Tripping Stones around Berlin

After our Checkpoint Charley visit we drove to the Goethe-Institut Berlin to hear a speaker on Germany today. It was a very good talk about Germany and the problems that they face today. Amazingly they really face most of the same problems we do, ranging from education reform to immigration to government pensions. After our talk we went on a walking tour of some classic Berlin courtyards. We saw some of them that were restored and remodeled, and some that were much like they were when it was East Germany. East Germany was a very run down and shabby city during the Soviet rule. We also saw some “Tripping Stones” that are all over Berlin. These little markers show where Holocaust victims lived when they were kidnapped by the Nazis and then eventually killed. Each little marker shows a name, when they were born, when they were deported, and what camp they went to where they were killed. The three plaques below show three different Germans that were taken from this building and killed at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. As you walk around Berlin you see these things everywhere. They are by no means done with them because there are probably more millions more to still lay down, unfortunately.

We did then walk to a very nice traditional German restaurant for a very nice dinner. I had a traditional plate of duck that was very good. Now, it’s back to the room for rest to prepare for another full day in Berlin tomorrow.