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Published: April 17th 2007
I had authentic German food in Munich, a sobering day trip to the concentration camp Dachau, two days alone exploring the sights of Berlin and an up-and-down night out in the city in our last country of the month-long trip. Tuesday, April 17 Travel to Munich and meet back up with Betsy. Nothing eventful to report about the train ride, except the outstanding countryside, again. I watched the purple sunset over a vast lake somewhere between Switzerland and Germany. The Munich train station is huge, accomodating and clean, but kind of sketchy at night. We found out way to the hostel, two blocks away, which has a nice lounge/bar area -- Jaeger's, after the alcohol. But the nice upstairs is deceiving, since we slept in a huge basement room for 40 people! I got sick from the smell of cigarettes and possibly mold, and wasn't impressed with the scanty beds and lack of personal space. Still, it's only two nights...
Betsy had made friends with a cute Australian in the bed next to her, but I was only interested in showering off the day's travels and crawling into bed. Though, I did enjoy a phone call
Berlin Wall line
The cobblestone ziz-zags across the city, marking where the wall used to stand. home to tell them about my para-gliding experience.
Wednesday, April 18 The first day in the land of my ancestors... and we did practically nothing. But I was perfectly fine with that, as traveling is getting a little tiring. We enjoyed a German dinner at Hofbräuhaus, the famous beer hall. Like I said, today was pretty uneventful, until the late afternoon. We visited an Internet cafe, had pasta and salad in a cafe around the corner, did laundry (much needed!) and napped. But my morning was blighted with the news of the horrific Virginia Tech shootings, which I read about online until I couldn't stand another detail. It left me crying back at the hostel. How could someone massacre innocent people that way?? I cried for the students, the families, the student media, the injustice, and the thought that this could happen anywhere, anytime -- even on the haven of a college campus, in the dorm and classrooms. It is so awful.
When we finally got our act together early this evening, we took the clean but VERY confusing subway (S-Bahn, covered by our Eurail passes) to the city center. For some reason, I was feeling very
Berlin
Cool view from the museum. Berlin Cathedral is on the left, and the under-deconstruction communist building is behind the museum's statue. removed from the girls and not in the mood to see or do much of anything. But I tried to force myself to make the most of it...
We attempted to follow the signs to the famous beer hall, Hofbräuhaus, but got hopelessly turned around since the roads didn't run quite the way we expected them to. After asking for directions several times and still going in circles, I finally stopped being a follower and walked straight up to our destination.
And it was worth the hassle! The thoroughly German atmosphere made me feel right at home, and made me think of Gemuitlichkeit back in Jefferson. The costumes, polka band, beer, German food (pretzels, sausages), festively decorated walls and ceiling.... so great. THe tablbes are wooden, scarred and long, and encourage socialization with fellow visitors. Almost everyone had a huge mug of beer in front of them, which holds a full liter of the brew. I couldn't bring myself to order it (beer makes me sick), and instead had fruit tea. I also ordered a sausage plate special, complete with four kinds of sausages, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut and mustard, with a soft pretzel on the side. It filled
Hofbrauhaus
The famous Munich beer hall where we ate dinner one night. me up and I couldn't even eat the last sausage, which I didn't really like, anyway. And even though I normally don't like mustard or sauerkraut, I surprised myself by eating it and finding that it really complemented the food well. The food also improved my mood, though I was completely stuffed.
We walked around the streets nearby, and I bought postcards and a gifts. I would have gladly stayed out longer and enjoyed the mild night, but went along with the other girls when they decided to go back. I did see some pretty buildings and a church at night, though.
Back at Jaeger's, I redeemed my "welcome drink" from the day before -- a shot of Jaegermeister, of course, which I enjoy. I then called home (again...) to talk to Mom, Dad, Nick and even got ahold of Josh to wish him a belated Happy Birthday. It was so great to hear their voices... I'm feeling quite homesick, and rather sick of my travel companions. Mom and I talked about our trip in June -- we're so excited! I'm stoked to get home to England to plan our itinerary. I then re-packed my bag with my
Dachau
Gate leading into the camp. new gift items and fell asleep almost immediately.
Thursday, April 19 Visiting Dachau, the concentration camp, got to me more than I thought it would. I found myself even more removed from the other girls, and was relieved to head to our next (and last) city -- Berlin. The day started routinely enough -- another toast, jelly and tea breakfast at the hostel bar (free), re-packing and stashing our luggage in the outdoor lockers, checking out, taking the S-Bahn 25 minutes to Dachau and a bus to the memorial site -- but what I witnessed at the camp is far from normal. Entrance to the former camp was free (how could Germany justify charging for their own atrocities?) but the audioguide was 2 euro.
