Friday morning we were off to Amsterdam. The main reason I went to Amsterdam was to see the Anne Frank House. I read the book and saw the movie in fifth grade, so I knew the story before, but I wanted to refresh my memory with her life story, so I watched the movie the week before we left. I understood the characters and Anne’s story again before I went to see the house on Friday. We pre-ordered our tickets online, so we got to walk straight into the museum. We could see almost every room of the Secret Annex, except for the attic, but mirrors were situated that you could see up to the attic. The Anne Frank House was a very emotional experience. The fact that I was walking through the same house that a family had used to hide from the Nazis in WWII was unbelievable. The rooms were so small and the stairs were difficult to walk up. They were probably the skinniest, steepest stairs that I've ever walked up. It was also really neat to see the bookcase that covered the opening to the hiding place, but I never would have guessed there would be so much more space behind that bookcase. The museum had many videos and stories about the family and captions from the Diary itself. They also had the diary displayed here as well. I was so glad that I re-watched the movie beforehand because I felt more knowledgeable and understood the stories and characters’ life stories better throughout the exhibit. After walking out of the exhibit, I could not believe that I had walked through the same house that Anne and her family hid in during the Third Reich. I could not imagine living in the dark without being able to communicate with the outside world for that long of a period. Anne Frank was a strong woman and I envy her ability to be strong and passionate about her religion. The rest of the day we walked around and explored the streets of Amsterdam. The town was very unique, but it looked a lot like Bruge, Belgium.
We only spent 24 hours in Amsterdam, but I felt that I saw what I needed to see. We took a 6 hour train ride to Berlin on Saturday. It was a long day of traveling, and we kind of lost a night in Berlin, but it is okay because we had 3 more nights to explore Berlin.
The Anne
Frank House
Berlin was a much more metropolitan European city compared to the ones I have seen before. This was by far my favorite city that we have traveled to. We spent 5 days and 4 nights in Berlin. We stayed at the Wombat Hostel, it was awesome! It was one of the nicer hostels we have stayed at and it had its own bar on the top floor, called the Wombar. Our first day consisted of a free walking tour that explored the history of Berlin during World War II. We witnessed many of the footprints Nazi Germany left behind. For example, we stood in front of the Museum where Hitler would deliver many speeches, where several of the book burnings took place, and where the Memorial stands for the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The location of the book burnings was a fascinating place that had an underground empty library to represent all the books that were burned who were written by Jewish authors. The memorial for the Jewish victims is comprised of a sea of plain cement blocks with graffiti-proof paint. I was fascinated by this memorial and the unique design and knew we would be going back to see the museum later in the week. We also got to stand in front of one of the last main pieces of the Berlin wall. The last part of the tour was viewing one of the most famous and expensive hotels in Germany. It is particularly famous, however, because it is the site where Michael Jackson dangled his baby over the edge of the balcony.After the walking tour, we went to the Nazis museum, the Topography of Terror. It used to be the headquarters of the Gestapo and the SS during the Nazi era from 1933-1945. The monument is another piece for Germany’s attempt to come to terms with its Nazi past and reinforces its reputation as a country by trying to apologize for its past. The Topography of Terror is different from many memorials and museums in Berlin because it is built on an authentic site, a place that used to be the most feared place to be in Berlin. I walked through the museum and thought the entire time that I was standing on the same grounds as Nazi SS worked, I was utterly disgusted and angry. Although Berlin has tried their best to apologize for the past, I still felt upset and emotional walking through the city because 66 years ago, the people of Germany let the Holocaust happen and killed millions of people. Why, Why, Why?
