Dritten Tag... (Day 3!)

Here is day three... I will leave day two and Sachsenhausen for later. There was a lot to take in yesterday!

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Today's first stop was Potsdam, where we saw the site of the Wannsee Conference and were subjected to Herbert Grönemeyer on the way there! The Final Solution was drawn up here. A lovely place, but the site of some horrific plotting and scheming.

Next was the Cecilienhof palace, where many decisions were made in 1945 about the future of Europe by Stalin, Truman and Churchill (until he was replaced by Clement Attlee). It contains an office for each of them, as well as a smoking room ... in pristine condition considering most of them smoked 80 a day!

(No photos were allowed inside. Unless I paid 3€)

Afterwards we went to the suburb of Potsdam for some lunch (and souvenirs), which included ice cream and pasta for some, traditional German sausage for others, and, in extreme cases, the golden arches again. Dr Coke-Woods had chicken though, because apparently "he does what he wants."

(Not the Arc de Triomphe as some people thought!)

We then visited the platform where the Jews of Berlin were gathered before being sent off to Auschwitz, Sachsenhausen and Theresienstadt camps. There is a run of about seven days in July 1943 that saw 100 Jews transported per day. For me, this was the most poignant experience of the day.

After a brief stop outside Robert Koch's house to revise the history of medicine, we headed towards the Jewish Museum. This was incredibly interesting: there were some very provocative exhibitions in the basement and the guided tours were energetic and gave us an excellent understanding of what it is to be a Jew.... it is the sort of place where one visit does not suffice!

After a copious dinner at the hotel, we headed off bowling, which was very loud and very lively!! Harry Wright showed off his legendary bowling skills, thrashing anyone who challenged him, and therefore deserves a special mention. 168 was his score apparently.

We are now playing pool and cards in the basement. Thankfully it is soundproof so no-one else is deprived of their sleep. This would otherwise be a major problem!!!

Last day tomorrow. Today was very exciting at times (an emotional roller coaster even ... to be very cliché...) compared to a very chilling and memorable day yesterday.

Goodnight, with love from your anonymous blogger.