Molly's European Travels

                           While in Germany I was able to go to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews in Europe. When we were talking at the edge of the monument at the beginning I thought it looked big but not too big. It wasn’t until I found myself walking through the paths that I realized how big of an area this monument covers. I can not believe that each stone represents the deaths of 3 9/11s. When I heard this and then saw how many stones there were, my heart hurt. It is so sad to think about all the lives that were lost due to someone's terribly wrong decisions. I feel like the taller stones in the middle represent how the more you learn about the history of this terrible time, the more you feel overwhelmed and like you can't breathe. The looming stones represent how this tragedy looms over Germany and the world. I pray that nothing like this ever happens again.       This monument has deep historical and cultural importance. This monument represents a terrible time in histo

     My Berlin women of choice blog is about Luise Greger She was an amazing piano player. Professor M. McFardland told us that she was 6 when she started playing and by the age of only 10 she played for the Zar of Russia!! That is absolutely insane. She even started composing music at age 12. I can't imagine doing those things at such a young age. Luise made her money from playing. Eventually she became old and wasn't able to perform anymore so she moved into an old folks home. It was around this time that the Nazi’s came up with the idea of killing anyone they thought was useless to society. This included elders and people with disabilities. Despite being a brilliant player, Luise was euthanized. Someone else thought she had no more value and therefore killed her. This is so terrible, I can’t believe that humans thought they had the right to do this. She was in her 80’s when this happened to her. Her life ended unjustly.       To be honest… I don’t think she made a big cont

     While we were in Paris some of my friends and I went to a jazz club. I loved this experience so much!! There was a dimly lit upstairs where you could get food and sit in comfy booths, and a small downstairs room with live musicians, nice places to sit, and room to dance. Well actually there wasn't much room to dance when we were there because it was packed!!! The band we saw perform was incredible. I am not a huge jazz person but watching them play made me love it! The vibes in that room were so good. Everyone was cramped together enjoying great music. The bottom floor architecture was so cool. It was like a cave that had been hollowed out. The walls were stone and they had it lit with orange lights which gave it such a nice glow. I literally loved this experience and look forward to keeping it as a special memory.       After doing some research I was able to find that Caveau de la Huchette has some great cultural significance. One way it is culturally significant is that man

     Y esterday we had the opportunity to go to the Käthe Kollwitz museum in Berlin. Käthe Kollwitz was an amazing artist who had a very distinct style, it was like nothing I had ever seen before. Along with going to the museum I was able to learn more about her! From a young age she had great artistic talent and so she was able to work alongside a good artist. One fact about her that I loved was that her family didn’t want her to get married because they were scared she wasn't going to be able to do her art anymore. Her husband made sure that this didn’t happen when they got married by doing more of the household work! I like that she found a man that didn’t dull her shine and make her hide her talent. Käthe Kollwitz had some very depressing events happen in her life and you can see them translate into her art. It was very sad to see them.      I think that Käthe’s style of art was a big contribution. She depicted real life things, hard things, not just sunshine and rainbows. Peop

     On our walking tour yesterday we stopped outside of Humboldt University of Berlin. While we were stopped we got to talk about Lisa Mintier because her statue was just inside the gate! Here are some of the things I learned from Professor M. McFarland! She was born in Austria and was the 2nd woman to graduate in physics. She ended up moving to Berlin because it was the only place where she would be given a lab. This “lab” was literally a woodworking shop. Yikes. One of my favorite facts I learned about her was that despite being given this crappy lab, she still went on to be one of the only two women to have a periodic element named after her. Lise discovered nuclear fission with her partner Otto Hahn. Otto Hahn ended up winning the Nobel prize, but of course Lise didn’t. Classic. Throughout her life, Lise was nominated 49 times but never won. This is crazy to me. I wonder if she would have won in today's world. Lise sounds like a very cool woman to me and I am very glad I had t

     This day was so snazz! We got to go to the Skansen Open Air Museum which is this giant area full of things to do and see. While I was walking around I saw cute little old fashion houses and barns. When I saw these it made me think of my ancestors. I have quite a few Swedish ancestors so It got me thinking about if any of them ever lived in houses that looked like these. I also saw a cute merry go round that was so colorful and fun and just reminded me of my childhood. Sammy and I were talking about the simple joys that children have and it made me miss it. Going along with the simple joys, we went into an aquarium and I did feel like a kid haha. I love the Ocean so the other girls had to drag me out of there. I loved this place!       I think the Skansen museum is important both historically and culturally. Cultrailly, it is a place where people can gather, practice/see some of their culture that is no longer a part of day to day life. I wish desperately that the USA had some cult