This is the 2nd of 3 related postings regarding Auschwitz. The first post is available here. As many as 1 million Jews had already been murdered by the Nazis when they made the decision, in January 1942, to systematically kill all the Jews of Europe. This was described by Hitler as the…
Travel
Auschwitz
This is the first of 3 related postings about Auschwitz. The second post focuses on Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and the last post on my experience visiting the memorial. Auschwitz was established as a concentration camp, a place where criminals, political prisoners, academics, dissidents, prisoners of war, Jews, Roma (gypsies), homosexuals, and…
Impressions of Poland
After crossing Germany, we spent time in the south of Poland, visiting a variety of places and driving almost the full width of the country. Here are some of the things about Poland that I think are interesting: The Republic of Poland is the largest of the previously communist countries…
Burn the Witch — Hexenbrennen
In Saxony, a province in eastern Germany, near the city of Bautzen lies the small village of Schwarznaußlitz. It is the home of some family members of our friends Werner and Henny, whom we visited with them last September. We enjoyed that time tremendously, and since we were passing by…
The Decline of the American Empire
Our recent visit to the United States got me thinking about the challenges facing America today. I think that the road ahead will be very difficult. What is an empire? Empires are nations whose power and influence extend beyond their borders. They tend to enjoy false economies based on cheap…
Zschaitz
We continue to head east across Germany. After nights spent beside a fire hall near Frankfurt am Main and in a parking area in Erfurt, a town that we enjoyed last year despite the hubbub caused by the Pope’s planned arrival the following day, we stopped in a small village…
‘God’s Waiting Room’
We recently returned from a trip to Arizona. Our main goal was to visit family, Canadian ‘snowbirds’ who spend part of the winter in this warm southern state situated between California and Texas on the Mexican border. It was our first visit to Arizona, and we’d heard a lot about…
Impressions of Luxembourg
We recently visited Luxembourg after leaving France. It’s a small place, so it didn’t take long. We visited the only major city, creatively called Luxembourg City, in this tiny country of just over 2500 square kilometers. Here are some of our impressions. Luxembourg is a landlocked country surrounded by France,…
The Eiffel Tower for Jordan
The following posting is by special request from Diane’s relative Jordon who is 8 years old (almost 9). He was recently studying the Eiffel Tower at school. His grandma Esther had us over for a great dinner (with birthday cake!) just before our departure, and Jordan requested that we send…
My Birthday in Paris (Guest Post)
The following is a special ‘guest’ post written by my wife Diane. Thank-you Diane! If you’d like to be a guest contributor, please contact me. ———————————————————————————- Paris. I have long dreamed of the day that I would visit this wonderful city. I always envisioned it to be romantic, chic and…