Day 39- Berlin

Day 39- 23 September 2008 Today we had to change hostels as our hostel did not have a vacancy for that night (which we knew already well in advance). Our new hostel was in a really convenient part of town but it was pouring rain today. After checking in and dropping off our bags we headed to Brandenburg gate square. We checked out the fantastic artwork inside the DZ building which words cannot really describe. We then went to the Reichstard (the German parliament building) and had to line up for an hour to get through security and then got the lift to the top of the building so we could walk around the glass spiral dome which stands tall above the building. Interestingly, the politicians below can look up and see through mirrors around the center of the dome all the people (but usually tourists) to see who they answer to. The views were quite good but it was fairly overcast and a bit raining so we could not see that far. After this, we walked along the main central park to the Victory statute called the siegessaule which stands in the centre of a roundabout at the centre of all the major roads towards berlin. I climbed to the top of the tower and it had quite good views from the top. We then caught a bus back to the train station and caught a train to Orienburg and then after another bus arrived at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and memorial. We spent about 3 hours going through the site which has a re-création of the fence and security measures in place. There are two remaining huts and various other buildings that ýou can go through. It was a very interesting but sombre place. There is also the Execution trench and sites of the mass graves. Strangely this place was used by the soviets as a prison/camp for the nazis when they took over the area at the end of the second world war. The place is a good memorial and reminder of what occurred in the hope that future generations take note to ensure this does not happen again. After we got back to Berlin we went to a nice restaurant street and had dinner at a very nice Indonesian/thai place with a very cool decor.