Last night in Germany

Hey guys.



So I went with New Berlin out to Sachsenhausen, which is at the end of one of the S-Bahn lines. Sachsenhausen was the first concentration camp established in Nazi Germany and was used as a model for later camps. Until 1938, the prisoners were primarily political prisoners, not Jews. The forced labor erected the facade of Berlin that the world saw during the 1936 Olympics. The camp was designed around complete control of the prisoners, in a triangle shape. Next door was the SS Training Camp.



In 1938, the camp was expanded, with the so-called Jewish barracks added. After the Israeli prime minister spoke at the camp in the early 1990s, young neo-Nazis burned these buildings down, which have been reconstructed but with part of the charred walls remaining as a reminder of the antisemitism still found in society.



Sachesenhausen is particularly interesting because it was used by the Soviets for 5 years after the war, first for former Nazis and then just for anyone not in step with their Communist ideals. In the center of the camp is a giant memorial to the Communist prisoners under the Nazi regime.



Sachsenhausen was a work camp. When prisoners were killed, they were primarily shot. Guards were starting to have a hard time carrying out these killings, so the following method was developed: prisoners were taken to what looked like a medical waiting room, where loud music was playing; a guard in a doctor's uniform would examine the prisoner's teeth and make an X on the hand if there were any gold fillings; the prisoner was taken to another room to be weighed and measured; as the measuring stick was brought down, a window behind the prisoner's neck was slid open, through which the guard would shoot the inmate; another inmate would collect the body and prepare it for cremation after removing any fillings. In this way each guard was only involved in a small part of the killing process, making it easier psychologically. I thought I was going to vomit when I saw the ovens. I couldn't take any photos. Also, while gassing was not the method of choice, experiments were carried out.



Visiting the concentration camp was an experience, to be sure. I'm glad I went, to see. It's important not to forget.

Back in Berlin, I had to keep up my frantic tourist pace. As I said, state museums are free in Berlin from 6-10 on Thursdays, so I had three on my list. I started at the Gemaldegalerie, where the highlight was Vermeer's Woman with a Pearl Necklace. There was a Van der Weyden exhibit that I don't think was free...but the guard was not paying attention when I entered. I was looking at an Anunciation scene for a long time that looked very familiar...obviously on loan from the Prado.

My next stop was Doner Kebap for dinner. There are a lot of Turks in Germany, so it is supposed to be the best kebab outside of Turkey. It was indeed very good (I've reached the point where I'll only eat falafel at such establishments in Spain), although there was some red cabbage on it that to me only detracted from it.

My next stop was the Pergamon Museum which was NOT free because of an exhibit. I almost skipped it, but I'm glad I didn't. The museum is named after the Pergamon Altar from Turkey, which was incredibly impressive, more so than even the Parthenon Marbles in London (I suppose not surprising since the actual Parthenon is still in Greece). I went into the exhibit, which was on "Berlin's Olympus," basically displaying the museum's collection of statues of gods. At the end, I just wished I had seen it in its original more impressive location in Brazil. There was a free audioguide, which I need to make those sorts of museums interesting, but in the exhibit it draggggggged on. There should be two versions: one for history buffs and one for people who jsut want the highlights.

My final stop was the Alte Galerie, basically the 19th century art museum. I enjoyed it, especially the room of Manets, Monets, Renoirs, etc. I had planned on crashing in that gallery until the guards kicked me out, but I was tired so I actually left the museum before closing time.

I went back to the hostel and got some internet. I tried to have an early night, but someone far more obnoxious than the Spanish guys had invaded: American girls, in the bunks below and next to me. At least for a while there were two of them in the bed below me. And they kept giggling and saying things like OMG it's 3 a.m. Seriously.

My train was at 7:37, so I had to leave the hostel early. I had to change trains in Fulda (still not quite sure where that is). My original train was actually headed to Munich as its final destination, but via Frankfurt and Diane's new hometown of Mannheim, so it would have taken an extra two hours to arrive. I was surprised there wasn't a fast direct train between the two cities, since they are the centers of tourism in Germany. I mean, both trains were ICE (InterCity Express), so they were fast. My only complaint is that the trains were COLD. And I was wearing both my sweater and my jacket. I had a surprisingly nice meal on the train, an inexpensive combo of a meatball sandwich and a large beer.

I arrived in Munich at about 1:45. My hostel, Euro Youth Hostel, is close to the train station. Aside from one unfortunate detail, it's an excellent hostel setup, one of the nicest I've ever seen. The bunk beds are wood, with a shelf, reading light and outlet next to each bed, and the lockers are big enough to accomodate just about any suitcase. The unfortunate detail is that in my 10-bed dorm, there are two sets of bunk beds pushed next to each other to accomodate couples. Ewww.

I planned to take the New Munich free tour at 3 p.m., so I made my way on foot. Once you get away from the train station, Munich basically looks like Disneyland: giant pedestrian-only shopping streets and cutesy buildings. In the Marienplatz, where the tour starts, I took an elevator to the top of the Rathaus, or town hall.

My guide for the tour was the least inspired of any of my New Europe tours. She was very enthusiastic though. Similar to Berlin, Munich was about 80% destroyed during World War II. A lot of the themes are the same in Munich as in Berlin. While Berlin was where Hitler was when he was in power, he got his Nazi political start in Munich. One thing about Munich is that they aren't as blatant with memorials or anything of that kind. Munich has a very strong identity as a city and as part of Bavaria (after a while you stop taking photos of people in traditional dress, realizing that's just how a large portion of the population dresses for normal occasions), which means they don't feel as much of a need as Berlin to atone for the Nazi past.

I made my way back to my hostel and joined their "beer crawl" at 7 p.m. It was...fun. I met a lot of Australians who are all on this bus tour-ish thing called BusAbout that more Americans, Canadians, and English should invade. We visited two biergartens.

This morning I was a champion, making it to the train station by 9:15 a.m. without being hungover. I was going with New Munich by train to Fussen, a small town at the foot of the Alps, where there are two gorgeous castles. I had a bratwurst AND a tomato and mozzarella sandwich right before hiking up, which was not the best life decision, but I made it up. We visited the interior of Neuschwanstein, a castle built in the late 19th century by Bavarian King Ludwig II (lots of fun history there). Basically, more than the Segovia Alcazar, this palace probably inspired Walt Disney. On the way up, "When You Wish Upon A Star" was stuck in my head. Ludwig was obsessed with Wagner and opera-worthy stories. The main deocrative theme to the palace is swans. Ludwig was an eccentric character (his likely undoing), but the end result is incredible. The setting is unbelievable, this gorgeous castle nestled in the mountains in a forest overlooking the most gorgeous lakes (obviously one of them is Swan Lake). You never want to leave.

So I made it back to Munich, had some Doner Kebap for dinner, and walked around. There was a lot of music, dancing, beer, etc. in the street. I don't think that it is a special occasion, I think that's just a normal Saturday in Munich.

New life goal: make it back to Munich one day for Oktoberfest. Maybe coupled with a holiday based at least partially on cycling through Bavaria, Austria, and Switzerland? When I'm a fabulously wealthy late 20something jetting around the world...

Tomorrow I am leaving Europe! Well, the European Union, as perenially neutral Switzerland is not in the EU.