Day Three of the Excursion
The day started at Dachau Concentration Camp. Dachau was the
first concentration camp to be built and was used as a model for the other
camps that were built. A few of us got to see a short film before we walked
around the camp. It was a very somber
experience to walk through the Dachau. I mostly walked around the ground and
the exhibit by myself, which was good because I could reflect on what I was
seeing and go at my own pace. The
exhibition was interesting and helped convey the past of the camp. It also
showed the horrible aspects of how people were treated in concentration camps.
Dachau was first used as a camp for political prisoners but as the war went on
it was no longer used just for political prisoners. The gas chamber was not
used for mass killing like at other camps. Dachau sent the people who could not
work or no longer wanted to other camps to be killed. There are many memorials
to the many people who died in the camp during the years it was used. I was not
able to walk through the whole camp because I did not have enough time. It was
strange to walk through a place that I had been taught about in school. Dachau
has been preserved as a reminder and as an example so that hopefully history
will not repeat itself.
Afterwards was the BMW Welt or BMW world by Coop Himmelblau.
BMW Welt is by the Olympic Village of 1972.
So we also got to see it as well. The architects that designed the
Olympic Village were Frei Otto and Gunter Behnisch. I enjoyed looking at the
sport bikes and old motorcycles more than the cars. We got to see a guy go up
and down the stairs on his bike, which was cool. The BMW museum was closed so
there was little to do but look at cars. After that, we went to see the Olympic
Village. It was hard to figure out what we could and could not go into. So all
I saw was the pool. We spent the rest of the time sitting in BMW Welt talking.
Our last stop was to Herz-Jesu. The church was done by ASW
architects. It is modern take on a church. The church was very different from
the churched I know and that we had seen so far. I did not think I would like
it but as I walk around the church it grow on me. I would have liked to see
what service was like in the church. Then off to the Hotel we went. I watched
the two Euro Cup matches then went to sleep.
Day Four of the Excursion
The Fuggerei Township was our first stop of the day. It is
the oldest social settlement. We had a short lecture on the township. It cost
less than a Euro a year to stay in the settlement today. The gates close at ten
every night. Most of the residents that live in the settlement are elderly. To
live in the settlement you must be Catholic and in need of assistance. I was
surprised that the church was not big and in the center of the complex. It was
right by the gate we had entered the complex through. The Church was simple on
the outside but was beautifully decorated on the inside. It was interesting to
see an idea that had the inside of the apartments. They are simple and small
but have everything you need to live. They are for a person or a couple. The
apartments had old fashion doorbells and some still worked. The settlement was
a fascinating to see and a nice place to stretch our legs before a long bus
ride.
The Hohenzollern Castle was our next stop. This was
defiantly the coolest part of the day for me even though I was still sick. We
had a tour of the castle. Sadly, we could not take pictures of during the first
part of the tour. We had to wear slippers so that we would not mess up the
floor. It was interesting to hear about the history of not only the castle but
the Hohenzollern family as well. Afterwards, we walked around the grounds of
the castle. You have a beautiful view of the countryside from the castle. There was also an exhibit on Fredrick at the
castle. I was sad that we could not spend all day wondering the grounds.
Then was the Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart. I am not big
into cars but it was still interesting to see the history of the Mercedes Benz
Company. I enjoyed the older fashion cars more than I did the newer ones. The
audio guide was nice because I could skip what did not interest me or learn
more about what did. It took a little while to get how to use the audio guide
but once I did it smooth sailing. Once I was done, I went to the gift shop and
looked around.
Day Five of the Excursion
We started with a five-hour drive to Aachen. We stopped in
Aachen to see the Treasury at Aachen Cathedral and Aachen Cathedral – Palatine
Chapel. The Cathedral was beautiful and bigger than I thought it would be. They
have a shrine to Charlemagne and the Mary. The shrine to Charlemagne holds his
bones. The one to Mary holds relicts such as Jesus swaddling clothes. We also
got to see the throne in Aachen Cathedral. It was interesting to hear about the
church history not only historically but architecturally as well. The Treasury
was interesting to see. We had booklets that told use about pieces that were in
the collection. It was hard to see and read about objects in the collection so
I simple just did what caught my eye. Aachen was very cool and I wish we could
have explored the city more.
Then was the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne. Some climb all
the way up to the top of the tower. Lauren and I went up part way then went
back down. While we waited for the rest of the group to finish, we went to the
gift shop and then walked around the outside of the Cathedral. The inside was
just as beautiful as the outside. I feel like I could wander around for ages
and never see the whole Cathedral. It was an awesome way to end a day. When
Lauren and I went to dinner we walked back by the Cologne Cathedral. We had dinner in the train station. We explored
the town a little more and then went back to look at the Cathedral again.
Afterwards, we went back to the hotel, watched some television, and went to
bed.
Final Day of the Excursion
We only had one stop on today before we got back to our
apartments. That stop was the Magdeburg Central Cathedral. It was going through
some restoration and some preparation for an event. The preparation for the
event cause use not to be able to see the whole church. What we did see was
gorgeous. It has the grave of Emperor Otto, which we got to see. There was also
a memorial to the fallen of World War II. They have services where they pray for peace, those
serving and for all who have fallen in all war. On the pulpit, they have scenes
from the Bible carved into it. They also have a room with the wise and foolish virgins.
The foolish are on the same side as another sculpture that is blindfolded which
represents the Jewish religion. On the other side is another sculpture that has
a crown, which is for the Christian religion. This statue is associated with
the wise virgins. After that, we head to the apartments. There was another stop
but I had fallen asleep because I was feeling good so I missed it. We had
dinner and watched the Euro Cup when we got back to the apartments. Then my roommates
packed for their trip and I went to bed.
Weekend
I spent Friday just sleeping and resting. Saturday Lauren
and I went back to the Berlin Zoo but this time we also went to the Berlin Aquarium.
I then went back to my and apartment to watch the Euro Cup. Today we are going
to go see some movies at the theater in the Sony Center.
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