Nazi Concentration Camp

Today I went with the Sandemans New Europe Tour to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Tour. This is the Free Tour company I have mentioned from Munich and yesterday here in Berlin. They actually started out here 3 years ago and have made a STRONG presence since then and are in other cities like Amsterdam, London and Paris. Check them out if you are coming to Europe at http://www.neweuropetours.eu/ . It REALLY is worth checking out. They work on tips, but I recommend 8-12 Euros per person, depending on your budget and gratitude. Today.s tour was 14 Euro up front, along with paying for the 1 hour train ride to get there and back. I think the actual touring of the concentration camp was ok, nothing special, but the guide and her information was what made it worth it. You can go out there and do an audio tour, but it takes longer and would probably just bore me. Again, I won.t go into the history lesson, but I will say that there is a difference between the concentration camps and execution/holocaust camps. Although MANY people were killed or died in the concentration camps, they were supposed to be work detail prisons. But along the way people were killed for fun, demonstration, suicide, attempt to escape, stopping a work detail, looking at someone wrong, you name it. And beyond what I thought before coming to Germany, it wasn.t just Jews that were killed but many other groups. Basically anyone that posed a threat to the Nazi party whether they be political, social or homosexual. It didn.t matter, only that you were not part of their "party" and beliefs.

Tonight I plan on painting the town, and getting up really late. I haven.t made it to breakfast this week.....! Today I just was sleeping really well, and lovin it! Tonight I plan on finding the answer to my "research" question from a few weeks ago. I.ll let you all know what the answer is soon enough! Ciao.

This was the entrance to the courtyard where the prisoners were brought to begin being beat down by the guards. This is also where the large heavy machine gun was positioned so that it could look down the rows of barracks to watch for prisoners escaping. The gun was never fired.Originally designed for 150 prisoners, these buildings would house up to 400 during the heyday of the early 1940.s
The wall constructed shows where the barracks began. You can see the outline depicting the shape of each, fanned out so the guards could look down from above. This is where roll call was performed each morning and evening. If there was a miscount, they would start over again. The longest time it took for this was 15 hours, with many people dieing because of falling over from exhaustion, then shot.

Der Keiser in Berlin

Uggghhh, I.m tired. Sorry I don.t have much energy today to report, so I.ll keep it brief. Yesterday.s train ride from Prague was uneventful and only about 5.5 hours. So I was able to take advantage of my 1st class ticket this time and sit in the comfy seats! After arriving, I checked into my hotel and called Joanna. She.s a friend of Becky Grant and lives here in Berlin. We met for sushi (first time I.ve had any on the trip and was CRAVING it!) and sat, talked, gorged, drank, and talked some more until the wee hours. I had a great time getting to know her and it was fun cutting up with someone who has a similar personality! Thanks Joanna, hopefully I can repay you soon!

This morning I didn.t get up too early, 11:00 to be specific.... But I was still able to down a Tylenol and make it to the plaza to meet the walking Free Tour guide that departed at 1:00. It was informative, but maybe not as much as the one in Munich. Of course like all tours, it depends on the tour guide. But we did get to see the highlights and some history as well. I won.t bore you with those details this time! But the tour is designed to just give you an overview in 4 hours, not show you everything and try to cram hundreds of years of history into the same time frame. Tomorrow I will either go to the concentration camp north of here, or a castle near by. My cousin Jeff gave me some other pointers, and I did not see all of them today, so I may try and take some of those off the list. I am already leaning towards staying until Friday, I like this town!

Brandenburg Gate, the most famous landmark in Berlin and where the Wall once stood.

Does this look familiar? Jacko (aka Michael Jackson) dangled his child off of this balcony...

A Jewish memorial. These are concrete "tombs", but there are many interpretations of the meaning.

Although the tombs appear to rise only slightly, the ground actually drops dramatically and the concrete tombs rise, giving them a lot of depth.

What is left of the Wall from 1989.

The American checkpoint Charlie. This is a mock-up of the original, which was 10 lanes wide.

The Dom and TV antenna tower to it's right. Why they built these antenna's and thought of them as "art", I will never know.

Inside of the Dom.

