Journal - Trip To Europe 2008
Trip Start
Jul 30, 2008
1
13
Trip End
Aug 23, 2008
Berlin, Germany
Saturday, August 16, 2008
right now to give it justice. I didn't get to bed till five I'm the
morning. Um... long story.
Frank got us a private tour of the Reichstag (Parlament) that day,
which I guess was impossible to do. It was very informative. The
building was burned right before Hitler went into power and most
speculate that he did it to blame the Communists so his parties
platform would become more desireable. Nevertheless, he was named
Chancelor soon after. During the war, the building was the most
desired stronghold to overtake. As they said: Conquer Berlin and
you've won the war; Conquer the Reichstag and you've won Berlin. The
soviets were the ones to overtake it. During restoration they left
some of the soviet graffiti in place in the building deciding it was
an important part of history and should be saved to remember their own
history.
We then got one of those hop on, hop off bus tours around the city.
I'd never done one but it turned out to be pretty good! I saw all of
the important parts of the city and got off at the places that I
really wanted to soak up. I saw the shopping district, the huge park,
the famous statue of freedom that Hitler loved to stare at when giving
his speaches at the Brandenberg Gate. ...I saw the Brandenberg Gate.
Let's see, I saw this one man protesting outside the American embassy.
Supposedly his daughter was a victim of an "American elitist" plot by
a group of insurance swindlers who staged an accident when she was
studying in the states where she became the shining star. Now she's in
a wheel chair drooling from her neck support.
The Berlin wall was monumental. I definitely got off on that stop.
Only a piece of it had been saved. When I saw it with all that writing
on the wall I remember thinking of the simple humanity that each of us
crave and yet so often aren't able to have. I watched on TV when the
Berlin wall was finally destroyed. I can't believe that I was actually
alive during a time when people were divided and kept from the god
given right to live together if we so choose and love one another as
we want. This world baffles me sometimes. This was one of those times.
Berlin was amazing. I'd have to say it's tied with Paris, my favorite
European city, but for completely different reasons. Berlin is really
modern, I mean REALLY modern. The city was practically leveled during
the war so everything is pretty much bran new. There are still
hundreds of cranes on the east (x-soviet) side of Berlin. Germany is
the richest country in Europe. The city is very liberal. The mayor is
openly gay, there are bicycles everywhere and highly efficient mass
transit systems zoom all over the spacious city.
Ok. Were off to Dresden. It sits on the east end of Germany next to
Prague and the Check Republic.
Comments
Marvelous trip
Thank you, Frank and UriahSeth, for the extra effort in making this happen for us peasants that can't be there with ya. Carpe diem!