Our final day in Berlin and our only day in Hamburg

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our final full day in Berlin was depressing, to say the least. we decided that since we were in Germany we must go see a concentration camp. we found a day tour to one just north of Berlin called Sachsenhausen. we met up with our tour guide at 10:30am on Sunday. we weren't really sure what to expect. our tour guide was amazing. she has been doing the tours for over 2 years and definately knows her stuff. we headed up to the camp via train, just as its prisioners had just decades ago. we marched through the small town that was once known as "S.S. ville" because there were so many S.S. officers occupying it during the camp's operating years. the camp opened up during Hitler's reign in the early 1930s and stayed operating well into the cold war by the Soviet troops. over 50,000 people were murdered there. it was a work camp originally built to house political prisoners, mostly communists. it eventually expanded to house jews, homosexuals, gypsies, and other people who the nazis didn't like. our tour guide took us through the A Gate where every prisioner entered. none of the original barracks are standing, but there are markers for all of them. a couple have been rebuilt, showing how the bunks and bathrooms were set up. everything was so cramped, i could not even imagine having to live there. the barracks were built to house 150 prisioners, but ofter times they held up to 400. the men (the camp only held men) ofter times had to share a small bed of straw with 2 other men. everything was just as we were taught in school, only worse.

we were also taken to the crematorium where the gas chamber and 4 ovens are, the pathology lab, where the autopsies were supposed to take place, and to the "special prison." the special prison is where the nazis kept the people that they believed deserved the most horrible treatment. these people were held in pure isolation for weeks at a time without even seeing daylight. they were tortured until they gave up information or died...or many times both. the nazis also had a hold dug into the earth and covered with a grate. they would throw prisoners down the hole and keep them there til they died. the things that happened at the camp are unthinkable. even after seeing it i cannot grasp how it could happed....and how it is happening right now is various parts of the world. it's disgusting.

now....we are in hamburg. we arrived yesterday afternoon. it's been raining on and off since we got here. AND the drivers if the S-Baun are on strike...so we had to take a bus into town...along with everyone else that is staying or living south of the city like we are. thank goodness the buses and the U-Baun (the underground metro system) are still running...i don't know what we would have done.

so far today, after finally figuring out how to get into the city, we have seen various churches including St. Petrikirche, the oldest in hamburg, and St. Jakobikiche. we also saw the goverment building, Rathaus. we are going to head down and check out the symbol of Hamburg, the Micheaelskirche, another church. Shay is getting sick, so i think after that we are going to go back to the hotel and just chill out for the rest of the evening.

tomorrow morning we are meeting up with our friend Henning (we know him from the time that he spent as a foreign exchange student at SHS) at IKEA. he is giving us a ride to Amsterdam. it will definately be good to see him. we haven't seen him since last summer.

we only have 9 days left til we brave the london-gatwick airport and fly home. we are definately ready for it....but were still excited to see amsterdam, bruges, and brussels before we head out. yes mom....we switched our itinerary again....amsterdam for 3 nights starting on the 4th, bruges for 1, then brussels for 1 before we head to london for 3 and then we fly home.

we are still doing well and having the time of our lives...staying safe and all that good stuff. we miss all of you...and our beds 😊

love you guys!! hope all is well! and we will see you soon!!!! 😊

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[Tawny]

Fun
My momma says Brusses and Brugges are amazing. Have fun!