Touring Europe :)

[shaggs147]

Some very moving images there, thanks Debs. Hard to get your head round the fact that it was relatively such a short time ago.
I've been to Germany a few times now, and think the country is lovely, and the Germans such a welcoming and friendly bunch, especially in the bars. Thankfully they are so so far from the Nazi movement these days.

[Debs]

I'm still shocked and distressed over the amount of hair there was, and the childrens shoes..

 

[Kwikasfuki]

Powerful images. The childrens clothing :(

[MarkyMark]

enjoying this tour thread very much. Keep it coming Debs

[Rusty]

As Asif says powerful images, that are in historical terms only a very short time ago .. the tins of Zyclon B ( the granuals that when poured in through the roof vents reacted with the air and produced the gas ) .. just so many of them and the bags with names on .. just tossed away. Bad bad times that I would like to hope we in the modern world have learned from.
I would very much like to go myself one day ... perhaps a group visit from this forum for those who are interested ?
Your trip seems to have been going nicely Debs .. certainly getting some miles done ! Lucky girl !!

[Debs]

Here's my update for today   

I left Auschwitz - Birkenau for Berlin. Bryn suggested that I should visit Stalag Luft 3 at Zagan as I would be passing. I thought this would be a great idea, so I did. 




I then went in to the museum to have a look at what they had, and wasn't disappointed.








I then decided to go and find 'Harry'. I walked off into the woods without a clue where I was going. I gave up and headed back. I met up with 2 other brits who pointed me in the right direction...

It was further down the road. Glad I wasn't still walking around like the blind leading the blind, as the men in white coats may have come and collected me. 

I found the turning and baby posed for a piccy 



I was told to follow this charcoal coloured gravel track to 'Harry'. Well it looked a bit iffy.. It was more sandy than gravel, and I had visions of me dropping her and being stranded on my own.. I took my time and all was ok...

There 'Harry' was.. Just laying there..






There was this mug sitting there and didn't know if it should be. I turned it over and got a pic, then placed it back.



One side of 'Harry' was the hospital.




The other side was 'The Cooler'





It was worth the visit and I then got going again for my destination in Berlin.

I arrived ok. The hotel is not the Ritz but it's clean, cheap and in the heart of the city. There is also parking on site behind a rather big metal gate. Well this area used to be East Berlin. 

Time to go out now for a beer and some food... Catch ya later aligators. 

[O.C.]

Hey Debs, thanks for the great report and accompanying pictures, which I love.

I was thinking what the bloody hell is she talking about "harry" then the penny dropped...no sign of Tom or Dick then   

[Debs]

Hey Debs, thanks for the great report and accompanying pictures, which I love.

I was thinking what the bloody hell is she talking about "harry" then the penny dropped...no sign of Tom or Dick then   

Tom & Dick ran away... 

[pistole]

From :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_Luft_III

.


In the spring of 1943, Squadron Leader Roger Bushell RAF conceived a plan for a major escape from the camp, which occurred the night of 24–25 March 1944.

Bushell was held in the North Compound where British airmen were housed. He was in command of the Escape Committee and channeled the effort into probing for weaknesses and looking for opportunities. Falling back on his legal background to represent his scheme, Bushell called a meeting of the Escape Committee and not only shocked those present with its scope, but injected into every man a passionate determination to put their every energy into the escape. He declared,

"Everyone here in this room is living on borrowed time. By rights we should all be dead! The only reason that God allowed us this extra ration of life is so we can make life hell for the Hun... In North Compound we are concentrating our efforts on completing and escaping through one master tunnel. No private-enterprise tunnels allowed. Three bloody deep, bloody long tunnels will be dug - Tom, Dick, and Harry. One will succeed!"

