Today we went to Marienbad. When we crossed over the border to Czech Republik it was very different. Some of the houses were still the way they were when it was Communist. Marienbad was a very beautiful old city (famous for its historical spa), but the "medicinal water" did not actually taste good. The water from the famous wells tasted a little rusty.
View of Marienbad with a statue of Goethe, the famous German poet.
In these photos you can see that some of the buildings haven't been fixed since they were under Communism rule.
Katie is cold. German summer temperatures are sometimes about 10 degrees cooler.
Mrs. Gabi Dill, the Vice-Principal of the Gustav-von-Schloer Schule tells the group a short history of the Czech Republik and a tour of Marienbad.
a group photo in front of the "Singing Fountain" in Marienbad. A few minutes after this photo was taken, there was a water show - classic music played while water "danced" to the music
students take turns tasting the famous Marienbad water
Tori, like most of the students, didn't like the taste....
The tourist shops in Marienbad sell these water cups with a spout, so that when you drink the water your lips don't turn orange.
Czech Republik has these wonderful tasty wafers. Everyone tried one and some even bought boxes to bring home with them.
For lunch, we stopped at Chodovar Restaurant, which is a a very famous old brewery and restaurant. The restaurant is actually in a cave.
the group in front of the restaurant
This is one of the statues that greeted the group as they walked into the cave and restaurant.
a band played traditional Czech / German music
The waitress, dressed in traditional clothing, served the American group their non-alcoholic drinks.
Zach enjoys his Czech dessert, similar to an apple strudel with ice cream.
Then we went to Flossenbuerg Concentration Camp. Flossenbuerg was very moving. Movies, books, and classrooms lectures can never truly teach you about the emotions you feel while visiting a camp where these horrible things actually happened. I will never forget the emotions I felt and the images I saw. In the Jewish memorial we all held an orange rope to symbolize world community. We all wrote ideas to make the world better. Then we attached them to the rope and hung it in the memorial. I hope and pray that these ideas will come to life. (Jake Wood)
the group was seperated into two smaller groups for an excellent guided tour of the camp
some of the many memorial crosses at the camp
one of the tour guides shows us pictures of the original camp gate. the sign says "Arbeit Macht Frei", which means "Work Sets You Free"
Katie takes pictures in the crematorium
The pyramid of ashes from the last burnings in the crematorium before the camp was shut down in 1945.
view of the camp
the ceiling inside the jewish memorial
"learn to live together - stay as one community"
After the group hung up the Community Rope, they signed their names on a sign for the memorial.
Jake and Tori are moved by the horrible stories they heard about the prisoners
an exhibit in the museum - portraits of the surviving prisoners in the present time
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