LONDON: Our newest LOVE

What do you get when you mix being able to speak English with amazing historical sights? London! Justin and I have found our new favorite place. London was so wonderful, and it was so full of things we both love.

On our first day there we took the tube from the airport to our hotel. We initially had a hotel crisis, but thanks to Justin's Ranger skills we found the correct hotel and were able to officially begin our adventures!

On the tube, heading to CockFOSTERS ;)

After checking into our hotel we had a bite to eat at The Three Stags. This was my first experience with London fish and chips (yummy) and some delicious cider beer. Then, we took a little stroll, and low and behold, look what we happened upon!

Big Ben, Parliament, and the Thyme River

London Love

As we continued our journey to the Westminster Abbey, we had quite the find:

A gigantic leaf

Westminster Abbey

 We kept walking and found the queen's palace, but unfortunately she wasn't home.

Buckingham Palace

Before taking a night ride on the London Eye, we hopped on the Hispanola for some drinks. Then, by chance we found the Southbank Christmas Market, which was a great way to end our Thanksgiving.

On the Hispanola--London Eye in the background

Kiss at the Southbank Christmas Market

View from the London Eye

 The next day we headed to Shakespeare's Globe Theater. This was such a wonderful experience for me because I have always loved Shakespeare. It was great to see the Globe replica mirror Shakespeare's actual Globe Theater so perfectly. The tour was very informative, and I was happy to realize my Shakespeare history was actually quite good. Cheers!

In front of Shakespeare's Globe

The Globe stage

We found The Anchor Pub, which is a pub Shakespeare used to drink at

After stopping for some London Pride at The Anchor Pub, we headed onward with our journey. We found the London Bridge, the Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London. It was interesting to learn that the Tower of London was basically a prison and place of exile for some kings back in the day. All of these were quite impressive. It was fun to be in the presence of such famous landmarks.

London Bridge

Tower Bridge

Tower of London

Later that night we head to St. Martin's Theater to watch Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap". This show holds the Guinness World Record for the longest running show. The queen was there 10 years earlier to celebrate its 50th anniversary. We were able to be there for its 60th anniversary. "The Mousetrap" was full of mystery and suspense. We both really enjoyed it, along with a few cider beers.

At St. Martin's Theater for "The Mousetrap"

We saw show 25,005

The next day we experienced typical London weather. It rained all day and was a bit chilly walking around. However, we still made the best of our time. We went to the Churchill Cabinet War Rooms. This was a great experience for Justin. He (and I) enjoyed learning about Winston Churchill's role during World War II and seeing the war rooms set-up as they were during the war.

Rainy, London Day

Justin and a guard from World War II

Our afternoon consisted of some pub hopping. We went to The Red Lion, which was a pub Charles Dickens used to drink at. Then we had our lunch at Taylor Walker Pub, where Justin finally had his meal of fish and chips. After lunch we headed to The Sherlock Holmes Pub. The pubs in London are so fancy compared to American pubs, and they were all decorated for Christmas.

The Red Lion Pub

The Sherlock Holmes Pub

Once our pub walk was finished we went to the Westminster Abbey for a choir and prayer service. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but the arch ways and stained glass windows were gorgeous. The choir's singing echoing through the Abbey was such a sweet sound. Plus, it was fun to say I've been in the church Kate and William were married in :)

Waiting to go in the Westminster Abbey

After this it was off to The Westminster Arms pub for some more beer, yum. Then we headed to the Hyde Park Christmas Market. Along the way we found the Arch of Wellington, which is the arch James Bond drives under :) The Hyde Park Christmas Market was more like a carnival than a market, but we found a cute London Christmas ornament for our tree and had some good food. The spiced wine however, was not as good as we were hoping it would be. The market was a great way to end our wonderful trip to London! We definitely want to go back to London some day!

The Westminster Arms Pub

Arch of Wellington

Winter Wonderland--Hyde Park Christmas Market

It's safe to say London has stolen our hearts :)

Fun in Garmisch, Germany

While on an officer and spouse marriage retreat in Garmisch, Germany, Justin and I were able to relax for a weekend at Edelweiss Resort (which had an amazing outdoor hot tub), find out each others' love language (Justin's is words of affirmation and mine is quality time), and experience a little bit more of Germany.

During our free time we went to Ettal Monastery, which brews its own beer. This was very beautiful, and we were able to enjoy some yummy Christmas beer at their restaurant right next door.

Ettal front steps

Full view of Ettal

Inside Ettal

The next day we were able to go to the highest point in Germany. Zugspitze mountain peak is located on the border of Austria and Germany and is essentially part of the Alps. It was extremely cold at the top of the mountain, but the views were absolutely breathtaking. We were fortunate to have such a clear, sunny, blue sky day.

We took a cable car to the top of the mountain

At the top we could see 4 different countries--Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and Switzerland

We made it to the summit and had to represent CO :)

This is what we climbed to get to the summit. Definitely not something America would allow.

We also took a cable car down to "The Glacier" and visited this cute church

We came and conquered Zugspitze!

Flossenburg Concentration Camp

Visiting the Flossenburg Concentration Camp, a place of imprisonment during World War II, was quite a somber experience. Rewinding back to a period of history that evoked so much hatred and persecution is an emotional experience to say the least. There was a museum that housed many facts about what happened at the camp, and there were also several building still in tact that we walked through, including the place where bodies were cremated.

 At the museum we learned that nearly 30,000 people were killed at Flossenburg. It was known as a labor camp, so many of the people died while working under brutal conditions. When the liberation finally happened in 1945 the citizens of Flossenburg were more or less forced to participate in a death march and had to help bury the bodies of those that were not able to be cremated. We learned that so many bodies went through the crematory that it essentially broke, so bodies had to be thrown over the camp walls into the forest. These are the bodies that needed buried by the citizens of Flossenburg.

Near the bottom of the picture is a memorial area. The white buildings at the top were areas where people were hanged or held in solitary confinement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A plaque honoring the liberation.