BootsnAll Travel Network



Danke Shein, Oh darling Danke Shein

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Ok, so our German is a little rusty. We are trying to get the basic words down for each country. It makes it a little tough when you’re in a different country with a different language every four days. So after leaving Amsterdam we took the train to Berlin. I thought it would be a good time to get a history lesson in on our travels, and boy did we. I was in Berlin 13 years ago and remembered how it just blows your mind when you realize that you’re at the spot where so much history took place, where the world was affected in so many ways. We did a 5 hour walking tour through Berlin and went to all the main spots, the Berlin Wall, the Reichtag, Hitler’s bunker where he commited suicide and the Brandenburg gate. It’s incredible to think that ninety percent of Berlin was leveled during World War II.  Needless to say, the place is still being repaired and since the city itself is bankrupt, it’s taking a long time to get things in order. Also, the Berlin Wall cut right through the city so all of that area has been redeveloped as well. It’s just a really weird contrast between old Berlin and new Berlin. Our tour guide said the city is trying to come up with a new slogan for the city. One of the finalists for the slogan when translated into english is “Berlin, we do everthing, just not quite right.” another is “Berlin, we’re poor but sexy.” Thats probably the best way to describe Berlin. On our last day we went to a concentration camp. Another deal where you really can nof grasp what went on in this country until you are there. The numbers of people murdered are mind blowing. When they talk about how many were killed, its not hundreds or thousands, but millions. To see ovens that were made for cooking people and huge shower rooms that were made for gassing people is very sad. You leave the tour just dumbfounded about how this all happened and amazed at how lucky we were not to have lived through any of that.  One thing is for sure, the Nazis were bastards and the communists were not much better.

With our heads filled with an incredible history lesson, we were ready to head off to the mother of all cities, Prague….



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