germany

Looking for a place to go that’s historical but that can still party? Germany is that place, especially since this year, 2019, was the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.It came as a shock to even some of the Germans when the wall fell because the wall had lasted for over two decades. German teenagers and some young adults never knew anything different. The Berlin Wall divided a city and a country and prevented recovery from World War II after being erected basically overnight in 1961.Since the wall’s fall on November 9, 1989, celebrations and festivities have been held every year to commemorate the rise of democracy and freedom.Der Mauerfall, as the fall of the Berlin Wall is called in German, came as a surprise to Sandra Ehlert, a native German who was visiting both West and East Berlin about three weeks before the momentous Mauerfall.However, Laura Rawlins, an American working for a family as part of a Brigham Young University internship in Berlin before the Mauerfall, could see the inklings of protests.History of a Divided Berlin, the Wall, and Revolution Surrounding West Berlin, the Berlin Wall effectively kept Easterners, who occupied East Germany and East Berlin, from escaping the USSR to freedom in West Berlin, which was occupied by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.The wall itself was made of concrete panels 3.6 meters high (about 12 feet), topped with barbed wire. There was a strip of land next to the Eastern Wall: a no-man’s-land that crawled with guards, police dogs, and alarms; as well as a second wall, the Western Wall, that people could walk right up to. However, the guard towers on the two walls easily made people wary.“A lot of people died trying to flee East Berlin,” Sandra said, confirming all the fears that one could have. Nearly 140 East Berliners died trying to cross. “They had to be really determined,” explained Laura regarding those that tried to cross.The wall was built in the midst of the Cold War between the USSR and the US as a way for the USSR to prevent fleeing, as well as to assert its dominance.In the June of 1948, the USSR closed all incoming roads, canals, and trains from West Germany into West Berlin, forcing the Berlin Airlift to commence. Nearly two years’ worth of airlifted food, supplies, and medicine—a total of more than 2.3 million tons (2.3 Tg)—was lifted into the allies’ sectors of the city.From Their View Sandra was 16 years old when she went from her home in Hamm, near Münster in Western Germany, to Berlin on a school trip. She and her fellow students had to take a train to the divided city: beginning with a steam engine through West Germany, switching the steam engine for a diesel one through East Germany, then replacing the original steam engine once they reached West Berlin.Because there had been different currency between the two parts of the capital, Sandra explained, they had to exchange their money.“But then, you then had to donate your money at the border,” she continued, “because you weren’t allowed to have East German things in the West.” Laura, who was 18 during her first visit to Berlin for her internship, confirmed the same thing: “The woman of the family I was working for had picked up all these things and hid them in the back of our car. Had I known that, I would have been more terrified, because as we were going back to the West, they actually pulled the seats out of the car . . . . We could have gotten in a lot of trouble.”Sandra grew up in West Germany and defined herself as a West German, so when she was young, she saw the Mauerfall as an impossibility. “Most of all, unreal,” Sandra said, explaining her feelings about the Mauerfall. “ what I found so interesting: There was absolutely no indication whatsoever that this would happen just a few weeks later.”Laura even said, during her internship, that “ was really strange to think that you’re in this medieval city where you were walled in. It was sobering to see the wall for the first time.” Looking back at the Mauerfall, “it was completely unbelievable,” said Laura.Yearly Celebrations If you want to visit Berlin for the celebration of the Mauerfall, then plan your trip for October, instead of November: Germans have a national holiday on October 3, which was the designated Unity Day set in 1990. Most of the celebrations happen around this day, especially because October 3 is also Oktoberfest.Due to the brutal massacre of Jews by Nazis, called Kristallnacht, on November 9, 1938, there is not a national holiday on the day the Mauerfall occurred. It was deemed inappropriate to have such large-scale celebrations on the anniversary of such an inhumane day.The Unity Day celebrations this year were mainly held in Kiel, near the northern border with Denmark, but it was celebrated throughout the country. Mainly consisting of festivals, fireworks, and speeches, German Unity Day is a day that no one would want to miss. Each state celebrates it slightly differently, so do some research before traveling.However, the small festivities were easily overshadowed by Berlin’s week-long celebration—the week leading up to the Mauerfall on November 9.The 7 Days, 7 Locations program was held in seven main attractions throughout the entire city: Alexander Plaza, Gethsemane Church, Brandenburg Gate, Schloss Plaza, Kurfürstendamm, the East Side Gallery, and the Stasi Headquarters.These locations are beautiful and historical year-round, but during the 7 Days, 7 Locations activities, each of the locations were lit up with fireworks, concerts, film showings, and more in over 200 events.The art installation called “Vision in Motion” was strewn in a canopy down the Straße des 17. Juni (the 17th of June Street), leading up to the Brandenburg Gate. It consisted of blue and yellow ribbons written with the hopes of thirty thousand people for the future. Likewise, the East Side Gallery and Alexander Plaza projected images and videos onto the surrounding buildings of the oppressed Easterners and onto the Peaceful Protests that occurred before the Mauerfall.The Instagram of the event, @mauerfall30, shows photos and videos of the construction, preparation, and celebration of it all.Visit and Celebrate Today Even today, there are still differences between East and West Berlin; “it’s still so obvious to me,” said Laura.Be sure to visit both sides of Germany and Berlin to really get a feel for the division and conflict that developed their different cultures.Today, the longest intact piece of the Wall is the East Side Gallery (at about 1.3 kilometers/0.81 miles long) which was converted into an open-air museum in September 1990. Immediately after the Mauerfall, artists from over twenty countries came and started painting the wall, leaving it full of life as well as sometimes being satirical.Pieces of the Wall were also partitioned off as signs of peace from Germany to other countries of the world. Therefore, there are parts scattered around the world: the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, South Korea, and even the Vatican.From the memorials of the Mauerfall to the places of the Peaceful Revolution, there are plenty of places to see and visit in Berlin, but everywhere you go, you can feel the words “Ich bin ein Berliner,” spoken by President Kennedy, resonating through the air. Mainly, it is a place to reflect on freedom and unity, and a place to get a Berliner donut.—Kaitlyn Meyers

