stop1 berlin: poor but sexy

***WARNING: this will be a photo-overloaded post!

berlin was our first destination of the graduation getaway- we once (ok for some people, it was twice!*giggle*) missed our flights- thus we must must must visit the city before we bid proper farewell to europe.

oh our goal of this trip was to relax, recuperate and enjoy europe not in the "normally-rushed thanks to the long list of places to visit" way. thus we made a reservation for a better lodging- charlottenburg apartment- which means that we get to stay in bed whole morning with breakfast being served in bed! how cool is that?

the itinerary?

we saw a lot of the east Berlin; from the bits and pieces of the remaining berlin wall to the charlie checkpoint to the bradenburg gate to the reichstag (parlimen) house and many more. ( uhmm yeah i know, it was meant to be relaxing right? but being in berlin+staying indoor ONLY doesn't count as visiting the city, no?)

the highlight of the trip, for me, was definitely the (half) day trip to the sachsenhausen concentration camp.

half day because we woke up at nearly lunch time which was a bad decision as the place is located quite far from the city center!!!! i think we spent, in total, roughly about an hour and half just to get there. we were left with less than an hour to explore the huge camp (!!!!). feel free to stay after 6pm (the closing time) coz they won't chase you away. it's just that... the last bus to the nearest S-bahn (S1: Oranienburg) is 6.15pm. if you miss it, call a cab OR if you feel like you needed the exercise and have the energy, walk- it takes about 20 minute roughly.

just to let you know that it was quite hard to get a clear direction to this place. the locals weren't really helpful; probably it is an uncomfortable reminder of the past and definitely something that they want to forget about.

after digesting some of the (express) historical knowledge we gained, we all went back home agreeing on "that's why lah german people have that serious+straight face, garang voice and not-friendly-at-all impression"!!!

what they have gone through... it's horrible!the mass gas killing, the brutal human experiment-urghhhhh! and how they scanned and decide on who should live AND work as slave, who was too sick and should just die.i felt so sorry for the camp inmates that have died during their detention.

seriously, you gotta be there to feel it! definitely worth visiting.