Amsterdam, The Netherlands -July 18, 2011

We catch an early train to Amsterdam - about 4 hours and we are in another country..The Netherlands. I was going crazy early on in buying our train passes...I couldn't find a pass that would cover the country of Holland. Guess the country's official name is The Netherlands, but it is the same as Holland with the cheese, the windmills, the wooden shoes and Rembrandt.

We have booked a great hotel on one of the nicest historic canals in Amsterdam, right around the corner form the Anne Frank house. The hotel is actually a former house of some wealthy Dutch traders (Dutch are what they call people from Holland/The Netherlands....another confusion).








It is still drizzling. For lunch, We walk to an old Dutch tavern with dark paneling and real candles in brass holders on the table. It is like stepping back in time.









After a nap in our hotel, we make our way to the Anne Frank House museum. I prebooked tickets for the museum and an English presentation before we left the US.
The girls of course know all about Anne Grank from school and have read her famous diary. The museum if iniformtuve but accessibleand then you get to go through the hidden door behind the bookcase and walk through the "annex" where 8 people lived in hiding from the Nazis for over 2 years. Two things stood out for me. First, in Anne's room, she had pasted pictures from magazines and postcards on her wall for decoration. It was interesting to look at them and try to imagine why she chose a particular picture. The second thing was a video interview of Otto Fank (Anne's father and the only one of the 8 in the house to survive the war). In the video he states that he and Anne were very close, but when he read her diary after the war, he realized he did not really know her at all. Specifically, he was struck with her depth of feeling and serious thoughtfulness. Otto Frank then says that he doesn't think any parent really knows their child.
No photos are allowed inside the museum. Here is a photo of Mia and Makayla with the Anne Frank House in the background. You can see the church with the bells that Anne describes in her diary. We can hear them from our hotel.



We then go eat Dutch pancakes for dinner......a bit like thick crepes with loads of goodies on top. Grace says this is her favorite meal in Europe so far....







So far, the girls are liking Amsterdam! It has been a long day. I rent "true grit" for the girls to see on their room TV and tell them they can sleep in the next day....breakfast at 10!

-Mom, Coach and Tour Guide

Location:Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Holland)

Frankfurt, Germany/FIFA Women's World Cup Final: US v. Japan - July 17, 2011

It is drizzling again as we walk to the train station to go to Frankfurt and I am glad we are getting more use out of our expensive umbrellas.

In just an hour we are there - Frankfurt - the site of the 2011 final Women's World Cup Match between Japan and the US. There is already excitement. People in the train station are doing face paint for fans and outside the station they are selling US and Japanese flags, as well as t- shirts. There is a street fair with American music and Japanese food right outside our hotel. We have a nice hotel within a few mimutes walk of the station. It was fortuitous or foresight that made me book the nicer hotels at the end of the trip. The girls are understandably tired.... 3 1/2 weeks traveling Europe is not easy on anyone and these are 13 & 14 year olds!

After a rest, we get ready for the game. We have been searching for face paint most of the trip. In digging out my US flag in my luggage I see my watercolors that I brought for painting (I have only painted one picture so far) but realize we can use them as face paint! I try it on myself and then the girls get themselves decorated.





There was a 4 ticket limit for the final match, so Jerry has to stay and watch the game in one of the many pubs/beer gardens around the hotel. All the buses and trains say "stadium" on them and we hop on one (turns out to be the slow train with all the locals but who cares!) There a other US fans and lots of Germans going to the game still wearing their German team colors....poor Germany, they were expected to win and they didn't even make it out of group play.


The game of course is sold out..when we get there, lots of people are holding up signs wanting to buy tickets.


The stadium holds 50k and it is full!!!!! We have pretty good seats and the opening ceremony begins.


The official song "happiness" is pretty good but it's about a girl who is happy because she found a guy who loves her. The girls and I agree women athletes deserve a more appropriate song....

So the game begins. I am so nervous..my stomach hurts and I cannot eat any of the pretzels and ice cream the girls buy. We take so many shots on goal and have great passes in the first half, but most do not score.

I have a speech I give to my players when I coach that the difference between winning and losing is very small. You just have to be a few seconds faster and you can win the ball, just an inch more accurate and you can score...a slightly quicker pass will be complete. It is hard to tell players they need to be winners...but everyone can try to be a few seconds faster or an inch or two bit more accurante. Well, tonight, we end up losing just by seconds, by inches. It is the undefined and elusive quality that can make the difference between winning and losing. Tonight we don't have it. Americans usually do....it is in our nature to individually be able to dig a little deeper, to go beyond ourselves, to believe in ourselves and believe in miracles ...to find against the odds that extra second and extra inch. Well, tonight the Japanese women have those qualities. I won't go in to the details of the game...you either watched it or read about it and, if you didn't, you probably don't care. But everyone should have watched it.

We lose.... and for maybe 1 minute or 2 it is disappointing. Then I realize how great a story for Japan in winning against the odds and after their recent disasters and suffering at home. And of course this successful tournament with all these fans and these historic games is wonderful for all women soccer players all over the world. We are all winners.