Brandenburg Gate The Berlin Wall Checkpoint Charlie
Biggest Church in Berlin Memorial to Jewish Books
The next day in Berlin was a day of exploring. We decided to walk and find another part of the Berlin Wall, called the East Side Gallery. The East Side Gallery shows how art had become the expression during the time Germany was separated. It is an area that shows the old Berlin and new Berlin, a separated and a unified Germany. After the Wall came down in 1989, hundreds of artists from all over the world gathered and transformed the eastside of the Wall into gorgeous paintings. The wall documents a time of change and expresses the excitement and great hopes for a better and freer future for people all over the world. It is amazing that the Berlin Wall was created only 50 years ago and torn down 20 years ago. It seems unrealistic that such a horrific time period in Berlin was happening when my parents were teenagers. Just think, something like this can happen again when I am alive. After our long day of walking, we decided to take a 7 person bike ride to our hostel. There were 7 seats, 1 for the driver and 6 for passengers, which was perfect for us! We all pedaled and glided down the streets of Berlin back to our hostel. 5 euro for a 30 minute ride plus a free beer, what a great deal! Germany is known for meat and potatoes, but I do not eat red meat so I didn’t really get to experience real German food. However, I did have a great vegetarian potato and vegetable dish that was a German cuisine. We also got to a try a German beer which was strawberry flavored; of course I loved it because it was sweet and did not taste like real beer!
The East Side Gallery
Holocaust Memorial
for the 6 million Jews
that died during the
Third Reich
On Tuesday, we went on a tour of a concentration camp, called Sachsenhausen. It is about a 45 minute train ride outside of Berlin in a town called Oranienburg. It was a Nazis concentration camp used primarily for political prisoners from 1936-1945 during the Third Reich. After World War II, this area was used as an NKVD special camp run by the Soviet Occupation Zone. Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals and other 'antisocial' types were taken to this camp as well. Over 220,000 men were captive there before 1945 and almost half of them never left. Sachsenhausen was intended to set a standard for other concentration camps, by its design and the treatment of prisoners. The camp perimeter is an equilateral triangle with a semi circular roll call area right in front of Tower A. The standard barrack layout was two areas connected by washing and storage areas and lack of heat. Each day, time to get up, wash, use the toilet and eat was only 30 minutes and everyone in the barracks was rushing to do the same thing in that time allotted. The crowded facilities caused many deaths and poor hygiene for many prisoners. There was an infirmary, a camp kitchen and a camp laundry. The camp’s capacity was not large enough so the camp extended in 1938 with an area called the “small camp,” mostly for Jewish prisoners. The conditions of life in Sachsenhausen were incredibly barbaric. There were daily executions by shooting or hanging, and many more died as a result of poor living conditions and treatment. Sachsenhausen was not intended to be used as an extermination camp, so many prisoners were sent off to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland to be exterminated. There was however a gas chamber located in the camp in case it was needed to be used. Today, the concentration camp is open to the public as a museum and memorial. Several buildings and structures survive or have been reconstructed, including guard towers, the camp entrance, crematoriums and the camp barracks. I cannot believe that I was able to see a concentration camp. It is by far my favorite and the most interesting place I have seen since abroad. I had so many emotions and feelings while walking through the camp, I can barely describe them. I was mad, angry, frustrated, upset, exhausted, hurt, and much more. Although I am heartbroken for the families of the homosexuals, gypsies, political prisoners, and other types of people that were trapped in the camp, I am extremely emotional with how many Jewish prisoners lived and died on the camp. The stories, the remembrances, the artifacts left over from the Jews that survived seem like a frozen moment in history, yet it really happened. It even impacted some of my own family members who are Holocaust survivors. I left Berlin with a smile on my face however. I got to see some remarkable memorials and museums. I learned so much more about World War II, the Nazis Regime, and about concentration camps that I never thought I would know. The tours I went on made me realize how important history is to a country and how hard Berlin and Germany has tried to apologize for their past actions. I still have a slight grudge against Germany, which is to be expected, however I appreciate all they have done to show the world what did happen in their country 66 + years ago. I became more educated and am going to try and learn more about the Holocaust and World War II when I return to the states in May.
