July 2008 Trip to Berlin and Munich (continued)

After five days in Berlin, we flew to Munich for a four day stay. In Munich, the hotel was right in the center of the City near the train station. At first, we were worried (ok, very worried) that the hotel location would be too hectic and crowded and after the amazing experience at the Ritz Carlton in Berlin, it was hard to find anything that was as nice. But it turned out to be a great hotel and the location was perfect. Our first full day in Munich, we started the day with a walking tour (also arranged through Milk and Honey tours) of the City. Our guide (Chaim) was great -- a professor of history in Munich but also a very worldly man (was a citizen of Germany, Italy, and Israel). I won't list all of the sites he took us to but it was a very powerful and informative view. The next morning, we met up with Chaim early and he drove us to the Dachau concentration camp. That was difficult and moving but something we had to see. It was particularly touching visiting together with Jennifer.

For our last full day before returning home, we took a 1.5 hour train ride from Munich to Salzburg, Austria and spent the day walking around and seeing the sights. It was well worth the trip and Jennifer loved it as well. We were all tired when we flew home yesterday but felt like the trip was special for all of us. Although Jennifer may not remember a lot of it when she gets older, we think she got a lot out of the trip and she certainly made it wonderful for us. Yesterday, as we cleared customs at the Dulles airport, we were both reminded of how happy we felt almost one year ago when we walked through those same doors with Jennifer on the way home from China.

J.