Berlin Day 4-- Sachsenhausen

In America, it's not so easy to be close to recent history as it is in Europe. I felt it was important for the kids to learn a bit, so we headed out to spend the day at the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial.

We caught the tour at the Zoo, which began with a train ride out to Oranienburg. We were lucky enough to change trains at the beautiful new Berlin Hauptbahnhof.







I love the angles of this space!


It was a pleasant ride out




Our guide, Jakov, had advised us to pick up sandwiches before we began, and it was a wise idea. We waited for a few minutes





taking Jakov's advice to sit whenever possible.

After a pleasant 20-minutes walk through the charming town, we arrived.



Jakov was an amazing guide, patiently, yet passionately explaining the history of Sachsenhausen.


Ruins of the Officer's Club


The front gates


Perhaps it was our guide's age, but he drew our kids in- the were totally "into" the whole trip.


Morning Roll call area


Markers are placed where each barracks stood.


Two barracks have been reconstructed


Inside as well as out.








Walls and guard towers are always present.


The prison within a prison.


In the distance is the Soviet Liberation Memorial, erected in 1961.




Down in the celler of the kitchen, talented artists used the walls to draw cartoons when they had the chance





Sachsenhausen was never an extermination camp, in the sense of Auschwitz, but executions were carried out here by firing squad.





But sadly, it is estimated that over 100,000 inmates did die in Sachsenhausen. The remains are buried in mass graves marked like this.





And, sadly, experiments in mass gassing did occur at Sachsenhausen, and remains of these facilities and the crematoria can be seen in a special area that was called "Station Z"









And, yes, medical experiments were also conducted on inmates in the medical wing.


It was quite a moving and reflective tour, and, if you ever get a chance to visit, do so.

Back in modern Berlin, we were glad to have a traditional German dinner that evening.





I don't think AJ expected such a big eisbein!!!


I can never pass up a schnitzel...


nor Grumpy Guy his wurst!

Berlin Day 3

Day 3 in Berlin was a day for walking.

We started out at the Brandenburg Gate. Grumpy Guy was smiling happily at the chance to stand under the Symbol of Berlin for the first time in his life!



To the kids...it was just an impressive gate.



Unter den Linden on Under den Linden


The Memorial to the Dead Jews of Europe is something to see up close.


With its massive blocks of beton concrete in various heights, one can wander maze-like as minutes tick by.








Having done a bit of research pre-trip, I was able to tell the kids that this non-descript green area had quite a bit of significance.



Beneath this green grass lie the remains of Adolf Hitler's personal bunker.

And here, where a children's playground is located


is where the bodies of Hitler and Eva Braun were cremated.

In Potsdamer Platz, the girls could play "straddle the wall"




as did the two of us...


Merely a row of bricks now...


Another very interesting spot was the "Topography of Terror" , an ongoing outdoor display near the location of famous Nazi government buildings.



Parts of the wall still remain...as do foundations of Third Reich buildings.


What a sight! Checkpoint Charlie viewed from what would have been East Berlin.



We hopped on the U-bahn to head for some lunch somewhere...



This spot looked nice....



and we got a few looks from patrons, but we figured it was because we definitely looked American. Lunch was fabulous...and huge portions...


and it was only later on that we found out that we had lunch in the Cafe Berio, the hottest, hippest bistro for gay Berliners. No wonder we got some looks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Berlin-a side note

When I was 23, I visited West Berlin in the Federal Republic of Germany for the first time. We lived in West Germany, as it was called, as part of the US Army Forces stationed there to protect the "West" from the the threat of communism from the German Democratic Republic and the Soviet Union...aka the "East".

I had one of those "a-ha" moments in Berlin. Specifically, I was standing in East Berlin, just a little ways from Alexanderplatz with its huge TV tower. There were grey buildings all around me, some still showing bomb damage from World War II forty years previous.

I looked up, glancing over the high concrete wall in front of me. I saw the old Reichstag. The seat of West Germany's government was Bonn, and the old Reichstag housed a museum "Questions of German History". But West German flags still flew above the building. And for the first time in my life, I understood what it meant to be free.

I could travel back through the checkpoints and guards, through the hassles of showing papers and being glared at and looked over. But I could. I could get around that wall and stand in front of those West German flags. The same could not be said for some of the people around me.

I was free.

That appreciation has never left me. It is why I celebrated so much when the country that so warmly welcomed me to call it home for three years was reunified. When that damned wall came down.

I own a small chunk of the Berlin wall. No, I did not buy it from Bloomingdales or Macys. It was retrieved by a young East German student and given to me in support of his trip to New Jersey in 1989. It is one of my treasures.

The joy in my heart at being able to take this photo can not be put into words.



No wall.

Nothing to keep one in or out.

The government came up with a clever way to remind visitors and residents alike of the almost 30 years the wall existed.



A simple double row of bricks marks where a city, and a people, were separated.



And the Reichstag, with her new dome, is once again the house of the government for the German People.



Alleluia.
Amen.

Berlin Day 2

I almost thought about moving on with life, and not posting about the portion of our trip to Berlin...but that wouldn't be right, as it meant so much to me. So to continue our saga...

When I left off, we had arrived in Berlin. Day Two in Berlin had us starting off with a visit a most interesting interactive museum, "The Story of Berlin".

On our stroll over to the "Ku'damm", we saw some very "Berlin" sights..

Berlin autos


a cool staircase


A stop in front of the Zoo


and who could ever pass up a green cow?



It amazes me to think that my children have no memories of a "Cold War", a divided Berlin, a divided Germany or a Soviet Union. This museum really helped them understand the role that Berlin has played in our recent history..and did it in a very clever and modern way.

First stop was a guided tour of one of the nuclear bunkers that were built to house a portion of West Berlin's citizens in case of attack.


What's pretty cool is that with a few days' notice, it can be completely restored to its designated purpose.


The air filtration system


The power plant for the bunker. It's completely self-contained, enabling 3600 people to live for two weeks.


Then we went on to see displays of life in Berlin throughout the centuries. It was incredibly well done and I HIGHLY recommend a visit to give a great overview of this singular city.






After a quick lunch,and a stop here for Austin to add to his collection of white HR t-shirts (for which he is well-known)


we boarded the on-off tour bus. It was perfect for giving a feel for the "new" Berlin--which held the interests of the kids, and had the adults mesmerized..it means so much more to us, after all.



As you can see, it was a perfect day!



There is still an amazing amount of construction going on all around Berlin.


Things began to get very emotional for me...especially looking past Checkpoint Charlie, where so many times we were stopped, scrutinized, allowed to pass, stopped again, scrutinized again, and allowed to pass.Now open, free, clear, and DEFINITELY not grey concrete.



Where might I be right now??



25 years ago, in my wildest dreams I never thought I would EVER be driving down a FREE Unter den Linden.


Or driving past an unblocked Brandenburg Gate



This is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe- a site we would explore later.


There's some AWESOME architecture in Berlin..


and some absolutely horrific reminders of history.


We liked the fact that, after a sunny ride aboard the top of the double decker bus, we could be dropped off practically at the hotel.

Another dinner at Sorriso,

and we were ready to face tomorrow's day of walking!