Nonetheless, most of the US team is crying after the game. Hope Solo gets two awards and she stands there trying to force back her tears. The US team begins to walk around the arena and thank the fans but they realize the gracious thing to do is surrender the field to the victors. So Japan is celebrated by everyone there. There is a great show of gold confetti and fireworks...




We stay to the end and get a shirt and shorts from the fan shop. It is a long ride on a super crowded bus back to the hotel. We get back at 1:30 a.m. We are tired......the worse part is we know we would not be tired if we had won.
-Mom, Coach and Tour Guid

Location:Frankfurt, Germany

Heidelberg, Germany and Women's World Cup 3rd/4th Place Playoff -July 16, 2011

We have breakfast at a bakery across the street from the hotel and head out to visit Heidelberg Castle.

The castle, up on mountain above Heidelberg, gives the city its famous charm. We take a tram up the mountain to the castle.



Grace looks out on the Nekkar River from Heidelberg Castle.





Heidelberg was the seat of various Prince Electors (electors are those that elect or decide who will be king). It was also the seat of several kings, including one (whose name escapes me at the minute) who married Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scott's daughter. I guess they were very much in love and had about 13 children. Unfortunately, the king's love for Elizabeth was so very strong that he completely redesigned the castle to make lots of gardens for his wife. Accordingly, the castle lost its fortified defenses and was mostly destroyed during the 30 Years War.


We take a tour of the castle. I really like learning about German/European history as I realize how little I really know. One of the sites to see at the castle (partially stored now) is largest wine cask the world. It hold thousands if gallons of wine. The king was paid taxes by the peasants in wine. It was all dumped in this huge (almost 2 stories tall) wooden wine cask. The wine was then pumped upstairs to the banquet hall and so as to easily serve to royal guests. The king himself drank better wine.




We buy some bread, cheese, lunchmeat and cherries at a groceres and have a picnic lunch under the old bridge. It is cool in the shade next to the river.











Tonight we attend the Women's World Cup playoff game for 3rd and 4th place between Sweden and France. It is strange to go to a game without the US playing. We have been lucky..I bought the tickets blind the night they went on sale and 3 of our 4 games have been the US. Although it is a good and close game between France and Sweden, it is not as exciting as when your own US team is playing. But the Sinsheim soccer arena outside of Heidelberg is sold out and it is great to see everyone so enthusiastic about women's soccer. Although France loses, they play great soccer and they have created a much better future for women's soccer in France. To put things in perspective, I read that the US has 2.5 million FIFA registered soccer players and France has only 50,000.

-Mom, Coach and Tour Guide

Location:Heidelberg, Germany

The Castle Road to Heidelburg, Gemany-July 15, 2011

We are getting spoiled by all the great "included" breakfasts at our hotels ion Europe.


When I was in Europe years ago, the included breakfast was coffee, bread, butter and jam. Cheese and ham if you were lucky. Nowadays, the breakfast buffets included at the hotels are massive and yummy. They usually have eggs, sausage,bacon, salads, fruits, several different kinds of bread,cheeses and meats, yougurt, cereal and sometimes even champagne! We are all getting used to having nice big breakfasts in the morning.

So after our great breakfast in Rothenburg, we head on down the "castle road" to our next destination of Heidelberg. The castle road is essentially a scenic route and the last leg is the best: a winding road along the Nekkar River with castles in the high hills over looking the river.


We stop at one castle for lunch, but it is late in the afternoon. The girls are really sad to discover the only thing they can have for lunch is ice cream....




















We arrive in Heidelburg and take a quick walk up the famous and historic Haupt Street, stopping in the Market square at an outdoor cafe for refreshment.







On this shopping street, there is an entire store for gummy bears. And they have a window display of a soccer game all of gummy bears.....note the "downed" players in upper left with the referee presiding.





After a quick meal of cheap Chinese food with a bunch of locals, we return to the hotel. We are staying at the Crowne Plaza, the only large chain hotel I booked this trip. I am appalled at the lack of personal attention and care we receive and also that, without telling me, they place a hold on a large sum of money via my credit card as a damage deposit. Most of the small hotels we have stayed at don't even ask for your credit card until you check out. And there is no breakfast included. Well, I decide I will only stay at small hotels in Europe from now on. But the beds are nice and we all sleep very well.

- Mom, Coach and Tour Guide

Location:Heidelburg, Germany

The Romantic Road to Rothenburh ob der Tauber, Germany -July 14, 2011

Today we get a rental car and the plan is to drive "the Romantic Road" to the famous medieval walled town of Rothenburg ob Tauber (aka Rothenburg, although there are several so you need the ob der Tauber for gps etc). The Romantic Road is so-named because it is supposed to be a cute, small and winding road through old villages with castles etc. Well, you can't program Romantic Road on the gps, it isn't marked on a map and the Internet maps of it are too general and don't have route numbers. So, not be foiled, I just plug in different cities/towns I know are on the route and we just hopscotch along. We stop in the small town of Dinkelsbuhl for lunch.


