Wednesday, May 26, 2010

True group picture!

Today, finally, I was able to get a group picture. I am not sure
whether it is the one I took. If I am in the picture (I cannot tell,
my screen is too small) then Sasha our guide took the picture. We are
standing in front of the Charlottenburg Palace upon our return from
the Haus Der Wannsee Konferenz, just before visiting the Kaiser
Wilhelm Memorial Church with its spectacular Chartres blue stained
glass windows and honeycombed concrete exterior.

This morning we visited the permanent exhibit at the Topography of
Terror Museum (which opened pn May 7) and the Resistance Memorial,
before having a picnic on Wannsee Lake, before visiting the villa. So,
another full day where we completed our introduction to the political
setting of the Holocaust.

The weather was sunny and nice. Tomorrow, it will rain over Berlin,
but we will be on our way to Prague, safely traveling by coach.

Two more things: our group is comprised of "the shoppers" and of "the
macadamers." the latter group does not mind hitting the pavement in
search of Berlin's hidden cultural treasures, while the former does
not mind leaving the pavement for the elevated flooring of shopping
malls and specialty stores. Thus tonight eight macadamers found
Dietrich Bonhoeffer's grave in a cemetery one hundred feet from our
hotel (along with the graves of Hegel, Fichte, Anna seghers, Brecht,
and Marcuse and, to my great delight, the Huguenot cemetery of Berlin).

One last thing: I incorrectly identified the young woman climbing down
the Reichstag Dome: she is Shannon, not Anna. My apologies!

I am most proud of our travelers: they are bonding, and really taking
care of each other! You can be very proud of them too.

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