Randomness

Trevor & I ventured to the Berliner Dome one day after class. I had already been there during the Long Night at the Museum a few weeks back. But this time we decided to go to the absolute top. There was a tiny staircase that lead to a balcony around the dome at the top. Whew! There were tons and tons of stairs. It was quite a workout getting to the top. It's all that darn bread :P haha!

When we finally got to the top though, it was an amazing view! And it was a rare sunny day!! The sky line extended as far as the eye could see.

The basement of the Berliner Done houses many caskets of the Hohenzollern dynasty. It actually smelled funny down there. The caskets were huge! Some of them were even babies when they died. It was very interesting to see it. It seems the basement and the balcony are forgotten places of the Berliner Dome (auf Deutsch Berliner Dom).


My host family and I went to the Hohenschönhausen, the STASI prison, one Sunday for a tour. Unfortunately the tour was in German, but they translated some of it for me. I wasn't too upset because we are going there for a school excursion sometime. In case you don't know (no worries, I didn't), the STASI prison is located in East Berlin. It was used by the Soviets for political prisoners between 1951 and 1989. It is infamous for its physical and physiological torture of its prisoners. I felt so dumb, but I had no idea before we went on the tour. There were many who died while in the prison. Prisoners varied in their crimes from trying to cross into West Berlin/West Germany, acting in unauthorized movies, political enemies, etc. Conditions were horrendous. Interrogations were quite unconventional also.

Our tour guide was a former prisoner. He was imprisoned in the camp 3 different times. He later found out his family and friends were feeding information to the Stasi. He found out that his own mother gave false information about his to the Stasi. After he left Hohenschönhausen, he had severe psychological problems. He had to go through much self rediscovery and therapy. He walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain 3 times. I believe he said it took him about a month each time. He did this to find healing within himself. I wish I could have heard more of what he was saying, but my host parents didn't have enough time to translate everything for me. I have decided to write my term paper on this topic, so I'll be able to provide more information in a month or so :)