Vacation Spots

[Spiritof96]

Oktoberfest in Munich is a blast.

I've not been to Auschwitz but I did go to Dachau and the experience was unforgettable. It was incredibly eerie and affecting, almost as if the evil and cruelty of mass murder still hung in the air. I'm not doing it justice with that attempt to describe it. You just felt it in your bones. Chilling. You're basically walking through a village built for the sole purpose of perpetually murdering people after subjecting them to all kinds of degradation and dehumanization. It's sickening, not in the stomach-sickened way for which we usually use that word. I'm not explaining it well, but it was a place and experience and feeling I don't think I will ever forget.

I've been to Auschwitz, it's overwhelming. Found the gate inscription "Work will make you free" chilling. Seeing the ovens and walking into a gas chamber is almost too much to bear. Something about the concertina wire and dich system that remains is also incredibly sad.

I will say when I arrived a group of German high school kids on a field trip was leaving, a little too much jocularity on the part of the students for my taste.

The Eagles Nest in Berchtesgaden is also pretty grim. Like walking through the deserted halls of the administrative offices of hell.

I would recommend The Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. Patton is buried there.

[Old School]

I've been to Auschwitz, it's overwhelming. Found the gate inscription "Work will make you free" chilling. Seeing the ovens and walking into a gas chamber is almost too much to bear. Something about the concertina wire and dich system that remains is also incredibly sad.

I will say when I arrived a group of German high school kids on a field trip was leaving, a little too much jocularity on the part of the students for my taste.

The Eagles Nest in Berchtesgaden is also pretty grim. Like walking through the deserted halls of the administrative offices of hell.

I would recommend The Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. Patton is buried there.

I wish I were better able to articulate what it was like to visit a concentration camp.

Fortunately, when I was there, no one acted in any way like the German students you described. When leaving, everyone was silent.

My grandfather was in the Eagles Nest at the end of World War II. He was in the Army, and he wasn't among the first guys to get there, but he got there.

I would like to see a cemetery like the one you describe. My other grandfather was in the infantry in Europe during World War II and his best friend in that unit was killed in action next to him and is buried in a cemetery full of American servicemen in the Netherlands. My grandfather never got to see his grave, or that cemetery. I would like to someday. I have thought about contacting that servicemember's family, survivors, etc. I know where he lived, and his last name isn't that common. My grandfather told me in detail how he died, and I doubt his family knows. The details were gruesome and sad. His death occurred as they fought to capture what I understand was the second town on German soil taken by the Allies (Geilenkirchen). They were successful in capturing it.

[Spiritof96]

I wish I were better able to articulate what it was like to visit a concentration camp.

Fortunately, when I was there, no one acted in any way like the German students you described. When leaving, everyone was silent.

My grandfather was in the Eagles Nest at the end of World War II. He was in the Army, and he wasn't among the first guys to get there, but he got there.

I would like to see a cemetery like the one you describe. My other grandfather was in the infantry in Europe during World War II and his best friend in that unit was killed in action next to him and is buried in a cemetery full of American servicemen in the Netherlands. My grandfather never got to see his grave, or that cemetery. I would like to someday. I have thought about contacting that servicemember's family, survivors, etc. I know where he lived, and his last name isn't that common. My grandfather told me in detail how he died, and I doubt his family knows. The details were gruesome and sad. His death occurred as they fought to capture what I understand was the second town on German soil taken by the Allies (Geilenkirchen). They were successful in capturing it.

I would think the family would want to know even if it was bad. I so admire those men and what they endured... I'm told the US is responsible for the up keep of those European cemeteries and they do as good a job as you would expect. Seeing all those crosses together, really drives home the scale of the sacrifice.

[surveyor]

I'm in the same boat. I love hiking and camping, and kayaking, etc., but my wife isn't very into it. Any tips or advice?

I don't really have any that are unique. I take a small (50 oz) camelback with me hiking. I always like hitting the trails in the Smokys just after daylight so there's few to no people on the trail. On the Rainbow Falls - Bullhead Trail I usually encounter quite a few people in the summer on my way down from the Lodge. Late fall-early winter, not so much. I've encountered a bit of snow once I got above a certain elevation in the winter. The park recommends packing snow shoes just in case, if you're hiking in the winter. There may be no snow and 50° temps in Gatlinburg but upper 20s and a foot or more half way to the Lodge. Fortunately I've not been stuck in that predicament.

