(East) Berlin & Lessons on WWII/the Cold War

This past weekend I went to Budapest's "House of Terror" which is basically a former secret police building transformed into a museum about all the crimes/atrocities committed during the fascist/Stalinist regime. I think the museums was really well-done in that people were really able to feel and experience the exhibitions. They reconstructed offices, what the voting booths were like, the prisons and torture chambers. I remember standing in the prison and starting to freak out - my heart was pumping really fast and I could feel myself start freaking out.

Hungarians seem to have this rep of being pessimistic, and a lot of people argue it's because of their past - being occupied by one nation after another. This one international student was saying how it looks like they always have a sour look on their faces. But man, if freaking first Nazi Germany took over my country, and then when they finally left, communist Russia took over, I'd probably have a sour look on my face too.


Okay, so for Berlin.. It was incredibly cold and gloomy... How appropriate for a history lesson on WWII! I think I learned more about WWII's history on the walking tour in Berlin than I ever did in school.

The "Palace of Tears" where families would be broken up because those in West Berlin can visit those in East Berlin only once every couple years. I think they're renovating it so that it's a night club.

Berlin's Parliament.

Holocaust Memorial. They're like 2,700 blocks of concrete that vary in height and get bigger as you go further inside. There wasn't really a description, but the artist just said that it's supposed to be what you make of it. I think there was a lot of controversy about this memorial and the vibe I get about the public view is that it's more negative than positive.

Notice the "Lego homes" in the background because the blocks that make up the home were originally manufactured like Lego pieces. I think it's somewhere around there that Hitler died.

Inside the memorial, the ground is wavy.

The Berlin Wall.

Open your eyes!

Checkpoint Charlie - crossing point between East and West Germany. You can't see in the picture, but there was a stand and there were guys dressed up in army clothes where tourists can go take pictures with them. Although I learned a lot, I feel like my trip in Berlin was kind of disappointing.. in that, moments like these I really felt like Berlin is just profiting off its bleak history through tourist attractions like these and others. It all just seemed like a mockery out of something so serious.

Mmm.. complimentary chocolates on the train back to Munich.