So you’ve always wanted to travel Europe, but unfortunately, you weren’t born into a trust fund. And while you appreciate living vicariously through your Instagram feed, you don’t just want to go to the Colosseum and the Tower of London and the Eiffel Tower; you want to see all of Europe—the lives and culture outside of the big cities. Well, you’re in luck! Here we’ve compiled some of the best hostels throughout Europe that can be jumping-off points for your vacation. These places will help you get away without giving up your budget or your dreams of exploring! So, get ready; after this, all you’ll need is a plane ticket!

Plums are one of the world’s most delightful fruits. They come in many varieties, and can range from mellow to tart. This versatile fruit is enjoyed by many cultures in both sweet and savory dishes. Here are some tasty examples!

You will find happiness in every bite of European chocolate and candy. Full of rich, unique, and sweet flavors, here are some of the best chocolates and candies from Europe:

Beloved Disney movies have the ability to transport viewers to beautiful worlds where colors are vibrant, magic is real, and everyone sings on-key. Children pretend that they too are adventurous princesses and quick-witted heroes, living in ornate castles that overlook forests and oceans. However, those childhood imaginings often fade away with age.

A place can tell a million stories. A building, the landscape, the ground beneath your feet seem to absorb all of the emotion—the pain, the anger, the suffering—of the past. Sometimes if you just stand still and try to listen to the voices of history, you’ll hear them tell their tales. Sometimes, when a place bears a million stories, a million voices wash over you—all begging for you to listen to their story.The House of TerrorOne of the most visited buildings in Budapest is the House of Terror museum. Initially, this building had a relatively unassuming exterior, but because of its gruesome history as a palace of torture throughout World War II and the Cold War, it is now adorned with a metal awning with the word “terror” cut out of it. It has since been turned into an informative and moving museum with exhibits that educate patrons on the horrors that occurred within the building. The House of Terror is located in the middle of Budapest, between busy streets. Photo by Chris Price. ccThe House of Terror terrorized Hungarians for decades across two political regimes. During World War II, it was home to the Gestapo-like Arrow Cross. At that time, many Jews were held and later executed there. In addition to the terrible atrocities that occurred in the House of Terror during World War II, what happened afterwards during the Soviet Era was just as brutal, more widespread, and lasted many more years. Much of the terror described in the museum refers to this second period—much less known to most Westerners—when the secret police imprisoned approximately one person from every third family in Hungary. Many of these prisoners were tortured and some were murdered.The rooms in the House of Terror are decorated to tell the stories of those who were imprisoned, tortured, and murdered. One room explains how hundreds of thousands of Germans were deported from their homes in Hungary, and Hungarians from other Eastern European countries were forced to resettle in Hungary. Other rooms display Soviet propaganda and also show how those who attempted to practice their religion were mistreated.Near the end of the tour, a dark elevator lowers visitors to the basement while showing videos of what happened to some of the unfortunate souls who were imprisoned there. The chilling scene in the basement induces agonizing sympathy for the victims that once suffered as they awaited unfair death sentences while housed in incredibly small cells.The last few exhibits of the museum—featuring the glorious and long-awaited celebrations that took place when the Soviets left in 1991—entice sighs of relief as they provide a hopeful ending to the tragic history of the building.Pearl HarborNo trip to Hawaii is quite complete without a visit to Pearl Harbor to pay respects to the fallen sailors of 1941. In the midst of a beautiful island paradise are the various memorials commemorating the sacrifice of those who fought to protect the naval base when it was attacked.On December 7, 1941, just before 8:00 a.m., Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor, the home of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet. The fighting lasted around two hours, but the ambush resulted in the deaths of over 2,000 American sailors. During the attack, the USS Arizona exploded and sank, taking those aboard down into the harbor with her. Pearl Harbor walkway over a see-through floor allows visitors to see sunken