Tower A Roll Car Area Toilets in Barracks
Bunk Beds in Barracks Prisoner Cell Uniform Crematorium
Wednesday through Friday we spent our Spring Break in Ireland. We stayed in Dublin Wednesday night and enjoyed eating Irish food and drinking cider. I also bought a wool knit sweater which was a highlight of my trip. Temple Bar is an area in the center of Dublin known for its lively nightlife. We had a few drinks and listened to real live Irish music in the Temple Bar. All through the streets of Temple Bar are Irish pubs with live music playing. It was lots of fun listening to music and hanging out with my friends.
Saint Patrick's Garden Trinity College
We got up at the crack of dawn to take a train to Galway, Ireland. Galway is a city in the Republic of Ireland and is the fifth largest and fastest growing city in Ireland. The City of Galway is about a two hour bus ride from the Cliffs of Moher, the main attraction we wanted to see in Ireland. The Cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland's top visitor attractions. The Cliffs are 214m high at the highest point and 8 kilometers long over the Atlantic Ocean. O'Brien's Tower stands on top of the cliffs. The view was incredible! It is one of the prettiest landscapes I have ever seen. I wanted to just sit on the rocks of the cliffs for hours and take in the beautiful scenery. We took a bus tour up to the cliffs and got to see other parts of the country side of Ireland. It was so beautiful! Just what I was expecting, greenery, cobble stone, and little houses on the way. I didn’t get to spend as much time in Ireland as I wanted to, but I felt I saw what was needed. Ireland is such an amazing city, it reminded me of home. Diet Coke, English speaking people with an Irish accent, cars, buildings, subway and many more attractions. We got to walk through Trinity College and see their “quad.” This is probably one of the only other cities that I could study abroad in. I felt comfortable and could see myself fitting in with the culture, even though I am not Irish.
Cliffs of Moher O Brien's Tower
I had to go home early from break, because two of my best friends, Cori and Monica, were coming to visit me in Rome! They were my first visitors! I picked them up at the train station Saturday afternoon and then we were off to Vatican City. We waited in line to go on the Copula. I had done this once before, but I had to show my friends the view of Rome from the top of the basilica. I went on a rainy and gloomy day, so I got lucky when Saturday was sunny and gorgeous! We took pictures at the top and inside St. Peter’s Basilica then got ready for dinner. We ate at Cassette di Trastevre. Monica is studying in Paris and never had been to Italy before. Cori is studying in Milan, but doesn’t eat real Italian food. So it was my job to show them how to eat like the Italians do. We each had an antipasti (brushetta), a primi dish (pasta), and secondo dish (chicken or meat) and then we got gelato at Giolitti for our dessert. After dinner, I took them to see Campo di Fiori, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps and finished at the Trevi Fountain. We all made a wish and through a coin into the fountain. Interesting fact: each day 3,000 Euros is thrown into the fountain. We woke up the next morning at went to the Porta Portese market and bought some scarves. Cori had to leave and catch her flight, so we said goodbye and headed to the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. I had been to these sites before for class, but didn’t get to really enjoy and take in what I was seeing. We walked all through the Forum, even to places I had never seen before. The Colosseum is my favorite monument in Rome. We took pictures in every angle, then went to a pizzeria. Monica got to try Suppli and take away pizza! After, we met up with some other girls to bike the Appian Way. The
Appian Way was one of the earliest and most important Roman roads of the ancient Roman Empire. The road was decorated with tombs, churches, and monuments. The roads were cobble stoned which was hard to bike on, but we still had fun. It was Monica’s last Italian meal, so we decided to go to Campo Di Fiori and had a nice long dinner sitting outside listening to music. We ordered a bottle of wine and enjoyed our food and each other’s company. I loved having my friends here this weeked. It was cool showing my friends where I have been living for over two months. I also got to see parts of Rome that I have never been to before. This coming weekend, Torey and Jamie come to visit! I will take them to all the famous places and make sure they eat real Italian food! Hope you enjoyed my long blog post, sorry if it was boring at times!
Ciao Ciao!
-Marisa
