The first day in Berlin was quite nice... we took a city tour which included quite a couple WWII stops- We saw the Holocaust Memorial site (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is its official name)
as well as Hitler's bunker and the site of the famous book burning. (not pictured here)
We also saw remnants of the Berlin wall.
I'm not a HUGE history nerd, but some history is particularly interesting to me and this trip was full of just that-WWII sites. Seeing the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam as well as the sites in Berlin, and a concentration camp on the last day were all things that I had the upmost respect and appreciation for.
My favorite part of the day however was the Berliner Unterwelten tour which was extremely fascinating. We did tour M which was about escapes from under the Berlin wall. We went underneath the city to take the tour and our tour guide, Joep, was absolutely fantastic. He was so passionate and into telling these stories...we learned so much!
My favorite part of the day however was the Berliner Unterwelten tour which was extremely fascinating. We did tour M which was about escapes from under the Berlin wall. We went underneath the city to take the tour and our tour guide, Joep, was absolutely fantastic. He was so passionate and into telling these stories...we learned so much!
^^These are replicas of tunnels used to escape from the east to the west in Berlin during the cold war.
By the way, this company also does other tours which seemed just as fascinating, but we unfortunately didn't have enough time to do them all!
By the way, this company also does other tours which seemed just as fascinating, but we unfortunately didn't have enough time to do them all!
The second day in Berlin we spent visiting the Sachsenhausen Concentraion Camp. It's not a place that people WANT to visit... and it's not something you do for fun, but there is a lot of history there. 30,000 people lost their lives there and the camp has turned into a memorial. Our tour guide repeated over and over how thankful he was that we were coming to pay our respects. So many survivors of the Holocaust fear that once they pass on, people aren't going to remember or believe that the Holocaust actually happened. By showing interest and taking the time to visit and learn, we can educate future generations while at the same time saying NEVER AGAIN will we let this happen.
I leave you with this quote from Elie Wiesel, an author whose book I read in school:
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