Berlin

---

Theres so much to do and see I think our three nights are going to be jam packed. We started well by going on a bike tour of the city on the first day. It was great because it took us to all the major sights around Berlin and the guide was great. There is so much history, we saw places like Hiltlers bunker and learnt about the last few days of his life. It was cool to see part of the Berlin wall which is standing, as a reminder to the city.


We learnt about the WWII history and how the Nazis rose to power and went to a memorial where the Nazi book burning too place. The best thing about the bike ride was riding though Check Point Charlie, which wasnt really there any more but still a place I clearly remember Dad talking about.




We rode to Brandenburg Gate and got our passports stamped with Check Point Charlie which was very exciting. I was suprised to learn the the gate stood right in the middle of the Berlin walls (in the death strip). We spent some time exploring the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, which was a aire sight to see and a chilling reminder.








We finished the tour with a ride up the fastest esculator in Europe to cheek out views of the city, it took 20secs to go up 28 floors.

The next day we went on a day trip to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp which was 35km out of the city. It was established in 1936 and used as a model for other concentration camps to follow. I was amazed to learn that by 1945 220,000 men from 22 countries had passed thought the gates.
I could only imagine how terrible it was for people there and we learnt some horrible things. The camp still had the barbed wire fence surrounding the camp and we also saw the living barracks. It seemed imposible to escape from, although we heard a story about people who did with outside help. It was a real eye opener.


We have both really enjoyed Berlin, there was so much to do something for every one.
I felt that If I came and saw all these places when I was a school, life would have been alot eaiser and I may have been able to realate to history classes. I have learnt so much in the last 3 days, its amazing.

---

Photos

The frist street light in Europe
I think it is not the real one

Dale and I
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

Photo
This is a photo of before the war and the Berlin Wall went up

View from the top of a high building
We went up there with the tour

Me
and the Berlin Wall

A former Nazi building
Many people escaped over the Berlin wall by throwing cables to the other side and sliding across.