What started out as a Road Scholar historic castles and history of Germany tour, turned into a brief history of Hitler's rise and fall and the creation and end of the Cold War. It wasn't Road Scholar's fault that I caught Covid-19 early on and had to cut the trip short. It was just really bad luck. But, before I got ill in Munich, I had a very educational time learning about an important time in our world's history from some of the people who lived through parts of it personally.
This was my first Road Scholar trip and I was really impressed. The first day of the tour we were introduced to a German educator who taught us a bit of German as well as German culture and norms. We learned that Germans are not as social with people on the street and in casual meetings as we Americans are.
We also learned about the differences between West and East German life during the Cold War. Learning from people who lived through something is the right way to learn if you can. Personal interactions with the local Germans made this trip very different from other group trips I have taken.
Berlin
Berlin is a town full of life and rich with history. From Hitler and the rise and fall of the Nazis, the Berlin Wall and the Cold War, and the numerous art museums, there is much to see and learn in Berlin.
I learned a lot from our tour of the buildings built after WWII. East German architecture is utilitarian, stark and rather depressing. Everyone was guaranteed a place to live, but individuality was not encouraged or even allowed. West German cities offered a very different type of rebuilding after the war and it was that type of architecture I came to expect and like.
We had an interesting lecture, Berlin and Germany in the Past, Present and Future, by Professor Ulrich Bruckner. I was aware of Hitler and the Cold War, but had never taken a class discussing the position from the perspective of Germans citizens. Many families woke up one morning to find that there was a barbed wire wall up on the road. They could no longer visit relatives or even go to their jobs. The actual concrete wall was installed later because the border was not secure enough.
We learned that as the Wall was erected people were jumping out of buildings on the East German side to reach the West. Our guide also grew up in East Germany and told us stories of the hoops his family went through to visit family in the West.
Berlin chose to save some of the Wall as a reminder of the past. There is stretch of the Wall still visible with a great deal of thoughtful, and thought provoking, graffiti in Friedrichshain. Many people come to this area to look at the murals, take their photos, and learn. I found the site interesting but more sensational than our later visit to the town known as Little Berlin.
There are multiple places in Berlin that remember the lives lost, specifically Jewish lives, during the Nazi time. The cemetary with the moving sculpture and the pebbles placed to remember those lost. The very moving memorial of those individuals lost as Hitler took over and anhilated anyone who stood in his way both Jewish and non-Jewish alike. The first people Hitler killed were his enemies and people who doubted him. He then moved on to mass extermination. Visiting these sites was a good reminder for our group of what we don't want to happen again.
When we had time on our own, I visited the Nues Museum’s collection of Bronze Age and Egyptian artifacts. This was breathtaking to see and so worth the visit. The best known piece at the Nues is the small bust of Nefertiti.
Fortunately, unlike the Mona Lisa in Paris, there was not a line of young people standing with their backs to her taking a selfie. We had plenty of time to stand and gaze at her. I let my imagination wander on what she must have looked like in real life. The bronze sculptures and decorative arts that the museum has free one of the best collections I have seen to date.
If you plan to stay in Berlin, I highly recommend the Maratim proArte Hotel. It is located in East Berlin and was the first hotel open to tourists entering the Eastern section of Berlin. Modern art hangs all over the hotel, and the staff is very attentive to all your needs.
The hotel is ideally located in the center of everything. We were able to walk to the Brandenburg Gate, see Checkpoint Charlie and take in local art museums and shopping. There was a light show on several public buildings while we were there and we were able to walk there and enjoy the show.
I loved being able to stroll down Unter der Linden, stop at the VW museum (to see an exhibit on ‘historical artifacts’ from the 60s-90s,) grab a piece of fruit from the local grocery, and eat delicious meals with locals.
Links to view:
Places to eat:
Boulevard Friedrichstasse (Friedrichstrasse 106c)- Traditional German food (I liked the Roast pork in black be4err sauce, Bavarian cabbage and potato-dumplings)
Rausch Schokoladenhous ( Chartlottenstrasse 60) A chocolate cafe and restaurant
Modlareuth
In Modlareuth, also known as Little Berlin, we saw how the Wall affected the town and its residents. This town is a great example of how the Wall devastated a community and specific families. A part of the Wall remains and a small museum installation shows how the overnight appearance of barbed wire and then a wall separated people, families and businesses.
A house stands on one side of the Wall where a family lived. After an ordinary night out with friends, some members of the family were prevented from ever returning home because the barbed wire went up without notice. The actual wall went up later but the damage was done. Books cannot teach what a visit to a historical place can teach. Looking at the photos and then touring the town, where the Wall is remembered through markings along the ground, was enlightening.
Imagine, going out to a party and coming home to find a permanent structure preventing you from ever going home.
Links to view:
Potsdam
In Potsdam, we went to Cecilienhof Palace where the Allied Forces held the conference in 1945 to settle the borders after the cessation of war.
The gardens around the bulding were beautiful. There were shaped boxwoods, flowers, and sculptures to wander and see before our time inside. The rain and cold made brisk walking necessary and maybe Truman did this with his advisors while in between sessions. Cecilienhof itself is not memorable, but the rooms where Truman, Stalin and Churchill worked individually, and the space where the men and their staff met to discuss the end of the European Conflict, were moving.
Because there was time, and little traffic, we were able to park the motor coach and walk across the Bridge of Spies.
It is called this because during the Cold War, the East would trade captured spies with the West on this bridge. The landscape surrounding the bridge is lush with greenery and lakes with several smaller palaces dotting the shoreline. Sadly, we didn’t see any of these properties because they were not on this tour.
