A Somber Look into our World's Past

After the exciting overnight train into Krakow, we arrived to a beautiful day with warm sunshine, which was a welcome change from the cold rain. Our hostel, the Pink Flamingo, was about 200 yards from the Old Town Center and a perfect location for our stay. We decided to do another bike tour in Krakow as well.

The Bike Tour was very informative and we definitely saw more of Krakow on Bike than we would have thought to see. Of course, about 1 hour into the bike ride, it started to rain. Therefore, I really don't have any good pictures of this trip. We did manage to go by the Fire Spitting Dragon which is at the base of the castle:




















Krakow is also home of the film Schindler's List. About half of our tour was geared toward WWII and the takeover by the Nazi's. The story about Mr. Schindler and his factory and how he saved thousand's of lives from the concentrations camps is very moving.




















The next day, we went to Auschwitz which was about an hour or so by train away from Krakow. After spending 1 hour trying to find the bus to take us there, we ended up getting on the train instead.

I didn't take very many pictures while at the camp site. I just didn't feel as though it was appropriate. However, we did take a guided tour through the two camps, Auschwitz and Birkenau. Most of Aushwitz is still standing. The buidlings were made of brick and you can still get a feeling of what it must have felt like to stay there. Birkenau, however, as most of the buildings were made of wood, except for a few, were burned to the ground. Our tour guide's father in-law was a prisoner of Auschwitz and was liberated by the Russians. It was very neat to know that our tour guide had a deep respect for what she was telling us.















This is the train station that the train bringing prisoners the death camp of Birkenau passed through.















It's hard to describe your feelings and thoughts as you passed through the different buildings and looked at the different exhibits. Many of the displays showed the objects that the liberators found when they came to the camps: 4 tons of hair that was cut off of people who had died in the gas chambers; 40,000 pairs of shoes; eye glasses; luggage bearing the names of people who had died (and lived as we heard from our tour guide that a man who came back to the campsite saw his suitcase in teh display); pots and pans from families who thought that they were being moved to a "better life".

It's hard to beleive how one man can cause the entire world can have a face lift and change their thinking forcing the world to never be the same again.

Bed 33, Car 278

The train to Poland was everything and more than we expected. Now, Ted and I had never been in a sleeping car of an overnight train. So, not sure what to expect, we definitely did not expect what we got. 6 beds made of a soft plywood – stacked in a column of 3 with about 2.5 feet in between each bed in the stack and about 24 inches for a walkway in between the beds. Very exciting. A little cramped, but we’re family, right?

We started playing Cribbage..er…Cabbage and the next thing we know our door opened and another person walked in. Don’t remember his name..Cindy may though. He was from Brazil and was on the last leg of his European Vacation. He spoke very little English, but we managed to make it through with some short sentences.

After buying some water and beer for 1 Euro each from the Train Conductor, we arrived at the border in which the Passport Controllers came around to stamp our passports since we were leaving Germany. Now, nothing was said to our Brazilian roommate from the German controllers; however, once the Polish Controllers took a look at his passport, they noticed that he did not have a visa. They asked him to put his shoes on and grab his bag and jacket and then asked him to get off of the train. It was crazy….after he got off the train, every 30 seconds or so, you could see a few more security type guards walking outside towards the guy. Eventually there were like 15 men trying to figure out what to do. “How many Border Controllers does it take to tell a guy that he needs a visa to enter a country and then make him go back to Berlin?”

I suppose not speaking the language would make the situation a bit scary. He did say to us before he left our cabin, “I don’t care if I have to get off the train..I just care about my life.” So, I guess he wasn’t too disappointed that he was getting kicked off the train.

So, this Blog posting is a shout-out to the guy in Bed number 33, Train Car 278. Hope you made it back to Berlin and you were able to continue your journey.

A Glance into the Past

A few days after my arrival back in Bonn from Torino, March 25, my sister, Cindy, and her husband, Ted, flew into Germany for a whirlwind vacation. After lots of last-minute planning, we made our way to Berlin just a few hours after they arrived in Bonn. Cindy and I repacked our stuff thinking that it would be easier to share one bag, we grabbed the few kilos of Gummy Candy that I got from the Haribo store and made our way to the train station.

