Back to Singapore at last, and can't forget the R&R in Germany, cuz they've been fun! I think that I should also record down what I've seen so that in the future I may use it for some purpose, either to bring a tour group to Germany, or some others that I have not yet foreseen.
Our first R&R was an additional R&R during the first week. From our camp in Bergen, we set off for Munster, a nearby town. Though there isn't much in town, we did manage to visit the Panzer Museum, which has a collection of previous German tanks as well as other countries' famous productions such as the Merkava. At the end of the entire museum was a dated outline of the evolution of the famous Leopard tanks, of which the L2A4 was included in the display (and we happen to use it now o.0). Munster was a relatively quiet town, but we did see a nice fountain with a model of horses at its centre at the town centre. Walking further down and you will come across a shepherd statue with a dozen or so statues of sheeps. Then we came across another fountain, where its surroundings was having a bazaar for flowers, and it blended in as though it was part of the decorations for the town. Subsequently, we visited the Bergen-Belson Concentration Camp, before heading back to our training area. I felt that the concentration camp's refurbishment has truly brought out the Germans' sincerity in apologising for the war itself. The concentration camp had a few mounds where thousands of bodies lay, and a few graves were erected for a few famous people. Israelis and Polish people left their marks behind in the concentration camp through symbols. The Polish for instance, had built a giant wooden cross in honour of the dead of the concentration camp. The Israelis left behind symbols for the same reason. There were many languages involved, so I couldn't tell much, but the site's introductory hall has explained much. The day I went there was the day right after the Germans celebrated the Liberation Day for the concentration camps, so we kinda missed the nice stuff. I wrote my name in the front page of a book in the introductory hall, and hope I will be there next time for the celebration and to write again in that book.
The next R&R was kinda planned beforehand, but is also considered additional. We were allowed a whole day free and easy in Hamburg. Personally, I went around the city and bus and train stations to take photos, because they were beautifully designed, and there's many shops around the train stations like the Dhoby Ghaut MRT in Singapore. Lunch was kinda complicated because my friends didn't want to have a meal that we can have in Singapore (ie Subway, Starbucks, MacDonalds etc), nor a small expensive meal at the riverside, but we found what we wanted at a train station. I took half a pizza that was so filling that I had already felt full by the time i ate 2 slices out of 3 (3 slice=half a pizza). There were also many churches around, but there was a particular one that had remained as ruins left behind by WW2.
I visited another church nearby (the church of St. James), whose caretaker was a kind old lady who had apparently visited Singapore in her youth. There was a large organ in the back hall of the church, and our arrival was just in time to witness the local choir practise with the overwhelming organ. When the clock strikes 12, the whole area will begin to echo with church bells. At the entrance of the church was an interesting sign labelled "Pilgrimmage in Europe". It listed a few sites with the distance, and the last was a funny sign labelled "Jerusalem (left direction), 4000 km" O.O
Last R&R was at Berlin, and this time it's an arranged R&R. We went to visit the Checkpoint Charlie near the Berlin Wall that had divided the East and West Berlin back in WW2. We also took quite a few pictures painted and graffitied onto the remnants of the Berlin Wall itself. There was a maze built in one of the parks to simulate the Jews getting locked up in concentration camps n surrounded by walls everywhere. We didn't had time to try the maze unfortunately, but in fact I think most of us are able to cheat by just climbing onto the walls! There was also a built-up area that was covering the original location of the bunker Hitler had hid in n died in back in WW2. The bunker is of course, inaccessible anymore to anyone at all, and so presents a mystery behind it. Thankfully, you can see a simulated Hitler's bunker from the movie Downfall.
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