I really preferred to see this alone, so separated myself from the girls. I knew they wouldn't want to spend as much time here, and they were clearly impatient at the end, but I needed to soak it in at my own pace.
I didn't get as emotional as I did at Terezin, but the horrors performed here were even worse. Dachau was one of the first camps, so many of the
Dachau
Guard tower on the edge of the compound. Sometimes guards would throw prisoners over the fence and then shoot them for attempted escape. others were modelled off of it. I was surprised that the focus wasn't all on the Jews in the museum, but on a wide variety of ethnic and political groups, including many Soviets. Human experiments were carried out here... people regularly worked to death or shot for no reason... the conditions were squalor: 30,000 people crammed into a space for 6,000... and the SS brutal. I don't want to describe much more of what I learned: suffice it to say that the overwhelming amount of information available at Dachau (audioguide, displays, videos, pictures) filled my mind beyond capacity with Nazi horrors and unnecessary human suffering.
Outside the museum are where the barracks used to crowd together; four religious memorials (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Russian Orthodox); a convent that is still in use; the horrific crematoriums where people were conveniently hung in front of burners and then burned right away; and a gas chamber. The gas chamber was never used, though there was one on this site that was destroyed that they did use to gas people.
What probably sticks with me the most from Dachau are these points, in no particular order:
--- The horrific, skeletal bodies and
Dachau
Catholic Memorial -- bell outside of it. sick people portrayed in photos taken at liberation.
--- The outside world's naivity to the situation -- even within the town, where the residents pretty much turned a blind eye.
--- Germany's easy fall into the hands of the Nazi regime -- makes me ashamed to be German.
--- The medical experiments too awful to record here because I don't want to remember what I learned.
--- The barbed fences that guards would through people over just so they could shoot them for "escaping." They did the same when herding people in grounds: they'd let one get pushed out, so they could shoot him.
--- The reality of the crematoriums and gas chamber.
--- The inhumane living, eating and working conditions.
--- The tortous "roll call" performed twice a day.
--- The firsthand accounts describing the horrors on the audioguide.
--- The utter INHUMANITY and lack of mercy in the perpetrators!!
A lot of what I saw made me feel sick. I was quiet and bothered after meeting up with the other girls, which was just my way of dealing with it. They didn't seem to have taken anything to heart, which annoyed me, even though I didn't have
Dachau
Path leading down where the barracks used to be on either side. a right to judge.
Back in Munich, I was practically faint with hunger, since it was 3 p.m. and I hadn't eaten since breakfast and was walking all day. We got our stuff from the hostel and loaded up with food at the train station for the ride ahead: a soft pretzel with butter, juice, water and snacks for me.
The pretty German landscape on the train reminded me of northern Wisconsin -- woody, with mostly evergreens, a long river and rolling hills -- which was very relaxing in the setting sun. Our train was also the nicest yet. I spent the time reading and writing.
Our hostel in Berlin was much too far from the train station to justify a reasonable booking -- why didn't the girls check this when they booked it?? We had to navigate the S-Bahn, a bus, and walking a quarter mile in the dark next to a highway to the huge, 904-bed Generator Hostel -- the biggest in Europe. We checked in and had a chance to look around a little before going to bed. In my opinion, Generator tries to hard to be "hip" and is just too big. It
Dachau
Sculpture/memorial on the compound. has nice amenities, though, like a computer and phone room, tons of lounge areas, and a big lobby. The lighting everywhere is annoying, though; there is a lot of blue florescent reflecting on the overabundance of chrome decorations.
We had planned to take a free tour in the morning, which we'd heard was excellent and gave a great overview of the city, but somewhere along the way, without telling me, they had decided to take the tour on Saturday and just bum around tomorrow. To me, this made absolutely no sense -- why not get a guided orientation to the city first, and go explore it in greater depth the second day? So I informed them I would be taken the tour on my own tomorrow and then when downstairs to place phone calls and just get away. I got ahold of my Hartwig grandparents, and it was really great to talk to them. Grandpa gave me some suggestions for Berlin and we had a chance to catch up about my travels. I went to bed much happier and optimistic about the next day.
Friday, April 20 I spent the day alone on the very excellent New Berlin Dachau
Path leading down where the barracks used to be on either side. tour, and then did some exploring on my own. Nighttime adventures turned sour when my friends left me alone on a pub crawl.
The New Berlin tour has a pick-up at the hostel, so I was showered, fed and ready by 10:15. The free breakfast was decent, with rolls, bread, jam, butter, cereal, milk and tea. The woman escorting us to the main pick-up point is Australian and we chatted on the S-Bahn, since the other people with us were Spanish.
