of course - one of the first places we had to go was the red light district. We expected to see a sleazy area - but it was more of an upscale Bourbon Street. Yes - there are working girls in the windows - but they were not painted up like a Toulouse LaTrec posters. Most of the people were middle age gawkers like us. Also lots of men in their 20s with lots of bravado in groups just like dogs.

Another site to see were the "coffee houses" that are allowed to sell you marijuana to consume on the premises. If there was 1 coffee house - there must have been 300 - and they were busy. It is a street scene quite different than anywhere else in the world. If you are wondering if Harry tried any new tricks - the answers are no - and no.

We got to the Ann Frank House late at night - we plan to go back tomorrow to tour the inside.

After that - we took the long way home - part walking - part trolley.

We have a lot to do tomorrow beside touring Amsterdam. We must get our bags to the storage bins at the station before the spaces are all taken - so we must do that before 10 AM. Then we are going to try to reserve a sleeping berth on the night train to Munich. So we will have to be at reservations early at the train station - before we tour. If we can't get the night train - we will have to alter our plans - and just leave the city on any train going toward Munich. Our next few nights are planned at Saltzburg and Fussen - 2 places Nancy wants to see. Then we will visit the "mittelworks" near Nordhausen - the place where the Nazis built the V-2 Rockets inside the mountain. After that - we plan to boat the Rhine River near Cologne - you can use  the Eurail Pass to do that.

Then - we fly from Brussels back to NYC and spend a week there - then home.

It would be great having Drew's iphone over here - we could send e-mail home whenever the phone see a wifi connection. We have been disappointed with the free e-mail service or lack thereof - over here.

All in all - the trip has been pretty good - if we get the night train tomorrow night for Munich - that would be perfect. Amsterdam is really crowded - I hope it thins out a bit for the rest of our trip.

Trailing Spouse Carries Her Bags Around Europe

Lulu had to attend a conference in Brussels, Belgium so the Trailing Spouse had to give up home repair and landscaping for a trip to the Old Country. While you were enjoying the USA on July 4th - I was schlepping all over the continent haul two small suitcases on wheels.

We spent most of July 3rd traveling - first the obligatory trip to Atlanta. It seems one can't even die in Tallahassee and go to heaven without a layover in Atlanta. Then an overnight plane to Brussels. The next morning - 4th of July to you - we wake up - get out of the plane - and rush to a train for downtown. Since all we had was 2 carry on bags - it was pretty easy.

While Lulu spent three days at the conference - I was able to walk the city - go to Waterloo Battlefield - and enjoy the enchanted middle age city of Brugge. But now that the work is done - we have a few days to enjoy Europe.

We bought Eurail passes. With these train passes - for 2 weeks - we are allowed to hop on any train without buying a ticket. I had forgotten how nice trains are over here - on time - clean - quiet - smooth.

The plans are From Brussels to Amsterdam - then an overnight sleeper train to Munich - then Salzburg and the Alps - the Nazi missile factory in the mountain at Nordhausen - a boat down the Rhine River - just to name a few.

During this time - the Trailing Spouse is at his best - trailing his wife with a suitcase and taking pictures.

You might now think anyone reads my blog in the Democrat. After two flights - a train ride - and a walk around Brussels. One young lady stopped me and asked if I was following her. She said she saw me in Tallahassee - then Atlanta - then in downtown in Brussels we literally bumped into each other. Maybe we was stretching it but she said that she reads my blog! After all these years - celebrity status!

Out hotel in Brussels was very nice - but they wanted $45 per night for an Internet connection - so I am out on the streets in a park surrounded by tourists - "cybersquatting" - getting a free internet connection coming out of someone's window. Life is rough being a Trailing Spouse.

Pictures - the folks I met from Tallahassee - Monument to the Battle of Waterloo.

Follow along on our journey - send us tips on things to see over here. Send to - harry@everhart.com - glorified bagboy.

Lulu's Christmas Tree - On The Way To Tamaqua

We are spending Christmas in Washington DC with the family. Next stop is back home in Tamaqua for a few days. Lulu had to leave her Christmas tree behind - but I thought you would like to see her and some of her ornaments. 

We hope to have a Merry Christmas - and the best New Year ever. 

Here are some of Lulu's ornaments - and where she got them. 

Disneyworld

Athens, Greece

Cocoa Beach, FL                

Sedona, AZ (gift from Drew and Keith who attended the Fiesta Bowl 1999

New Zealand

Tamaqua Elementary Santa's Secret Shop 1985

Canada Cruise - Maine

Gift from Ruthann Busolits - Bedford Springs is where Keith and Liz held their wedding.

Ben and Jerry's ice cream plant, Vermont

Berlin, 2015

Brooklyn, NY, 1996