As we look toward the upcoming holidays, I know a lot of us have planned a vacation over the break.
A while back, I saw that Lufthansa was having a crazy good deal from Denver to Stockholm for $495 RT. Naturally, I started booking my trip to Sweden (how do you pass up a deal like that?). Soon after booking my flight (back in October), I was able to convince my cousin and a close friend to join me. When we started planning the trip, we initially figured we'd spend most of our time in Stockholm, then maybe try visiting Copenhagen or Oslo. However, as the planning continued, we realized how much we wanted to visit northern Scandinavia in the hopes of catching the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) over New Year's Eve. Now our trip has evolved into the following (tentative) itinerary:
Day 1: Depart for Stockholm.
Day 2: Arrive in Stockholm and explore the city.
Day 3: Continued exploration of the city, then hop on the night train to Narvik, Norway
Day 4: Arrive in Narvik. Pick up the rental car and drive to Tromsø, Norway.
Day 5: (Also New Year's Eve) Seriously considering dog sledding, that is TBD. Spend NYE in Tromsø.
Day 6: Drive to Abisko, Sweden while aurora hunting.
Day 7: Visit the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi. More aurora hunting. Stay overnight in Abisko.
Day 8: Fly from Narvik to Oslo, Norway.
Day 9: Explore Oslo.
Day 10: Take the train from Oslo to Stockholm. Last night in Stockholm.
Day 11: Depart for the USA.
I, of course, will post an updated itinerary after the trip (with photos). I hope everyone has a great holiday break!!
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Itinerary for Holocaust in Europe Student Tour
12 Days | Netherlands | Germany | Poland | Czech Republic
"One of history's darkest moments takes on a poignant immediacy when you walk through the cities, towns, and buildings where the events occurred. At the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, the Jewish Museum in Berlin, in the Warsaw Ghetto, and at the camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau, you have the opportunity to recall the suffering, honor the victims, and celebrate the liberation (EFTours)."
Tentative Itinerary:
Day 1: Fly overnight to Amsterdam
Day 2: Amsterdam
"One of history's darkest moments takes on a poignant immediacy when you walk through the cities, towns, and buildings where the events occurred. At the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, the Jewish Museum in Berlin, in the Warsaw Ghetto, and at the camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau, you have the opportunity to recall the suffering, honor the victims, and celebrate the liberation (EFTours)."
Tentative Itinerary:
Day 1: Fly overnight to Amsterdam
Day 2: Amsterdam
- Meet your Tour Director at the airport in Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, known for its artistic heritage and elaborate canal system.
- Take a walking tour of Amsterdam.
- Go on a cruise through the canals of Amsterdam.
Day 3: Amsterdam
- Visit the Anne Frank House, where the Jewish wartime writer, Anne Frank, composed her famous diary. During WWII, Anne Frank hid from Nazi persecution with her family and four others in the hidden "secret annex" at the back of her father's warehouse.
- Additional activities TBD
Day 4: Berlin
- Travel by train to Berlin, the vibrant capital of reunified Germany.
- Take a walking tour of Berlin to explore how the city has been transformed since the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the vital role the city now plays in the European Union.
Day 5: Berlin
- Take an expert-led tour of Berlin: Brandenburg Gate; Kurfürstendamm.
- Photo stop at Checkpoint Charlie
- Visit the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
- Visit the Jewish Museum
Day 6: Warsaw
- Travel by train to Warsaw.
Day 7: Warsaw
- Take a walking tour of Warsaw and the Warsaw Ghetto, including the Warsaw Ghetto Monument.
- Visit the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
Day 8: Krakow
- Travel to Krakow, the only major Polish city to escape devastation during World War II, leaving the beautiful architecture of its Old Town intact.
- Take an expert-led tour of Krakow.
Day 9: Krakow
- Take a somber visit to the concentration camps at Auschwitz and Birkenau. Now the site of a memorial museum, you can view a film about the horror of Auschwitz and Hitler's Third Reich here. Before you leave, observe a moment of remembrance for the six million victims of the Holocaust.
Day 10: Prague
- Travel to charming Prague, and encounter the legendary beauty of the former capital of the Holy Roman Empire. Here, you'll discover how the city gracefully balances classical features with a lively, bohemian spirit.
Day 11: Prague
- Take an expert-led tour of the city. Walk the quaint cobbled streets of the Mala Strana and visit the 13th-century Stare Mesto and Market Square. Here you'll see the famous 15th-century astronomical clock.
- Visit St. Vitus Cathedral to continue celebrating the art and architecture of the City of One Hundred Spires.