The simultaneous digging of these tunnels would become an advantage if any one of them was discovered by the Germans, because the guards would scarcely imagine that another two could be well underway. The most radical aspect of the plan was not merely the scale of the construction, but the sheer number of men that Bushell intended to pass through these tunnels. Previous attempts had involved the escape of anything up to a dozen or twenty men, but Bushell was proposing to get in excess of 200 out, all of whom would be wearing civilian clothes and possessing a complete range of forged papers and escape equipment. It was an unprecedented undertaking and would require unparalleled organization. As the mastermind of the Great Escape, Roger Bushell inherited the codename of "Big X".

The tunnel "Tom" began in a darkened corner of a hall in one of the buildings.

"Dick"'s entrance was carefully hidden in a drain sump in one of the washrooms.

The entrance to "Harry" was hidden under a stove. More than 600 prisoners were involved in their construction.

.



.

[Bryn]

Bloody Hell Debs, you saw more than we did at Zagan 

We went in 2003, and arrived in Poland the week that Poland entered the EU.. so things were still very Eastern Bloc over there...... There was no museum that we knew of, found the camp.... the route of Harry Tunnel was there with the memorial stone, but little else was labelled up......



We had to work out for ourselves what was where..... still a very atmospheric place 

[Debs]

Today in Berlin...

The last time I was here was back in 1983. I lived here for 18 months and was in love with the city then. I wanted to come back and see the changes that have been made since the wall coming down.

I have many photos back at home that I will compare to what I have taken today.

I first started off with taking a bus to the then, 'East Berlin' side to Alexanderplatz.

This is the TV tower and in the globe is a restaurant called the 360°



This is some sort of clock.





I then walked from there down the unter der linden strasse to the Brandenburg Gate.




I then crossed over to the West side of Berlin through the gate.



This was the line that marked the wall around the Brandenburg Gate. The last time I was here I only saw a wall... So much had changed.







I then walked up to the russian war memorial, but before I took a pic I had to look back and get another pic of the gate..



The russian war memorial.



I then moved on to get a pic of the Reichstag.



By this time my back was aching and feet were throbbing. I took a rest for about 30 mins, and after having a yummy piece of pie and some water I wanted to head off towards Potsdamer Platz.

On the way I came across these guys and just had to get their pic.. Looked so cool..



Next was the The Holocaust Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.





I also spotted this guy on his trike. 




Now at Potsdamer Platz.






I then moved on to Checkpoint Charlie and came across the only remaining piece of the wall standing.

This is from the east side



And now the west side.



Checkpoint Charlie.



I had never been in the museum here before, so no time like the present. I spent a good hour looking around and its worth it..




Opposite was a Mcd's. I'm not that much into burgers but I was now hungry again and in I went.. 

After all my walking I had done I didn't want to do anymore.. So I got a taxi back to the hotel. There are a few other places to pop out to, but will do that soon on baby, when the traffic has quietened down a bit.

I hate cities esp London, but Berlin is the one city in the world where I would love to live and die in.

[Debs]

Ok I'm back... Here's a few more pics.







If you look closely you can see baby 



And for some of you old timers whose eyes aren't so good, here's one with the flash on.. 




I promise to stop boring you all now.. There won't be any more pics from now on. Tomorrow I'm off back to Lille for 2 nights then home on Monday evening.. 

TBH I don't want to go back to UK.. 

[Lonewolf]

Debs, bore us? Far from it, your write up is outstanding. Please keep doing what you've been doing.

[Charlie747]

Debs, bore us? Far from it, your write up is outstanding. Please keep doing what you've been doing.

[O.C.]

Debs, there is absolutely nowt boring about your posts, superb pictures and report keep it coming I'm loving it 

I used to work for VAG (UK) in the 80s and 90s (formerly known as Volkswagen GB) as a consequence we spent a lot of time in Germany and I well remember in 1980 visiting the West side of the 'wall' and to this day I can still feel the chill of looking at it, it was a truly awesome feeling.

Berlin looks beautiful and I would love to visit one day.

Enjoy the remainder of your visit, ride safe and have fun