It too is an old medieval walled town, but smaller and allegedly less touristy than Rothenburg. We have lunch in a typical hotel/restaurant, made with timber and plaster and walls decorated -inside and out-with painted pictures.


Pancake Noodle soup for lunch with the ever-wonderful and present German bread and butter.


The town Cathedral...









This par of Germany is famous for Schneeballs (literally snowballs).



We try some, but they look better than they taste...they are like strips of pie dough squished together in a ball with some frosting.

We get to Rothenburg around 4:30, a good time because the big tour buses have left.


It is a world- famous walled-town that has essentially been preserved untouched since the 1600s.
It was was sacked during the 30 Yars War and the town afterwards was literally too poor to modernize and rebuild. It was discovered by artists, writers and early tourists in the late 1800s. The town then worked to preserve its history and it his been a attraction that allows tourists to step back in time ever since. This is part of the wall where the city soldiers could pour hot oil and tar on threatening invaders...


We take a tour with the famous "Night Watchman" - there were 6 of them patrolling the town every evening until around 1920.


Afterwards, we explore along the city walls.





We sleep in a hotel within the walled town and the clock tower rings the hours (luckily, not too loudly) until we have to get up again and be on our way.


-Mom, Coach and Tour Guide

Location:Bavaria to Fraconia, Germany

Dachau & Munich Germany - July 13, 2011

Today we have planned a tour of Dachau, one of the first and key concentration camps in Nazi Germany. I visited when I was 17 years old and it was quite moving. I know it will be an important experience for the girls.

It has been threatening rain off and on for a few days. We have been very lucky with perfect weather almost everywhere, but today our luck runs out. It is pouring and we must get to the train station for our tour. We leapfrog from different storefront awnings to try and stay dry and find some umbrellas to buy. So, about $75 later, we are walking like locals to the Bahnhof /train station.



We arrive by train, much the same way the prisoners of the concentration camp did.



We have a fairly large group, which somewhat takes away from your ability to "feel" the place. But our guide is vey knowledgeable and it is worth it to learn so much of the history and the role the camps played in the war.



This is the famous gate to the camp with the phrase in iron "arbeit machts frei" (work makes you free).


It is overcast and the ground is muddy in places. The sound of the gravel beneath my feet is disturbing. For me, the place is permeated with such bad things that I feel oppressed, but also aggitated.




This statue, like it did 30 years ago, captures the feel of Dachau for me.


I am really unable to take pictures of some things. Not because I am not allowed. I just feel it is almost disrespectful to memorialize the terribleness and it would be poisonious to "capture" memories of the most terrible of things and places. But, of course, preserving the memory of this place is crucial...for me and for all mankind. Indeed our guide tells us that a group of prisoners banded together shortly before the liberation of the camp with a plan to fight the guards or anyone who tried to destroy the place precisely because they knew the memory of the atrocities must be preserved.

This is a photo across the main square of the camp, with the barracks where the prisoners lived in the background.










This is a photo of the first crematorium at the camp, where they burned bodies of dead prisoners. It was next to a gas chamber where, as in movies, the prisoners were led to believe (complete with signs) that they were just getting a shower.


I could not photograph the gas chamber nor the ovens. It is even difficult to write about it still. But we all know the story must be told. Our guide confirms that every school child and every member of the military in Germany must visit a concentration camp. We must all remember to try and not let these things happen again. It is a very narrow line we walk every day, the difference between then and now. Our guide tells us that Hitler came into his real power after the parliament building in Berlin was burned, allegedly by foreign enemies. Accordingly, he was able to get passed "emergency" laws for the "safety" of the country and its people to "temporarily" suspend civil rights and arrest those suspected of being dangerous to the country. I wondered if anyone else in the tour got the chills in remembering our own Patriot Act after 9-11.

-Mom, Coach and Tour Guide

Location:Munich, Germany

To Munich, Germany-July 12, 2011

We drive back and catch a rather short train ride to Munich. We are now in Bavaria...which is a separate state and has formerly been a separate country. Our hotel is between the train station and the historic part. We walk to the hotel...I is a few blocks and a lot like New York City. Very different than the countryside we just left and the girls are bit nervous. But our hotel is a nice sanitary. We rest a little but. And walk to Marienplatz..it is a nice pedestrian only walkway with lots of fountains...





people drink from ...






Lots of shops,





fruits stands, street musicians (double click to play)

And street artists...





We find a beer garden in the middle of a farmes market. All different kinds of people sitting at tables under trees enjoy great beer....






Jerry buys me a beer so heavy I can hardly lift it...





We have a nice dinner of German specialties in one of the old brewhouses in this old part of Munich...





The girls are very keen on the gelato in Europe and they get a cone walking back to the hotel. So far we like Munich!!!





-Mom, Coach and Tour Guide

Location:Munich, Germany