- Visit the Golden Lane
Day 12: Depart for home
(Pictures from when I traveled with my mom last April)
(Pictures from when I traveled with my mom last April)
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Changing up the Blog
As I'm sure you have already noticed, it has been years since I've used this blog for my classroom. When we made the switch to Google Classroom, I never really needed it anymore. However, I have found a new purpose for it.
People who know me personally, know that I spend each one of my school breaks traveling. In just the past two years, I've been to Greece, Austria, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, and the Czech Republic. I've even been to Mexico a ridiculous seven times. Overall, I've been to 14 countries in the last 10 years.
Now, to people who do "business" for a living, that may seem pathetic, but to a teacher, it is all I've worked for to be able to accomplish that list. Traveling is what I quite literally live for. Teachers, as you know, are one of the most underpaid professions. I'm constantly being asked, "are you sure you're just a teacher?" Then I find myself going through my whole schpeel on how I'm able to afford all of these trips. I will save that for another blog entry.
Anyway, to set a new purpose for this blog: I will be using this from here on out to talk about: my travels, itineraries, planning for trips, and most importantly education-based travel.
My students will be referencing this blog as we plan ahead for our June 14-June 25 Holocaust in Europe trip, led by EF (Education First) tours.
Last April, I took my mother on a trip (during spring break) to "walk in the footsteps of Anne Frank". In 7th grade Language Arts, one of our units is dedicated to the Holocaust and The Diary of Anne Frank. Reading about it is one thing, but seeing the actual locations these horrors took place is another. After a couple of years of teaching it, I knew I wanted to visit the various locations throughout Europe to gain a deeper understanding of World War II and the Holocaust. I will post a full itinerary of that trip in my next post. Basically, our trip went as follows: the Anne Frank Huis in Amsterdam, Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp Memorial (north of Hannover, Germany), Topography of Terror Museum and Memorial to the Murdered Jews in Berlin, and finally spent a couple of non-heavy days in Prague. We had planned to go to Auschwitz-Birkenau outside of Krakow, Poland, but there was an unseasonable snow storm hitting that area of Poland, so it didn't work out.
That trip taught me so much more than a book ever could. Going there, seeing the actual places of terror, it left an imprint on my soul. It's a very humbling experience that only seeing it in person can do. After that trip, I thought to myself I have to take my students here.
So...that is what I am doing. As mentioned above, I will be taking students on an educational tour dedicated to WWII and the Holocaust. We will be visiting:
People who know me personally, know that I spend each one of my school breaks traveling. In just the past two years, I've been to Greece, Austria, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, and the Czech Republic. I've even been to Mexico a ridiculous seven times. Overall, I've been to 14 countries in the last 10 years.
Now, to people who do "business" for a living, that may seem pathetic, but to a teacher, it is all I've worked for to be able to accomplish that list. Traveling is what I quite literally live for. Teachers, as you know, are one of the most underpaid professions. I'm constantly being asked, "are you sure you're just a teacher?" Then I find myself going through my whole schpeel on how I'm able to afford all of these trips. I will save that for another blog entry.
Anyway, to set a new purpose for this blog: I will be using this from here on out to talk about: my travels, itineraries, planning for trips, and most importantly education-based travel.
My students will be referencing this blog as we plan ahead for our June 14-June 25 Holocaust in Europe trip, led by EF (Education First) tours.
Last April, I took my mother on a trip (during spring break) to "walk in the footsteps of Anne Frank". In 7th grade Language Arts, one of our units is dedicated to the Holocaust and The Diary of Anne Frank. Reading about it is one thing, but seeing the actual locations these horrors took place is another. After a couple of years of teaching it, I knew I wanted to visit the various locations throughout Europe to gain a deeper understanding of World War II and the Holocaust. I will post a full itinerary of that trip in my next post. Basically, our trip went as follows: the Anne Frank Huis in Amsterdam, Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp Memorial (north of Hannover, Germany), Topography of Terror Museum and Memorial to the Murdered Jews in Berlin, and finally spent a couple of non-heavy days in Prague. We had planned to go to Auschwitz-Birkenau outside of Krakow, Poland, but there was an unseasonable snow storm hitting that area of Poland, so it didn't work out.
That trip taught me so much more than a book ever could. Going there, seeing the actual places of terror, it left an imprint on my soul. It's a very humbling experience that only seeing it in person can do. After that trip, I thought to myself I have to take my students here.
So...that is what I am doing. As mentioned above, I will be taking students on an educational tour dedicated to WWII and the Holocaust. We will be visiting:
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Berlin, Germany
- Warsaw, Poland
- Krakow, Poland
- Prague, Czech Republic
(I will post a full itinerary of this trip as well.)
All of this being said, welcome to the new blog and I hope you enjoy it! Students...get excited, we're going to Europe!
Keukenhof Gardens, Netherlands
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