Week 127 · Berlin and the former East Germany · Munich · Nurnberg · Dresden
Berlin & the
As usual, tried to pack too many places into not enough time — but part of that was an error in planning logic. The plan was German-speaking countries as a substitute for a cancelled trip, combined with Croatia and a Paul McCartney concert that moved from Munich to Berlin.
The plan was to go to German-speaking countries as a substitute for Annelise not going to a 3-week course, visit Croatia — which had long been on the list — tie that into the only two weeks Alex had available and my work obligations the following week, and not spend any money on the transatlantic airfare. The arrival and destination were based on what I could get with frequent flyer miles — into Munich and out of Vienna for the girls, out of Dubrovnik for Sharon, and I would figure mine out later. The day after booking, I received an advert that Paul McCartney was in concert in Munich and it was already sold out. Then about two months before the trip I got another advert that he had added a second German show. I immediately got tickets. Then about a month before the trip I got another advert that he was adding US shows — and noticed that the June 14 show was in Berlin, not Munich. Had to rebook a portion of the air tickets — in all we were on 19 different booked segments — and planned to drive from Munich to Berlin, which allowed us to visit Dresden, a place we would never otherwise have gone.
I had been recently to both Berlin and Munich so I became the travel guide. Euro 2016 formed a backdrop as every night there were games with TVs set up in outdoor locations. We saw Germany play in Munich — I was surprised at the lack of enthusiasm, maybe because we were at the Hofbrauhaus and not many Germans go there. Visited the tourist spots in both cities but came across a local street fair which was good — it is always the unexpected. They served beer in glass mugs but charged a $2 deposit, so we now have a glass mug. Lots of rain as well so we ended up at more indoor places and hop-on/hop-off buses. The girls seemed to like Checkpoint Charlie Museum the best — I like it as well, and if you go to Berlin it is a must.
The Waldbühne is an open-air amphitheatre in Berlin built in 1936 for the Summer Olympics. Set into a natural hollow in the Grunewald forest, it seats 22,000 and has near-perfect acoustics. It was built as part of the Nazi infrastructure for the Games and was originally called the Dietrich-Eckart-Bühne. After the war it was renamed and became one of Germany's most beloved outdoor concert venues. A Paul McCartney concert there — performed in a stadium originally built for the Third Reich — carries a particular historical weight that would not be lost on anyone in the audience.
Driving from Munich to Berlin on the Autobahn sounds great — but in the rental Ford Mondeo station wagon it isn't quite the same as a BMW commercial. Nurnberg was a nice town and we spent some time in the War Crimes Museum at the courthouse where the Nuremberg trials took place. Learned a lot about how a just system provided a path forward for Germany's rebuilding without the issues it had when WWI ended — meaning that WWII actually ended definitively instead of years of continued conflict.
The Nuremberg trials were a series of military tribunals held from 1945 to 1946 in which the Allied powers prosecuted prominent leaders of Nazi Germany. Held in Courtroom 600 of the Nuremberg Palace of Justice — which is where the War Crimes Museum is located today — they established the precedent of holding individuals accountable for crimes against humanity under international law. The trials are widely regarded as a foundational moment in the development of international humanitarian law and the concept that "following orders" does not exempt individuals from accountability for atrocities.
It is the surprises in travel that make it worthwhile — many times the actual sites aren't as impressive as the HDTV drone footage that cuts out the surrounding areas. As we were driving through the former East German town with the block apartments I was second-guessing whether this was a place worth stopping for a night — then we came across a river and it was like seeing Venice, Paris, or Florence. Stunning. Almost 100% rebuilt after a bombing raid that had destroyed most of the town. Almost like a theme park it was so clean and tidy — parking garages under the medieval sites and many new hotels and condos with modern amenities. Definitely a destination in its own right.
"As we were driving through the former East German town I was second-guessing whether it was worth a night — then we came across a river and it was like seeing Venice, Paris, or Florence."
