Ben Helmers-Germany Tour Highlights

Hallo! Well, it has definitely been an interesting week here in Germany. The trip was long and hard but we made it and have been all over Eastern Germany. The most interesting experiences that I've had here has been the visits to Wartburg Castle and the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Wartburg was amazing! We were so fortunate to have a tour guide that could answer random questions and could go into interesting detail concerning the origins and nature of the german landmark. One of the most interesting rooms consisted of the Ladies Hall which was an entire mosaic consisting of over 2 million pieces, some including gold leaf adding up to over 5 g of gold (not much, but for mosaics, wow!). We learned of the singing contests between minstrils and bards that have extended to become a world-wide legend. The concert hall in which the performers sang is so incredible and profound that one Lord replicated the hall for his own mansion. It was such and experience to sing in that hall (even though I'd say that our first performance's location had much better acoustics). I was also very captivated by the heraldry and medieval history concerning the times. In all it was a great tour and day, which ended with some excellent ice cream on the castles drawbridge.

Bergen-Belsen was also an interesting location, but also provoked a different response. The site alone I thought was nothing special. The site lacked all of the original buildings with the mass graves (thought-stirring) and monuments all that was present. While this sounds disheartening, I was by no means unaffected as the site atmosphere still brought forth a very solemn feeling followed with continual silent contemplation. However, the documentary exhibition affect for me was much more profound and present. Artifacts, photographs, journals and literally hours of interviews from survivors and resistance members gave visitors an insight into the times and lives of those involved with such a traumatic period. It was by far one of the most sobering experiences I have ever had in my lifetime.

I wish that you readers could have shared these times with us. I'll make sure to leave some remarks concerning Sweden at a later date. Until then- Tchous!