The tour met near Brandenburg Gate, in front of Starbucks. It was cold and windy, so of course I needed a caramel capaccino while waiting. The free tour is in three languages -- Deutsch, Espanol and English -- and the paid, specialty tours only in English. The English-speaking group was by far the biggest when they split us up (40 people?) and our guide's name is Anabel, an Australian. She was a little hoarse from speaking loudly, but I found her tour to be excellent and enthralling. She was very knowledgeable and passionate: a great combination.
The four-hour walking tour took us to all the major sights in Berlin. Anabel started with a 15-minute commentary of
the city's history. I was very interested in the whole story, because it really puts into context all the places we visited on the tour and served as a good reminder to things I vaguely remembered from history classes, like the Nazis and Hitler, the Cold War, the Wall, etc. Oh, and "Berlin" means "swamp," since it is built on one and still smells like it in little whiffs. Here is a list of what we then saw on the tour -- comprehensive to the best of my knowledge and in no particular order!
---
Brandenburg Gate is featured on three euro coins and is easily recognizable with four horses and a rider that looks to the French embassy in warning to the fact that it was once Napolean's plunder. The driver was named "Peace" but then renamed to "Victory," as another symbol of this French-German rivalry. Other things on this square include the still-unfinished U.S. embassy and Hotel Adlon, where all the celebrities and rich people stay, and also the place where Micheal Jackson dangled his baby for the press.
--- Part of the
Berlin Wall that is famously graffitied. It wasn't destroyed in 1989 because one
side of it had recently been declared a historical site because they found some Nazi tunnels underground. All througout the city, though, is a cobblestone line that ziz-zags through the streets and shows where the orginal wall was.
---
Hitler's Bunker... at least, the ground above where it used to be. This is where he killed himself and his girlfriend. The Soviets had their bodies (well, the burned remains) and kept it secret from the rest of the world at first.
---
Neue Wache, a memorial recently renamed to commemorate all the German victims of WWII, Inside is a sculpture by Käthe Kollowitz titled Pietá, which is a mother holding her son and sits all alone in a huge room with a hole in the ceiling above it. This makes it open to the elements and therefore it changes with the weather and time of day. It was very poignant.
---
Gendarmenmarkt, a central square where there are two huge churches -- one Protestant and one Catholic -- that were built exactly the same because one group got jealous. On this same square was the Berlin State Opera house that Hitler rebuilt DURING WWII and which the
Allies promptly bombed a second time. There is also a library here where there was a famous book-burning. University students from the school across one street of this square took part in the bonfire of objectionable works. Underground, with only a glass window looking down on it, is a memorial to this day. The memorial is just a room with rows of empty bookshelves that could hold all the books that were lost in the bonfire.
---
Checkpoint Charlie that was the third ("three"="C"="Charlie" in the military) and final checkpoint between the American and Soviet occupying forces during the Cold War. A huge portrait of an American soldier stares down one side and a Soviet soldier the other. This is where the ware almost came to a head and where spies were in abundance. The checkpoint station is a reproduction and so are the signs, but it was still a neat reminder of recent world history.
--- The
Rietsche (sp?) from the outside, which is the Parliament building. It has a new, clear dome with a cool format so visitors can look down and watch the government at work -- literally keeping an eye on their leaders. The
Neue Wache
Sculpture to commemorate the victims of WWII by Käthe Kollowitz, titled Pietá. original dome's burning gave Hitler an excuse to ask for martial law because a communist did it... but of course there are conspiracy theories.
--- An unusual
Holocaust Memorial with cement blocks that are all the same width and length but varying heights that are placed on sloping pathways. There are many different interpretations of this design. It made me think of going down and spiraling out of control and not being to see or hear or get your bearings. The blocks themselves reminded me of caskets.
---
Cafe Adler near Checkpoint Charlie where spies hung out.
---
Berlin Cathedral, that was built at the turn of the century but made to look much older because the leaders wanted to have landmark churches like all the other big cities in Europe. Near here was the site where the Imperial Palace used to stand, which was later used by the communists and is now in the process of being destroyed because people don't want a reminder of that era.
--- The huge, solid
Air Force building that was never destroyed during WWII bombings because allied pilots believed it would be bad luck, even though it would have
been a very easy target. Now it is used as the office for taxes. In front of this is a photo showing people protesting during communism to contrast with the mural on the building's front that exorts the ideals of the communists.
---
TV Tower, which was supposed to be a symbol of East German technology. Actually, they had to fly in foreign architects to finish it, and it makes a reflection of a cross at a certain time of day, which is a direct contrast to communism.
