They have the tunnel, Harry, outlined from where the entrance was in the barracks to where the exit was.
As you walk through the woods you encounter remains with signs posted in Polish and ENglish, describing what the building was and it's significance during the camp's use. Here we are at the "cooler", where prisoners were kept in solitary confinement for 30 days if they were found trying to escape.
It was kind of like a treasure hunt to find the next sign and building.
A detailed sketch of tunnel Harry (you can double click the image to enlarge it):
The entrance:
The water tank, in case there was a fire:
Kurt lying down on the tunnel outline. It would've been a pretty tight fit! :)
The remains of the hut where tunnel "Tom" was located: 
After seeing the camp in Poland, we drove into Berlin, where we spent the next two days:
Part of the Berlin Wall. All over the city, pieces have been painted to depict the tyranny surrounding the people, when the wall was up. 
The buildings once used as the Gestapo headquarters and the SS central command.
Just staring up at the cold, gloomy buildings is enough to make you shudder.
There were 7 designated checkpoints between East and West Berlin. When the wall came down in 1990, a contest was held to choose artists to build memorials at each of the 7 sites. Here we are at Checkpoint Charlie, the only site where Allies and foreigners could cross between 1961 and 1990, which has been redesigned as an American army guardhouse with a lamp that is constantly lit. There is a replica of the famous sign saying "You are now leaving the American Sector" still posted. There are also enlarged photos of an American soldier and a Soviet soldier staring across the street from each other.
At Checkpoint Charlie, you could pay to get your passport stamped with the original stamps used at the checkpoint. I took this photo so I would remember what each stamp in our passports was for. 
There are many pictures in Berlin that crush your heart. Pictures about the Berlin wall and about the Holocaust and Nazi persecution. This photo was in the Museum at Checkpoint Charlie, illuminating the division of East and West Berlin. This city has been through so much heartache in history.
The "Konzerthaus" (Concert house), which was so badly destroyed during the war that it has since been torn down and rebuilt: 
The "Berliner Dom" (Berlin Cathedral): 
TV Tower (tallest structure in Berlin) and the Rotes Rathaus, which is Berlin's mayor's office:
King Frederick the Great's statue outside Humboldt University where Marx and Engels studied and where Einstein taught. Across the street is Babelplatz, the site of the first official Nazi book burning.
As some of you may know, Kurt is not very excited about photos... but he asked for the camera to take about 5 pictures of this car. Mind you, these are the only pictures he took in all of Berlin. "I wonder if they allow test drives..." - Kurt 
Brandenburg Gate in Pariser Platz, the only surviving one of Berlin's original 18 city gates:
The Reichstag, home to the German Parliament and the site of many significant events in German and world history: 
"Wings and Weapons", the Victory Column built in 1864: 
Schloss Charlottenburg, palace of the Prussian Queen: 
While most of Berlin and Europe has been rebuilt since the end of WWII, some reminders, such as this church with it's destructed building and missing steeple still exist. 
This is the Holocaust Memorial. Like the Holocaust, the memorial doesn't make any sense. Plain slabs of concrete, various sizes, no names or dates but overwhelming numbers. Fitting, isn't it? The actual memorial is underground, another feature that adds to the pyschoanalysis of the memorial. It features the timeline of events including horrifying photos and letters from the ghettos and their "liquidations", concentration camps and stories of individuals and families and what happened to them. It was overwhelming and sobering, to say the least... like your heart is in the pit of your stomach. How people could participate in and justify this, I will never understand. "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference" - C.S. Lewis 
While in Berlin, we visited the site of the Memorial to the German Resistance. This museum was once a high command headquarters building for the "German army during WWII. From here, a coup was planned to assassinate Hitler and to take control of the country to end the war. The code name for this plan was "Operation Valkyrie". Here is one of the main conspiritors Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.
He planted a bomb in a conference room at Hitler's "Wolf's Lair". The bomb exploded, killing many officers but Hitler himself escaped uninjured because the sturdy table, seen in the center of the photo, protected him. Here is a photo of the conference room after the bomb exploded:
Because Hitler had survived, the coup failed. Stauffenberg and the other main conspiritors were lined up in this courtyard of the Army headquarters in Berlin and were executed. Stauffenberg's final words were "Long live our sacred Germany".
