With the ILP program we get some planned vacation days- two four day trips and one ten day trip. For my first vacation I decided to go to Berlin, Germany with two other girls in my group. The three of us got really cheap flights and a great deal on a hostel, so we were able to do almost everything for under 200 USD.
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| Our hostel |
We visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, which was an awesome experience for me. The memorial has over 2,000 stones covering a city block, and literally covers a museum. The underground museum put the holocaust into perspective for me. One exhibit had the number of people killed in each country, including Romania. I had never really thought about Romania's place in WWII, but the Romas (gypsies) were thought to be racially inferior alongside the Jews and were sent to concentration camps.
Another of my favorite stops on our vacation was Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. My group tagged onto a tour that we found at the train station, and it was definitely worth it. I learned information that I never learned in classes before and was reminded of history that I thought was unimportant at the time that I first learned it. I had forgotten how terrible people could be. The feeling of the camp was very solemn. Someone had laid white carnations at especially touching parts of the camp, which, to me, really showed respect to the men that were murdered there.
Other highlights for me were being able to see the Berlin and Checkpoint Charlie.
Some random pictures from the trip:
Great trip. Great Photos.
ReplyDeleteMcKenna, this post made my eyes well up with tears. I am so impressed that you are taking the time to visit places that reveal the world's horrid history. I'm also impressed with how well you seem to balance the positive with the negative. You seem to be having a FULL experience. Did I tell you I'm impressed?
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