Tag: museums

Holocaust Museum in DC

Last winter I took a mini-break to Washington D.C. I have been twice before; once as a teenager and once with friends in 2000. I didn’t remember much so it was time for another visit.

Fortunately a great deal was found at Washington Plaza Hotel. I loved the view of the pool (that was too cold to use) and how close it was to things -> walking or by subway.

A friend who lives in DC recomends the Holocaust Museum. It is fairly new and supposed to be real informative. He did not lie. It was a very powerful exhibit of a dark time in human history.

When you enter the museum you take on a persona but you do not yet know if they are a victim or a survivor. You carry their story with you throughout the exhibit.

I was disappointed to learn how the United States failed the refugees. It is clear we could have done more to help but we didn’t.

Names of those who died are all along the windows.

What was most disturbing is reading how the history was laid out. Hitler and the holocaust didn’t just happen overnight. It happened slowly bit by bit. Little changes that eroded freedoms and livelihood of people. So many times where people could have stood up and say no; but not enough did because they thought there was no way it could get that bad. It is a lesson to all of us. Always stand up for injustices no matter how small people think they are.

Nuremburg

Today is the last day of sightseeing in Germany and we chose to spend it as a day trip to Nuremburg on the way back to Frankfurt.
When deciding where our our day trip would be, Nuremberg was on the list but with some hesitation. The only thing I knew about the town was Nuremberg trials and I feared that would consume the town. To our delight, Nuremberg was so much more and I wished we would have scheduled a night here to be able to see more.

We started of with an early train ride; well not that early. We ended up getting to the town about noon. We locked up our bags at the station and started our walk.

Always number one on our minds is food (well number 1 for me is where are the toilets because I always have to go). We find a cafe to have a little meal before we move on.

More sausages!

By the cafe there is a shopping area where craftsmen sell their unique items. I wanted to come back to buy some souvenirs but later forgot.

Craftsmen’s Courtyard

After some window shopping we walk through the old town. We pass some cafes and a monument to World War II refugees.

We visit to the St Lawrence Church (started 1360). Despite WW II the church survived mostly intact due partly to luck and pro-activeness in hiding and protecting precious parts.

After the church we wander around the town some more.

“Durer ” Rabbit

Finally we plan to visit the Germanic National Museum. Our map reading skills fail us because we end up going in circles. We eventually find it. We don’t have a ton of time left since we have a train to catch. We try to do the express version and finally towards the end I find the Durer works (but take no photos). The selection at the museum was pretty impressive. I would definitely schedule more than an hour or so here (unlike us).

We loved Nuremberg and definitely would have spent more time here. I will be sure to put it on the list to swing by again the next visit to Germany.
Now to catch the train back to Frankfurt.

London – Kensington Palace

During our last visit to London we stayed near Kensington Palace. Since we were so close I decided to add it to our itinerary.

The palace has housed royals since the 1600’s and now contains residences for current royals. Unfortunately they keep the tourist areas far from the royal apartments so no royal sightings for us.
The palace has a lovely garden that I am sure is even more beautiful in the spring and summer (we were there in the winter).

As part of the exhibit one gets to see many rooms of the palace but what I found more interesting was the dresses and royal items that they had for display.

The walls were filled with beautiful paintings as well.

Also great about this museum is the history of Queen Victoria’s reign on display here. She spent her whole life in the palace. A good amount of the exhibits were about her and her life in the palace.

These interesting dolls were on display as well.

Rooms were dedicated to childhood fantasies of the royals. This particular display was interesting.

Around the entrance there is a touch of modern art as well.

Gold is abundant in the decor and artwork throughout.

There was much more to see throughout so it is definitely worth a visit. I thoroughly enjoyed the house and the lessons in history that it contained. I hope to visit again to view the gardens in their glory.