All of our kayaking has been limited to the gulf. We have a Sea Eagle SE 370 that we would take and traverse the coast (against the current near Fort Morgan, AL is a bear). I'd love to go camping in the back country in the Smokys, but the wife had enough camping growing up. Recently watching the movie "Back Country" sealed her decision to never go.

[Uncle Dave]

Growing up, my parents alway took my brother and me to Panama City and Myrtle Beach. Fun as a kid but it got old going there so much like we did. Went to Hilton Head on my honeymoon and it was extremely beautiful. Ton of stuff to do in Orlando but I didn't get to visit the beach there. Last year, I went to work in Fort Lauderdale for 4th of July weekend and I was sold. I want to go back to Fort Lauderdale for an actual vacation instead of work. Insanely nice.

BUT. My number one destination that I've been to and wouldn't hesitate to go back to is Seattle. Just an awesome awesome city. I would move there in a heartbeat if it wasn't so expensive.

My daughter moved to Seattle around 2003. She interned at a huge international law firm and then got hired on after she completed law school in Chicago, so I go several times a year to hang out and play with my grand kids. Very, very nice people, world class scenery, lots to see and do(Rainier, Puget Sound salmon fishing, drive down the Oregon coast), and just billions of great places to eat. As a matter of fact I'm headed there July 2 for a week. It is expensive. I could sell my house here in Louisville and I wouldn't have enough money to buy a tool shed there so I guess I'm just gonna hunker down here lol.

[uglyduckling]

My daughter moved to Seattle around 2003. She interned at a huge international law firm and then got hired on after she completed law school in Chicago, so I go several times a year to hang out and play with my grand kids. Very, very nice people, world class scenery, lots to see and do(Ranier, Puget Sound salmon fishing, drive down the Oregon coast), and just billions of great places to eat. As a matter of fact I'm headed there July 2 for a week. It is expensive. I could sell my house here in Louisville and I wouldn't have enough money to buy a tool shed there so I guess I'm just gonna hunker down here lol.

You ain't kidding about the cost. Good night lol

[CATHYnKY]

Am a beach person so anywhere with a beach is good for me. Some of my other favorite spots are Hawaii. Been there twice and never made it to Maui. NYC was a fav. So much to do. Yellowstone is somewhere I would like to go back. My son moved to Ft Collins, CO last summer. Expensive to get there. Won't drive again until hubby retires and we can take our time. Would like to go back to San Francisco. Have seen a lot of this US of A. Several places on my bucket list if the opportunity arises

[Old School]

I would think the family would want to know even if it was bad. I so admire those men and what they endured... I'm told the US is responsible for the up keep of those European cemeteries and they do as good a job as you would expect. Seeing all those crosses together, really drives home the scale of the sacrifice.

I think you're probably right. Unfortunately it has been one of those "one of these days, maybe" things, always falling behind other priorities.

This past weekend I put Band of Brothers back on for the first time in a few years. I love that, and also The Pacific. I've also been fascinated by reading what the surviving members of Easy Company did later in life.

At the start of that first DVD, in the first set of interviews with the survivors, one of them talks about how some of the kids who failed their physicals and were classified as 4F committed suicide because of their shame and disappointment in not being able to go fight for their country. Times sure have changed.

[Spiritof96]

I think you're probably right. Unfortunately it has been one of those "one of these days, maybe" things, always falling behind other priorities.

This past weekend I put Band of Brothers back on for the first time in a few years. I love that, and also The Pacific. I've also been fascinated by reading what the surviving members of Easy Company did later in life.

At the start of that first DVD, in the first set of interviews with the survivors, one of them talks about how some of the kids who failed their physicals and were classified as 4F committed suicide because of their shame and disappointment in not being able to go fight for their country. Times sure have changed.

Dick Winters is a hero of mine.... At least in my personal pantheon of modern Americans I admire.