Touring Prague

Now I get to report on touring Prague for the past two days. The Prague tourist information website says you should see Prague in 3 days, and I think that is more than suffice, or even just two. But if you take it easy and don't power walk the whole thing like we did, then you can drag it out over 3 days no problem. It is a big city, but not too big. We literally only took two subway trains, one to get into the city, and one to get out. But you can easily get around under or above ground. So we went to the Old Town square to view the astronomical clock and tower then toured virtually all of the church's in the surrounding area. Petra and I both love going into these old churches, and neither are big on museums and artsy fartsy stuff. So we were perfect together as a sight seeing "couple". From the Old Town we crossed the Charles Bridge towards the Royal Palace and Cathedral. I wasn't overly impressed with the bridge and wasn't really sure why it was so famous.... It wasn't ugly by any means, just appeared to be a bridge with some statues on it. Petra looked amazed and said, "Because it has been there so LONG". It was finished being built in the early 1500's and is said that the mortar is mixed with egg yolk, which is why the bridge is so strong. Ok, I'll go for that, but there were many tourists and street "vendors" and "musicians" (beggars) along the bridge. Ok, I guess I change my mind a little about it! But on to a few more churches, an authentic Czech lunch (goulash and dumplings), then the Royal Palace. You can get a pretty good view of the city from the Palace, but there is an even better one if you go to Petrin view tower. It looks like the Eiffel, but smaller. We did not go on the funicular because of too many people, but could be worth a visit another time. From the Palace we strolled to the New Town and really just walked and took in the sights and sounds. It was really nice discussing culture, our thoughts on history, and what the mean of love and life are all about! I had such a great tour guide and an even better conversation companion, thanks Petra!!! But after dinner we strolled back across the Charles Bridge to view everything at night and it was worth the trip. I know I didn't get to bed until 12:30 and am sure it was late for her too. But a great day none the less!

Today we met and went to tour the Jewish Synagogue and "compound". There were about 6 different buildings in the old Jewish community to tour. We saw a VERY long list of city, family name, then given name, then date of birth and death written in an entire building. It was very sad to see so many Jewish names and how each had died in either 1941, '42, or '43. Why are so many wars fought for religion? And why does it still go on today? I think I agree that religion and politics should stay separate, but not to forget the principals of the other. At least from a Christian's perspective that is.... Any why was Hitler so against the Jews? Because they are smarter? Have more money? Mad because they killed Jesus? If so, then Hitler would have to be a Christian himself, or so it would seem. But his actions speak out against that fact.

Ok, enough of that too. But you can see that it was informational, thought provoking and I'm glad we got to see it. I look forward to going to Berlin tomorrow and learning more about the Holocaust there too. I will try not to get so deep in thought next time! And I hope to be able to post pics soon, this cafe won't let me download, they must be Internet Nazi's!

The graves were stacked one on top of the other, and the grave stones are the only evidence of what is buried beneath.

Prague, Czech Republic

Howdy all! I could not login to the blog at the cafe last night for some reason, but at least managed an email home! No major adventure getting to Prague from Munich, but because I am traveling with a bike it took 7.5 hrs to get there, instead of 6. That is my only complaint about riding the rails with the bike, it's not always the most direct. And I could go on and on about how all of the "bike cars" (the one car of the whole train that is "designated" for bikes) are not the same. One will have practically a WHOLE car for bikes, and another will have standing room only with your bike. I also have a 1st class Eurorail pass that I don't get to use all of the time because my bike is at the tail end of the train, and 1st class is at the front. So my advice, if cycle touring, is to not get a Eurorail pass. I may have made a mistake there, but it wouldn't be my first one, or last in life! I was glad to have 1st class going through Prague. I hate to say it, but it is a rather poor country. Not third world, but I guess second, if that is the proper term. Just getting on the trains and seeing the stations along the way you know that these people have been repressed for many years. I saw quite a bit of ore mining. Not sure what type of ore, maybe coal, or kryptonite for all I know! Also lots of lumber as felled trees were lined up ready to be loaded on the trains. That was once music to my ears, as long as they came in 2x4 or 2x something, but that was another time...... Once I arrived in Prague, or Praha as it is known here, it become an almost different world. It is much more thriving and beautiful. Although the sky's are grey and overcast right now, it is still a historic city with much of it's original structures dating back before 1300. Officially I believe it became a city in 900. My other history tid bit is that it was under Austrian and Hungarian rule for the majority of it's "life". With the capital being Vienna. Many moons ago it became a country and in the 1940's it was given as a present to Hitler from France. Sissy's. The good news is that meant he didn't demolish it like all of the other cities in his wake. After WWII, Russia came in to "save the day" and help pick the country back up and on it's feet again. This went well until the people realized the Communism wasn't the way to run a country. They were nice and free people once before, and things started changing around 1968. But 1989 they were again a free, liberal country, but not without their share of bloodshed.

Ok, enough about the history books, although I find it more fascinating now. My lovely friend, and Rick Masta's girlfriend, Petra Sehnalikova showed up after my arrival and we met for drinks last night. It is so great to see her, and it's hard to believe that it has only been 3 months since she came back to Czech. I know she misses you Rick, so you better hurry up and get over here. By the way, she looks great, and I've given her a big hug from me and the Brunner's! But Rick will be over here in just a couple of weeks, so I'm not too worried about someone snatching her up before he gets here! (But you might want to hurry bro!) I would blog about the actual city of Prague, but I am really tired and it's late. We walked most of the city today and my legs are so tired. I will meet Princess (Rick's nickname for Petra, not mine!) at the station tomorrow morning to walk the city a little more, then she will return to her home east of here by noon. I am going to stick around the city one more night and see if I can find some trouble! Then head to Berlin to find even more :) I hope to post some pictures tomorrow, so check back then. Otherwise I'll just blog from Germany. Ok, g'night!