We took a lunch break at Scholotsky's Deli near Checkpoint Charlie and I had a delicious turkey and bacon sandwich. Both at lunch and throughout the day, I had the opportunity to talk with a wide variety of people from all over the world that were on the tour with me. That's the advantage of traveling alone; it's much easier and more natural to meet total strangers when you're not with companions. The trade-off, of course, is loneliness, and I don't think I could travel alone for a long period of time.
After the tour, we were left off near Museum Island, which is across the river and called
that simply because many museums are lined up here. I walked back to the Deutsches Museum because Grandpa recommended it, but it didn't actually have the display he had wanted me to see, and the museum workers directed me to the museum that did. I walked over to that one, but saw that it was filled with ancient Greek and Roman art that I had had enough of in those respective countries -- "been there, done that" -- so I didn't go in. Instead, I walked up and down Unter den Linden, a pretty street lined with linden trees, stopping in tourist shops to get postcards along the way. I bought a cool present for my Grandma here, and went back to the hostel happy with my purchase.
The other girls were busy getting ready to go on the pub crawl that left from the hostel that evening when I got back. (As I had suspected, Betsy and Mary had just spent the day wandering around and really didn't know what they had/hadn't seen -- I was so glad that I had split off from them and gotten the great tour!) From what I gathered, the purpose of a
pub crawl is to escort young people (all my age or in their 20s) through several pubs in the city and ending at a club. We paid one price to guarantee entry into all the places and to get shots in between each stop, but would have to pay for drinks at the individual pubs.
We met four Welsh girls and one Colombian guy in the lobby, along with our pub crawl leader, and headed to the S-Bahn to meet the rest of the group at the first pub. The girl in charge had some bottles of orange vodka and some plastic shot glasses along, so we shared that before we even got to the first pub. We paid 9 euro for the pub crawl and had some beer on the street (well, I didn't drink any) and met a ton of other people on the pub crawl before going into the first pub. There were drink specials in all the pubs we stopped at that night, but I chose not to spend more money than I already had.
We met loads of people, including a Canadian named Daniel that kept trying to get too close to me,
making insinuations, and made me uncomfortable. At the second pub, we were all a bit drunk and Mary began making out with this English guy who was on his bachelor party... therefore, getting married in a few days! I yelled at her, but both her and Betsy didn't care. I went over to talk with some other people I'd met, including a nice guy named Matthew, age 27, who was also from the bachelor party group, from England.
While waiting for the bus to the next pub, I met back up with the other girls, but Mary starting yelling at me for not taking care of Betsy, who I didn't realize was sick until she puked at my feet at just at that moment. I tried to help, but Mary just pulled Betsy away to walk around, and I didn't follow. We got on the bus and I looked for the girls at the third pub -- but they'd never gotten on the bus! They'd left me! I was upset and wandered around looking for them, asking the Welsh girls and Daniel for help. Daniel said he'd look outside with me, so I stupidly followed and he tried to
take advantage of me behind the building but I got myself away.
I was freaked out and very upset at this point, no longer having fun, and worried about getting home. I had no friends left in the pub crawl group and there was no one to keep track of people and make sure we all stuck together. I couldn't keep up the group, which was generally very drunk by this point, but ran into Matthew again, who offered to take me home in a taxi. Something about him made me trust this guy, who was acting like a big brother, so I went along with him.
We stopped at a club for a little while, which had a great atmosphere, with good music and dancing. Matthew had no expectations and just wanted to make sure I ended up having fun. He later got me back to my hostel in the taxi -- paying for it and everything -- and didn't make any moves or anything. I was very grateful to have run into such a gentleman, despite being abandoned by my friends, and fell into bed as soon as I was back at 3:30 a.m. Mary and
Hofbrauhaus
All three of us. Betsy were already asleep.
Saturday, April 21 Another day alone in Berlin, so I went to a cool flea market and the Jewish Museum. I woke up a little groggy, but still upset about being left behind the night before. I expected the other girls to ask how I was or how I got home, but they completely ignored me. I didn't want to just volunteer information -- "oh, so last night I was left behind, sexually harrassed, but rescued by a guy I don't know" -- and figured they'd say something eventually, which they didn't. I finally asked where they'd disappeared the night before, and got a clipped "I was sick" from Betsy. I said I didn't appreciate being left behind, so Mary said she'd told me that she was taking Betsy home. I would NEVER have let them leave without me, when I'd been drinking in a strange city, so there's no way she told me that! I told her this, but they just brushed it off and left for the tour that I had taken the day before. They left while I was in the bathroom, so I'm not even sure where they went or
what they did all day. I considered leaving early for Winchester, but after talking to Mom and Dad on the phone, I calmed down, packed my bags for the next morning's flight, and made plans for another day alone in the city.
