Reading Week: Berlin, Germany

 The second leg of my reading week trip was a stop for 3 nights in Berlin. While Berlin does not have much old beautiful architecture, as most of it was bombed during the second world war, it has a very interesting history. I learned more about the very recent history of the divide between East and West Berlin; something that is still a hard topic to discuss for many Germans. I also learned a lot about the war and stood on soil where some very important things occurred. I remember learning loads about WW2 in school but it all came to a harsh reality for me in Berlin. I stood where Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his bunker, as well as at Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he robbed thousands more lives. Many of the sights and spots brought me to tears and made me think  deeply about humanity and its ability to turn evil at any moment. All of it's fun aside, Berlin served as a reminder to me of how lucky I really am.

Around the corner from our hostel, Oberbaum bridge:

 East side gallery:

 The Brandenburg gate:

I took a photo of this hotel because this is where paparazzi got pictures of Michael Jackson hanging his children out the window:

 The Reichstag:

 Holocaust memorial:

 Nazi architecture building:

 The remains of the Berlin wall:

 Checkpoint Charlie:

 The opera:

 While this window doesn't look like much, if you looked inside you would see rows and rows of bookshelves with books on them. This is a memorial of all of the books burned during the Nazi regime. It is opposite the main university campus, where many of the books were burned. This is meant to show that even those in higher education and positions of power obeyed and supported the Nazi commands.

 Looking over the canal to Museum island:

 Memorial dedicated to the Jews who lost their children at war:

 

Our professor lived in Berlin for 2 years and told us that they are notorious for their amazing Italian food:

 The Pergamon, the world's largest reconstruction inside of a museum:

 the Market Gate from the Roman Imperial period:

 Gates of Ischtar to Babylon!!!:

 Islamic art and temples:

 The palace of Mshatta:

 The handpainted Aleppo room:

 

One cannot visit Germany without warm potato salad and Schnitzel:

 

The entry to Sachsenhausen concentration camp museum:

 The gates into the camp, leading up to the front entry.

 The main office

 "Work to be free"

Apple streudl:

 

Our savvy room number at the hostel:

 Sausage with sauerkraut:

Me saying goodbye to the industrial looking Berlin:

 We venture on to Prague...

 Germany countryside seen from the train: