Kraków's Wawel Hill

This is a distant shot of Wawel Hill (pronounced VAH-vehl)

It is considered a symbol of Polish royalty and independence.  From the beginning of Poland's recorded history a castle has stood here, making this the most visited sight in

An Evening Down the Royal Way in Kraków, Poland

This is the 'Royal Way' path, where the King followed when he returned home to Kraków after a journey, or when a King was crowned or buried.

Auschwitz-Birkenaus, Poland

Between 1941 & 1945, the most notorious concentration camp for the Nazi's was here.  

Auschwitz actually has two parts: Auschwitz I, in the village of Oświęcim, and Auschwitz II, or Birkenau.   Auschwitz I is where there are indoor museum exhibits in all the former prison buildings.  Auschwitz II, or Birkenau, has no museums, it is just the concentration camp (or what remains).

Before WWII this camp was a base for the Polish army - that explains why it was here and why Hitler didn't have to build it, he just took it over.  In 1942 it became a death camp.  At the time of liberation, at least 1.1 million people had been murdered here (960,000 of those were Jews).

The saying below "Arbeit Macht Frei" translates into Work Sets you Free.  Check out the letter B and how it was welded on upside down.  It was welded on by inmates, exercising their own rebellion about what was happening to them!

Above are just some of the buildings.  Each building has

An Hour in Kutná Hora, Czech Republic

If you ever want visit Prague and you looking for a quick side trip - our kids LOVED this one!  

THE SEDLEC BONE CHUCH

400 years ago some monks decided that there needed to be a reminder that the church was and is a community for the living as well as the dead.   

The entrance to the Church: It costs 50 Kč each

Wandering around Würzburg

Würzburg's Residenz Palace

For more information go here:

http://www.residenz-wuerzburg.de/

We bought tickets and did a self-guided tour of the North Palace, then exited the building and then entered again to see the Chapel.  It was really pretty!

Beaune, France our Last Stop

This is the Hôtel Dieu in Beaune, France, once used as a Medieval charity hospital.  In 1443 the chancellor of Burgundy, Nicholas Rolin, paid to build this hospital to save his tax paying citizens from the plague (the Black Plague).

It was plain looking on the outside to avoid attention, especially from looters.  But the inside is colorful, and beautiful!    I love the colorful tile roof-top - I guess that is what is called "Burgundian" style. 

Avignon, France

AVIGNON, France

(ah-veen-yohn)

The city where there was a 2nd Pope for 68 years (1309-1377).

The Palace Square with the Palace of the Popes, the Petit Palais, and the Cathedral (pictured below).  In the 1300's the Catholic Church had their headquarters moved from Italy to here, Avignon, France ... cardinals and residences.  With the pope in France, the Italians demanded a pope.  So in 1378 they got a pope ... and then there were two.  Nothing like two cities and two countries battling for where and which Pope to follow.  Avignon, France vs Rome, Italy.  The Cathedral, below, is Avignon's cathedral. 

Arles, France

ARLES, France

(pronounced 'arl')

This was the perfect city to spend the night it - perfect jumping off point to Pont du Gard, Orange, Les Baux, Avignon, and others

We just so happened to come during a market day and it was perfect.  For breakfast we got a baguette and cheese and pretended we were locals who did this everyday!  I love French cheese and I don't think I'll ever be able to eat an American baguette again!  I have been so spoiled!

Republic Square (Place de la République)

The lions at the base of the obelisk are the cities slogan (kind of) "the gentle lion".

Behind the obelisk, in the corner, is St. Trophime Church

Castle Ruins in Les Baux, France

LES BAUX

The "Dead City" Castle Ruins

These castle ruins completely caught us off guard.  They were fascinating and the kids LOVED running around all over them for hours.  The city, Les Baux, is carved out of rock!  It sits 650 feet above a valley!  To say that I was slightly nervous that my children were going to fall off the edge is an understatement - I was terrified!!  Especially with DANGER signs everywhere and one thin little metal rod to keep someone from falling that my kids were using as a swing.  

