Shopping in Berlin!!
Today was the day that I would
finally have the privilege of visiting a concentration camp in memory of those
who were killed during the Holocaust. The new area that we went to by train was
fairly different from the other places we had previously visited in Berlin.
This novel place was almost completely silent, made forlorn by the lingering
clouds which threatened rain. Upon entering the actual site of the
concentration camp, I studied my surroundings very carefully. There was a black
pathway that leads to several different accounts of the period during the
Holocaust. It was extremely saddening to read, and the atmosphere surrounding
the area only accentuated the somber stories. After reading, I went to a large
and open area that leads to three different places: A museum, a forested place,
and a gate leading to an even more open stretch of land. I decided to go to the
museum, which featured varied pieces of culture to paint a picture of the
actions that occurred during the Holocaust. A few things I found to be the most
noteworthy was the Nazi uniform featured in the front, as well as the striped
uniform required for concentration camp prisoners to wear. After the
exhibition, I sat down for some lunch with a friend. Afterwards my friend and I
trekked into the forested area which was extremely serene, despite it being a
memorial for the fallen. The feeling of the wooded area closely resembled that
of fall. The place was chilling, but in such a peaceful manner that it was easy
to appreciate each and every commemorative statue I passed.
After coming back to the entrance of the
memorial area, I went to the gated pathway which opened up into a whole new
place. As soon as I walked in, I knew that I had entered into what was once the
main concentration camp. Land stretched far in front of me, supporting the long
beige buildings that used to house countless innocent people. I went into one
of the buildings and saw the basins used to clean themselves, as well as some
urinals. Posted next to each viewing area was some information regarding the
appliance. The guards would occasionally drown people in urinals or the bathing
basins.
I left the building and walked around
the wide expanse of land, enjoying the refreshing breeze that swept the flowers
and overgrown grass. I came across a large statue with three figures on it.
Although I did not have the audio tour to explain the significance of the
monument, it seemed optimistic based off of the facial expressions of the
people. I sat on a ledge across from it for a long time, chatting with my
friend and thoroughly enjoying the weather that resembled my favorite season.
After chatting, I went closer to the large statue of the three people and
examined the small tokens left by visitors. Many of these tokens were rocks,
but other people left sewn embroidery, two cent euros, and even handwritten
notes. One of them expressed the person’s mourning for those who died during
the Holocaust.
It was getting close to the time
designated to leave the concentration camp, and my friend and I made our way to
meet with the group to leave for our next destination: the mall! A completely
different setting, I know, but I had wanted to go shopping in Berlin for a very
long time. My friend and I skipped the hostel stop (after a quick nap along the
way) to go to a notoriously inexpensive store popular among people my age: Primark.
There was a large festival occurring in front of the three-story building, so
there were also tons of people inside. My friend and I checked out without
having to wait for very long at all, and we were surprised by how quickly time
had passed while in the massive store. We had spent three hours there! Upon
returning to the hostel, I realized how hungry I was and had pizza with some
other friends at the same place I went to a few nights prior. This time though,
I had pasta! I enjoyed the pizza more, but the pasta was still yummy. I went
back to the hostel and went to bed.
