Delayed twice on SAS with an unexpected night in Washington D.C., I was relieved to meet Rich at the Hamburg Airport and drive to Berlin.
From the campground there we rode the S Bahn first to the Wannsee villa where Adolf and his associates concocted the "Final Solution". I find it fascinating that a group of resourceful, powerful, educated (at least some of them) men could arrive at genocide as a logical choice.
The Brandenburg Gate has been at the center for some time, and is looking spruced up.
The French Embassy within a few steps of the Gate has those gorgeous Versailles-like flowers.
Our American Embassy, across the street, stands like a fortress.
Within a short distance is the monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
(Have a Google look at this moving monument.)
A must-see for me was the location of Hitler's bunker, place where he married Eva and did himself in when he correctly calculated that his Cause was lost.
All this together was very emotionally moving but an undeniable facing the facts of the nightmare that took place here.
A great, destroyed historical Church in the Center is a reminder of the once upon a time chaos that reigned here.
The Church as it once appeared.
I loved the energy, the people, the efficient transportation, history and just about everything I saw in Berlin. I want to return!
Did you get to go inside the bunker? What are they doing with it now?
ReplyDeleteI remember loving Berlin, too. You can get on a public bus there that goes in a loop all around the city. I remember how many of the older buildings had turned black on the outside. There is so much to see and do there, for sure.