Roman Ruins

We have a little bit of an obsession when it comes to Roman ruins - we LOVE them!  My husband loves the genius behind the engineering and how much work went into making their buildings perfect. 

PONT DU GARD

This aqueduct was fascinating to us and we probably spent too much time here  :)

Here are the facts: It was built around 19 B.C. -- Supplied 9 million gallons of water per day to the city of Nîme (about 100 gallons per second --  Dropped only one inch for every 350 feet -- The bridge is about 160 feet high and originally was 1,100 feet long -- 12 arches are missing, reducing the length to 790 feet -- The main arch is the largest the Romans ever built, being 80 feet --

Beynac in the Dorgogne Valley

BEYNAC

(bay-nak)

From Sarlat and the Lascaux II caves we drove out here to Beynac.  This little town in the middle of nowhere was by far one of my favorite towns.  The entire town is made of stone.  We basically just wandered around and soaked in France.  The streets went straight up in areas and our kids thought it was a riot!  I loved how old everything was, but so well maintained, and how quaint it was.

At the top of the town looking down the street towards the Château of Beynac.

Sarlat, France

SARLAT

(sar-lah)

This is where we stayed the night when entering the Dordogne Valley.  We walked around this quaint little town before heading out to see the Cro-Magnon caves.

Unfortunately, the Grotte de Font-de-Gaume was closed so we headed to see Lascaux II.  Grotte de Font-de-Gaume is the last one in France with prehistoric paintings still open to the public.  Lascaux II is a replica (a very good replica) of the original Lascaux caves.

For more information about Grotte de Font-de-Gaume go here:

www.fontdegaume@monuments-nationaux.fr

For more information about Lascaux II go here:

http://www.semitour.com/

Now on with Sarlat - a no-traffic, no power-line, city!

Remember Catherine de Médicis, who was the queen of France and owned the Château of Chenonceau?  The Italian bishop here in Sarlat was her boyfriend.  He was Italian and influenced the towns architecture ... it looks a lot like Italy here.

The above picture is the Lantern of the Dead, the oldest monument in town (1147).  It stands as gratitude to St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who educated the people on hygiene during a plague where 1,000 people (out of 4,000) died.

Château Chenonceau in Amboise

This Château, Château Chenonceau, is the grand daddy of Château's in the Loire part of France.  Of course, this was the only one we explored (we had 5 kids in tow, remember?)

For more info. go here:

http://www.chenonceau.com/

Above is the view you get just walking up to the Château ... I love this little couple holding hands

Mont-Saint Michel

Mont St. Michel

This abbey is one of the top four pilgrimage sites in Christendom through the ages ... we were just really excited to be seeing Rapunzels Kingdom from Tangled (or where it was inspired).

For more information about the abbey and hours go here:

www.ot-montsaintmichel.com

I kind of fell in love with this little town built around the abbey!  They stuffed

Bayeux, France

BAYEUX

If you can, try to walk around this little town at night.  It was really neat!!  Especially the cathedral in town!! The picture below was our first sight of Bayeux - exactly what I pictured a little town in France to look like.

The next morning we walked around town and saw more of picturesque Bayeux, France

Normandy Sites

D-Day Sites

I seriously regret not being able to spend more time here - next time though ... right?

We started our tour on the cliffs above Arromanches, France.  There is an Arrmanches 360* Theater with a picture/music movie that puts the images of WWII into your mind and what historical events took place here.  Below the cliff in the distance is Port Winston's Artificial Harbor which is 4 miles long.  They linked these together to make a floating road where soldiers placed anti-aircraft guns on top in order to protect the port.  To give you an idea of how effective this was - within 6 days of it's operation 54,000 vehicles, 326,000 troops, and 110,000 tons of goods had crossed the English Channel successfully.  I still can't really comprehend it all.

Next Stop -- WWII Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial