Haunting History
Trip Start
Jul 12, 2002
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21
354
Trip End
May 17, 2005
Berlin,
Germany
Friday, August 16, 2002
The hostel I checked into is called the Circus and its pretty innovative. Everything, and I mean everything, was Ikea and they used cardkeys for the rooms. It was definitely the most modern hostel I have been in thus far. Not to mention the staff who were helpful and polite, more or less.
Berlin has been really interesting so far. I saw what was left of the Wall (more than I thought would be left) and visited Topography of Terror exhibit (free outdoor block long gallery). It was chilling to realize that this happened so recently as I pondered the black and white photos
A restaurant in Berlin..didn't eat there...
. Berlin is a city of constant change...there is so much construction going on here including a site on which they are building the Memorial to Murdered Jews of Europe near the Reichstag.I was suprised to see that the site of Hitlers' bunker was just a patch of grass in the middle of a carpark of an apartment building. They have tried not to sensationalize it and during the walking tour I took the guide indicated the spot where Hitlers body was burned by 'where that white car is parked over there'.
I spent some time at Checkpoint Charlie (takes a while to get a picture with all the cars going by everywhere) and saw the Wall Musuem. I almost cried at some of the displays and during a short clip of video of people coming over to West Berlin that victorious night on November 9, 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down.
I am enjoying learning about the history but its important to space it out as it is quite emotionally draining. Tonight, I will rest my weary feet and get ready for another long day tomorrow...there is so much to see.
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