Today I took a tour to Sachsenhausen, one of the first Nazi concentration camps, and the main administrative camps for Nazi Germany. This has been the most horrific and disturbing experience of my life.
Walking towards the front gate of the camp, our guide did an amazing job of making us relive the experiences that the new prisoners had as they were herded to the front gate. From the cleansing new prisoners (both hygienically and mentally) to the hours upon hours of standing during the morning and evening role-calls, we were introduced to the entire bit of life in a Nazi concentration camp.
There were multiple sites in the camp that had been refurbished (or rebuilt as much of the camp was destroyed by the East German Government) into mini-museums displaying various bits of clothing and other artifacts. However, when we made our way to Station Z, the area where the mass execution took place, my heart sank. We walked past a dug-out ditch which lead to an in-ground bunker. Supposedly the area was used for the mass executions in the earlier years of the camp, where prisoners where lined up in the ditch against a wall lined with logs while guards stood opposite to them and shot them. The bodies were then thrown into the bunker. It got even worse when the camp finally got a crematorium, with a small gas chamber. Though the chamber was rarely used (as Sachsenhausen was a Concentration Camp, not a e Death Camp like Austwitz), but the execution of prisoners still took place by gunfire. The crematorium is now gone and only its foundation remains, but walking around the area was horrific.
Even more disturbing was the Pathologist's building, which the original. Here we got to see the rooms and tables where autopsies took place, and a few experiments (again, the more famous and sickening ones took place at other camps). When we went downstairs, we were informed that the basement was where the guards stored the corpses after the autopsies. Walking through large and cavernous rooms knowing that I was standing where a pile of bodies to the roof laid almost made me lose my lunch.
I am pleased to have had the chance to visit such a horrific place, but at the same time this experience has been incredibly disturbing.
NOTE - I am having trouble uploading any photos to the internet (Facebook, Flickr, etc.) because the internet connection here is slow. I will get the photos up as soon as I can.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sachsenhausen
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Berlin
Berlin is an amazing city. I enjoyed my time in Edinburgh and I really had a great time in the Scottish Highlands, but nothing on this trip can compare to Berlin. The people are friendly (even if my German is poor and limited, and yes, I did learn a little bit of German before coming to Berlin), the streets are clean, the public transport is efficient, and the city has a diverse history. From my hostel room window I have a very clear view of what i believe to be the former Communist Party Headquarters. There is a large banner that says "F*** off Amerika!" on it.
I definitely plan to come back to Berlin at some point in my life.
Heck, I even tried Currywurst, which was really a brautwurst with ketchup and curry powder. It was really uneventful...
The only problem is that the internet connection here at my hostel is too slow, which is makes uploading photos very difficult and nearly impossible...
Tomorrow I am off to visit a Holocaust concentration camp just north of Berlin. That should be an interesting experience.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Paris and Versailles
I've been in Paris for a few days now, and I have had the chance to see a few places of interest. This city is different than London. Initially I found London to be hurried and rather complicated, but compared to Paris, London is just a friendly little place. There is no doubt that the excess of tourists in Paris have made the Parisians quite cold to one another. Heck, after being in some of the heavily tourist areas, I fully understand why the Parisians are so tired of them. Nonetheless, Paris is really a remarkable city.
Seeing the Eiffel Tower was something else. Just seeing photographs of the structure cannot measure up to seeing it in person. I only went up to the second platform, but from there I got some amazing view of the city.
The Arc de Triomphe was also interesting. I dd in fact buy a ticket to go up, and us, I did climb each and every step all the way to the very top. After, I decided to take a nice long (cold, wet and windy) walk down the Champs-Elysee. I could have stopped to see the famous department stores adn all of the trendy fashion, but I'm a man, so I went to the Mercedes-Benz Boutique instead. The tenants in the boutique could tell that there was possibly no way I could afford any of the vehicles on display, but seeing some of the most elegant and amazing German-Engineered cars made the trip worth it. Now I know what I want for my 20th birthday!
I also had the chance to see Notre-Dame and the l'Hotel Invalides, which is home to the tomb of Napoleon.
As for Versailles, the palace itself was amazing as expected, but due to "severe" weather the gardens were closed. By "severe" weather they really meant 2 inches of snow that was already begining to melt... Oh well.
...Off to Berlin on Tuesday!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
La Louvre and the British Museum
In less than a week I have had the chance to see two of the most famous and enlightening museums Europe has to offer. However, even dedicating one entire day to each them, I could not see everything both had to offer.
...but I did see some of the famous pieces in their collections...
The British Museum was interesting (and free), offering rooms upon rooms of artifacts from different places around the world. From my visit i only had a chance to see the Ancient Greek, Roman (some) and Egyptian areas, as well as most of the Ancient and Medieval Europe areas. The amount of information I took in was overwhelming.
La Louvre was much more magnificent, and the building itself was something to behold. Here I only had a chance to see most of the Italian Art, the Medieval Louvre, Much of the sculptures, and a few others. Of course, no visit is complete without the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.
Now, the only problem is that I cannot remember much of the information off the top of my head to put with the photos. Even if I did, I would need a day just to type it all in...