Europe 2008

Since Derek & Nicole decided to get married in both the United States and Germany Alicia and I thought it would be fun to plan a vacation around the German wedding. We departed Minneapolis on Thursday August 7th and planned a trip that would include London, Dublin, Berlin, smaller German cities and Prague. We returned to Minneapolis the evening of Wednesday August 20th. Since this was both of our first times in Europe we were very excited. We had a great time and took lots of pictures. Here are some of them...

London

Big Ben with The London Eye in the background and Parliament in the foreground

Me standing in front of Admiralty Arch. This was only a couple of blocks from our hotel.
Houses of Parliament
Me (the giant) standing in one of the many wee English pubs we visited
Buckingham Palace

Overall London was our favorite place. The weather was cold and overcast for most of our visit but we really enjoyed ourselves. We hope to visit again in the near future and plan much more time to see the city. Oh yeah - and we'll pack much warmer clothes.


Dublin

The River Liffey that runs through the heart of Dublin.

Campanile and Trinity College courtyard

Me standing in front of Christ Church (built in 1030)
The gates leading to the Guinness Brewery (built in 1759)
A view of Dublin (from the Guinness Brewery Pub)
Jameson Whiskey Distillery

Inside a typical Irish pub

They say that Guinness tastes different in Ireland. They are right! That's a tasty beverage. All in all Dublin was super fun. We enjoy the sites and the friendly people. We would definitely go back.

Berlin

Me standing in front of the East Side Gallery which is the inner portion of the Berlin Wall. This is the only stretch of the wall that still stands. It is used as an artistic view of what the wall used to be.

The Reichstag Building - built in 1894 and housed the first parliament of the German Empire.
The Berlin Cathedral
Checkpoint Charlie - this is what you read before you cross from West Berlin into East Berlin.

We took a day trip 45 minutes outside Berlin to Potsdam, Germany. This is Heather, Donnie and Alicia at Park Sanssouci in Potsdam.

Park Sanssouci windmill
Schloss Sanssouci at Park Sanssouci in Potsdam
Of course we consumed MANY German beers!

From Berlin we took a train to Waldenburg, Germany. This is the city in which Derek and Nicole would get married, again. Chad, Liz, Jarvy, Kelsey and Justin joined Donnie, Heather, Alicia and I there. The first night we were in town Nicole's family had all of us over for dinner. Pictured below are the guys getting reacquainted with one another.

Heather, Nicole, Marina (Nicole's German friend) and Alicia

Derek and Justin mocking the Wep's girls
After we left the Wep's house we headed to our cabins for an after party. Here are Donnie, Nicole, Derek and I stopping for a photo opportunity.
Time for the wedding, site - Waldenburg Castle
Alicia and I before the wedding
Nicole & Derek after the ceremony preparing for the champagne toast.

It is a tradition to have the bride and groom saw a log in half to show teamwork in their first task together. I think their first task was a little more difficult then they anticipated.
Another German tradition included a race to cut out half of a heart drawn on a bed sheet. Nicole got the big scissors and Derek got ones that were intended for an infant. Of course Nicole won the race. After they both finished cutting Derek carried Nicole through the heart. I think that meant something but I'm not sure.
Instead of a guestbook, guests had their picture taken with their faces inside this picture frame. Looks like I missed the memo detailing the need to smile.
Derek, Monica (Derek's mom) and I during the reception.

Germany was the most fun place we visited but we put it in a different category than London, Dublin and Prague due to the amount of time we spent there and the amount of friends we knew. Alicia and I are looking forward to going back in 2010!

Prague

Sunset on the River Vltava

Me standing by the famous "Piss" Sculpture. Needs no explanation.
Prague skyline
Wallenstein Palace and Gardens
Wallenstein Grotesquery (Dripstone Wall)

Prague's famous Astronomical Clock. This clock does a little dancer every hour with the 12 apostles dancing, death ringing a bell and a rooster doing who knows what.

The Dancing House
Alicia and I looking over southern Prague
Crazy Freud sculpture. Yes he is hanging off a building.
Amazing shot of Wenceslas Square at night
Prague was absolutley breathtaking. It's amazing what a city can look like when it has been untouched by war. The weather in Prague was much nicer as well. It felt good to wear shorts. Also - 24 Koruna ($1.50) bought a half liter of beer. Sign me up!

Europe was a great experience. Congrats to Derek & Nicole on their second wedding. Alicia and I truly can't wait to go back to see all our friends (old and new). Hopefully it doesn't take us another 29 years to get there again.