In Potsdam, we ate lunch at an adorable little restaurant called the Flying Dutchman. It was cozy and inviting, while the outside temperature was cold and rainy. We all found new friends to sit with, drink some German beer, and have delicious braised cheeks of Bavarian country pork, Brandenburg mashed potatoes and vegetables. I am sure that Potsdam is a lovely city to walk around in, but the weather was awful and the Flying Dutchman was warm and dry.
Links to view:
Places to eat:
Restaurant “Zum fliegenden Hollander” Benkertstrasse 5
Dresden
Dresden is more my architectural style. Yes, it was almost entirely rebuilt after the war, but they attempted to recreate much of the old style. The charming old city has few cars, cobblestone streets, and lovely ‘old’ buildings and shops. The East German government wanted to tear down much of the old bombed-out structures. But the people of Dresden rose up and said ‘no’. The government left the bombed structures sitting until almost the time of reunification. Thank heavens they didn't replace everything!
I cannot even imagine what that must have been like for all those years walking past a constant reminder of the destruction. A town with such a rich history and heritage left in ruins. Thank goodness they did leave the rubble, because the restoration work is breathtaking.
We had a walking tour the day we arrived. While walking through the town, we saw street musicians and people strolling about. We also saw the Palace complex, the SemperOper (opera hourse), the old bridge, the recently collapsed new bridge(!) and the Church of our Lady.
The biggest surprise of the walk was the drastic change from the heavy and foreboding facade of the Church of Our Lady to the light and pale walls inside. Filled with gold and flowers it was simply breathtaking.
My personal highlight of our Dresden visit was the tour of the Zwinger Museum. This is not your standard museum. It is more like the Louvre or the Hermitage. A complex of buildings, commissioned by Augustus the Strong during the Baroque period (1600-1750), the amount of art, artifacts and curiosities inside would take days to properly visit.
While currently under restoration, that did not prevent me from visiting the Old Masters Picture Gallery, the Porcelain Collection and my husband from seeing the Royal Cabinet of Mathematical and Physical Instruments. If in Dresden you must go there!
My grandmother and mother collected porcelain throughout their lives, and I always enjoyed looking at the pieces and their intricate details. The delicate fingers, displayed in a wave, and the flowers on a lady's dress, the many types of animals captured in porcelain. They are all so delicate and easily broken by mishandling. Yet, these have lasted for centuries.
I spent at least two hours wandering through the collection dreaming of having a few pieces of my own to display and look at on a daily basis. Meissen has a store in town by-the-way.
The Old Masters Gallery hits on all the major painters one would imagine in a collection of this size. And then some. Van Eyck, Titian, Holbein, Albrecht Durer to name just a few. Though I prefer Impressionist and Modern art, having the opportunity to wander through the many galleries without an agenda, and gaze at paintings here, was such an education.
When looking at art I know what I should look at, I sometimes look first at who the artist is to know if I should pay more attention to the piece. At the Zwinger, I decided to walk through the galleries and stop at the paintings I found appealing. I prefer Holbein to Titian and Van Eyck just okay. Sorry to all the fans of this type of art but it’s my opinion! What a personal release it was to forget the artist and enjoy the art.
For those of you who love jewelry and sparkly things, make sure to visit the Green Vault in Dresden. This is considered the largest jewelry collection in all of Europe. What I found hard to believe is that most of the collection is not incredibly locked down the way the British Crown Jewels, or the Hope Diamond are protected. And, this could be why a major jewelry heist took place not that long ago wiping out a number of pieces. Some, sadly, were never recovered.
Links to view:
https://www.maritim.com/en/hotels/germany/hotel-internationales-congress-center-dresden/rooms-suites
https://www.meissen.com/net/ (when you want to see Meissen outside of the Zwinger, and consider a purchase)
Places to eat:
Anna im Schloss (Schlosstrasse 27)
Pulverturm Dresden (An der Frauenkirche 12) - we ate here several times because the food was wonderful and the dining room was magical
Nuremberg
During a previous trip, we visited Nuremberg to attend the Christmas Market and thought
the town was quaint. Seeing it a second time, and not for a shopping trip, made it all the more enjoyable.
Most of the buildings we saw were rebuilt after WWII but they were not replicated exactly the same way. This allows an attentive visitor to see which buildings survived, and which did not. The streets bustled with people and shops.
We spent an entire day visiting the Nazi Party Rally Grounds and Court Room 600 at the Nuremberg Palace of Justice where the Nuremberg Trials took place. Yes, it is important to see and learn the history of both the happy and sad times. I found the history and lecture in the Palace of Justice informative.
The visit to the Rally Grounds left me very unsettled and wishing to leave. We did not stay at their for a prolonged time, but it was long enough to leave me haunted at the thought of what took place there during my parents lifetime. The city is planning to repurpose this structure and I am very conflicted on this.
Links to view:
Places to eat:
Hexenhausle (Vestnertorgraben, 4)
Gutman am Dutzendteich (Bayemstrasse, 150) I really loved the cabbage rolls with beer-bacon sauce and mashed potatoes
Final Thoughts
I was glad to visit the towns we did on this tour and to learn more about a dark period in world history. The Road Scholar tour was both educational and enjoyable. The hotels, guides, and places we visited were well thought out, well organized and worthwhile. Our guides took excellent care of me as my health spiraled, finding me a doctor, and helping us change our plans to return home early.
The people on the trip were real travelers and adventurers. Several companions were continuing on to other Road Scholar tours. All but my husband and I had been on multiple trips with the company before. This says a lot about a tour provider. There are a lot of travel companies today and people can pick and choose from them all. The price point to value that Road Scholar offers, the participants attending and the itineraries, makes them worth a look when planning your next international or domestic trip.
Packed so much in, in such a short time!