http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNqJD1QTtio

Addie love playing on the beach and building sand castles. Too bad she thought throwing the sand at the bucket was the best way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPe-9xQBfSQ

Our hotel had a water slide that Addie enjoyed. She wouldn’t do it unless we were going with her, but as you can see from the video she always wanted to go again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s07YDiRYM8E

So when we were flying to Hawaii from L.A. Addie got to watch a few movies. She was wearing my Bose headphones so she could hear. I was going through my photos today and saw them and thought I should post them. These headphones are great. If you travel a lot you need these headphones they are amazing, big, but amazing.

It makes me think, how did our parents take us on long vacations without DVD players and noise canceling headphones?

Zyklon B - Poison Gas used in the Gas Chambers

When the liberators arrived at the camp they found numerous evidences of the terror inflicted at these camps one of which was massive reserves of Giftgas, which translated from German means poison gas. This gas was Zyklon B, the poison gas used to take the lives of countless individuals.

Luggage packed but never used

This suitcase just one of the hundreds on display, belonged to Gertrude Neubauer, an orphan child. These bags were packed but never opened by those who packed them.

Barracks lining the road

Auschwitz I was the original camp, serving as the administrative center for the whole complex. The site for the camp—16 one-story buildings—had earlier served as Polish army artillery barracks.

Block 10 - Medical Experimentation

Each building was identified by a block number. Block 10 was the site of horrific medical experimentation.

The Fences

Surrounding the camp were miles of barbed wire fences which at the time the camp was active were electrified. I couldn’t help but think of what each barb on that fence had been through.

Administrative Offices

This building processed each new arrival to the camp.

We also visited Auschwitz II-Birkenau, which was built in October 1941. This facility dwarfed the original Auschwitz. It was massive and although very little is left, the sheer magnitude of the facility is powerful.

The Gate of Death

This gate was the entrance to the camp. Through this gate passed countless trains jammed full of prisoners, where upon arrival were inspected, sorted, and if determined not fit for work, placed in a line leading to the gas chambers.

The Bathroom

The facilities were primitive and too few for the prisoners in the camp.

A Barrack at Birkenau

Unlike Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II – Birkenau did not have brick barracks for the prisoners. They were crammed into these wooden barracks not suited for the rigors of the Polish countryside.

These tracks led people in but never out

My trip to Auschwitz was emotional and gave me a greater appreciation for the events of the past. Seeing Auschwitz is an event never to be forgotten.

Favorite Sorrento things:

• Shopping and walking around town. Sorrento is small compared to the other tourist towns we visited. It has shops and restaurants and gelaterias (very important), and not much else. We walked down to the pier, we shopped, we ate, we watched the sun set from our balcony.
• Pompeii – an ancient city that was covered in ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79AD. The town was buried and preserved until the 1700s, when excavations began. It was amazing to walk the streets of this city and imagine what life was like back then. This city was at its height during Jesus’ lifetime, so although I’m pretty sure Christ never visited Pompeii, I’m sure the lifestyle was similar.
• Along with that, we went to the Archeological Museum in Naples, which has artifacts from Pompeii that survived – paintings, frescoes, mosaics, dishes, silverware, vases, statues, etc. Unfortunately the Mosaics room was closed, but we got to see everything else. It was neat. Although it’s too bad we had to go all the way to Naples to see it. Naples is kinda rough…
• Amalfi Coast drive. Wow. So beautiful. We took a bus, which wound around the cliffs of the coastal mountains in a one lane highway, squeezing past cars and mopeds going the other way. Scary. But it was really beautiful, especially Positano, where we walked down to the beach and stuck our fingers in. The beaches are really pebbly there!
• Pizza in Naples. I wanted to go to the famous L’Antica da Michele pizza place, but the only day we were in Naples was Sunday, and they were closed. But the pizza place across the street was open, so we grabbed some pizza there, and it was delish! I love my American Pizza, but Italian pizza is so yummy! I swear their tomatoes are different than ours.