It was a long train ride...but we managed to fill our time by playing Cabbage..er..I mean Cribbage. However, after I learned about Ted's (and everyone else around him) love of Cabbage, I decided that Cribbage played with three people should be called Cabbage. It made for a fun trip. We arrived in Berlin, safe and sound...found our Hostel, tried to get ready for bed in the dark without making any noise and got ready for our next day.

Day 1: Bike Tour through Berlin
I had done a bike tour in Paris and thought that it was a good way to see a City. Both Ted and Cindy like bike riding, so we thought that it would be a good idea. Turns out..it was a great idea despite the fact that it rained most of the tour. Some sights along 4 hour tour:
1. Checkpoint Charlie: With its life-size poster of a US Soldier facing East and on the other side, a Russian Soldier facing West, Checkpoint Charlie was the third border control. It was the most famous as it was the checkpoint that foreigners could pass through. The building is a reconstruction of the checkpoint that once stood. Notice on the left side of the checkpoint is The Museum of the Wall at Checkpoint Charlie. A museum that shows off all of the clever escapes that Germans attempted, and succeeded, at getting over, under and through the Wall.

2. The Berlin Wall: The Wall that was literally created over night and separated families for decades. Miles and miles of barbed wire fence which eventually turned into a 13-foot high wall with a 16-foot dtich and 300 Watch tours surrounding it. Over 100 miles long, the East German Government called it a "Anti-Fascist Protective Rampart." Although much of the Wall is gone now, bits and pieces remain. It's kind of funny, around one of the largest sections of the wall still standing, they had to build a "wall" around the Wall to keep people from chipping off pieces of history. What is left of the wall is a trail of bricks along the street. It's funny how some of the bricks demonstrating where the wall once stood run directly into the middle of houses. Another interesting fact: Notice the Black piping along the top of the wall. It was a gift from West Germany to help East Germany build sewer lines. However, as you can see, it wasn't used for it's intended purpose.














This tower is the last remaining guard tower that protected the wall. There is much controversy over the wall as many want to tear it down and then there are others who want to preserve history. It’s amazing how little is left of the WWII and Cold War era. So much has been destroyed as to not remind us what happened here so many years ago.









3. The Brandenburg Gate: A gate that was the entrance to the city of Brandenburg and the last surviving of 14 gates of Berlin’s old City Wall. This is the place where many of the famous televised shots of the joyous day when Berlin tore down the wall and opened its inner-city borders. What is sad is that the gate sat unused for more than 25 years.
4. The Berlin Chancellory: Also known as the Washing Machine

5. Reichstag Building: The German Parliament Building. In 1933 it was nearly burned to the ground. The Nazis made their last stand here, prolonging the war by 2 days. On April 30, 1945 it fell out of the Nazi’s hands and was taken by the allies. It was hardly used from 1933-1999 until it was given a face lift to remove any hit of Hitler, symbolizing the end of a terrible chapter in German History.

6. During our rainy, cold bike tour, we stopped and drank some Hot Tea. During our little break, we were told a story about where we were standing. It was directly above Hitler’s bunker, of course, which can no longer be seen. For all those history buffs, Hitler committed suicide and then one of his assistants set him on fire.

After the bike tour ended, of course it stopped raining. We made our back to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum and explored that for a few hours. Absolutely amazing the escapes that people would attempt and succeed at in order to West Germany. I suppose I will never be able to comprehend wanting to escape something so bad that you are willing to do anything and risk a punishment of death to get a better life. I suppose most of us take our freedoms for granted and will never be able to comprehend that desire and fear.

The next morning, we made our way to the Reichstag to summit the glass bubble on top of the building. Of course, right when we got to the Reichstag, it started raining. Go figure. After a rainy view from the top, we headed to the Jewish Museum which for the price was a wonderful display of Jewish History throughout the centuries. Very thought-provoking and interactive.

Next on the agenda was the Topography of Terror museum which was on the site of the Gestapo and SS buildings. Destroyed and turned to rubble, the rubble remains. Basically, this was the site where murder and terror were planned and organized. Very interesting and was a great beginning to the rest of our trip in Poland.

More Photos from Torino

USA Wins the Bronze Medal in Ice Sledge Hockey - 18 March 2006
















Me holding Anne Hart's Torch that she ran with during the Torch Run.