Here is a photo of the other individuals involved in that assassination attempt on Hitler. As you can see, those involved range from civilians to very high ranking German military officials, evidence of the strong German resistance at the time. It was these men who were willing to question Hitler's agenda and to give their lives to stand up for their conscience and sense of morality. 
There were 7 designated checkpoints between East and West Berlin. When the wall came down in 1990, a contest was held to choose artists to build memorials at each of the 7 sites. Here we are at Checkpoint Charlie, the only site where Allies and foreigners could cross between 1961 and 1990, which has been redesigned as an American army guardhouse with a lamp that is constantly lit. There is a replica of the famous sign saying "You are now leaving the American Sector" still posted. There are also enlarged photos of an American soldier and a Soviet soldier staring across the street from each other.
At Checkpoint Charlie, you could pay to get your passport stamped with the original stamps used at the checkpoint. I took this photo so I would remember what each stamp in our passports was for. There are many pictures in Berlin that crush your heart. Pictures about the Berlin wall and about the Holocaust and Nazi persecution. This photo was in the Museum at Checkpoint Charlie, illuminating the division of East and West Berlin. This city has been through so much heartache in history.
The "Konzerthaus" (Concert house), which was so badly destroyed during the war that it has since been torn down and rebuilt: The "Berliner Dom" (Berlin Cathedral): TV Tower (tallest structure in Berlin) and the Rotes Rathaus, which is Berlin's mayor's office:King Frederick the Great's statue outside Humboldt University where Marx and Engels studied and where Einstein taught. Across the street is Babelplatz, the site of the first official Nazi book burning.
As some of you may know, Kurt is not very excited about photos... but he asked for the camera to take about 5 pictures of this car. Mind you, these are the only pictures he took in all of Berlin. "I wonder if they allow test drives..." - Kurt Brandenburg Gate in Pariser Platz, the only surviving one of Berlin's original 18 city gates: The Reichstag, home to the German Parliament and the site of many significant events in German and world history: "Wings and Weapons", the Victory Column built in 1864: Schloss Charlottenburg, palace of the Prussian Queen: While most of Berlin and Europe has been rebuilt since the end of WWII, some reminders, such as this church with it's destructed building and missing steeple still exist. This is the Holocaust Memorial. Like the Holocaust, the memorial doesn't make any sense. Plain slabs of concrete, various sizes, no names or dates but overwhelming numbers. Fitting, isn't it? The actual memorial is underground, another feature that adds to the pyschoanalysis of the memorial. It features the timeline of events including horrifying photos and letters from the ghettos and their "liquidations", concentration camps and stories of individuals and families and what happened to them. It was overwhelming and sobering, to say the least... like your heart is in the pit of your stomach. How people could participate in and justify this, I will never understand. "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference" - C.S. Lewis While in Berlin, we visited the site of the Memorial to the German Resistance. This museum was once a high command headquarters building for the "German army during WWII. From here, a coup was planned to assassinate Hitler and to take control of the country to end the war. The code name for this plan was "Operation Valkyrie". Here is one of the main conspiritors Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.He planted a bomb in a conference room at Hitler's "Wolf's Lair". The bomb exploded, killing many officers but Hitler himself escaped uninjured because the sturdy table, seen in the center of the photo, protected him. Here is a photo of the conference room after the bomb exploded:Because Hitler had survived, the coup failed. Stauffenberg and the other main conspiritors were lined up in this courtyard of the Army headquarters in Berlin and were executed. Stauffenberg's final words were "Long live our sacred Germany".Here is a photo of the other individuals involved in that assassination attempt on Hitler. As you can see, those involved range from civilians to very high ranking German military officials, evidence of the strong German resistance at the time. It was these men who were willing to question Hitler's agenda and to give their lives to stand up for their conscience and sense of morality. 