Roma – The Eternal City, The City of Love, etc

• Rome is seriously magical. We got there in the afternoon, ate dinner, and then walked around Rome until it got dark. Rome at night is another world. The lighting is all orange light, so that it resembles torchlight. So Rome honestly feels like an old city, since there are no LED screens or florescent lighting anywhere. you feel like you are walking through ancient Rome. We saw St. Peters, Castel Sant Angelo, the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona that night.
• Ancient Rome – the Imperial Forum, Arch of Constantine, Palatine Hill, Arches of Titus and Septimius Severus. This is where Rome began and was ruled. The Senate where Julius Caesar was killed, the Temple of Vesta, the Temple of Saturn, the Via Sacra (Main Street), the Basilica (governmental seat), the church where Peter the Apostle was (maybe) imprisoned, the COLOSSEUM. It’s all here. Right smack dab in the middle of modern Rome. We spent all morning here, taking audiotours and learning all about the beginning and end of the Roman Empire.
• St Peters/Vatican City. This was an all day event. St Peters Basilica is the largest Catholic church in the world, and probably the most decorated. It houses Michelangelo’s Pieta, and multiple works by Bernini, including the altar and the huge brass canopy over the altar. It also houses the tomb of St. Peter, and the tombs of many Popes. It is so ornately decorated, you really have to see it to believe it. We toured the Vatican Museums as well, and ended in the Sistine Chapel. I feel like Michelangelo and I should be friends at this point, as now I’ve been to his hometown, his tomb, and all of his greatest works. Great job on the Sistine Chapel, buddy. Really, it is amazing. To think that he literally craned his neck to paint a ceiling for four years, and on fresco! It is almost emotional. Once again, you have to see it to believe it. It was so beautiful, we stayed in there for a half hour just looking and looking.
• Catacombs! We went to the Catacombs of Domitilla, and did some underground hiking. This is where the early Christians buried their dead, instead of cremating them like the Romans did in that time. This was a sacred burial, because they were buried near family members and martyrs for the Christian religion. Romans did not treat Christians well at that point in time. Now, there are no bodies there, just holes in the walls. But what I liked were the frescoes and writings that have survived all these years.
• We were SO EXHAUSTED by the end of our trip, that we spent a good portion of time in the hotel spa and relaxation room. At first I was worried about wasting time that could have been spent sightseeing, but as one of our reasons for this trip was to just be together, we decided this was a worthwhile usage of time. We missed our little girl a lot, but to just be together, without any responsibilities, was refreshing.

• Mirabell Gardens in Salzburg, where the “Sound of Music” kids sung “Do Re Mi”. It was really beautiful. Oh and we saw two brides taking pictures there – one in a modern white wedding gown, and one in a dirndl.
• Salzburg Dom – this was our favorite Cathedral so far, although the exterior isn’t really amazing. The interior, especially the ceiling, was amazing! The artwork was beautiful, but the sculpted ceilings and walls were so detailed. I can’t believe they did all of that by hand!
• Mozart’s birth house – there is a museum there that tells about his family life, and has some original artifacts, letters from him, and one of his harpsichords. Very cool.
• Hellbrunn Palace in Salzburg – The palace wasn’t that great, but the Trick Fountains around it were hilarious. Apparently the archbishop who built it had a sense of humor, and would surprise his guests while out walking in his garden with hidden fountains of water. It is all natural, built near a spring that still supplies water to the fountains today. Most fun tour of a palace ever!
• Hohensalzburg Fortress – Original fort on the hill, and had a great view of Salzburg
• Vienna Haus der Musik – Music museum which included exhibits on the great Viennese composers, and where I got to conduct the Viennese Orchestra.
• Vienna Boys Choir – this was something I was really excited about. We ended up seeing them in a Mass on Sunday morning, and I loved it.
• Boat Tour along the Danube – not recommended. Mostly we just saw graffiti along the walls. But it was nice to get off our feet, since we were walking everywhere.
• Speaking of walking, the public transport in Germany and Austria were awesome, and easy to figure out. Subways, buses, and trains! Who needs a car?

We will give you more information when we get home about all of our travels but we are killing time while our clothes are in the wash. Hilton Garden Inn, thank you for having a washer and dryer so we do not have to use the sink.

Sorry our writing is so weird, we are using a foreign keyboard, and there is no apostrophe. And no °at° sign, and apparently no quotes…

Peyton Manning Is Amazing

Andrea just told me very depressing news. I am scheduled to fly to Hawaii for work on Super Bowl Sunday. I will be flying when the game is on. I am so sad and I didn’t even realize it until right now. I am not going to be able to see my hero Peyton Manning beat the pants off the N’awlins Saints. And I am not going to see Austin Collie (BYU almost-alum) win a Super Bowl in his rookie season. Looks like I am going to have to bit torrent the game and watch it on my computer. This stinks.

At least I can eat pancakes with coconut syrup while I watch to ease the pain!

Zac went on his 2nd to last business trip of the year, so we are excited about that! He was in Chicago, and next week he’ll be in Newark, NJ. After that, he’s homefree for the rest of the year! I wanted to come with him and spend a few days in NYC, but it was too last minute and I wasn’t sure how comfortable I’d be, traveling from Newark to NYC everyday, alone, and with a baby. Maybe next time.

I’m still teaching piano and voice lessons, and really enjoying it! I also love spending time with Adelyn and watching her learn new things every day. She is such a talker! She can say “Addie”, “Daddy”, “Mommy”, “Bottle” (sounds more like “body”), “Baby”, “Wow”, and “Hi”. And she still gives those slobbery kisses. She actually kissed a boy yesterday at church. Isn’t that where it always starts?! Good thing we like him and his parents:)

Here are some pictures of our little angel:

The day started out rainy and cold. The race was delayed about an hour because some of the bike race roads were under water. Dangerous for road bikes… We didn’t prepare for cold rainy weather but we did our best. Notice the baby in a trash bag poncho / blanket in every photo. We were trying to keep her lips from turning blue. It rained all day and it turned the whole park into a red mud pit. Needless to say we were wet, tired, and covered in red mud at the end of the day.

Even though the weather was poor my Dad had a great race. He took second place in his age group and was 15th overall in his event. Not too bad for a “Big Guy” (that is what every one called him as he passed, “Good Job Big Guy!”) and for his first triathlon type event. Congratulations Dad, and thanks for inviting us. Now we just need to get training for the next one! Maybe I will join you.