The Irish Igloo was the local establishment that I most frequented on my evenings out of the village in Sestriere.

















Stacy Miller from the USOC


















Me, Sarah Herbert (lawyer) and Andy (my boss)















Me and the WADA Outreach Team
















My favorite Pizza place that served Meter Long Pizzas
















Me, Anne Hart and Bjorn Hedman - Both of whom are on our Committees.

The 2006 Torino Paralympic Winter Games

Sestriere, Italy and the Italian Alps

I moved up to Sestriere, Italy on March 2nd. I was so excited to be in the mountains, which definitely reminds me of Colorado. The weather over the past two weeks has been absolutely gorgeous. Of course, we have had our days and evenings where the snow was falling, but you can't beat the bright blue skies and sunshine that has blessed the mountain events at the Paralympic Games.

The Opening Ceremonies were on March 10 in Torino at the same stadium that the Olympic Ceremonies were in. The ceremony was great. It was awesome to see every country walk in. My favorite part qas when the torch that was run into the stadium was passed from one member of each country to another so that it felt as though each country lit the torch. Unfortunately, none of my digital photos turned out very well. Hopefully, my disposable camera photos will be better. However, a big thanks to Nick Webborn for these Ceremony photos.
















It has been a lot of fun up in the moutains. With the smaller village, it has a much more intimate feeling than it does down in Torino. I've gotten to see some events since I've been up here as well. The Alpine Skiing Venue is not very far and I went and watched twice. It's absolutely amazing how the athetes can cruise down the mountain in either a sit ski, on one leg or blind at 50 + miles per hour. Unbelieveable. Again, thanks to Nick Webborn for some of these photos.

Alpine Skiing Finish Line





















These photos are from Salt Lake, but they give a general idea of the athletes that are coming down the hill at top speeds.














On my "day off" (March 12), I went to Torino with our two Lawyers, Graham and Sarah. They are both from London. We had a wonderful day just walking arond the city, sitting at cafes drinking wine or coffee and eating pizza. (Pizza is so good in this country). At the end of the day, Sarah and I went to the Ice Sledge Hockey Game where the USA was playing Japan. We won 3-0. However, the USA lost in the Semi Final Match and will be playing for a Bronze medal on Saturday. These pictures are some random photos of some ice sledge hockey games.
















The other day, Andy, my "boss", told me that I was to go skiing the next afternoon. It was great. The slopes here are little more difficult than I am I used to, but I was able to get down the mountain. It took me awhile on a few of the runs, but I made it and had a great time. The Italian Alps, although mountains, have a different "mystery" to them than the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.


Overall, my job has not yet been too stressful. It has been great working with all of our committee members and getting to meet the folks from the different National Paralympic Committees from around the world that I only know by email. I am learning something new everyday about Paralympics, which has added something special to my first Paralympic experience.

An Afternoon with the Movies

Hello from Sestriere, Italy.

I can't believe that I've been at the Paralympic Games for 2 weeks already. I really thought that I would have more time to keep my blog updated, but that has not proven to be the case. Good or Bad, not too much has happened. A short update:

March 1st
I arrived back from Venice with Lindsay and we checked into our glorious 4 Star Hotel which proved to be much better than what we had in Venice (See Posting: Walking with the Venetians). I didn't have much to do until our 7:30 meeting with the IPC, so Lindsay and I went to the La Mole Antonelliana which is a giant tower in Torino that statds above the city. The Tower has a glass elevator that that leads to the top for a beautiful lookout of the city. Unfortunately, when we were there, it was kind of hazy. Otherwise, I am sure we would have had a beautiful view of the mountains. The Glass Elevator reminded me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The Elevator was not enclosed in a shaft but was supported by cables that carried you up as you watched below.

On the bottom floors of the La Mole is the National Cinema Museum. Lindsay and I had a great time there as well. The Museum houses all kinds of relics from the Film Industry. It was funny, but most of the film displays that they had were from the US. One floor contained 'sets' that were kind of fun to pretend that you were apart of.

The Giant Refridgerator





















The Toilet Seat where you could watch a movie






















The Laboratory






















The Bar Fight
















After the museum, I headed back to the hotel where it was time for our meeting where we set a game plan for the next few days.

After a good nights sleep, it was time to head to Sestriere (The Mountains) for the next 3 weeks.