Debbie and Thurston Part Three

 *This post is about my mom and nephew's trip to Germany. The following will be their account of what we did and how they felt.*

Thurston's thoughts are written in red. 

Saturday 7/5 Went to Rutesheim rope course where Josh, Joslyn and Thurston went on these crazy things.  Lots of trees with different kinds of difficulty using ropes, nets, rock climbing and even a skateboard.  They climb to a platform and have to cross to the other side doing these things.  Lots of balance was needed. They all had a blast. Joslyn led the way and she was so brave. Thurston had lots of fun too and naturally Josh was enjoying it too.
The rope course was very interesting...I had a rough time on the climbing wall but I made it over.  I loved the zip lines. Keeping my balance I did good on.

Sunday 7/6 Went to Birkenkopf also known was Rubble Hill. In WWII 40-50% of Stuttgart was bombed leaving so much rubble they had to move it all somewhere. The area they placed it at turned into a big hill of rubble. It is now a 1,676 ft monument containing an equivalent of more than 14 Empire State buildings in cubic meters. On the summit there is a steel cross and views of the whole city center. 

Alethea had told me that Stuttgart is full of ticks so every time we ventured out we took showers and checked.  They had never had a problem…well…..at church that evening Alethea found a baby one on Kyla’s head! Josh got it off and they saved it so when they get her to the doctor tomorrow it will be tested.

After church we went back to the German restaurant and I got to have the great Schnitzel but this time with a baked potato.  They have the best sour cream type mix on the potato and they put lots on.  It was soooo good.

Monday 7/7  Dachau Concentration Camp – Two hours to just walk around, read the signs and listened to recordings.  We still didn’t see everything.  There were some pretty graphic areas so either Josh or Alethea would keep one or all of the kids outside. It is hard to imagine the pain these people endured. It was a great opportunity to answer the questions that Joslyn or Thurston came up with. 

Entrance the prisoners took to enter Dachau. The gate says, ""Arbeit macht frei" which translates to "work makes you free."

 Sculpture with bodies intertwined with barbed wire.

A memorial with the following inscription in eight languages:

 "May the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933 and 1945 because they resisted Naziism help to unite the living in the defence of peace and freedom and in respect for their fellow man."

Tues 7/8 Last day to do anything so we went to Sensapolis.  It was a huge indoor park with big slides, a castle that had many rooms and even secret ones.  A very high ropes course, high zip line and climbing wall.  Thurston seemed to be enjoying the slides but wanted to try the zip line.  Joslyn was enjoying the climbing wall and Kyla was always in the castle.  We spent hours there which tired the kids out..yeah!!
I enjoyed the speed of this zip line.  The big slides were awesome.

For dinner I tried another favorite meal – Doner & fries with a creamy white, yogurt sauce.  Döner is some kind of meat, yes that is how Alethea and Josh explaned it to me, shaved and grilled. They put it over the fries and put the sauce over it all.  I had to admit I was a bit scared to try it but it was delicious.  It’s a Turkish meal.