The astronomical clock.

One of the characters in the clock!

If you notice, there are "newer" buildings in front of the old church. This was what they did everywhere, including the Royal Palace. Land was valuable, so they just built in front of these landmarks without thinking of the future and the people that would come back to view them for decades later.

Inside of one of the churches.

A view of the Royal Palace and Cathedral.

The Charles Bridge.

Petra and I on the Charles Bridge.

Inside the Royal Cathedral.

The King of Czech beer, and a hell of a lot better than the American brand!

The Princess and the Pauper.

Munich, um......

So, what can I blog about today? Not much I guess, sorry. It.s raining here, imagine that, and the forecast is going to follow me to Prague tomorrow as well.... Hopefully next week in Berlin will be good. Umm, I guess I should have planned to be here for more than 1.5 days because there really is a lot to see. I walked the "Red Shirt" free tour that starts at Marienplatz at 11. I highly recommend taking this tour, as it was also recommened to me. They are in numerous cities, with Berlin being my next visit with them. They of course only ask for tips. But one of the things I learned (although maybe I learned in my UCHS edumacation...) was that Munich was the starting point for the Nazi regeme. Hitler gave one of his first speeches above what is now the Hofbrau Haus, trying to rally troops and government of Bavaria. He said it was time to over throw the government in Berlin (which moved to Bonn, now back to Berlin...) Since Munich was all but totally destroyed in WWII, pretty much everything here is less than 70 years old, although rebuilt to look as it was. Nymphenburg sounds like an interesting place, wonder what I might find there.... :) I have an all day subway pass, so I think I will go back into town. I am my father.s son, I like figuring the train/bus/subway/bike paths, etc. out! The hardest things is getting your bearings once you come out of the ground. Having even a small map of the city should help if you can figure out the cross streets. Well like I said, not much to report. Just come over here and see it for yourself and tell me what I missed! Will report back when I can from Prague. C-ya!

The clock tower in Marianplatz.
I can.t remember the name of this church....
The infamous Hofbräuhaus! Mmmmm, bier!
What can I say? I like their S.O.B. (hamburger)! I had a great time talking with some EMC type guys that were in town on business. Gotta keep the electric on somehow!

Rain, trains, and automobiles - Scuol to Munich

I thought I was here during summer, not winter. I was talking to my buddy Matt on the phone last night and I looked out the window to watch it dumping the fluffy stuff. It didn.t stick, but it was purty! I guess I should have gone further yesterday to get away from the rain and snow, but the spa was nice and Scuol isn.t a bad town. Note to anyone planning to take the train out of Scuol to Innsbruck, Austria (east of town), it CAN.T be done without getting on a bus. Herding livestock comes to mind when riding a bus. And putting your life into the herders´hands is another. Don.t take the bus unless you have to because the dumb fÖ§ßer will drop your bike off at a point along the way. Yes that.s right, somewhere between Oompaloompaville and Landeck he took my bike off the back of the bus (which I did not see of course) and handed the bike to the closest tree to take for a spin. I don.t know what he was thinking. But I was calm and didn.t get pissed and my psychiatrist would be proud! So I got to wait an extra hour, and miss the train, so that I could wait for my bike to arrive. Fortunately it did and I made my way without any other incidents to Munich, or Munchen, depending on what you read or how you say it. I think a full day of sight seeing will be enough for me, but if anyone reads this and has a recommendation of places to go or sights to see please email me. I will be going to Prague on Friday and Berlin next week, so any of you travel guides can tell me what to do and more importantly, what NOT to do. Ok, I need food, time to go.

SKOAL, er, Scuol

I had heard the other day that the weather forecast was for snow above 1300 meters, which meant St. Moritz. I thought the guy was full of shit, until this morning. SNOW! It was above probably 2000 meters, and St. Moritz is at 1700, but there was a little bit of the fluffy stuff falling when I left. This made it easy for me to decide to take the ole' train today to Scuol. Even if it was only 70 km, I really didn.t feel like riding in below freezing temps with only arm/knee warmers and a rain jacket. Oh, I guess the assless chaps could help, but you get the picture, it was cold enough. I got here and noticed many runners coming into town, like there was an event going on. Such is the case, the Trans Alp Challenge, or something like that. 8 days, 240 km, starting in Germany and ending in Italy. No thanks, I like the bike too much. But I did go to the spa, and it was worth it! 25 CHF for 2.5 hours, but I was only there for about 1.5 hours. Too much water causes prunage, and I no likeage. So now I.m at the internet cafe for 16 CHF per hour, OUCH, and about to upload pics for my loyal zealots that are following me on this epic journey. I think tomorrow is about a 50k ride to Landeck, Austria. Although it may get cold again and I.ll wuss out and take the train. Like I care at this point! I will be in Munich on Thursday, or maybe tomorrow.... Hell, I don.t know. But I will be in Prague on Friday to meet up with Petra. Ok, time to upload pics. Hope you all enjoy, now get the hell off my page.