The next day, Ashlie met us at our hotel during breakfast, and we started where we left off. We saw part of the line running through the city where the wall used to be. The brick line goes along the entire original path of the wall. We went from there to the Holocaust Memorial. That was impressive. There was a lot of opposition to having it built, but enough support to make it happen and we all thought it was neat. The museum underneath it is great, too. Not the kind of thing you want to visit if you need a "lift-me-up" sort of vacation, but BreAnne and I are into German history anyway, so we liked it. Micah fell asleep in Ashlie's arms about halfway through.
After that museum (which is free, by the way), Ashlie showed us some of the sights nearby. We went to the spot where Hitler's bunker used to be (watch the movie Downfall for details, it's really good, especially if you're interested in German history and Vergangenheitsbewältigung literature and film). It was apparently destroyed shortly after allied troops got into the city. We walked past the former SS headquarters, which I thought was pretty nifty. Now it houses the German equivalent of the IRS (Finanzminesterium). Then we saw the long, preserved section of the Berlin Wall. I was more impressed with it than I thought I would be, but again, I don't think it's as interesting for someone who isn't familiar with or doesn't care about the history surrounding the wall, it's construction, and opening. Most people in our (BreAnne and my) generation or older would appreciate it.
Moving on, we went down the street to Checkpoint Charlie. It's too bad the original house isn't there (it's a replica, the original is in a museum), but like most of Berlin, it's coolness is partly a result of the history that took place there.
After that, we headed to the Deutsch-Jüdisches Museum, which documents the interaction of Jews with Germans from the first settlers (a LONG time ago, I forgot the dates... 6th Century maybe) to the present. Although it was really interesting, with some VERY cool displays and items (Moses Mendelssohn's glasses, old gravestones, anti-semitism memorabilia), it was just way too much to try to tackle even in a few hours, especially with kids. We ended up racing through most of it, appreciating what we could, and then went to get something to eat.
We ate at a little Italian restaurant close to KaDeWe. Afterwards we sayed our goodbyes to Ashlie, Micah cried. Next we headed to KaDeWe and decided that rich Germans like their designer label stuff. We went back to the hotel and went to bed.
The Holocaust Monument
Line marking where the wall was
East Germany's answer to the Volkswagen Beetle; The Trabant (Trabi).
One of the last remaining parts of the Iron Curtain.
The lovely Checkpoint Charlie.
A sign from the German Jewish Museum that says "We don't serve Jews here".
The German Jewish Museum.
Micah all sorts of upset to see Ashlie leave.
Goodbye Ashlie.
No comments:
Post a Comment