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Celebrating the 4th of July -- in Germany...

July 4th

While driving back to Germany, we discussed our plans for the 4th of July in Bad Windsheim.  The base had some activities going on, and we needed to do some laundry, but other than that, we had free day.  However, both LeElla and I thought that it would be good to try to visit a concentration camp while we were in Germany.  It wasn't necessarily going to be a fun thing to do, but an important thing to do if we could.  Kimberly found that the Dachau concentration camp had a memorial and tours, so we decided to make a trip on the 4th.

We were exhausted after our long drive, so we allowed ourselves to sleep in some, but we wanted to get to Dachau and back in time to participate in some of the 4th of July activities on the base.  Since we also had laundry to do, Kimberly decided to stay behind and handle the laundry chores while LeElla and I took the girls to Dachau.  It was a couple of hours away, near Munich, so we had a (relatively) short drive.

When we got there, we decided to use the audio guides, so we each got a set and headed into the camp.  It turns out that Dachau was not used for the mass extermination of the Jews like many other camps were -- instead, it was used mostly to house, torture, and kill prisoners of war, enemies of the state, homosexuals and other "dissidents".  It was also used as a training facility for the SS Soldiers, and was the "model" camp for the other concentration camps, such as Auschwitz.  Over 60 thousand people were killed at Dachau.

Not necessarily the most pleasant way to spend the 4th of July, but I think it was an experience we'll all remember for a very long time, and one that the girls will be able to use during their history lessons in the future.

Of course, what better way to end a trip to a concentration camp than with Blizzards from McDonald's.  That's just what we did -- our one and only drive-thru experience in Europe.  One lesson -- don't try to order from a drive-thru if you don't understand the language.  Those speakers are hard enough in English, but trying to interpret in German is near impossible!

By the time we returned to Kimberly's house, she had finished the laundry and was also back home, so we got the laundry into the house and sorted, and then headed out to have dinner with Kimberly's friends, Sara and Will.  The weather was still cold and wet, and many of the activities at the base were on hold because of the storms, so we decided to nix the 4th of July events and just prepare for our flight to London.

This was going to be a difficult flight for us because we were very restricted as to what we could bring -- we were only bringing 2 checked bags for all of us, and 1 carry-on for each person.  We had to combine all of our clothes and toiletries into 2 bags, which was proving difficult.   So, we decided to pay extra to take a 3rd checked bag.  This relieved some of the packing pressure, but the checked bags were also limited as to their size and weight, so we were also worried about what cameras and laptops we could bring.

To add to all of this, our flight was at around 6:30am, and the airport was about 3 1/2 hours away, so we were going to have to leave Kimberly's house at around 1:00am.  By the time we were done with dinner, it was already after 9pm, so getting much sleep (if any at all) was not likely.  I tried to lie down and get a couple of hours sleep, but was unable to.  So, at about 11:30pm, we're all sitting around the dining room table trying to keep each other awake, when I ask, "So, how long does it take to drive to London?"

After keying it into Tom-Tom, we discover that it's just over 9 hours -- if we left right then, we'd beat the airplane.  We'd also be able to take whatever we wanted since we'd have the van with us.  So, the decision was made then and there to skip the plane ride and drive to London instead.

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