I had seen an interesting-looking flea market on the map, so took the S-Bahn down there. I meandered through the stands, relieved that sellers in this country didn't try to confront me, and enjoyed an eclectic display of random stuff. Everything from books, pictures, tea sets, antique toys, crafty-jewelry, clothes, army memorabilia, dishes, silverware, etc. were laid out on the tables. The atmosphere was nice and relaxed, though I didn't end up buying anything.
I had a leisurely lunch at Burger King with the novel I brought along. Then, I took the S-Bahn and U-Bahn to a stop near the Jüdisches (Jewish) Museum. I followed the signs along the rather confusing streets to the unusually shaped building where the museum is housed. The museum itself was set up unlike any I'd ever seen before. And I hadn't ever given the history of Jews in Germany much thought beyond the Holocaust, but this museum told me more
than I ever wanted to know... and then some. The architecture, as I mentioned, is very unusual. It is in a random zig-zag shape, and visitors start out at the top and work their way down gradually without even realizing it. There are "voids" created by the odd angles of the walls, which are left empty and spooky or filled with art or displays. The things housed in the museum are artifacts, photos and replicas... but mostly information. There are a lot of interactive displays, too, like pull-out drawers describing atrocities or prejudices against the Jews over the years, and self-quizzes. Important Jewish people are given recognition on their own signs, with a meaningful quote from them. Throughout the museum were Q&A points, asking contemporary questions like, "should people born in Germany be citizens?" which I found strange because... well, aren't they? Also, a computer program that shows your name in Hebrew and a video show, among many other displays.
The museum walked me through Jewish history from their first settlement in Germany to the Holocaust to the present day. I liked how they gave the WWII years due attention, but didn't dwell on it. Much of the information
Hofbrauhaus
Mmmm... German sausages... leading up to the era of the Third Reich eluded to anti-Semitism and persecution, so I got a better historical sense of why the Jews were so despised in Germany during the war. It doesn't justify it, of course, but it gives historical perspective instead of thinking that the Jews were suddenly hated out of nowhere. For example, Jews could only hold certain jobs and weren't allowed to stay in certain places and had to pay a "body tax" just for being someplace, wear a marking, etc. in history, and were treated with suspicion because of governmental propaganda right up until Hitler came to power.
There was also a neat, arty display at the end to depict modern Jews in Switzerland and Austria; I think it was a temporary exhibit. Visitors could sit on little boxes and listen on headphones to poetic testimonies from the people pictured on the lit-up cubes. Overall, the museum was intriguing, but I probably wouldn't go back or recommend it.
Afterward, I was neither hungry nor eager to face Mary and Betsy again. I purposely got myself lost looking for the U-Bahn home to kill time, then used up my Internet and phone
Hofbrauhaus
Mary with the liter of beer she drank. time back at the hostel, before finally heading up to our room at 8 p.m. They were already in bed! Good thing I had packed earlier. I had some food from the vending machine and read on the downstairs couch until I convinced myself I was tired enough to go to bed, since we had to get up really early. I wasn't sure when the girls planned to leave, either, since they hadn't left a note, so just set my alarm for 4:30 a.m. and hoped for the best.
Sunday, April 22 TRAVEL HOME!! (To Winchester.) Our 7 a.m. flight out of Berlin was the cheapest option, but certainly not the most convenient, as the buses weren't running yet so we had to navigate the tube. Then, a boring 2-hour flight with two girls that were barely speaking to me.
Back at Heathrow, we realized that Mary had accidently booked an earlier bus back to Winchester than Betsy and I had, so while I was in the bathroom, Betsy went and paid to have her ticket changed so she could go back with Mary. They told me of this when I came back. Too tired to fight
this irrational decision out, I let them go and took the later bus. The dorms didn't open until noon, anyway, so there was no point in PAYING to get back earlier. When they got on their bus, they did so without a goodbye or a backward glance.
On the bus, I ended up sitting next to a nice woman from Miami who was there on business, and we had a nice chat about her job and family, and my time in England. It was her first time here, and she was young-ish and rather overwhelmed by it. I was able to give her some advice, and it was just nice talking to another American.
Back in Winchester, I grabbed a cab with Lauren (a girl from Eau Claire) who happened to be on the same bus, because we didn't want to walk all the way uphill. Rolling my suitcases across the familiar path through campus was the best moment of my day. It was a great trip, but I'm happy to be back!!!
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