ships. Photo by JEB. ccVisitors today can take a short boat ride to a memorial standing over the wreckage of the USS Arizona, which is the most moving part of the exhibits and other monuments erected in honor of the fallen sailors. Standing by the railings of the structure, visitors can look into the aquamarine water and can clearly see different parts of the sunken ship. This evidence of tragedy creates an ambience of great reverence that washes over visitors as they realize that this is a watery grave, a marine cemetery to those who died here. Guests who look closely can see an unnaturally colored shimmer to the surface of the water near the ship. The ship still leaks oil and gives the surrounding water a permanent sheen—a perpetual reminder of the tragedy that occurred here almost 75 years ago. Yet the shining sun of a gorgeous Hawaiian day fills visitors with a sense of hope that we can bury our sorrows and move forward.The Killing Fields of CambodiaOnly nine miles away from Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, lies a shrine made of around 8,000 skulls and skeletons—victims of the Khmer Rouge. In what would otherwise be a series of unassuming fields, the bones of only a fraction of the political regime’s victims serve as a grim reminder of the region’s troubled past. To remember the atrocities of the Cambodian Genocide, Cambodians have filled commemorative shrines and sites with skulls. Photo by istolethetv. ccImmediately after the end of the Cambodian War in 1975, a communist regime known as the Khmer Rouge took power. Over the regime’s four-year rule, the leader of the group, Pol Pat, and his Khmer soldiers carried out a mass genocide. In a short timeframe, the regime murdered an estimated 1.7 million people—around 21 percent of the Cambodian population.Nearby the fields is the Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide, which was where most prisoners were held before they were executed in the fields. The building was formerly a school, but when the Khmer Rouge took control, the sounds of children playing happily turned to anguished screams of the tortured. Similar to the horrific camps of the Nazis in Europe just thirty years before, Tuol Sleng became a prison, a center of torture, a lab of cruel medical experimentation, and a factory of execution.The pictures and exhibits inside the museum are shocking, but there is little that can compare to the sight of the thousands of skeletons arranged in the fields to pay tribute to those slain there. The sheer number of skulls on display stuns visitors into a silent, somber mood. A slow walk through the fields triggers thoughts of the suffering, the pain, and the anguish of those killed in Tuol Sleng. All of it is almost overwhelming. In this warm, tropical country, these fields have been marked by death. But as tourists return to the bustle of Phnom Penh, they witness a country of people who have not forgotten their grief but have chosen to move past it and look toward a bright future.Auschwitz The Polish city of Oswiecim is the somber location of one of the greatest tragedies in all of mankind’s history. Some 37 miles away from Kraków lie the infamous three compounds that make up the dreaded Auschwitz. Auschwitz detainees were kept behind barbed wire so they could not escape. Photo by Bill Abbott.The well-known gate with the words reading Arbeit Macht Frei (“work will set you free”) greets all who enter the first camp. As with many of these sites, the various buildings in the camp have been turned into exhibits to tell the tale of those who were interned there. Throughout the buildings are huge collections of personal possessions the Nazis stole from the prisoners: shoes, suitcases, glasses, combs, pots, and pans. Some of these collections fill enormous storage containers but represent only a fraction of what was taken—perhaps a few days or a week’s worth of stolen goods.By far, the most unforgettable exhibit is the huge room of human hair, cut from those murdered in the gas chambers. Even visitors with no familial or personal ties to the Holocaust are moved to tears by the sheer magnitude of the suffering that occurred there.Occasionally, groups of Jewish teenagers join together to honor their ancestors by singing in Hebrew while visiting the different sites. Their youthful voices of today mix with those of the past in a chorus of emotion.Visiting tragedy-stricken sites invites a somber reverence for the suffering and sacrifices of those who lived there. Being where these victims spent some of their last moments connects the present with the voices of the past. As you tour these sites, look at their pictures, read their names, and hear their stories. Listen as their voices speak to you through the rising dust.—Tiffanie AbbottFeature photo by Bill Abbott.

