Above: Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. The group in front of the Reichstag. Intubating a dummy at Charite. The depths of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Frauenkirche (Dresden) on a sunny day. On our way to the next place...
Our stay in Berlin was crazy. I think the longest moments I had to myself were in transit, which was the only opportunity I had to write down my thoughts without missing out on something else. I can't say I was too fond of Berlin; I also can't put my finger on why. Maybe it was how big the city felt, maybe it was the austerity of it all. It was fascinating, and it felt important, but I wasn't too sad to leave it (only to depart from Ampelmann in his cheeriness).
On Monday, we visited the skills lab at Charite. Two medical students gave us a tour of the center and let us practice some basic skills: resuscitation and intubation on dummies, and an ear exam on each other. (Katie's eardrum, for the record, is perfectly normal.) Since I'm not intending on going into medicine, I tried everything, assuming it might be my only chance to intubate anything.
Later, during our city tour with Robin, I thought my head was going to explode with all the history he covered. It was wonderfully informative, and I tried to scribble a few notes down between pictures, but honestly I was just left with the impression, "Berlin is important." And that's probably fair. We saw about ten thousand things, including the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gates (this time in the daylight), sections of the Berlin Wall, and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. As for the last item, I'm not sure that I understood it; it's left for us to decipher as we wander through towering blocks of concrete. It was, however, fitting that the interior was so icy and treacherous.
We made our trip to Dresden on Tuesday. I wouldn't know what it looked like before being so rebuilt after World War II, but it certainly was a picturesque place when we went. The Church of Our Lady was quite possibly the first Lutheran church I'd ever been inside, which in a way is simply too bad for the rest of the Lutheran churches I might ever see in my life, because the Frauenkirche is stunning. The round design is quite a change from the angular setups of so many other churches and synagogues, and the pastel colors quite peaceful. Definitely one of the most intriguing places of worship I've been to, which I've realized has come to include St. Peter's and the Sistine Chapel (Vatican City), the Cologne Cathedral (Cologne), and the Basilica di San Francesco (Assisi).
I shouldn't forget to mention the hygiene museum in Dresden. That was hands down the most fun I've had in a museum since I outgrew the kids' museum in Houston. I think I was expecting more exhibits on people brushing their teeth and taking showers, not exhibits about giving birth, attraction, eating habits, and beauty. I think I could have killed another hour in there had the signage been in English.
On Wednesday, we stayed local in Berlin at the German History Museum and the Robert Koch Institute. Despite learning even more history, I was more amused by our group doing laundry across the street from our hotel next to Ali Baba's. We read the instructions like a picture book and since things came out smelling better and colored correctly, I can only assume we didn't screw up too terribly.
We visited the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp on Thursday. It was cold and snowy, definitely dreary, and frankly rather miserable, which helped us appreciate what it may have been like to be there in fewer clothes with less food and lower morale. I think I've written something about Nazis or the Holocaust in nearly every post, but I'm realizing that's an inescapable part of European (and world) history. Our tour focused on medical experiments performed on various prisoners. Quite disturbing, what doctors thought was right. In an unfortunate way, it remains an ever-present reminder that we have the responsibility to never cease questioning the morality of our practices. Maybe I managed to compartmentalize too well, because it didn't really hit me until I was walking along the walls of the camp past guard towers and barbed wire. And then, I panicked a little. Nevermind death camp; concentration camp is enough to shake me.
The week closed out with us trailing Nils as usual, headed to our next destination.
"Following the leader, the leader, the leader
We're following the leader wherever he may go" - "Following the Leader", Peter Pan
For Papa Duck
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