Scandinavia Day 7 - Berlin, Part 2
(Continued)
A policy of modern Germany is to commemorate victims and resistance and to not glorify conquests. A stark example is a monument with a single sculpture Mother with Dead Son from 1937 in remembrance of the First World War.
Lee led us on a meandering route to a series of food stalls where locals go to eat, and we had a quick lunch from a Turkish food stall.
Proceeding onward we discovered a hidden square with a striking view of what was a beautiful synagogue, now a museum.
We then traveled by tram to the very touristy remnant of Checkpoint Charlie. From 1961 to 1989, it was the only access point for West Berliners to visit friends and family in the eastern part of the city.
On the way, we passed a heartbreaking monument titled "Trains to Life, Trains to Death" depicting children traveling in opposite directions: two heading to freedom in England and the remainder to a death camp.
A few blocks further is a memorial with a segment of the Berlin Wall.
Traveling further we passed a sign acknowledging the likely location where Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide. She used cyanide, and it is said that Adolf used a gun because he didn’t trust the effectiveness of cyanide produced in the concentration camps.
We then made our way to the stark and eerie "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe", colloquially called The Holocaust Memorial—a large maze of dark gray rectangular shapes of varying heights and depths in which it is easy to get lost.
Our last stop before reconnecting with our Viking tour group was a true Berlin landmark, the Brandenburg Gate. Built in 1791, it was the entrance to the city from the road connecting Berlin to Brandenburg.
After returning to our meeting point, we said goodbye to Lee and made our way back to our train for the long ride back to the ship. On arrival at the dock we were greeted like returning heroes by the entire Viking staff serving champagne and lining our pathway back to the ship singing and cheering us on. Quite a memorable welcome after our 14 hour day!
We ended the evening with a special German meal including an assortment of wursts and a delicious whole roast suckling pig!