Does modern life sometimes feel too complicated? Wishing you could revisit the innocence and imagination of your childhood? Then pack your bags and prepare for a road trip into the land of fairy tales!

It’s dark and cold outside, but that doesn’t seem to bother the hundreds of people moving around in the open square, walking from stall to stall. Twinkling lights illuminate the Marktplatz as visitors drink mulled wine with friends, eat a bratwurst on Brötchen, or snack on some Mandeln. Others buy handmade gifts for loved ones, while parents take their children for rides on the Karussel. It’s Christmastime in Germany, and with the season comes the traditional Weihnachtsmarkt.German Christmas markets have been a tradition since the seventeenth century. Originally meant to entice churchgoers to attend services, the markets have since turned into a more commercial venture for businesses, restaurants, and entertainers. Many of the larger cities like Frankfurt, Berlin, and Leipzig run their Christmas markets from the end of November until the week before Christmas. Small towns also have their own Christmas markets that span just one weekend.

One visit to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, feels like stepping into a perfect postcard picture. During the winter holidays, this village feels like it could be home. Located near famous Neuschwanstein Castle, often referred to as Sleeping Beauty’s castle, this quaint German town is easy to miss. Many pass by without even realizing it. But on your next visit to see Sleeping Beauty’s castle draped in snow, spend the winter weekend in Garmisch and enjoy skiing, seeing stunning mountaintop views, eating traditional foods, and perusing the enchanting Christmas market.

Thinking about the Germany of days past conjures up images of a lederhosen-wearing, beer-slinging, sausage-consuming folk. In Bavaria, the most southern of the German states, such scenes still pepper the countryside. Bavaria is also one of the most beautiful German states with its forests, rolling hills, and the Alps mountain range gracing its southernmost border. Capitalizing on Bavaria’s beauty, enterprising travel agents in post-war Germany created the Romantischestraße out of an old medieval trade route. Known in English as the Romantic Road, this highway stretches 221 miles through Bavaria and leads from Würzburg in the north to Füssen in the deep south.

My breathing synced with the rhythmic sound of my feet on the piney forest floor. Raindrops patted gently on the canopy far above me, but by the time the moisture descended, it was a mist—the kind that adds energy to a runner’s gait.

I laughed. A lot.

An octopus that predicts the future. Grass-scented toilet paper. When you attend the UEFA European Football Championship, you’re always surprised at the interesting behavior of soccer fans from around the world.

Considering the pretzel’s many varied forms, it is no surprise that this tasty treat is probably the world’s oldest snack. An Italian monk around AD 610 is attributed with creating this delightful little treat as a reward for children who successfully memorized their Bible verses and prayers.