Keith and Heidi:
Keith presented both Kurt and Drew with his personal commander's coin:
The chain of command starting with the President and ending with Kurt's father:
Congratulations Keith! We are all very proud of you and your accomplishments. Minot AFB is very lucky to have an officer of your caliber on their staff. We wish you all the best with your new assignment!
We arrived in Brisbane, Australia on Saturday, where Kelly picked us up. Our biological time clocks were all sorts of off track so we had to stop for a coffee along the way! Kelly lives in Mermaid Waters which is just a couple miles down the beach from Surfer's Paradise in Gold Coast.
We went for a walk to Burleigh, which has a little mountain you can climb a path to the top of for a beautiful view. This place was gorgeous, as evidenced by the... I'm not kidding... 5 bridal parties there taking pictures! It has a pretty awesome view of Surfer's Paradise. 
We wanted to take Kelly out for her birthday, which she celebrated the week before. She recommended "The Sushi Train". We were so glad she did, it was awesome! The chefs prepare the sushi in the center of the restaurant and put it on a conveyor belt that passes by the tables. As the sushi passes your table, you take off the plates that you want to try. At the end, they charge you based on the number of plates you have. It was so much fun! Kurt tried some of the crazy stuff like shark's tail, sea urchin and caviar. Kelly and I basically stuck with the sushi with chicken. :)
Kurt and I wanted to see some Australian wildlife. Or, I guess I should say that I REALLY wanted to see a koala... so we went to check out the Currumbin Sanctuary. We got to see so much cool Aussie wildlife!
We also got to hold the koala but I have yet to scan those pictures onto our computer. They were so soft and cuddly! I didn't want to give him up!
We also got to feed the kangaroos. We even saw a mama with a Joey in her pouch :)
Could YOU resist this face?
The next day, we took a drive with Kelly and her boyfriend, Chris, to see Byron Bay. This place was beautiful! There was a lighthouse you could walk to and then you could hike down to this part of land that juts out into the ocean. 
Here is Kelly and Chris. From this point, we saw so many dolphins! We went down on the beach and saw a group of dolphins pretty close to shore. At one point, they were jumping and playing and get this, they rode the waves up to with a few feet of the surfers. It was awesome!
That night, Kurt and I hiked back to Burleigh to watch the sunset on Surfer's Paradise. Does it get any better than this?
The next day, we headed out for surf lessons at Surfer's Paradise. We got to the beach nice and early to enjoy the sun and waves before class. The waves were so strong, I nearly lost my bottoms! (Recalling this happening in Hawaii with the dolphins, I quickly decided to buy some "boardie" shorts.) 
The class was a couple of hours long and they guaranteed that we'd be up on our boards at least once by the end of the class. It was so much fun! I love this photo of Kelly and I:
The next day, we went to Coolangata, which is where they had the Quicksilver/Roxy pro competition a few months ago. It was gorgeous! How can there be so many beautiful places so close together?!
Look at the color of the water in this photo! It was the most beautiful shades of blue/teal. If you stood with the water halfway up your calves, you could see your feet as though you were looking through perfectly clear glass. The water was so clean and pure!
We found a place to rent boards and decided to rent for the day to try out our newly acquired skills. 
Here is Kurt showing us how it's done:
Here's Kelly, looking as professional as ever:
We spent the entire day out in the waves. We didn't want to leave, it was so addicting!
That night, we went to "Outback Jacks" for dinner. We tried kangaroo and crocodile kebabs and Kurt entered into a eating challenge.
Kurt had to eat 1 kg of steak, 1 pound of roasted potatoes and about 4 servings of veggies in 30 minutes. If he did it, he'd get 50% off his meal and a free t-shirt...
Here is Kelly and I going for points as a team :)
The next day, Kurt and I took a boat ride to Stranton Island. 
It was gorgeous here... lagoon pool with a water slide and a waterfall, tiki huts and drawbridges... there were also many activities like kayaking and tennis. It was a blast!
That night we got a little dressed up and headed out to Surfer's Paradise for a night on the town. Do we have to leave?!
